Four Principles

There are, I have learned, four Buddhist principles of success. They are:

DESIRE. You have to want to succeed in your efforts, but without attachment to the outcome. If this sounds like a paradox, well, perhaps it is.

PERSISTENCE. Which is what I'm always on about. In meditation, it's about bringing the attention back to the breath every time it wanders--and mine wanders a good deal. This practice is a great model for the creative process. Keep coming back...

FOCUS (Intent-ness, intention) This is about clarity and consciousness. To focus, I like to add concentration, which I understand to be focus protracted over time. And finally...

DISCERNMENT. Let's distinguish between "judgment," which can often have negative effects, and discernment which is, let's say, good judgment.

Are these useful guidelines? What do you think?