Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a speech at the Graduation Ceremony of University of Southern California. He talks about how he became successful and what were his success factors. He shares 6 rules of success that he found helpful in his life and how they can help anyone to succeed.

Doctor Schwarzenegger’s 6 Rules

This is video from Graduation ceremony of University of Southern California and speaking to the graduating students is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Below are some thoughts from the video about the 6 Rules of Success from “Dr. Schwarzenegger.”

1. Trust Yourself

Trust yourself no matter what anyone else thinks.

2. Break the Rules

“Well behaved women rarely make history.” Arnold talks about breaking rules and how he broke rules to enter the rules of Hollywood to become a successful actor.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

If you are afraid, you were never try. If you never try you won’t ever succeed.

4. Ignore (Don’t Listen to) the Naysayer

Don’t pay attention to naysayer. People will say it can’t be done, people will give 100 reason why this can not be done. Do not take No for an answer.

5. Work Your Butt Off

You never want to fail because you did not work hard enough and don’t leave any stone unturned. There is no escape to hard work.

6. Giving Something Back

Whatever path you take in life, always find time to give back to the community.

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"We need to learn to set our course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship." - General Omar N. Bradley, American General

Look at the Stars, Not the Lights

In old days, when compass and other complex instruments weren’t invented, ships used stars and constellations to navigate their path. There are stories of travelers on road navigating to their destination without GPS. Ever heard of the term guiding star? Now you know where that originated from. These sailors and travelers knew exactly one simple thing – to use stars not the lights.

What does this has to do with Personal Change?

Stars represent the vision and that is why we should focus on the vision for personal change. If you follow the light, the short-term goals, you may divert your path and start heading towards the wrong destination. Therefore, learn to set our course by looking at the stars not the lights of every passing ship.

Have you ever set your course on short term and forgot about the long term? What were the results? Tell us in comments below.

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Photo Courtesy: Libertinus

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This edition of Personal Change Carnival received 104 posts and from those posts below are my favorite 11 posts. The selection criteria was pretty straightforward. Those posts that were submitted before the deadline were shortlisted and then posts that related to personal change were chosen. Out of this new list, each post was thoroughly reviewed and my favorite posts were listed below.

Please note that this list is my personal opinion and others may have a different opinion about the articles included in the carnival. If you like the posts below, please digg it, stumble it or add to bookmark on delicious.

Lets Begin the Carnival

1. How to Be Somebody in Your Own Eyes - In this post, Jim talks about self image and why it is important to respect yourself and the way you are. Any one aspiring to improve their personal image and wanting a personal change should first evaluate their self-image.

2. What a Glass of Water can Teach You About Leadership? - Eric asks this question and makes the reader wonder what is this about? The post has a wonderful message and leaves you amazed… wow!! what can a glass of water teach you. Read it to find out.

3. Why Relationships are Like Sandcastles Before Tide – The author in his/her own words, “Relationships are forever in flux, forever in change, and holding onto something tightly is like trying to stop the tide from coming …..”

4. Set Goals Then Set Them Higher – Tisha gives an example from her personal life and gives some quick tips on how to set goals. This article is interesting and is a quick read.

5. Cultivating Patience – Axel talks about Patience and how to cultivate it. Author talks about three aspects of cultivating patience. A wonderful view on how patience can be improved.

6. Stand Out of the Crowd – In this article, John talks about personal development in a very simple way. This article is a little different than the subject of this blog, but its worth reading.

7. What Inhibits Your Creativity? – Jason asks this questions and tells how to overcome the boundaries and grow creatively. Nice article, wonderfully structured and easy to understand.

8. Nonverbal Language of Power – Jacob’s article talks about an aspect of self-esteem and self-image. “Backbone” or having power to confront people and being assertive is a quality that is important to make an impact.

9. The Secrets to Becoming Highly Successful in Life – Keith presents a very comprehensive article on what you need to become successful. Vision is one of the first thing you need.

10. 101 Youtube Videos to Teach You the Art of Public Speaking – This post has a lot of good videos, Speaking Secrets of Barrack Obama for example, or How to Control Stage Fright. 9 Basic Steps to Giving a Great Presentation provides details on 9 aspects of public speaking.

11. How to Hack Behaviors – Daryl  presents a well organized article on behaviors. The article deconstructs how actions work and then explains how behaviors can be modified. This is a good overview for anyone who wants to change their behavior.

That is all for this edition. If you liked any of these posts please stumble the post or digg it. Perhaps you might want to save it in delicious or tweet it.

Want to submit articles to the Personal Change carnival? Submit your post for the June edition of the carnival by clicking here.

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Photo Courtesy: penner42

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“Vision is the blue dot, the guiding light that helps lost travelers to reach their destination, their goal.” There is a clear definition between personal vision and mission statement, but it can get confusing at times. This article presents a great post from a great blog, the only correction I have is, it should be vision not mission statement

Vision not Mission Statement

Michael Miles wrote a great article some time back titled  The Value of a Personal Mission Statement on the Dumb Little Man blog. The author however calls a person’s vision as mission statement. I think the article points out a great list of tips for a great vision. Going back to the definition, vision is a desired state that you want to be at, mission statement is defining the principles that you will follow to get there, in other words, mission statement is how you will get there.

The Difference

We have talked about vision, mission statement and how they are different in article titled why you need vision.

The purpose of Vision is to define which wall you want to climb, Values ensure that you are using the right ladder to climb the wall and Mission statements define how you plan to climb the wall with the right ladder.

We also talked about the difference between the three elements of success and how they relate to each other. Still confused? Read Benjamin Franklin’s mission statement.

In the upcoming posts, read how to develop a mission statement for yourself. Get updates via RSS or through email and stay on the top of your personal development with Chat at the Cooler.

Picture Courtesy: ogimogi

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Mission statements come in many shapes, sizes and colors. They can be speeches or can be poems, they can even be long essays on what you  want to achieve in life and how you will go about doing it.

Few days back,  I came across mission statement of Benjamin Franklin on www.franklincovey.com. Mr. Franklin’s mission statement is not a speech, its not even a essay, neither is it a poem. It’s much simpler than that. It’s his set of values statements. This post present Benjamin Franklin’s mission statement.

The Mission Statement

Mr. Franklin’s mission statement is a very simple set of statements. The wonderful thing about this mission statement pattern is that it is once you know your personal values, it is simple to create. Below are the personal values of Benjamin Franklin that is also his mission statement as claimed by www.franklincovey.com.

Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.

Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

Industry: Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

Justice: Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

Moderation: Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

Order: Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

Temperance: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

In next few posts, we will present mission statements of many great leaders of the world. If you would like to get these mission statements and other posts go ahead and subscribe via RSS or subscribe via email.

Photo courtesy: Wikipedia

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