Lead The Field
If the grass is greener on the other side it’s probably getting better care. Success is a matter of sticking to a set of common sense principles anyone can master. Here are twelve ideas to help you lead the field, any field you choose.
The Magic Word
“Attitude” is the magic word. You are responsible for how your life turns out, and your attitude shapes that life for better or worse. Develop a winning attitude. Each of us creates his or her own life largely by our attitude. We all want good results. A healthy attitude is our best guarantee. Attitude is defined as the position or bearing as indicating action, feeling or mood. And it is our actions, feelings or moods that determine the actions, feelings and moods of others. Our attitude tells the world what we expect in return. Make yours expectant and cheerful. You get what you expect. You can control your attitude. Set it each morning. The world will reflect back to you the attitude you present to them. It is then, our attitude toward life that determines life’s attitude toward us. We get back what we put out. Others treat us as we treat them. They react to us. They only give us back a reflection of our own attitude. Our
surroundings reflect us. Our environment is a mirror. Life is an echo chamber of cause and effect. What we sow we’ll reap. What we give we’ll get. Change and your surroundings will change. Each of us shapes his or her life largely by our habitual attitude. A new habit takes time. Most people begin their day in neutral. They will simply react to whatever confronts them. These are the people of our environment. That’s why it’s so important for us to control our attitudes.
William James said, “Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.” Gratitude and expectancy are the best attitude. It’s up to you. You’re responsible. Don’t take a defensive doubtful attitude toward yourself and
others. A poor attitude is a magnet for unpleasant experiences. We get what we expect and our outlook on life is a kind of paint brush and with it we paint our world. It can be bright and filled with hope and satisfaction or it can be dark and gloomy. The world we experience is a reflection of our attitude.
Don’t take the attitude of waiting for people to be nice to you – be nice to them. Don’t sit in front of a cold stove waiting for the heat. Put in the fuel. Act first. It has to start somewhere. Let it begin with you. Attitude is a reflection of the person inside.
People doing an outstanding job and getting outstanding results are outstanding people and that is because of an outstanding attitude. They think they can achieve. They believe that achievement is the natural order of things, and it is. They believe they can be as successful and competent as anyone else. They are usually no smarter or talented than anyone else but they have the right attitude. Attitude makes the difference. Accomplishment is easy because so few others really try.
Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity. A great attitude is the best preparation. Expect more good out of life than bad. Expect to succeed more often than you fail, and you will. There are more reasons why you can reach your goals than fail in the attempt. Work at it. Be positive, cheerful, grateful and expectant. Change things for the better by changing your attitude. Attitude determines altitude. Life is impersonal. Your attitude affects you more than others. Don’t wait for change. You change. Practice. Every dollar you’ll ever earn must come from people because of our love and kindness they see and feel.
Develop and project an attitude that says ‘yes’ to life. Life is dull only to dull people. Life is successful for successful people. You must radiate success before it’ll come to you. We become what we really wish to become. You must be before you can do or have something.
Treat every person as the most important person on earth. To them, they are the most important person. That’s the way we ought to treat each other. By doing so we begin to form an important habit. Esteem others. They are important and needed. People want to be recognized and respected. Everyone counts. They will give their business to the person who fills this need.
People don’t have great attitudes because of great success, they have great success largely because of great attitudes. Act toward others exactly as you wish them to act toward you. Treat them importantly. Set the pace. Don’t catch the bad and infectious attitudes of others. Keep yourself healthy. Don’t mimic the attitudes of others
unless they are good. A good attitude will place you immediately in the top 5% of people on earth.
In summary: It’s our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task that more than anything else will bring about it’s successful outcome. Our attitudes toward others determine their attitudes toward us. Success depends on how well we relate to others. Before you can achieve the kind of life you want you must think, act, talk, and conduct yourself in all of your affairs as would the person you wish to become. The higher you go in any organization the better the attitudes you will find. The deepest craving of the human being is for recognition and self-esteem, to feel important, to be recognized and appreciated. Treat everyone with whom you come in contact as the most important person on earth
.
Acres Of Diamonds
The mind is the richest human resource. It is a gold-mine of ideas. Ask yourself every morning, “how can I increase my service today?”
Russell Conwell wrote Acres of Diamonds, a true story of an African farmer who heard of others who had made millions by discovering diamond mines. He sold his property and traveled the continent for long years in search of diamonds until at last old, weary and discouraged, he threw himself into a river and drowned. Meanwhile back at the old farm the new owner found a large brilliant rough diamond in the creek. A friend told him he’d found one of the largest diamonds ever. His creek was filled with such stones.
Needless to say the farm the first farmer had sold so that he might find a diamond mine turned out to be the most productive diamond mine in the entire African continent. The first farmer had owned free and clear acres of diamonds. He should have searched his own property thoroughly before moving on. He hadn’t even looked.
Each of us is at this moment standing in the midst of his or her own acres of diamonds. Explore the pasture you are in. Don’t run from one thing to another forever looking for the pot of gold. Stay where you are until you find what you seek. Let your mind thoroughly explore the possibilities in what you are presently doing. There were good reasons why you chose your present work in the beginning. If not, then it may be time to move on to another field. Find acres of diamonds hiding in your work. The diamonds of opportunity are there but they cannot shout. Our job is to find them. We must think of better ways to serve, right where we are. Look at your work through eyes of ‘intelligent objectivity.’ Leave no stone unturned. There are better ways to do what you are presently doing. Keep things stirred up. Overcome! Prevail right where you are. Stay and get rid of your problems. Think every day of a way to mine your own acres of diamonds.
