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many who achieved success was much tougher than for the average person.
Many experienced extremely tough times in their lives, and nonetheless
succeeded. Did the obstacles they encounter diminish their commitment
to their goals, or reinforce them? For most successful people, the obstacles
are what drive them to greater strength. The desire to succeed is greater
than the need for a warm meal at the end of the day. Successful people hold
their own ability to succeed in high regard, which is often viewed by others
as arrogance. Successful people can rightly be proud of their success, but
they are equally prepared to assume responsibility for their mistakes.
This willingness to accept responsibility derives from power; evading
responsibility derives from weakness.

Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, said, “I screwed up” when he and
other Google top-level staff did not handle the fledgling Facebook startup
and fight back at a company that dared take on the biggest possible
competitor in the Internet. By contrast, Bill Clinton with his famous
statement, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” evaded
responsibility and paid by almost losing the presidency. The public relates
to acceptance of responsibility with understanding and respect, and to
evasion as a sign of failure. Accepting responsibility is a sign of power and
maturity. It also reinforces your faith in your ability to overcome obstacles,
and understand that they are an inseparable part of the path to success.
What do author Mark Twain, ketchup king Henry Heinz, and automobile
giant Henry Ford share in common? At some point on their way to success,
they all went broke, took responsibility, recovered and came back bigger
and better than ever.

Do You Like Your Job?

To succeed, you need a good reason to get out of bed in the morning.
You need to love your work. If salary is the only thing keeping you in the
workplace, you will not get far. Having worked for years in the high-tech
industry, I can tell you that the greatest aspiration held by most high-tech
employees is “not to work anymore in high-tech.” In other words, even high
salaries and great benefits are not enough to make an employee love the
job, let alone excel at it.

To succeed, you don’t need to be brilliant. You just need to be a little
better than average, and to do that, your work needs to interest you. Your
work needs to more closely resemble a game than a chore. Find the job
that pleases you so much that you never look at the clock. If salary is what
guides you, you could likely end up finding you’ve devoted most of your life