Zig Ziglar Motivation: GOALS (how to achieve anything you want)

For 24 years of my adult life, by choice, I weighed well over 200 lb. I say "by choice" because, you see, I have never accidentally eaten anything. I mean, it's always been deliberate. And when I choose to eat too much today, I have chosen to weigh too much tomorrow. You can choose to set goals and realize your potential, or you can choose not to set them. Now, if you choose not to set them, you've got to understand that the consequences are not going to be good down the road.

I've worked hard all of my life, but until I was 45 years old, I was stone broke. Now, stay with me, because this is a critical point that can make a dramatic difference in your life, your family life, your business life, your personal life.

Zig Ziggler was one of the world's most popular motivational speakers. Ziggler was one of 12 children, raised by a widowed mother during the Great Depression. He wrote over 25 books, including "See You at the Top," and inspired millions of people around the world. In this exclusive training, Ziggler shares with us powerful strategies to achieve any goal you set, develop a positive mindset, and improve the quality of your life. Special thanks to the Ziggler family for partnering with us to release this exclusive content on our YouTube channel. Enjoy.

Hello, I'm Zig Ziggler, and I'm really excited that we're able to spend this time together. In a few minutes, this empty studio will be filled with hundreds of people who, just like you, believe that to get ahead in life, you've got to have goals. During this program, we'll look at why goals are important, how to set them, and how to achieve them. The hour you spend with this tape may be the most important time you'll ever spend in your life. Now, join me and our studio audience as we take those first steps towards a happier and more productive life. Do this, and I'll see you at the top.

[Applause] [Music] Wow, what enthusiasm! My goodness alive! Read something the other day, you're going to be enormously intrigued with. Read where every third person was either remarkably handsome or amazingly beautiful. Now, what I'd like to get you to do is look directly at the person on your left. No, left. Now look directly at the person on your right. And if it ain't either one of them... [Applause] Well, that ought to get, that ought to get us off to a good start here. Just as a matter of curiosity, how many of you have ever either heard me speak before, or else this is your first time? Can I see your hands? Okay. Hey, we're with it here tonight. That's great.

The name Howard Hill will probably ring a bell in the minds of some of you, but not all of you. Howard Hill was a good Alabama boy. He was an archer. Many people said he was the greatest of all time. He entered 287 archery tournaments. He placed first 287 times. As a youngster, I've seen newsreels of Howard Hill. I've seen him where they were filming him killing a cape buffalo, the toughest of all game animals to bring down with a bow and arrow. He killed a bull elephant. He killed a large shark under about 15 feet of water. As a youngster, I've seen newsreels where from 50 feet, he would shoot at a bullseye and split it precisely in the center, and then he would take his second arrow, and with the second arrow, he would split the first one. An amazing demonstration of skill.

Now, I have never shot the bow and arrow professionally, but I am an instructor par excellence. I think that's French, which means I'm really good. But I'm not absolutely certain of that. As a matter of fact, I am so good as an instructor of archery that I could spend 20 minutes with any man or woman in this audience this evening, and provided your eyesight is normal and your health is good, at the end of 20 minutes, I would have you hitting the bullseye more consistently than Howard Hill could have hit it the best day of his life, provided we had, of course, first blindfolded Howard Hill and then turned him around a couple of times so he would have no idea in which direction he was facing. And you kind of snicker and you say, "Well, ugly, that's the silliest thing I've ever heard. Why, of course, uh, we could shoot better than him because how in the world could a man hit a target he could not even see?" That's a pretty good question. Here's one even better: How can you hit a target you don't even have?

My friends, the question is, do you have your targets? Have you clearly identified what it is that you want in life? Have you set a date as to when you expect to get it? Have you identified the obstacles you must overcome in order to get there? Have you identified the people, the groups, organizations you need to work with in order to get there? Have you spelled out what it is you need to know to reach your objective? Have you developed a plan of action and have you written it down as to what's in it for me? Why do you want to reach the goal in the first place?

You see, the problem with most people is they're what we call a "wandering generality" in life. But the truth is, you can never achieve greatness unless you become a "meaningful specific." You see, the basic problem is most people, when they're working on their job, they get to thinking, "You know, I really ought to be spending time at home with my family." And then, when they're at home with the family, they get to thinking, "You really ought to be out there working for my family." And so, when they're out there working for their family, their mind is back home. And when they're back home, their mind is back out there in the field. And then they tell everybody, "Well, I don't ever have time to do anything." No wonder you're always traveling. You see, the basic problem is not lack of time. It is lack of direction.

We all have exactly the same amount of time, whether we're a millionaire or a pauper. All of us have 24 hours every single day. The truth is, ladies and gentlemen, we must have goals if we're going to do anything. Goals do a lot of things. For example, they enable you to chase the blues away. I've never known anybody who was truly depressed who had specific and long-range goals. And what goals do is they create activity. And you see, activity, as you work towards reaching them, creates the very excitement which you need in order to accomplish or reach your objectives. The psychologist puts it this way: Logic will not change an emotion, but action will. And as you get busy working towards these dreams of yours, and yes, you absolutely must have your dreams, ladies and gentlemen, and what we're going to do is look at the ways you build a foundation underneath those dreams.

Several years ago, they did an experiment with a number of college students. And in this particular experiment, they let them go to sleep, and they hooked these brain machines up to them. With these brain machines, they could determine precisely, within a matter of seconds, when the student went to sleep. Then they could tell when that student started to dream. And as the student would start to dream, they would awaken him or her, and then they'd let him go back to sleep. And that is no problem. But when they started to dream, they would awake them again. And with those brain wave machines, they can tell exactly when they start to dream. At the end of one night of this kind of treatment, many of the students were nervous and fidgety. At the end of two nights of this kind of treatment, where they had a reasonable amount of sleep but no dreaming, they became very irritable and very short and very cross. At the end of just three nights of reasonable amount of sleep but no dreaming, they could tell that some of them were headed for some psychological difficulties. And so what they did was they aborted the experiment. Now, about 24 hours later, most of the students were back to normal. Within a week, all of them had returned 100%. But the experiment proves something very conclusively, and that's this: When you're asleep, ladies and gentlemen, you need your dreams. I'm here to tell you that when you're wide awake, you also need your dreams. You must have your goals. You'll never make it as a wandering generality. You must become a meaningful specific.

If you're going to work tomorrow, because that's what you did yesterday, you're not going to be as good tomorrow as you were yesterday, because now you're two days older and no closer to the goal which you do not have. You can't make it as a wandering generality. Most people understand you've got to become a meaningful specific. It reminds me of an experiment done some little while ago by John Henry, Father Bray, the great French naturalist. He took a number of processionary caterpillars, so named because they follow each other in a procession, and he lined them around a flower pot until they formed a never-ending circle. And they started going round and round. 24 hours that first day, and then they went the next day and the next. And by the about the third or the fourth day, he put some pine needles into the center of that flower pot. That's the food of the processionary caterpillar. They kept going round and round. Seven full days and seven full nights, they went round and round until they literally dropped dead from starvation and exhaustion, with an abundance of food less than 6 inches away. They had starved to death because they confused activity with accomplishment.

You've got some friends that are in the same shape. They're busy, busy, busy all the time. They're going, going, going, going, and they're here, and they're there, and they're somewhere else, but they never really accomplish anything because they don't have those specific, clearly identifiable objectives. You've got to have those goals.

Now that you know why it's important to have goals, take the next few minutes to prepare a dream sheet. Write down everything you've ever wanted to do or be or have. Now, don't be judgmental. Let your mind run free. Here's a guide to help organize this dream sheet. As you write down one idea, it will trigger others. No matter how far-fetched or seemingly unrealistic, be sure to write down everything. Begin with travel and vacations: where you want to go and how you're going to get there. Your automobile: the kind, the color, all of the options. The house: the size of it, the style, and all of the extras. The money: savings, investments. Your career: the salary, the increase, the raises, and all the benefits which go with it. Your promotions. Uh, the children and your family: the education, activities, the shared time, friendship, the respect, the helping of others. Your health: your body weight, the exercise. Your religion: your church involvement, your religious study. And your mind: education, reading. Recall. Now, if other things come to mind, you add them to your list. Take your time to complete this list, and when you're finished, set it aside for 24 to 48 hours. At that point, get out your dream sheet again, and after each item, write "Why?" Now, this is crucial. If you cannot clearly articulate in one sentence why you want to be, do, or have what you included on your list, it is not something you're serious about. So take it off. We'll get back to this later.

Yet, the truth of the matter is, 97% of the people in our great land never really set their goals in the proper light, in the way that you're going to be taught during the course of this program. 97%. And one of the major reasons is because of a little thing called fear. Now, you spell fear, obviously, F-E-A-R, and that really is an acrostic for "False Evidence Appearing Real." But if it appears real, ladies and gentlemen, it's real. For example, I could take this handkerchief and my finger and rob the bank in your town. In all probability, all I'd have to do is put the handkerchief over my face, put my finger in my pocket, and walk up to the teller and, in my meanest voice, say, "Give me your money." And chances are superb that they would give me the money. The evidence would be false, but it would appear real, and because of that, they would give me the money. A young Cuban hijacked an airplane to Cuba with a bar of soap. He took it to the captain of the aircraft and he said, "Uh, let's go to Cuba. I've got a bomb in here." Though the evidence was false, it appeared real, and they went to Cuba.

You see, the truth of the matter is, a lot of people collect a great deal of false evidence, and the net result is they never set the goals. Now, let me assure you, there's a certain amount of danger in setting goals. For example, next Monday morning, I get on an aircraft in Dallas, Texas, going into Atlanta, Georgia, at 8:45. Now, I've got sense enough to know that when I get on that airplane, there's a certain amount of danger when I get aboard that aircraft, because some airplanes are coming down faster than they go up. And I'll tell you when, when those airplanes come down faster than they go up, there's danger for me. But there's more danger for the airplane. You see, when an airplane comes down faster than it goes up, you just about can't hardly trade those dudes in at any price. I mean, their market value is gone. See, there's danger for the airplane, but there's more danger for the airplane if it stays on the ground. Did you realize that according to the engineers, an airplane will wear out faster sitting on the ground than it will wear out flying in the heavens? It'll rust out on the ground. It'll wear out in the heavens, not nearly as fast in the air as it'll rust out on the ground. Besides, airplanes are built to fly.

You get on a ship, there's danger it might sink. But there's more danger for the ship if it stays at anchor in the harbor. Experts tell me that it will collect barnacles and become unseaworthy faster in the harbor than it will if it sails the high seas. And besides, that's what ships are built for. Now, there's a certain amount of danger in setting your goals, because, you see, you might not reach those goals. But folks, there's danger if you don't set the goals. You see, man and nature are 180 degrees apart. We use up nature's natural resources by using them up, but we use up man's natural resources by not using them at all. Oliver Wendell Holmes expressed it very eloquently when he said, "The tragedy in America is truly that we waste our natural resources, but one of infinitely greater tragedy is the fact that we waste our human resources by not using what we've got." The average person goes to their grave with their music still in them. What a shame. You've got to have goals, ladies and gentlemen.

I want to talk a little bit about goals in the light of how do you lose 37 pounds and write a book? I'm just going to kind of give you that as an example. For 24 years of my adult life, by choice, I weighed well over 200 lb. I say "by choice" because, you see, I have never accidentally eaten anything. I mean, it's always been deliberate. And when I choose to eat too much today, today I have chosen to weigh too much tomorrow. You can choose to set goals and realize your potential, or you can choose not to set them. Now, if you choose not to set them, you've got to understand that the consequences are not going to be good down the road.

For 24 years, I was going to lose that weight. As a matter of fact, in 24 years, I lost several thousand pounds of weight. How many of you already know exactly what I'm talking about? But it wasn't until I wrote it down, put a date on it, listed the obstacles I had to overcome, identified the people, the groups, the organizations I needed to work with, spelled out a plan of action, set that time limit in there, and identified all of the benefits to me, it was only when I did that that the goal became a reality, and I lost the weight. For 10 or 15 years, I was going to write a book. You know, anybody who's going to do just a whole lot of things, folks. I was going to write a book. But it wasn't until I got busy writing the book and writing the plans first before the book ever materialized.

Yale University, 1953, did a study of their graduating seniors. They discovered that only 3% of them had taken all seven of the steps you need to take in setting your goals. Another 10% had taken part of the steps, but the majority, 87%, beyond graduating from college and becoming a professor or a preacher or a doctor or whatever, very few of the other 87% had taken any of the steps in setting those goals. Now, 1973, 20 years later, they did another study of these graduating seniors. And in the area which you can measure, which is in your career and in your finances, the 3% who had taken all seven steps—that is, they had written down clearly identified exactly what they wanted, they had put the date on when they expected to get there, they had identified the obstacles they had to overcome, they had spelled out the people, the groups, organizations they had to work with, identified what they needed to know, they had developed a plan of action, and they had written it down: "Why do I want to get there?" These 3% had accomplished more than the 97% combined who had not set those goals.

