Learning the Ropes

“The secret of success is constancy of purpose.” –Benjamin Diraeli

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” –Maya Angelou

If there is one thing that I have learned thus far from Cliff Michaels, it is that the journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur is full of surprises. Yes, this statement seems very cliché and very obvious. The opening section of his book tells the story of a failed company he began. With the help of investors and his previous earnings, he invested millions of dollars into a company he firmly believed it. Upon concluding his personal story he explains that the biggest lesson he learned was not about how to run a company, but rather it was about self-awareness. He realized he needed to rediscover his passion and purpose.

“Like most entrepreneurs, failure was critical to personal growth. True success only came when I learned to balance work, play and life’s bag of tricks…. In order to find true success you must learn, love live and give with passion, humility, and gratitude.” Cliff Michaels

So upon beginning the first lesson (Basic Life Skills) of the four essentials Michaels made a list of 10 skills.

1. Define success.
2. Unleash your entrepreneurial soul.
3. Build a passion for learning.
4. Leverage tools and mentors.
5. Cultivate curiosity and creativity.
6. Practice with passion and purpose.
7. Never quit.
8. Embrace challenge and change.
9. Be ambitious but recognize greed.
10. 10. Carpe Diem, baby!