Twenty Tips for Success by Kemmons Wilson (Founder of Holiday Inns)

Kemmons Wilson is the founder of Holiday Inns and father of modern hotel. The idea for a motel chain came to him when he drove his family from Memphis to Washington, D.C. in 1951 - motel choices were limited and not kid-friendly. Beginning in 1952, he built four motels around Memphis, just off the highways to cater to travelers. When Wilson retired in 1979, there were 1759 Holiday Inns in 50 countries.

Kemmons Wilson's 20 Tips for Success

1. Work only a half a day; it makes no difference which half - it can be either the first 12 hours or the last 12 hours.
2. Work is the master key that opens the door to all opportunities.
3. Mental attitude plays a far more important role in a person's success or failure than mental capacity.
4. Remember that we all climb the ladder of success one step at a time.
5. There are two ways to the top of an oak tree. One way is to sit on an acorn and wait; the other way is to climb it.
6. Do not be afraid of taking a chance. Remember that a broken watch is exactly right at least twice every 24 hours.
7. The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.
8. Eliminate from your vocabulary the words, "I don't think I can" and substitute, "I know I can."
9. In evaluating a career, put opportunity ahead of security.
10. Remember that success requires half luck and half brains.
11. A person has to take risks to achieve.
12. People who take pains never to do more than they get paid for, never get paid for anything more than they do.
13. No job is too hard as long as you are smart enough to find someone else to do it for you.
14. Opportunity comes often. It knocks as often as you have an ear trained to hear it, an eye trained to see it, a hand trained to grasp it, and a head trained to use it.
15. You cannot procrastinate - in two days, tomorrow will be yesterday.
16. Sell your wristwatch and buy and alarm clock.
17. A successful person realizes his personal responsibility for self-motivation. He starts himself because he possesses the key to his own ignition switch.
18. Do not worry. You can't change the past, but you sure can ruin the present by worrying over the future. Remember that half the things we worry about never happen and the other half are going to happen anyway. So, why worry?
19. It is not how much you have but how much you enjoy that makes happiness.
20. Believe in God and obey the Ten Commandments.