Now, if it sounds like I'm trying to sell you on having goals, how many of you are getting close already? How many of you are being convinced right quick like that you need to have those goals? There's no question about it. The immortal J.C. Penney, many, many years ago, said, "Give me a stock clerk with a goal, and I'll give you a man who will make history. But give me a man without a goal, and I'll give you a stock clerk." Now, the interesting thing is, goals do not care who has them. Let me give you a classic example of the way they work. In 1950, a war-torn, devastated Japan, a nation which had lost an incredibly high percentage of its young men, their cities were in ruins, they had been bombed out. But in 1950, they got together. They, meaning industry and government, got together and set a goal. The goal was: "We're going to be the number one nation in the world during the 1950s in the production of textiles." In 1959, ladies and gentlemen, they accomplished that objective. In 1960, they set another goal: "We're going to be the number one nation in the world in the production of steel." Now, when you understand there's no iron ore in Japan of any significance, there's no coal of any significance, "We're going to be the number one nation in the world in the production of steel." It seemed like an absurd goal, and yet they reached their objectives. They had taken all of the steps. In 1970, the Japanese set another goal. They said, "During the '70s, we'll be the number one nation in the world in the production of automobiles." They missed it, folks, one year. It took them until 1980. In 1980, they set another goal, and this time their goal was: "We're going to be the number one nation in the world in the production of computers and electronics." And they're working very, very hard to reach their goals. Yes, indeed, ladies and gentlemen, you absolutely must have those goals. You've got to write them down. You've got to put a date on it. You've got to identify those obstacles. You've got to identify the people, the groups you need to work with. You've got to find out what it is you need to know. You've got to develop a plan of action. And you've got to write it down: "What's in it for me?"

Now, that's a formula that I have just given you, pure and simple. Now, if I were to ask you what 3 times 3 was, there isn't a person here who could not instantly answer it. But if I were to ask you what is 5,120 * 2,165, odds are enormous that very few of you could pop out the answer that quickly. Buddy, if I were to say to you, "Get your pencil and paper out, figure it out," then all of you could figure it out. Why? You know the formula. Now, you see, if you know the formula, it really doesn't make any difference, ladies and gentlemen, what the goal really is.

When I started to write the book, I took precisely the same steps that I'm talking about. I wrote down the objective. I wrote down the time I completed or expected to complete the book. Identified the obstacles there. And yes, I know this is repetitious, it's the mother of learning. I wrote out and identified the people, the groups, organizations I needed to work with. I devised a plan of action to do it. I spelled out what I needed to know. And I wrote it all down: "What's in it for me?"

I think most of us would like to be part of that successful group of people with goals, but few of us take the time to sit down and write out our plan for life. The truth is, most of us just don't know how to go about doing it. So here are seven steps to help you start setting goals. First, you've got to identify the goal. Next, you need to set a deadline for achievement. Number three, you need to list the obstacles to overcome. Number four, you need to identify the people and groups to work with. Number five, you need to list the skills and the knowledge required to reach your goal. Number six, you need to develop a plan of action. And number seven, you need to list the benefits: "What's in it for me?" These are the seven steps you must take to set your goals.

The truth of the matter is, you see, there are seven types of goals, but the formula works exactly the same. Whether it's the social goal, a mental goal, a physical goal, it doesn't make a difference what kind of goal it is. Let me kind of alert you and give you a simple example of why we need to be alerted to why we need some of our goals. For example, is there anybody here who has a racehorse worth in excess of a million dollars? Can I see your hands? Okay. Now, if you did have a thoroughbred horse worth in excess of a million dollars, would you keep him up half the night letting him drink coffee and booze and smoke cigarettes and eat junk food? Now, chances are, you'd say, "Ziggy, that's crazy. Of course not." How about a $10 dog? Would you treat him that way? A $5 cat? What about a billion-dollar body? See, we need goals identified to take care of our physical body. We need family goals. We need career goals. We need spiritual goals. And yes, we also, ladies and gentlemen, need financial goals.

Hey there, it's Mark Tim with the Ziggler family, and I sure hope you're enjoying the video from my mentor, the legendary Zig Ziggler, because you're part of Evan's audience, we want to give you a special bonus. It's a cool little book called "The Little Book of Big Quotes," packed with awesome content. This book is free just for you. Check out the description below, and it's yours. Alrighty, let's get you back to Zig.

Before going any further, it's time to take a personal inventory, sort of a checkup from the neck up, to see how you're performing in various areas of your life. As each area appears on the screen, evaluate yourself on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent. Begin with the physical area of your life: rate yourself on appearance, medical checkups, exercise programs, weight control, and nutrition. The next area is the family: your listening habits, your forgiving attitude, of being a good role model, time together, supportive of others, respectful and loving. Financial: earnings, your savings and investments, budget, adequate insurance, charge accounts. Social: your sense of humor, your listening habits, your self-confidence, your manners, and caring. Spiritual: the inner peace, the sense of purpose, prayer, religious study, belief in God. Mental: imagination, attitude, continuing education, reading, and curiosity. Career: job satisfaction, effectiveness, job training, understanding the job, the purpose, and your competence. Now, review your performance in all seven areas and determine which areas need improvement. We will use this evaluation later in the program to help you set your goals.

Now, goals have certain characteristics. For example, we need some big goals and some multiple goals. We need more than one goal. If you just have one goal, you'll end up being a warped individual. Now, if you only have one goal, chances are good you're going to reach it if you really work at it, as we've been talking about. Uh, but you don't want to be warped. You need the balance that we're talking about. I'd set the goal of losing the 37 pounds. Now, that is a big goal. You need big goals because big goals force you to reach in and utilize the potential which is there.

I love the story of old gentleman Jim Corbett, the former heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Corbett was out doing his road work one morning, and he saw a fisherman who was just having a field day. I mean, he was pulling in the big ones, and he was pulling in the little ones, and Corbett noticed that as he was running past, the fisherman was putting the little fish in his creel and he was throwing the big ones back in. He couldn't resist it. He walked over to him, ran over to him, and said, "Mister," he said, "I've seen a lot of fishermen in my lifetime, but I believe you're the first one I've ever seen who threw the big fish back and who kept the little ones. Now, why in the world would you do a thing like that?" And the fisherman sadly shook his head and he said, "Man, I, I hate to do it, but," he said, "I don't really have any choice. I have to throw the big ones back because, you see, all I've got is just this little old bitty frying pan."

Now, before you laugh too broadly, let me point out, he's talking to you and about you, and he's talking about me. So many times, we get the big goal, the big idea, the big dream, something that would make a big difference not only in our lives but other lives, and no sooner do we get this big old thing and say, "Oh, no, Lord, don't give me such a big one. All I got is just this little old bitty frying pan. Give me a little one, just a little one. Don't make me stretch." Besides, you know, if the goal was any good, if the idea was any good, somebody else would already have thought about it. Just give me a little one. Folks, you've got to have some big goals in life because it's the big goals which really make you reach in and, uh, res and use the resources which are at your disposal. And the resources you have are awesome. Emerson was absolutely right when he said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us pales in significance when compared to what lies within us." You've got within you the capacity to reach some of those big goals, and you need to follow the steps we're talking about because that makes them sensible and sound and logical. But we need some dreams. We need some big goals.

One of my goals was to lose 37 pounds because I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, in a nutshell. And one of the toughest things I've ever done in my life was to discipline myself to get on that exercise program, requiring the jogging and requiring the dieting. Up until then, you see, my idea of exercise had been simply to fill the tub, take a bath, pull the plug, and fight the current. I mean, you know, that was it. And any way you cut it, folks, that really is not much of an exercise program. And I finally got on it, and I went to work to lose that weight. Now, it took 10 months. That was a big goal. It was a goal which made a definite difference in my life. Writing the book was a big goal. It made a definite difference in my life.

Now, you've got to have some long-range goals as well, ladies and gentlemen. Now, I don't want to be negative. Matter of fact, I'll be like the little boy who came home from school one day and said, "Dad, I'm afraid I flunked the arithmetic test." His dad said, "Son, that's negative. Be positive." He said, "Dad, I'm positive I flunked that arithmetic test." Now, I'm absolutely positive, folks, that you're going to have some difficulties in your life. In front of you, ladies and gentlemen, there is trouble. Some friends of yours are going to disappoint you. Your employer or employees are going to disappoint you. There's going to be some setbacks and reversals that you absolutely cannot understand. There're going to be things happen in your future that will frustrate you, flabbergast you, amaze you, disgust you, and everything else. And that's the reason you've got to have long-range goals. You see, if you've got those specific, long-range goals, ladies and gentlemen, then when things don't go exactly your way, you will treat the setbacks as a pebble on the beach. If you don't have those goals, you'll treat it as if it were the whole ocean front. You've got to have long-range goals. And the reason you need long-range goals is because the long-range goals help you to deal with and overcome those short-range failures. The rule is very simple: You go as far as you can see, and then when you get there, you'll always be able to see further.

I set my goal to lose 37 pounds in 10 months. That was my objective. And as I looked at it, 37 pounds in 10 months, I knew, and I knew in my own mind, that I could reach that goal of losing 37 pounds in the 10 months. But we've got to break things down. Like when I get aboard that aircraft in Dallas going to Atlanta, you see, for the first 20 minutes, we'll be headed straight towards Atlanta. But after 20 minutes, we'll no longer be going to Atlanta. Don't know where we'll be going, but it won't be Atlanta, Georgia, because the direction of the wind will change, the velocity will change, the gravitational pull of the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, and the stars will all blow that airplane off the course. And so the captain of the aircraft will turn the aircraft around, fly back to Dallas, land, and start over. Just saying, if you're paying attention, how many of you, how many of you know perfectly good and well he's not going to do that? He's going to make a different heading, is he not? He's going to change the course. You see, when you have those long-range goals, a lot of times things happen to you. Well, you don't abandon the goal. As my younger brother, Judge Zigler, says, you don't change your decision to go, you simply change your direction in order to get there. See, we can't always predict what's going to be out there.

When I set the goal of losing the 37 pounds in 10 months, I broke it into 10 parts. 10 months I was going to do it. That's 3 and 7/10 pounds per month. And folks, I knew I could lose 3 and 7/10 pounds a month. You see, that's less than a pound a week. I knew, and I knew that I knew, that I could lose three and 7/10 pounds a month. As a matter of fact, I was so certain that I could that I didn't even bother to get started the first 28 days. How many of you know exactly what I'm talking about? I mean, listen, man, the contest is six months. Why get all exercised about it the first week? Or, "Mom, school just started. We've got nine more months. Why should I knuckle down and study now?" "Oh, look, I've got all week to get the correspondence out." "Boss man or boss lady, why should I have to hustle so hard today?" But, you know, time marches on. 28 days, and then I realized what was happening.

I was raised in the little town of Yazoo City, Mississippi. Now, I know that a lot of folks go around the country trying to impress people by claiming to be from Yazoo City, uh, but I really am. Now, when I was a boy, during the Depression, we lived next door to some rich folks. I knew they were rich for two reasons: Number one, they had a cook. Number two, the cook had something to cook. And during the Depression, that was a sure sign of wealth. I was over there for lunch one day, as I tried to be every day. And now, don't misunderstand, that even though there was a depression on, we certainly had plenty to eat at my house. I know we had plenty because if I ever passed my plates for seconds, they'd always tell me, "No, you've had plenty." So I know we had plenty. Now, the cook brought the biscuits out, and this is not an exaggeration. Those biscuits were not as thick as my wrist was. And I looked at it for a moment, I said, "Maud, what in the world happened to your biscuits?" She reared back, gave a big old tummy laugh, and said, "Well, I'll tell you about those biscuits. She said, 'They squatted to rise,' but she said, 'they just got cooked in the squat.'" You know anybody that's "got cooked in the squat"? You know anybody who's going to do something "just as soon as" or "there's half of mine to do such and such a thing"? Ever have anybody say, "Well, you know, wait till the kids get out of school, and then I'll really get involved in this project. We've got so many things going on right now. Wait till they're out of school." "Wait till summertime comes, and then I'll really get busy." The kids get out of school, you know what they say then? "Well, you know, I didn't realize, but I got to take the kids somewhere every day. I had more time when they were in school." "Waiting to get back in school, and then I'll really get busy." Kids get back in school, you know what they say then? "Well, you know, for the first time in 19 years, dear old Central High has finally got a winning football team, and you got to support their kids there." "Wait after the football season's over, then I'll really get busy." Football season, then you know what they say then? "Well, here it is, Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's, and people don't want to be bothered with this sort of thing this time of year. Wait after the first of the year, man, then I'll really get big busy." He, after the first of the year, you know what they say? "Well, it's the weather. Did, did you ever see weather like this in Chicago or San Francisco or Dallas or wherever? Wait till the weather settles down, and then I'll really get busy."

Oh, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "I've lost interest in it." But that's not the way I do. Let me tell the way I do things. Now, here's the way I am. See, this is just the way I do it. [Music] [Applause] [Music] See, the way I do things is I get everything organized. I get it lined up. I have everything in just such and such a way. And then, man, once I get it all put together, that's when I really get after it. I mean, that's just the way I've always been that way. Do things that way. I know some of these other folks are ahead of me right now, but you just wait, I'll catch them. But this weather, it is just so horrible. Wait, it clears up. And the weather clears up, you know what they say then? "Well, here it is, it's Easter time, and Easter time, you know, that's a family time, and we always spend a lot of time together." And you said so yourself, the family is extremely important to you. You do the work for the family, and if you can't spend some time with them, you might as well not do all of the work. I mean, "Wait after Easter's over, then I'll really get busy." And then after Easter, you know what they say? "At long last, we've got some beautiful weather, and I have hit a golf ball or wet a hook." And I don't know when, man, I got to have some R&R. I got to have some rest and relaxation. And you know yourself, you can't work all the time. I mean, an individual needs some time with them. "Wait till I relax a little bit, and then, man, then I really get after it." And finally, they get after it a little bit, you know, or when they have the fun and relaxation, then they say, "Well, it's almost time for the kids to get out of school." And that's where we came in. As we say, "Down home folks, you can put this in your pipe and smoke it, because it's the truth." The people who wait for Matilda to move out, or John to get on the day shift, are the new models to come out, are the new mayor to come in, are for the new advertising campaign to get started. The people who wait for changes to take place out there before they do the changing in here are flat going to end up getting cooked in the squat. The rule is simple: You do it now. You do it now.

