by Kathy Holzapfel
MY PASSION: PERSONAL GROWTH
Life doesn't come with an instruction manual. This means we
get to assemble our own; one that can be customized, updated, and overhauled at
will. Talk about empowering! In this column, we'll explore ways to promote
positive growth via books and programs on success and personal development.
THE BOOK
The Success
Principles - How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
By Jack Canfield (with Janet Switzer)
Version reviewed: Paperback, ISBN 13: 978-0-06-059489-3
Published by Harper Collins, 2005
Nonfiction category: Success
Note: Published in 2005, The Success Principles is still ranked in Amazon's Top 100 Success
Books category as of April 2013.
THE AUTHOR
Dubbed "America's #1 Success Coach," author,
speaker, and business founder Jack Canfield has written numerous New York Times
bestselling books including The Power of
Focus and The Aladdin Factor. He
is probably best known as one of the originators of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which has over 500 million copies
in print worldwide. A featured teacher in the movie The Secret, Canfield has also appeared on hundreds of major radio
and television programs.
THE SUMMARY
The Success
Principles is a compilation of 64 timeless strategies aimed at helping
people become top achievers by mastering the various aspects of their personal
lives, their careers, their finances, and their relationships.
WHAT'S TO LIKE
Ever wish you had a wise, successful mentor who would openly
share the techniques and skills they personally used to master high achievement?
Jack Canfield does this with The Success
Principles, condensing over thirty years of study and hands-on application,
into 64 proven principles of success. In the introduction, Canfield details his
own accomplishments from applying these principles in his business and personal
life - successes such as writing multiple bestselling books, founding major
businesses and training programs, speaking, traveling, and enjoying life while earning
a multi-million dollar net income.
Each of the principles is explained with advice that is
clear, direct, and immediately applicable starting with Principle #1 - Take
100% Responsibility for Your Life, and ending with Principle #64 - Empower
Yourself by Empowering Others.
Weighing in at over 500 pages, (see anatomy below) the book
is a hefty treasury. The tone is positive and encouraging, yet straightforward.
Graphs, pertinent quotes, examples, and anecdotes enhance the text. Headers
telegraph key ideas and break the principle into user-friendly components.
The book is divided into six sections:
·
The Fundamentals of Success
·
Transform Yourself for Success
·
Build Your Success Team
·
Create Successful Relationships
·
Success and Money
·
Success Starts Now
In an interview, Jack Canfield said he had difficulty
trimming decades' worth of profitable information down to only 64 principles.
That thoughtful condensing shows, too. The text does not sag with extraneous
fill but rather directs you in a "here's what you do and why" manner.
The book's conversational style conveys the feeling of a series of one-on-one
sessions with a personal coach who not only wants you to succeed but also
believes in your ability to do so.
Here's a sampling of principles found in the book: Be Clear
Why You're Here (#2), Embrace Change (#31), Find a Wing To Climb Under (#44),
Keep Your Agreements (#54), You Get What You Focus On (#57), and Master The
Spending Game (#59). All the principles are astute and important, but my
personal favorite is #63: Start now!...Just Do It!
There's a line in the book that sums up the entire premise:
"You and you alone are responsible for taking the actions to create the
life of your dreams."
WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU
If you diligently apply these principles, this book can help
you change and/or improve your life. The key phrase is "diligently
apply." What good is knowledge unless appropriate action is consistently taken?
Canfield says in the introduction, "The Principles
always work if you work the principle." And a quote from Jim Rohn drives
the point home: "You can't hire someone else to do your push-ups for
you."
Don't know where to begin? Start small. Pick one principle,
study it, use it. Repeat until you own it. Then move on to another.
Another idea: form a group and study The Success Principles with a gathering of like minds, either online
or in person. The website www.TheSuccessPrinciples.com has a free Instructor's
Manual to help you get started. Other planning forms available include a
strategy guide for mastermind groups and an annual calendar.
ACTIVE READING TIPS
Canfield encourages readers to underline, highlight and make
notes in the margins. My personal copy is filled with notes. Scribbled hearts and
lightning bolts mark significant passages. When I ran out of space in the
margins, I used sticky-notes. Here's a photo of one of the pages my book.
RELATED PRODUCTS
Canfield has developed other works based on The Success Principles including audio
and DVD programs, online courses, and a version of the book for young adults, The Success Principles For Teens.
His latest release, Tapping
Into Ultimate Success, co-authored with Pamela Bruner, combines the
practice of Meridian Tapping with some of Canfield's success principles.
CLOSING REMARKS
This is the type of book you can open to practically any
page, dive in and begin learning. It's also a "total package" book:
if you had to choose only one book to study on success, The Success Principles would give you a lifetime of tremendous
value.
Your life is a work in progress, formed and reformed by your
thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds. One way to fuel positive growth is by
reading works that build you up. So be cool: read and excel.
BOOK ANATOMY
Page count: Main text: 435 pages (approx.)
Front matter: 33
pages (Table of Contents, introduction, etc.)
Back matter: 38
pages (Suggested reading, index, etc.)
Chapters: 64 - one
principle per chapter.
Chapters range in length from 16
pages (only 2 chapters) to 3 pages (6 chapters.) Though the average chapter
length is about 6 pages, only 8 of the chapters contain 10 or more pages.
Formats: Hardcover,
paperback, eBooks Kindle/Nook/Apple, Audiobook
Library: Widely
available.
WorldCat.org lists
over 1200 libraries in the U.S. with copies.
DISCLOSURE
The copy reviewed was purchased by Kathy Holzapfel. No
material connection.
CONTRIBUTOR BIO
Award-winning novelist and life coach, Kathy Holzapfel is
passionate about creativity and personal development. Please visit her website
and blog: www.BodaciousWords.com
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