A Worthy Destination
By setting specific, attainable, worthwhile goals you automatically place yourself in the top 5% of people, achievers. Freedom - personal liberty is the most precious thing on earth. You are free to pursue your dreams in the richest country on earth. You have the opportunity to succeed. The choice is yours. Goals reflect your choice of destination. Do you have a burning desire to succeed despite all handicaps? Do you know exactly what you want? Do you think about it every day of your life? That vision will carry you over every obstacle. Your dream is invisible to all the world except you. Every worthwhile achievement is a dream come true. What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve! We become what we think about. If we want something enough we’ll get it. We can have everything we want. Most people don’t know what they want. Do you?
The system of goal setting will work for a new car and will work for anything else too! Set worthy goals. Don’t drift along as a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific. Aspire higher! Don’t take life for granted. Goal setting is the very basis of any success. Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal. Without a goal there can be no success. Success is not a destination but a journey. Anyone who is on course toward a worthy goal is successful. Success does not lie in the achievement of a goal but in its pursuit. Success is a journey! We’re successful as long as we’re working toward something we want to bring about in our lives. The road is better than the end. Success is being on the road toward something we want to bring about. We must have balanced lives with many goals but then we must work at only one at a time. Anyone working toward any worthwhile goal is as successful as anyone else. We are happiest when we are working toward goals we have established for ourselves.
Success is whatever we want it to be – worthy of us whether it be real or an ideal. Success is joy and satisfaction in serving others. One thing a goal must do is fill us with positive emotion when we think about it. The more intensely we feel about a goal the more progressively we’ll move toward it. We cannot simply drift into worthwhile destinations. The odds are too great. We must set our sail and adjust our course. What is your next port of call – your goal? Is it clear and concise in your mind? Do you have it written down? We need reminding – reinforcing. Do not be vague or general. Be specific about how much you will earn this year, save this year, and invest for retirement this year.
Happiness comes from direction not arrival. It’s the trip that is enjoyable. Moving toward our goals is more satisfying than after they’ve been accomplished. Set new goals as soon as one is realized. Never stop the process. We should always be looking forward to a new accomplishment. Don’t just settle for needs, make goals of wants. Develop a wish list. You will become what you think about. Don’t be circular and chaotic in your thinking or your life will reflect that. Written reminders help us to hit the bull’s eye time and time again. Control your thoughts. Decide about that which you will think and concentrate upon. You are in charge of your life to the degree you take charge of your thoughts.
Carlyle said, “A person without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder.” What is your purpose? Is your mind made up? Munger said, “There is no road to success but through a clear strong purpose.” Decide upon your goal. Insist upon it. Look at your written goals often every day. See yourself as having already attained your goal. You are now and you most certainly will become what you think about.
Miracle Of Your Mind
All creatures, except one, are supplied with a set of instincts and because of that they don’t need much of a brain. Only man has the miracle of mind. He alone can solve problems and create new ideas. The most important physical aspect of man is his brain. Only man can fashion his life with his mind. Only man can think, choose and reason. Only man can reach purposeful goals that were set.
Man only uses a small percentage of his mental ability. Most people have never learned to think creatively. They merely react to stimuli. Successful people are not people without problems. They are people who have learned to solve their problems by thinking. Thinking bridges the gap between our present point and our goals. 92% of our worries are useless. Of the remaining 8%, half pertain to problems we can’t solve and half to those we can solve if we’ll learn how.
Most people do not think. Few will sit down, write their problem on a note-pad and deliberately begin to think. Every man-made thing came from the human mind.
Take time to think every day of new ways in which the activities of that day can be improved upon. It’s not easy to think. Most of your ideas will be no good. Most importantly, your goals will be deeply imbedded in your mind. Your mind will work for ways to accomplish your goal. Spend one hour every day thinking about your goal and how to get there. Don’t waste time thinking about needless things. Never underestimate the miracle of your mind!
Destiny In The Balance
Working hard is not enough. Your rewards in life will always match the level of your service. Input determines output. Seek to serve. You must not only work hard but smart. Many people are ignorant of principal law of cause and effect. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Our rewards in life will always match our service. “As you sow, so shall you also reap.” If anyone is dissatisfied with his rewards he needs to examine his service.
Each of serves a portion of humanity, all those with whom you come in contact. We serve others. Others serve us. We need each other. Every-time we use a product or service, someone is serving us. Rewards are of the tangible type but also intangible such as happiness and peace of mind. Whatever it is you seek in the form of rewards, you must first earn in the form of service. The wood must be put in before you can get warmth. You cannot get maximum heat with too small a supply of wood. Think not about future rewards but about present service.
Discontent is measured by the distance between what you want and what you have. Constructive discontent results in an upward spiral. Determine what you want. Measure the distance between you and your goal and determine ways of increasing your service. People will be happy to supply you with the living you need if you’ll think of some way to serve them. Never seek to be given anything. Seek to serve in such a way that you’ll be rewarded. Start where you are. Our job is to do the sowing, the rest will take care of itself.
You can always tell what people have done by observing what they have. You can measure their contribution to society by societies contribution to them. My rewards in life will be in exact proportion to my service. “How can I increase my service today?” We must work intelligently, seeking ways to increase our service and thereby increasing our rewards. Do it now!
Seed For Achievement
Integrity is the seed for achievement. It is the principle that never fails. Integrity means completely fulfilling your own unique combination of powers. Integrity is being all you can be, doing all you can do and having all you can have. Integrity is wholeness, togetherness and completeness. There is no piece missing, nothing hidden. Your life is impeccable and unblemished and unblameable. People love and value men and women of integrity with a sense of humour, kindness and gentleness.
