Secrets of Success 101: The First Fifty

1. Keep a paper notebook and stuff it to overflowing with your own ideas, inspiration culled from books and blogs and movies. And amazing plans and dreams. (Re-)read a page or two of it to kick start every day.
2. Don't expect everyone to love you as you gain success. They won't. 
3. Get places on time every time. Rain, sleet or snow. Or Northern Line down. It isn't about punctuality, it's about self-discipline. With those two rare-mentioned hyphenated dirty words a world can (and has in the past) be conquered.
4. Seek love. Without an 'if'. That'll energise you to escape velocity.
5. Seek true friends. Who don't do melodrama.
6. Seek deep productivity: doing what you want to do whilst time stands still.
7. Be able to cook tasty, nutritious food to a tiny budget. Then you will never starve while you manifest your plans.
8. Begin.
9. Write every day to improve your thinking, your creativity and let go of your demons. And er, improve your writing.
10. Stop thinking you need a(nother) qualification. You need to make some calls, ask some people, show you are willing, work really hard, build your reputation, be incredibly polite, be subtly persistent, get up early, cope with feeling exhausted and unloved. And do that every day for weeks on end. And then you will get glimmers of hope....and realise that you can manage your own destiny.
11. Laugh more to heal the wounds of every day living, to keep you young and to annoy the hell out of those who are miserable simply because it's 9am on a weekday.
12. Listen to your gut, your heart and to that recurring dream. Now get your mind to create a workable plan.
13. Be Bold.Every minute, every day.
14. Drive (all day if necessary) until you find a light pollution free area. Stare at the night sky and remind yourself: what a fu**ing gift to have received! Don't waste it.
15. Your genes do not detemine who you become. The way you nurture your genes ensures that.
16. Yesterday was for the plan. Today is for the action. Tomorrow is for the learning. 
17. Remember that fear, uncertainty and doubt are simply a chemical by-product of making distinct progress on your goals and shedding baggage.
18. Have at your finger-tips a perfect play-list that will instantly dissolve your occasional bad moods, lassitude and 'there is no point' declarations.
19. Use AND more than OR, BUT and IF.
20. Stay professional.
21. Establish routine and ritual to: get stuff done.
22. Shatter routine and ritual for: creative breakthroughs. 
23. Recognise you will need help: ask.
24. Develop you mission control area. A study, a planner on the kitchen wall, a bit of the garage: whatever. Fill it with plans, milestones, inspiration, photos, quotes, mission plans...
25. Write 1000 words on success and what it is for you. Now in 100. Now in ten words. Now in one.
26. Don't be sniffy about the need for money. You'll need money. 
27. On average every 45 minutes stop, stretch, sip water and ask: what's really important now?
28. Study those you admire: in sports, the arts, politics...What specifically do they do which gives them that edge you seek?
29. Get supremely physically fit. It will support your stamina, your creativity and your agility.
30. Much success starts with believing in yourself. It's not enough on its own, but it has to be the place to start.
31. Get better at noticing things. How people are responding. What else is in the room. In your peripheral vision. What you pass as you drive cross-country. You'll notice you get more ideas.
32. Build courage with relentless practise, be it public speaking, judo or cake baking.
33. Catch up with yourself by getting organised; but don't get ahead of yourself by not building foundations.
34. Face down fear by avoiding negative talk and thus giving it zero oxygen to spread and build.
35. That person you admire? They have been to hell and back to get their 'success'. You will too. But it's worth it.
36. Play a lot. But not at working hard.
37. Simplify everything: goals, plans, finances, travel...With simplifciation comes accessibility. With accessibility comes success.
38. Document what you believe. Are all of those 'fundamentals' aligned to your success?
39. Wake one morning and understand you know nothing until you start the journey. Then the universe will start to unfold for you in exciting and totally unexpected ways.
40. "I'm not one of those complicated, mixed-up cats. I'm not looking for the secret to life... I just go on from day to day, taking what comes" Frank Sinatra. Yep, the best of the best make it look -s-o- easy. Go back to 1.
41. Write down your excuses. Really focus on them. Remind yourself you can conquer them. Now burn them.
42. Notice problems and turn them into opportunities. And sell some of the latter.
43. Persistence. Multiplied by politeness. Will get you what you want.
44. Be prepared to abandon, U-turn and regularly update your plans.
45. Learn how to relax, switch off and unplug. Consider simple phone-free walking, yoga and meditation.
46. Face your dark side. Required viewing: Breaking Bad.
47. Success is a plan not a cool logo.
48. Be determined to get deep quaility sleep which ensures you spring out of bed refreshed.
49. Ensure your plans for the day can be encapsulated on a flight-deckthe size of a '3 by 5' card.
50. Eliminate anything which messes with your number one superpower: thinking.

TBC

In the meantime: You, Only Better