Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my mentors Yacob Shavleyan, Farid Moradi, Alex Sandel, Randy Haykin and Shimone Bitton.
I would also like to thank my wife for believing in me.
Also thank Gina Nero, Megan Peterson, Ali Rostampour, for helping me with editing my book.
Introduction
“Success is something you attract by the person you become.” - Jim Rohn
This book offers 26 principles for business success designed to inspire entrepreneurs to follow their dreams.
If you’re reading this book, you’re looking for something. You either have big goals with little idea how to implement them, or you know exactly what sort of steps you want to take but are unsure of exactly where you are going. Maybe you just want to brush up on your business skills and are hoping to learn something that you didn’t already know. If that’s the case, congratulations. One of the traits of a successful entrepreneur is craving constant information; therefore, it is wise to glean knowledge from every possible source.
Whatever your reason for reading Principles of Business Success, I commend you for taking this first step. There’s nothing worse than unused talent, and this book aims to uncover yours and help you put it to use in the business venture of your choice. Once you understand the principles in the book, you’ll be able to apply them to any business you undertake.
Success doesn’t come overnight. It’s a journey that you’re meant to enjoy despite the challenges, setbacks, and surprises you will encounter along the way. This book is here to guide you through the tenets of a successful business. It will help you define what success means to you and position you on the path to realizing those dreams.
Success is not a concrete concept. There is not a landing point that has the word “success” written across it. Success is the slaying of obstacles and overcoming of hardships on a never-ending journey. The satisfaction comes from seeing what you can create and knowing you can create more.
Only you know exactly what success is for you, and this book is going to challenge you to define it and set out to achieve it. When you integrate the thoughts and philosophies outlined here into your daily business practices and align your mindset with your deepest ambitions, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
How to Use This Book
This book is laid out in a specific order designed for the businessperson who is starting from ground zero. It progresses from chapters dedicated to helping you establish firm foundations to more complicated principles that involve solving unique problems, adapting to situations, and making tough decisions.
I recommend that you read it cover-to-cover because you will learn lessons in some chapters that you wouldn’t expect. But if that isn’t feasible for you, the comprehensive table of contents will help you locate any specific area in which you feel challenged.
The main points of each chapter are outlined again for you at the end of each section. There is also a list of recommended reading and further resources included at the back of the book.
I hope you find this book a valuable resource, and I wish you unbounded success in your business.
Shake it off Author Unknown
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.
There is considerable wisdom we can glean from this story and apply to our business practices. An untold amount of problems, issues, negativity, and hurdles will be thrown on top of you, but the only solution is to react like the donkey. Watch calmly as the dirt gets thrown, then shake it off, and climb your way to the top. No one else is intimately concerned with your welfare, much like the farmer wasn’t concerned with the plight of his donkey. It wasn’t convenient for him to save the donkey, and so he worked only for his own best interest. As much as we may not like this self-centered perspective, it’s reality. The world is going to dump a lot of problems your way, and your job is to take what resources you have at your disposal and make them work in your favor. The successful businessperson can find solutions in a pile of problems and won’t be discouraged by negative circumstances.
Keep this lesson in mind as you read this book, and look for ways in which you can be like this donkey.
Business Success Basics; What It Truly Takes to Be Successful in Business
“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success.” ~ Henry Ford
Before you can be successful in any business venture, you have to adopt the right attitude—you must believe in yourself and your team. Before all of the business plans, financials, marketing strategies, and technicalities are created, you must prepare yourself on a mental and emotional level for success. Success comes with hard work, and you have to be in a state of mind to handle whatever comes at you.
People are going to knock you down. That’s a given. They’ll tell you that you can’t do this and you can’t do that. Your positive attitude has to be cultivated to counteract the negative outlooks of others. Remember, 20 percent of the people make 80 percent of the money. We’ll go into the 80/20 principle later in the book, but the point for now is that most people are not proactively chasing their goals. In fact, 80 percent have just fallen into their current job and situation. You can be part of the 20 percent who make their own way and who live on their terms. When others see that you are defining your success rather than adapting to the success of others, their first instinct will be to put you down. Therefore, get your mind fixed, and don’t waver from your post. Be indifferent to their concerns for they are not yours.
So many times, people are excited and passionate in the beginning of a venture but lose steam over time. This