If it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Integrity means honesty and truth. Shakespeare wrote, “And this above all, to thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day thou canst not be false to any man.” Be true to yourself and you’ll not be false to anyone else. Integrity means to try as best we can to know ourselves. To examine ourselves. To take a true inventory of our abilities, talents, what we want, our goals. The key virtue is reasonableness. Find what you can do best that renders service to others and do it with all your might. Don’t seek happiness, seek to make things happen and happiness will follow.
Discover what course of life will fulfill your powers completely. What are your powers? Your unique abilities can provide great service to others. Discovering them is being true to yourself. That is integrity and reasonableness. Be truthful with yourself. Take the responsibility of making the best use of what you have. You have your mind, your talents, your time. Invest your wealth, only you can do that. It will provide an abundant return for you and your family all the years of your lives. The choice is yours. Will you steal from you? Will you be true to yourself?
That’s integrity! Make the best use of what you have and what you are in the time you’ve been granted. When you invest yourself you no longer compete – you create.
Follow your strongest suit. Do what you can do and do it with all that is in you. Don’t go with the flow – be true!
There is an unfailing boomerang that will always come full circle back to you. Honesty and unfailing integrity is good business. Honesty is the best means of getting rich. Put in motion the right cause and the right effect will take care of itself. Our only hope in winning the hearts of those we serve is in helping them in some way. Never give less than your best or you’ll work against yourself.
The greatest ignorance of all is the mistaken belief that we can ever receive more than we truly earn. Sooner or later there will be an accounting. We throw the boomerang good or bad. What do we mean by integrity? It means giving everything we do our very best. It means being true to ourselves
and with every other person with whom we come in contact. It gives meaning and comfort to our leisure time.
Our rest has been earned. We move ahead toward our goals simply because we cannot go unnoticed. We are remarkable people! People of integrity are always needed.
Life can only return to you that which you sow. What do you have to sow? You have great wealth; you can think, you have talent, and you have time. And when days come when you find yourself depressed or confused, remember the comment by Dean Briggs, “Do your work, not just your work and no more but a little more for the lavishing sake, that little more that is worth all the rest, and if you suffer as you must and if you doubt as you must, do your work, put your heart into it and then out of your very doubt and suffering will be born the supreme joy of life.”
Its Easier To Win
Success is easier than failure. Winning is better than losing. You never pay the price for success – you enjoy the price of success. Only 5% of people achieve unusual success in their lives. What motivates people to live as they do? 95% of children are not born into this top 5%. He will soon take his environment for granted. It will condition him. He will speak the language. He mirrors his environment because it is the perfectly natural thing to do. He becomes average.
Everyone has the option to work and live on whatever layer of life’s pyramid they choose. The view is better, the air is fresher, the sun shines earlier and later, and the crowd is smaller at the top. It’s easier to settle for the lower levels. Most just get in step with their peers. Most just don’t know how to succeed. They’ve never heard. They want to be accepted. They follow the follower. They conform to one another. Belonging seems to be all important.
Therein is the trap that gets practically everybody. Most end in it. They live their lives playing to the wrong crowd, trying to be one of the boys. The important thing to them is to be liked. They have no identity of their own. They find their identity in a larger group.
Successful people follow independent paths. They break away from the crowd. They join a smaller crowd. They don’t have the television on all the day long. They use their time constructively. It’s easier to win! There is less competition up there and the view is better.
Its never too late, for with a purpose, a worthy goal and a motivation to reach those upper layers on the pyramid, a person can travel further in a few years than he might otherwise travel in a lifetime.
How Much Are You Worth?
According to modern science you have a potential worth of eighty five billion dollars. Here’s a new view of you. You have tremendous potential. You are much more than meets the casual eye. You are unique. Every person is building a life and thus is really in business for themselves. Think of yourself as a business; which you must increase. You must not concern yourself with the past but with the present and future. You cannot go back and you cannot stand still. You must grow or go.
In this decade the emphasis will not be on necessities but far above them. The consumer market will expand 50% or more. Into the new millennium companies will emphasize research and development. Your future is unlimited. Your future is bright. Get on board. Will you grow or go? You can’t stand still. To grow at 10% per year means a company will double in size in about eight years. What are you doing to double your size? Can you grow and improve as a person at least 10% per year? Of course you can! You need only put out 10% more service to get back 10% more reward. So why settle for just 10% growth? Do twice as much and you will receive twice as much. 95% of people do not know this and so will not do this. You have an advantage. Knowledge is power! To stay vital, ongoing education is vital.
How much time are you giving to self improvement? How can you sell yourself better; get along with others more; increase productivity? How can you see more people every day? One extra contact a day is 250 extra a year. That will certainly increase business. Will you be average or above average? Will you be good or great? Activity must precede accomplishment.
Let’s Talk About Money
Where does great earning power come from? How can you get your share? Here are two steps to boost your income: We’re concerned about money to the extent that we don’t have it. Money is not bad and it is important.
Nothing will take the place of money in the area in which money works. What is money? Money is the harvest of our production and service. We in turn use it to obtain the production and service of others. It is a good gauge or measure of one’s own level of service. Money brings a great deal more happiness than poverty.
We can increase our value to the world. The amount of money we receive will always be in direct ratio to the demand for what we do, our ability to do it, and the difficulty of replacing us. A highly skilled person is worth more than a person who is not highly skilled. Preparation for life is so important. Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity. Opportunity is all around us. Are you prepared? Are you qualified?