When I analyzed what I had to do, when I wrote it down and understood my objective, that all I had to do was lose one and 29/100ths of a pound per day, then 10 months later, to the inch, to the ounce, and to the day, I had lost the weight. The truth of the matter is, in writing the book, it's a 384-page book. It's entitled "See You at the Top." We've sold in excess of a million 500,000 copies. I wrote 1.2600 pages a day for 10 months. You see, to reach your goals, ladies and gentlemen, it does not involve monumental undertakings every day of your life, but what it does involve is a lot of commitment, a lot of decision, and working on it on a relentless, steady, committed basis. You've got to do something every day.

When I broke it down into that specific thing, you see, goals, you've got to be specific. You can't make it as a wandering generality. You absolutely must become a meaningful specific. You can take the hottest day of the world has ever seen, take the most powerful magnifying glass you can buy in any store, and hold that magnifying glass over a pile of newspaper clippings on that hottest day, and you'll never start a fire if you keep the glass moving. But the moment you hold that glass still, harness the power of the sun, multiply it through the glass, and boom, you've got a fire. You've got to have specific goals. My goal was specific: write the book by July 4th, lose the weight at the same time, to the inch, to the ounce, and to the day. It all came to pass. You've got to have those specific goals.

During this program, we've asked you to prepare a dream sheet and a self-evaluation sheet. Look at your self-evaluation sheet and determine which areas need improvement. Set some specific goals for these areas. Now, take your dream sheet and itemize only those things which you truly want to achieve. Combine these items with those from the self-evaluation sheet, and you will have a comprehensive list of your major goals. From this new list, select at least two goals you will work on every day. It will be easier to select these goals if you remember that for each goal, you must answer "yes" to these five questions: Number one, is it really my goal? Number two, is it morally right and fair? Number three, are my short-range goals consistent with my long-range goals? Number four, can I commit myself emotionally to complete the project? And number five, can I visualize myself reaching this goal? For each goal you plan to work on daily, set a deadline for achievement, list the obstacles you need to overcome, identify the people and groups you need to work with, list the necessary skills and knowledge, develop a plan of action, and list the benefits you will receive. Then, periodically re-evaluate each of your goals. When one goal is reached, replace it immediately with another. Your emphasis on certain goals may change, so it is critical to review your goals list regularly.

Now, the question often comes with all of us: If we want to reach our goals, how do you go about it? Do you share your goals with other people? That possibly is the most often asked question of all to me. How and who do you share your goals with? And the rule is basically fairly simple: If it's a "give up" goal, you share it with everybody. If it's a "go up" goal, you share it only with those people whom you love and trust and whom you know are going to be supportive of you. Now, for example, a "give up" goal: If I'm going to give up eating too much or drinking too much, if I'm going to give up smoking, if I'm going to give up cussing, if I'm going to give up being mean and nasty and orary, any of the "give up" goals like that, I want to share it with other people because others are supportive and they will encourage you in that. But for example, if you're a salesperson and your goal is to be the number one sales lady in the organization or the number one salesman in the organization, and you go to another one of the sales ladies and say, "Hey, I'm going to be number one sales lady in this whole organization this whole year," and that lady's objective was to do the same thing, do you think she's going to say to you, "Yeah, you can sure do it"? When all the time she's wanting to do it? Uh-uh. But if you go home and tell your husband or your wife, "Yes indeed, I'm going to be number one this year," you'll get the encouragement and the support there, which is so extremely important. Yes, you really have to have that understanding of goals. If they are "give up" goals, share them with everybody. If they are "go up" goals, share them only with the people whom you know will give you the support.

Want to reach your goals? You've got to make a commitment. Now, one of the basic problems in life is so many people do not make commitments. When I was losing that weight, one of the toughest things I've ever done in my life was continue to deny myself the food which I so dearly loved, especially the sweets. And it was really tough to get involved in all of that jogging. But I had made a commitment. And because the commitment was made, I really decided I was going to stay with it.

I had another commitment when I wrote the book. One of the first things I put in there was that I weighed 165 pounds and that I had a 34-inch waistline. I had it typeset at the time. I put that in there. I weighed 202 pounds and had a 41-inch waistline. Now, the reason that's important is very simply this: I could not get a publisher to publish the book initially for me. Later, no trouble, but initially, I could not. I had to publish the book myself. And in that, I decided to order 25,000 copies. A friend said, "If you sell 25,000 copies, you've got yourself a bestseller." So I ordered 25,000 copies of the book. Now, let me tell you something about books: the first copy costs you more than the next $24,999. And those $24,999 ain't cheap. I'm talking about a whole bunch of money. Now, I made a financial commitment to buy those books. I also had written there that I weighed 165 pounds. Now, let me tell you something about human nature: if I tell you one lie and you catch me in it, from here on in, everything I say, you're going to put a question mark after it. If you tell me a lie and I catch you in it, from here on in, everything you say to me, I'm going to put a question mark in it. In my book, I wrote I weighed 165 pounds. I had 25,000 copies of the book. Now, you can imagine what would happen if I had not lost the weight. Now I got a warehouse full of books, say, "Well, he's 165," and I come bounding out at 202. And your next question would be, "I wonder what else he lied to me about." Friends, I made a commitment. There is no question about it. You've got to make a commitment. And you've got to understand something which is extremely important, and that is that your vocabulary makes a great deal of difference in your success.

In life, I got to apologize for those people who've heard me. Do this, but for years I went around the country and with a strained expression on my face and pain in my voice, I'd say, "You got to pay the price." Sound like a dying CF in a snowstorm. And what a bunch of baloney that was. I, I'll never forget nine months of hating jogging and hating joggers. How many of you hate joggers? Can I see your end? Okay, for nine months, I really hated those joggers. You know, every time I saw one, he's jumping up and down and saying, "Man, it makes you feel so good. It gives you so much energy." And there I was, hating and hurting every step I was taking and fussing about it too.

And then that day in Portland, Oregon, never forget it. If I live to be 150, beautiful spring day, temperature about 78 degrees. It was high noon. I was running on Portland State University campus. Had a seminar at 4:00. This was high noon. And as I was running out there that day, I noticed a lot of the students were laying on blankets. Some were reading, some were studying, some were recording, some were snoozing. And here comes old Ziggler running by, sweat running down my back, sweat running down my legs. And all of a sudden, it hit me that for the first time, I was really enjoying running. I was having a ball. And that day, I changed my vocabulary.

The truth is, folks, you don't pay the price for good health. You enjoy the benefits of good health. You don't pay the price for setting goals. You pay the price for not setting those goals. You enjoy the benefits of reaching those goals. You don't pay the price for a good marriage. You pay the price for a poor one. You enjoy the benefits of the good one. You don't pay the price for good health. You pay the price for poor health. You enjoy the benefits of good health. Yes, your vocabulary really does make a great deal of difference as to whether or not you reach your goals or not. We definitely need to keep it positive because, you see, the mind takes whatever picture you paint in it and goes to work to complete that picture.

I want to emphasize that what you get by reaching your goals is not nearly as important as what you become by reaching them. The attitudes, knowledge, and skills, and habits developed by people with goals are of infinite value in the tomorrow of their lives. With goals, you can more fully realize your maximum potential because goals enable you to know, be, do, and have more. Use your mind and talents fully. Have more purpose and direction in life. Make better decisions. Be more organized and effective. Do more for yourself and others. Have greater confidence in self-worth. Feel more fulfilled. Be more enthusiastic and motivated. And yes, accomplish some uncommon projects.

Want to reach your goals? You got to know how to train fleas. Now, just as a matter of curiosity, how many of you in this audience do not know how to train fleas? Can I see your hands, please? Boy, it looks like I got to you just in time. And I know you heard the one about the two fleas at the bottom of the hill and one of them says, "Well, do we walk or take a dog?" Well, anyhow, you train fleas by putting them in a jar and you put the top on the jar. And those fleas will jump up and they'll hit that top over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. And you watch them jump for a long period of time, and they'll keep on jumping and hitting and jumping and hitting. And you watch them. And then all of a sudden, you'll notice that even though they continue to jump, they will no longer be hitting the top. Literal truth. Then you can take the top off, and they'll jump and jump and jump and jump and jump and jump, but they can't, cannot, I repeat, they cannot jump out. And the reason they cannot jump out is because they've been conditioned to jump just so high. And once they've conditioned themselves to jump just so high, that's all there is. There ain't no more.

Man is precisely the same way. He starts out in life to climb the mountain, to write the book, to break the record, to do something with his life. And along the way, he bumps his head, he stubs his toe, and he becomes what I call a snop. Now, a snop, and that is spelled S-N-I-O-P, is a person who is susceptible to the negative influence of other people. Classic example that everybody will instantly recognize is the four-minute mile. For years and years and years, athletes the world over had tried to run a mile in four minutes. But because they were snops, they could not do it. The coach had taken his watch out and said, "Man, there ain't no way you can do it in four minutes. Maybe 4:02, maybe 4:05, but not four minutes." The doctors said, "Put the stethoscope on the athlete's heart and said, 'A four-minute mile? You got to be kidding, man. Nobody will ever do that. Your heart will come right out of the body. It is impossible.'" And nobody could run a four-minute mile until a flea trainer named Roger Bannister came along and ran a mile in less than four minutes. When Bannister ran the mile in less than four minutes, athletes the world over started running miles in less than four minutes. Land of Australia did it less than six weeks later. I was in New Zealand last year and the man over there, Thompson, I believe is his name, though please don't hold me to that, had just run his 100th four-minute or sub-four-minute mile. A 37-year-old man ran a mile in less than four minutes. There had been four or five races where eight young men all broke the four-minute barrier in the same race.

Now, what am I saying with all this? I'm saying that Roger Bannister got something started. And I'm also going to tell you that Roger Bannister understood more about goal setting than just about anybody you will ever know. He didn't just train superbly and go run a sub-four-minute mile. Yes, he trained extraordinarily hard, but he measured his stride. He timed himself for the 100, the 220, the 440. He had pacers who paced him for the first quarter, the second quarter, the third quarter, and the fourth quarter. He did it as scientifically and as carefully as any goal setter I've ever seen in my life. Yes, right, Bannister is a flea trainer. What's a flea trainer? A flea trainer is a person who's driven from within. They're not influenced by the snops and the negative people in life. A flea trainer is an individual who jumps out of the jar. A flea trainer understands that you can get everything in life you want if you'll just help enough other people get what they want. Flea trainers don't tell others where to get off. Flea trainers show them how to get off on. Flea trainers don't try to see through other people. Flea trainers see other people through.

Want to reach your goals, ladies and gentlemen? You absolutely must become a flea trainer. And you've got to build a winning attitude. We could talk three days, three weeks, three months about building winning attitudes. Harvard University did an exhaustive study on it, discovered that 85% of the reason that people get jobs and get ahead in those jobs is because they have the right mental attitude. The CO report, involving well over a thousand corporate executives, these men and women were asked the question, "How important do you think your attitude is in accomplishing your objectives of becoming corporate executives?" 49% of these men and women said that their attitudes were extremely significant. 46 and a half percent said they were significant. In other words, 95 and a half percent of these more than 1,000 executives said their attitudes were significant or extremely significant. To reach your goals, yes indeed, you absolutely must have the right mental attitude.

And ladies and gentlemen, let me say without any hesitation at all, if you're going to reach your goals, you got to get other people involved. You simply cannot reach major objectives entirely on your own. You got to understand that the influence other people have and the help they can give you will play a major role in what you do. When I was a small boy down in Yazoo City, Mississippi, I never shall forget there was an abandoned section of the railroad track. And as boys will do, we often went down there. And one of our little games was to see how far we could walk on that railroad track without falling off. And we'd take a few steps and we'd fall. And we'd take a few steps and we would fall. Had we only understood that two of us could simply have gotten parallel with each other, reached across the rails and held hands, that we could have literally gone indefinitely without falling off.

When business, when management and labor understand that they're on the same side. When husbands and wives and children understand that they're on the same side. When employer and employee understand that they both have the same objectives. When they begin to work together, that's when everybody really benefits the most. You look at the Super Bowl teams every year, and by and large, you're going to have a Super Bowl team. The number one had major objectives. That was it. Incidentally, did you realize that they spend over 3,000 hours each team preparing for that specific event? Did you realize that the average American spends infinitely more time planning a vacation than they do planning their lives? Did you realize that more people spend more time planning the wedding than they do the marriage? You see, we need, ladies and gentlemen, we need those specific objectives. And we need to work together on these things if we really are going to work at our maximum and the most people benefit the most. You need to work together.

