As a finance professional, whether you're training to become a CFO or already a Finance Director, continual personal and professional growth is a key part of your role.

Jack Canfield's "The Success Principles," though a bit dated, it's still a great read for anyone seeking motivation and actionable guidance.

In this review, I've summarised the top five themes of the book that resonate strongly with me and also with the ethos of CFO and Finance Director training.

1. Taking Responsibility: The book begins with the foundational principle of taking full responsibility for your actions and decisions.

Not only is this relevant for finance professionals who often make critical decisions impacting an organisation's future but also for your own life and your own career.

The book is very good with giving specific examples of how people didn't get over their fear - but rather went against their fear and just took a chance anyway. 

This certainly resonated with me as it's only something I've been able to do in the last few years and much earlier in my life I allowed my fear / anxiety to stop me. 

A great reminder that everyone can be fearful / anxious / nervous - regardless of how successful they are.

One of my favourite quotes is, "If you don't ask, then the answer is always no".  I still use this quote to help me get over my fear if I need to ask for something.

2. Clear Goal Setting: Canfield emphasises the power of setting clear and achievable goals.

Again this is very relevant for both financial planning and strategy development in any CFO's role as well as your own life.

If you think about a company, when you need to do a budget model, you must first understand the comany's strategic goals and operational goals before you can build anything.

Your life is the same.  You can't decide what your next move is in your career if you don't know where you want to be in 5 or 10 years time.  It's worthwhile doing that exercise first.

3. Overcoming Obstacles: The book provides practical advice on overcoming challenges and setbacks, a common problem both within startups / scaleups and within anyone's career.

Learning that mistakes are okay and actually you probably learn more when you make a mistake rather than getting everything right 100% of the time is really critical for your development and learning.

I can personally say that any mistake I have made in my career but also with my company are when I made real pivotable changes that have made a lasting impact.

4. The Power of Persistence: Canfield's emphasis on perseverance aligns perfectly with the career prograssion of becoming a CFO, where persistence in learning, growing, and adapting is key.

I also find this to be true with the companies that we work for.  There is often no golden ticket - trying lots of different iterations and tweaks is generally how companies grow their customer base.

If you think about any change in your life, someone else's life, the company you work for - everything takes time.  It's the small changes that are made every single day that make for a long term change.  Sure, there may be quick wins but most changes can't happen overnight.

5. Continuous Learning and Growth: The principle of lifelong learning in the book mirrors the career of finance professionals who must constantly update their knowledge and skills in a rapidly changing industry.

This is particularly true the higher up the corporate ladder you go.  Getting qualified is only the start of your learning and there is so much more to go, it doesn't stop.

I feel that this is also very true with technology, AI and software.  We need to stay up to date to ensure that our knowledge is relevant and useful.

While "The Success Principles" may not be the newest book on the shelf, its timeless lessons continue to inspire and motivate you to do more. Its principles are a reminder that the path to success, both personal and professional, is an ongoing journey of learning, adapting, and growing.  It doesn't happen overnight and wont' happen if you don't take some level of action and ownership.

Take a look at other book recommendations here.

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