The 10 Words That Could Lead You To Great Success

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

The 10 Words That Could Lead You To Great Success
(posted with permission from http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-10-words-that-could-lead-you-to.html)

Having published hundreds of success stories over the years, whether that of Holocaust survivor Felix Zandman who to survive lived in a tiny underground ditch for 17 months and later became a world renown physicist and built a Fortune 500 company, or Elizabeth Keckley, an ex-slave who became a successful businesswoman and a close confidant to Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of President Abraham alincoln, or that of John Van Hengel, who from a dumpster began the world's first food bank, yet they all had one thing in common:

What they had in common can be stated in just 10 words: They committed themselves to their dreams and acted on them.

Many people believe it is only the gifted, the well-educated and the well-connected people that attain great success. But in fact it is almost always those people who have to overcome seemingly overwhelming odds that achieve the extraordinary.

Paul Orfalea, the Kinko's founder was so dyslexic; he could barely read, had no money and could not work a single machine other than a photocopier. Carl Karcher, the founder of Carl's Jr. which also includes Hardee's had an 8th grade education, no money and began with a hot dog cart. Sidney Poitier attended just one year of grade school but self-educated himself and worked as a janitor to receive acting lessons, as he rose from poverty into the famous actor he became.

In every case, it started with a dream, a dream being something everyone has. But the difference was these people committed themselves to make that dream a reality and they put vigorous action behind that commitment.

Ulysses S. Grant failed at everything he ever tried until he focused on his military career, a career that led him to U.S. Civil War victory and he subsequently became president of the United States. Nolan Miller rose from poverty to attain his boyhood dream of dressing most of Hollywood's top leading ladies and Ray Bradbury became a bestselling writer despite having no college education or formal training.

Your success is up to you. You can leave your dreams a fantasy or you can commit yourself to them and take strong action behind them. If so, great things could happen for you as well.

[Duer 157099]

1. "Your success is up to you"

...and "if you fail, it's all your fault"

Uhhhh... yeah, we know.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

4. RE: if you fail, it's all your fault.

There is no failing, as one learns and grows from each step of their journey.

[Warpy]

2. That is a nice story but there is also luck involved

because following your dreams, fully committing to them, and working hard to achieve them is no guarantee you will. That's why our bankruptcy laws are the way they are, to allow people to fail and go on to succeed later without being crippled by a lifetime of debt.

However, if you have the right idea at the right time and in the right place, success is achievable if disaster doesn't strike and that's where the element of luck comes in.

[moondust]

15. +1 for largely luck.

What if Bill Gates had been born 10 years earlier or 10 years later? Or if IBM had given its IBM PC contract to Gary Kildall instead?

Do Apple fans really believe that nobody else would have developed touchscreen cell phones (a.k.a. smartphones) and other portable computing devices (iPad) if Steve Jobs and his slaves in China hadn't?

[Ezlivin]

28. Steve Jobs had "slaves in China"?

Wow.

This is why I love DU: I learn something every day.

Slaves. Actual slaves. Not paid workers, but slaves.

Wow.

[moondust]

32. Thank you.

"Serfs" would be the more accurate term as they are indeed paid a pittance, have little or no power to change their conditions thanks to the heavy hand of a communist government standing by with whatever force is necessary to "elicit cooperation," and are easily replaced should they get sick or die or be late for work when rousted at 3 a.m. to hurry and enhance the obscene profit margin of somebody 7000 miles away whom they'll never be lucky enough to even see in person.

My mistake.

[Ezlivin]

35. Read: Non-union workers

Sounds like they work at WalMart right here in the states.

[Odin2005]

3. RW self-help reactionary horseshit.

[1-Old-Man]

5. You beat me to it.

Dream in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

6. I did not feel that way when I read it...

Or I would not have posted it. But thank you for contributing to the thread.

[Dawson Leery]

23. +1

[mia]

7. Thanks for the post.

Without luck, commitment would have no place to go.


"Luck is where the crossroads of opportunity and preparation meet." Seneca

[Brickbat]

8. While dedicating yourself to your dreams helps ensure success, it does not guarantee it.

We hear about people who dedicated themselves to their dreams and succeeded because they succeeded. But for every one that made it, there are many who don't. You know that, of course.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

11. of course...

