Chapter I

Success Formula
Take Control
Plan
Focus
Decide
Make a Change
Take Action

INTRODUCTION
About 20 years ago I met an American running a Spanish bar and restaurant right on the beach in a fishing village called Javea, Spain. The Man’s name was Scotty and the bar was called "Scotty’s Western Bar". The bar was not overly busy nor was it a tourist attraction being mostly frequented by locals. It was however a great place for local beer and Scotty’s own brand of philosophy.

One day while I was sitting at the bar having my second bottle of beer I looked around at the idyllic surroundings and said to Scotty "You know, you’ve got a wonderful life here. It’s quiet and yet there are always people to chat too. Your children are all grown up and very successful, you’ve got no debts, shelves lined with books, and you are happily married to a beautiful wife. You had a successful career in America and you pop back there every so often to check on your friends. How come you’ve been so lucky?"

He laughed, then looked at me to see if I was asking a serious question. When he realised I was he scratched his head "It’s got very little to do with luck," he said, "Thirty years ago I decided what I wanted from my life and I wrote it down, and each day for thirty years I’ve focused my life on achieving those ends."

That was not all he told me, of course. We chatted on that subject well into the night and well into a case of that "Local Beer".

About 6 months ago a friend arrived at my office unannounced at about 4 o’clock on a Friday, clutching a 6 pack having had a bad day with his boss. We talked for a while and then he looked around him and said much the same as I had said to Scotty 20 years earlier.

He is right, I do have a pretty good life. So I told him about Scotty and his philosophy for success. I told him how I had ignored Scotty for a year or so but then finally came to see that there are things I wanted to do with my life and there is no way of achieving those things without planning and focusing my future.

We discussed Scotty’s Philosophy until the 6 pack ran out, and finally I told my friend what Scotty had told me "Try this system and I promise it will change your life, but together with your new good fortune comes a responsibility. No man is ever successful on his own. To be truly successful you must help others, your family, your colleagues, your friends and even passing acquaintances towards achieving their own success."

In preparing this work I have read much of the work written by the world’s leading success motivators both past and present. Interestingly there is very little to separate the basic message from all of these world renowned thinkers, so I have incorporated some of their ideas to expand Scotty’s original philosophy into a system that is both profoundly simple and very effective.

In line with Scotty’s parting words I am thrilled to have this opportunity of sharing the principles of the success formula with you. I promise it will work for you as it has done for me and so many other people throughout the world, but going hand in hand with your success there is the responsibility to share your knowledge with your friends, your family and your colleagues to ensure that your success is their success.