The Success Principles

Jack Canfield

📚 GENRE: Personal Development

📃 PAGES: 512

✅ COMPLETED: May 30, 2019

🧐 RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Short Summary

Backed by inspiring stories of CEOs, world-class athletes, celebrities, and everyday people, Jack Canfield delivers a proven blueprint to achieving goals and overcoming challenges. The Success Principles outlines 64 principles used by successful men and women throughout history, ranging from goal-setting and habit development to confronting fear and committing to education.

Key Takeaways

1️⃣ Commit to Learning — Learning and education should be something you spend time on every day. Be curious about the world and commit yourself to reading, learning, and growing. Accumulating knowledge, skills, and information is really important. Put the effort in and commit yourself to being a life-long learner. 

2️⃣ Push Yourself — In all areas of life, push yourself to get better and always remember that improvement and progress aren’t possible without getting out of your comfort zone. Progress requires risk-taking.

3️⃣ Ask! — Don’t be afraid to ask people for advice, guidance, information, insight, or assistance. A lot of people automatically assume a ‘no’ and don’t ask. Don’t shy away from rejection. The information and guidance you can gain from others can really accelerate your development.

Favorite Quote

"Great things don’t happen without taking risks. Progress always requires risk."

Book Notes 📑

Chapter 1

  • Take 100% responsibility for your life and how it has turned out.
    • Many people blame others and blame outside factors for their lack of success.
    • You create everything that happens to you. Don’t blame others and don’t complain.
    • Successes and failures are 100% your responsibility. 
    • Everything you are experiencing today is a result of the decisions and choices you have made.
  • Give up excuses. You have the power to accomplish what you want if you are committed and disciplined.
  • Formula — E + R = O | Event + Response = Outcome
    • How you respond to things determines how you feel, how you act, how do you decide, how you perform, and the results you get.
    • You always have the ability to change your thinking, change your communication, change the pictures in your head, and change your behavior.
  • You have control of three things in life:
    1. The Thoughts You Think
    2. The Images You Visualize
    3. The Actions You Take
    • How you use these three things determines everything you experience.
      • If you don’t like what you’re experiencing, you have to change these three things.
  • Insanity — Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
    • If you don’t like where you’re at, you have to change things.
  • You absolutely can change. A lot of people don’t because it would be uncomfortable and take time, money, and effort. Rather than take action, people complain.
    • Either accept the decision of staying where you are, take responsibility for your choice and stop complaining, or take the risk of doing something new and different to make your life exactly how you want it. It’s up to you.
  • Successful people engage in things that make them uncomfortable and take risks to get their desired outcomes.
    • They don’t wait for disasters, then blame and complain.
    • Change isn’t easy — It takes awareness, discipline, and willingness to take risks.
  • You need to always pay attention to what you are doing and the results you are getting. 
    • The results you get in life act as feedback for your actions and habits. Results will tell you what you need to do. 
    • Results awareness helps you monitor your progress and decide if you need to change things. 
    • Some key questions to ask based on your results:
      • What am I doing well? What am I not doing well? What do I need to try?
      • Do more of what is working, less of what isn’t. Be willing to try things that might work.

Chapter 2

  • Everybody is born with a purpose. Successful people identify that purpose, then work towards it with enthusiasm.
    • By living with your purpose in mind, you live with love and joy. You’re able to organize all that you do around that purpose.
    • Purpose gives your life a lot of clarity.
  • Write out your purpose in a written statement.
    • Read the statement daily and keep your purpose at the front of your mind. Live in alignment with it.

Chapter 3

  • Decide what you want and who you want to be in life. 
    • This is really important because what you want dictates your decisions and life path. 
    • What does success look like for you? Answer this in great detail.
    • Focus on doing what you want — not what other people want for you.
  • Consider making an ‘I want’ list. List out 30 things you want to do, achieve, and be.
  • The vision you have for your life serves as a target. This vision should describe what your destination looks like and feels like. The vision should touch on these seven areas:
      1. Work and Career
      2. Finances
      3. Recreation and Free Time
      4. Health and Fitness
      5. Relationships
      6. Personal Goals
      7. Community Contributions
    • Your vision gives your mind a picture to shoot for. When you visualize what you want, you will naturally navigate towards the opportunities and people you need to get there.
      • If you don’t know what you want or are unclear about it, you won’t make much progress. It’s really, really important to identify what you want. It gives your life a sense of direction. 

