Persistence

Persistence is important, vital even, and requires a concerted effort of will and stamina to maintain. But it is not an end in it self. Nor is stubbornness persistence. Stubbornness implies you intend to persist despite plentiful evidence that you are reinforcing failure. A stubborn person fears to be shown that or she is wrong. A persistent person is convinced that he or she has been right allong; that the proof lies just around the corner.

'Never give in' is a useful catch phrase, but do not take too literally. We must all surrender at some time - to love, or desire, or death. You will be forced into the last, and a fool if you never surrender to the first. But never give in easily. If you can attempt one step further along the road to succes than appears sensible before calling a halt to regroup and chart a new course.

Above all, avoid banging your head against the same piece of wall. The wall will not get any softer. Persistence is only a virtue in getting succesful when applied with intelligence, and with the humility to accept that your may be flawed.

Harnessing The Fear Of Failure

Anyone determined to create wealth from a standing start must make a pact with themselves to abandon the fear of failure. One cannot banish fear, but one can face it down, crush it, bury it, padlock it in the deepest recesses of your heart and soul - and leave it there to rot.

Just try. Go on, I dare you! Try for a single day; one whole day when you refuse to acknowledge fear of failure, fear of making yourself look like an idiot, fear of losing your lover, fear of losing your job, fear of falling ill, fear of  getting old, fear of any kind. If you can do this, you will transform your life.

Better still, you can harness fear. Think of it not as the King Kong of bogeyman, but as a mare. A night-mare. A mare is a horse. A horse can be tamed, bridled, saddled and ridden. Harnessing the power of a creature  that has oppressed you for so long will add mightily to your own. Thus the nightmare of prospective failure provides you with the very means to succeed, affording you the opportunity to feed on the adrenaline you will experience when you confront and master it.

Fear of failing in the eyes of the world is the single biggest impediment to amassing wealth. Trust me on this. It will cripple you. You must confront and harness it.

If you shy away, for whatever reason, then the gate to the road to succes is shut.

And it is shut for ever.

Ambition: The Tiger Chained To Your Ankle

What is the first question asked by strangers of each other? It's 'What do you do?'
In some cultures, the way of answering may be different; but nearly always relates to work: 'I'm in banking; I'm dairy farmer; I'm an administrator; I'm a soundengineer.' Our job defines us.

But it cannot define you. Not any more. You are a wild pig rooting for truffles. You are a weasel about to rip the throat out of a rabbit. You are an entrepreneur. You are going to be rich, and you don't much care, within the law, how you are going to do it. Or what must be sacrificed in the attempt.

You will do anything it takes, short of larceny, fraud, blackmail and murder. You may have cut yourself loose, but the tiger  chained to your ankle has come right along with you. He will always be with you, until the day you turn him loose by an effort of will. The day you leave the road to riches.

Until then, he requires pretty regular feeding. His name is Ambition. You can call him 'Ambo', if you like - but it won't make his teeth any less sharp.

You have changed in order to be free to make a whopping great fortune while your tiger scares the hell out of little old ladies and rivals. And yourself, for that matter. All self-made men and women are fettered to such companion, whether they choose to acknowledge his existence or not.

If you do not have a tiger handy as you read these words, I suggest you acquire one soon if you wish to amass serious wealth. Without him, all the tenacity in the world will avail you nothing.

Who is likely to succeed in getting rich?

Anyone in good health and of reasonable intelligence, provided they utterly commit themselves to the journey, can be succesful in getting rich. The commitment is vital.

Tunnel vision helps. Being a bit of an asshole helps. A thick skin helps. Stamina is crucial, as is the capacity to work so hard that even your friends mock you, your lovers despair and your rivals watch furtively from the sidelines, half in awe and half in contempt.

Self-confidence helps, but can be stimulated or acquired  along the way, Tenacity  is an absolute requirement. Luck helps, but only if you don't waste time seeking it. The belief that you have a great idea is not worth shit. Ideas are ten a penny while the ability to execute counts for a great deal more.

The answer to 'Who is likeley to succeed?', perhaps then, is this: not those who want to and not those who need to or those who deserve to, but who utterly determined to, whatever the cost to themselves and to those around them.