Winners surround themselves with other winners. A winner knows he's a winner. He doesn't need second-raters and yes-men around to feed his ego. He knows he'll win more, and go further, with associates who not only can keep up with him but who also are capable of teaching him something.

Life doesn't come with an instruction manual for success, so Darren Hardy has written one for you. The Compound Effect shows you how small, smart choices add up to transform your life.

"You learn when you listen. You earn when you listen - not just money, but respect.

Direct your energy toward achieving a goal, and tackle the problems with an emphasis on edging closer to a successful result.

You don't have to know everything as long as you know people who know the things you don't

Hard work often leads to success. No work seldom does.

Don't equate activity with efficiency. You are paying your key people to see the big picture. Don't let them get bogged down in a lot of meaningless meetings and paper shuffling. Announce a Friday afternoon off once in a while. Cancel a Monday morning meeting or two. Tell the cast of characters you'd like them to spend the amount of time normally spent preparing for attending the meeting at their desks, simply thinking about an original idea.