Here are some of the secrets to success on an epic scale:

• When the going gets tough, the tough get creative. Don’t do more, do different. Lift a city.
• Don’t be great, be consistently good. Don’t worry about the big break, worry about being good enough.
• Use rejection as motivation. And remember the compliments you receive. You’re charming, right?
• Working hard is the best way to network. Bring coffee and tea.
• Don’t wait for permission. Don’t poison anyone, but test and prove.
• If you can’t be #1, be clever. Energizing others with style can beat “the best way.” (Mimes are nodding right now.)

But financial success isn’t everything. In the end, what makes us happy with our lives is relationships. And who better to explain this than billionaire Warren Buffett?

Via Getting There: A Book of Mentors:

You have lived a successful life if, as you grow older, the people who you hope love you actually do. I have never known anyone who does not feel like a success when they have gotten close to my age and have a lot of people who love them.

We can use these same principles to improve any area of life: Be creative in how you deal with your family. Be consistently good as a parent. And don’t wait for permission when it comes to your happiness.

As T.S. Eliot once said:

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. 

4) Working Hard Is The Best Way To Network

Yes, successful people show up early and leave late. But it’s not just the hard work that gets them results.

Mike Bloomberg became a billionaire and then the mayor of New York City. He credits long hours but reveals a secondary benefit to being at the office when most people weren’t: the only people there are the successful people.

So bring them coffee and make a friend.