100 ACTION PRINCIPLES.pdf

100 ACTION PRINCIPLES.pdf

Starting with this defining moment

Love

Friendship

Respect

Prosperity Security Peace Happiness

All await you in the

100 Action Principles

100Action Pri n c i p l e s

By Bill FitzPatrick

Although the American Success Institute has re s e a rched many sources to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this book, the Institute cannot accept any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any other inconsistency herein Any slights against people or organizations are unintentional.

100 Action Principles Copyright © 2000 by the American Success Institute, Inc All rights reserved No part of this book may be re p roduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,

e l e c t ronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the American Success Institute, Inc.

100 ACTION PRINCIPLES ™, MASTER SUCCESS ™, 100 ACTION PRINCIPLES OF THE SHAOLIN ™, POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDES ™, AFRICAN-AMERICANS ON SUCCESS ™,

S P O RTS LEGENDS ON SUCCESS ™, WINNING WITH SMALL BUSINESS ™, TENGA UNA TUD MENTAL POSITIVA ™, WOMEN ON SUCCESS ™, SPORTS LEGENDS ON SUCCESS ™ and ATTITUDES MENTALES POSITIVES ™ are all trademarks of the American Success Institute, Inc Educational and motivational materials from the American Success Institute are available at spe- cial discounts for bulk purchases For additional information, contact:

ACTI-American Success Institute, 5 North Main Street, Natick, MA 01760

w w w s u c c e s s o rg Phone: 508-651-3303 e-mail: info@success.org

C o v e r, book design, typography, and electronic pagination by Painted Turtle Pro d u c t i o n s , Newton, MA www.paintedturtle.com

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 1-884864-13-9

5 Submit to a Higher Power 1 8

6 Don’t Complicate Matters 1 9

7 Commit to Never Ending

I m p ro v e m e n t 2 0

8 Be Frugal 2 1

9 Make Today Special 2 2

1 0 Record Your Thoughts 2 3

1 1 Use the Power of Patience 2 4

1 2 Maintain A Positive Mental Attitude 2 5

1 9 S p read Your Enthusiasm 3 2

2 0 Applaud the Beginner 3 3

2 1 Give Yourself the Gift of

3 6 Maintain Your Pre s e n c e 4 9

3 7 Act as You Feel 5 0

3 8 A p p reciate Your Appeal 5 1

3 9 Develop Your Sense of Humor 5 2

4 7 Develop Winning Habits 6 0

4 8 Do What Others Can’t 6 1

4 9 Accept Hard Wo r k 6 2

5 0 Ve n t u re Outside The Box 6 3

5 1 Communicate with Ease 6 4

5 2 Avoid Negative People 6 5

5 3 Stay Fit and Healthy 6 6

5 4 Relax Your Body 6 7

5 5 Invest In Your Future 6 8

5 6 R e t i re Early 6 9

5 7 Have Faith 7 0

5 8 Follow Your Code of Honor 7 1

6 6 Run the Short Road 7 9

6 7 M a rch the Long Road 8 0

6 8 Close the Door on the Past 8 1

6 9 Avoid Thinking That … 8 2

7 0 Count the Ti m e 8 3

7 1 Act With Boldness 8 4

7 2 Rejoice In the Day 8 5

7 3 Do What You Love Doing 8 6

7 4 A p p reciate Your Customers 8 7

8 6 Read, Read, Read 9 9

8 7 Respect and Defend All Life 1 0 0

8 8 Honor The Military 1 0 1

8 9 Tre a s u re the Earth 1 0 2

9 0 Allow Your Opponent

Master Success Maxims 1 1 4

The Two Rules of Master Success 1 1 5

The Master Success Daily Dozen 1 1 6

3 Rules To Master Success

In Business 1 1 7

20 Distinguishing Characteristics

Of A Master 1 1 8

S u c c e s s o rg 1 1 9About Our Publications 1 2 0 - 1 2 1Please Join Us In Our Wo r k 1 2 2Action Challenges 1 2 3

