<< Success in Life >> Kevin Yeow (SNSI) @Copyright 2005. All
Rights Reserved Worldwide. Unauthorised reproduction strictly
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There are many ways to pursue success in life . . .

Each of us travels by the different pathways to reach success -
based on our upbringing, values, beliefs, gifts, talents and
pure guts.

Some of us will reach our goal very fast. Some will take much
longer. Some never. Not even in a lifetime . . .

Why is this so?

Is one to be more fortunate than another? Is it based on luck -
that some are lucky, some are not? I don’t think so . . .

Let’s look at some hard facts!

Bill Gates (Microsoft), Paul Allen (Microsoft), Steve Jobs
(Apple), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Larry Page (Google), Sergey
Brin (Google), Stephen Spielberg (Movie Director), Ted Turner
(Turner Networks), Michael Dell (Dell), Ralph Lauren (Fashion
Designer) etc are all successful billionaires and
multimillionaires who never graduated from college.

John Grisham (A Time to Kill), Tom Peters (In Search of
Excellence), Deepak Chopra, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, D H
Lawrence, Edgar Allen Poe, George Bernard Shaw, James Redfield
(The Celestine Prophecy) etc are examples of hugely successful
authors who self-publish their first major book.

J K Rowling (Harry Potter), Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad)
etc are hugely successful authors whose first bestseller was
rejected by many publishers before a gutsy publisher finally
agreed.

Was it luck or that they were born on some lucky stars etc?
Definitely not . . .

Now, what may be the possible explanation & contribution to
their success?

If we reflect deep enough, we would have arrived at the
possibly similar key factors: - (a) Attitude, (b) Character, (c)
Knowledge, (d) Skill-sets & (e) Strategic Network.

Both Attitudes & Character are crafted from young - thru a
lifelong process. One can try to change one’s Character &
Attitudes to attract success. This may be a difficult process
but not altogether impossible. It requires overcoming bad habits
& behavioral patterns acquired from one’s growing experience.
Adjusting for positive change in these areas will depend on how
much one is determined to achieve success. Sometimes, it could
be some crisis or problems that arise which challenge for this
positive change. J K Rowling was a struggling single mother when
she wrote her first book on Harry Potter - oftentimes in a
restaurant or café whilst tending to her kids. Mark Victor
Hansen (Chicken Soup) was down & out and living in his car
before he turn around. Anthony Robbins (Awaken the Giant Within)
was a depressed down & out kid who wanted to even commit suicide
before he turn around dramatically. Read their life stories and
you will find out how they turn around.

Knowledge & Skill-sets, one can gain this thru education,
training, learning from attending
talks/seminars/books/audiotapes or from life experiences itself.
One need to set time & effort to acquire & hone the needed tools
for making a living. In the current information age, it is
essential to invest in this as lifelong ongoing pursuits.

The last major factor is acquiring and gaining one’s Strategic
Network. No man is an island. We need others to complement us to
succeed in life. Successful people have their strategic network.
Unsuccessful people don’t or fail to reciprocate with what they
have. Bill Gates & Paul Allen founded Microsoft together. They
have the help of Steve Balmer, a host of others on their team
and not forgetting, Steve Jobs (and their love-hate competiting
relationship) to help bring Microsoft where it is today and
their current wealth.

We see similar patterns in many other businesses and successful
stories. Even in the early booming years of Apple (until its
decline - which was the result of an ego-inflated Steve Job
ignoring his founding partner of Steve Wozniak & other trusted
colleagues, not reciprocating his network brings decline).

One of the latest successful story is that of Larry Page &
Sergey Brin. Both of them founded Google and with their
Strategic Network & collaborators, they manage to list Google in
the USA stock exchange at an impossibly all-time high IPO price
(but then again this is nowhere near where Google’s share price
of today - above US$400!)

In today’s globally connected world, being connected with a
Strategic Network is what makes the big difference. How we can
achieve this Strategic Network, the all-important relationships,
would have to depend on our commitment & desire to be successful
in life. Strategic Network can provide us many of short cuts to
success!

It is essential in today’s world to reflect on where we are at
with these key factors of success. Are we investing &
facilitating for our success or are we hampering it? You decide.

By: Kevin Yeow Strategic Network Synergy International (SNSI)
http://www.strategic-network.com