Three Big Takeaways:
 

1. As I look back over my life, I see that the one thing that was most consistent with any success I've achieved was that I always put forth 10 times the amount of activity that others did. I have approached all my business enterprises with massive action; that has been the single biggest determining factor in any success I have created. And people who are highly successful continue to work and produce and create even after they've flourished. The world watches these people with confusion, asking, "Why do they keep pushing?" The answer is simple: Extremely successful people know that their efforts must continue in order for them to realize new achievements. (pg. 2)
    

2. People who take normal levels of action are probably the most prevalent in our society today. This is the group that appears on the surface to be taking the necessary amounts of action and to be "normal." This level of action creates the middle class and is actually the most dangerous - because it's considered acceptable. The goal of this group is average - average marriages, health, careers, and finances. As long as average works, they are fine with it. Be honest with yourself: Do you have more energy and creativity available than you're using? Average student, average marriage, average finances, average body type...who really desires average? (pg. 51)
    

3. The highly successful take unbelievable amounts of action. Regardless of what action looks like, these people rarely do nothing - even when they are on vacation (just ask their spouses!) The successful have been consistently taking high levels of action - before anyone ever heard their names. The unsuccessful never quite get around to doing what they claim they're going to do, while successful people assume that their future achievements rely on investing in actions that may not pay off today but when taken consistently and persistently over time will sooner or later bear fruit. (pg. 168)
    

Other Key Ideas:
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Lucky people don't make successful people; people who completely commit themselves to success seem to get lucky in life. Someone once said, "The harder I work, the luckier I get." (pg. 29)

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Crybabies, whiners, and victims don't do well at attracting or creating success. It's not even that they aren't capable; it's just that people who typically succeed are required to take big actions, and it is impossible to take big actions if you don't take responsibility. It is equally impossible to do something positive when you are spending your time making excuses. Successful people hate the blame game and know that it is better to make something happen - good or bad - than to have it happen to you. (pg. 39)

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I estimate that about 50 percent of the population suffers from victim thinking. Anyone who uses blame as the reason why something happened or did not happen will never accumulate real success in life and only further his or her status as a slave on this planet. Those who give control over to another for their success - or lack of it - will never be in control of their lives. There are four consistent factors in the life of the victim: 1) Bad things happen to them, 2) Bad things happen often, 3) They are always involved, and 4) someone or something else is always to blame. Successful people take the opposite stance, and you must too: Everything that happens in your life comes as a result of your own responsibility, not merely some outside force. Being to ask yourself after every unpleasant encounter or event, "What can I do to reduce my chances of it happening again - or even sure that it doesn't happen again? (pg. 40)

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The more action you take, the better your chances are of getting a break. Disciplined, consistent, and persistent actions are more of a determining factors in the creation of success than any other combination of things. (pg. 47)

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If you want to be highly successful, a routine day will eventually become a thing of the past. I continued a commitment to massive action until one day it was no longer an unusual activity but a habit for me. I was treating success as my duty, and massive action was my ace in the hole. Signals that you're taking massive action are having people comment upon and admire your level of activity. I have been called a lot of things due to my commitment to action - a workaholic, never satisfied, driven. Yet every time I've been labeled, it's been by someone operating at a lower level than myself. I have never had someone who is more successful than I am consider my action to be a bad thing - because successful people know firsthand what it takes to achieve this level of success. You can expect to be criticized and labeled by others when you start taking massive action. The second you start hitting it big, you will immediately be judged by the mediocre. People will be threatened by your activity level. These people cannot stand seeing others succeed at these levels. (pg. 56)

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The average worker reads an average of less than one book a year and works an average of 37.5 hours per week. This same person makes 319 times less money than the top US CEOs, who claim to read more than 60 books a year. Many of those executives are maligned for the huge sums of money they receive; however, we often fail to appreciate what these people have done to get where they are today. It required substantial action on their part to get where they are. (pg. 62)

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It doesn't matter what you do - it does matter that your goal be to dominate your sector with actions, that are immediate, consistent, and persistent and at levels that no one else is willing to operate at or duplicate. Take any action, and take it to a level that will separate you from everyone else who might be in your space. (pg. 83)

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Countless truly successful people agree with the sentiment that their careers do not feel like work but rather something they love to do. (pg. 93)

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I challenge you to keep track of how you're spending your available time, perhaps in a journal. Most people have no clue what they are doing with their time but still complain that they don't have enough. Log how you are spending your time daily - and I mean every single second. This will allow you to see all the ways in which you waste your time - the little habits and activities that in no way contribute to your success. Any action not adding wood to your fire (Xbox, watching TV, drinking) would be considered wasteful. If you don't manage your time, I promise that you will waste it. (pg. 123)

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When you start taking enough action, it won't be long before you're judged by people who aren't taking any. If you're generating substantial success, people will start paying attention to you. Some will admire you, some will want to learn from you, but unfortunately, most will envy you. These are the people who excuses for not doing enough will morph into reasons why what you are doing is wrong. (pg. 130)

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The most successful people I know read everything they can get their hands on. They approach a $30 book as though it has the potential to make them a million dollars. They see every opportunity to train and educate themselves as the most solid and sure investment they can make. Unsuccessful people simply worry about the cost of a book without ever giving consideration to the benefits it will provide. (pg. 183)