R e a d … 1 2 4What people are saying about

Master Success 1 2 5

About Bill FitzPatrick 1 2 6Let’s Begin 1 2 7 - 8

I n t ro d u c t i o n

What is so inviting about the tried and true advice of the Action

Principles is that the beneficial results are immediate.You don’t have to spend a year in graduate school,two days fasting or an hour chanting Just stop, take afew deep breaths, read for a moment and think Yo u

can change your life for the better in aninstant You can make an immediate deci-sion to become more aware of how you areliving your life and recognize your personalchoice to be happy Guided by your aware n e s sand these Action Principles, you can act You canlisten more, smile more, be more patient and volunteer

m o re often You can take the lead and be in control You canchoose to be a better partner, parent, friend, son, daughter,

e m p l o y e r, employee and citizen In short, you have the God givenpower to choose a life of self-improvement and a commitment to help-ing others And, no one can take this power from you You can live an

active life and be successful, happy and at peace.

The tone of the 100 Action Principles is motivational These Action Principles arefor you, a self-reliant take-charge person of action willing to study and work hardfor yourself, your family and the larger community The Action Principles are not

p resented as religious principles but rather as ideals common to all major re l i g i o n s The Action Principles are not commandments but inspirational guides to re i n f o rc eyour own value system The intent is to challenge and stimulate your thinking asyou create your own independent success philosophy formalized in your dailyaction plans, your to-do list

Give the Action Principles a month Enroll in our free e-mail program on

S u c c e s s o rg Every morning, we will send you one of the Action Principles and ashort Master Meditation Mantra Commit a few minutes to reading and re f l e c t i n gupon each day’s principle Next, commit to telling one new person every day aboutthe Action Principles Challenge yourself and challenge 30 others to be their best!This is what it’s all about; helping yourself as you help others

With the habit of reviewing an Action Principle each day, you will become thebeneficiary of both tangible benefits like more money, a better job and impro v e dhealth and intangible benefits like love, respect, friendship and peace of mind As

you begin to fulfill your own personal and financial goals, you will find that youwill have the re s o u rces, time and peace of mind to share your good fortune andpositive attitude with others You will have created success to share Your life willevolve from making a living to making a diff e rence Achievement by achievement,better day by better day, with persistence, you will continue to find that your poten-tial is almost unlimited.

No one is choosing you to become successful You are selecting yourself Mostpeople will not be able to see the power contained in the simplicity of these words.They will read them with casual interest and move on You can choose to be dif-

f e rent You can choose to be extraordinary In this defining moment, you canchoose to make the 100 Action Principles your principles for your life

The Action Principles are Level One, the Aw a reness Level, of the six levels of

the Master Success System To learn more about the life enrichment possibilities of the Master Success System, visit our website at Success.org

Bill FitzPatrick

The Action Principles

The Action Principles present an outlook on how to live harmoniously yetcomfortably in the modern world They are gems of action-oriented advice thatcan guide us in our lifelong quest for spiritual and mental growth, health andfinancial prosperity The principles evolve from the important lessons to be

l e a rned from self-reliance The principles offer us a perspective to assess where

we are and where we hope to go There are many time tested motivational ims embedded in the principles

max-The Action Principles should help us to develop a mental and physical ness to handle the rigors of everyday living as we work toward our goals TheAction Principles should help us to develop a mental and physical softness

tough-e x p rtough-esstough-ed in an inntough-er ptough-eactough-e from thtough-e knowltough-edgtough-e that wtough-e artough-e putting forth ourbest eff o r t s

Set Goals

Unless you shape your life, circumstances will shape it for you You have to work,sacrifice, invest, and persist to get the results you want Choose them well You can’tstart your planning until you know where you want to go

You are the sculptor of your own image Have others already done what you want

to do? Study them and do what they did Start anywhere, at anytime, and persist Stopworrying what others think about what you can or can’t do Believe in yourself andyour abilities Have the self-confidence to challenge your current situation This isyour life to live; it’s day by day and step by step

Write down your goals Only three percent of people have written goals and onlyone percent review those written goals daily Be in that elite one percent Vi s u a l i z ethe attainment of your goals often Goals are dreams with dates attached You willonly become as great and as happy as the goals you choose