As a matter of curiosity, how many of you have ever seen a flock of Canadian geese flying overhead? Can I see your hands? Okay. If you have, you will notice three things about those Canadian geese. Number one, they always fly in a V formation. Number two, if you will notice them, one leg of the V is always longer than the other leg of the V. And number three, if you follow them carefully enough and long enough, you'll notice there's a considerable amount of confusion in the flock. Now, just as a matter of curiosity, how many of you have ever wondered why one leg of the V is always longer than the other one? Can I see your hands, please? Well, let me explain that the longer leg is longer because it has more geese in it. [Laughter] You know, I don't know why, but that silly thing just really grabs me. I can't wait, I can't wait to get to that particular one. Okay, now the reason there's confusion in the flock is that periodically they change the leadership of the flock of geese. Now, the reason they fly in a V formation is because in wind tunnel tests, they've discovered that the flock of geese can fly 63% further than the individual goose could fly. What they do, the lead goose in fighting the headwind creates a partial vacuum off either wing, and those other geese are flying in a partial vacuum. He grows tired very easily or more quickly than the others. And so they replace leadership real often to give the leader a rest. But by working together, they can fly 63% further. In reaching your objectives, yes indeed, you really do need to work with other people if you're going to reach your goals.

Ladies and gentlemen, you got to get in shape. Now, I want to emphasize something here which I believe is enormously important. In order to reach all of our goals, we need to get in shape spiritually because that is a very definite factor in our life. We have spiritual goals, but we need spiritual help. A lot of times to reach all of the other goals, it requires study, it requires prayer, it requires involvement. There, we need to get in shape physically, ladies and gentlemen, because I don't care what your objective is. I can share this with you without any reservation. When I got in shape physically, I was able to do a lot more things with my career because the energy level increased rather dramatically. I have far more energy now than I had when I was 25 years old. They tell me the psychologists do, for example, that when I make a one-hour presentation, that I burn more raw energy than a laboring man does in a ten-hour day. So when I do six and eight hours a day, or even three or four hours in a day, or even one hour in a day, I have burned some energy. As you can tell, I speak at about 280 words a minute with gusts up to about 550. I mean, you know, I burn some energy. I move it all out.

Now, you also need to understand that if you're going to reach your goals, you got to become attentive to the details in your life. A lot of little things that many people overlook. And you need to become aware on a daily basis of what you're doing towards those goals. Now, I'm not trying to get you to be as detail-oriented as the Executive Vice President of our company. I mean, he proofreads the zod's copies. I, I don't think, you know, that's what we're talking about. But it is the little things that make the big difference. You call a girl a kitten, for example, and she'll love you. Call her a cat, you see, you got a problem there. You, you can say she's a vision, you score all kind of points. Call her a saint, you're in bad trouble. It's one thing to tell a young lady that she looks like the first day of spring. It's another thing to tell her she looks like the last day of a long, hard winter. I mean, there is a difference. That's the little things, fellas. If you look at your wife and say, "You know, honey, when I look into your eyes, the wheels of time just stand still." That's beautiful. That's portrait. That's motivating. That's exciting. But can you imagine what would happen if you were to look at her and say, "You know, honey, you got a face that'll stop a clock"? I mean, it's the little things.

If, if, if this watch of mine were four hours wrong, I wouldn't have any trouble with it. I can tell you the answer. If my watch is four hours wrong, but if it's four minutes wrong, I'm in trouble. For example, tomorrow morning, I catch a flight at 8:20. Now, my watch is four minutes wrong, and I get there at 8:24. See what the problem is? I, I made a deal with the airlines that, you know, if I was not there when they got ready to go, that they were destined to go ahead without me. And I found out last year that they live up to their end of the agreement. I found out also it's easier to catch those dudes before they leave the ground. All of that to say, it's the little things that make a big difference.

If you want to reach your goals, ladies and gentlemen, not only must you be detail-oriented, looking after the little things, but you also must literally be able to see the reaching. When I had my physical examination at the Cooper Clinic, preparatory to losing the weight and getting on the exercise program, one of the things I did over there, and this is kind of ugly, but I had not read an article at the time, and I'll use it as my excuse, although I really knew better. You know, an article says you're not supposed to steal pages out of other folks' magazines. Uh, there was a magazine at Dr. Cooper's office. It was an old magazine now, and there was a picture in it advertising Jockey shorts. Now, I don't know if you folks read the Jockey shorts ads or not, but if you don't read the Jockey shorts ads, the next time you see one, you ought to at least look at a picture. You'll find out in a hurry, they don't put Jockey shorts on fat boys. I mean, they just don't. At least they don't have a good year. Now, I took that picture of that fellow in those Jockey shorts and I hung it up in my bathroom and I said, "Now, there's my hero. That's the way I'm going to be. That's the way I am going to look."

Well, the next morning at 5:30, the opportunity clock sounded off. Negative people call them alarm clocks. You know, the opportunity, I mean, if you can hear it, that gives you an opportunity to get up and go. You know what I mean? Opportunity clock sounded off. I rolled out of bed, put on my fancy running outfit I just got, and hit the front door and ran a block. Literally. Did better the next day. I ran a block and a mailbox. Did better than that the next day. I ran a block and two mailboxes. I'll never forget what happened. And finally, one day I ran a half a mile, then a mile, then two miles, then three, then four, then five. But every time I went in the bathroom, ladies and gentlemen, I saw the picture of that guy in the Jockey shorts. That became my goal right there. I visualized myself as looking just like that guy right there. I'm going to look like this man in the Jockey shorts.

The truth of the matter is, we really do need to have a clearly defined target. We need to be able to literally see ourselves as reaching that objective. For many, many years before I ever succeeded, quote, on the platform as a speaker, it was my dream to do exactly that. I cannot begin to tell you the tens of thousands of speeches I made in my mind to reach that particular goal. I visualized every speech imaginable. And the beautiful thing about imagination, you see, is you can visualize any kind of speech and any kind of response you want. In these speeches, which I made in my mind, and boy, do I ever wish we could have recorded just one of them. You talking about speeches, you've heard about speakers having folks rolling in the aisles. I had them rolling up and down the steps. You heard, you know, about standing ovations. My average standing ovation was 11 minutes in my dreams. I mean, listen, I never made a mistake in the speech I had in my mind. The audience sat there with incredible rapture and attention. I mean, as if they could not believe that a mere mortal could utter such incredible words of wisdom. I mean, the beautiful thing about the imagination is, you see, you can make it absolutely just right. You got to have your dreams.

But let me tell you something, folks. Be careful about your dreams. Be very careful. Because you see, when you dream those dreams, when you write them down, when you put a date on it, when you list the obstacles which you have to overcome in order to get there, when you identify the people, the groups, and the organizations you need to work with in order to get there, when you spell out what you've got to know in order to reach your objectives, when you devise that plan of action, that game plan to get there, and when you write it down, "What's in it for me?" When you do all of those things, ladies and gentlemen, and follow some of these other steps that we're talking about and still talking about, you're going to be reaching some of those objectives. I can honestly look you in the eye and say that virtually every major objective I've ever set in my life has been reached. And I honestly believe that the rest of them will be reached. When you follow the steps with firm conviction, when you've made your commitment, when you do all the things we're talking about, things are going to happen in your life.

If you'll notice, I've not even hinted throughout this entire presentation that it is easy, because it is not. As a matter of fact, I'm absolutely convinced that life is tough. But the point is, you got to be tough on yourself. And when you're tough on yourself, then life is going to be infinitely easier on you. I can tell you it's fun. I can tell you it's exciting. I can tell you it's rewarding. And I can tell you that when you follow all of the steps we're talking about, that all the goals we've been talking about, the physical, the mental, the spiritual, the social, the career goals, the financial goals, they all come to pass.

You see, the interesting thing is, as we look at our goals, there's no such thing as an individual goal. When I set the goal, for example, of writing that book, only that one, in 2,600 pages a day, little did I realize that it would have such a bearing on my social goals. You'll be amazed at the people that invite me to a free dinner now since I wrote a book. I mean, it affected my social life. But you know what? It also affected my family life because I had to do a lot of research to put it together. It improved our relationship. It improved my spiritual life because again, I had to do some research there. It definitely improved my physical life because I tied it in. Had a dramatic impact on my career. Had an impact in every phase of my life. Your goals are going to do the same thing. There's no such thing as an isolated goal. They're all tied in to so many of your other goals.

In order to reach your goals, we need to be able to visualize all of them. Many years ago, in the days of the sailing ship, there was a young sailor who was out at sea for the first time. And he was ordered aloft to trim the sails because a squall was coming up. And as he started to climb up, he made the mistake of looking down. And the roll of the ship and the turbulence of the sea combined to cause him to become woozy, and he started to lose his balance and fall. An older sailor underneath shouted up at the young man, "Look up, son. Look up." And the young sailor looked up and immediately regained his balance. You see, the message is very clear. When the outlook isn't good, try the uplook. It's always good. And when things don't look good, look to make absolutely certain that you're not facing in the wrong direction. As Helen Keller so eloquently put it, "When you look at the sun, you won't see the shadows." And when you're looking towards your objectives which you've set, you won't be seeing so many of the obstacles as you reach towards those goals.

Many years ago, as some of you know, the great Houdini was in his heyday. Some people said that Houdini was the greatest magician who ever lived. He was also the master locksmith. He made the boast that he could get out of any jail cell in the world if you'd let him walk in that jail cell with street clothes on, he would be out in less than an hour. A small town in the British Isles built a new jail. They were tremendously proud of it. They didn't believe him or anybody else could get out of their jail. And so they challenged him to come give it a try. There was a lot of publicity, a lot of money involved. Houdini liked both of those things, so he accepted the challenge. There was a lot of the publicity going in, the bands were beating, the bugles were blaring, and Houdini strode triumphantly into the jail cell. They closed the door behind him. Houdini took his coat off and secreted in his belt was a ten-inch piece of steel, very tough, very flexible, very durable. And he went to work on the lock. At the end of 30 minutes, the confident, even arrogant, expression on Houdini's face had disappeared. At the end of an hour, he was absolutely bathed in perspiration. At the end of two hours, he actually collapsed and fell against the door, which opened because it had never been locked anywhere except in Houdini's own mind. Which meant, very simply, that it was locked more securely than if every locksmith in Britain had put their best locks on the door.

I got to tell you, folks, there are a lot of people who can stop you temporarily. But I'm also going to look you right in the eye and tell you that you are the only one who can stop you on a permanent basis. And I've got an idea, as you digest what we've been covering in this hour together, that you're not going to let anybody else stop you on reaching those worthwhile goals. And you're certainly not going to stop yourself. But let me say this, what you get by reaching your goals is not nearly as important as what you will become by reaching the goal that many people said you would not make when you started out. I close with this, by these ideas, follow these suggestions, adopt these procedures as your very own, follow them right through to completion, and I'll definitely see you, and yes, I really do mean you, at the talk. Thank you very much.

I was coming in on the plane the other day, which is generally the way I fly. And I was sitting next to an old boy, and I couldn't help but notice that he had his wedding band on the index finger of his left hand. And I looked at him, I said, "Hey, partner, you got your wedding band on the wrong finger." He said, "Yeah, I married the wrong woman." Well, of course, you know, I have no way of knowing whether in fact he did marry the wrong woman or not. I'm just delighted to be able to say that I did not marry the wrong woman. As a matter of fact, there are some of you know, just last week, my redhead and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. So, brother, obviously, I did not marry the wrong woman. Now, don't misunderstand. I did not say we'd been married 50 years, chaps. I'm only 55 years old. What I said was, we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary, which we did. You see, we had heard so much about that 50th wedding anniversary that we just decided to go ahead and celebrate early. And folks, I'm here to tell you, that is some more celebration. As a matter of fact, we're going to repeat it this year. Now, I want to emphasize a point. One of these days, if we're both here, we definitely will celebrate the 50th. And one of the reasons I'm confident that we will is because the day we said "I do," we planned someday on celebrating the 50th. You see, ladies and gentlemen and students, we discovered a long time ago that things happen to people when they plan for those things to happen.

And in the "I Can" presentation, in the "I Can" course, and the "I Can" concepts, we have a plan which you're really going to get all motivated and excited about. About eight years ago, not far from this very studio, they opened a new cafeteria. It was a busy place, and I like to eat in cafeterias, but we passed it by because we just didn't want to wait in a line too long. And finally, one day, the line didn't appear to be so long, so the redhead and I went down to the cafeteria. Now, as we were walking down, I could see what the people were getting and what was available, so I had a chance to kind of decide in advance what I wanted. And so when I got in the serving line, you know, I came walking down and I said to the person, "I'd like some of that, and some of that, and some of that, and some of that." Now, the reason I like a cafeteria is because I can see exactly what I'm going to be eating in just a few minutes. And so I can say, "I want that piece of fish. No, the one over there in the corner. That's right. That's the idea." And then I get down to the cornbread line, you know, and I say, "And I want the one that's got all the crust on, you know, really dark brown. I like it real brown." So, I, I just like a cafeteria. I like to pick out exactly what I want. Well, we got down to the end of the line, our reached in my pocket and pulled out my money, and the little lady down there held up her hand and she said, "No, you don't pay for it until you get ready to go." I said, "You mean to tell me you're going to let me eat all of this food before I pay for it?" She said, "Yes, that's the way we do it."

Well, you know, students, I've thought about that, I guess, 10,000 times since then. Because you see, life is exactly like that in one respect, but it's 180 degrees opposite from that in another respect. You see, in the game of life, I absolutely believe that there is a cafeteria line. I believe it's a banquet hall. I believe it's a smorgasbord. I believe we can literally choose what we want out of the game of life. But unlike life, you see, there's this gradually, uh, obvious difference. Actually, it's not that gradual, but there's this dramatic difference. In the game of life, first of all, you make the deposits, then you get the reward. In the cafeteria, we got the reward and then paid for it. But you see, in the game of life, it doesn't work that way. You go to school, you study your lessons, they give you the test, and you pass to the next grade. You go through that grade, and that grade, and the next one, and the next one, and the next one, until one day you walk down the line, they give you the diploma. Then you go down and you get yourself a job, and then you work on the job, and after you have worked, then they give you the reward. The farmer clears the land, he plows the soil, he plants the seed, he fertilizes it, he cultivates it, he lays it by, he gathers the harvest, he takes it to the barn, he hauls it to market, and then, and only then, does he get the reward. You see, in the game of life, that's the way it works.

