There are thousands of books available in the field of self-improvement. The core of most of them is the same. Think positively and you will be more successful. Of course, there is much more to success than simply thinking positively. It is easy to attack such books or proclaim them as having all the answers. I want to do something different. In this post, I want to share some of the most important lessons to be learned from the classic books out there in the industry and start ‘mining’ anything worth applying in our lives.
Napoleon Hill’s classic book which sold millions of copies comes down to some basic principles: want it, believe you can achieve it, tell yourself you can, study, use your imagination, plan, be decisive and persevere.
Stephen Covey’s wonderful book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ suggests 7 habits for success. These include being proactive, begin with the end in mind, prioritise, think win win, understand others first and work together with others to achieve more than either of you could individually.
Dale Carnegie’s classic teaches effective communication skills. These include: avoiding criticism or complaints, giving sincere appreciation, creating desire in others, being interested in them, smiling, remembering names, listen well, be interested in their interests, make them feel important, avoid arguments, show respect, admit being wrong when you are, get them agreeing, let them talk, see things from their perspective, challenge them, dramatise your ideas, let them save face and make it easy for them to change their mind.
Let’s put the basics of these three books together in a way that gives us a focus toward improving our lives and our relationships with others.
FOR YOU:
- Believe in yourself (speak nicely to yourself)
- Set clear, compelling goals
- Proactively work hard towards them
- Think strategically
- Prioritise well
- Use your imagination
- Persevere
FOR YOU WITH OTHERS
- Encourage and avoid criticising others
- Be interested in others and listen well
- Make them feel important and right
- Be honest and admit when you are wrong
- See things from their perspective
- Excite them and challenge them
- Collaborate and help others get what they want
Of course, some of it seems common sense… but it is not commonly practiced very often. Also, it is apparent that these steps requires studying the area a lot more including reading books such as these. The reality is that success comes not as a result of reading but applying the wisdom that you get from reading, studying, attending courses, watching videos and listening to audios. All too often we numb our brains with soaps or repetition of the same old news.
There are so many opportunities for us to become smarter, better, happier and more confident. Try these tips and help yourself improve your own life and your relationships with others. Let me know how you get on.
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