Rich People Have Secrets?

Throughout history, the people who lived with riches often achieved them by hard work, diligence and a belief in themselves. For some people, it took courage, genius and stamina.

But for many others, it took nothing special but the desire to turn dreams into reality.

Whether you want millions of dollars, recognition as an artist, or personal freedom, you have the ability to make your life as rich as you want. Think about what you most desire. It may not be hard cash, but what it can buy.

Or, it may be those feelings of inner satisfaction, from creating something beautiful or strong. You may want personal independence from the work week, or freedom to live anywhere you want.

You may be looking for something meaningful and significant in life- something other than things money can buy.

Whatever your goals, and however difficult they seem to be to accomplish, you have the ability to become who you want.

Take a look- can you see yourself surrounded by riches? Picture the world open and in front of you, ready to become the form of your dreams, ready to stage your desires. "Why then, the world's mine oyster," wrote Shakespeare, "which I with sword will open."

Many people who achieve fortune in the world are not born rich. But they accomplished it through hard work and a plan of action.

Every type of person on earth can become successful. There are saints and scoundrels; philanthropists and thieves; poets and politicians; young and old. There are no limitations or physical boundaries for success.

Success comes to those who deeply think about success and constantly strive for it!

Although many rich financiers at the turn of the century had no formal education, they overcame that and went on to great fame.

Some people strive towards a single goal from early in life, and often attain that goal while still young. Others are willing to
risk new adventures later and still attain success.

"It's never too late to learn," wrote Malcolm Forbes, the money magnate. "I learned to ride a motorcycle at 50 and fly balloons at 52."

Whatever your task, whatever your obstacles, you can be as successful as anyone else. Study the people who accomplished recognition in the areas of your pursuit. How did they achieve their goals? And don't be afraid you don't have what it takes.

As Daniel Webster wrote, "There is always room at the top."

The single attribute that every successful person has is the one-pointed devotion to attain a goal.

"There in the sunshine are my highest aspirations," wrote Louisa May Alcott, "I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."

What are your desires? How can you form them into definite goals that you can attain?

Lawrence Peter wrote, "If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else."

Maybe you're studying a craft or skill.

Perhaps you're caught in a rung of the corporate ladder.
Or, you might feel constricted by your family and the environment around you. Which star are you reaching for?

"Ours is a world where people don't know what they want and are willing to go through anything to get it," wrote Don Marquis.

Take the time to think about your own aspirations.

Look inside to find what feels right. Almost everyone entertains the notions of fame and fortune, but put on the 'costume' that fits you.

Conviction requires certain qualities of action.

You must be sincere and be willing to assume responsibility. And you need the self-discipline necessary to work towards your goals.

Most millionaires are non-conformists. So are the most famous actors and actresses; and the most prominent artists. Writers are known for their individual traits and eccentricities.

Your convictions and goals are your own business, even when you find help along the path. Mentors often take people under their wings to nourish and teach. Or spiritual guides will show you the path to attainment. But you're on your own to achieve.

Cultivate a sense of justice and an ability to make decisions.

Cooperate with everybody and develop your own self-respect.

And follow good criticism and advice after you've judged carefully.

J. Paul Getty said, "I advise young millionaires to be skeptical of advice. They should advise themselves; they should form their own opinions."

Lord Byron wrote, "There is rapture on the lonely shore." And if you attain your goals with poise and sincerity, you'll find warmth and love at the top- not the cold loneliness pictured by the jealous.

Put on blinders to negative comments and criticism meant to hurt you.

About the people who criticize, Voltaire wrote, "Never having been able to succeed in the world, they took revenge by speaking ill of it."

People are judged by what they think and what they say. But the true measure of their character is what they do. Anyone who has achieved success and fortune in the world has done it by action.

William Jennings Bryan wrote, "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

The choice of the path you follow is often put before you as opportunity. "Few people recognize opportunity," said Cary Grant, "because it comes disguised as hard work."

Don't let opportunities slip past while you're still considering them, and create new ones as you see them. "Wise people make
more opportunities than they find," said Francis Bacon.

What opportunities can you act upon? Woolworth saw a need for small inexpensive items and opened the chain of stores that grossed billions.

Wrigley started giving gum away as a bonus from a supplies wagon he sold from, and saw the opportunity to make money from the gum that became in high demand.

All successful people the world over have found the opportunities for their own special talents and acted upon those ways to achieve. Why wait for the time to pass? There's never a better time than now.

Lewis Carroll believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. Take your own impossible dreams and make them become reality.

"The price of greatness is responsibility," wrote Winston Churchill. Are you willing to take the responsibility once you attain the success you desire?

