Success in every part of your career and life depends on your mindset; a positive mindset lays the ground for achievement, while a negative mindset makes for an unhappy work environment and ultimately failure. Find work that you love and practice it with passion, and you will attract people and create more value in the world. Find what it is that makes you passionate in life, and commit to it. Passion is the most fundamental part of success, and you must exercise it even if you do nothing else.

In this article Harrison discusses how it is important not to get influenced by negative behavior of people around you. One thing you often find is that there seem to be a great number of people out in the world whose chosen business is to make your life and circumstances, whatever they may be, seem much worse than they are. Your success and ability to get on will in large part be determined by your ability to sift through all of this negative information coming at you. It is important to understand that all around you there are people and forces that want you to feel weak, vulnerable and inadequate. The best thing you can do to control and fight back against these forces is to sniff out and identify these people for what they are–and then avoid them. Do not allow others to control or influence you.

Advance your career by concentrating your efforts, and seeking work and people with whom you feel you could grow and establish roots. Devote your time and effort to pursuits that complement your strengths, and where you can add the most possible value. One of the most important actions you can take in your job search is to concentrate your assets where they can add the greatest value, and do not distract yourself with incompatible work and people.

In this article Harrison discusses the importance of the need to be connected with others at work. People need to feel connected to others around them. Everyone needs a group to belong to. Life is more enjoyable when we are connected to others. If you look around, you will see the many ways you are trying to connect with others in your life and how much you need this connection. To be successful—and happy in your career–it is important that you work with those you feel you can connect with. Because the need to be connected with people is so important, you should understand that one of the main needs most people have from work is to connect with others. We all require connection. You need to ensure you have this connection with others in your work.

You can change your life forever by harnessing the power of persistence. Think about the people in your life, and whether they empower you or hinder you in achieving your goals. You must win at all costs, and persist until you succeed.

People who form their opinions of themselves based of how others are doing fall into a dangerous trap; do not base your own happiness on how others are faring. Compare yourself to your own past performance rather than that of others to measure your growth and happiness. The process of comparing oneself to others is addictive, and you must free yourself from such unhealthy contrasts in order to find true happiness.

In the legal recruiting realm, a recruiter typically needs to introduce a candidate to more than one law firm in order to get the candidate an interview. You could have a candidate at the top of their class from Harvard Law School practicing at one of the ten largest firms in the United States and they could be rejected by numerous law firms. Why?