'I hate my job," she complained. "They don't respect me. They don't appreciate me. I don't know how much longer I can take it."

"I've got more bad news for you," warned Zig Ziglar, author, motivational speaker, and success guru. "It's going to get worse—you're going to be fired, unless you learn to change your attitude."

"Do they pay you at work?" he asked. "Of course," came the answer. "Then sit down and make a list of all the other things you like about your job. Change the 'like' to 'love' and practice saying these things to yourself every day."

Some weeks later the woman attended another of Mr. Ziglar's seminars. "How ya doing?" he asked. With great excitement she replied, "Oh, Mr. Ziglar, things are so much better at work now. You can't believe how much those people have changed!"

This story, relayed at a recent Peter Lowe's Success Seminar at which Mr. Ziglar was a featured speaker, drives home the point that attitude can cure many ills in the workplace. In fact, the right mental attitude is the first ingredient in Mr. Ziglar's "Formula for Success."

"The right attitude," says Mr. Ziglar, "will help you to do everything better than negative thinking." But attitude will only get you so far; you must also build the right skill set. Just believing you can be an excellent surgeon does not qualify you to perform brain surgery. Education, training, and experience hone the skills you need to be a winner in your chosen field.

Along with attitude and skills, you must develop the right philosophy—what Mr. Ziglar calls the "Golden Rule Philosophy." Widely known as "Do unto others as you would have them do to you," Mr. Ziglar express it this way—"You can have everything you want in life if you will just help enough other people get what they want."

A plan of action is the next ingredient for a successful life. Studies have shown that individuals who have a goals program earn higher incomes, are happier and healthier, and get along better with their coworkers and families. According to Mr. Ziglar, "People who know where they're going and have a plan of action to get there, don't sweat the small stuff."

Maintaining proper balance in your life is another critical ingredient in the success formula. Success measurements include being happy, healthy, prosperous, and secure. Achieving all of these, along with peace of mind and good relationships, requires balance between your physical, mental, spiritual, personal, family, career, and financial lives.

Finally, you need to layer attitude, skills, a plan of action, and proper balance on top of a character base of integrity. As Mr. Ziglar puts it, "In the real world, character counts."

With these six ingredients you have the formula for success. To catalyze the reaction, you need motivation. Motivation will energize you and produce results, but is not permanent.

So how do you find lasting motivation in your life? Engage both your mind and your heart. Develop a passion for your work. Says Mr. Ziglar, "The mind is a gateway to the heart. Most people miss success by those last 15 inches." Don't be afraid to go the distance.