Ross Perot's advice on How to Become Successful

If you want to excel in a particular area, one thing you can do is study whatever works you can find written by those who HAVE excelled in those areas.

For example, when I was studying physics, I also read some of the biographical and autobiographical works of Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman and other eminent physicists. I wanted to get inside their mind and find out how they thought, so I could think the same way.

When I'm interested in business, I like to study the works of those who are the best in business - who have been highly successful as entrepreneurs. Sometimes I read biographies, but I like autobiographical works the best, where people explain in their own words how they believe they accomplished what they did.

A few VERY successful entrepreneurs HAVE written books where they share some of their advice. (By VERY successful I mean that they are multi-billionaires.)

For example:

Ross Perot - My Life & The Principles for Success.
Richard Branson - Losing My Virginity (autobiography).
J. Paul Getty - How to be Rich.

(And there may be more....)

I recommend all these books.

Here's what Ross Perot has to say about The Steps To Success, from his book (p. 104-105) :

"How does a person become successful?

* Pick an industry that attracts you.

* Pick the company in that industry that has the greatest appeal to you. Search until you find something that you just couldn't stand being a part of.

* Serve an apprenticeship in that company. Learn all about the company and the industry - become an expert.

* Look for unmet needs. Look for markets that are not being served.

* Develop ideas to satisfy these needs. Present these ideas to your company. If the idea is sound and your company is sensitive and alert, you will have an opportunity to turn your idea into reality."

Ross Perot put these principles into practice. He was a "super" salesman for IBM, selling mainframe computers.

He then had a brilliant idea - instead of just selling the mainframe computer, why not sell it as a whole package, including software and everything else at a predetermined price?

He took his idea to IBM, and after some deliberation, they rejected it. So Ross Perot decided to strike out on his own at age 32, and he founded Electronic Data Systems (EDS) based on his one idea.

EDS started out as a one-man organization, but Ross Perot eventually built it into a multi-billion dollar company with almost 100,000 employees.

This was just a small inkling of what you can find in the writings of those who have proven themselves....

However, some might then ask, can these people repeat their success, or was their success just luck? Is it reproducible?

I'll leave that question for you to think about.... but personally, I think there's a bit of both, some lucky opportunities mixed with some general success principles put into action.... But without the success principles, you may not have what it takes when the opportunities presents themselves.

I hope that learning these sorts of things can help us ALL to succeed.... :)

Dien Rice