Russell Simmons Recommends: Personal Success Books

“Whatever we put our attention on grows stronger in our life; whatever we take our attention away from withers and disappears.”

-Deepak Chopra, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

Every entrepreneur could use a little one-on-one time with someone who started with nothing but managed to build an empire. But how do you get up close and personal with a successful mogul? How can you access the knowledge and wisdom that made him a smashing success?

A few years ago, I became disenfranchised as a typical office worker who kept postponing her dreams of one day becoming a professional writer. Around that time, I found myself paying closer attention to respected leaders in the business world, many of whom were in the public eye, and who had built their own success from the ground up.

One of those people was Russell Simmons.

Who is Russell Simmons and Why Should I Listen to Him?

Lots of small business owners and entrepreneurs have never heard of Russell Simmons but you can bet that everyone in the hip-hop community knows exactly who he is, an ordinary guy from Queens, NY, who has built one of the most successful enterprises in the world.

In 2007, USA Today named Russell Simmons one of the “Top 25 Most Influential People of the Past 20 Years.” Here are just a few of his achievements:

• Produced and managed early hip-hop artists like Run-DMC (Russell is Run’s brother) and the Beastie Boys. In 1984 he co-founded Def Jam Recordings, the first hip-hop label, which sparked an enormous cultural phenomenon.
• Established clothing lines (Phat Farm, Argyle Culture, Atman) and founded HBO’s Def Comedy Jam and Def Poetry Jam.
• As a committed philanthropist, Russell runs Rush Philanthropic, which helps disadvantaged young people experience the arts. He’s also Chairmain of the Foundation of Ethnic Understanding, an organization that works to bring unity to people of different religions and ethnicities.

Russell is also the author of the the 2008 New York Times bestseller Do You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success, a book that I hope to review here for you at some point in the future.

To put it mildly, Russell Simmons is an enormous success, and what’s great about this man is that he understands success as something more than the number of dollars in your bank account, or the worth of the property you own. He knows that true success is woven through every aspect of our lives, but realizes at the same time that business success is essential to personal fulfillment.

If Russell Simmons recommends personal success books, then I’m adding them to my reading list. You should too, and here’s why.

Listening to Leaders

Lots of people want to be leaders. They claim to be authorities and maybe they have mountains of success to offer as proof of their accomplishments. But a true leader usually has a humble quality and does not keep the focus on his accomplishments; a true leader is focused on the accomplishments of those around him.

Russell Simmons shows that kind of leadership, especially in the philanthropic work he does, which is central to his life today.

One day, I was channel surfing and stumbled across a show in which Russell Simmons was mentoring his young nephew, who was just entering the business world. The first thing Russell did was hand his nephew a few books. It was his first day on the job and his very first assignment was to read The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Pocketbook Guide to Fulfilling Your Dreams (One Hour of Wisdom).

That’s a long title for such a little book. I thought to myself, if this is the book Russell Simmons asks his nephew read as he ushers him into to the business world, then surely it must be worthwhile.

I ordered a copy.

Personal Success

Books about how to succeed and make tons of money are everywhere. I’ve peeked at a few of them and most of the time they’re full of common sense tips for life dressed up in business attire. Most principles in these books are easily applied to other areas of life. Conversely, the best personal success books are holistic – they explain how to achieve success in all areas of your life, business included.

I ordered this book some time ago, but didn’t sit down to read it until I was looking for something to write about for this review. I cracked it open at the end of a hectic, stressful day. I was tired, frustrated, and edgy, exhausted from a string of 14-hour workdays and obsessively thinking about all the work still ahead of me in the days to come.

Suffice to say, I wasn’t in the greatest mood.

In fact, I was feeling pretty lowdown and negative. But by the time I finished the first chapter, I felt as if a weight had been lifted. No, all my stress didn’t evaporate, but I felt calmer and more equipped to deal with the challenges ahead.

Achieve Personal Success

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success is a quick read. You’ll probably finish it in about an hour, which explains why it’s subtitled One Hour of Wisdom. But it’s also the kind of book you’re likely to revisit and flip through when you need a bit of inspiration, a pep talk, or a better sense of where you are and where you’re going.

The book covers seven laws or guiding principles and includes insights on how to effectively harness the powers that lie within yourself and in the energies around you so that you can achieve personal success, something I usually refer to as simply, happiness.

Although the book touches on a few spiritual themes, it’s not a religious text and is in no way associated with any religion. Whether you’re devoutly religious, somewhat spiritual, or agnostic, the ideas in this book won’t conflict or interfere with your beliefs.

The author, Deepak Chopra, is an Indian medical doctor and writer. He has written extensively on spirituality and diverse topics in mind-body medicine.

Here are a few of my favorite tips and quotes from the book:

“There is nothing you lack, because your essential nature is one of pure potentiality and infinite possibilities.”

• “…success in life depends on knowing who we really are.”
• “Witness the choices you make in every moment.”
• “Attention to the whims of the ego consumes the greatest amount of energy.”

Now it’s Your Turn

What books about business or personal success do you recommend? Let’s pull together a list of good personal success books and resources to help all of us do better in business and life, online and off.

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