As a nation we are already rich, far richer than most of the world. How much do you want? The world will pay you exactly what you bargain for. We’ll receive not what we wish for but what we earn. If you don’t like your income you must increase your service. Do more than you’re paid for and you’ll eventually be paid more for what you are doing. Only as we first grow in value as persons will we receive the increased income we seek.
Take two distinct steps: First decide how much money you really want, the exact amount. Second, forget the money and concentrate on improving what you now do. Decide on this years income, on how much you want in savings or investment, and how much you want as retirement income. Now work to match your level of service to that amount.
Most people never decide on these three amounts of money. They never write them down. They never work to match their level of service to the desired amount of money. Only 5% of people will do this. It is not achieving a goal that causes difficulty but not setting goals. Chance does not work. Only choice will work. Your choice!
Most people cut back their wants to fit their incomes. They are the majority. The minority makes their incomes fit their wants. Which is best for you? The only limit on your income is you. All you need is a plan, and the courage to press on to your destination. Nothing in the world can stand in the way of a plan backed by persistence and determination. Think of ways to increase your service and income will take care of itself.
Money cannot be sought directly. Like happiness, money is an effect. It is the result of a cause, and the cause is valuable service. Keep money in its proper place. It’s a servant and nothing more. It’s a tool. Do not emphasize money or it will master you. Know what you want, and you will become, you must become what you think about.
Now, become the person who is worth the amount of money and reward you have established for yourself. You will only move ahead when you are worth more than you are receiving. Seek to be worth more and income will catch up to your worth. The cause must precede the effect or the effect will not occur. Don’t fool yourself.
One Thing You Can’t Hide
We obtain skills for living through knowledge. Knowledge is power. There is power in the written word. All leaders are readers. Anyone who remains ignorant has only his or herself to blame. The illiterate person is found in the large bottom layers of the pyramid. At the peak of the pyramid are found the most brilliant people.
Knowledge is a ladder that enables you to climb to the top. A person should begin with his language and then proceed to study his general area of interest. It is our ability to use our language that will determine our place on the social pyramid. Your use of language is the one thing you cannot hide.
Knowledge of the exact meanings of a large number of words accompanies outstanding success. Improve your vocabulary and you will improve your income. When you learn one new word you actually add several of their buddies. An understanding of our language is the key to study, learning and everything else. Language more than anything else determines the extent of our knowledge. The more words we know and can properly use, the more knowledge we have. Acquire books that will enable you to increase your vocabulary and improve your English usage. Reading just fifteen minutes a day will enable you to read one half book a week, two a month, twenty four a year; over one thousand books in fifty years.
Specialize in areas of your own interest. Read for pleasure and you’ll profit. Systematically study your field and you’ll reach your goals more quickly. You can also use video and audio programs. The English language has over 600,000 words. They enable us to translate our thoughts and ideas into language that can be understood. We should also understand biblical and historical literature. Study about personal liberty and its price. Always be in school. The more you learn the more you’ll earn!
Today’s Great Adventure
“This is the day that the LORD has made.” Today! Live one day at a time. A life is nothing more than a lot of days put together. Every day must count. Every day is a single building block with which to build your life. Make every day count. Each day consists of a series of tasks. Plan those tasks. Priories those tasks. Begin with the first one and keep at it until it is done before going on to the next one. Don’t worry if you can’t accomplish all tasks in one day. Do each day all that can be done that day. Don’t overwork. Don’t rush. Just do what you do to the best of your ability. That is success!
Success will not be attributable to any one day, week or month but rather to the consistent, persistent, succession of single days. Just keep your eye on your goal and continue to grow in competence. Just concentrate on each task and do it as well as you can. One day at a time, one task at a time. One at a time in their proper order.
Write tonight the most important six things you must do tomorrow. Number them in their order of importance. Stay at them until done. Make sure they are important tasks. You have only to succeed today, each day, to guarantee your future. Be steady. Do as well as you can and finish it.
The Person On The White Horse
The outstanding leader in any field is societies most valued person. Every organization needs leadership. You do not raise morale, it filters down from the top. People will always reflect the attitude of the leader. Behind every outstanding success is an outstanding leader. This leader works early and late and when not working is thinking and planning.
This leader can go to work almost anywhere he or she chooses. He does not ask for work but shows up and leads the way. He is a specialist and not a jack of all trades. The best way to develop security that lasts a lifetime is to become outstanding at one particular line of work. As long as you are in the top 5% of that industry you’ll always be in demand. You have the world on a string. You are confident and quietly aware of your ability and intimate knowledge of your particular work. She is the homemaker or student who is at the top of the group. They have it made and they and everybody else knows it. Am I now such a person?
The first step is to make one big and important decision. Andrew Carnegie said, “Put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.” Just make sure that you are a vital part of your company. Do more than you’re paid to do. Are you a part of the cargo or a part of the crew? Are you getting credit for more than you’re actually doing? Are you doing less than you could be doing? Any job that is worth doing is worth doing well.
A leader is any person who realizes the importance of becoming a bigger and better person with the passing of every day, week and month. A leader takes the responsibility of his own growth. Maintain a cheerful helpful attitude toward everyone. Why shouldn't you be cheerful since you know you’ll achieve everything you've set your heart upon.
Be a sponge for information that will help you on your way. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll reach your goal but don’t be impatient. Know and have faith that what will come to you will come to you at the right time.
Everything operates as a result of law, God’s law that is true and unchanging. Having sown you’ll reap the rich results that come automatically.
Success does not come naturally. It requires the conscious utilization of ourselves in the service of others. We can become whatever we seriously make up our minds to become. Whatever we seriously decide to do is naturally linked to our genetic possibilities. Just pursue your natural aptitude.
