Why do so many people reach success and then fail? One of the big reasons is, we think success is a one-way street. So we do everything that leads up to success, but then we get there. We figure we've made it, we sit back in our comfort zone, and we actually stop doing everything that made us successful. And it doesn't take long to go downhill. And I can tell you this happens, because it happened to me.

Reaching success, I worked hard, I pushed myself. But then I stopped, because I figured, "Oh, you know, I made it. I can just sit back and relax."

Reaching success, I always tried to improve and do good work. But then I stopped because I figured, "Hey, I'm good enough. I don't need to improve any more."

Reaching success, I was pretty good at coming up with good ideas. Because I did all these simple things that led to ideas. But then I stopped, because I figured I was this hot-shot guy and I shouldn't have to work at ideas, they should just come like magic. And the only thing that came was creative block. I couldn't come up with any ideas.

Reaching success, I always focused on clients and projects, and ignored the money. Then all this money started pouring in. And I got distracted by it. And suddenly I was on the phone to my stockbroker and my real estate agent, when I should have been talking to my clients.

And reaching success, I always did what I loved. But then I got into stuff that I didn't love, like management. I am the world's worst manager, but I figured I should be doing it, because I was, after all, the president of the company.

Well, soon a black cloud formed over my head and here I was, outwardly very successful, but inwardly very depressed. But I'm a guy; I knew how to fix it. I bought a fast car. (Laughter) It didn't help. I was faster but just as depressed.

So I went to my doctor. I said, "Doc, I can buy anything I want. But I'm not happy. I'm depressed. It's true what they say, and I didn't believe it until it happened to me. But money can't buy happiness." He said, "No. But it can buy Prozac." And he put me on anti-depressants. And yeah, the black cloud faded a little bit, but so did all the work, because I was just floating along. I couldn't care less if clients ever called. (Laughter)

And clients didn't call. (Laughter) Because they could see I was no longer serving them, I was only serving myself. So they took their money and their projects to others who would serve them better.

Well, it didn't take long for business to drop like a rock. My partner and I, Thom, we had to let all our employees go. It was down to just the two of us, and we were about to go under. And that was great. Because with no employees, there was nobody for me to manage.

So I went back to doing the projects I loved. I had fun again, I worked harder and, to cut a long story short, did all the things that took me back up to success. But it wasn't a quick trip. It took seven years.

But in the end, business grew bigger than ever. And when I went back to following these eight principles, the black cloud over my head disappeared altogether. And I woke up one day and I said, "I don't need Prozac anymore." And I threw it away and haven't needed it since.

I learned that success isn't a one-way street. It doesn't look like this; it really looks more like this. It's a continuous journey. And if we want to avoid "success-to-failure-syndrome," we just keep following these eight principles, because that is not only how we achieve success, it's how we sustain it. So here is to your continued success. Thank you very much. (Applause)

关于Richard St. John： 

自我形容为是一名凡人，透过做自己喜爱的事而获致成功，Richard St. John花了超过十年的时间研究成功的要素，最后淬炼出八字箴言、三分钟演讲及一本畅销书。

为何要听他演讲： 

Richard St. John已知道自己的成功之道 ─ 即透过他的营销公司St. John Group，他曾包装过的客户像 Nortel 和 BlackBerry/Research in Motion，但无法忘怀一个问题：为什么是他？他自视是名凡人，在校表现并不具天份、也不特别帅或是幸运，所以他花了超过十年的时间访问 500 名他定义为成功的人士 ─ 从建筑大师 Frank Gehry到一般没没无闻，但在其各自生活中很成功的人士。

访问集结成书：《成功的要素》Spike's Guide to Success: Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky and RICH为 St. John 开创出另一条成功大道，他成为一名励志讲师及脱口秀明星。他的最新著作名为《成功的八个秘诀》8 to Be Great: The 8 Traits that Lead to Great Success。