Chapter 4

  • Whatever the mind can see and believe, it can achieve.
    • You get what you expect. Expect your vision to come true.

Chapter 5

  • You have to believe in yourself, always. It is an attitude and a choice.
    • Remove the words “I can’t” from your vocabulary. You CAN do anything. Your mind is designed to bring you what you want if you visualize and believe in yourself.
  • Stop worrying about what people think of you.
    • People are too busy worrying about themselves to think about you. Everybody is in their own world. 

Chapter 6

  • The Law of Attraction — What you think about, talk about, believe strongly about, and feel intensely about, you will bring about.
    • Again, you need to know what you want so you can think about it, visualize it, and work towards it. 
  • The Law of Attraction supposedly works via positive vibrations — feeling and thinking excited, enthusiastic, happy, joyful, loving, grateful, and relaxed thought patterns.
    • It also works the other way. If you’re constantly thinking negatively about yourself and others, you will attract negative results and performance. 
    • Always focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.
  • Another aspect of the Law of Attraction is believing that what you want will happen.
    • The law suggests that you should act as if you already have what you want.

Chapter 7

  • Goal-setting is huge. Once you establish a vision for yourself and decide what you want, it’s time to set goals that will help you get there.
    • Always write down your goals and review them regularly.
    • When you give your subconscious mind a set of goals, it will guide you to them.
      • Visualize yourself accomplishing the goal.
    • Less than 4% of people write down their goals and review them.
  • When writing out your goals, list exactly what you want and by when.
    • Be very, very specific when writing down your goals.
    • Begin each entry by writing “I will” before stating the goal.
    • Ex. I will own a house with a pool by June, 2019. 
  • There are three things that hinder goal accomplishment:
      1. Considerations — Reason why you shouldn’t go for the goal
      2. Fears — Fear of failure, fear of rejection 
      3. Road Blocks — External issues and obstacles

Chapter 8

  • Always break a big goal into smaller parts and form a sort of roadmap to the end goal.
  • Use daily goals and habits to keep you on schedule.

Chapter 9

  • Success leaves clues. Study successful people. 
    • Study the mindset they had and the things they did to get where they are.
    • There are books they will give you these clues.
    • There are mentors that can give these clues. Never be afraid to ask successful people for tips or advice. 
      • This can often be the most efficient way to learn from them. Ask them. Pick their brain.

Chapter 10

  • Most things that you want are just outside your comfort zone. 
    • The comfort zone is almost like your own prison. The comfort zone limits you in so many ways and prevents you from maximizing your potential. 
    • You have to learn to challenge your comfort zone and push yourself to do things that are uncomfortable. That’s ultimately how you grow.
  • By thinking the same thoughts, you create the same images in your mid.
    • These images control our behavior, which produces the same results, which then reinforces those same original thoughts.
      • This cycle leads to an endless loop of bad results. 
      • Ex. Public Speaking — Most people, myself included, are not great at public speaking. This leads to us thinking that we can’t speak in public. We visualize ourselves failing during a presentation. These thoughts and visuals create fear in the mind, which leads to subpar performance when we do actually have to give the presentation, which then reinforces our thought that we aren’t good at public speaking.
    • To break out of a negative thinking cycle, you have to think about and visualize the new reality you want for yourself.
  • Affirmation — Stating your goals as already completed. There are seven keys:
      1. Start each sentence with “I am”
      2. Use the present tense
      3. State it in the positive, not the negative
      4. Keep it brief
      5. Make it specific
      6. Include an action word that ends in ‘-ing’ 
      7. Include at least one feeling word

