Life's been a long, exciting trip, and it's taken me to a lot of places: law school at Yale with Hillary Rodham Clinton; speechwriting at the White House for Richard Nixon; preparing stock advertising materials on Wall Street; and, for the past 18 years, writing and acting in Hollywood.
I've watched successful people at work and at play．I also know too many people who have the smarts to succeed but never do．Why? Of course, luck has a role．But usually people make their own bad luck by regularly getting trapped in self-defeating attitudes and shoot- yourself-in-the-foot behavior.
Here are some of the worst traps．I call them the Eight Habits of Really Unsuccessful People.
1．Delusional(幻想的) thinking．Unsuccessful people constantly lie to themselves—about their own lives．I once thought that people who were habitually dishonest couldn't be successful．Sadly, I've learned better．It's possible to succeed, at least financially, while being totally dishonest with others．But it is absolutely impossible for people to be dishonest with themselves—about where they are in life, what their prospects are for achieving their goals and where they fall short—and still go forward.
2．Not producing．Again and again I've talked to people who fail to acquire any useful skill for which someone will pay real money．They don't understand the fundamental truth that human beings get paid for being able to do something．And they don't understand a corollary truth: people get paid a lot for being able to do something that adds a lot of value．That means medicine or law or songwriting or finance or something that will help others to get well or make money or enjoy themselves or learn something—but on a big scale.
3．Punishing friends．A close friend of mine has had chance after chance in Hollywood, thanks to powerful friends at two different studios who long ago put him on the fast track to success．But for almost 20 years he has looked down on their company and put their friendship to the test while pursuing power players who treat him like a doormat(擦鞋垫)．Not surprisingly, he remains directionless and debt-laden at age 47.
Unless you are a uniquely talented artist or athlete, there is no such thing as success without a network of friends and supporters．The inability to make and keep friends is involved in every single failure I have ever seen.
4．Bad manners．Unsuccessful people are also routinely rude．They fail to show up on time, to thank givers for gifts and to apologize for slights and wrongs．A guest with a good job, really busy, with heavy-weight responsibilities will be on time．Someone with nothing to do all day will be very, very late．Maybe billionaires can get away with being rude．For the rest of us, it's a guaranteed success killer.
5．Dressing for failure．A beautiful young woman I know was desperate for a job．I got her an interview—lunch with the head of a company that prides itself on its family image．Incredibly, she showed up at an executive dining room in shorts, a T-shirt and high-heeled sandals．From the moment she appeared, she had ruined the interview．Unsuccessful people habitually dress inappropriately．They arrive for job interviews without a tie or in running shoes．They come to dinner parties in jeans when everyone else is in suits.
6．Bad attitudes．The unsuccessful often have a sour, pessimistic outlook．They cast a dark pall(覆盖物) over everything．They also betray a lack of confidence in themselves a deep-rooted belief that they can't do much or do it well．This is almost always expressed to anyone who will listen．They don't realize that they are advertising themselves as losers.
A friend in northern California is competent enough to complete her work．But wherever she goes, she complains that the air conditioning is too cold or too hot．She bad-mouths the boss or the

Life's been a long, exciting trip, and it's taken me to a lot of places: law school at Yale with Hillary Rodham Clinton; speechwriting at the White House for Richard Nixon; preparing stock advertising materials on Wall Street; and, for the past 18 years, writing and acting in Hollywood.
I've watched successful people at work and at play. I also know too many people who have the smarts to succeed but never do. Why? Of course, luck has a role. But usually people make their own bad luck by regularly getting trapped in self-defeating attitudes and shoot- yourself-in-the-foot behavior.
Here are some of the worst traps. I call them the Eight Habits of Really Unsuccessful People.
1. Delusional(幻想的) thinking. Unsuccessful people constantly lie to themselves—about their own lives. I once thought that people who were habitually dishonest couldn't be successful. Sadly, I've learned better. It's possible to succeed, at least financially, while being totally dishonest with others. But it is absolutely impossible for people to be dishonest with themselves—about where they are in life, what their prospects are for achieving their goals and where they fall short—and still go forward.
2. Not producing. Again and again I've talked to people who fail to acquire any useful skill for which someone will pay real money. They don't understand the fundamental truth that human beings get paid for being able to do something. And they don't understand a corollary truth: people get paid a lot for being able to do something that adds a lot of value. That means medicine or law or songwriting or finance or something that will help others to get well or make money or enjoy themselves or learn something—but on a big scale.
3. Punishing friends. A close friend of mine has had chance after chance in Hollywood, thanks to powerful friends at two different studios who long ago put him on the fast track to success. But for almost 20 years he has looked down on their company and put their friendship to the test while pursuing power players who treat him like a doormat(擦鞋垫). Not surprisingly, he remains directionless and debt-laden at age 47.
Unless you are a uniquely talented artist or athlete, there is no such thing as success without a network of friends and supporters. The inability to make and keep friends is involved in every single failure I have ever seen.
4. Bad manners. Unsuccessful people are also routinely rude. They fail to show up on time, to thank givers for gifts and to apologize for slights and wrongs. A guest with a good job, really busy, with heavy-weight responsibilities will be on time. Someone with nothing to do all day will be very, very late. Maybe billionaires can get away with being rude. For the rest of us, it's a guaranteed success killer.
5. Dressing for failure. A beautiful young woman I know was desperate for a job. I got her an interview—lunch with the head of a company that prides itself on its family image. Incredibly, she showed up at an executive dining room in shorts, a T-shirt and high-heeled sandals. From the moment she appeared, she had ruined the interview. Unsuccessful people habitually dress inappropriately. They arrive for job interviews without a tie or in running shoes. They come to dinner parties in jeans when everyone else is in suits.
6. Bad attitudes. The unsuccessful often have a sour, pessimistic outlook. They cast a dark pall(覆盖物) over everything. They also betray a lack of confidence in themselves a deep-rooted belief that they can't do much or do it well. This is almost always expressed to anyone who will listen. They don't realize that they are advertising themselves as losers.
A friend in northern California is competent enough to complete her work. But wherever she goes, she complains that the air conditioning is too cold or too hot. She bad-mouths the boss or the