Everything is negotiable, and thus it is important that you choose your negotiations wisely. First, judge your negotiating environment and determine when you can and cannot negotiate; in many important matters, negotiating may actually work to your detriment. Your success in both career and life depends far more on your contributions than your negotiating skill, and having things offered to you is always preferable to demanding them.

In this article Harrison discusses that the meaning you give to things will control the quality of your life. How we feel about ourselves is all due to what we tell ourselves certain things will mean. The meaning you give things is crucial for your career success. You need to choose meanings that make you stronger. You need to ensure you interpret things in a way that serves you and does not hurt you. You need to reach your full potential. Don’t classify yourself as someone who is not fit to succeed at the level at which you’re capable. You need to take charge of your mind to have the career and the life that you deserve.

In this article Harrison explains how personal relationships and connections are incredibly useful. You need to get out there and do everything you can to meet people, form alliances and establish connections with people. Whether it is Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, or more — these and other tools that help you connect can make a giant difference. You need connections to make the most of your career. When you are looking for a job, it is effective if you are applying to a variety of places and really getting your message out there. You need to be seen in order to be hired. The more you get your information out there, the more likely you are to get hired. Connections matter. Connections cut through the clutter of advertisements and other interruptions that decision makers are faced with throughout the day. When a connection is at issue then things can really get done.

When many people lose their jobs, they find it difficult to find a position as good as the one they lost and blow it in terms of reestablishing their careers. Take time to look for opportunities, as valuable information and material is available all around you. Use ingenuity, and you will find these opportunities opening up to you, and you will prosper.

Use your past, rather than some unattainable ideal, as the yardstick for measuring progress in your life and career. The most successful people are also often the most unhappy, because they measure themselves against impossible ideals, which causes a constant sense of inferiority. There will always be someone better than you, and there are ideals all around you against which it would be unrealistic and stupid to measure yourself. Instead, compare yourself only to the person you were before; measure yourself against your own progress, and forget about others.

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There are two kinds of people; value creators and value extractors. Your career success will largely depend on your skill at either of these two things. Value extractors prefer an environment where value is already being created, while value creators look for areas of maximum opportunity. While value extractors seek stable careers, value creators seek to build up organizations rather than work within them. You need to decide if you are a value creator or extractor, commit to one or the other, and never look back.