In an era where achieving your full potential is feeding the multi-billion dollar publishing industry of self-help books – consumers are faced with the challenge of sifting through a myriad of books containing countless recipes for success. But Jack Canfield, a soft-spoken down to earth guy with a lot of common sense and founder of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, has come up with an all-encompassing roadmap to success in his latest book The Success Principles.

“Success is the result that you want to be able to create in the world,” says Canfield. “For one person, success could mean winning the national football title, for another, it could be living a peaceful life in the woods in a A-frame house writing poetry.”

In his book The Success Principles: How to get from where you are to where you want to be, Canfield presents a list of 64 principles for success. Why so many? Canfield says that he wanted people to find what they needed in one book rather than have to purchase a whole bunch of books. He actually came up with his list of 64 one Saturday morning.

Canfield’s success principles include success in many areas of one’s life, including career and financials, relationships, health and fitness, fun and recreation, personal goals, as well as your contributions to the world. “What you want is to have success in all of those areas,” says Canfield. “And what I have found in speaking to millionaires is that they are happiest when they are engaged in philanthropy.”

“I have a friend who is worth a half-billion dollars who started giving wheelchairs to children in need. He picked up this child one day and put him in his new wheelchair and the child wouldn’t let go. And the child said, ‘don’t leave yet I want to memorize your face so that when we meet again in heaven I can thank you one more time.’ My friend said that this was the first time in his life that he felt pure joy,” tells Canfield.

According to Canfield, the first step in finding success in your life is to take 100 percent responsibility for your life. “If you don’t take responsibility you tend to blame other people, your boss or the government. As long as you do that, your belief is that something outside of you is controlling your life,” he says.

The next step is to be clear on why you’re here. “Many of the successful entrepreneurs didn’t focus on money, they had a purpose, a vision of what they wanted to create. No matter your purpose, which might be to nurture a healthy family or to be the best grade 4 teacher, what’s important is to be clear on what you want to create,” says Canfield.

These are only the first two principles in the long list of steps to take to create a fulfilling and engaged life. Canfield’s goal during his presentation at the Shaw Conference Centre will be to inspire the audience to take charge of their life and help them take that first step in getting from where they are to where they want to be.

It was a very inspiring evening up in Edmonton and Jack was so gracious to come early and stay late to sign book after book and to be present with each and every person.