Divide and Conquer

A common denominator among the successful is that they are focused onthe immediate accomplishment of specific objectives Separate the important

f rom the urgent and allow time for both Break down any large task into a series

of small tasks and start taking action In the beginning, don’t be too concern e dwith how you will achieve your goals With commitment, re s e a rch and patience,the means will come Answers materialize when the facts have been collected.Your goals will evolve into a set of action-oriented objectives, which willbecome a series of to-dos

Now prioritize If you don’t prioritize your day’s activities, everything is ofequal importance Whether one thing gets done or not doesn’t matter You wantyour activities to be important, to have had a clearly defined purpose Write yourto-do list every day Prioritize it Make at least one of your daily objectives a chal-lenge At the end of each day, you’ll be able to relax and bask in that wonder-ful feeling of accomplishment

Write a Personal Mission Statement

Create for yourself an evolving document that outlines your purpose in life Who

a re you? What are your values? What do you intend to do with your time to makeyour one life meaningful? Excepting acts of God, it is you who determines your

f u t u re You don’t have to listen to those who say you are too old, too young, too

p o o r, too unattractive, too uneducated or the wrong color, gender or nationality.They are not speaking of someone following the Action Principles

When you read inspirational passages in other books, magazines or newspapers, writethem down or clip them out Put everything together in a folder or box This will serve

as your motivational reserve and will help you create a personal mission statement.Your mission statement only has to be a few sentences or paragraphs Refer to yourmission statement periodically and don’t be afraid to change it as you grow A missionstatement will help you to establish a foundation upon which you can build your dre a m sand goals and from which will flow your objectives and daily to-do list

Follow Thro u g h

Follow through to make sure that you’ve done the job right Follow thro u g h

to say thank you and offer new ideas Follow through to ask for morebusiness You earn respect by saying what you’re pre p a red to do

and then doing exactly that Follow through shows that you are

a person of your word and someone who cares It shows that

you are accessible and that you want to keep the lines of

communication open You may make mistakes and follow

t h rough gives you the opportunity to correct and to learn

f rom those mistakes Personalize your follow-up with

handwritten notes and phone calls Small gifts,

tickets and lunches may also be appro p r i a t e

follow-up incentives Check up on yourself

and reap the rewards Follow through

ampli-fies your eff e c t i v e n e s s

Submit to a Higher Power

Look at the big picture You build your life upon your faith You cherish yourfaith You aren’t afraid to tell others of your beliefs You stand for positive val-ues You are ethical in your dealings You pray and meditate to have the courage

to face your fears You pray and meditate to have the strength to accept, endureand triumph over the hardships and small daily annoyances that the path to suc-cess will present You celebrate the good that you find in the world

With humility, submit You are but one fragile, fallible human Every re l i g i o nhas prayers A prayer is your conversation with God Your success and happi-ness is God’s answer Your selfless good works in helping others are yourprayers put into action

D o n ’t Complicate Matters

Don’t complicate your life Think before you act Look for the simple ways

or answers first where less can go wrong Work from your basics Make sure thatyou understand the assignment or the problem before you begin What are thetime and perf o rmance expectations that will indicate satisfactory completion?Reexamine how you are doing things Is a task consuming all of your time? Is itworth the time you are investing? Do you have the necessary re s o u rces? Can it

be delegated? If so, is the right person assigned to complete the job? Yo u r

re s e a rch, your quiet time, your commitment to teamwork and your prioritizedto-do list should all help Pare away the unnecessary Even the philosophyunderlying these Action Principles can be stated very simply Improve yourselfand help others

Commit to Never Ending Impro ve m e n t

Constantly seek ways to do things better in all areas of your life The Japanesehave a word for the concept of never ending improvement, kaizen Pro g ress andultimate success come to those who train and keep training If you choose tostop and become aware, you can become a better spouse, son, daughter, friend,

e m p l o y e r, employee, athlete and citizen

Commitment comes from the inside out and is tested often Measure yourselfagainst the best Most others will choose to be average This is what averagemeans You won’t know your limits if you don’t keep trying Reject the idea ofgood enough Commit to excellence Take each of your goals and think of howyou can improve one percent each month Success is a journey It is not a quickfix The joy is in the doing Think of success not as a peak to be climbed but ahigh plateau to be walked

Always encourage children or employees to do their best and to keep going.Set the bar high for yourself and them You will all be the better for it

