If Success is a Game, These are the Rules [Paperback]

On the other hand, I think the book's premise as described in the title is an incomplete one. Let me give you an analogy. We know chess is a game. I can teach you the rules, and that will do you little good unless you develop skill or only play unskilled opponents. Then I can give you the rules of how to succeed at chess, but if you do not develop enough skill, you still will not win at chess unless the opponents are less skillful. Many of the rules in this book are the equivalent of telling a new chess player to think 8 moves ahead before picking the next move. Easily said, but hard to do.

My point is that this book usually gives you very correct information, but at a level of generalization that will only get you started in the direction of where you need to go . . . not give you the skill to get there.

By comparison, I have attended many excellent seminars that emphasized similar material. In those circumstances, working on exercises with a new "buddy" met at the seminar and writing in a journal provided the focus, discipline, and feedback to start making progress. This book also has exercises, but doesn't give you enough direction for how to work on them to make the kind of progress you could be making.

Having said that, this book will be great for people who are already very focused on success and just have a need for a little better direction in how to pursue it. If you are just getting stuck a little now and then, you will probably do very well with this book.

On the other hand, if you cannot seem to make headway at all, this book may not be enough to get you started. I suggest that you do enlist a "buddy" to help you (ideally one who wants you to help her or him, as well), which should enhance your progress.

Let me briefly paraphrase the ten rules for you:

1. The meaning of success does and should differ from person to person.

2. You have to be emotionally committed to progress to get started and sustain the effort.

3. Believe that you can trust yourself to become successful.

4. You need goals to focus your attention.

5. Pick the actions that link you toward your goals.

6. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities that fit your goals.

7. Setbacks provide learning that will help you make better future progress. Keep persevering!

8. Time, relationships, and finances should be carefully developed and employed to give you the best boost.

9. Keep an open mind about what is required next as you make progress, because new challeges present the need for changed directions and methods by you.

10. Success is all about becoming, not arriving, so keep going with new goals!

What I liked least about the book was the definition of success that said: "Clearly, no one definition of success is better than another." That is true if each definition is equally true for the individual who espouses it.

What I liked most about the book was focusing on personal fulfillment: "The true essence of success . . . lies in your own personal sense of satisfaction and fulfillment."

In the latter regard, I wish the book had focused more on its message of "enjoy the journey" because that is what a successful pursuit of any goal should be about.

The book is filled with many wonderful examples, questions to answer, and advice for avoiding pitfalls (especially "stalled" thinking).

I hope the author will come out with a very detailed workbook to complement this book, and help readers to develop more skill in applying its messages. Until that time, I suggest that Life Strategies and The Life Strategies Workbook will probably be more helpful to many readers than this book alone.

Feel free to use the three together though. My suggestion would be to read this book first, then Life Strategies, then the Life Strategies Workbook.

I also suggest that you reread this book at least once every two years, just to keep its messages abour rules fresh in your mind.

May your life be filled with great joy and meaning . . . for you!

What makes this book great is accuracy. It is a clear description of what goes into being successful. Instead of feeding into people's illusions it clearly describes what you really must do to be successful.

It just amazes me how people exist in denial. They blame others instead of simply seeing that they create all aspects of their lives. They want luck to play a major role in their achievements, friendships, love and career success, when really you make your own life.

This book will set you straight. The author is intelligent and a good writer. The bio says she's done seminars with individual coaching for 20 years. I believe it. She's obviously taken the time to learn what works and has written a quality book that made a significant difference for me. If you're ready to bring some effective new ways of thinking, relating and working into your life, things that will make a difference, this book is one of the best you'll find to help you learn how to do that for yourself.

Scott-Carter will make you a convert as she helps you discover
what determine what success means to you . . . and that is
perhaps the key benefit you'll gain from reading her book;
i.e., it enables you to come up with you own definition and
then achieve it via ten simple rules.

I liked her use of examples, as well as probing
questions . . . methinks you will, too, and you'll be surprised
about how inspired you will be to achieve your various goals.

There were many memorable passages; among them:
I notice that many people put off doing this exercise [writing one's ideal obituary] because it confronts them with the reality of their mortality. I have found, conversely, that when you really examine your life head-on, you can be painfully honest about what you want to accomplish throughout your life. It is a bit uncomfortable writing down big dreams because they may sound highly ambitious or self-aggrandized, but unless you allow yourself to imagine your ideal life, you can never begin to make it happen. Imagining yourself at the end of your life looking back is a helpful tool to articulate what it is that you hope to accomplish during your lifetime.

The formula to find your path to fulfillment is astonishingly simple: Follow your preferences, and they will lead you to your path. Find what brings you joy and satisfaction, and trust that it will also bring you prosperity. Find what makes your blood boil, and trust that it will also fuel your existence. Discover what makes your heart sing, and trust that it will create music in your life. In other words, find what matters to you, and trust that it is the signpost you have been looking for.

One of the things that my clients and friends both love and hate me for is the fact that upon hearing them express a vision, I immediately ask, "When would you like to do that?" I do this because I am eager to see them have what they want. I know the only way this happens is through commitment.