Donald Trump and Anthony Robbins both say that you should study wealth and success like you would have studied anything else in school. So I spent some time studying and have assembled my notes into this article - a recipe for success.

I have taken the combined wisdom of a lot of people: Napoleon Hill, Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, and Anthony Robbins. They each tell us a few pieces. Put them together, and you have a Picasso.

This is the concentrated version of everything I have learned about success so far. If you are on the way up, you may have discovered one or two of these already. And you may know of one or two that I’m missing.

1. Have multiple projects. Donald Trump says that you should have ten deals in the air at all times. You should be focusing on your top two or three, but you should be juggling the others too. It doesn’t mean you have to work at each of these every day. It just means the project should be in progress with some defined next action.
2. Keep making progress on your projects. This is essential– you must maintain your momentum. In his book, How To Get Rich, Donald Trump talks about William Levitt as an example of why you must keep momentum. Using a philosophy like David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” to organize your projects and keep defining your next action helps for me. Getting Things Done will help you collect and take next actions on things. As long as you have a next action that is possible, defined, and in the works, you will make progress.
3. Never give up. Don’t take the results of your projects personally. Failure is bound to happen. Think of it like throwing rocks at a window: if you do it right, one will eventually break through! Whatever happens with it, you must remember that it is just one thing up in the air. You must take the next action, look at the result, and then evaluate it and determine your next action.

Don’t stop just because it looks like there are obstacles. This is your brain trying to trick you. Yes, it is easier for most people to quit than to come up with half a million dollars of “creative” financing for a project– I am dealing with these same challenges myself– but you can’t take it personally. It is business. It isn’t personal.

For example: I was very interested in obtaining inexpensive warehouse space at a huge industrial park near my home for several projects. I read that it was available and that I just needed to put forth a proposal to get a deal on the space. So I made a call. I was told they’re not sure what they are going to do and they have hired a consultant who should have an answer by the end of the year. They said they’ll “call me”.

What would you do? Throw the idea out? Wait for them to call you? Not me, I have two new actions– (1) to follow up on the 20th of January, and (2) to look for other inexpensive space in the area that might work for my projects.

4. But– just as importantly– you must be evaluating things to check whether you are approaching your goals. What you’re looking for is a real evaluation of profitability, trends, data, and what you can be doing differently. Is Tuesday your heavy day? Plan your editorial calendar around it. Polish the cannonball.
5. Look for barriers to entry. Don’t set yourself up for failure. Warren Buffett’s value investing philosophy has you looking for wide moat companies– ones with a sustainable competitive advantage. So if you were going to invest 100% of your future success on a company that you are starting, why step onto a bloody battlefield? If you want to start a business, do something that differentiates you from everyone else. Anything. Just something. Create your own niche. Sometimes crazy can be better.
6. Meet the right people– and tell them what you’re doing. According to “The Millionaire Mind”, many wealthy people have said that their people skills helped them immensely. If you don’t know who you need to meet, you don’t know what you’re doing - so spend some time thinking about it. Figure it out. And make that a project. If you are tasteful and to the point - think Donald Trump with a twist of class - it won’t be bragging, it will be sharing. If no one knows you exist, how can they send opportunities your way?
7. Make decisions. This is hard for a lot of people, including myself. But my time in the Navy gave me a lot of opportunities to react quickly, give orders, and make things happen. Ever started up a nuclear reactor? I have. And let me say that no matter how many times I did it, that complex evolution– much like any business venture– always took planning, consistent effort, a watchful eye, and lots of decison-making.
8. Ask and you shall receive. (Or, you’ll never get what you want– unless you ask for it.) Whether it is a job, date, or a million dollars in venture capital, if you want to be successful, you need to find out who can give you what you want. Then get in touch with them, and ask for it. They might say yes; they might not. But you have no chance of getting it if you don’t ask. (Thanks to Amit Gupta for mentioning this one.)