Successful people have libraries. The rest have big screen TVs

Ordinary people have big TVs. Extraordinary people have big libraries.

Poor people have big TV's. Rich people have big libraries.

What I've found over almost four decades of studying success is that the most successful people in any field aren't just lucky. They have a different set of beliefs. They have a different strategy. They do things differently than everyone else.

Yet a closer look shows that the greatest gift that extraordinarily successful people have over the average person is their ability to get themselves to take action.

The Key to Success is Action

Successful people do daily what unsuccessful people do occasionally. They practice daily disciplines. They implement systems for their personal growth. They make it a habit to maintain a positive attitude.

Almost by force of habit, successful people simply do more. As a result, they experience not only greater financial rewards for their extra efforts but also a personal transformation, becoming more self-confident, more self-reliant, and more influential with those around them.

Most of the successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.

Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers

It turns out they have a lot in common. They are all independent thinkers who do not let anything or anyone stand in the way of achieving their audacious goals. They have very strong mental maps of how things should be done, and at the same time a willingness to test those mental maps in the world of reality and change the ways they do things to make them work better. They are extremely resilient, because their need to achieve what they envision is stronger than the pain they experience as they struggle to achieve it. Perhaps most interesting, they have a wider range of vision than most people, either because they have that vision themselves or because they know how to get it from others who can see what they can’t. All are able to see both big pictures and granular details (and levels in between) and synthesize the perspectives they gain at those different levels, whereas most people see just one or the other. They are simultaneously creative, systematic, and practical. They are assertive and open-minded at the same time. Above all, they are passionate about what they are doing, intolerant of people who work for them who aren’t excellent at what they do, and want to have a big, beneficial impact on the world.

Success requires action, and action requires thought.

Smart people think. Brave people talk. Great people act.

Successful people are simply those with successful habits. — Brian Tracy