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THE BIG IDEAS True Success

Greatness of Spirit
A New Philosophy of Excellence - A joyful approach to work, love,
THAT’s what we’re after!
and play that restores the missing ingredient in life...
BY TOM MORRIS · A BERKLEY BOOK © 1994 · 294 PAGES
The Question
How can I make my contribution?

High Goals
Dig deep into your heart. “The kind of success I am most interested in is the sort available to every human
being living, breathing, thinking, and doing things on this earth. It does not require
Embrace Failure
Build your confidence. wealth, fame, power or high social status. It needs not involve aspiring to any of
How to PLAN for Success these things. But it does require making the most of what we are, for the benefit
Prepair, launch, adjust, network. of others as well as ourselves. It means making a difference and experiencing the
Consistency deep satisfaction that brings. It means using your talents and following your heart.
= Empowerment. It involves being true to yourself and being good to others.”
Does Your Work ~ Tom Morris from True Success
Feed the fire of your heart?

What Is Good Character? Tom Morris rocks.

A question worth exploring.
A Capacity to Enjoy
Let’s enjoy each moment!
A former Professor at Notre Dame with a joint Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from
Yale, Tom’s one of my favorite writers and teachers.
One of the reasons I enjoy his work so much is that he’s able to blend a super enthusiastic, fun,
even audacious approach to life with a perspective grounded in the practical wisdom of the ages.
Makes for a magical blend. :)

In this great book, Morris outlines the seven conditions of True Success:

1. We need a clear conception of what we want, a vivid vision, a goal or set of goals powerfully
imagined.

2. We need a strong confidence that we can attain our goals.

3. We need a focused concentration on what it takes to reach our goal.

“The happiest people in
the world are people who
love what they are doing,
regardless of whether
wealth, fame, power and
elevated social status
ever come their way. The
most fulfilled people are
individuals who delight in
their work, whatever it
might be, and strive to do it
well.”
~ Tom Morris
4. We need a stubborn consistency in pursuing our vision, a determined persistence in thought
and action.
5. We need an emotional commitment to the importance of what we’re doing, and to the
people with whom we’re doing it.
6. We need a good character to guide us and keep us on a proper course.
7. We need a capacity to enjoy the process along the way.
A chapter is dedicated to each of those conditions and the book is packed with Big Ideas, so let’s
jump in! :)
SEEKING GREATNESS OF SPIRIT
“As reported by Plato in his famous Apology, Socrates was convinced that most of us approach
life backwards. We give the most attention to the least important things and the least attention
to the most important things. It was his firm belief that “wealth does not bring about excellence,
but excellence brings about wealth and all other public and private blessings for men.” It was the
state of our souls that was most important to Socrates. The inner life of each person. Greatness
of spirit. Wisdom. Inner excellence. When we give precedence to the inner, both inner and outer

1 PhilosophersNotes | True Success


“Philosophy, as a “love of
wisdom,” must be, at its
best, a love of living wisely,
and a love of attaining
wisdom about living by and
through both the act of
living and the practice of
carefully reflecting on that
lived experience.”
~ Tom Morris
“We should always have
as our primary goals clear
focal targets of creation,
contribution, and participation
in life to the fullest. The
positive consequences of
recognition that may result
can be enjoyed immensely, but on a tropical beach with a tan and sexy people around us while we’re told to create a vision board
should always be secondary with our new mansion on the cliffs overlooking the crashing waves (next to the 10 houses we
consequences.” bought for our parents, family, etc.).
~ Tom Morris
2 PhilosophersNotes | True Success
fall into place. When we follow the opposite course, nothing will give us what we truly need. Only
emptiness will result.”
Amen!
Although most of the self-development world seems to be more interested in helping us acquire
fame, wealth, power and status, the fact is that true happiness and fulfillment come from the
inside-out.
Morris begins the book by establishing the fact that going after these external markers of
“success” just isn’t gonna get the job done. True success, from his perspective, comes from a
commitment to developing our own greatness of spirit.
In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (see Notes), Stephen Covey tells us “I believe that
a life of integrity is the most fundamental source of personal worth. I do not agree with the
popular success literature that says that self-esteem is primarily a matter of mind set, of
attitude—that you can psych yourself into peace of mind. Peace of mind comes when your life is
in harmony with true principles and values and in no other way.”
Covey sums it up with this great line: “Private Victory precedes Public Victory. Algebra comes
before calculus.”
One of my favorite Positive Psychologists, Sonja Lyubomirsky (see Notes on The How of
Happiness), tells us that about 50% of our happiness come from our genetic set points and that,
at best, only 10% of our happiness comes from external stuff like wealth, physical attractiveness
or our jobs. The other 40%? That’s under our control.
As she says: “What makes up this 40 percent? Besides our genes and the situations that we
confront, there is one critical thing left: our behavior. Thus the key to happiness lies not in
changing our genetic makeup (which is impossible) and not in changing our circumstances
(i.e., seeking wealth or attractiveness or better colleagues, which is usually impractical), but
in our daily intentional activities. With this in mind, our pie chart illustrates the potential of
the 40 percent that is within our ability to control, the 40 percent for room to maneuver, for
opportunities to increase or decrease our happiness levels through what we do in our daily
lives and how we think.”
So, we know both philosophically and scientifically, that the truly Good Life—one that leads to
an abundance of joy, meaning and lasting happiness and fulfillment, comes from living a life of
virtue. Let’s check out some of Tom’s other brilliant Big Ideas on how to rock it! :)
HOW CAN I MAKE MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD?
“The desire to have, to acquire and possess, is in principle insatiable, and rarely generates the
sense of fulfillment and happiness it promises. By contrast, only the desire to do, to produce,
to contribute, or to give can reliably, when acted on, yield the true sense of satisfaction we all
deeply need. The conclusion I draw from this is that each of us should be guided in our goal
setting by the simple question: “How can I best make my contribution to the world?” In our own
priorities, doing should always precede having. Only then will we have what we most truly need.”
Having a clear idea of what we want is the first condition of True Success.
The challenge is that we’re often told by self-help gurus that it’s all about visualizing ourselves
Of course, there’s nothing inherently *wrong* with enjoying beautiful things in our lives
(and aspiring to enjoy a certain level of luxury) but when acquiring those things becomes our