Chapter 11

  • Visualization — One of the most under-utilized mental tools.
  • The nervous system doesn’t know the difference between a real and imagined experience.
    • This was also mentioned in Psycho-Cybernetics.
  • Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus used detailed visualization for almost everything in his life.
  • Try to visualize daily.
  • When you give yourself detailed, vivid, colorful mental pictures and visualizations of what you want, your mind will find a way to get there. The key is to continuously think about what you want.
    • It works in reverse, too. If you constantly feed yourself negative visuals, you’ll consistently find results that match those pictures.
  • Visualization Process:
      1. Close your eyes and see your goal as completed. 
        • Visualize in the first-person.
      1. Be very detailed, clear, and bright. 
        • Add sounds, tastes, and feelings to your visualizations. 
        • Try to feel what you would feel if you accomplished the goal.
  • Athletes, Olympians, and other successful people use visualization regularly. It’s an important mental tool.
  • Vision Board — Collection of pictures of things/accomplishments you want. 
    • Put them all on a board ad look at the board regularly to help the visualization process.
  • Quote: “Create a vision of who you want to be, then live into that picture as if it were already true.” — Arnold Schwarzenneger 

Chapter 12

  • Quote: “Believe and act as if it is impossible to fail.”
    • Think, talk, act, and feel like the person you want to be.
    • Believe it, act like it, think about it. Do it now.
  • Successful people exude self-confidence. They know what they want and everything they do is geared towards accomplishing their goals.
    • They think anything is possible. They take risks and celebrate their success.

Chapter 13

  • You have to take action in addition to visualizing and believing.
    • Once you’ve identified what you want, set goals to get there, and visualized yourself getting there, it’s time to start working.
  • There’s never a perfect time to do anything. Sometimes you have to just jump in and get your hands dirty.
    • Whether you fail or succeed, you learn so much by taking action. When you fail, you learn even more. 
  • Many people don’t take action because they are afraid to fail.
    • Successful people know and understand that failure is an important part of the learning process. 
      • They know failure allows you to adjust and make changes to improve. 
      • They know failure is just a stepping stone to success.
      • Don’t be afraid to fail. If anything, welcome it. You learn a ton by trying and failing. 

Chapter 14

  • Don’t waste time by planning for the perfect moment to take action. Just do it. 
    • Feel the fear and do it anyway.
  • Some of the most important things in life can only be learned by doing. 
    • By doing things, you get feedback that you can use to make adjustments.

Chapter 15

  • F.E.A.R — Fantasized. Experiences. Appearing. Real.
    • Most of our fears are self-created negative thoughts and visualizations. We create it.
      • We get hooked by these ‘mental movies’ and allow them to get us all stirred up.
      • Meditation training and living in the present moment is helpful here. Meditation is designed to help you stay in the moment and prevent you from buying in to the dramatic, made-up stuff your mind throws at you. 
  • Fear is natural and you will HAVE TO experience it to get anywhere in life.
    • Successful people feel fear, but don’t allow it to stop them from doing what they want. 
    • Acknowledge the fear, but don’t allow it to prevent you from owing important tasks.
  • Many people will do anything to avoid fear and stay in their comfort zone.
    • Bu if you don’t confront fear and take risks, you can’t get anywhere in life. 
  • Quote: “Great things don’t happen without taking risks. Progress always requires risk.”
  • Every time you feel fear and do it anyway, you build confidence.
    • Make it a habit to attack fear, rather than allowing it to attack you. Will Smith wrote about this in his book.
      • Every time you attack fear, it gradually loses power over you.

Chapter 16

  • Accomplishing your goals and maximizing your potential requires sacrifice. 
    • You have to be willing to do things others aren’t willing to do. When you do this, you’re able to gain an advantage and make the most progress.
  • Paying the Price — Willingness to do what it takes to get the job done. 
    • Be willing to go through growing pains when doing something new.

Chapter 17

  • Don’t be afraid to ask people for things and lean on others.
    • Many people fear rejection and are simply afraid to ask.
  • Never assume you will hear a ‘no.’
    • If you do get a ‘no’, oh well. You’re at the same spot as you were before. 
    • If it’s a ‘yes’, you are far better off than before.
  • Ask as if you expect to get it. Try to have that mindset.
    • When you ask, be very specific with your request.
      • Ex. “I want a raise of $10,000.”
  • Don’t be afraid to ask several times. Sometimes changes in circumstances and/or mood can lead the same person to say ‘yes’ after initially saying not.’
  • You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by asking.
    • Just ask! If it’s a ‘no’, no biggie.
    • Try not to fear rejection — it’s never personal. You have to be willing to risk the possibility of rejection in life. 
  • Law of Averages — If you keep asking, you will get a ‘yes’ at some point.
    • You have to risk the possibility of rejection though. It’s just part of the process. 

