A couple of years ago, I was invited to be a guest on Executive Leaders Radio, and there I met Gordon Bernhardt. He invited me to tell my story for publication in his Profiles in Success series. What was supposed to be a one hour taped interview lasted over 2 1/2 hours. I found Gordon to be sincere, authentic, and engaging, and I enjoyed our conversation very much. Since then, Gordon and I have spent more time together, and I am continually impressed at his attention to detail and focus on quality in everything he does.

When Gordon Bernhardt asked me to write this Foreword to the latest Volume of his Profiles in Success series, I was very flattered. As a previous biography, and a longtime fan of this series it is quite an honor to do this.

There are many definitions of “success” and the one I like and subscribe to is the pursuit of one’s passion to the maximum extent of one’s capabilities. For me, passion and success are two sides of the same coin. The common theme of all of Gordon’s biographies is that they are all pursuing their passion and dreams to the max. Some have achieved awesome financial success, and others have had a huge impact on society. Some have raised terrific children, and others have pursued their passion in faith and in serving our great country.

What Gordon is doing through his Profiles in Success biographies is pursuing his own personal passion for studying and documenting the stories of success people. By writing and publishing nearly 300 such biographies, he is also doing a tremendous service for the Greater Washington, DC business community as a whole.

SUCCESS FORMULA

Since this series is all about “Success,” let me describe the Success Formula which I have discovered and synthesized from reading dozens of motivational and business books over the years, as well as by observing successful people: S = BD + G + F + C + P, whereby S = Success, BD = Burning Desire, G = Goal setting, F = Focus, C = Courage to take action, and P = Persistence. These are the 4 absolute necessary ingredients for success. As you read through these stories, you may want to keep this formula in mind and see if it matches up to how these successful people got to where they are.

It all starts with Burning Desire, which can come from a passion or driving force for someone. It could also be overcompensation for an insecurity or something that happened in childhood. Whatever the cause, that burning desire has to be there as the spark for achievement.

Goal setting is the road map for getting to your destination. Almost every successful person I know has written goals which he or she regularly evaluates and monitors. Focus is another necessary ingredient. Steve Jobs is not the only captain of industry who has attributed his success to saying “No.” An almost obsessive focus on one’s objectives and goals are what I am talking about here.

You also need Courage. The best planning in the world and all the desire in the world is useless without action. And Courage is what gets successful people to take action and execute.

Finally, you need Persistence, intestinal fortitude, whatever you want to call it. Successful people must be able to absorb the body blows, the negative noise from doubters, the self-doubt; and get up every morning ready to go to the field of battle to pursue their dreams. Persistence is my favorite of these success prerequisites, and I conclude this Foreword with my favorite quote, which is about the Persistence every biography in this Volume exhibits:

  “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never–in nothing, great or small, large or petty–never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” – Winston Churchill

I hope you find this volume of Profiles in Success to be as enjoyable, entertaining, and informative as previous volumes.

S. Tien Wong
CEO, Tech 2000, Inc.
Chairman, Lore Systems, Inc.
tienwong.wordpress.com

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