Title and Author: The Success System That Never Fails by W. Clement Stone

Synopsis of Content:

Success is a system. It can be learned from those who have achieved success. In this book Stone recounts his own meteoric success going from poverty to riches and starting out in the Great Depression. He teaches what he learned from life experience, business, his mentors and others who taught him how to succeed in business.

The Success System that never fails covers the importance of selecting the correct environment for success, understanding the formula for success, thinking for oneself, the importance of taking action, and many other rules and disciplines that lead to success.

Stone teaches what he calls the three essentials for success: Inspiration to Action; Know How; and Activity Knowledge. These would also be understood as inspiration and motivation, knowledge of how to do something, and knowledge gained from experience. Each of these is essential in the pursuit of success.

He stresses the importance of proper planning and goal setting, how it takes less effort to succeed than to fail, finding and maintaining the right course to success, the importance of energy and motivation and the importance of the right team.

Stone was a devout man and he includes discussions of the importance of personal faith and prayer. He also touches on what later became known as the power of attraction. He discusses the importance of developing success oriented skills such as becoming an effective public speaker, how to use your mind to achieve more, how to relate and assimilate useful information and many small steps that lead to success.

Stone's formulae for success are the traditional list of having a purpose, planning, using goals, working hard, working smart, and constant learning and improvement. While you will not find anything new or revolutionary in this classic work you will find the solid success tools that have worked for millions of people for centuries and remain just as valid today as they were in 1962 when the book was written.

The examples and mentors he lists are dated a bit but they accurately illustrate his points well. To truly understand where success literature and theory is today it is useful to study its history. Stone was not a pioneer in this work but he worked with at least one such pioneer and studied others.

Readability/Writing Quality:

This book is very readable. It was ahead of its time in its careful organization. Atypical of books of that period it does not contain large blocks of text but is broken down into an easy to follow outline form with many illustrations.

Notes on Author:

W. Clement Stone was one of the most successful salesman and businessman of the mid 20th century. He turned $100 into one of the largest insurance companies in the world and launched it in the middle of the Great Depression. He was also a student of success and a collaborator with Napoleon Hill during the 1950s.

Three Great Ideas You Can Use:

1. You can neutralize a negative emotion that limits you through properly directed action. You can change how you feel and think through your own directed action.

2. While learning and planning are critical to success nothing is more important than taking action and striking when opportunity presents itself. “Do it Now” is an axiom that will empower you.

3. If you cannot save money the seeds of success will remain forever elusive. Having a budget and planning for the future are essential.

Publication Information:

The Success System That Never Fails by W. Clement Stone

Copyright 1962 by W. Clement Stone

Published by Prentice Hall, Inc.

Rating for this Book

Overall Rating for Book: very good

Writing Style: easy to follow and understand.

Usefulness: very useful to anyone who aspires to succeed.



Source by Daniel Murphy