We are the sum total of what we do daily. The subject of success is a vast territory, it is not only material and financial riches, but it also entails being worthy and contributing meaningfully through service to mankind. The majority of today’s generation see success’ peak as reaching the position of presidency of a nation, being a bank manager or a business entrepreneur who only relates to people at the high level of power.

One can be successful as an ordinary caretaker, a sweeper, an artist, a writer – whatever their chosen sphere of life. Success is attainable if the following principles are applied.

The beginning of success starts at home. Your parents either fail you or you fail them. When your parents fail you at home, you have a tougher challenge at life. It doesn’t mean that you can’t make it. On the contrary, you’ll make it when you know where you come from because that’s your starting point.

For instance, research has shown that children from broken homes are more strong-willed, but are prone to social delinquency as well when compared to children who grow up with both parents at home. Parenting is the foundation of every individual, if that foundation is shaky then it calls for quick renovation.

Though renovations are expensive, but crumbling down to ruins in life is even more expensive. Parental failure is the worst blow in any child’s life, it doesn’t matter which part of the world that child comes from.

When you fail your parents, they become disheartened and lose confidence in you. Many young people, once they grow up and leave their homes, tend to stay away from their parents because they believe they have become an unnecessary burden on their parents’ shoulders. Then, there are the girls who fall pregnant and drop out of school who, either single-handedly raise their child or move in with a partner they did not plan a life with. Others shy away from their parents because of the dark deeds they get involved in like drugs, prostitution, a vagabond lifestyle etc.

Your community ticks an ‘x’ on their mental book every time you step out of the house. Who you are known to be in your community says so much about your home. It is also your beginning point whether it be your community, hometown village or nation.

Thanks to the advances in technology, if your community ticks you correctly, they open doors for you to the rest of the world. Despite the technological dispersion, the world has continued to recognise men and women of success who remained tough in spite of their challenges. Those are the people who renovate their foundations even when it’s difficult and requires much patience; they dare and make a difference in the world.

Success is attained through the application of practical principles: contacts, character, and credentials in everyday life. Principles are simple practical steps that can be used every day at home, at school, at clubs, at businesses – in all aspects of life. The best way to apply a principle is to do what the principle says, knowledge that is not used is worthless.

If the subject of health science says that you must wash your hands frequently and especially before eating, what becomes of the lessons learned when you don’t do it before eating? It means that you know, but you don’t care. If you don’t care, the world won’t care about you and you’ll become sick instead of staying healthy by applying what you were taught. I encourage every reader to apply these principles in all parts of their lives.

This book is a practical book written to urge readers to act upon these principles. These principles should not be regarded as a comprehensive path to the attainment of success but as a learning tool to get there. The road to success is not easy, it is a turbulent journey that requires you to leave your comfort zone and chase the big picture you call your dreams.

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Tell us what you think: What do you think of the writer’s principles?