"The deepest personal defeat suffered by human beings is constituted by the difference between what one was capable of becoming and what one has in fact become," wrote Ashley Montague. And the greatest tragedy is to become less than your full potential, using less than the abilities you have to work with.

Are you waiting for something to happen? Maybe you're waiting for a job offer, or a promotion. Perhaps you're waiting until you get good enough at a craft or skill. Or are you waiting for the inspiration of creativity to strike your life?

It is up to you to take the actions and be responsible for their consequences. "Our responsibility: every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty," wrote John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Inspire yourself. Read books that will spurn you to action; talk to people who have the vitality you admire. How would you like to lead your life? And make the changes necessary to be like that. "There is nothing permanent except change," wrote Heraclitus.

What changes do you want to make? What are you waiting for?

What actions will take you closer to your goals? Decide upon the steps and write them down. Review them until you feel comfortable with those steps. Then repeat them at least once a day, crossing them off as you accomplish them.

"I believe there is no escape from the rule that We must do many, many little things to accomplish even just one big thing," said James Dupont. "This gives me patience when I need it most."

The most rewarding accomplishments are those that take long to achieve and present difficulties.

It is only through these difficulties that a person can rise above the rest to be the unusual, the outspoken and the well-deserved. As if building a kit, follow your own instructions. Decide your best courses of action and achieve their benefits.

Whether the steps are small or large, make them achievable and then do them. Don't commit yourself to things that you never intend to do.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there," said Will Rogers. Don't be paralyzed by inaction; rather act upon your own convictions.

Set yourself up for rewards. Don't give yourself goals that have no feeling of satisfaction or no monetary rewards. If you want to be an artist, be the best and learn from the best.

Don't dwell on imperfections or the awkwardness of unpolished skills.

If you go into business, do it for profit or reinvestment. "In business, the earning of profit is something more than an incident
of success. It is an essential condition of success. Because the continued absence of profit itself spells failure," said Justice
Brandeis.

Marchant wrote, "To be a success in business, be daring, be first, be different." Think of ways to achieve the best; formulas to increase productivity or decrease overhead. Profit is your drive.

"Profitability is the sovereign criterion of the enterprise," wrote Peter Drucker. And, profitability is the core of any achievement - whether financial or artistic.

Once you achieve your goals, think of ways to benefit others. "Money-getters are the benefactors of our race," said P.T. Barnum. "To them we are indebted for our institutions of learning, and of art, our academies, colleges and churches."

How can you benefit humankind and still keep enough to fulfill your own desires?

Not all success can be counted in dollars; not all richness is measured by money. "The great secret of success is to go through life as a person who never gets used up," said Albert Schweitzer.

"Retire upon yourself and look for the ultimate cause of things inside you."

Look within yourself for the ultimate inspiration, and follow the true feelings you discover. "One of my favorite methods is to whisper," said Alfred Hitchcock. "I've discovered the best work is done with sweet reason."

Act upon your own conscience -that guides; that judges your actions and signals your behavior. "Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone may be looking," wrote H.L. Mencken.

Accomplish what you desire; fulfill your inner yearnings. But don't compromise your deepest feelings. "We do our best that we know how at the moment, and if it doesn't turn out, we modify it," said F.D. Roosevelt. Follow the paths that life offers you and live the fullest existence you can.

Look at yourself and look at those who have succeeded throughout history. Do you have what it takes? Even if you have only a few of the qualities of the other great people, you can achieve your heart's desire.

Reach for the highest, then reach higher. Accomplish your steps one by one on a daily basis, always moving forward, always making progress. Encourage yourself. Insist that you can succeed and affirm these thoughts daily.

Keep a sense of proportion and judge for yourself. Then keep busy at the tasks you've set out to accomplish. What's keeping you? "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration," said Albert Einstein.

Find inspiration wherever you can. Talk to people; read about people; learn your business or craft. Believe that you can do it and you will. The only way to dispel the doubt that you can do something is to finish it.

Always be the best you can be. Never fall short from fatigue or lethargy. Don't attempt to do anything that you can't give your all to.

There is no way to inner satisfaction without appealing to the higher consciousness. Search within and without to find the paths that are meant for you and follow them with conviction and a steady heart.

And, you will succeed to become as rich and full as you ever desired.
Harold Ickes wanted the "freedom to live one's life with the window of the soul open to new thoughts, new ideas and new aspirations."

And Woody Allen looked for a clear path. "If only God would give me some clear sign" he said. "Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank."

Finally, Sophie Tucker sums up everyone's worldly outlook: "I've been rich and I've been poor," she said. "Rich is better."