Be pragmatic To build an investment bankroll, you can work more or youcan spend less Many people who write and stick to a household budget findthat the simple act of thinking and organizing before spending can yield savings

of between 10% - 15% of their earnings without seriously compromising theirlifestyles Give yourself a raise by being frugal

Make Today Special

Many people enjoy using the first few minutes of the day for their re f l e c t i v etime How did yesterday go? What do you want to accomplish today? What will

be most important? This, of course, becomes your prioritized to-do list How willtoday vary from your usual routine? Can you think of any small things that youcan do? Perhaps there is something that you’ve been avoiding, that, if you do it,would make you feel especially proud of yourself

Give each day a specific purpose For unsuccessful, unhappy people, there isoften a sameness to their days Is it Monday or Thursday? Is it March orNovember? Is it 3 o'clock in the afternoon or 10 o'clock in the morning? They’re

in a rut and it doesn't matter

Everybody has the same amount of time each day How are you going to spendyour 24 hours? Plan in advance Make lists Lists are your road map to personalaccomplishment and balanced living Always carry paper and pen What are you doing today to ensure a better tomorrow for yourself and your family?

1 0

Record Your Thoughts

Carry index cards, a hand-held computer or a small notebook Borrow kins to write on As you become an action-oriented person, positive thoughtswill occur with increasing regularity Write down your ideas You will have goodideas because you will have many ideas Review your notes before your quiettime or before bed You will become your own best therapist You will see theways to solving your own problems, finding your own route to happiness andrealizing your own dreams Spend most of your time thinking about solutionsand not problems Get back to recording your thoughts

nap-1 nap-1

Use the Power of Patience

You can handle most problems because you know that only a little timestands between you and your goal It may take twenty calls to make a sale Bepatient It might take you five attempts to quit smoking or lose weight It mighttake ten applications to get the job you really want The point is that you try andkeep trying until you succeed Most people quit too soon Be persistent Bepatient Concentrate on your major goal until you have achieved it It is not whatyou did yesterday It is not what you may be doing today It is what you are pre-

p a red to do every day That one cold morning when you want to roll over butinstead get up and go to the gym, is a defining moment

Remember that all wealth, all businesses, all real estate and all tre a s u res tually pass from old hands to young Be pre p a red Your time is coming

You are thankful to have the curiosity to keep learning You are grateful tosee opportunity knock so often You are thankful to have the personality to keepmaking new friends Your mind can only hold one thought at a time so makethat one thought positive Count your blessings The way is clear The world is

a better place because you are in it

1 3

Risk Failure

Be ready There is no better time to start taking positive action than rightnow You re s e a rch and you have confidence in your preparations You don’tallow yourself to become paralyzed by indecision You realize that a time comeswhen you must act If you hesitate too long, doubts will linger and turn intofears Yes, you may stumble Yes, you may be rejected Yes, you may fail This

is life Life’s winners accept that in trying they may have to adjust and even startagain and again The diff e rence between successful people and others is notwhether you make mistakes or even temporarily fail, but how you re s p o n d Many people look for guarantees before taking independent action Yet, inseeking assurances, they frequently receive cautions, which can easily be used

as excuses for inaction Be aware that those who love you the most may be theloudest in warning you not to risk

1 4

Get Tough

Tough means that you are willing to stand tall and persevere Even when yourmind and body signal perfectly good reasons for giving up, you go on This tough isobvious But tough can be seen every day if we choose to look Tough may be apatient undergoing cancer treatments or a single mother struggling to raise childre n Tough can be an alcoholic ready to face rehab or an athlete living in a wheelchair.Tough can be rejecting false praise and honestly accepting you and your children forwho and what you are Tough is an ability to make the best from what you are given.Tough is making the decision to replace self-pity, complaints and dependence with

s e l f - reliance, independence and action

You’ve got to be tough to do the big things in life like taking risks, admitting takes, and changing bad habits You’ve got to be tough to do the little things like bit-ing your tongue, waiting your turn and putting up with fools Self-reliance and self-confidence will demand your toughness Then, you must temper toughness withkindness, realizing that many times it will be tough to be kind Be kind anyway

mis-1 5

Cause Change

The status quo may be comforting, but for there to be growth, there must bechange Since you seek growth, you must seek change You must see yourselfand your environment not only as it is, but also as it could and should be Yo useek the changes necessary to reach the better you so that you can play yourpart in making a better world

