The Art and Science of Success
Posted by Jason Dunstone on July 24th, 2007 at 3:46pm
A great book by Edward de Bono ‘Tactics’ reveals the secrets of success. De Bono spoke with 50 men and women who have been outstandingly successful in a variety of fields. He says that this book is quite different to his others in that it doesn’t involve him defining the secrets, but rather he provides the framework into which the contributors offer their views. His views are to pull those of the successful individuals together.
The conclusions are that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ rule to success. The styles and approaches differ widely. In saying this, there are some commonalities.
- Energy, persistence, determination and singlemindedness are important
- Action … “Successful people do not stand still and expect things to happen to them. They take a step and then the next step”
- Integrity towards oneself and others
- Expectation of success
- Ability to think big
- Define goals and targets
- Have dreams
- Creativity and the ability to see things differently and to think new thoughts
- Seizing opportuniites and the creation of opportunities
- Eagerness and enthusiasm and willingness to make things happen.
De Bono also uses a quote from Diane von Furstenberg to describe the rewards successful people seek. The reward is rarely financial in itself. If it is solely financial it will rarely work.
 ”It’s the warmth that you get in the fruit of your work or in the fruit of your efforts. It fills you up with a warmth and you wink at yourself, you smile at yourself. You don’t need to share it with anyone, and it’s not ‘ha ha’ – it’s just warmth.”
 Also concluded is that luck often plays a part – to varying extents. However the key that it is vital to have a positive attitude to luck. This ensures that the individal is in the best position to identify and take advantage of opportunities.
 Madness was also noted as a commonality amongst the successful. They are very single minded and determined. Sometimes they have a rather unnatural view of the world.
 Talent and picking a growth field are also important.
 The book is worth a read for a bit of inspiration.
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