If the grass is greener on the other side it’s probably getting better care. Success is a matter of sticking to a set of common sense principles anyone can master. Here are twelve ideas to help you lead the field, any field you choose.
The Magic Word
“Attitude” is the magic word. You are responsible for how your life turns out, and your attitude shapes that life for better or worse. Develop a winning attitude. Each of us creates his or her own life largely by our attitude. We all want good results. A healthy attitude is our best guarantee. Attitude is defined as the position or bearing as indicating action, feeling or mood. And it is our actions, feelings or moods that determine the actions, feelings and moods of others. Our attitude tells the world what we expect in return. Make yours expectant and cheerful. You get what you expect. You can control your attitude. Set it each morning. The world will reflect back to you the attitude you present to them. It is then, our attitude toward life that determines life’s attitude toward us. We get back what we put out. Others treat us as we treat them. They react to us. They only give us back a reflection of our own attitude. Our
surroundings reflect us. Our environment is a mirror. Life is an echo chamber of cause and effect. What we sow we’ll reap. What we give we’ll get. Change and your surroundings will change. Each of us shapes his or her life largely by our habitual attitude. A new habit takes time. Most people begin their day in neutral. They will simply react to whatever confronts them. These are the people of our environment. That’s why it’s so important for us to control our attitudes.
William James said, “Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes.” Gratitude and expectancy are the best attitude. It’s up to you. You’re responsible. Don’t take a defensive doubtful attitude toward yourself and
others. A poor attitude is a magnet for unpleasant experiences. We get what we expect and our outlook on life is a kind of paint brush and with it we paint our world. It can be bright and filled with hope and satisfaction or it can be dark and gloomy. The world we experience is a reflection of our attitude.
Don’t take the attitude of waiting for people to be nice to you – be nice to them. Don’t sit in front of a cold stove waiting for the heat. Put in the fuel. Act first. It has to start somewhere. Let it begin with you. Attitude is a reflection of the person inside.
People doing an outstanding job and getting outstanding results are outstanding people and that is because of an outstanding attitude. They think they can achieve. They believe that achievement is the natural order of things, and it is. They believe they can be as successful and competent as anyone else. They are usually no smarter or talented than anyone else but they have the right attitude. Attitude makes the difference. Accomplishment is easy because so few others really try.
Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity. A great attitude is the best preparation. Expect more good out of life than bad. Expect to succeed more often than you fail, and you will. There are more reasons why you can reach your goals than fail in the attempt. Work at it. Be positive, cheerful, grateful and expectant. Change things for the better by changing your attitude. Attitude determines altitude. Life is impersonal. Your attitude affects you more than others. Don’t wait for change. You change. Practice. Every dollar you’ll ever earn must come from people because of our love and kindness they see and feel.
Develop and project an attitude that says ‘yes’ to life. Life is dull only to dull people. Life is successful for successful people. You must radiate success before it’ll come to you. We become what we really wish to become. You must be before you can do or have something.
Treat every person as the most important person on earth. To them, they are the most important person. That’s the way we ought to treat each other. By doing so we begin to form an important habit. Esteem others. They are important and needed. People want to be recognized and respected. Everyone counts. They will give their business to the person who fills this need.
People don’t have great attitudes because of great success, they have great success largely because of great attitudes. Act toward others exactly as you wish them to act toward you. Treat them importantly. Set the pace. Don’t catch the bad and infectious attitudes of others. Keep yourself healthy. Don’t mimic the attitudes of others
unless they are good. A good attitude will place you immediately in the top 5% of people on earth.
In summary: It’s our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task that more than anything else will bring about it’s successful outcome. Our attitudes toward others determine their attitudes toward us. Success depends on how well we relate to others. Before you can achieve the kind of life you want you must think, act, talk, and conduct yourself in all of your affairs as would the person you wish to become. The higher you go in any organization the better the attitudes you will find. The deepest craving of the human being is for recognition and self-esteem, to feel important, to be recognized and appreciated. Treat everyone with whom you come in contact as the most important person on earth
.
Acres Of Diamonds
The mind is the richest human resource. It is a gold-mine of ideas. Ask yourself every morning, “how can I increase my service today?”
Russell Conwell wrote Acres of Diamonds, a true story of an African farmer who heard of others who had made millions by discovering diamond mines. He sold his property and traveled the continent for long years in search of diamonds until at last old, weary and discouraged, he threw himself into a river and drowned. Meanwhile back at the old farm the new owner found a large brilliant rough diamond in the creek. A friend told him he’d found one of the largest diamonds ever. His creek was filled with such stones.
Needless to say the farm the first farmer had sold so that he might find a diamond mine turned out to be the most productive diamond mine in the entire African continent. The first farmer had owned free and clear acres of diamonds. He should have searched his own property thoroughly before moving on. He hadn’t even looked.
Each of us is at this moment standing in the midst of his or her own acres of diamonds. Explore the pasture you are in. Don’t run from one thing to another forever looking for the pot of gold. Stay where you are until you find what you seek. Let your mind thoroughly explore the possibilities in what you are presently doing. There were good reasons why you chose your present work in the beginning. If not, then it may be time to move on to another field. Find acres of diamonds hiding in your work. The diamonds of opportunity are there but they cannot shout. Our job is to find them. We must think of better ways to serve, right where we are. Look at your work through eyes of ‘intelligent objectivity.’ Leave no stone unturned. There are better ways to do what you are presently doing. Keep things stirred up. Overcome! Prevail right where you are. Stay and get rid of your problems. Think every day of a way to mine your own acres of diamonds.
