It does not matter if you are 72 - grab hold of your dream. Actually visualize your hand holding on to that dream. Too many people are worn down by life and give up their dreams.

Every dream is personal but principle is same. You are an idiot if you let go. You have to have a reason for living. Set yourself a goal and never let go until you die.

There is nothing you can't do. If you can't swim 10 lengths without a rest, train for a few months and you will be able to swim 50 lengths.

Danny's comments about swimming reminded me about how little is taught at school about how training can improve your abilities.

At my school in Isle of Man, there was an annual half mile swim in sea. I knew I would drown if I attempted this but no one ever suggested that I start training hard so that I would be capable of completing swim.

I was just classified as someone who could not do swim. It did not occur to me that through determined training I would be able to do what I could not previously do.

When Danny was young he was a skinny weakling. But one day he decided that this was not a good thing. He filled out and did some weight training and set up his own fitness, strength and flexibility routine.

He performs this every other day. This avoids boredom of a daily routine. He does 200 situps, 30-50 leg raises and three or four sets of 20-30 bench presses.

He also does 2 sets of 20 or 30 squats with dumbells to develop leg power. The dumbbells avoid danger of overbalancing with a barbell across your shoulders. There is also little likelihood that you will drop dumbbells on children or family pets! Dumbells allow for greater control than barbells.

Danny's advice for success is to do something. If in doubt, read a book. The worst thing you can do is sit on your backside watching TV. If you do, nothing will ever happen. He notes hypnotic effect of TV on spectators. Danny, himself, seldom ever watches TV.

Danny also is impressed by Arnold Schwarzenegger who has just been elected Governor of California. If Arnold wants something, he does what is necessary to get that thing. If he had to eat 50 mars bars, he would eat them. If he had to stand stark naked on his head in a field for half an hour he would.

This is an example to us all. If you have to put stamps on thousands of envelopes to send out your direct mail sales letters, you just have to do it.

The basic principle is that you have to do what is required. Some things require certain actions to achieve them and you have to do them whether you like doing them or not.

It is no good saying I want to be Governor of California but I don't want to do any public speaking or travel on campaign trail or be friendly to thousands of people you don't like. You have to pick up babies and smile at people you may not like.

If you want to be rich you have to do those things which will make you rich. It's no good saying "I don't really want to do it." Danny gives himself a virtual smack round head every time he is tempted to give up on his projects.

Some people think they will make money by taking short cuts like suing people or fraud. The world would be a much better place if people just got on with doing what they had to do.

Many successful people stress importance of action in achieving success.

Michael Masterson of Ezine "Early to Rise" writes:"Action is key to success, and failure to act is reason most people will never achieve kind of success they dream about"

Another approach to achieving success is to stay cool about it. Just get on with doing what you think is important and what you love to do.

"Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally." Sir David Frost

Elvis Presley gave his cousin Donna some advice to help her achieve her goals for future. It seems good advice to me:

Donna's best memory of Elvis was when she was 18 and she spoke to him one on one. He asked her about her plans for future and told her she could achieve anything she wanted "so long as you have faith in God;have faith in yourself; work hard and never let anyone tell you, you can't do something".

Elvis himself had plenty of discouragement which he successfully ignored. The later part of his life was not too successful but as Donna commented, we should focus on what he did achieve which was amazing.

Peter Vidmar explains how he achieved success at Olympic Games:

"There's only two things I had to do to win Olympic gold: Train when I wanted to, and train when I didn't."

This is possibly my favourite quote of all time. It sums up essence of success and will power and discipline necessary to achieve it. Sometimes training will be easy but sometimes it will take effort because one really does not feel like training. This is simple and beautifully easy to understand.

Another quote I like is concerned with kind of success which depends on people liking your work or product

"Success has a simple formula: 'Do your best and people may like it'". Sam Ewing

Any success involves some kind of cost; usually some boring work is involved as suggested in following quote. The word 'drudgery' sums this kind of work up exactly. Almost any kind of business involves marketing and marketing is last thing most businessmen enjoy doing.

"Success is child of drudgery and perseverance. It cannot be coaxed or bribed; pay price and it is yours". Orison Swett Marden, 1850-1924.

Mike Litman comes up with golden statements frequently. Here is just one of them:

"The biggest secret of success in life is: You don't have to get it right; you just have to get it going. Perfectionism can kill success. We never get going because we are always waiting to get everything just right. Instead, let's get going."

One success breeds another. Bobby Robson, now over 70, is one of Britain's most successful managers. He should know what creates success. He recently commented about his team's performances:

"Success breeds success"

This makes sense. Write one successful book and you will have confidence to write another. A lady over 70 wrote a book about how to overcome pain of arthritis. It was a huge success to her total amazement and made hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not surprisingly she has now written two more books.

Success is a key goal for most people but it helps to have a clear idea of what success means to you. I hope this article will have shed some light on possible definitions of success and how you can achieve your kind of success.

"The way out is to pick something very proactive, very constructive. Think of something that needs doing - some cause - something that will take you forward if you think about it.

So I just get busy with that and I am back in shape. It takes will power but fortunately I was an actor for 28 years and as an actor you get very used to rejection.

You might get one part out of twenty auditions and so I think discipline of being an actor for all those years has really helped me because you still have to believe in yourself. And I believe in what is happening in research.

With sheer will power you can keep your body in shape.

This is a big test, a big, big test but fortunately I have tremendous help from my family and friends and staff and we'll go forward and get out of this."

I am not sure if last few words were actually what he said as they were a little indistinct but his attitude was mainly one of hope for future.

Christopher used his work to lift any depression he might be feeling. He saw promotion of medical research as a worthwhile cause. Just getting down to work promoting it put him back on track.

He also acknowledged help of friends, family and staff in keeping him going. Gratitude is a great motivator and it opens mind to expect and receive help from universe

I was surprised that he linked discipline with being an actor but when you think about it discipline is all about keeping going and doing whatever needs doing even when you feel disappointed and as if you are getting nowhere.

An actor must feel down and think about giving up every time they are rejected at an audition. If they keep attending auditions they have discipline.

Christopher kept going after his accident by calling on his history of self-discipline and will power. This kept him doing whatever physical exercise he thought might help.

The other thing that keeps an actor going is belief in himself or herself. After his fall from his horse, Christopher's belief in medical research kept him promoting research to general public.

If he could show this kind of discipline, will power and belief in face of big, big tests he faced surely we can show same qualities in face of much smaller tests that we face.

If he had lived in UK, he would probably have been knighted Sir Christopher Reeve both for his films and his work to relieve suffering. Americans have honoured and will honour him in their own way.

A little time spent comparing ourselves with Christopher Reeve should provide us with an endless source of motivation in future. Motivation by comparison works.