From Brian Tracy in Eat That Frog:
The mark of the superior thinker is the ability to 
accurately predict the consequences of doing or not doing something. The potential consequences of any task or activity are the key determinants of how important it really is to you and to your company.
Dr. Edward Banfield of Harvard University, after more than fifty years of research, concluded that "long-time perspective" is the most accurate single predictor of upward social and economic mobility in America. Long-term perspective turns out to be more important than family background, education, race, intelligence, connections, or virtually any other single factor in determining your success in life and at work.
