P.T. Barnum’s Eight Steps to Success, from Steve Ellison
From Norman Vincent Peale's Treasury of Joy and Enthusiasm:
- Engage in a business for which you have a talent.
- Secure a suitable locality for your business.
- Stick to your business. Do not assume that just because you are a success in one field that you can be so in any.
- Be economical; not parsimonious, nor stingy, but never go into debt.
- Be systematic. No man can succeed in business who neglects the strict observance of a system in his business.
- Advertise. Have a good article and make it known in some way to the public that you have such a thing for sale.
- Be charitable. It always pays a businessman to perform acts of benevolence.
- Be honest. Honesty is the best policy. A man who lacks honesty will soon lack customers for his goods.
Jaime Klein writes:
Interestingly, P.T. Barnum himself has a bad reputation. He used to work only in the early mornings, spending the rest of the day drunk, and his business was based on fake curiosities. But his century-old advice is still the best in its class.