A Worthy Destination
By setting specific, attainable, worthwhile goals you automatically place yourself in the top 5% of people, achievers. Freedom - personal liberty is the most precious thing on earth. You are free to pursue your dreams in the richest country on earth. You have the opportunity to succeed. The choice is yours. Goals reflect your choice of destination. Do you have a burning desire to succeed despite all handicaps? Do you know exactly what you want? Do you think about it every day of your life? That vision will carry you over every obstacle. Your dream is invisible to all the world except you. Every worthwhile achievement is a dream come true. What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve! We become what we think about. If we want something enough we’ll get it. We can have everything we want. Most people don’t know what they want. Do you?
The system of goal setting will work for a new car and will work for anything else too! Set worthy goals. Don’t drift along as a wandering generality. Be a meaningful specific. Aspire higher! Don’t take life for granted. Goal setting is the very basis of any success. Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal. Without a goal there can be no success. Success is not a destination but a journey. Anyone who is on course toward a worthy goal is successful. Success does not lie in the achievement of a goal but in its pursuit. Success is a journey! We’re successful as long as we’re working toward something we want to bring about in our lives. The road is better than the end. Success is being on the road toward something we want to bring about. We must have balanced lives with many goals but then we must work at only one at a time. Anyone working toward any worthwhile goal is as successful as anyone else. We are happiest when we are working toward goals we have established for ourselves.
Success is whatever we want it to be – worthy of us whether it be real or an ideal. Success is joy and satisfaction in serving others. One thing a goal must do is fill us with positive emotion when we think about it. The more intensely we feel about a goal the more progressively we’ll move toward it. We cannot simply drift into worthwhile destinations. The odds are too great. We must set our sail and adjust our course. What is your next port of call – your goal? Is it clear and concise in your mind? Do you have it written down? We need reminding – reinforcing. Do not be vague or general. Be specific about how much you will earn this year, save this year, and invest for retirement this year.
Happiness comes from direction not arrival. It’s the trip that is enjoyable. Moving toward our goals is more satisfying than after they’ve been accomplished. Set new goals as soon as one is realized. Never stop the process. We should always be looking forward to a new accomplishment. Don’t just settle for needs, make goals of wants. Develop a wish list. You will become what you think about. Don’t be circular and chaotic in your thinking or your life will reflect that. Written reminders help us to hit the bull’s eye time and time again. Control your thoughts. Decide about that which you will think and concentrate upon. You are in charge of your life to the degree you take charge of your thoughts.
Carlyle said, “A person without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder.” What is your purpose? Is your mind made up? Munger said, “There is no road to success but through a clear strong purpose.” Decide upon your goal. Insist upon it. Look at your written goals often every day. See yourself as having already attained your goal. You are now and you most certainly will become what you think about.
Miracle Of Your Mind
All creatures, except one, are supplied with a set of instincts and because of that they don’t need much of a brain. Only man has the miracle of mind. He alone can solve problems and create new ideas. The most important physical aspect of man is his brain. Only man can fashion his life with his mind. Only man can think, choose and reason. Only man can reach purposeful goals that were set.
Man only uses a small percentage of his mental ability. Most people have never learned to think creatively. They merely react to stimuli. Successful people are not people without problems. They are people who have learned to solve their problems by thinking. Thinking bridges the gap between our present point and our goals. 92% of our worries are useless. Of the remaining 8%, half pertain to problems we can’t solve and half to those we can solve if we’ll learn how.
Most people do not think. Few will sit down, write their problem on a note-pad and deliberately begin to think. Every man-made thing came from the human mind.
Take time to think every day of new ways in which the activities of that day can be improved upon. It’s not easy to think. Most of your ideas will be no good. Most importantly, your goals will be deeply imbedded in your mind. Your mind will work for ways to accomplish your goal. Spend one hour every day thinking about your goal and how to get there. Don’t waste time thinking about needless things. Never underestimate the miracle of your mind!
Destiny In The Balance
Working hard is not enough. Your rewards in life will always match the level of your service. Input determines output. Seek to serve. You must not only work hard but smart. Many people are ignorant of principal law of cause and effect. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Our rewards in life will always match our service. “As you sow, so shall you also reap.” If anyone is dissatisfied with his rewards he needs to examine his service.
Each of serves a portion of humanity, all those with whom you come in contact. We serve others. Others serve us. We need each other. Every-time we use a product or service, someone is serving us. Rewards are of the tangible type but also intangible such as happiness and peace of mind. Whatever it is you seek in the form of rewards, you must first earn in the form of service. The wood must be put in before you can get warmth. You cannot get maximum heat with too small a supply of wood. Think not about future rewards but about present service.
Discontent is measured by the distance between what you want and what you have. Constructive discontent results in an upward spiral. Determine what you want. Measure the distance between you and your goal and determine ways of increasing your service. People will be happy to supply you with the living you need if you’ll think of some way to serve them. Never seek to be given anything. Seek to serve in such a way that you’ll be rewarded. Start where you are. Our job is to do the sowing, the rest will take care of itself.
You can always tell what people have done by observing what they have. You can measure their contribution to society by societies contribution to them. My rewards in life will be in exact proportion to my service. “How can I increase my service today?” We must work intelligently, seeking ways to increase our service and thereby increasing our rewards. Do it now!
Seed For Achievement
Integrity is the seed for achievement. It is the principle that never fails. Integrity means completely fulfilling your own unique combination of powers. Integrity is being all you can be, doing all you can do and having all you can have. Integrity is wholeness, togetherness and completeness. There is no piece missing, nothing hidden. Your life is impeccable and unblemished and unblameable. People love and value men and women of integrity with a sense of humour, kindness and gentleness.