Now, I want to make a couple of points very, very strong and clear right here. I'm going to have a lot of things to say in the "I Can" course, but there are two things I want to emphasize over and over and over. And that is, you're what you are, and you're where you are, because of what's gone into your mind. And you can change what you are, you can change where you are, by changing what goes into your mind. The second thing I'm going to say to you students, actually, is along those same lines. And that is, as I will say to you in the course over and over, if you don't like you, don't worry about it for the very simple reason, you see, that you're not stuck with you. You can grow. You can change. You can start from where you are with what you've got and become the kind of a person you really want to be.

But the second major point I want to emphasize here is simply this: I'll never tell you that life is easy. If you listen to every recording I'll ever make, if you read every book I'll ever write, if you hear me in every speech I'll ever make, you'll never hear me say to you that life is easy, because I don't believe it is. I believe whether you're in the military service, whether you're a student, whether you're a teacher, whether you're a principal, whether you're a parent, whether you're a salesman, whether you are a sales manager, or even a singer, Diane Morgan, I believe that life is tough. But this I do know. I know that if you're tough on yourself, that life itself is going to be much easier on you. It's going to be more fun. It's going to be rewarding. You see, I do believe it's fun. I believe it's exciting. I believe it's rewarding. I believe life is one of those things that we can extract a great deal from. And I believe it offers a lot. I believe that in the tomorrows of our life, that health and prosperity and happiness and friends, I believe all of those things are available. Yes, I, I'm an optimist. I mean, I'm the kind of guy who'd go after Moby Dick in a rowboat and take the tartar sauce with me. I mean, that's my nature. And for your information, students and parents, you might as well understand this very early in my presentations, I tell folks, I'm, I'm like a cross-eyed discus thrower. I don't set records, but I do keep the crowd alert. And, and you know, I think that's going to be pretty important. So, if I say life is not easy, but it is fun, it is exciting, it is rewarding, then let me expand on that just a little bit by simply saying to you that there is a dramatic difference between positive thinking and positive believing.

A lot of times, people get the impression that we think that us positive thinkers that can, can just do anything. How asked me one time, he said, "Do you really think you could whip Muhammad Ali?" Well, you know, that's kind of crazy. Even though I fought in the ring two years, as a matter of fact, the only reason I quit was because of my hands. The referee kept stepping on them. You know. No, I don't think I could whip Muhammad Ali. I'm too old, I'm too fat, I'm too slow, I'm too scared. I have a low threshold of pain. Besides that, the guy never bothered me. But you know, if I really thought I could, I mean, if I really thought I could, then maybe I'd last 20 seconds instead of just 15.

See, students, here's a critically important point. Positive thinking won't let you do anything, but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. I've seen positive thinking and positive thinkers move some mountains. I really have. But positive believing is what we teach in the "I Can" course. Now, what is the difference? The difference is, as I explained to the guy who was asking the question, if Larry Holmes were to say, "Hey, I believe I can whip Muhammad Ali." You see, Larry Holmes has already whipped Muhammad Ali. He's had 37 fights. He's never been beaten. He's at the peak of his career. He has every reason for believing that, yes, he could whip Muhammad Ali. So, you see, the difference is this: positive believing is an optimistic hope, but it's based on reasons for believing that you can move those mountains and do those things.

What does positive thinking then actually do? Well, when we walked in this studio this morning, it was completely dark. There wasn't a hint of a light. And the technicians started throwing switches, you know, and now, as you can see, it's brilliantly lighted. Now, when they threw the switch, they did not generate any electricity. You see, that had already been generated and stored. When they threw the switch, it released the electricity. That's what it did. That's what positive thinking does. You see, students, it releases the electricity.

Now, when we are the knowledge which is in your mind, you see, in the "I Can" course, as a specific example, we discovered that over 90% of the students who take the course improve their grades in at least one other subject. Over 60% improve their grades in all of their subjects. And why would that be? Very simple. We found out something a long time ago. We discovered, you see, that if a student does not believe he or she can pass, they won't even study. We change their attitude, convince them, yes, they can pass, and so they'll study. Now, you see, it was the thinking that opened the books for them, got them to study. But it was the working which got them the results. Remember, I'm not going to tell you it's easy.

As a matter of fact, I'm going to tell you the story of the Chinese bamboo tree because I think that's so critically important that we understand that story. Good friend of mine, Joel Weldon, who's an outstanding speaker from Phoenix, Arizona, tells the story. The Chinese plant the seed, they water it, and they fertilize it, but the first year, nothing happens. And the second year, they water it and they fertilize it, and nothing happens. And they third year, they water it and they fertilize it, and nothing happens. And the fourth year, they water it and they fertilize it, and nothing happens. And the fifth year, they water and fertilize the seed, and the fifth year, sometimes during the course of that fifth year, the Chinese bamboo tree grows in a six-week period, roughly 90 feet. But the question is, did it grow 90 feet in six weeks, or did it grow 90 feet in five years? And the answer, rather obviously, is that it grew 90 feet in the five-year period of time. Because, you see, students, had there been any year when they did not water it and fertilize it, there would have been no Chinese bamboo tree.

You're going to face that in school. You're going to face that in life. You know, a teacher's giving you a tough problem in physics or chemistry or algebra or trigonometry or whatever, you know, and you work on it and you say, "I don't believe I can get this answer." And you work again, and you say, "Again, I don't believe I can get the answer." And you work again, and then you say, "Teacher, they made a mistake. This is a fouled-up one. There is no answer to this." And the teacher said, "Hey, go try it one more time." And you work at it one more time, and then all of a sudden, you say, "Oh my goodness, how could I have missed it? It's as plain as the nose on my face." You see, students, by hanging in there, and there's not a one of you who hasn't already had that experience, by hanging in there, it makes a difference.

Last May, I went over to Cooper Clinic to take their balky treadmill test. Dr. Cooper's a man who wrote the book "Aerobics." Over 10 million copies have been sold around the world. And this is going to sound just a little bit like I'm bragging, because really I am. I stayed on the balky treadmill test longer than any member of the Dallas Cowboy football team. Now, I mentioned that for a couple of reasons. Number one, incidentally, also is the fact that I have a resting heart rate of 41. Now, students, if that doesn't mean anything to you, let me put it this way. Dr. Cooper has examined 24 world-class athletes. I'm talking about men who have won the gold medal in the Olympics, and the average resting heart rate they have is 44. And I tell this story because, you see, nine years ago, when I started my exercise program, my idea of exercise up until then had been simply to fill the tub, take a bath, pull the plug, and fight the current. And I believe you'll agree that's really not much of an exercise program. Uh, my only exercise, you know, had been in caution and running down people and that kind of a thing, you know. I did not have much of an exercise program. The first day I started the program, I literally ran a block. But I did better the next day. I ran a block and a mailbox. And then there was a block and two mailboxes, then a block and three. Then one day I ran a half a mile, then a mile, then two miles, then three miles, and four miles, and so on. You see, it wasn't easy. It took me nine months before I enjoyed the first run. A lot of times, students and parents are going to be in situations when you're not going to get overly excited about. There's a lot of times you're going to have to do some things you just flat don't want to do. You're not going to feel like going to school, or you're not going to feel like coming down to run the school or to teach the class. But you got to suck it up and tough it out and hang in there. I'll never tell you it's easy because I don't believe it is. But I'll repeat myself: life is fun. It's exciting. It's rewarding. Yes, I do believe that health and prosperity and happiness and peace and friends, I believe those things are available. But in order for those things to be available, I'm absolutely convinced that we must build our lives on a solid foundation.

Now, what's a foundation? Well, I believe it includes honesty and loyalty and love and dependability and character and integrity. With that kind of a foundation, you see, you can start from where you are and go after whatever it is that you want. I was up in Calgary, Canada, here three or four years ago. Went up on the Calgary Tower to have dinner at 626 feet in the air. Now, the only way I can relate to 626 feet, that's over two football fields high. Well, as we were going up, the recording was on, and it told us how big the building was, how much it weighed. And I was so impressed. It said, "This building weighs 12,000 tons, but 7,000 of the 12,000 tons are underground." You can go into downtown Dallas or downtown Portland or downtown Chicago or Manhattan, anywhere else, and a good engineer can look at the hole in the ground and tell you how big the building is going to be. You can look at the foundation upon which a person builds their life, or builds their marriage, or builds their family, or builds their school, or builds their career. You can look at the foundation and predict a great deal about what's going to happen to that individual in their career.

Honesty is obviously one of the critical areas. There's a book out, and the book is entitled "The Corporate Bigamist." And in the book, the author talks about the fact that they interviewed a hundred of America's top business executives, men who are presidents and the chairman of the board of the Fortune 500 companies. And these men unanimously said that if you're going to go to the top and stay there, you've got to build on honesty and character and integrity. They even used a word which I found to be awfully strong. They said, "Anybody who thinks they can get ahead in life and stay ahead who's not honest is dumb." Pretty strong language. Simple example. I have a nephew, his name is Jack Ziggler. He lives in Montgomery, Alabama. When he was 41 years old, the company he had been working for for 18 and a half years went out of business, and Jack Ziggler was without a job. He has a serious heart condition, and at age 41, because of insurance requirements and all, it was very difficult for him to get a job. One night, he got a call from a man. He said, "I want to talk to you tomorrow." Well, Jack went over there, and he thought he'd recognize the name. And when he walked in and saw the man's name, he remembered he had gone to school with him over 20 years earlier. They had worked in a grocery store together over 20 years ago. The reason the man called Jack was simply this: he said, "I remember over 20 years ago in the grocery store, you were the only one of the youngsters working who was not ripping the boss off. You're the only one who wasn't stealing." 20 years later, he got the job. See, folks, we believe in "I Can" that you can get everything in life you want if you'll just help enough other people get what they want. You play it straight. You see, the beautiful thing about having a foundation is simply this: if you go somewhere in life and suffer disappointments, you can never fall any further than the foundation itself. You can never go all the way to the basement.

Second thing, simply is character. When I, when I talk about character, I'm really talking about just hanging in there tough. You know, a lot of times when I'm around the country speaking, I'll have young speakers come to me and they say, "I want to be a speaker. How do I do it?" And I explained to them that I made over 3,000 speeches before I ever received my first fee. I believe you got to hang in there tough. On many different occasions, I would have made 10,000 had it been necessary because it was a dream of mine. It was a goal. But you, you got to stay with it.

Integrity. When I, when I think of integrity, I think of the immortal golfer Bobby Jones. Bobby Jones, as you know, was one of the greatest golfers, in my mind, the greatest golfer who ever lived. He retired at age 28. In the last 11 British Opens and US Opens that he entered, he placed either first or second in eight of those 11. He won four US Opens. He would have won the fifth except in one of the Opens when he was out in the rough.

As he was addressing the ball, and there wasn't another person within 50 ft of him, in all probability, as he was addressing the ball, the ball moved ever so slightly, just a fraction of an inch, and then it simply settled back in the place. The ball, in other words, was never out of the same position it was in. Bobby Jones called a penalty stroke on himself. The officials scoffed at it. They said, "No, we're sure it didn't move." And Bobby said, "That I demand, I insist that you penalize me the stroke." He lost that U.S. Open by one stroke. A lot of the newspapers made a great deal to do about it. Bobby Jones was absolutely insistent. He said, "I can't understand why anybody would get excited or make any comment at all about what I've done." He said, "That's like telling a man he deserves a lot of praise because he refused to rob a bank." He said, "If you don't have integrity, you don't have anything."

I believe us a solid foundation to build on. Then, of course, we've got to throw loyalty and love and dependability in there. We've got to entertain all of these various characteristics. We've got to, we've got to have that solid foundation if we're going to go to the top.

I think of a South Georgia school teacher named M. McCulla. She went to a meeting in Atlanta, heard a speaker named Zig Ziggler, bought a book, "See You at the Top," read it, and said, "This is what education is missing in our school systems today." She went back and taught a course, and the principal of the school wrote me and said it was the smoothest school year he had had in 38 years as an administrator. And I got all excited, and we started talking, and Mrs. McCulla kept teaching that course, and later they made her the principal of that school. They said a lot of it had to do with their attitude.

When I think of "I can," I think of a story Mrs. McCulla tells about a little black girl named Doria Horn. Doria was tall, slender, very shy. No member of her class or her family, rather, had ever graduated even from high school. And they worked through the foundation, they worked through the self-image, and they got to the goals. And Doria one day said, "Miss McCulla, I'd like to stay behind and tell you about my goals." And Mrs. McCulla said, "Doria, that's great." But when she stayed behind, then all of a sudden she seemed to lose her nerve and say, "Miss M, I'm embarrassed. I don't want to tell you." Miss McCulla said, "Oh, Doria, I'm interested in what you have to say." And Doria said, "Miss McCulla, I want to be a medical doctor." Miss McCulla threw her arms around her and hugged her and said, "Oh, Doria, that's just beautiful. You certainly have the mind to do it." I honestly do not know if Doria will ever be a medical doctor or not, but this I do know: she graduated from high school, she's now in her third year of college. Her objective is to be a medical doctor. I wouldn't bet two cents against it if I were you.

