Helen Keller believe that to have success you have to "set goals"; she wanted to go to college and because she set that goal, she made it. "Don't let obstacles stop you," she wrote, and "Don't let others tell you what you can't do." She recommends pursuing an education, having a "thirst for knowledge," living a life "of faith" and being unselfish enough to "help others." The other two important steps to success according to Helen Keller are "make your own decisions" and "dare to do the impossible." It was considered an impossible task for a blind woman to go to college when Helen Keller was young, but she dared to do it, and she succeeded. Another success story that Dr. Kehler writes about in his book and on his Web site is that of Oprah Winfrey. She is one of the richest women in the world, a very popular television talk show host, and she has reached a level of success that few have ever even hoped for, let along completed. She says "Don't let others define you or tell you what you can't do." She grew up in a poor environment and might have wound up working in a factory, if she had listened to others. Two, she says "Take responsibility for your life"; three, she says to "Embrace God" which is her own personal spiritual idea but...

Four, "Have compassion for others," Winfrey suggests, which is always a positive thing; five, "Study the competition"; six, "Just be yourself"; six, live your life with passion; seven, pursue quality in your work first"; eight, "Have a generous heart"; and the other suggestions - read, don't be a hypocrite, try to be the best and keep growing.
In conclusion success is not necessarily defined most effectively by famous people, but they do offer some good ideas for those who seek to be successful. Perhaps the best suggestion is just work hard, have goals and be honest with one's self.

Works Cited

Eidelman, Scott; & Biernat, Monica. (2007). Getting More From Success: Standard Raising as Esteem Maintenance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(5), 759-774.

Kehler, Marvin P. (2007). Secrets of Success: Hellen Keller, Oprah Winfrey. Retrieved Nov. 30, 2007 at http://www.secretsofsuccess.com/article/oprah.html.

Olsen, Mark. (2007, Nov. 29). Anything but typical: For Laura Linney, it's strong characters,

Not star roles, that grab her. Los Angeles Times, p. E1.