Making Course Corrections

A year ago, when I heard about the book “The Secret,” I was skeptical. Having studied success and successful people for more than thirty years, I knew that there was no such thing as a single secret that could enable people to achieve all their goals.

When I finally relented and watched “The Secret” movie and then read the book, I found to my surprise that fully half of the material comes from the first session of my “Psychology of Achievement” audio program, produced in 1983 by Nightingale Conant Corporation.

In that program, and in my book Maximum Achievement, I explain the seven basic laws that determine individual destiny, including the Law of Attraction. What I said at that time, and what I say today, is that the Law of Attraction is a powerful, positive and important law, but it is not sufficient in itself to guarantee success.

What is misleading about this book, and many other success theories is that they suggest that all you have to do is visualize and have happy thoughts and everything you want will appear in your life. Anyone who has lived for 15 minutes in the real world knows that this is simply not true.

As a response to The Secret, I wrote my own explanation in a book entitled Flight Plan – The Real Secret of Success. In this book, I explain that life is like an airplane journey. From the time you take off, you will be off course 99% of the time. All airplanes are off course 99% of the time. The purpose and role of the pilot and the avionics is to continually bring the plane back on course so that it arrives on schedule at its destination.

In life, you are the pilot of your own craft. To reach your destination of health, happiness, prosperity and a good life, you must do as a pilot does. You must first of all determine your destination. This requires clear, specific goals, written down, with plans to accomplish them for each day.

Second, you must take off toward your destination with no guarantee of success. You must be willing to move out of your comfort zone and take risks continually, even though you know that most of them will not succeed, at least at the beginning.

The third part, and the real secret of success is that you must be prepared to make continual course corrections. Just as an aircraft faces headwinds, downdrafts, storm fronts, wind shear, lightning and unexpected turbulence, you will experience the same in the pursuit of any worthwhile goal.

The key to success is for you to keep your mind fixed clearly on the goal, but be flexible about the way of achievement. Be open to new inputs and ideas. Learn from every experience. Look for the good in every setback or difficulty.

Most of all, you must resolve in advance that you will never give up. Your ability to persist in the face of all adversity in the direction of your goal is what will ultimately guarantee your success.

You make your own luck through your own hard work and determination. Decide upon your destination, take off, and be open to the necessity to making continual course corrections until you reach your destination.