A person who has made a commitment, as Mrs. Mary Crowley is inclined to say, "One person with a commitment, one person with a conviction, is worth a hundred who only has an interest." And there's a girl who has a commitment, she has a conviction.

I'll never forget a little girl named Marcy Limy. I was speaking up in Rockford, Illinois, and Marcy was one of the students in special ed. And the "I can" class had been doing so exceptionally well up there that the teacher suggested that a couple of those students needed to come into the class. And they came into the class. One of them was named Marcy Limy. And Marcy was one of these girls they hauled her in there, clawing, kicking, scratching, screaming. She didn't want any part of this crazy class where they was all excited and where the students actually stood up when they wanted to ask a question, and they stood up when they answered a question. You know, because that builds the self-image better than anything else can possibly do. Is learning how to speak. She didn't want any of that class where, when you ask somebody "How you doing?" and the students would say, "Super good, but I'll get better," or "Fantastic, but I'm improving." No, Marcy didn't want any of the class. And she made such a scene, demanded to be taken out. And finally, one day the teacher said, "Well, Marcy, you're creating such a disturbance, we're going to let you go to the library. But here's a deal I'll make with you: if you will just listen to the recordings of the class, put the plug in your ear and listen, then I'll let you out of the class." Well, Marcy figured it wouldn't hurt her, and so she grudgingly agreed to listen to the recordings. When she heard them one time, she said, "Well, you know, really, I got to admit, they weren't that bad. I guess I'll listen to them again." She listened to them the second time and said, "You know, actually, there are some people who would even benefit from listening to this kind of a message." And so she listened the third time and decided, "Hey, it might even be pretty good." She listened the fourth time. I met Marcy when I was speaking at the Sales and Marketing Executive Club there in Rockford. Pretty as a picture, she came up and just hugged my neck and gave me a big old kiss. And I, I kind of relate to that. You see, Marcy Limy went on to do some amazing things. She's voted one of the outstanding students in the school. She got her letter in track. She managed the basketball team. She placed fourth on the rifle team of seven members. And you see, the story has more, because Marcy Limy is blind. The only thing she can see is lights and shadows. When she would fire her weapon, the students would say to her, "No, Marcy, you, you need to aim it just a fraction to the left."

There you see, folks, you're what you are, and you're where you are because of what's gone into your mind. You can change what you are, you can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind. Any farmer will tell you that if you're going to raise beans, you got to plant bean seeds. If you're going to raise positive, loving, caring, dedicated students, you see, folks, we've got to plant positive, loving, dedicated, caring thoughts.

The truth of the matter is, we plant too many of the negative thoughts in our society today. You listen to the conversation around you, it's either unrealistic or it's absolutely negative. You know, an overweight person sits down at the table and says, "Everything I eat turns to fat." That's pretty negative. A parent sends a child off to school, says, "Now, don't you get run over." That's pretty negative. I have a wreck right out here on the streets of Dallas, and two minutes later somebody else is saying, "Call the wrecker," and you've already had the wreck. See, what you need is a tow truck. We've got to change our terminology, is what I'm saying.

Why, they, you know, most people wake up in the morning with an electronic rooster. And what does the average person call that electronic rooster? Anybody in the audience? What do they call it? An alarm clock. See what I'm talking about? They sound an alarm when somebody's robbing the bank, 'cause the building's on fire. If you wake up scared, that's enough to make anybody negative, isn't it? You see, the truth of the matter is, it's an opportunity clock.

Well, now, think about it. You see, if you hear it, that means you've got an opportunity to get up and go. If you don't hear it, that might mean you done got up and gone. And I'll tell you, that can be pretty serious. Why, they bring out a loaf of bread, and what do they call the first slice on that loaf of bread? Anybody? The heel, or the end. See what I'm talking about? I've never seen a loaf of bread in my life that didn't have two beginnings. We, we, we, we've got to change our terminology. That's really what we do in "I can" is we change the terminology, and that is so critically important.

Why, right here in Dallas, certainly one of the most positive cities in the whole world, I was coming in on the plane just the other day, yesterday to be specific. And as we approached Dallas, the captain of the aircraft, I mean the head honcho, the man in charge, as we'd say over home to Daddy Rabbit, got on the telephone and in a deep, resonant voice said, "We are now making our final approach." Scared me half to death. I, I, I told the stewardess, I said, "Would you please go tell him to make it his next-to-final approach? I've got some important things that we've got to get done yet." You see, there is a positive approach you can take.

For example, when I think of the positive approach, I think of a principal up in our, an assistant principal up in, uh, Indianapolis, Indiana, a man named Charlie Fluger. Well, Mr. Fluger, last year was in a school which was closing down. That was to be the last year. Well, you know, we've been saying for a long time that there are four groups of students who get a lot of attention in school. Well, the first group, you know, is the athletic hero. There's nothing wrong with that. And the second group that gets a lot of attention is the beauty queen, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. And the third group of student who gets a lot of attention is the A or the scholarly student who makes exceptionally good grades, and there's nothing wrong with that. But there's a fourth group of students who get a lot of attention, and that's the loudmouth troublemaker, and there's a whole lot wrong with that. So Mr. Fluger came up with an idea. And he would see a student pick up a piece of paper, or erase a board, or return an item, you know, that had been lost. Mr. Fluger would say, "Hey, what you need is an 'I can'." And he literally gave them a simple little piece of paper like this. It must cost about a fourth of a penny, you know. He would give them an "I can," and all the other teachers would give the students "I cans," you know. And when the student accumulated, I believe it was 100 "I cans," he gave them a T-shirt, an "I can" T-shirt. Last year, they gave out 587 "I can" T-shirts. Now, that sounds kind of expensive because, you know, they are not inexpensive. But when you realize that drug abuse dramatically dropped, violence almost became non-existent, vandalism, not a single case.

And Mr. Jim Acer over here with Lake Dallas High School can kind of relate to that, because in the two and a half years they've been teaching the "I can" course, there's not been a single case of vandalism there. And you know, his teacher, Mrs. Randol, can also relate to that, because let me tell you a little story. I might be talking out of school here, just a little bit. But you, you see, she used to smoke cigarettes. Now, I know some of you folks won't believe that, but for over 20 years, as a matter of fact, she smoked cigarettes. And they started talking about goals one day, and the students said, "Right now, we got a goal for you. We want you to quit smoking." She said, "No, no, this is for you. I mean, this is what you need to do." Well, you know how students are. Some said, "No, it's not for just us, it's for you too." And after over 20 years, she was affected dramatically by the class itself and no longer smoked cigarettes.

You see, folks, consider the people who benefit the most from all of this, literally are the teachers. Because, you see, the teachers are so critically important in our society today. It's been demonstrated so that there no longer is any question about it, that teacher expectation has a direct bearing on student performance. And when you start pumping in the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, and the positive every day, not only in the minds of the students, but in the minds of the teachers, then some amazing, beautiful, critical things happen in that society.

Yes, in the "I can" course, we follow. After we built our foundation, we follow some interesting steps. You see, in the course, we tell you without hesitation, you got to have a good, healthy self-image. Then we explain to you why you must have a good, healthy self-image. And then the most important step of all, we tell you how to build that self-image. In the "I can" course, we never make a promise unless we give you a plan so that you might fulfill that promise. In "I can," we tell you you got to know how to get along with other people. And we say, "Here's why you have to get along with other people, and here's how you do it." We say you got to have goals. "Here's why you got to have goals, here's the way you set those goals." We tell you you got to build a winning attitude. "We say, here's why you got to have a good attitude, here's how you build them." Harvard University did a rather extensive study, came to the conclusion that 85% of the reason people get jobs and get ahead in those jobs is because they have the right mental attitude. But folks, you know, as far as I can determine, and as far as Harvard could determine, in the public school systems today, less than 1% of our educational time and dollars are spent teaching how to build a winning attitude. And yet, one of the things I'm privileged to do, I work with a lot of the corporate giants around the country, the Chevrolet division of General Motors, Phillips Petroleum, I work a lot with all of the direct sales companies, I work with people like McDonald's and Jack in the Box and Chick-fil-A and any number of others. And what these managers, I mean the top echelon, tell me over and over and over, they say, "If you can send us a youngster who is enthusiastically courteous, whom we can depend on, and who understands the basic principles of communication, reading, and writing," they say, "we can teach him the other things they need to know."

You see, in America today, teenage unemployment is a national scandal. In reality, over 20% of our white teenagers, and over 50% of the black teenagers and other minority groups are unemployed. And many of them want to get a job. Now, let me insert something right here, students, and that's this: If your reason for wanting to get a job is so you can buy yourself a car, and buy yourself a lot of records, and buy yourself some fancy clothes, I'm going to tell you those are the wrong reasons for getting a job. That might well interfere with your education. If you need to get a job to help support the family, help make certain that you do have a place to stay, make certain that you can secure an education, that's the right reason for getting a job.

So, assuming that you've got the right reason for getting a job, let me stress here that we now are teaching a sales presentation in "I can" about how to get those jobs. You see, let's visualize a 16-year-old who's never worked before. And under the present setup, without "I can" training, which incidentally is now available from kindergarten on through graduate school and college, let's assume just for a moment that you've not had the training, but you go to apply for a job. And the employer says, "What's your experience?" You're likely to say, "Well, I've never worked before." And you know what your chances are of getting a job then? Here's the sales talk we teach, based on the assumption that you've learned the principles in the "I can" course. We say the youngster ought to say to the employer, "Well, I've had a lifetime of experience in telling the truth. I've had a lifetime of experience in knowing that if I'm going to get a job and keep that job, I've got to be here on time and do what I'm supposed to do. And state of the job is finished. I've had a lifetime of experience in knowing that if I'm going to get a job and keep it, I got to know how to get along with people. So I've been making a study of how to get along with my fellow human being. And I've had a lot of experience in knowing that the only way you're going to be able to keep me on the payroll is for you to make a profit. And sir, I'm going to work awfully hard to help you make a profit so I can keep my job. And I believe that's the kind of experience your company needs. I need a job, I want a job, I'm ready to go to work right now. And this I promise you, you will not be disappointed. To someday be able to say, 'I was the man,' or 'I was the woman who gave that young person their first job.' I won't let you down. That's a promise. Can I start today?"

See, folks, I just believe that with a talk like that, I know if somebody, you know, goes to the average employer like that, listen, I don't believe you could get out of there until they had you signed up and ready to go to work. Well, that kind of gives you some idea about what all this is about. And so many times the question then, uh, comes up, "Well, how's the course taught? And who teaches the course?" Well, that's the exciting thing about it. We have here the, we think, the most outstanding approach to education. And educators unanimously agree to it. Somebody a long time ago said that if you hear something, you forget it. If you see it, you remember it. But if you see it and you hear it and you do it, then you understand and hence will succeed in whatever you're doing. So we start with a textbook. This isn't abridged edition of "See You at the Top." This is what the students read. Then we have a series of 12 sets of recordings, or 12 recordings, which contain the same message as the book. You see, when you see it and hear it, you really dramatically increase the impact. And then, of course, you know, there are some students who unfortunately cannot read, or they're in the lower grades and have not learned to read yet, and so they get a tremendous benefit from hearing the message. In addition to that, we have the workbook, the student manual, and the students work the exercises in the course in the manual. Also, there are 15 games which you are going to be playing, which are learning experiences, in addition to the speaking experience, which I made reference to earlier in this presentation. So what you do is, you hear it, you see it, and you do it.

Now, the other nice thing about it is that we have a series of teaching tapes which teach the teachers how to teach. Public speaking, for example. Dr. Ken Cooper has given us a tape on how to take care of your body physically. We think that's critically important. And then we have a series called "Zig Ziggler Lift for the Day." It's a 60-second presentation, so that over the intercom, once or twice, or in many schools, five times a week, there's a 60-second motivational lift. And all of the students, and all of the teachers, and all of the administrators in the school will get to participate in the class. That's the reason the class goes so much beyond simply the students who are in the class. That's the reason drug abuse is down, that's the reason violence is down, that's the reason attendance is up, that's the reason grades are better.

Now, a lot of times, then, after people say, "Well, what do you teach? And how do you teach? And what's involved in the course? Who do you select to teach that course?" They visualize somebody having to be 10 feet tall, you know, and a, a brilliant individual to teach the course. Well, now, I'm not going to kid you. As you will know, Dr. Lindsay, since you're in charge of the educational development in our course, the teacher is the key issue. And if you've got an outstanding teacher, then you're going to have an outstanding class. But the way it's structured, I'm going to, without equivocation, say that this manual, which has been put together by Mrs. McCulla, by Dr. Lindsay, by Dr. Verna Walker, a psychologist, by Don Mulla, who also is a psychologist, and by a battery of teachers and several years of experience, I'm going to tell you, this is the finest teacher's manual of any kind I've ever seen anywhere under any circumstances. Now, folks, in the business community, I've seen an awful lot of manuals. I'm going to tell you that if you'll follow this one, that you cannot miss.

So, what kind of teacher do we need? Well, the teacher should have about four outstanding characteristics. Number one, they need to be reasonably outgoing. Now, as we'd say over home, we don't think they have to be a tub-thumper. That means they don't have to be somebody quite as enthusiastic as I am, or as M, as Mulla might be or is. We do need Dr. Brown Lee, somebody who's excited about teaching the course. You know, having been in education all of your life, you can understand and know better than most people I've ever seen that in teaching, if the teacher is excited about the class they're teaching, the students are going to get excited. I'll never forget when I was a junior in high school, I had to take a summer course because I wanted to get in the Naval Air Corps. Had to take a course in history. I just couldn't understand why anybody would want to learn about history. What good's it gonna do me that I have to learn something that happened 200 years ago? But Coach Harris at Hines Junior College in Raymond, Mississippi, spent the first hour selling me on why I had to know my history. Had I not been in that class that day, I would not be in front of you today. Changed my total perspective on life. And I clearly then understood why I had to know my history. It was dramatic, the impact it had. Teachers are so critical, are so important. He needs to be excited about teaching this course.