Chapter 18

  • Rejection is a natural part of life and it’s never personal. 
    • Don’t allow the fear of it to hold you back. 
  • Rejection is a flawed concept that you hold in your mind. 
    • Ex. Dating — If you ask a girl out to dinner and she says ‘no’, well, you didn’t have anybody to eat dinner with before you asked so oh well. It only gets bad if you add something extra to it. Like, “I’m an unattractive failure because she said ‘no’ to me.”
  • You don’t lose anything if someone says ‘no.’ You have so much to gain.
  • Some people will say ‘yes’, some people will say “no.” It’s a numbers game. 
    • Keep asking until you get a ‘yes’!
  • The fact is, there is going to be a lot of rejection on your way to your goals. 
    • Have the mindset of, “onto the next one.”

Chapter 19

  • Once you take action, you’ll start to get feedback that will help you develop and move forward.
    • Once you get feedback, you have to be willing to learn from it. 
  • Negative feedback is just as valuable as positive feedback.
    • Negative feedback is great. It gives you areas to improve.
    • Never take negative feedback personally. It’s ultimately a good thing that will help you make adjustments. 
  • If you consistently take action and respond positively to feedback, you will get to your goals eventually.
  • If negative feedback crushes you, you will get nowhere. 
    • Have an open mind and be willing to learn from negative feedback. 
  • Be willing to ask for feedback. Ask people how you can do better and improve. 

Chapter 20

  • High achievers are committed to continuous improvement.
    • If you want to be successful, you have to constantly ask yourself: “How can I do better? Where can I improve?”
  • Commit yourself to getting just a little bit better each day.
    • Try to get 1% better each day. 
  • Small, daily habits build confidence and self-esteem. They lead you to success.

Chapter 21

  • Keep score and measure progress in all areas of your life.
    • Are you improving? Are you actually getting better? Important to measure progress. 

Chapter 22

  • Persistence is one of the greatest qualities of successful people.
    • The longer you hang in there, the more likely you’ll get it done.
    • It won’t always be easy, but successful people refuse to give up.
    • Ex. The movie Dallas Buyers Club was turned down many, many times before finally being filmed.

Chapter 23

  • Do five things every day they will help you towards your goal.
    • Good daily habits are essential. 

Chapter 24

  • Always look to exceed expectations.
    • Don’t just do what is asked. Do it even better. Go the extra mile.
    • By going the extra mile, you make an impression that allows you to get promotions, get paid more, and feel good overall.
  • Make exceeding expectations part of your identity. Always look to do the unexpected.
    • When you do the unexpected, it makes an impression. 
  • The little things matter just as much as the small things when it comes to showing you care. 
    • Ex. If you sell a house, leave a bottle of wine for the new owners.

Chapter 25

  • We become like the people we hang out with.
    • Try to surround yourself with successful people. You learn from them by just watching them and being around them. 
  • Try not to be around people who are negative and criticize, complain, and blame.

Chapter 26

  • Focus on your successes, not failures.
    • Repeatedly visualize your past successes.
  • Focusing on past success boosts self-esteem.
    • The more self-esteem you have, the better you feel about yourself and the more risks you are willing to take. The more risks you take, the more you win.

Chapter 27

  • Successful people maintain a positive focus, no matter what is happening.
    • They focus on their past successes not failures.
    • They focus on what is next. They don’t dwell on past mistakes or failures.

Chapter 28

  • Clean up things you have not completed.

Chapter 29

  • Forgive people. Nobody is perfect. 
  • Hold yourself to high standards, but be lenient and understanding with others.

Chapter 30

  • Successful people are more focused on finding out why things are going wrong and fixing it than denying or defending their position if they messed up. 
    • Rather than complaining or playing the blame game, successful people focus on finding solutions and executing on those ideas.

Chapter 31

  • Change is inevitable. When change happens, you can either embrace it and learn how to benefit from it, or you can resist it and get run over by it.
  • When you embrace change and see it as part of life and a way to make your life richer and more fulfilling, you will take off. 
    • Look at change as potential for growth and new experiences, rather than something to be afraid of.
  • You should embrace change because it will help you grow a ton. 

