Thing Different If you Want Success,

Success comes in all shapes and colours. You can be successful in your job and career but you can equally be successful in your marriage, at sports or a hobby. Whatever success you are after there is one thing all radically successful people have in common: Their ferocious drive and hunger for success makes them never give up.

Successful people (or the people talking or writing about them) often paint a picture of the perfect ascent to success. In fact, some of the most successful people in business, entertainment and sport have failed. Many have failed numerous times but they have never given up. Successful people are able to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and carry on trying.

I have collected some examples that should be an inspiration to anyone who aspires to be successful. They show that if you want to succeed you should expect failure along the way. I actually believe that failure can spur you on and make you try even harder. You could argue that every experience of failure increases the hunger for success. The truly successful won't be beaten, they take responsibility for failure, learn from it and start all over from a stronger position.

Let's look at some examples, including some of my fellow LinkedIn influence-rs:

Bill Gates -co-founder and chairman of Microsoft dropped out of Harvard and set up a business called Traf-O-Data. The partnership between him, Paul Allen and Paul Gilbert was based on a good idea (to read data from roadway traffic counters and create automated reports on traffic flows) but a flawed business model that left the company with few customers. The company ran up losses between 1974 and 1980 before it was closed. However, Bill Gates and Paul Allen took what they learned and avoided those mistakes whey they created the Microsoft empire.

Walt Disney - one of the greatest business leaders who created the global Disney empire of film studios, theme parks and consumer products didn't start off successful. Before the great success came a number of failures. Believe it or not, Walt was fired from an early job at the Kansas City Star Newspaper because he was not creative enough! In 1922 he started his first company called Laugh-O-Gram. The Kansas based business would produce cartoons and short advertising films. In 1923, the business went bankrupt. Walt didn't give up, he packed up, went to Hollywood and started The Walt Disney Company.

Henry Ford - the pioneer of modern business entrepreneurs and the founder of the Ford Motor Company failed a number of times on his route to success. His first venture to build a motor car got dissolved a year and a half after it was started because the stockholders lost confidence in Henry Ford. Ford was able to gather enough capital to start again but a year later pressure from the financiers forced him out of the company again. Despite the fact that the entire motor industry had lost faith in him he managed to find another investor to start the Ford Motor Company - and the rest is history.

Richard Branson - He is undoubtedly a successful entrepreneur with many successful ventures to his name including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Music and Virgin Active. However, when he was 16 he dropped out of school to start a student magazine that didn't do as well as he hoped. He then set up a mail-order record business which did so well that he opened his own record shop called Virgin. Along the way to success came many other failed ventures including Virgin Cola, Virgin Vodka, Virgin Clothes, Virgin Vie, Virgin cards, etc.

Oprah Winfrey - who ranks No 1 in the Forbes celebrity list and is recognised as the queen of entertainment based on an amazing career as iconic talk show host, media proprietor, actress and producer. In her earlier career she had numerous set-backs, which included getting fired from her job as a reporter because she was 'unfit for television', getting fired as co-anchor for the 6 O'clock weekday news on WJZ-TV and being demoted to morning TV.

J.K. Rowling - who wrote the Harry Potter books selling over 400 million copies and making it one of the most successful and lucrative book and film series ever. However, like so many writers she received endless rejections from publishers. Many rejected her manuscript outright for reasons like 'it was far too long for a children's book' or because 'children books never make any money'. J.K. Rowling's story is even more inspiring because when she started she was a divorced single mum on welfare.

History is littered with many more similar examples:

• Milton Hershey failed in his first two attempts to set up a confectionery business.
• H.J. Heinz set up a company that produced horseradish, which went bankrupt shortly after.
• Steve Jobs got fired from Apple, the company he founded. Only to return a few years later to turn it into one of the most successful companies ever.

So, the one thing successful people never do is: Give up! I hope that this is inspiration and motivation for everyone who aspires to be successful in whatever way they chose. Do you agree or disagree with me? Are there other things you would add to the list of things successful people never do? Please share your thoughts...

The Real Retirement Problem and fixing.

I truly believe that, despite press reports to the contrary, we don't have a Social Security problem in America: We have a retirement problem.

And because I want to ensure that we produce the right retirement outcome for most Americans – not just the wealthy – I’m calling on our leaders to recognize and elevate this problem AND take steps to address it. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I believe compelling everyone to save more and save smarter has to be part of the solution.

First, the facts: We're living longer -- the average 65-year-old has nearly two decades of life ahead, and one in every four will live past 90 -- but producing fewer workers. That combination is producing a big bill for longer retirements that we're already struggling to pay.

Meanwhile, we’re asking Social Security to be the primary source of income in retirement for too many people when in fact it was always intended to be part of a three-legged stool that includes private pensions and savings. But more than one-third of retirees are getting 90% or more of their income from Social Security.