Now, the teacher also needs to be non-hypocritical. That's one of the reasons I, you know, was so enthusiastic, so impressed about Mrs. Randolph in that smoking bit, because, you know, in the course, we talk about not smoking. We really do. We talk about discipline, and we talk about the fact that you've got to suck it up and tough it out and hang in there. And if the teacher is teaching one thing and doing something else, then, folks, that's not going to be effective.

And then the fourth quality: she needs to love kids. That's the most important, in my mind. And it needs to show. Now, it's a special kind of love. I have a close friend named Bernie Lytle from Winnipeg, Canada, whose son had cerebral palsy. Every night for something like three years, they had to put heavy steel braces on his legs. And every night for something like three years, David, a beautiful child, dark brown eyes, coal black hair, olive complexion, every night with tears running down his cheeks, he would say, "Mom, do we have to put them on tonight? Or do you have to make them so tight?" But his parents loved him so much that they said no to the tears of the moment so they could say yes to the laughter of a lifetime. There are a lot of times teachers, when you've got to tell the students not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. You've got to love them enough to do that. And if you do that, if you have those four qualities, I believe that's going to make you an outstanding teacher.

I have two more points I want to make, and then we're all through with "Introduction to the I Can Course." In a large southern city, there is a large shopping center, a beautiful place, it's magnificent. But about 40 years ago, it was a city. For hundreds of years, or over a hundred years, rather, they had been hauling the garbage out there and dumping it in that one specific spot. It was really a mess. Then one day, a builder said, "Hey, the city is growing this way. Let's eliminate the garbage dump." And they got the local builders to take their excavated dirt, as they would build new buildings, and go out there and dump the excavated dirt over the old garbage dump. They dumped tens of thousands of loads. And finally, one day, the builder looked at it and said, "Well, the foundation is solid. Let's build our shopping center." And they did, and it's beautiful. But you know, folks, that shopping center is built, well, it's really built on garbage, isn't it? I tell the story, students, and teachers, and parents, I tell the story because, you see, I don't care how much negative "I can't" garbage has been dumped into your mind over the years. I'm going to tell you that is pure garbage. You are what you are, and you are where you are because of what's going into your mind. You change what you are, you change where you are by changing what goes into your mind. You start today with what you've got, and you start pumping in the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, and the positive, over and over and over. Feed your mind with good stuff just as regularly as you feed your body. Then I can guarantee you, you can become the kind of a person you want to be.

Now, I'm going to give each one of you something which we give every member of our "I can" class, because this is something which literally will change your life. It's my business card. Oh, I know that doesn't sound like a life-changing experience. But you see, on one side, it has my name, and my address, and my phone number. On the other side, it has one word: "Tu." Now, as you can plainly see, it's round. And since it has "Tu" on the other side, that means this is a round "Tu." So many times you've told your parents, or your teachers, or you've told your boss, or somebody else, "Hey, I'm going to do something just as soon as I get around to it." Well, never again will you be able to say that. When you start to say, "I'll do it when I get around to it," you'll be reminded you've already got your "around to it." So you'll just go ahead and do it.

What do you say? Just as a matter of curiosity, how many of you have ever either heard me before, or else this is your first time? Could I see your hands, please? All right. Then I'm always glad to have so many people in front of me. I'm doubly glad if there are Amway people. And I'm extraordinarily doubly glad if they're Dex and Bertie Amway people. Yeah. There are three things I'm going to be stressing today because I think they're so important. Number one, I'm going to say to you that you are what you are, and where you are, because of what's going into your mind. And that you can change what you are, you can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind. The second thing I'm going to stress so hard is that life is tough. You see, I don't care what you do, whether you're a student, or whether you're the newest distributor, whether you're a Gold Direct, a Diamond, a Pearl, or whether you're a Crown. Life is tough. But I'm also going to stress the fact that when you are tough on yourself, that life is going to be infinitely easier on you. Now, life is tremendously exciting, it's enormously rewarding, but first of all, it is demanding. You see, you got to be before you can do, and you got to do before you can have.

The third thing I'm going to stress to you this morning is basically the fact that you can have everything in life that you want if you'll just help enough other people get what they want. And that phrase, that phrase has never been more meaningful, it has never been truer than it is today in the Amway business, because you must, you absolutely must build the other individual before you are going to reap the rewards yourself. And I'll be talking today about money, incidentally. Now, I get so amused at people who say that they're not really interested in money. I believe a man or a woman who'd say that would lie about other things too. I've had it, and I haven't had it, and overall, it is better to have it. Now, I'm not implying that it's everything, because there are stocks and bonds and real estate, there are a lot of other things other than money. But folks, I'm going to be talking today not just about standard of living, but about quality of life. The reality is, if you'll take care of the quality of life, the standard of living is going to go up.

About eight years ago, I was down in San Antonio, and I wanted this, hopefully, to put this in perspective. You know, I got to kind of apologize as I get started. I just feel so good, I'm almost dangerous. And for that reason, I try to share and communicate that with you. But about eight years ago, I was down in San Antonio during one of the breaks at the R.A. Length Seminar. A lady came up to me. She had a question she wanted to ask, but she didn't want to look me in the eye. So she looked down at the floor, and she said, "Mr. Ziggler, you kind of make a nice little old fee for them little old speeches you make, don't you?" Then she looked up, grinning so wide she could have eaten a banana sideways. I mean, she was, she was really grinning. I said, "Now, ma'am, I don't know where you heard that, don't know where you got that information, but I want you to know there's not a word of truth in it, and I want to put a stop to that vicious rumor right now. I don't want it to get out of this auditorium. The reality is, ma'am, I make a great big old fee for them little old speeches I make."

But what I did not tell her was the fact that on many occasions, I've gotten up early enough in the morning to go down and speak to the men who drive the bread trucks that deliver the cakes and the pies to the restaurants and grocery stores, many hours before you even turned over. I didn't tell her the number of times I've driven 50 miles, 100 miles, and on three occasions, 200 miles at night, one way, at my expense, to speak to a group of a dozen people, and then have to drive back home that night because I did not have enough money to pay a motel bill. I didn't tell her the number of times I've spoken to the Lions and the JC's and the Rotaries and the Women's Garden Club. I didn't tell them the number of times I've gone into the vacuum cleaner and cookware and real estate and life insurance companies, the number of times I've gone into jails and prisons and drug rehab centers and any other place where I would have a chance to practice and hone my skills. I didn't tell her about all of those things. But I did those things, and I did them because I honestly thought I had something to say. I did them because I knew that if I was ever going to be paid for saying what I had to say, that not only did I have to have something to say, but I had to know how to say it in a way which would be acceptable to the people who were listening. And I did those things because, as my friend Steve Brown from Atlanta, Georgia says, "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you can learn to do it well."

Well, the first time you drew those circles, the odds are about 78,000 to one that you did a pretty lousy job of it. The odds are about 70,000 to one, and the second time, you weren't exactly professional. You had seen your sponsor, you had seen your direct, you had seen your diamond director, and it looked so easy. But when you stood up that first time, your mind took a seat. But you knew, you knew that if it is worth doing, you had to do it over and over again until the day came when you could do them professionally, and the results started taking place. And isn't it marvelous that we have to go through a learning process? You see, if we could take three lessons from the pro and be good enough on the golf course to take the tour, the PGA Tour, then everybody would be tour players, and there'd be no compensation in it or satisfaction either. If we could all take a weekend course at the university and become a physician, we'd all be physicians, and then there'd be nothing in it for anybody. No, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing poorly until we can learn to do it well. The key, ladies and gentlemen, is to stay with it. So many people quit with the end in sight. They dream the dream, and then somebody undermines it, undermines it, and they forget what their objectives really were.

I want to stress something extraordinarily important. I believe it's extremely important. Dr. Tony Campolo of Eastern College in Pennsylvania makes a statement that is important as your past is. And folks, it is important. Your past has brought you to right where you are. But he says, "As important as your past is, it is not nearly as important as the way you see your future." Do you hear what he's saying? He's saying, and not denying the importance of the past, but he's saying that if you were abused as a child, if you were brought up in a home which had very little of the material goods, and even fewer of the real important goods, the love and affection and care and consideration, if you grew up and were abused, if you grew up and had all kinds of problems, he says those things are important, but he said they're not nearly as important as the way you see your future. Boy, that's exciting. How do we see our future? Listen to what Dr. John Maxwell from down in San Diego, California says. And if we latch on this one and tie it to what Dr. Tony Campolo says, we will build that dream, we will build our business, and we will have that quality of life which is so important. Dr. Maxwell says this: "If there is faith in your future, there is power in your present." If there is faith in your future, there's power in the present. That's why these free enterprise weekends are so enormously important, because when you see all of the people that you'll be seeing here, seeing all of the success stories, identifying with them, and understanding that if they can do it, you also can do it. So enormously important.

Now, I'm going to do something. And for those of you who cannot see the screen, don't give it a thought, because those of you who can see it are not going to be able to read what I'm going to write, anyhow. What I'm trying to communicate there is simply this: you will be able to clearly hear what I'm going to say. With that in mind, I'm going to encourage everybody here, if you don't have something that you can write, at least 30 to 35 words on, borrow some kind of paper from somebody, because we're going to share somewhere between 30 and 40 words that I absolutely guarantee you will have a dramatic impact on your life. I'm going to tell you without any fear of error that if you don't write these words down, you're going to be sorry. Ladies and gentlemen, you better write them down. They are so important.

Now, as I bring this to you, let me kind of give you this one little bit of word of warning. I always speak and write at the seventh grade, third month level. Now, the reason I keep it at that level is because I discovered a few years ago that if you kept it there, that even the college professors would be able to follow right along with you and understand what you're saying. And for the benefit of our college professors who are here, let me point out that Dr. Steve Franklin from Atlanta, Georgia, the college professor from Emory University, who gave me this, said this: "Zig, the great truths in life are the simple ones. You don't need three moving parts or four syllables for something to be significant." Think about it. There are only three pure colors, just three. But look at what Michelangelo did with those three colors. There are only 10 digits, but look what Einstein did with those 10 digits. There are only seven notes, but look at what Chopin and Beethoven and Vivaldi did with those seven notes. Look at what Elvis did with two. It just doesn't have to be that complicated. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 266 words, delivered right after the Battle of Gettysburg, which, as you know, took place during the War of Northern Aggression. Depends on where you went to school, folks. It really does. 266 words, and 202 of them are one syllable. Simple, direct. John 3:16, 26 words, 21 of them are one syllable. But upon them rest your eternal soul. I'm going to keep it simple. I'm going to keep it simple because I believe that's important.

And what I want you to start doing right now is, I want you to start thinking about the dream Amway distributor, the one whom you would just absolutely love to sponsor in your business today. Somebody that you know would really move right on up to the top. Somebody who would be an absolute delight to work with. Somebody who's got it all together. I want you to start thinking in terms of every possible quality that you would want this individual to have. I want you to visualize that you can literally find such an individual. And I want you to start thinking about all of those qualities, and I want you to identify those qualities. I want you to call them out to me. I'm going to write them down. Now, the reason I'm going to write them down is for my benefit, not for yours, because I'll have to refer back to them two or three times. You must take your own notes in order for this to have the impact we'll be seeking. This dream distributor that you're going to sponsor, what is the first quality you would want this individual to have? You call it out. I'll write it down. Somebody who has ambition. Okay. Second one? Somebody who is consistent. Somebody with a good positive mental attitude. Somebody who is enthusiastic. Keep them coming. Somebody who is a dreamer. Somebody who has their goals. Keep them coming. Somebody who is honest. And somebody who is motivated. Keep them coming. Somebody who has integrity. Somebody who is loyal. Somebody who loves the Lord. Somebody who has faith. In other words, keep them coming. Somebody who is persistent. Okay. Keep them coming. Somebody who is a communicator. Keep them coming. Somebody who is trustworthy. Keep them coming. Somebody who is teachable. You know, some people are so narrow-minded, they can look through a keyhole with both eyes at the same time, can't you? It's got to be teachable, isn't it? Amazing that a narrow mind and a fat head always comes on the same person. Doesn't make any sense, but it seems to happen that way. Okay, give me another one. Somebody who is, somebody who has concern. Okay. Who is concerned? Somebody who has desire. Somebody who has commitment. Okay. Somebody who is cheerful. Somebody who is optimistic. The kind of guy that put a dime in the parking meter while his wife goes shopping. I mean, that kind of an individual. Okay, give me another one. Somebody with a good self-image. All right. Keep them coming. Somebody with a sense of humor. Okay. Now, I'm, I'm every time I understand one, I'll write it down. Sometimes I don't write it down 'cause I just don't hear you don't understand it. Give me another one. Somebody who is a loving or caring individual. Give me another one. Somebody who is disciplined. I, I heard that one. Somebody who is flexible. Okay. Somebody who is a self-starter. And somebody who is a hard worker. You know, some people quit looking for work as soon as they find a job, don't you? And you can't be like this old boy down home. Somebody asked him how long he had been working. "Brought him in," and he said, "Ever since they threatened to fire me." So that's not what you're looking for either. All right, give me another, another one. Somebody, somebody who is organized. Maybe not quite like our Executive Vice President, he proofreads the Xerox copies. But I know what you're talking about when you say organized. Keep it coming. Somebody who is gentle. Somebody who is a giver. Well, now, we're identifying the qualities of a leader. You see, so you tell me that's the reason you want to recruit them, because they're, sponsor them because they, you know, they have certain qualities which make them a leader. Give me another one. Somebody who is patriotic. Okay. Some, we've already got dreamer. Somebody who has courage. All right. I've got desire. Somebody with character. Okay. Remember, somebody who is, what was that again? Dependable. Is that what he's saying? Okay. Somebody's dependable. When they tell you it's going to rain, you'll set the tubs out. It's going to rain. Okay. Somebody who's dependable. Got room for about three more. Teachable. So we've already got teachable. Somebody's good attitude. PMA, positive mental attitude. Somebody who is flexible. Got that one. Somebody hold up the hand and spat it out. I can't hear you. Somebody who's reliable. And somebody who is enthusiastic. Have already got enthusiastic. Unselfish. Unselfish. And patient. Okay. Now I've got that. That's all the room I got for.

