Why People Fail....

I actually finished this book about a month ago now, but really wanted to make sure I posted about it. It really was very straight forward and easy to understand. Although I haven't put any of the tips into practice yet, there are definitely a number of them that I will.

Siimon Reynolds presents 16 obstacles that he believes are the barriers to success and explains how to overcome them. These obstacles are:

1. Unclear purpose: When you have a clear and inspiring life purpose, every department of life becomes easier.

2. Destructive thinking: One of the greatest moments of a person's life is the moment they decide to no longer be a victim of their destructive thinking and commit to taking charge of their thoughts.

3. Low productivity: People ho fail usually don't take enough action. Productivity is simple. Get clear about what you want; Take action; Change your approach if it isn't working, and stick with it if it is.

4. Fixed mindset: Those with a growth mindset value learning and progress over anything else. As a result of continued growth in every field of life that they value, people with a growth mindset are always getting better and more adept at the stuff they work on.

5. Weak energy: Together, natural foods, vigorous exercise, regulated sleep and daily meditation to relieve stress will work wonders.

6. Not asking the right questions: The quality of your life depends on the quality of the questions you regularly ask yourself.

7. Poor presentation skills: Nothing big happens until someone sells someone else on something, whether its an idea, a product, a service or a person. The only solution is to get good at presenting as fast as you can.

8. Mistaking IQ for EQ: Our emotional wisdom - our empathy for others, our self-discipline, our optimism and our ability to get on with those around us - has a far higher impact on our success or failure in life.

9. Poor self-image: Visualise that you are successful for at least a few minutes every day.

10. Not enough thinking: Successful people resist the urge to leap into action without forethought; instead they carefully plan their line of attack. Dedicating hours, days or even weeks to conceiving breakthrough ideas is a vital part of achieving uncommon success.

11. No daily rituals: Rituals are at the heart of any effective success system. By developing a series of activities that become habit and therefore don't require huge effort to do, you make progress towards your goals every week.

12. Stress:Its not what happens to you that makes you stressed, its how you react to what happens.

13. Few relationships: Highly successful people always develop a crack team of advisers to help them reach their goals. You are only as good as the team around you. The key is to develop these relationships before you need them.

14. Lack of persistence: Most people get ahead of the pack by simply trying harder, working longer, doing more and basically just persisting longer than the average failure. Behind all those exciting stories of the mega-successful, you'll usually find that good old, down and dirty persistence was the real secret to their stardom. Push yourself. Go the extra mile.

15. Money obsession: Putting money or fame first in your life leads to less happiness, poorer health, less community involvement and lower self esteem. Build your life around relationships, community, serving others and appreciation, and all the research says you will have a far more enjoyable time than the money worshippers.

16. Not focusing on strengths: Its far smarter to design your life (as much as you can) around your strengths. Life is short. Don't spend it doing things that you are neither good at nor particularly enjoy. Anyone can recreate their life so that they are doing more things that nurture and enrich them, and that they have a talent for. All thats needed is the will to make it happen.