Tips To Get Ahead In Life

The secrets to getting ahead in life and being successful are so simple that we often overlook them. Replacing a few bad habits with a few good ones can make a big difference. Try the following tips.


CHOOSE GOOD COMPANIONS
Two are better than one, and you will find it both protection and incentive if you can secure a faithful friend; and in some respects better than two are the many; therefore you cannot do more wisely than seek out a wider companionship. Whilst instructed by the information of some, and strengthened by the firmer faith or larger experience of others, there are important themes on which you will learn to think with precision.


STOP PROCRASTINATING
Mrs. Whitney says, in one of her books, that "the things which are crowded out of a life are the test of that life," and I believe that the saying is true in its widest sense. Examine our lives closely, and we shall find that we constantly delude ourselves with the idea that we would accomplish certain things if we had time, when, in truth, we have no real desire for those things. One person will say that reading is out of the question; another will bewail the impossibility of maintaining social relations; a third will avow that charitable or benevolent enterprises would delight her if she might engage in them and all the time these good people are comforting themselves with a fallacy. The things for which they do find time are the things they prefer.


The things which are crowded out are the things they would not choose if life lay unemployed before them. Scores of wives and mothers are busied constantly with their family cares, but not one in every score loves music enough to steal time for practice. Hundreds of young men are forced by stress of circumstances to work hard for daily subsistence, but only one in a thousand, perhaps, conquers the difficulty of his position, and makes a name for himself. This one might not have found his way easier or its upward steps less tiresome, but he wanted to succeed, and so wanting, let nothing needful be crowded out.


KEEP YOUR TEMPER
You will accomplish nothing by losing it. Many date their failure in business to some hasty and ill-considered statement made during a fit of temper. When things go awry, business is dull, and the prospect is dark ahead, it is very poor consolation to indulge in passionate and angry remarks to those around you. The frown on a person's face is a good indication of the state of the feelings within. The world judges us by our outward conduct and behavior, and ill-natured, cross grained men rarely become successful.


Solomon says: "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city;" "Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him." Difficulties disappear when met calmly and resolutely; they increase with ill-nature and anger. Keep your temper.


ENERGY AND COURAGE
Energy enables a man to force his way through irksome drudgery and dry details, and carries him onward and upward in every station in life. It accomplishes more than genius. Energy of will may be defined to be the very central power of character in a man - in a word, it is the Man himself. True hope is based on it - and it is hope that gives the real perfume to life. No blessing is equal to the possession of a stout heart Charles IX, of Sweden, was a firm believer in the power of will, even in a youth. Laying his hand on the head of his youngest son, when engaged upon a difficult task, he exclaimed. "He shall do it! he shall do it!"


Nothing that is of real word can be achieved without courageous working. The timid and hesitating find everything impossible, chiefly because it seems so. The Scriptural injunction, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might", must be realized if you wish to succeed. It is pluck, tenacity, and determined perseverance which wins soldiers' battles, and, indeed, every battle. It is the one neck nearer that wins the race and shows the blood; it is the one march more that wins the campaign; the five minutes' more persistent courage that wins the fight. Though your force be less than another's, you equal and out-master your opponent if you continue it longer and concentrate it more. The reply of the Spartan father, who said to his son, when complaining that his sword was too short, "Add a step to it," is applicable to everything in life.


THE STRENGTH OF SILENCE
There is a mighty power in silence, and silence is frequently an evidence of power. There are many people so weak that they can not hold their tongues, or keep their mouths shut. One who offends not in word is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body. He who can control his tongue, can control his entire nature. Hence silence is a token of power, of reserved force. He who knows how to keep silence knows how to speak; and often his silence is more impressive than his speech.


"Brilliant flashes of silence" is by no means a senseless expression. How often have we seen the babble of the foolish hushed by the silent glance of an earnest soul; how often the ribald jest or scurrilous word has died upon the lips when an indignant silence was the only reply it could evoke. That man or that woman who can stand silent amid reproaches and accusations and sneers and scon's, shows a degree of strength and power which falls not to the lot of every one. The silent accomplish more than the noisy. The tail of the rattlesnake makes all the noise, but the head does all the execution.


IDLENESS NOT HAPPINESS
The most common error is that of looking for happiness somewhere outside of useful work. It has never yet been found when thus sought, and never will be while the world stands; and the sooner this truth is learned the better for everyone. If you doubt the proposition, glance around among your friends and acquaintances, and select those who appear to have the most enjoyment in life. Are they the idlers and pleasure-seekers, or the earnest workers? We know what your answer will be. Of all the miserable human beings it has been our fortune or misfortune to know, they were the most wretched who had retired from useful employment to enjoy themselves; while the slave at his enforced labor, or the hungry toiler for bread, were supremely happy in comparison.


More tips on how to pave your way to success in "Room at the Top - Success Happiness, Fame & Fortune".


About the Author
Liza Othman manages an ebook website at FunHowToBooks.com.