First, you change yourself Can you change your day and spend more timewith your family? Can you change your standard lunch routine and take a walk?Can you change your drive home and stop at a nursing home for twenty min-utes and see someone who may have few visitors? Can you change your off i c ehabits and find the time to make five more phone calls? What are the possibleconsequences of not changing? Realize that many people don’t make plansbecause they don’t want to risk any change Doing little with your life is mucheasier and safer than taking risks, but then you will be a small person Instead,seek the changes which will allow you to be all that you can be

1 6

Pass The Te s t

Life is a test and the points on that test are earned by how much attention yougive to improving yourself and helping others When your test is graded, to whatwill you attribute your success: study, hard work, personality, talent, skill, oppor-tunity, connections, patronage or luck? No amount of material success earn e dand kept will be awarded credit The greater your blessings, the greater yourobligation to share your good fortune

Use your special talents to serve the common good Let your actions be vated by a commitment to charity and justice Be compassionate, kind and con-siderate Free yourself from your attachment to things The Action Principles

moti-a re your idemoti-als Right now is the time to consider your blessings Stmoti-art scoring

p o i n t s

h a rm and would assist you in time of need Don’t waste your time thinking erwise Do not become a party to rumor or gossip.

oth-Reject stereotypes and the divisive and demeaning policies that group peopleinto categories Be the first to build bridges of tolerance and understanding

1 8

Master Success

Th e re is a master inside you It is an ideal It is you at your best Keep working

You are calm, thoughtful, patient and confident

You are honest, trustworthy, responsible and re l i a b l e

You are loyal and pro u d

You are humble and re v e re n t

You are tough, self-reliant, persistent and hard working

You are organized, neat and poised

You are inquisitive and teachable

You are healthy, vibrant and enthusiastic

You are kind, friendly, helpful and genero u s

You are brave and daring

You are moral and ethical

1 9

Spread Your Enthusiasm

Putting the Action Principles to work in your life will elevate your soul andlift your spirit You will feel a zest for life You will live full, enriched days Thiswill happen because you will have taken the quiet time to think, organize andprioritize your days You will love many things and these things will become part

of your day You will be in control Every day you will do good things for self and others Words like boring, bland and uneventful will rarely describe yourwork or your re l a t i o n s h i p s

your-Listen to your favorite CD Call a friend Read a good book Smile Hear See.Feel Smell Take a walk and look at all the wonders of your world Let every-one in your life know that life is worth living

Be known as a motivator Ask others about their goals and how you can helpthem Make people feel part of a successful team Solicit their input Keep every-one informed and involved Establish perf o rmance incentives Look for oppor-tunities to praise and reward Enthusiasm is contagious

2 0

Applaud the Beginner

You walk into a karate school for a first visit and seekicking, punching, blocking, chopping and flipping Itcan be intimidating if you’ve never done these things

O r, you may look and feel awkward learning to snowski or rollerblade or taking a foreign language Butpersist; this is your first day and there will never beanother first day

Any new endeavor may be tough in the beginning.Accept this You must believe in yourself Initially, crit-ics may feel free to ridicule your ideas and goals asfoolish and unrealistic When you ultimately succeed,everyone will claim to have been on your team fro mthe beginning Take action and persist Applaud thosewho try, because the first step is often the toughest.Welcome the newcomer

2 1

G i ve Yourself the Gift of S e l f - R e l i a n c e

If there is one gift that you can give yourself that will enhance the overallquality of your life, it is self-reliance You already possess everything you willneed to succeed You can work on your own schedule toward your own goalswithout feeling pre s s u red by the demands of others

When you are self-reliant, if you lose your job, you’ll get another If you losethat job, you’ll start your own business You can make more money as a self-employed handyman applying the Action Principles to your work than a lazylawyer will ever earn You need the will, the self-confidence and a realistic plan

As a follower of the Action Principles, you will have them Life just can’t get youdown because you are in control of yourself