“It’s not wrong to want
resources. It’s not wrong
to have as a goal the
positive recognition and
respect of other people.
But money, fame, power, and
social status should never
be our primary focus.”
~ Tom Morris
“Nothing contributes so
much to tranquilize the
mind as a steady purpose—a
point on which the soul
may fix its intellectual eye.”
~ Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
“If we want the boldness
to pursue new goals, we
should not allow ourselves
to dwell imaginatively too
much on the possible risks
of failure.”
~ Tom Morris
“One thing we must do with
any success we attain is to
use it to launch ourselves
onto the next quest for
a new success. Whenever
you attain your goals, you
need new goals. Right away.
Otherwise you risk the
near certain ennui of literal
aimlessness.”
~ Tom Morris
PhilosophersNotes | True Success
dominant focus, we’re in for a rude awakening.
For two reasons: 1) The ONLY way you’re ever going to get any of that stuff is by working
*really* *really* hard and creating a significant amount of value in the world; and, 2) Even if you
eventually get those material possessions, you’re still not going to get what you REALLY want
(which is happiness) unless, in the process, you’ve also optimized your mind, invested energy
into your relationships and really feel like you’ve made a lasting contribution to the world.
So, let’s put the vision board in the closet for a moment (gasp!) and start with a fresh sheet of
paper. Write in the middle of it: “How can I best make my contribution to the world?”
And mind map the bliss out of that. Then work hard. With joy, energy and enthusiasm as you
give yourself most fully to the world!
P.S. To see a YouTube video on how I mind map, Google “YouTube + PhilosophersNotes + How
I Mind Map” or click here! :)
How about a little more philosophical Morris mojo on the subject of goal setting?
HIGH GOALS
“Setting high goals is not necessarily a matter of striving to become a company president,
CEO, or governor of your state. It doesn’t require planning to be the number-one salesman in
the country or to write a runaway best-seller book. Stretching yourself doesn’t have to mean
increasing your income, fame, power, or social status at all. It means digging deep into your
own heart, finding what you’re capable of and what you love, and not settling for anything
else. It means not narrowing yourself but exercising and enjoying every aspect of who you are.
It involves discovering your own personal excellence, your own best path to fulfillment, and
walking it every day. These are what I think of as high goals.”
Love that.
So, to repeat: Setting high goals is NOT about external stuff/seeing how much fame/power/
wealth you can accumulate. The world doesn’t need another Oprah and you don’t need to be on
Oprah to be a success.
So let’s shift from that manic focus on being Big Time and get back to the question “How can I
best make my contribution to the world?”
For some, THE most important contribution might be (and should be!) to be an amazing mom
or dad—spending LESS time going after all the bling and signs of outward success and spending
MORE time with your kids on their homework or teaching them these kinds of Big Ideas.
In my experience, as we get all geeked up about creating an authentically awesome life, it’s really
easy to get seduced by all the stuff our society tells us we need. Namely, the fame, power, wealth
and social status. But, again, those are, at best, BY-PRODUCTS of living a life of integrity and
inner wisdom.
So, let’s step back, dig deep into our own hearts, find out what we’re capable of and how we can
create our most authentically awesome lives—on OUR terms and in harmony with true wisdom.
EMBRACE FAILURE
“A lack of failure in a person’s life often indicates a lack of effort, a policy of playing it safe. It
usually signals a lack of risk taking, a dearth of innovation and experiment. People who are
stretching themselves, trying new things, and setting high goals will try some dead-end streets
along the way. At least they’re out there moving, searching, testing and learning. A lack of any
failure may be the greatest failure—in the life of a business or in the life of an individual.”
3
 This wisdom on embracing failure comes from the second chapter on the importance of having
“Confidence to See Us Through.” Fact is, as we put ourselves out there and really challenge
“Fear is the darkroom ourselves we WILL fail. Period.
in which negatives are
In The Pursuit of Perfect (see Notes), Tal Ben-Shahar goes so far as to say: “One of the wishes
developed.”
that I always have for my students is that they should fail more often (although they are
~ Tom Morris understandably not thrilled to hear me tell them so). If they fail frequently, it means that they
try frequently, that they put themselves on the line and challenge themselves. It is only from the
experience of challenging ourselves that we learn and grow, and we often develop and mature
much more from our failures than from our successes. Moreover, when we put ourselves on the
line, when we fall down and get up again, we become stronger and more resilient.”

