The book, “And the Good News is….” by Dana Perino provides ‘lessons from the bright side.’
MEASURING SUCCESS
How are you defining success? They’re all describing that differently. For others, this is financial security. It’s spiritual satisfaction with some. It might be something new about you. There are potential as many meanings of achievement as there are individuals. Yet one thing is clear about success: it takes more than hard work to attain it—no matter how you describe it. You need to develop healthy habits to gain results. Without them, you can never attain it or establish a closer connection to your true self.
That’s the exact advice Dana Perino received. Congresswoman Susan Molinari, a long-time associate of Dana’s, once gave her some positive career advice. In return, Molinari said that she wanted Dana to share her advice with others. Passing on knowledge is only one of the many codes of ethics that Dana feels is important to success. But good manners remain at the top of her agenda – and Dana believes that politeness will return America’s lost civility.
We’ve been using the term achievement all the time. It’s such a strong yet terrifying word—almost threatening, to be honest. But that’s just because of the life we’ve been conditioned to pursue.
DOES ACHIEVEMENT EQUATE TO LUXURY?
People with a lot of money come to mind right away. Then there are the big houses and the fancy cars; the new gadgets and jacuzzis; the best professions and the biggest wages.
There is a society that glorifies this sort of stuff. It’s no secret why we’ve come to equate the term with what we do daily.
Yet the issue is posed. How did the nation lose its way in the first place?
Well, over the past few decades, many people have been frustrated with the administration. This has culminated in a vitriolic political atmosphere, one in which there is no space for respectful actions. Not just that, but the overall lack of etiquette makes it much more difficult to fix the nation’s problems. It’s not just a personal ambition to be polite; it should be a goal for the country. There are a few main ways to exercise good etiquette, and the first is to share credit with others.
The book, “And the Good News is….” reveals how Dana learnt this lesson from President Bush in August 2008. The President had just received a call from the CIA telling him that American hostages, held prisoner by FARC guerrillas in Colombia, had just been rescued.
But the mission wasn’t just an American victory. The Colombian Special Forces were, in fact, instrumental. Knowing that the President of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe, was taking the heat for not doing enough to counter terrorism, Bush gave him credit for his rescue.
LEARN WHEN TO BE SILENT AND WHEN TO LISTEN
Another important ability is to know when to stay silent and listen. This lesson was passed on to Dana by Vice President Dick Cheney of Bush.
Silence can be used to convey a strong note. The Holocaust survivor and author and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel once said that it was difficult to find the right words to explain the Holocaust and that maybe the easiest approach would be to find the greatest contemporary performer to come on the world’s greatest stage and to stay quiet. Healthy practices are the cornerstone of creating wealth. The difference between good and poor people is their everyday routines. Simply put, efficient people have a lot of positive habits and a few poor ones. If you realize that your bad habits will prevent you from becoming rich, the realization will be the first step towards improving your circumstances. And Dana Perino clearly illustrates that in her book- “And the Good News is…”
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