But trying to achieve a dream should result in personal growth and wisdom on some level. So no one gains nothing by chasing a dream

[renegade000]

9. uh, i'm pretty sure Ulysses S. Grant's original dream in life was not

to be President of the United States and a famous Civil War general, but rather to live a quiet, bucolic life riding horses with his wife and kids, where he didn't have to drown his loneliness in booze...

going to West Point was pretty much his father's idea, and he was a thoroughly mediocre cadet, who, though at ease on the battlefield, wasn't particularly enamored of the lifestyle. which is why he retired as soon as he could to return to his family and try to make a living on all those ventures that failed...

in some funny way, this lack of military-careerist/political ambition probably made him the right man at the right time to lead the union army to victory. all the other generals prosecuted the war with what could be deemed an overabundance of caution...possibly from careerist considerations (george mclellan was lincoln's opponent in 1864). grant used the natural manpower and logistical advantages of the union to relentlessly pummel lee and the rest of the south into submission... to extremely bloody, but effective ends...

[surrealAmerican]

14. He's a really bad example for the point they are trying to make ...

... not only for the reasons you state, but also for the fact that, although he was definitely a successful general, he wasn't a successful President.

[KG]

18. his career sure didn't take the path portrayed in the article.

i hate the 'anybody can do anything if they just try hard enough' BS...

[Odin2005]

22. Yup, most great people are great because of a mix of being at the right place and right time.

German historian Oswald Spengler noted that when a civilization is still vigorous even mediocre can do amazing things, but as a civilization starts to decay even the best people put out garbage.

[Ikonoklast]

10. Hahahaaaa!!! I LOVE CRAP LIKE THIS!!!

Do you know the four words one must know to become wealthy and successful in this nation, which vastly exceeds any other method, simply by mass numbers?


BE BORN INTO WEALTH.

[Tsiyu]

20. Or these six words:

"Tax shelter in the Cayman Islands"

or just these three: "Screw Labor Blind!"

[zeemike]

29. And they outnumber the ones that try to pull themselves up by bootstraps

their success is assured when they are born...assuming they are not completely stupid...The compounded interest on their trust fund or investment portfolio will make them wealthy-er if they do nothing.
Thus Mitt's success at Bain.
This just feel good clap trap to make you feel like the American dream is alive and well.

[n2doc]

12. More "follow your dream" crap

Did Disney(tm) write this?

[hifiguy]

13. Bullshit.

I was a high-school dropout at 16. After years of pursuing a life of leisurely bass-playing and vending herbal commodities (being a bum, in essence I decided to go to college while working at a dry-cleaning shop where the owner's sister-in-law talked me into giving it a shot. Got my GED on a lark, scoring three 99s, a 95 and a 93. Enrolled at the University of Minnesota at the age of 25, where I graduated four years later summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Was admitted to Harvard Law (and 8 of the other 9 schools to which I applied) and graduated three years later with my J.D. and a B+ average. One of my classmates was one Michelle Robinson, n/k/a Michelle Obama.

Since I graduated I have made $50,000 or more on an annual basis for exactly 60 months out of 24 years. I have been unemployed for 67 months of that time, and under-empoyed for virtually all the rest of that time..

I did it all correctly. Excelled everywhere. Went to the best schools. So why have I failed to the point where my retirement plan - when that day comes in another 10 years or so - is a 9mm pistol and a bullet to the temple?

Simple. I was diagnosed as Asperger's in 2005 while undergoing treatment for a severe depressive episode. I was doomed to fail in the legal profession from the start. It's highly social and I am a fundamentally asocial person with few people skills. Brilliant at certain things but utterly unable to make small talk, ingratiate myself with anyone or understand office politics. I clam up and give one-word answers to people I don't know and trust in situations like job interviews. I also feel incredibly awkward in a suit and never really learned how to be an adult in social terms: never had a date, much less a relationship (now by choice) or ever been able to hold a decent-paying job. When I described Asperger's to a good friend, who was a very high-ranking executive (I met him through our common interest in High End home audio, about which I have written for 15+ years), he said "You not only didn't know the rules, you didn't even know there was a game!" And that's about as concise a description of Asperger's as there is.