If it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Integrity means honesty and truth. Shakespeare wrote, “And this above all, to thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day thou canst not be false to any man.” Be true to yourself and you’ll not be false to anyone else. Integrity means to try as best we can to know ourselves. To examine ourselves. To take a true inventory of our abilities, talents, what we want, our goals. The key virtue is reasonableness. Find what you can do best that renders service to others and do it with all your might. Don’t seek happiness, seek to make things happen and happiness will follow.
Discover what course of life will fulfill your powers completely. What are your powers? Your unique abilities can provide great service to others. Discovering them is being true to yourself. That is integrity and reasonableness. Be truthful with yourself. Take the responsibility of making the best use of what you have. You have your mind, your talents, your time. Invest your wealth, only you can do that. It will provide an abundant return for you and your family all the years of your lives. The choice is yours. Will you steal from you? Will you be true to yourself?
That’s integrity! Make the best use of what you have and what you are in the time you’ve been granted. When you invest yourself you no longer compete – you create.
Follow your strongest suit. Do what you can do and do it with all that is in you. Don’t go with the flow – be true!
There is an unfailing boomerang that will always come full circle back to you. Honesty and unfailing integrity is good business. Honesty is the best means of getting rich. Put in motion the right cause and the right effect will take care of itself. Our only hope in winning the hearts of those we serve is in helping them in some way. Never give less than your best or you’ll work against yourself.
The greatest ignorance of all is the mistaken belief that we can ever receive more than we truly earn. Sooner or later there will be an accounting. We throw the boomerang good or bad. What do we mean by integrity? It means giving everything we do our very best. It means being true to ourselves
and with every other person with whom we come in contact. It gives meaning and comfort to our leisure time.
Our rest has been earned. We move ahead toward our goals simply because we cannot go unnoticed. We are remarkable people! People of integrity are always needed.
Life can only return to you that which you sow. What do you have to sow? You have great wealth; you can think, you have talent, and you have time. And when days come when you find yourself depressed or confused, remember the comment by Dean Briggs, “Do your work, not just your work and no more but a little more for the lavishing sake, that little more that is worth all the rest, and if you suffer as you must and if you doubt as you must, do your work, put your heart into it and then out of your very doubt and suffering will be born the supreme joy of life.”
Its Easier To Win
Success is easier than failure. Winning is better than losing. You never pay the price for success – you enjoy the price of success. Only 5% of people achieve unusual success in their lives. What motivates people to live as they do? 95% of children are not born into this top 5%. He will soon take his environment for granted. It will condition him. He will speak the language. He mirrors his environment because it is the perfectly natural thing to do. He becomes average.
Everyone has the option to work and live on whatever layer of life’s pyramid they choose. The view is better, the air is fresher, the sun shines earlier and later, and the crowd is smaller at the top. It’s easier to settle for the lower levels. Most just get in step with their peers. Most just don’t know how to succeed. They’ve never heard. They want to be accepted. They follow the follower. They conform to one another. Belonging seems to be all important.
Therein is the trap that gets practically everybody. Most end in it. They live their lives playing to the wrong crowd, trying to be one of the boys. The important thing to them is to be liked. They have no identity of their own. They find their identity in a larger group.
Successful people follow independent paths. They break away from the crowd. They join a smaller crowd. They don’t have the television on all the day long. They use their time constructively. It’s easier to win! There is less competition up there and the view is better.
Its never too late, for with a purpose, a worthy goal and a motivation to reach those upper layers on the pyramid, a person can travel further in a few years than he might otherwise travel in a lifetime.
How Much Are You Worth?
According to modern science you have a potential worth of eighty five billion dollars. Here’s a new view of you. You have tremendous potential. You are much more than meets the casual eye. You are unique. Every person is building a life and thus is really in business for themselves. Think of yourself as a business; which you must increase. You must not concern yourself with the past but with the present and future. You cannot go back and you cannot stand still. You must grow or go.
In this decade the emphasis will not be on necessities but far above them. The consumer market will expand 50% or more. Into the new millennium companies will emphasize research and development. Your future is unlimited. Your future is bright. Get on board. Will you grow or go? You can’t stand still. To grow at 10% per year means a company will double in size in about eight years. What are you doing to double your size? Can you grow and improve as a person at least 10% per year? Of course you can! You need only put out 10% more service to get back 10% more reward. So why settle for just 10% growth? Do twice as much and you will receive twice as much. 95% of people do not know this and so will not do this. You have an advantage. Knowledge is power! To stay vital, ongoing education is vital.
How much time are you giving to self improvement? How can you sell yourself better; get along with others more; increase productivity? How can you see more people every day? One extra contact a day is 250 extra a year. That will certainly increase business. Will you be average or above average? Will you be good or great? Activity must precede accomplishment.
Let’s Talk About Money
Where does great earning power come from? How can you get your share? Here are two steps to boost your income: We’re concerned about money to the extent that we don’t have it. Money is not bad and it is important.
Nothing will take the place of money in the area in which money works. What is money? Money is the harvest of our production and service. We in turn use it to obtain the production and service of others. It is a good gauge or measure of one’s own level of service. Money brings a great deal more happiness than poverty.
We can increase our value to the world. The amount of money we receive will always be in direct ratio to the demand for what we do, our ability to do it, and the difficulty of replacing us. A highly skilled person is worth more than a person who is not highly skilled. Preparation for life is so important. Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity. Opportunity is all around us. Are you prepared? Are you qualified?
