AVOID THE TEMPTATION to get rich quick.

Everybody wants everything instantly ? instant rice, instant pudding, instant success ? served in pabulum form. My father always said, ? Always take time to be an apprentice and learn the whole job.? I am doing so ?. and it is working!

AVOID THE TEMPTATION to take shortcuts.

Taking shortcuts and cutting corners is a character flaw. You will be building on sand, and it will surely collapse. It always has. It always will.

AVOID THE TEMPTATION to believe that ? The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.?

We need to stay focused on where we are now, what we are doing now, our present opportunity, our present job, and our present activity. We need to be able to make our present responsibilities work, whatever price we have to pay.

AVOID the TEMPTATION to quit soon.

History books, storybooks, and movies are filled with illustrations and parables of people who quit ?three feet too soon digging for gold.? Just one more try to complete an invention; just one more call to make a sale.

HOW DO YOU AVOID These temptations?

Commit to singleness of purpose.

Set and put into writing specific and clearly defined goals.

Outline exact action steps you must take to achieve your goals.

Repeat daily affirmations to support your goals.

Form a support group of your spouse, friends, associates, and work partners.

Create an accountability factor.

I don?t have enough paper to write on to tell you the thousand sad stories I know about all the educated, gifted, and talented people who fell into the temptation to get rich quick, looked for something for nothing, ceased to persist and do, believed false promises, and took a shortcut.

It is very sad to watch people chase false dreams ? or their tails, the wind, and rainbows.

A solid life of personal success, family success, and business success is built more like climbing stairs than by mounting a rocket ship.