Why? Traditional (defined benefit) pensions are disappearing. Only about half of private-sector workers are covered by an employer-sponsored plan of any kind – even 401(k)s. And, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, only two thirds of workers have saved anything for retirement – the majority less than $25,000.

Even those investors who can and are saving are tripped up by the now indisputable patterns observed in the field of behavioral psychology: Because they are more fearful of losses than enthusiastic about gains, they put too much of their savings in low-yielding securities or other investments and -- as the flight caused by the recent volatility in fixed-income markets demonstrates --continually make that most basic mistake: buying high and selling low.

So, to recap: We depend too much on Social Security, private pensions are less available, too few workers have 401(k)s, and Americans aren't saving enough or appropriately for retirement.

What can we do?

We need to make the retirement crisis our No. 1 national priority -- and pursue a comprehensive solution that allows people at all income levels to benefit from being investors.

Instituting default enrollments into 401(k)s was a good first step. We should also consider adjustments to the cost-of-living formulas embedded in Social Security to help restore that program to health.

But I believe we need to do more: We need a savings program, probably a mandatory one, to supplement Social Security's basic protections.

Let’s look at some additional math to bring home the point: Someone retiring at 65 today who made the maximum contributions to Social Security will collect annual benefits of only about $28,500 a year. And to produce even that amount, that retirement saver and her employer had to contribute more than 12% of eligible yearly income to the Social Security trust fund every year.

Now assume that same amount of eligible income had been invested in a diversified portfolio of 90% U.S. stocks and 10% U.S. bonds when the worker was 30, gradually adjusting to a more conservative 60/40 mix as retirement approached. The actual retirement income after 35 years would be around $42,000, considerably more.

To be sure, part of that return difference reflects Social Security’s disability and survivor benefits, which are protections that need to be preserved. But the far greater share is a benefit of better investment.

Bottom line: More savings invested in a diversified investment portfolio stands a better chance of producing a better outcome – an outcome all Americans deserve.

8 Things Really Successful People Do

Real success takes discipline and methodology. Here are eight things the most successful people are meticulous about getting right.

Most people claim to want success. But not everyone is willing to do the hard work and the smart work to get there. Often opportunities present themselves and because people are distracted, they miss them or give up on them before things fully develop.
Truly successful people don't leave much to chance. They are disciplined and focused.  They constantly seek new methods to achieve more, in bigger and faster ways. Listed below are eight different practices that will help you concentrate your efforts on rising above the tide.

1. Make Materialism Irrelevant

Fancy cars and houses are all well and good, but many foolishly focus on the byproducts of success, rather than concentrating on building sustainable success in the first place. Establish a bare minimum for your material needs, and then you can enjoy the benefits of success, debt and stress free.

2. Enhance Knowledge

Success comes faster to those who are open, active learners. The higher up the success ladder you climb, the more complex the systems and opportunities that are presented to you. Absorb all the information you can and if you sense a gap you can't fill, connect with people who have the knowledge you need.

3. Manage Relationship Expectations

People in your life require time. Successful individuals attract folk and so they have to carefully regulate the time they can spend with others. It's hard to limit the time you share and still make people feel important. Make choices about the people who matter to you and determine how you each can get value from your interactions. Then make sure they understand your limitations so they don't take it personally when you can't be present.

4. Practice Emotional Self-Awareness

Not all successful people are calm and nice. In fact, many can be volatile. But most are very aware of their tempers and idiosyncrasies. They know how to use their emotions to get what they want from life and work hard to make sure feelings don't become a detriment. Know yourself and learn how to let your emotions work for you in positive ways.

5. Commit to a Physical Ideal 

Everyone has a vision of their own perfect body. They don't have to be fashion models or athletes to be happy. But physical health is a consideration in their life and it's a big distraction when it gets out of whack. Determine the body you believe is worth working for and set a game plan to achieve and maintain it.

6. Gain Clarity About Spirituality

There are many highly successful people like Richard Branson and Warren Buffett who don't consider religion to be important or relevant. But they have a clear point of view as to the role spirituality plays in their life. Find your own way to be at one with the universe and be clear and deliberate in how you practice.

7. Adhere to a Code of Ethics  

Really successful people live by rules. They may not be the rules of others, but consistency is important for them to maintain power and stability. Their individual view of how the world works is the basis for how they believe people should be treated and they will defend it until their dying day. Determine your ethical lines and broadcast them loud and clear so people around you know where you stand.

8. Focus on Time Efficiency

Prioritization is a key component of success. You can't reach your pinnacle if you are wasting time on distractions. Integration of activities frees up time for greater achievement. Spend your time on activities that are fun, enlightening and productive and soon you'll have gained hours to reap the benefits of success.
Ultimately, really successful people live their lives by design instead of default, so if you want to be one of them, dedicate time and effort to determining the plan for your preferred future and execute that plan in a focused and consistent manner.