Less Is More

My  Key Points

• Discipline is the bridge between thought and accomplishment…the glue that binds inspiration to achievement.

• Failure is rarely the result of some isolated event. Rather, it is a consequence of a long list of accumulated little failures which happen as a result of too little discipline.

• Success is not a set of standards from our culture but rather a collection of personal values clearly defined and ultimately achieved.

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  Goals: How to Set Them

• Choose the four goals from each of the four time categories (one-year, three-year, five-year, ten-year) that you consider the most important to you. You now have sixteen goals. For each, write a short paragraph which includes the following: 1) A detailed description of what you want. For example, if it’s a material object, describe how high, how long, how much, what model, what colour, and so on. On the other hand, if it’s a position or a business you want to start, give a detailed job description including salary, title, budget under your control, number of employees, and so on. 2) The reason why you want to achieve or acquire the item described. Here you’ll find out if you really want it or if it’s just a passing fancy. If you can’t come up with a clear and convincing reason why you want it, you should categorize this item as a whim, not as a true goal, and replace it with something else.

• Review them once a week to see if they’re still important and if you are taking active steps toward their realization. As you can see, goal-setting is not a one-time task with the results set in concrete. Instead, it’s a continuous, lifelong process.

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• Asking intelligently includes answering how high, how long, how much, when, what size, what model, what colour. Describe what you want. Define it. Remember, well-defined goals are like magnets. The better you chisel them, the stronger they pull.

• Don’t spend minor time on major things.

• There are two ways to gather wisdom. One way is to learn from your own life. The second is to study the lives of others.

• All leaders are readers.

• When I started to base my life on value instead of price, all kinds of things began to happen.

• Let me give you the definition of rich and poor. Poor people spend their money and save what’s left. Rich people save their money and spend what’s left. It’s the same amount of money – just a different philosophy.

• It’s far better to make a wrong decision than to not make one at all.