I make several reference in The Physics of Success to Success Principles. I also make side references to Fame and Fortune of some type, whether it is money, wealth or material goods. I just read an article by Sharon Osbourne that talks about the culture of fame. You can read it here (opens in new window).
It’s interesting on several points, one of which is that I obviously got a bit caught up in that myself. As she points out, there is a lot more to life than being famous, and being famous doesn’t make you rich. I can excuse myself by saying that I was talking to my readers, but that would be a bit dishonest. True, I don’t really want to be famous – I know famous people, and it’s a real pain in the butt most of the time. Still, I get caught up in the culture to some degree. For instance, I’m writing this blog. Hmmmm.
Success Principles
Describing the book once, a guy asked me, “What Success Principles?”
Well, I don’t really define them in the book – they can be anything. Most books on success focus on setting goals, visualization, creating good habits, positive thinking, attraction, and so on. These all count. Religion and prayer also count, although I avoid mentioning them in the book in that context. My conclusion is that it is the image of your future that you carry in your mind. That’s what your consciousness uses to choose your course. It doesn’t really matter whether that is a positive or a negative image, it’s the roadmap you have created for yourself. If you don’t bother to create a roadmap, then you’re basically following the path of least resistance, which is unlikely to be at the top of your list of things you want to do.
Fame and Fortune
These are not really relevant to success, and I agree with Sharon that success is based on what you do, not on some concept of self-worth or entitlement. It’s probable that some of the celebreties that she mentions in the article got famous not because of what they did, but because of what somebody else did. In other words, a manager that you don’t know was successful. Their success was making the celebrity you do know rich and famous. The celebrity, meantime, who actually would have been completely unknown without the manager, gets it in their head that they are the big deal when in fact they were just doing the things that somebody else told them to do. They follow the path of least resistance, as described above, but don’t really have a vision of their own. This probably explains some of the more spectacular tabloid material – it’s what happens when a person with money but no vision is turned loose in the world.
Success
Success doesn’t need to be spectacular, and doesn’t mean that you end up in the National Enquirer. It may simply mean being happy and healthy and self sufficient. If you are a minister, it may mean having a thriving church community. If you are a gearhead, maybe just a great car.
