cover image The Joy of Success: Ten Essential Skills for Getting the Success You Want

The Joy of Success: Ten Essential Skills for Getting the Success You Want

Susan Ford Collins. William Morrow & Company, $24.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-06-018866-5

Collins, who has spent the past 20 years studying highly successful people and sharing their secrets through her ""Technology of Success"" seminars, extends her franchise with this book. Weaving together metaphysics, physics, philosophy and psychology, she presents an in-depth examination of 10 skills that highly successful people employ. With the premise that success is not a goal but a state of being ""satisfied and fulfilled by what you choose to do and be on a daily basis,"" Collins shows readers how to ""manage the process day by day, step by step,"" beginning with instructions on ways to define, manage and acknowledge success. Insisting that ""we are the creators of our lives,"" she presents the tools that she says will help readers realize their dreams. Although all this talk of following one's ambitions and desires may sound stale, Collins does delineate some key characteristics of successful folk: they communicate powerfully, have a clear idea of what they want to achieve and aren't afraid to step out on a limb. And while some readers may question Collins's anecdotal evidence and free-range logic and beliefs, she does deliver well-defined and practical tips for both personal and professional success.