“You can’t please everybody.
Don’t even try. And don’t let
it bother you.“
~ Tom Morris
And, as Alexandra and I push our edges and test out all kinds of ideas (from where we want to
live to how we want to run our businesses), we love to remind ourselves of Michael Beckwith’s
genius concept of mis-takes from Spiritual Liberation (see Notes): “A conscious realization of
our innate oneness with the Ineffable does not mean that we will never make a mistake again.
Even enlightened beings burn their bagels once in a while. It’s important to maintain a sense of
humor because this is how you will stop being afraid of making a mistake. You’ll make some,
but so what? That’s why they’re called mis-takes. Humor relaxes the uptight ego. You get a
new cue from your inner Self and simply say, ‘I missed my cue, so let’s do a second take.’ Your
willingness to take the risk of making a mistake is actually an expression of courage and a
willingness to grow from them. Mistakes are about getting the blessing in the lesson and the
lesson in the blessing.”

So, back to you: Are you playing it a little too safe?

How can you push your edges a little more and take some more risks. Or, if you’re currently
experiencing a setback, how can you see it from a broader, more confident perspective—where
you can see the strength you’re building and the distinctions you’re making for your next
awesome push?!

Confidence. It’s HUGE. Let’s build more and more of it!

HOW TO PLAN FOR SUCCESS

“The most consistently “If you want success in anything, you need to PLAN:
lucky people happen to
Prepare for your journey.
be those who are most
Launch out in action.
prepared.” Adjust as you go.
~ Tom Morris Network with those who know.”

The third chapter is all about “A Concentration on What It Takes” and Morris goes into detail on
his PLAN.

Prepare. Launch. Adjust. Network.

Great stuff.

CONSISTENCY = EMPOWERMENT
“Consistency of the highest sort is empowerment. Our goals and values, the commitments we
make to guide our paths through life, must be embodied in our thoughts, actions, emotions,
and attitudes on a consistent basis if they are to make the kind of difference for us that they
are capable of making. Without consistent embodiment, our greatest visions are just dreams.
Consistency of the right kind always enhances our prospects for seeing our dreams become
realities. It moves us along in the direction we have chosen.”

