Book Summary: The Success Principles by Jack Canfield

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The Book in Three Sentences

“If you want to be successful, you have to take 100% responsibility for everything that you experience in your life.”
“Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentional and aligned with your highest purpose, your values, and your goals.”
“To achieve desired outcomes, one must replace complaining with making requests and taking action.”

The Five Big Ideas

“You have control over only three things in your life—the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take (your behavior).”
“Stated in its most basic form, the Law of Attraction says, what you think about, talk about, believe strongly about, and feel intensely about, you will bring about.”
“You can lose the material things, but you can never lose your mastery—what you learn and who you become in the process of achieving your goals.”
“One of the great strategies for success is to act as if you already are where you want to be.”
“The world doesn’t pay you for what you know; it pays you for what you do.”

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The Success Principles Book Summary

Part One: The Fundamentals of Success

Take 100% Responsibility of Your Life
Be Clear Why You’re Here
Decide What You Want
Believe It’s Possible
Believe in Yourself
Use The Law of Attraction
Unleash The Power of Goal-Setting
Chunk It Down
Success Leaves Cues
Release The Breaks
See What You Want, Get What You See
Act As If
Take Action
Just Lean Into It
Experience Your Fear And Take Action Anyway
Be Willing to Pay the Price
Ask! Ask! Ask
Reject Rejection
Use Feedback to Your Advantage
Commit to Constant and Never-Ending Improvement
Keep Score for Success
Practice Persistence
Practice The Rule of 5
Exceed Expectations

Part Two: Transform Yourself for Success

Drop Out of The “Ain’t’ It Awful” Club . . . And Surround Yourself with Successful People
Acknowledge Your Positive Past
Keep Your Eye on The Prize
Clean Up Your Messes and Your Incompleteness
Complete the Past to Embrace the Future
Face What Isn’t Working
Embrace Change
Transform Your Inner Critic into an Inner Coach
Transcend Your Limiting Beliefs
Develop Four New Success Habits a Year
99% Is a Bitch; 100% Is a Breeze
Learn More to Earn More
Stay Motivated with The Masters
Fuel Your Success with Passion and Enthusiasm

Part Three: Build Your Success Team

Stay Focused on Your Core Genius
Redefine Time
Build a Powerful Support Team and Delegate to Them
Just Say No!
Become a Leader Worth Following
Create a Network of Mentors and Others Who Will Up-Level You
Hire a Personal Coach
Mastermind Your Way to Success
Inquire Within

Part Four: Create Successful Relationships

Be Here Now
Have a Heart Talk
Tell the Truth Faster
Speak with Impeccability
When in Doubt, Check It Out
Practice Uncommon Appreciation
Keep Your Agreements
Be a Class Act

Part Five: Success and Money

Develop a Positive Money Consciousness
You Get What You Focus On
Pay Yourself First
Master The Spending Game
To Spend More, First Make More
Give More to Get More
Find a Way to Serve

Part Six: Success in The Digital Age

Master the Technology You Need
Brand Yourself with an Online Persona
Use Social Media in a Way That Enhances Your Reputation
Use the Exponential Power of Crowdfunding
Connect with People Who Can Expand Your Vision

The Success Principles Summary

“If you want to be successful, you have to take 100% responsibility for everything that you experience in your life.”

“Everything you think, say, and do needs to become intentional and aligned with your purpose, your values, and your goals.”

“Everything you experience today is the result of choices you have made in the past.”

“You have control over only three things in your life—the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take (your behavior).”

“The day you change your responses is the day your life will begin to get better!”

“Complaining is an ineffective response to an event that does not produce a better outcome.”

“Learn to replace complaining with making requests and taking action that will achieve your desired outcomes.”

“If you find yourself in a situation you don’t like, either work to make it better or leave.”

“The only thing that will change your results is to change your behavior.”

“One of the easiest ways to begin clarifying what you truly want is to make a list of 30 things you want to do, 30 things you want to have, and 30 things you want to be before you die. This is a great way to get the ball rolling.”

“The create a balanced and successful life, your vision needs to include the following seven areas: work and career, finances, recreation and free time, health and fitness, relationships, personal goals, and contribution to the larger community.”

“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.”

“Stated in its most basic form, the Law of Attraction says, what you think about, talk about, believe strongly about, and feel intensely about, you will bring about.”

“You can lose material things, but you can never lose your mastery—what you learn and who you become in the process of achieving your goals.”

“One of the great things about living in today’s world of abundance and opportunity is that almost everything you want to do has already been done by someone else.”

“One of the great strategies for success is to act as if you already are where you want to be.”

“The world doesn’t pay you for what you know; it pays you for what you do.”

“Many people fail to take action because they’re afraid to fail. Successful people, on the other hand, realize that failure is an important part of the learning process.”

“If you want to remain calm and peaceful as you go through life, you have to have high intention and low attachment.”

“If you want to be more successful, you have to start hanging out with more successful people.”

“An important part of any focusing regimen is to set aside time at the end of the day—just before going to sleep—to acknowledge your successes, review your goals, focus on your successful future, and make specific plans for what you want to accomplish the next day.”

“If you are going to become more successful, you have to get out of denial and face what isn’t working in your life.”

“Successful people adhere to the ‘no exceptions rule’ when it comes to their daily disciplines.”

“To learn and grow in life, you need to be teachable, too.”

“Of course motivation is not permanent. But then neither is bathing, but it is something you should do on a regular basis.” — Jim Rohn

“When you do something you love with passion and perseverance, you are already a success.”

“The most successful people I’ve met love what they do so much, they would actually do it for free.”

“Ask yourself, ‘what is the why underneath what I am doing?’ If you can get in touch with that, it is a lot easier to get enthusiastic about whatever it is that you have to do.”

“Successful people speak words of inclusion rather than words of separation, words of acceptance rather than words of rejection, and words of tolerance rather than words of prejudice.”

“Always ask yourself, ‘Is what I am about to say going to advance the cause of my vision, mission, and goals? Will it uplift the hearer? Will it inspire, motivate, and create forward momentum? Will it dissolve fear and create safety and trust? Will it build self-esteem, self-confidence, and a willingness to risk and take action?’ If not, find words that will, or keep silent.”

“Often, we use words in a damaging way not because we are bad people but simply because we are not paying attention.”

“If you choose to live by a higher set of standards, you get to watch people respond enthusiastically toward you.”

“When you establish a higher level of personal standards, not only do you get better treatment from those around you, but suddenly you also begin attracting others with the same elevated standards.”

“To become wealthy, you’ll need to surface, identify, root out, and replace any negative or limiting beliefs you may have about money.” (Sam’s Note: for more on overcoming limiting beliefs about money, read T. Harv Eker’s Secrets of The Millionaire Mind.)

“The life you are currently living is the result of the thoughts you have thought, the choices you have made, and the actions you have taken in the past.”