So in my mid-50s I still have what I call a Doogie Howser sort of persona - brilliant at certain things but a total social misfit. My day-to-day "lifestyle" is exactly the same as it was when I lived with my late mother when I was in college.

Being smart doesn't mean shit. Being lucky, connected or both means everything once you have jumped the not-very-high hurdle of being "good enough" in terms of intellectual ability. If you can get along, you will rise. If you're an oddball, forget it, unless you have the abililty to invent something.

[deutsey]

16. Although I don't have Asperger's, I have to agree that what you say is true for me.

I grew up in a very poor family situation with some deep dysfunctional stuff going on. As a result, I'm a deeply introverted person. I thrive by myself, one on one, or in small groups of people I trust and like.

Like you, I went to college (the first in my family), have done a lot more than many in my family were able to do (professional job, published a book, recognized for my independent scholarship, etc.), but, also like you, I don't make small talk well, I refuse to ingratiate myself to anyone (everywhere I've worked--gov't, private sector, non-profits--schmoozing and kissing ass seem to be the keys to success), and I steer clear of office politics. Consequently, I'm very marginalized in terms of my career opportunities.

[msongs]

17. your writing is pretty ok, maybe you should try using that skill for your benefit nt

[hifiguy]

19. I have been writing about High End audio

in various magazines and now on a website for more than fifteen years. There is very little, if any, money in it. I do, however, have access to an incredible toybox as a result. The system set up in my music room right now would retail at well over $300,000. All of it is there for review or on "extended loan."

[Odin2005]

21. A fellow Aspie sez + a million!

Working a fast-paced McJob is pretty much impossible for me, I worked at a Mongolian grill-style restaurant called Hu-Hot one summer and I had to quit because I had a nervous breakdown, the place was shoulder-to-shoulder people around noon, mostly rich fucks on lunch break.

I like my current thrift store job because it's laid back and I enjoy working on the book section.

[hifiguy]

24. Bookstores rule!

After getting unceremoniously booted from my first post-law school job at a big firm (they also blackballed me with firms I interviewed with as far away as freaking Los Angeles, just to show what complete shits they were) I managed a sci-fi/comics/alt-lit shop for a few years.

To this day, there is no place I would rather spend time than a well-stocked book shop.

[Hoyt]

27. Few people skills here too. Enjoyed your post.

[tkmorris]

25. Peter Pan philosophy

It's an old idea, popular in self-help circles. Especially well-loved by those "gurus" who make people pay to attend their seminars.

The idea is simply that if you really truly really really believe hard enough, you can fly. Just ignore your own weight, the fact that you do not possess wings, and everything you ever learned about Physics. BELIEVE.

They get away with such nonsense because it's the message people really want to hear in the first place. Who doesn't want to think they can fly? Furthermore no one ever succeeded at anything without trying, so it sounds like good advice. In fact, it IS good advice, to a point. Just remember that the attempt alone is no guarantee of success, and may in fact result in crushing failure. So many people forget that last bit (and the self-help pros certainly never mention it), and overextend themselves pursuing some dream or another.

Chasing your dreams is a fine and noble thing, but if you are gonna bet the house and the kid's college funds on it you might want do a bit of risk analysis first.

[longship]

26. The next extension: The Secret!

I want a unicorn that farts rainbows.
Rebecca Watson, a skeptic activist of some note.

No offense. Self-help wackaloonery.

[HughBeaumont]

30. Ha-Ha-Horatio Alger!

There's no guarantee that determination and working your fingers to the bone will get you anything but bony fingers.

