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Excerpt from the Foreword by Al Ries, co-author, The Origin of Brands.
There are only two things in life worth striving for. One is happiness; the other is success.
There are a lot of happy people who aren’t very successful. And a lot of successful people who aren’t very happy. But if you have both, what more could you want?
Money? Not really. Money can’t buy happiness. And most truly successful people have more money than they will ever spend.
Happiness and success, the yin and the yang of life. And like the Chinese symbols for the all the principles one finds in the universe, the yin and the yang are diametrically opposed concepts. Which is why it is very difficult to achieve both at the same time.
To be happy, you need to create a positive attitude in your own mind. A powerful sense of self, so to speak. Or as a cynic might say, “A legend in his own mind.” Let’s call this the “yin.”
To be successful, you need to create positive attitudes in the minds of other people. You can’t make yourself successful. Only other people can make you successful.
In the same way, you can’t make a sale. Only other people can decide whether or not to buy from you, whether you are an individual or a company.
In other words, you need to build a “self brand,” a reason for other people to buy from you, whether you are selling yourself for a job or whether you are selling products and services to others. Let’s call this the “yang.”
Most people focus on the yin. It’s logical. If you can create a powerful positive attitude about yourself, this attitude will rub off on other people. They will perceive you to be the successful person you are trying to become.
That’s why you can find thousands of books on this subject. “The Power of Positive Thinking,” by Norman Vincent Peale, for example.
The yin is conventional wisdom, all wrapped up in a positive thinking package. Hard work, total dedication, constant improvement in every aspect of your life is bound to bring you not only happiness, but the success that you believe you deserve.
Conventional wisdom is always wrong. Positive thinking might make you happy and positive thinking is a terrific approach to life in general, but it won’t bring you success. To become successful, you need to focus on the yang.
You need to focus on creating a positive attitude in the minds of other people. In other words, you need to create a self brand.
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