2 2

Lead by Example

Start acting immediately as the person you will be, a person of character with

a sound reputation Your words, your manner, your attitude, your dress, your

p o s t u re and your actions are all reflections In modern society, people are stantly bombarded with visual and auditory messages People need cues to sortgood from bad and to find order so that they can make decisions In many dif-

con-f e rent aspects ocon-f your daily licon-fe, you are giving ocon-fcon-f cues that can be positive ornegative If you speak well, dress appropriately, smile, are courteous, work hard,volunteer and don’t complain, you give people short cuts to view you in yourbest light

You must never expect others to do what you would not do You must be fair,

f i rm, friendly and dependable If you have to correct someone, do it in private.You have succeeded as a leader when your team works just as well in yourabsence Be constantly on the lookout for heroes in your own life to admire andemulate Adopt their styles Then, lead by example

2 3

C o n t rol Conflict

Remain calm and detached Allow others to rage while you consider the

a p p ropriate response Should you reason, agree, apologize, fight or leave? Which

is to your benefit and to the benefit of those you must protect? Arguing oftenmakes the other party become more defensive and determined to prevail Let go

of your anger It only clouds the issue and draws you into a quick re s p o n s e Whenever possible use kindness as your weapon against evil Neutralize shout-ing with soft words Answer threats with serene confidence Speak plainly Don’tuse foul language or sarcasm Breathe deeply with long exhalations Let theanger wash over you Maintain your presence Don’t exaggerate Don’t lie Attackthe argument and not the person

Long term relationships are almost always more important than short-term

p roblems Be an active peacemaker, building bridges of understanding

2 4

Listen to Your Instincts

“ Idon’t feel comfortable here I don’t like the sound of this This doesn’t look right to me.”

With regard to your body or surroundings, your instincts are your best early

w a rning system Listen to the inner voice Listen to that gut feeling Go to the

d o c t o r Leave the party Get away from these people Quit this job Don’t openthat door Duck into that store The world is an imperfect place There are dan-

g e rous places and people

Every once in a while, your instincts may be off and you may feel foolish Err

on the side of safety and your instincts may save you from danger Give self time or space to consider your options It is foolhardy to do otherwise

your-2 5

Face Fear

Knowledge, practice and courage are your weapons against fear

One person can step out of an airplane door at 2,000 feet without hesitation.Another can stand before an audience of 2,000 and give a speech without bre a k i n ginto a sweat Fears can be rational or irrational, but they are always personal and re a l Everyone fears something

To diminish a fear, you must first face it The one hundredth skydive or speechwon’t be as traumatic as the first The best way to deal with first fears is through acombination of logic and bravery Logically, most people who jump from planes orgive speeches don’t die They succeed through preparation If your equipment isright and your training is complete, you are ready to jump If your speech is care-fully crafted and practiced, you are ready to speak

Associate with confident people You have seen many who have already done whatyou fear doing Now, do what they have done Courage grows with action Fear is

l e a rned and must be unlearned After facing that fear, you will feel exhilarated Wi t h o u t

f e a r, there can be no courage Fear provides the opportunity to be brave

2 6

D o n ’t Be A Perfectionist

Trying to be perfect takes too much time and effort It creates too much stre s sand is impossible anyway Instead, strive to relax at the 90% level This is thepersonal mastery level Following the Action Principles, reaching the 90% level

in most of your financial and social endeavors will be something that you don’teven have to think about It will happen through your persistence, determ i n a-tion, hard work and nice personality

Right now, learn about the income and the lifestyle level of those in the top10% of your profession If you aren’t content earning more than 90% of your co-workers, choose another pro f e s s i o n

It is possible to try too hard in business, exercise and relationships Overworkcan produce stress and anxiety, which is the opposite of the inner peace youseek Your best is good enough Live to a high standard, not to an impossible

o b s e s s i o n

2 7

Remain Adaptable

In daily life, through a love of many things, it is ble to remain adaptable If it starts raining on the way tothe beach, you’ll enjoy going to the movies If you are keptwaiting for an appointment, don’t get angry Make a fewcalls or work on your schedule If you get stuck in traff i c ,enjoy your favorite motivational audiotape, radio station or

possi-CD Always have a book with you and you will never bealone The small stuff can’t get you down if you are re a d y

to substitute one good thing for another