According to Dalton, there is a fundamental tension between the realization of the American Dream based on the Alger myth and the harsh realities of a racial caste system. Obviously, the main point of such a system is to promote and maintain inequality. Conversely, the main point of the Alger myth “is to proclaim that everyone can rise above her station in life. Despite this tension, it is possible for the myth to coexist with social reality. Not surprisingly, then, there are lots of Black folk who subscribe to the Alger myth and at the same time understand it to be deeply false. They live with the dissonance between myth and reality because both are helpful and healthful in dealing with ‘the adverse events of life.’ Many Whites, however, have a strong interest in resolving the dissonance in favor of the myth. Far from needing to be on guard against racial ‘threat[s] or challenge[s],’ they would just as soon put the ugliness of racism out of mind. For them, the Horatio Alger myth provides them the opportunity to do just that.”[7]

The myth suggests we are judged solely on our individual merits, in turn implying that caste has little practical meaning, apart from race-based advantages or disadvantages. Generally Whites are more successful than African Americans, as they are facilitated by their preferred social position, while African Americans believe that they can “simply lift themselves up by their own bootstraps”. It is in America's national interest, Dalton believes, to give the Horatio Alger myth a rest, because it is a mythology that assures us we can have it all, when in reality, “we live today in an era of diminished possibilities.”

[JoePhilly]

31. Paris Hilton had a dream? Who knew ...

A child born into poverty can dream his ass off, and work his ass off too. The chances that he or she escapes poverty is tiny.

Compare that to Paris Hilton. Born into tremendous wealth, the chances that SHE would ever end up poor, non-existent.

This OP is a great example of taking a simple to understand concept (follow your dreams), and trying to suggest that this simple concept, and it alone, is how one succeeds. Silly.

Common career advice, advice I gave my son earlier today actually ... is that if he wants to be successful, he'll need to find a career that he loves, a career that he would do for free. Getting paid to do something that you love to do is what success actually is.

Of course my son is not poor, if he were, his dream would be to survive the trip to school each day. And if we were rich, he'd be able to get a reality show or live off his trust fund and family connections.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

33. After reading all your comments, the author adds,

So often people defeat themselves by creating the reasons why they won’t succeed and then make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. And for those who do succeed, the disgruntled claim it was just “luck,” luck those feeling sorry for themselves didn’t have.


For those with mental or physical limitations, I’m sorry. But many successful people have overcome such limitations. Abe Lincoln suffered from severe bouts of depression and self-doubt and was widely regarded in his time as ugly. He had just one year of grade school and never realized he couldn’t become a lawyer and later President of the United States, a nation in which nearly half the states revolted soon after he was elected, anticipating he would emancipate the slaves.


He had four sons, two of whom died in his lifetime, one of which died during the Civil War, privately crushing his spirit. But he knew as the President, he had to rise to the occasion to lead his nation through what he hoped would be a successful conclusion to the Civil War. During this time he also had to help his wife through her crushing grief, as she virtually collapsed at their son Willy’s death.


Then there is Holocaust survivor Harry Eisen, who had to drop out of school at 13 and later barely survived Auschwitz, losing nearly all of his family at the hands of the Nazis.


After the War, he and his Holocaust survivor wife Hilda came to the U.S. and neither of them spoke English, nor did they have money. But Harry was able to get work and they both learned English.


But living in the land of opportunity, they eventually were able to buy a small home. But because they struggled to survive financially, they started keeping chickens in their yard for the eggs to feed their family.


Gradually Harry added more chickens and then sold the excess eggs to his neighbors. That worked so well, he eventually bought a large but inexpensive plot of land, and kept adding chickens.


When Harry passed away recently, he had one of California’s biggest chicken ranches. More importantly, he took much of the money he had earned and used it to help other Holocaust survivors and many other charities as well, for Harry felt a deep sense of compassion for others in desperate need and he took action to help them.


Harry could have blamed his horrific Holocaust circumstances and failed to become a success, feeling sorry for himself, as he looked at the number the Nazi’s tattooed on his left arm: 144492.


Or he could find ways to deal with his anguish and heartache and make something of himself. Thank God for all of us he chose to do as Abe Lincoln did and make a success of himself.


So with compassion, I’m sorry for the people who posted their skepticism and complained about their unfulfilled lives. But just maybe with a change in their thinking, they will find it is not too late for them to make their lives what they always hoped they could be. For their sake, I hope so.