TJB's Rules of Success 1980

1. Don't confuse efforts with results or activity with achievement

2. You, and not those who work for you, should set priorities on your available time, energy and attention. "Time management basically boils down to being able to say NO to people who make demands on your time."

3. "Arnold Schwarzennegger won five world body championships because, while other bodybuilders worked on their strongest parts, he put the most work into his weakest ones. Do that in business, and your organization won't fail because of one weak link." First you must identify your strong and weak points.

4. Demand excellence from your employees, your contractors, and your business associates, or cut them loose. "I have a very ambitious program going, and there is no room in it to support indecisive or nonproductive people."

5. Have a bias toward action - Let's see something happen now! You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away. Don't procrastinate- "Do it now!"

6. Find people who are able to simplofy complicated situations. "Avoid people whose solutions to problems just create more problems." Surround yourself with "doers" not "wishers".

7. Always give 110%. It becomes contagious.

8. "The time you put into a venture is only distantly related to the success of the venture. The only thing that matters is the decisions you make, and their consequences, not where and when you made them. I've gotten more ideas, plans and solutions from jogging than at work, because my time was focused and there were no distractions.

9. When choosing a career or business direction, look a distance downstream. "Set long-term goals for yourself that have potentials you'll be content with. Ask, "If this is successful, will it be what I want, or am I just looking around for something to do?"

10. "Break the rules, and don't be afraid to start from scratch or from a position of ignorance." Some of the greatest entrepreneurial experiences come from going against the tide.

11. There is no substitute for preparation and follow up.

12. "Start shopping for things you'll need long before you actually need them; you get the worst deal on anything when you must have it."

13. When engaging in business discussions, "be a better listener than a talker; you'll very quickly what their interests and forms of knowledge are."

14. It's better to look uninformed than to be uninformed. "Curb your ego and keep asking questions. Also, you learn more from criticism than from compliments."

15. Obstacles are just diversions in your path that will lead you in new directions of opportunity. "Make each obstacle into a successful new path. If your magazine ads don't work, start a catalog."

16. If you can define it, you can do it; however, defining it will be the process that will try your soul.

17. Surround yourself with people whose qualities you emulate. Your support group can make or break you. Avoid weak and vacillating characters or you will become one.

18. Develop a mental image of how you would like it to be and reinforce that through your surroundings, friends, etc. Keep a clear picture of that image and live up to it.

19. The winners in the world are all strong body and soul. The discipline you impose on keeping your body in shape will reflect on your soul.

20. Don't make loans to friends unless you consider them gifts.

21. All of life revolves around a cycle - a start, a middle, and a finish; always finish what you start

22. Punctuality is the courtesy of Kings.

23. Extricate yourself from negative people, situations and influences. You can only soar with the eagles if you can fly.

24. You will attain the most movement in your life from accepting risks. If you're not willing to lose, you will never win.