We all want to succeed and we all struggle at times. So many people want to give you advice on how to succeed and to take your money while they are doing it. There are many motivational books available and the truth is they are not magic, they can do nothing unless you realise the key to success is within you, not in a book, not in a lecture and not in a speech.

In my opinion everything a motivational text can tell you is common sense, you know what you should do to succeed, but life bogs you down with worries and fears and you just can't bring yourself to take the required steps in the right direction. So what purpose do these motivational books serve if they don't magically motivate you to success? Well they are reminders, a little shove in the right direction and a catalyst to get you thinking about things that you already know, but have buried beneath your mental list of daily tasks and fears.

A book I recently read is Og Mandino's: The Worlds Greatest Salesman. A text you would think is principally designed to help sales people succeed. Well it does that too, but it is a wonderful text that reminds us of some of lifes simplest lessons in 13 points (in the book they are divided in to scrolls).

• Scroll I - Today I begin a new life.
• Scroll II - I will greet this day with love in my heart.
• Scroll III - I will persist until I succeed.
• Scroll IV - I am nature's greatest miracle.
• Scroll V - I will live this day as if it is my last.
• Scroll VI - Today I will be master of my emotions.
• Scroll VII - I will laugh at the world (Keep perspective)
• Scroll VIII - Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.
• Scroll IX - I will act now, I will act now, I will act now.
• Scroll X - I will pray for guidance.

The book recommends you make each of these scrolls your mantra and that you repeat them every day. Well I think this is a little cheesy, but every now and then I like to look back at these when I am struggling to remind myself how I can keep pushing forward. The book expands upon each scroll discussing what they mean but in summary

• Scroll I - Develop Good Habits

Make a list of things you need to do every day in order to succeed. Make those things habits, pin a list on your bathroom mirror and read it every morning until you know it off by heart and you do every thing without thinking.

• Scroll II - Love

This is all about being a good person and Karma. Help others out and you will be rewarded. Treat every person you meet in the day with love in your heart and it will lift your spirits and strengthen your relationship with others. If someone is giving you a hard time, look at them and in your mind, say "I love you", even if that is not entirely true you will find it calms you down and helps you manage the situation.

• Scroll III - Be Persistent

We all know what this is about, it's common sense but often so hard to do. When you fail or are rejected or all people say to you is no, by all means walk away and regroup but try again. Forget failure, don't wallow in self-pity, this only drags you down. If you think you will not succeed...then you will not succeed. Always try one more time and don't stop trying until you succeed.

• Scroll IV - Acknowledge and Share Our Uniqueness

We are all different and no one should be persecuted for that. You are unique, I am unique. Your uniqueness gives you strengths and abilities that the next perosn does not have. Build on your strengths and celebrate your uniqueness, you are special and it's time you believe that!

• Scroll V- Live in the Present Moment

Stop worrying about yesterdays failures, forget it and focus on your successes and what you can do to succeed righ now.

• Scroll VI - Master the Emotions - let Actions control Thoughts

If you are feeling down, stop yourself, you are the person who is in control of how you feel. Next time you wake up in the morning feeling miserable, just think, I can snap myself out of this and this how I am going to do it. You are going to do it by forgetting that you are feeling miserable and by taking action and getting on with your day. It's surprising how you can talk yourself around.

• Scroll VII- Find Joy/Humor - All things shall pass

Loosen up, find humour somewhere in your day, laugh out loud, and remember time heals all.

• Scroll VIII - Multiply Your Value a Hundredfold

Think positive and set your aim high. People who are successful became successful because they believed they could be and because they were persistent.

• Scroll IX - Act Now

We all find reasons to put things off, just do it now! The time you spend making excuses is wasted and you have nothing to show for that. If you act now you will see results.

• Scroll X - Pray to God

If you believe in God then pray. If you don't, well just have faith in something. Have faith in yourself, in Karma, in your friends and family. Sometimes we just need to take that leap of faith.

Take some time to have a think about these 13 principles as you study for your PEBC exams, I really think everyone can benefit from a little self-evaluation from time to time and these principles give you a great road map to getting yourself back on track. Og Mandino conveys this principles much better than I, so if you get a chance to read this book then I highly recommend it. I have included a link to this book in the Books section of the site.

Good luck to you all,

Matthew