Greetings brethren! I would like to express my thanks and appreciation for the wonderful hospitality that Mr. Franks and I enjoyed during our recent visit. Our visit was most enjoyable and I hope it was beneficial to you.

Many of you will remember one of the most popular booklets Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong wrote—it is entitled The Seven Laws of Success. Mr. Armstrong would often present copies of the booklet to dignitaries that he met during his travels. I have a beautiful leather-bound edition that I was given after his death. For many of us, it has probably been a long time since we reviewed those laws. So I would like to take this opportunity to review them with you.

I was reminded of The Seven Laws of Success during a recent visit to Sri Lanka. I had the pleasure and good fortune of meeting a young man who had attended a school that I directed in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka during the late 1980’s. After graduating from the school, he worked for me for four years. He was very honest and dependable. Each payday he would tell me or my wife that he was setting aside a portion of his meager salary in hopes of one day building a house. During our meeting he related his history for the past 15 years. Life had not always been easy; in fact he was forced out of at job at a university because he refused to be part of an embezzlement scheme. But he persevered and was blessed with a good, stable job. He also told me about his house. He had saved his money and built the house that he had planned. When he was offered a better job in another part of the country, he sold the house he had built and bought a large fully paid three bedroom house where he now lives. When I remarked that he was now more successful than his teacher because I don’t own a house, he pulled out a small piece of paper and said, “I always carry this with me.” On the paper was a list of the seven laws of success that my wife had written for him almost 20 years ago. By applying these laws, he had risen above the expectation of many of his peers.

So let’s briefly review the seven laws of success. One of the most important steps that we must take before applying these seven laws is to consider what constitutes real success. Some individuals may have lots of material goods such as a nice house, car, or a huge bank account but never really are happy or satisfied. Their lives may be empty because they have pursued the wrong values. False values such as wealth and material possessions, physical beauty and strength, fame, power and influence do not last and are often self-centered. They are temporary and if we build our lives around them we will never experience real happiness and joy. In fact, if we build our lives around these temporary values, our lives will be destroyed when they are gone. On the other hand, true values such as a relationship with God, knowledge of the truth, character, wisdom, family and personal relationships have a lasting value and lead to real happiness and fulfillment. Now for the seven laws of success:

1. Setting the right goal. The first law of success is setting the right goal. As Christians our primary goal is the kingdom of God. Christ stated, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (physical things) shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Our primary goal is the kingdom of God. By realizing our true purpose of existence and following this goal, we can pursue secondary goals such as career, family, etc. But our secondary goals should be complementary and subordinate to our primary goal of seeking the kingdom.

2. Preparation / Education. Once we have set our goal, we must acquire the education, training and knowledge to accomplish that goal. In terms of the kingdom of God, we must study God’s word. We are instructed from Proverbs 2:1-6 “My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Concerning our secondary goals, we may choose to pursue a university degree or receive on-the-job training for the profession that we choose. Life should be a continuing process of training and education.

3. Good health. The absence of good health can be a major detriment to success. Here are some basic principles that we can apply: (1) Develop and maintain a positive mental attitude, (2) Eat a proper and balanced diet, (3) Be aware of cleanliness and hygiene, (4) Try to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air each day, (5) Try to get a moderate amount of exercise, (6) Try to get proper sleep and rest. Good health is a wonderful blessing that we should never take for granted. A Spanish proverb states, “From the bitterness of disease man learns the sweetness of health.”

4. Drive / Diligence. The book of Proverbs has a great deal to say about drive or diligence.

Proverbs 10:4 states, “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” We are instructed in Ecclesiastes, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). The apostle Paul was a man of great drive and determination. In Philippians chapter 3 he speaks of “pressing on” and “pressing toward the goal” and in I Corinthians chapter 9 he speaks of “running to win” and disciplining his body and bringing it into subjection lest he should become disqualified. Those who are diligent will be successful both spiritually and physically.

5. Resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is the quality of being able to successfully cope with a difficult situation. Sometimes one must be creative or imaginative in order to solve a problem or overcome an obstacle in order to reach his or her goal. A beautiful example of resourcefulness is found in Mark 2:1-5: “And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” The paralytic and his friends employed resourcefulness to see Christ and He rewarded their resourcefulness and faith by healing the invalid.

6. Perseverance. Perseverance is “stick-to-it-iveness” or endurance, persistence and fortitude. Our calling involves perseverance and endurance. Christ said, “But he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). The apostle Paul encouraged members of the Church, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58). Sometimes the difference between success and failure is taking a few extra steps when it appears all is lost. Mr. Armstrong related in his autobiography an example of the troubles he faced trying to open Ambassador College in 1947…

“The final week, early October, the contractor came up with a $12,000 bill and demanded immediate payment. I had planned for only $4,000, and had gone through a dozen nightmares to raise that. The pressure was almost unbearable. Everyone—except my wife and I—knew the college had “folded up” before it even opened its doors to students. And, of course, the living HEAD of His Church, Jesus Christ, knew it hadn’t!

How I finally raised that additional $8,000 within a few days’ time, I don’t remember, now. I think that was the week when this $5,000 loan came in. But, somehow, God saw us through.

It became almost impossible to sleep nights. I never lost faith—really. I never doubted the outcome. Yet I had not yet learned the total, implicit, trusting faith that can RELAX and leave it quietly in God’s hands. I was under terrific strain. It was literally multiple nightmares condensed into a super ONE!

On one occasion, I almost snapped. I weakened to the extent that I actually prayed, one night, that God would let me die through the night, and relieve me from the almost unbearable agony. But next morning, I was deeply repentant for that, and prayed earnestly for God’s forgiveness. Twice I did give up, on going to bed at night. But next morning was another day, and I bounced back, repentant for having given up—if only momentarily. Yet this “$30,000 headache” was only the beginning of troubles. Others were yet to come—from within and from without.

It was not until early 1949 that things eased up. By then I had come to the place that I had to pray in final desperation for “six months’ grace” from this constant harassment. I humbly asked God to consider that I was human, with human weaknesses, and PLEASE to give me six months’ rest from the terrible ordeal. He did. And during that respite I finally learned how to RELAX in faith, and shift the weighty BURDEN of it over onto CHRIST! And, at least up to the time of this writing, God has enabled me not only to trust Him for the final outcome, but to let faith remove the strain of anxiety.
When troubles or emergencies arise, we should be tremendously concerned! We should not take these things lightly or nonchalantly. We should be “on our toes” to do whatever is our part, but trusting God in relaxed FAITH to guide us and to do His part which we cannot do for ourselves. We should be freed from destructive strain and worry.”

Mr. Armstrong did not give up when all appeared lost. He persevered and God used him to help provide a wonderful opportunity for many young people in His Church to attend Ambassador College.

7. Seeking guidance and help from God. Since all good things come from God, one should look to Him for guidance and direction in life. Oftentimes people do not seek God’s help until they are faced with no other choice. Seeking daily guidance and help from God is the greatest law of success that we can apply in our lives. Mankind was created to have a spiritual dimension and when that spiritual dimension is not filled, there is an inner hunger or thirst. So many people with material success have destroyed their lives trying to fill that spiritual hunger with materialism. God encourages us to come to Him and be satisfied spiritually. Christ said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). We have an opportunity to be spiritually fed as we seek guidance from God each day.

More than forty years ago, Mr. Armstrong published the booklet entitled, The Seven Laws of Success. The laws that he described are very simple and yet quite profound. Let’s take time to review these laws throughout the year and apply them in achieving real success in our lives.