Determinants Of Success- Revisited, Again.

If you have been a long time subscriber to this newsletter you have read about the determinates of success before. If you are new, hold on to your hat because this is some powerful stuff.

Did you ever wonder why some people are successful while others aren’t It comes down to two things.

There are only two primary determinates of success –

Drive and Chance.

Everything else fits into these primary categories. Drive encompasses the work ethic, skills, temperament and other personal attributes. The drive variables are controllable.

For example, if you want to learn how to play the piano to entertain your friends, you acquire the skill to hit the right keys by practicing. The way you practice is defined by your work ethic.

This might seem confusing because we tend to think of skills and drive separately, but drive determines the skills we learn, and determines how we apply them.

On the other hand, Chance is uncontrollable. Chance covers outside factors we cannot influence. You have surely heard the phrase – “Opportunity Knocks.” This is chance in action.

Chance is really nothing more than a scientific way of saying Luck. While you cannot control chance, you can increase the likelihood of chance operating in your life.

For example in a business situation you can go to seminars, conferences and other networking events where prospects are likely to be found. I used to belong to the Arizona Direct Marketing club. At each monthly meeting there would be 40 printers and letter shop operators, and five to ten marketers. I think the club was started by a printer as a way of finding new business!

Networking is making chance happen. I will write more about networking in the future, but right now I want to talk about an example of chance.

My friend Steve Bergsman is a great example of chance in action. Steve is a freelance journalist who writes articles about financial and real estate matters. He also writes a monthly column for Barron’s about real estate.

Now, Steve has wanted to write a book for years, he just never got around to doing it. He has deadlines to meet and stories to write, so writing a book got relegated to the wish list.

Our wish lists contain the things we want to do, but never get around to doing. They are wishes rather than goals, because goals require plans and action.

A year ago, Steve was asked to write a book about real estate developers. The publisher knew from reading Steve’s column he could handle the task, and asked him to write a book by interviewing developers, then writing a series of connected chapters explaining to the reader how these famous developers built their empires.

This project fit Steve’s skills very well. After all, this is what he does for a living - he interviews people and writes about how they do what they do.

When the publisher came to him with an outline and a check, Steve jumped at it. This is Chance in action. Seizing opportunities when they knock.

Without Chance, Steve would still be thinking to himself. “Someday I want to write a book.” Steve became a published author because chance tossed a book deal into his lap.

Remember skills are important. I write books for a living, but no publisher would offer me a book deal about real estate developers. I don’t know anything about real estate, or have any contacts in the industry. Steve had the background and skills needed to complete the book.

But that is not the end of chance working it’s magic. Steve finished the book last fall, and it was printed in February. Just as the book came out, NBC launched a television show called “The Apprentice.”

The Apprentice is a reality show where Donald Trump is making a group of good looking people compete to see which one will become a president of one of his companies.

The show has become popular – if you don’t watch TV, you have probably read about it in the paper. The phrase “You’re Fired,” is Donald Trump’s signature line.

The popularity of The Apprentice has increased attention on Donald Trump. Everyone wants to read about Donald Trump.

At this point you might be wondering, “What does this have to do with Steve”

Then again, maybe you saw this coming. Steve’s book is called “Maverick Real Estate Investing: The Art of Buying and Selling Properties Like Trump, Zell, Simon, and the Worlds Greatest Land Owners.” The book is about mega successful real estate developers. Donald Trump is the most famous real estate investor, so he figures prominently in Steve’s book.

With the attention on Donald Trump and The Apprentice, sales of Steve’s book have taken off. On Amazon.com, Maverick Real Estate Investing has reached a sales rank of 238. That means 237 books sold more copies than his on the day before.

Think of it this way. There are MILLIONS of books available on Amazon. To get a ranking below 10,000 is fantastic. To go under 1000 is phenomenally difficult.

What a great story of Chance in action. Steve had the book deal handed to him because he was active in an industry when a publisher wanted a book. Steve’s book became a bestseller because of a TV show and the resulting interest in Donald Trump.

All Steve did was show up. Because he was doing the work, he was in the right place at the right time. As a bonus, Steve is now a desirable author. With a best selling book behind him, publishers will jump at the opportunity to print his next book.

In one short year, Steve has gone from wanting to write a book to being a best selling author. Chance moved writing book from Steve’s wish list to an accomplishment, and changed Steve’s life.

Steve’s book, Maverick Real Estate Investing is worth reading. You are reading this newsletter because you want to be successful in your own direct marketing business, so you might not think a book about real estate developers will be helpful to you.

These developers built multi-billion dollar empires, then told Steve how they did it. What is a better way to learn how to build a business than to learn from other’s who have done it.

Dan Kennedy says the biggest marketing mistake business owners make is not looking for ideas outside their niches. Having an open mind and being willing to learn from every source is an important skill.

You can get Maverick Real Estate Investing at Amazon.com or your local bookstore. Amazon discounted the book so even with shipping fees it will be cheaper than buying it locally. Amazon is selling the book in a package deal with Donald Trump Autobiography. I think if you buy both you get free shipping.

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Terry Gibbs

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