Chapter 32

  • A man is literally what he thinks.
  • Research has indicated that we have roughly 50,000 thoughts per day.
    • It also says that for most people, 80% of it is negative internal talk.
    • These thoughts affect our attitude, our motivation to act, and our physiology.
  • Thoughts actually affect our behavior, like stuttering, constantly spilling things, forgetting your lines, feeling scared, etc.
    • Your body (blood pressure, sweat, body temperature) reacts to your thoughts. 
    • Positive thoughts affect the body in a positive way, making you relaxed and alert.
      • Positive thoughts increase endorphins in the brain, and pleasure.
  • The key to conquering negative thinking is to realize that you are in charge and you don’t have to agree with every thought. Just because you think it, doesn’t mean it’s true.
    • Meditation teaches you to observe your thoughts and not get hooked by them. 
    • You can also challenge negative thoughts — Is this thought helping or hurting me? Is it motivating me to action? Or is it causing worry or doubt?
      • Learn to talk back to these negative thoughts. The mind can be very irrational.

Types of Negative Thinking 

    1. Always or Never Thinking
      • Very few things are ‘always’ or ‘never.’
      • Ex. “I’ll never get a raise.”
        • Challenge and replace these thoughts. 
    2. Negative Focus
      • Focusing on only the bad, not a good situation.
      • Learn to look for the positive in every situation.
      • Focus on living with gratitude. 
    3. Catastrophic Predicting
      • You can create the worst possible scenario in your mind, then act like it is a certainty.
        • This is called ‘getting hooked.’ 
    4. Mind Reading 
      • When you think you know what someone else is thinking, even though they haven’t said anything to you.
      • You’re essentially projecting your own insecure thoughts on to others and assuming they are thinking what you’re thinking. 
      • The fact is, you don’t know anything until they say it to your face.
    5. Guilt-Tripping
      • Thoughts of “shoulda, coulda, woulda.”
      • These are usually thoughts of regret. 
    6. Labeling 
      • Attaching a negative label to yourself or someone else. 
    7. Personalizing 
      • When you assume the worst.
      • Ex. Jessica hasn’t texted me back. She must be mad at me.
    • Quote: “You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts bring you” — James Allen
      • Talk to yourself like a winner. Have confidence in yourself and your abilities. 
    • The Inner Critic — The negative voice in your mind constantly criticizing and doubting.
      • The inner critic rarely gives the whole story. Question it. 
      • Negative thoughts are ultimately normal and are designed to make you better. But we all tend to overdo it and get carried away.
      • Try to turn your inner critic into your inner coach. Rather than dwell on the negative part of a thought, focus on what the inner critic is trying to improve. 

Chapter 34

  • Develop better habits. Your habits lead to your outcomes and results.
    • Positive habits create positive results. 
  • Make a list of bad habits and begin actively replacing them with good habits.
  • Try to develop 4 new good habits every year. 

Chapter 35

  • Successful people don’t make exceptions or excuses. They commit 100% to the task at hand. 
  • Once you commit to something, you need to have an “all-in” mindset.
    • Once you’ve committed, do the job to the best of your ability.

Chapter 36

  • People who have a lot of knowledge have a big advantage. 
  • Try to read one hour every day. 
    • Aim for one book per week, although this is quite tough.
    • Be well-read on topics like psychology, finance, health, autobiographies. 
  • Quote: “Leaders are readers.”
  • Study and read autobiographies of great people. You can learn from them.
    • Success leaves clues. 
  • Commit yourself to lifelong learning and self-development. 
    • Commit yourself to learning and maximizing your potential. 

Chapter 37

  • Listen and watch stuff to improve as well.

Chapter 38

  • Enthusiasm and passion come from loving what you do.
  • Try to do spend time doing things you love.

Chapter 39

  • Delegate things so you can spend more time working on what you enjoy.
    • We get used to doing EVERYTHING. Try to delegate things, especially if you’re in a management role. 

Chapter 40

  • Focus Days — When you focus on doing what you are great at.
  • Buffer Days — When you prepare for focus days.
  • Free Days — No work-related or productivity-related stuff is done AT ALL.
    • Actively work to increase your number of free days per year. That’s the goal.

