This book teaches that the secret of one’s success is how one lives each day. Maxwell divides the things that deserve our attention into 12 things he calls his daily dozen TMW Maxwell They include Attitude, Priorities, Health, Family, Thinking, Commitment, Finances, Faith, Relationships, Generosity, Values and Growth. For each of these a small chapter focuses on their importance, how to address them in goals setting and follow through and how to focus on them each day. The ultimate objective is to make the most of each day to accomplish what is important in your life.
At the end of each chapter Maxwell lists the key decision you should make today to improve in the particular area covered by that chapter and the daily discipline you can use to stay on top of things.
Maxwell’s focus is that today is what you can act upon. You cannot do anything about yesterday and tomorrow is not yet here. Only today can be changed. At the same time Maxwell teaches that change and improvement in one’s life does not occur instantly. Success comes one day at a time; it is a process. However it will only come about if we make the most of each of those “one day at a time”.
To implement the success ideas that Maxwell teaches requires daily discipline. As Maxwell says you can play now and pay later or you can pay now and play later. Either way you are going to pay, but by paying today through hard work and discipline you get to play a whole lot more later on.
He also suggests a simple formula for what you should do to make each day lead to ultimate success. You can make good decisions without daily discipline which will lead to a plan with no payoff. You can have daily discipline with no good decisions and you will get regimentation with no reward. However, if you match good decisions with daily discipline you come away with a Masterpiece of Potential.
Maxwell suggests nothing less than making meaningful progress in each of the 12 areas he discusses every day. He hopes you won’t find that discouraging. It is the price you must pay to truly transform your life for success. I can tell you from my own experience that if you can give some thought and effort to each of these twelve areas each day you will truly surprise yourself with what you achieve.