1 Horatio Alger – Ragged Dick, or Street Life in New York with the Boot-Blacks (1867)
Whatever you do, you will be more successful if you do it with honesty, fairness, and to the best of your ability.
2 Warren Bennis – On Becoming a Leader (1989)
True leadership arises in the full expression of a person’s unique potential.
3 Frank Bettger – How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling (1947)
Every successful person knows how to sell what they offer. Enthusiasm and organization are the basic elements in selling.
4 Kenneth Blanchard & Spencer Johnson – The One Minute Manager (1981)
Clarity about goals saves a huge amount of energy that can be deployed productively in other areas.
5 Edward Bok – The Americanization of Edward Bok: The Autobiography of a Dutch Boy Fifty Years After (1921)
Work for your own success, but ensure that your achievements lift up the wider community.
6 Claude M. Bristol – The Magic of Believing (1948)
Every great thing starts with a thought and is powered into realization by a belief.
7 Warren Buffett (by Roger Lowenstein) – Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist (1995)
Genuinely successful investment requires both courage and character.
8 Andrew Carnegie – The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie (1920)
Be voracious in your learning and ensure that others benefit from your intellectual and monetary wealth.
9 Chin-Ning Chu – Thick Face, Black Heart: The Asian Path to Thriving, Winning and Succeeding (1992)
Reclaim the “killer instinct” as a natural part of who you are.
10 George S. Clason – The Richest Man in Babylon (1926)
The principles of wealth building are free to all, but only a minority use them to their advantage.
11 Jim Collins – Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t (2001)
Don’t be satisfied with being merely good or excellent. Discover what it takes to be great.
12 Russell H. Conwell – Acres of Diamonds (1921)
Whatever you desire is probably close at hand, if you are willing to open your eyes and your mind.
13 Stephen R. Covey – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989)
The first step on the road to success is good character. The second is openness to new perspectives. The third is ensuring that daily action is shaped by higher aims, with the knowledge that you always reap what you sow.
14 Angela Duckworth – Grit: The Power of Passion and Perserverance (2016)
People believe that natural ability and intelligence are the tickets to success, but they are only helpful. In real life, it is focus and perseverance that are decisive.
15 Henry Ford – My Life and Work (1922)
Continually refine your thinking power. Imagine something the world would really need. Make it cheaply as possible and sell it at the lowest price.
16 Benjamin Franklin – The Way to Wealth (1758)
Diligence and frugality build character as they create wealth.
17 W. Timothy Gallwey – The Inner Game of Tennis (1974)
Your body is smarter than you think: trust it to achieve the goals you have set.
18 Bill Gates (by James Wallace & Jim Erickson) – Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire (1992)
In your field of work, see what can be achieved by “setting the standard.”
19 John Paul Getty – How to Be Rich (1961)
Live by your own values; be your own person.
20 Les Giblin – How to Have Confidence and Power in Dealing with People (1956)
Everyone hungers for appreciation and acceptance. If you can genuinely provide these you will have the key to human influence.
21 Malcolm Gladwell – Outliers: The Story of Success (2008)
People attribute their achievements to themselves, but much of their success can be traced to their circumstances and making the most of lucky opportunities.
22 Baltasar Gracian – The Art of Worldly Wisdom (1647)
Make distinctions; look for subtlety and nuance. Success requires fine observation of human nature and refinement of the self.
23 Adam Grant – Give and Take (2013)
Being a giver in the workplace can have immediate costs, but opens you up to greater long-term benefits.
24 Earl G. Graves – How to Succeed in Business without Being White: Straight Talk on Making It in America (1997)
Recognize and use your background in the service of attaining your goals, and remember to give something back.
25 Darren Hardy – The Compound Effect (2010)
Success is simple: it involves hard work and habits that compound our value over time.
26 Napoleon Hill – Think and Grow Rich (1937)
Wealth comes from increasing your power to think and developing your ability to access the universe’s intelligence.
27 Muriel James & Dorothy Jongeward – Born to Win: Transactional Analysis with Gestalt Experiments (1971)
Enlarge your understanding of success to include self-knowledge and greater connection to others. You have everything in you that you need to succeed.
28 Steve Jobs (by Brent Schlender & Rick Tetzeli) – Becoming Steve Jobs (2015)
Great business success often follows an arc of personal growth; by facing up to personal and professional failures, we sow the seeds for lasting achievements.
29 Spencer Johnson – Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life (1998)
The ability not only to accept change but to create it is a mark of the dynamic individual.
30 Gary Keller – The One Thing (2013)
We believe that success requires us to do many things, when all it asks is that we do a single, important thing; the achievement of that unlocks the door to every other good thing.
31 Robert Kiyosaki – Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money … that the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! (1997)
Learn how money could work for you; unlearn the expectation that you must work for money.
32 Ray Kroc – Grinding It Out (1977)
Your working life so far may have merely set the scene for your real contribution, but you must be open to the big opportunity that will draw on all your knowledge and skills.
33 David S. Landes – The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor (1998)
Genuine success is never an accident. The prosperous have a culture of progress that combines curiosity and persistent application.
34 Abraham Lincoln (by Donald T. Phillips)– Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times (1992)
Above all, leaders seek results. Many have wishes, but effective leaders act.
35 Nelson Mandela – Long Walk to Freedom (1994)
Success is most likely when it becomes a necessity.
36 Orison Swett Marden – Pushing to the Front, or Success under Difficulties (1894)
There are few things that cannot be achieved by sheer determination and effort.
37 J. W. Marriott Jr. – The Spirit to Serve: Marriott’s Way (1997)
Hard work, continuous self-improvement, and a sense of building for the future create identity. From identity comes focus; from focus, success.
38 Catherine Ponder – The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity (1962)
God does not want you to be poor; appreciate the universe’s abundance and your right to prosperity.
39 Cheryl Richardson – Take Time for Your Life: A Seven-Step Program for Creating the Life You Want (1998)
Achievement is more meaningful when it springs from a base of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
40 Anthony Robbins – Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement (1986)
Success leaves clues, but they must be acted on.
41 Eleanor Roosevelt (by Robin Gerber) – Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way: Timeless Strategies from the First Lady of Courage (2002)
One of the duties of the leader is to lift up those who are not able to advance themselves.
42 David J. Schwartz – The Magic of Thinking Big (1959)
Much of the difference between failure and success lies in what you believe you are entitled to, so you may as well think big.
43 Florence Scovel Shinn – The Secret Door to Success (1940)
Dissolve the walls around your success through positive expectations. Trust ultimately in God for your prosperity.
44 Ernest Shackleton (by Margot Morrell & Stephanie Capparell) – Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer (2001)
The true leader brings out the best in people in even the toughest situations.
45 Thomas J. Stanley – The Millionaire Mind (2000)
People are not born with a millionaire mind. It is a set of attitudes and knowledge that anyone can adopt and acquire.
46 Brian Tracy – Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills that Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed (1993)
Measuring your life daily against written goals is a fundamental of success.
47 Sun Tzu – The Art of War (4th century BCE)
The successful person has unusual skill at dealing with conflict and ensuring the best outcome for all.
48 Sam Walton – Made in America: My Story (1992)
Be the best at what you do and the world will beat a path to your door.
49 Wallace D. Wattles – The Science of Getting Rich (1910)
It is natural and logical that you should become rich through the use of your creative powers.
50 John Whitmore – Coaching for Performance (1992)
Consider changing your way of learning and relating to others, and reap the performance benefits.