4 PhilosophersNotes | True Success


“Many people think the key
to success is hard work.
And that is important. Very
important. But it’s more
important to work smart.”
~ Tom Morris
“When love and skill
work together, expect a
masterpiece.”
~ John Ruskin
“Many people have the wrong
idea of what constitutes
happiness. It is not attained
through self-gratification,
but through fidelity to a
worthy purpose.”
~ Helen Keller
“Enjoyment is not meant to
be the final end state of a
long and arduous process
of attainment. It is meant
to be woven through
the tapestry of our lives
*now.* In the present. And
throughout the process
along the way.”
~ Tom Morris
PhilosophersNotes | True Success
Consistency. It’s the fourth essential ingredient in True Success.
Call it integrity or coherence or a “higher sort of consistency”—it’s clear the commitments we
make in our lives MUST “be embodied in our thoughts, actions, emotions, and attitudes on a
consistent basis” if we’re gonna rock it.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi puts it this way in his classic book Flow (see Notes): “Someone
who knows his desires and works with purpose to achieve them is a person whose feelings,
thoughts, and actions are congruent with one another, and is therefore a person who has
achieved inner harmony.”
Here’s to consistent inner harmony!
WORK THAT FEEDS THE FIRES OF OUR HEART
“Are you doing what you love? Are you working at something that sets you aflame? That feeds
the fires of your heart? If not, why not? Make a change. Do something else. Or else just love what
you do. Put your heart into it. Now.”
Well that makes it pretty straightforward, eh? :)
If we’re gonna honor the fifth element of True Success, “A Commitment of Emotion,” we’ve gotta
put our hearts into our work.
As Kahlil Gibran tells us in The Prophet (still need to do a Note on that one! :): “Work is love
made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you
should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with
joy. For if you break bread with indifference, you bake bitter bread that feeds but half a man’s
hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of grapes, your grudge distills a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices
of the day and the voices of the night.”
And Carlos Castaneda brings the point home in a passage I often like to share: “Anything is one
of a million paths. Therefore, a warrior must always keep in mind that a path is only a path; if
he feels that he should not follow it, he must not stay with it under any conditions. His decision
to keep on that path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition. He must look at every path
closely and deliberately. There is a question that a warrior has to ask, mandatorily: ‘Does this
path have a heart?’”
So, two choices here: Love what you’re currently doing or do something you love.
Please don’t hang out in between. Your family, your community and your world need more from
you, yo! :)
WHAT IS GOOD CHARACTER?
“What is good character? Having a good character involves integrity, honesty, patience, courage,
kindness, generosity of spirit, and having a strong sense of personal responsibility, among many
other qualities. It’s amazing to me how little we talk about such things nowadays.”
Character. It’s the 6th essential component to True Success.
As Morris says, it’s amazing how little we talk about virtuous living these days. In Mastery (see
Notes), George Leonard tells us: “If you’re planning to embark on a master’s journey, you
might find yourself bucking current trends in American life. Our hyped-up consumerist society
is engaged, in fact, in an all out war on mastery.”
Yet, we KNOW that living with character is essential to our well-being.
So, here’s to diligently, patiently, persistently and playfully putting in the time and effort
5

“The success of inner
achievement, personal
excellence, and moral
concern moving out into the
world and making a positive
difference can be our
aim. And it should be. In
the end, living a life geared
toward true success is the
only sensible way to live.
It is the only way to have
a thoroughly meaningful
and completely fulfilling
existence.”
~ Tom Morris
If you liked this Note,
you’ll probably like…
The Art of Achievement
The How of Happiness
The Happiness Hypothesis
The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People
Mastery
Happier
The Pursuit of Perfect
6 PhilosophersNotes | True Success
necessary to develop our courage, kindness, generosity, optimism, honesty, integrity and other
virtues that constitute wonderful character!
A CAPACITY TO ENJOY
“True success is best thought of not as a far-off destination, or an end state of any kind, but
as a process, a dynamic process of successful living. As we attain valuable goals that are right
for us, renew our vision, move toward new goals that have then become appropriate for us,
and properly attaining them, while building up our own personal excellence, as well as strong,
healthy relations with the people around us, we are experiencing small individual successes
within an overall process of successful living. The only guaranteed way to enjoy success within
our lives is to learn to enjoy the process along the way, in its many facets. Dreaming, scheming,
striving, wrestling—whatever we are doing at the present moment—can be enjoyed. It need not
be just endured as we wait on some future enjoyment that we think some far-off ultimate success
will bring.”
Enjoyment. It’s the seventh element of True Success. What’s the point of all our striving and
growth if we’re not enjoying the process?!
Tal Ben-Shahar also captures it beautifully in his great book Happier (see Notes for his brilliant
description of the various archetypes!): “Attaining lasting happiness requires that we enjoy the
journey on our way toward a destination we deem valuable. Happiness is not about making it
to the peak of the mountain nor is it about climbing aimlessly around the mountain; happiness
is the experience of climbing toward the peak.”
Here’s to creating an authentically awesome life as we embody the wisdom of the 7 C’s of True
Success!
Brian Johnson,
Chief Philosopher
About the Author of “True Success”
TOM MORRIS
Tom Morris has become one of the most active business speakers in America,
with clients that include General Motors, Merrill Lynch, IBM, the U.S. Air
Force, MBNA Bank, and International Paper. He has published twelve books,
including If Artistotle Ran General Motors, True Success, and Philosophy for
Dummies. A former professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, he
is now chairman of the Morris Institute for Human Values in Wilmington, North
Carolina. (from the book - learn more about Tom at www.MorrisInstitute.org)
About the Author of This Note
BRIAN JOHNSON
Brian Johnson is a lover of wisdom (aka a “Philosopher”) and a passionate
student of life who’s committed to inspiring and empowering millions of people
to live their greatest lives as he studies, embodies and shares the universal truths
of optimal living. He harts his job.