I state in my book Put Your Dream to the Test that the more valid reasons a person has to achieve their dream, the higher the odds are that they will. Valid reasons also increase the odds that a person will follow through with personal growth.

Should I go ahead and buy that item or just save my money for a rainy day?

The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. The only adequate preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today.

Decide whether or not the goal is worth the risks involved. If it is, stop worrying.

One of the reasons that problem solving is so difficult is that we are often too close to the problems to truly understand them.

Nobody wanders his or her way to a dream, and nobody achieves a dream by accident. Don't shortcut the process and risk cheating yourself out of your dream!

Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation and then guess what. After you start doing the thing, that's when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing

TODAY GIVE YOUR TIME ONLY TO THINGS THAT PASS THE REQUIREMENT, RETURN, REWARD TEST.

LEADERS Initiate Lead; pick up phone and make contact Spend time planning anticipate problems Invest time with people Fill the calendar by priorities FOLLOWERS React Listen; wait for phone to ring Spend time living day-to-day; react to problems Spend time with people Fill the calendar by requests

I love the story of the salesman who sat looking through the window of a hotel restaurant. Outside raged a blinding snowstorm. "Do you think the roads will be clear enough in the morning to travel?" he asked his waiter. "That depends," the waiter replied. "Are you on salary or commission?

Believe while others are doubting. Plan while others are playing. Study while others are sleeping. Decide while others are delaying. Prepare while others are daydreaming. Begin while others are procrastinating. Work while others are wishing. Save while others are wasting. Listen while others are talking. Smile while others are frowning. Commend while others are criticizing. Persist while others are quitting.

When I went to my room after breakfast, I made my bed, straightened the room, dusted the floor, and did whatever else came to my attention. Then I hurried to my violin practice. I found I wasn't progressing as I thought I should, so I reversed things. Until my practice period was completed, I deliberately neglected everything else. That program of planned neglect, I believe, accounts for my success.