after reading over 200 self-improvement books

After reading over 200 self-improvement books over the past thirty years I have determined all self-improvement and success come down to five keystone lessons that all other principles rest upon.

1. Mindset determines your success.
2. Goals create the map to your success.
3. Modeling shows what leads to success. 
4. Systems create the path to your success. 
5. Perseverance makes you successful.

...To succeed in life, you must develop a positive and growth-oriented mindset that allows you to overcome challenges and learn from your mistakes. You should set realistic and achievable goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. You must create a system of processes, routines, and habits that help you consistently and efficiently move closer to achieving your goals. Finally, you must cultivate the habit of perseverance, which enables you to keep going even when things get tough and never give up on your goals. This is what 200 self-help books will teach you.

Steve Burns

I Read 200 Self-Improvement Books To Learn These 5 Lessons. New Trader U. March 12, 2023. 

doubt vs. accepting failure

Jeff Haden, Contributing Editor: You said during your BUD/S (SEAL training) you were constantly doubting yourself. How did you push through those moments?

Sean Haggerty, Navy Seal: Don't confuse doubting yourself with accepting failure.

Everyone questions whether they can actually accomplish something difficult while they're doing it. That's normal.

The best thing I did was to decide that I was going to go to the absolute extreme, even if I doubted myself. I basically told myself that no matter what, I wouldn't quit. I doubted myself a number of times, but then I put away and thought, "If I fail, I fail...but what I will never do is quit."

That attitude pushes you past a limit you think you have...but you really don't.

Jeff Haden

"Want to Develop Incredible Willpower and Mental Toughness? A Navy SEAL Says Always Do This," Inc.com, January 19, 2017