Learning success from the masters

(Last of three parts)

Successful people believe in luck. While others lie in wait for the gods or a shooting star to come by, successful people make their own luck. In the words of former US president Thomas Jefferson: “I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” Louis Pasteur also tersely wises that “Luck favors the prepared.”

Success novelist Horatio Alger, Jr. pens in Ragged Dick the story of a shoeshine boy named Richard Hunter who takes a ferry into Brooklyn and sees a child tumble over the side into the water and immediately jumps and pulls the child to safety. The panicked father (a wealthy industrialist), who could not swim, is amazed to find his son alive and offered Dick a well-paying job as a clerk in his office at $10 a week, which was many times his current earnings as a shoeshiner.     

To make the long story short, Dick later became a rich man from out of his motivation to seize the moment. Thus, "Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving.” says hotel mogul Conrad Hilton. Further, it wasn’t luck that brought Dick from a bootblack to a successful person but because “Luck happens to those who greatly increase the chances of its occurrence.” preaches success author Tom Butler Bowden. In other words, those who make it to the top sees opportunity in every problem and acts with urgency to seek out their roles where they are most useful. 

Such sense of urgency is also echoed by Leo Tolstoy that “There is only one time that is important - NOW! It is the most important time because it is the only time we have any power over." Success, therefore, comes to the person who does today what you have in mind for tomorrow! The same idea is shared by sausage magnate, Ralph Stayer that “Anything worth doing is worth doing now!

Be mindful, however, that “Whatever you do, you will be more successful if you do it with honesty, fairness, and to the best of your ability.” advices Bowden. Bowden picks up Stephen Covey as an exemplar of an honest achiever for his uncompromising ethical standards. Prominent in Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People cites principles of “fairness, trust, integrity, compassion and value for human dignity and honesty” as central and essential to enduring success whether at work, at home, or in the community.

To sum up Bowden’s audio book, the characteristics of a true winner lie in the person’s values, motivation, and initiative in face of the opportunity before him. Things like optimism, a definite aim, purpose, or vision, willingness to work, discipline, an integrated mind, prolific reading, risk taking, realizing the power of expectation, mastery and well-roundedness are but just some of the few essentials to succeed in any field. But if one has to emerge as a winner he should not only play it well, he has to play it fair. “Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist. “ ~ Mary Kay Ash, founder Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.

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The Philippine Stock Exchange cordially invites you to a FREE SEMINAR entitled Building Wealth with Stocks: A Beginners Guide to the Stock Market? to be held in the cities of Cebu and Davao on March 22 and 24, respectively. The PSE briefing in Cebu will be held at the main ballroom of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel while the Davao briefing will be at the main function room of Marco Polo hotel in Davao City. The seminars will be from 1 to 5 pm.

Stock market experts will talk on various topics including trading stocks online, technical and fundamental analyses, economic analysis, initial public offerings, and many more. There will be free consultations with stockbrokers during the event as well.

This activity forms part of PSE’s intensified investor education program to increase local participation in the stock market. Through this financial literacy campaign, the Exchange also hopes to promote the stock market as an effective venue for mobilizing capital for business enterprises outside Metro Manila.

Limited slots only. Registration is on a first come, first served basis.Sign up by calling 02-6887537 or through text 09326068740. You may also inquire by sending an email to PSE Roadshows overall project head, Jay Penaflor, through [email protected].

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