Author: Jack Canfield, Janet Switzer

Publisher: Collins

Pub. in: December, 2006

ISBN: 0060594896

Pages: 512

Measurements: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BA00913

Other information: Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0060594893

Frankly, I began to read this volume with some apprehension because by now I have become convinced that there are no shortcuts to gaining wisdom and that the journey to obtain it is very, very difficult. Also, I agree with Oliver Wendell Holmes who once observed, "I wouldn't give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity but I'd give my life for the simplicity on the far side of complexity."

Would Canfield's The Successful Principles simply be an expanded explanation of how to achieve success by consuming a bowl of chicken soup one spoonful at a time, by eating a whale one bite at a time, etc? No, it is not. On the contrary. Invoking the metaphor of a journey, Canfield offers a variation on the familiar aphorism, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." With Jane Switzer, he provides a cohesive and comprehensive program for those who are determined to achieve ambitious objectives, not only in their careers but in all other areas of their lives. Now here's the variation: "If you don't know what you want, your efforts will have no focus...and inevitably fail." People must first decide what they want, what they REALLY want.

The material is carefully organized and developed within six separate but interdependent sections. Canfield recommends 64 "commitments" and I wholly agree that the first is absolutely essential: Take 100% responsibility for your life. Those unwilling and/or unable to make and then sustain that commitment really cannot achieve their ambitious objectives, whatever they may be. In the first section, "The Fundamentals of Success," Canfield offers 24 of what he calls "building blocks." He then proceeds to examine what must be done to "transform" one's self to achieve success while building a support system which consists of mutually beneficial relationships with others. In Section V, "Success and Money," he offers specific suggestions with regard to the prudent but productive process by which to obtain and then increase net worth. (There are no head-snapping revelations in this section. Its greatest value lies in the clarity and simplicity with which Canfield discusses various strategies and tactics.) He concludes with what is really a game plan which each reader must formulate to apply the success principles already explained in the previous five sections. I especially appreciate the provision of all manner of free resources which are readily available to each reader. (Please see pages 437-440.) There is also a "Suggested Reading and Additional Resources for Success" section.

While offering so much food for thought and (especially) for positive action, Canfield enhances its appeal with some "seasoning" provided by hundreds of quotations throughout the narrative. For example:

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and the starting on the first one." (Mark Twain)

"Every negative event contains within it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." (Napoleon Hill)

"If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes." (Andrew Carnegie)

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." (Albert Einstein)

"Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail." (Charles F. Kettering)

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle." (Abraham Lincoln)

"It is not the will to win that matters - everyone has that. It is the will to prepare to win that matters." (Paul "Bear" Bryant)

"It's never crowded along the extra mile." (Wayne Dyer)

"You can get anything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want." (Zig Ziglar)

However, all of the material in this book (including Canfield's) is essentially worthless unless and until a reader makes and then sustains a full commitment to assume 100% responsibility for her or his life...and then decides precisely what she or he REALLY wants to achieve.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Michael Ray's The Highest Goal, Jim O'Toole's Creating the Good Life, David Whyte's The Heart Aroused, and The Oz Principle co-authored by Roger Connors, Tom Smith, and Craig Hickman.


---MSL quote from Robert Morris

Target readers: General readers.