Besides hard work, you have to have other qualities to become successful. When Tzu Chang asked Confucius the meaning of the word ‘virtue’, the sage said: "Five things constitute virtue. They are courtesy, magnanimity, sincerity, earnestness and kindness. With courtesy, you avoid insult. With magnanimity, you win all. With sincerity men will come to trust you. With earnestness and kindness, you can achieve success." These five virtues are worth acquiring.

Words are mental manipulators. Prof John Tyndale, an English scientist, used to talk about the power of words, and how they were put to best use by his servant. Each morning, the elderly man would knock on the professor’s door and say: "Arise, sir. It is near seven o’clock. You have great work to do this day."

You too have great work to do everyday. You too have to learn to use words to tell your story. You too have to learn to paint with words, to portray, to deliver a message.

Robert Frost sums it up well in these beautiful lines:

Andrew Carnegie’s outstanding qualities were: a strong will power and persistence. He used these traits to attain his goals. Beyond these he had no outstanding qualities that are not possessed by a man of average intelligence. On the sheer strength of these qualities, Carnegie was able to raise the great United States Steel Corporation, which revolutionised the steel industry and provided employment to a large number of skilled and unskilled workers.

Within you is the power to mobilise your abilities, the power to destroy fear, the power to dream and create, the power to convert failure into achievement and turn defeat into victory. You should remember, success begins first in the mind. Be an optimist, not a pessimist. Try, try again.

Put a smile on your face and a firm grip in your handshake. It takes only 12 muscles to smile, 46 to frown, so turn the frown upside down and burn less energy. Be humorous. People will love and like your company and you’ll be their favourite. Develop enthusiasm in daily living. Devote 15-30 minutes every morning for meditation or inspirational reading and reflection.

Do not try to fill your time with more than what you can do. Start enlisting your activities. Then review the list, eliminating what is not truly necessary and beneficial. Don’t try to do everything you can, or even everything you want to. Keep sight of the most important things each day and do those priority-wise. Cultivate personal relationships. Reduce the time you spend on watching TV.

Avoid doing two or more things at a time, even if they seem trivial and you know you can manage it. When you do more than one thing at a time, your attention is divided. You lose concentration, which is essential for good performance in any field.

When you read and eat at the same time, for example, part of your mind is on what you are reading and part on what you are eating. You are not getting the most from either activity. Remember Buddha’s words: "When you are walking, walk; when you are sitting, sit. Don’t wobble."

When driving, give full attention to the road. Don’t listen to music or talk to passengers. Similarly, when you are a passenger, don’t distract the driver.

Don’t waste time getting caught in the past or the future. Focus your full attention on the present, because present is important than the past and the future. Past is dead and buried. Future is uncertain. Present, therefore, needs your attention.

Choose what you eat by what is good for your body rather than by taste.

Similarly, the mind eats too, through the senses. Choose very carefully what you read, watch and listen to. Ask yourself whether it elevates or lowers your image. Remember that you are what you think. What goes into your mind becomes part of what you are.

Cultivate time with people whose company elevates you. It is especially helpful to spend time regularly with others whose lives are based on the same spiritual values. Share your time with such people. Relaxation is an important part of daily living.

Devote some time daily to reading from the scriptures and the writings of great mystics of all religions. This will purify and elevate your thinking besides motivating you to do good deeds. "Good company, excellent books and prayers — these three make a man monarch of the three worlds," says Swami Ram Tirath. H.W. Longfellow has beautifully stated in these lines: "Lives of great men all remind us/We can make our lives sublime/And, departing, leave behind us/Footprints on the sands of time."

The process of attaining success is not a natural phenomenon. Success is not something we inherit. It is something we create; it is the result of a well-rehearsed action. Action is life. We must be doers, not dreamers. The rewards are wonderful when efforts pay off.