Weekly Success Tips<\/p>\n
One of my heroes, Ben Franklin, who was one of the great minds of his generation over 250 years ago had a simple program for success, wealth and happiness. As one of the people who shaped the United States in the 1700’s he put forward the following approach to achieve success in any area of your life. I felt so strongly about them that I put them in chapter one of my current international best seller Soft Sell over 25 years ago. I have not changed my mind. You might feel that one or more no longer applies in today’s world however if that is your feeling I would ask that you not discard his message too quickly, but look just a little deeper into your belief system for your reasons.<\/p>\n
What Franklin proposed was to take a total of thirteen virtues and live with each of them for one week. Integrating them, applying them, thinking about them and making them a part of your consciousness. At the beginning of the second week you would move on to the next one repeating the process. When you completed the thirteenth virtue you would go back and begin the process again. The result is that during the course of one year you will spend four weeks living and breathing each of the thirteen. At the beginning of the next year you repeat the process again. You can’t imagine the power of repetition and what it can do for your attitudes, behavior and over all well being and success. Here are his thirteen virtues:<\/p>\n
Temperance – Eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation.<\/p>\n
Silence – Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself.<\/p>\n
Order – Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time.<\/p>\n
Resolution – Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.<\/p>\n
Frugality – Make not expense but to do good to others or yourself; waste nothing.<\/p>\n
Industry – Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful<\/p>\n
Sincerity – Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly.<\/p>\n
Justice – Wrong none by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.<\/p>\n
Moderation – Avoid extremes.<\/p>\n
Cleanliness – Tolerate no un-cleanliness in body, clothes or habitation.<\/p>\n
Tranquility – Be not disturbed by trifles or at accidents common or unavoidable.<\/p>\n
Chastity – Rarely use venery but for health or offspring – never to dullness, weakness or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.<\/p>\n
Humility – Imitate Jesus and Socrates.<\/p>\n
Another way to use this approach is to develop your own list. For example one of the ways I use this concept is in developing my business. Each week I pull, at random, one of thirteen activities written on a small piece of paper out of my jar labeled This Week’s Focus. Some of them are: Sell more, promote better, Prospect creatively, appreciation more and so on. Why not create your own list of attitudes or behaviors that you want to become a routine part of your life. It works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Weekly Success Tips One of my heroes, Ben Franklin, who was one of the great minds of his generation over 250 years ago had a simple program for success, wealth and happiness. As one of the people who shaped the United States in the 1700’s he put forward the following approach to achieve success in …<\/p>\n