In this article Harrison discusses the importance of ‘energy’ over technical skills. When people are hiring you they are purchasing your “energy” more than they are purchasing your technical skills. They are interested in your ability to influence the world around you through your energy. When you are marketing yourself and seeking a job, or working in a job, there are essentially two things you are marketing. You are marketing your technical skills, but more importantly you are marketing an intangible sort of energy. The most successful people have mastered the art of projecting positive energy. The better your energy, the more employable you will be and the farther you will go.

Russell Conwell’s fantastic Acres of Diamonds speech argues that the means for success do not require extensive searching, but are all around us. Opportunity is everywhere if you know where to look. Many times we miss opportunities that are right in front of us because we are looking in the wrong places.

Be the person you want to be; if you see yourself naturally going in a certain direction, then you must allow yourself to go that way. Be grateful for every little thing in your life, and you will position yourself to receive more good things. You must hold the correct mindset to achieve a successful life and career; “get your mind right”, look at the world differently, and get away from your established ways of doing things.

You need to constantly broadcast your value in your current job; make sure that your bosses are aware of what you are doing and the value you are providing them. Your supervisor or potential employer wants to know what you bring to their organization. In order to accomplish this, work behind the scenes and make sure your boss is aware of everything you do!

In this article Harrison discusses the importance of investing in the backstage of everything you are doing. Nothing is more important than what you do behind-the-scenes, and the substance that goes into your job. Only with a good backstage can you achieve your full potential in anything. Most successful people and businesses always have a very strong operation behind-the-scenes. It is not what people see when they look at a storefront that matters; it is the “substance” of what is going behind-the-scenes. It is like this with you and your profession as well. The ultimate product that you produce will be more a product of what you do “behind-the-scenes” than of the actual service that you provide. It is important to understand the significance of this, because it can mean the difference between great success and failure. Only with a good backstage can you achieve full potential in anything.

In this article Harrison discusses the importance of putting your efforts in the right direction. The most important decision you can make is deciding where you are going to put your effort. If you choose the right field for your efforts, you will frequently be richly rewarded (even if you do not have a lot of skill in the field). When you identify something that the market wants, and provide it, then you can frequently do quite well—even if you are not particularly skilled. It is just a question of being at the right place at the right time and taking action. In your career, very little is more important than where you choose to focus your effort. Nothing is more important than working somewhere with opportunity and where you are being carried away by the wind of a positive economic current.

There is probably someone in your life and career who exerts a degree of control over you, and you may act against your own self-interest for fear of that person. While there is nothing wrong with being controlled by others – it is usually inevitable – you must at all costs avoid acting against your own best interests because of external control. Examine your position in life, and determine how much of it is based on your fears and submission to authority.