Chapter 41

  • Delegate and lean on people for assistance. Work with others!

Chapter 42

  • Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ to tasks that distract you from your goals. 

Chapter 43

  • Great leaders are not born, they are developed. They have developed a unique set of attitudes and skills that are learnable and teachable. 
    1. Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses
      • Your leadership skills improve when you know yourself and how your actions are affecting people.
      • Being self-aware is a trait of all great leaders.
      • Know when you’re wrong and be willing to admit it.
    2. Hold Yourself Accountable, Other Too
      • Take responsibility for your actions.
      • Be willing to give feedback to others when they fall short.
    3. Have a Vision
      • Have a vision for you and your team.
      • Have an unshakeable belief in your vision.
    4. Listen 
      • Listen to others. You can always learn from others.
    5. Coach Others
      • Build people up.
      • 80% of employees said they feel motivated to work harder when their boss shows appreciation.
        • Only 17% of employees said they actually feel appreciated by their boss.

Chapter 44

  • Seek mentors who can give advice and guide you. 
  • Study people in your desired field who are elite at what they do and try to mirror them. 
  • Networking is crucial to success.
    • Careers and businesses are built on relationships.
    • You can acquire different ideas and advice from your network.
    • Keep up with your contacts. Follow up with them.

Chapter 45

  • Consider hiring a coach in your field to accelerate your goals.

Chapter 47

  • Use your intuition. Trust your gut. Do the right thing. 

Chapter 48

  • Truly listen to people. Focus during the conversation. Don’t allow your mind to wander. 
    • Be genuinely interested in other people and what they’re up to. 
    • Be curious about other people.
  • Keep the focus on others, not yourself. 
    • Think about others and how you can help them or make their day.

Chapter 50

  • Always tell the truth.

Chapter 51

  • Speak with impeccability. 
    • This entails speaking words that are true, uplifting, and affirm other people’s worth.
  • Words are the foundation of any relationship. How I speak to you and about you is important. 
  • Never judge people. And never talk crap about people. 
    • Look for the positive in people.

Chapter 53

  • 46% of employees leave their job because they don’t feel appreciated.
    • Appreciate people and express that appreciation!
  • When you appreciate people, you’re grateful for them. And living with gratitude is really important. 

Chapter 54

  • When you give your word that you’re going to do something, you need to keep it.

Chapter 55

  • Live and hold yourself to a high standard. 
  • Maintain dignity and class under pressure.
    • Stay calm, exude confidence and poise. 
  • Be inclusive and courteous of others. 
    • Don’t leave people behind. 

Chapter 56

  • There is a certain psychology to earning enough cash to be financially independent. 
    • It incorporates a lot of what has been discussed in this book. 
    • THINK of yourself as a high earner. Focus on bringing more value. Become more valuable. 

Chapter 57

  • Decide to be financially independent. Make it a goal. Find ways to get there.
    • Increase the number of income streams coming to you. 
    • INVEST!!

Chapter 58

  • Keep a portion of what you earn. Pay yourself first. 
    • Invest at least 10% of every dollar you earn.
    • Take advantage of compound interest. 
  • Make a long-term investment plan. 
  • Make saving and investing money a priority. 
    • Again, take a percentage of every check and invest it. 
  • The 50/50 Law — Never spend more than you save. 
    • Live below your means. Spend wisely and invest your money.
    • Ex. If you want to buy a car for $45,000, if you can’t put an extra $45,000 into savings, you shouldn’t buy it. 
  • Start investing and saving as early in your life as possible.
    • Open an IRA.
    • Participate in your company’s 401k plan. 
  • Most people don’t invest and instead put 100% of their income into expenses and liabilities. 
    • You want to take a portion of your income and invest it in asset-producing assets like stocks and real estate. 
      • The goal is to eventually live off your assets and multiple streams of income. 

Chapter 60

  • Identify a need and fill it to earn more cash. 
  • Commit yourself to becoming more valuable by learning new skills and acquiring knowledge. 

Chapter 62

  • The most satisfaction comes from serving others. 
    • Find a cause you care about and serve it. 
    • Focus on giving rather than getting. 

Chapter 64

  • Positivity starts with being friendly, loving, and caring of yourself. Then you can give that love to others.