As a nation we are already rich, far richer than most of the world. How much do you want? The world will pay you exactly what you bargain for. We’ll receive not what we wish for but what we earn. If you don’t like your income you must increase your service. Do more than you’re paid for and you’ll eventually be paid more for what you are doing. Only as we first grow in value as persons will we receive the increased income we seek.
Take two distinct steps: First decide how much money you really want, the exact amount. Second, forget the money and concentrate on improving what you now do. Decide on this years income, on how much you want in savings or investment, and how much you want as retirement income. Now work to match your level of service to that amount.
Most people never decide on these three amounts of money. They never write them down. They never work to match their level of service to the desired amount of money. Only 5% of people will do this. It is not achieving a goal that causes difficulty but not setting goals. Chance does not work. Only choice will work. Your choice!
Most people cut back their wants to fit their incomes. They are the majority. The minority makes their incomes fit their wants. Which is best for you? The only limit on your income is you. All you need is a plan, and the courage to press on to your destination. Nothing in the world can stand in the way of a plan backed by persistence and determination. Think of ways to increase your service and income will take care of itself.
Money cannot be sought directly. Like happiness, money is an effect. It is the result of a cause, and the cause is valuable service. Keep money in its proper place. It’s a servant and nothing more. It’s a tool. Do not emphasize money or it will master you. Know what you want, and you will become, you must become what you think about.
Now, become the person who is worth the amount of money and reward you have established for yourself. You will only move ahead when you are worth more than you are receiving. Seek to be worth more and income will catch up to your worth. The cause must precede the effect or the effect will not occur. Don’t fool yourself.
One Thing You Can’t Hide
We obtain skills for living through knowledge. Knowledge is power. There is power in the written word. All leaders are readers. Anyone who remains ignorant has only his or herself to blame. The illiterate person is found in the large bottom layers of the pyramid. At the peak of the pyramid are found the most brilliant people.
Knowledge is a ladder that enables you to climb to the top. A person should begin with his language and then proceed to study his general area of interest. It is our ability to use our language that will determine our place on the social pyramid. Your use of language is the one thing you cannot hide.
Knowledge of the exact meanings of a large number of words accompanies outstanding success. Improve your vocabulary and you will improve your income. When you learn one new word you actually add several of their buddies. An understanding of our language is the key to study, learning and everything else. Language more than anything else determines the extent of our knowledge. The more words we know and can properly use, the more knowledge we have. Acquire books that will enable you to increase your vocabulary and improve your English usage. Reading just fifteen minutes a day will enable you to read one half book a week, two a month, twenty four a year; over one thousand books in fifty years.
Specialize in areas of your own interest. Read for pleasure and you’ll profit. Systematically study your field and you’ll reach your goals more quickly. You can also use video and audio programs. The English language has over 600,000 words. They enable us to translate our thoughts and ideas into language that can be understood. We should also understand biblical and historical literature. Study about personal liberty and its price. Always be in school. The more you learn the more you’ll earn!
Today’s Great Adventure
“This is the day that the LORD has made.” Today! Live one day at a time. A life is nothing more than a lot of days put together. Every day must count. Every day is a single building block with which to build your life. Make every day count. Each day consists of a series of tasks. Plan those tasks. Priories those tasks. Begin with the first one and keep at it until it is done before going on to the next one. Don’t worry if you can’t accomplish all tasks in one day. Do each day all that can be done that day. Don’t overwork. Don’t rush. Just do what you do to the best of your ability. That is success!
Success will not be attributable to any one day, week or month but rather to the consistent, persistent, succession of single days. Just keep your eye on your goal and continue to grow in competence. Just concentrate on each task and do it as well as you can. One day at a time, one task at a time. One at a time in their proper order.
Write tonight the most important six things you must do tomorrow. Number them in their order of importance. Stay at them until done. Make sure they are important tasks. You have only to succeed today, each day, to guarantee your future. Be steady. Do as well as you can and finish it.
The Person On The White Horse
The outstanding leader in any field is societies most valued person. Every organization needs leadership. You do not raise morale, it filters down from the top. People will always reflect the attitude of the leader. Behind every outstanding success is an outstanding leader. This leader works early and late and when not working is thinking and planning.
This leader can go to work almost anywhere he or she chooses. He does not ask for work but shows up and leads the way. He is a specialist and not a jack of all trades. The best way to develop security that lasts a lifetime is to become outstanding at one particular line of work. As long as you are in the top 5% of that industry you’ll always be in demand. You have the world on a string. You are confident and quietly aware of your ability and intimate knowledge of your particular work. She is the homemaker or student who is at the top of the group. They have it made and they and everybody else knows it. Am I now such a person?
The first step is to make one big and important decision. Andrew Carnegie said, “Put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.” Just make sure that you are a vital part of your company. Do more than you’re paid to do. Are you a part of the cargo or a part of the crew? Are you getting credit for more than you’re actually doing? Are you doing less than you could be doing? Any job that is worth doing is worth doing well.
A leader is any person who realizes the importance of becoming a bigger and better person with the passing of every day, week and month. A leader takes the responsibility of his own growth. Maintain a cheerful helpful attitude toward everyone. Why shouldn't you be cheerful since you know you’ll achieve everything you've set your heart upon.
Be a sponge for information that will help you on your way. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll reach your goal but don’t be impatient. Know and have faith that what will come to you will come to you at the right time.
Everything operates as a result of law, God’s law that is true and unchanging. Having sown you’ll reap the rich results that come automatically.
Success does not come naturally. It requires the conscious utilization of ourselves in the service of others. We can become whatever we seriously make up our minds to become. Whatever we seriously decide to do is naturally linked to our genetic possibilities. Just pursue your natural aptitude.
