1. "The way to guarantee success is to work smarter, not harder." This is a losing idea. You will find that effective leaders do both. They work smarter, and they work harder.

2. "Activity equals accomplishment." Activity is not accomplishment. Hard work is not results. We should not ask ourselves whether we're busy, but what we're busy about.

3. "Take care of things, and they will take care of you." We should not "take care," we should take control. If you don't take control of your own life, somebody else will.

4. "If you want to be a success, you must pay the price." You don't pay the price for success; you possess the price for success. The path to success belongs to you. It's not something that you have to give up in order to succeed.

5. "Don't waste (kill) time." Although this truism expresses a good thought, it is really not accurate. When you waste time, it is not time you are wasting, it is your very life.

6. "If it's not broke, don't fix it." That is not good advice. Even though things are working, many times they still can be significantly improved or modified.

7. "What you see is what you get." Do not to be moved by what you see. We are to see the unseen in every situation of life.

8. "He is a self-made man." There is no such thing. A person can succeed only with the help of God and others.

9. "Talk is cheap." False. Talk is very expensive. What an individual says is ultimately what he gets - and what he pays for.

10. "Practice makes perfect." No, perfect practice makes perfect. Wrong practice leads to wrong habits. Perfect practice leads to perfect action. Make sure that whatever you do on a regular basis is right and correct.