One more point about Barack Obama’s inauguration address, in relation to success. He talked about the “values upon which our success depends,” and HARD WORK was the first value he mentioned. Yes, whether we want to succeed as a country, a company, or an individual, it takes hard work. In my interviews with more than 500 successful people, WORK and passion were at the top of the list. Martha Stewart said to me, “I’m a real hard worker. I work, and work, and work, all the time.” And this is nothing new. About 500 years before Martha, the great artist Michelangelo said, “If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful after all.”

Throughout history, all Eight Success Principles: Passion, Work, Focus, Push, Ideas, Improve, Serve, and Persist have been the most important factors for success, from Michelangelo in the 16^th century, to Martha in the 21^st century. Sure, people will keep looking for the latest trendy “secret” to success, but in the end it all boils down to these timeless principles. As Obama said when he talked about values like hard work, “…these things are old. These things are true.” And America’s success depends on “a return to these truths.” 

Barack Obama’s inauguration speech was a call to action, moving, and inspiring. It’s interesting that Obama used the word “I” only three times in his 20-minute speech. His entire talk was about others and the country, not about him – even though this was the biggest moment of his life.

In contrast, there was a man and woman sitting next to me in a coffee shop, talking loudly about being unemployed and looking for work. I timed them with a stopwatch and over the course of ten minutes the man said “I” 64 times and the woman said “I” 51 times. Extrapolate that out to 20 minutes and here’s the score:

Number of times person said “I” in 20 minutes:
           Barack Obama               3
           Unemployed man       128
           Unemployed woman   102

At no point did the unemployed man and woman express any interest in anybody else. They were only out for themselves, which is likely one of the reasons they were out of work. On the other hand, when I interview successful people, they rarely say “I” and it’s often difficult to get them to talk about themselves. They seem very outward-oriented, they serve others, and they would rather chat about their passion, project, or other people they admire, than yak on about themselves.

It all comes down to the seventh success principle – SERVE. Successful people serve others something of value, and Obama is no exception. We sense that he really is out to serve others, not just himself, and that principle is one of the big reasons he was standing up there taking the oath yesterday, rather than one of the other presidential candidates. In his speech Obama talked about people who “embody the spirit of SERVICE; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.” He also said “it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.” Sometimes, what is not said is more important than what is said, and by not saying “I”, Obama said a lot.

I was just told I’m going to be interviewed by some radio stations and they’re all “50,000-watt stations.” That means they have lots of energy, so they can go far and reach more people. My mind jumped to the thought that if you rated the energy of many of the great people I have interviewed, they would be “50,000-watt people.” Richard Branson and Martha Stewart had so much energy they struck me as 50,000-watt people. So did Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, and eBay cofounder Jeff Skol, to name just a few. They have tons of energy, largely because they’ve found their passion and are doing what they love. On the other hand, many people who are not doing what they love are more like 100-watt people. So, if you want more energy to push you further, forget eating energy bars and instead find your passion. That’s the way to reach 50,000 watts in your life.