He will be sworn in at the west side of the United States Capitol, Washington DC, at noon as America's 44th president.

Let's go back to November 5 when he scored this momentous victory. On that day, in a speech to a sea of supporters at Chicago's Grant Park, he said: 'I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington -- it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston'.

He believed that his country would respond to the spirit of his campaign. Yes we can was his motto. Right from the beginning of the campaign he told his team members: 'We're up against the most formidable team. But we've got a plan and we've got to have faith in it'.

There is a lot to learn from Obama's historic run for the US presidency. Obama followed certain principles to accomplish his goal and they are no different from those required to build enormous wealth. The principles reflected his personal strengths.

Here is a summary of the five principles that were crucial to Obama's victory which could bring you success:

1. Goal-orientation

The importance of setting and working toward goals is obvious. If you don't know where you are going, it's difficult to get there.

Obama used this principle to his advantage and was very clear about his goal, his plan and his strategy to achieve the goal.

Similarly, clarity of goals can help your personal finances immensely. You need to have money goals and be motivated to reach these goals that you have set for yourself. Those who lack goals don't have a road map to take them to the financial destination they want to get to.

Text: Priyesh Shah. The writer is working as a CFP in SRE Financial Planners. He can be reached at priyeshcfp@rediffmail.com.

Photograph: Reuters/Jason Reed | Image: President-Elect Barack Obama is pictured during his final campaign rally before the U S presidential election in Manassas, Virginia November 3, 2008

Also see: Are you financially fit?

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