So let's look at it. Now, there are others, of course. But how many of you would agree that an individual of those qualities would make a pretty good success in the Amway business? Can I see your hand? Okay. How many of you believe that that kind of individual would make a good friend and neighbor? Can I see your hands? All right. How many of you would love to have kids with all of these qualities? Can I see your hands? All right. How many of you'd love to have a mate with all of these qualities? Bottom line, how many of you would like to have all of these qualities? All right. Now, let's see how many of you believe that anybody with these qualities could absolutely be enormously successful in the Amway business? Go Diamond, pretty quick. Double, triple. Go. How many of you believe they could even go to Crown? Can I see your hands? All right. Now, let's take a little count here and see what we've got. We got 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35. There are 37 qualities.

Now, what I'm going to do, I'm going to go back down the list. So if you missed some of the words, you can now get them. When I call out the words, I want you to tell me what they are. If they are attitudes, say "attitude." If they are skills, say "skill." Now, some of you will think one thing, and some will think another, because some of them are both. You stick by your guns. You respond as to what you think it is. We'll put them both down in those cases. Ambition, is that an attitude or a skill? Attitude. Consistent, attitude. PMA, attitude. Enthusiasm. They are dreamers. They're honest and motivated. Have integrity and loyal. And have faith. They're persistent. They are good communicators. Well, I'm getting them both. Somebody who's trustworthy and teachable. And concerned. They have desire. They've made a commitment. Somebody who is cheerful and optimistic. Good self-image. Sense of humor. They're loving and caring. They're disciplined and flexible. They're a self-starter and a hard worker. They're organized. Somebody who's gentle. Somebody who's a giver. And patriotic. And they have courage. They have character. They're dependable. Didn't I have that one earlier? No, I didn't. I thought I did. Okay. Somebody who's, that's attitude, you said. Okay. Somebody who's reliable. And unselfish. And patient. Okay. We had 37, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35. Of them are straight attitudes. And one of them is attitude involved, attitude and skill. 36 of the 37 had attitude in there.

Now, with that in mind, how many of you believe that your attitude just might have a bearing on your success in life? Can I see your hand? All right. Now, with that in mind, how many of you think it's something that we might ought to look at learning more about? Can I see your hand? How?

Many of you, when you were in school, had a course which taught you how to develop these qualities. Hello, okay. How many of you believe that we would have an even better America if we did every day teach these things in our public schools? Can I see your hands? Okay. Now, you do understand that with the exception of faith, we can teach all of those other things in schools, and faith is improving.

I was in a school the other day. There was a sign on the principal, just outside the principal's office in the hallway. It said, "In the event of fire, earthquake, or nuclear attack, the ban on prayer is temporarily lifted." We're making some progress, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, let me, uh, let me point out, there are some people who would say, "But now, Zig, those things are values, and we can't teach values." Who says we can't? We can absolutely teach every one of these things in the public schools because, you know whose values they are? They are yours.

I have done this exact presentation from Miami to Seattle and from San Diego to August domain and everything in between, and without exception, these are always the qualities they bring out. It won't vary. They won't vary 10%. So far, I have never gone to an employer and have him say, "No, I wouldn't have any interest in anybody who has ambition, who's consistent, with a good attitude, who's enthusiastic, who's a dreamer with goals, who's honest and motivated." You know what they say to me? "You send me somebody with these qualities, and I'll teach them how to run the gizmo that manufactures the widgets." That's exactly what they say. This is what makes the difference in America today.

There's an enormous amount of talk about the drug problem. I'm here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, we do not have a drug problem. We have got a people problem. Drugs, drugs are, are the manifestation of the problem. I want you to think about this. Can you imagine a youngster with all of these qualities getting involved in drugs? Good self-image, has goals, ambition, desire, all of these things. There literally is no way they're going to get involved. Nor will they get involved in crime or promiscuity. You see, your faith and your future determine your conduct today, and anybody with these qualities is going to have a brilliant future. Why should they foul it up with crime and drugs and promiscuity? They just simply are not going to do it.

Now, how many of you believe that in education, because these things are not being taught in our schools, that we really are missing the boat? Can I see your hands? Okay. Now, with the exception of our educators here today, everybody else ought to feel pretty good. You see, we have identified, we have identified a major area of life that's so important. You have said to me that a person with these qualities could be successful. As a matter of fact, let's take it a step further. How many of you believe that anybody with these qualities could get a job anywhere, at any time, under any circumstances, and do well in that job? Can I see your hands, please? There'd be no question about it, would there?

So, we have determined something here. We have found out what the problem is in our, our society. All this time, I was thinking it was my fault. You might be saying to yourself, "And what a relief it is to know it's not my fault at all. It is the educator's fault. It is the educator's fault. They ought to be teaching us those things, and they're not." Do you wait till I get back to school? If I don't call them up and give them a piece of my mind.

But folks, here's the basic problem. When you got one finger pointed that way, you got three times that many finger fingers pointed right back this way. In the state where you live, how many hours a day do the kids go to school? Anybody? Six. Okay. I'm hearing six. I'm hearing seven. Let's, uh, let's say seven. In the states you're from, how many days a year do the kids go to school a year? 180. Okay. Now, if my arithmetic is correct, that means the kids are in school 1,260 hours. Now, in the states you're from, how many hours are there in the year? Very good. Okay, same as in Texas. All right. That's 8,760. That means, in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen, that the kids are in school 1,260 hours. They're at home 7,560 hours a year. And Mom and Dad had those young ones 40,000 hours before the teacher ever saw them.

Now, with that in mind, how many of you believe that us parents should accept just a small portion of the responsibility for teaching these qualities? Can I see your hand? Now, how many of you believe that before as parents we start teaching them, we should require some of them? Does that make any sense? What, what do you call a person who practices one thing and preaches another? A hypocrite. Now, hypocrite, as you well know, is just a fellow who is not himself on Sunday.

Now, it's especially important, ladies and gentlemen, that as parents, we assume more of the responsibility. And here's why. According to a study done in Missouri, 60 to 65% of our working vocabulary we have acquired by the age of three. And two-thirds of everything we will ever learn, we have learned by the age of six. And 80% of our character is formed by the age of five. And it might say, "Well, now, Z, that sounds kind of discouraging to me because I'm w over three, and I'm over five, I'm over six." So, let me take you back. Dr. Compa says, "As important as that past is, it is not nearly as important as the way you see your future."

How many of you believe that we would really have something going if we taught these at home and then reinforced them in school? Can I see your hands? Let me take a 60-second side trip and tell you why Japan is eating our lunch in the marketplace. While that little nation, half the size of Texas, 120 million people, no natural resources, is now the largest creditor nation in the world. Eight of the top 10 corporations in the world are Japanese. Eight of the top 10 banks in the world are Japanese. Here's why I'm absolutely convinced of it. Starting in kindergarten, 1 hour a day until they graduate from high school, this nation, which is the least Christian nation on Earth, is teaching the most Christian principles of any nation on Earth. I've been to Japan. I've looked at their educational structure. I have read what they're doing over there. From kindergarten, 1 hour a day, to make sure we got it, until they graduate from high school, they take a course teaching them the advantages and values of honesty and integrity and persistence and hard work and enthusiasm and motivation and positive thinking and responsibility and free enterprise and patriotism. It is taught from birth.

Now, I keep using that word "teach." Let me ask you a question. How many of you believe you can teach people to have ambition? Can I see your hands? How many of you believe you can teach people to be consistent? Hold them up high so I can see them. How many of you believe can teach a positive mental attitude? Ladies and gentlemen, go down the list, and you will discover that of the 37 qualities which you identified to me, 37 of these qualities can be taught. And if they can be taught, they're skills.

Now, stay with me because this is a critical point that can make a dramatic difference in your life, life, your family life, your business life, your personal life. That's so enormously exciting because it tells me that I've got a chance. It tells me that you've got a chance. It tells me that that youngster who left home this morning without a bite to eat, nothing but a kick in the rear, has never been told that he is loved, has never had a word of encouragement. It tells me that if that youngster is fortunate enough to meet a Jaime Escalante. How many of you happen to see the movie *Stand and Deliver*? If you ever get a chance to see it, don't miss it. Jaime Escalante taught in this barrio in Los Angeles, in a Mexican community where teenage pregnancy was expected, drugs ran absolutely rampant, where crime ran absolutely all over the place. Nobody really expected any of the kids to graduate from high school, much less go to college. Jaime Escalante enters the picture. He believed he could teach those kids, and he believed that those kids could learn. He believed it so strongly, as a matter of fact, that by enormous amounts of hard work, enthusiasm, a positive mental attitude, consistent, persistent, loving, caring, committed, dedicated effort, first year, this man who were teaching kids who had trouble with simple math, put them in advanced calculus, and 18 of them won college scholarships.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you, it's not going to be easy. But you are what you are and where you are because of what's going into your mind. You can change what you are. You can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind. At age 45, I was broken, in debt. My dad died when I was 5 years old. I'm one of 12 children. It was the heart of the depression. I went to work in a grocery store on Saturday before I entered the fifth grade. I worked every afternoon after school and on Saturday. I had a paper route two nights a week and collected one night a week. By age 14, I was running a meat market. I contributed the support of my family before I was 13 years old. I've worked hard all of my life, but until I was 45 years old, I was stone broke. Now, I stress that because I want to emphasize to those of you who've had a few birthdays: as important as your past is, it is not nearly as important as the way you see your future.

Now, hear me real good on this next because upon this depends so much. You have said to me that anybody with these qualities could be enormously successful in the Amway business. Go right on the Diamond, Double Diamond, Triple, maybe even the. You have said, "Anybody with these qualities could get a job anywhere, at any time, under any circumstances, and be successful in that job." I wish I could see your eyeballs, every one of you, because if I could, I would look you right in the eye, and here's what I would say to you. And yes, I'm really talking to you directly. This is not for anybody else here. It is not for the people who are not present today. I'm speaking specifically and directly to you. You, my friends, already have every single quality which you have identified as being present in the dream Amway distributor. Now, you're pitifully weak in some of them, as all of us are. But let me say it again: you are what you are and where you are because of what's gone into your mind. You can change what you are. You can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind.

Now, let's go down the list. Are you going to sit there and try to deny some of these? Are you going to say you have no ambition? Your presence here makes a lie out of that. Are you going to sit there and say that you're not consistent in what you do? Your very presence denies that you want to do something. Are you going to sit there and tell me you have no positive mental attitude? You suffer from a terminal case of stinking thinking. Are you going to sit there and tell me you have no enthusiasm? That you're not honest? That you're so crooked that when you die, they're going to have to bury or screw you in the ground? Are you going to sit there? Are you going to sit there and tell me that you're lazy? That you're so lazy, you wouldn't hit a lick at a snake? I'm here to tell you, folks, that you have got all of them. You need to refine and develop them.

I was doing a seminar in Atlanta, Georgia, last December. When I finished the seminar, I was signing books and talking to people. There was a lady and her husband seated on the second row from my platform. She and her husband waited patiently until everybody else had made their departure. Then the lady came forward. She said, "Mr. Ziggler, she said, I'm Jan McBarron. I'm the one who wrote you the letter." I said, "Yes, Jan, it's an absolute delight to meet you." She said, "I just wanted to elaborate on the letter. She said, for many years of my adult life, Mr. Ziggler, weighed over 200 pounds. Like you did. As you can see, I now am the right weight. I smoked between two and three packages of cigarettes a day. I drank too much. I had a terrible self-image. Dr. Joyce Brothers is right when she says that you cannot consistently perform in a manner which is inconsistent with the way you see yourself." She said, "I was a nurse, had been a nurse for years, and I listened to what you say on your tapes. I started believing that yes, I really did have what it takes. I went to work." She said, "It wasn't easy, Mr. Ziggler, by any stretch of imagination. But I would like to reintroduce myself. I'm Jan McBarron, M.D." She worked her way, after six years as a nurse, she worked her way through medical school as a full-time nurse. She said, "I'm one of six women in America who has their specialty in Bariatrics, weight management, weight control."

I'm here to tell you, folks, if you don't like you and where you are, you're not stuck with it. You're tied in one of the most magnificent business opportunities our country has ever produced. You're in on an upswing. You're in on a period of excitement where I'm telling you things can be absolutely magnificently well if you will but develop these qualities which are already yours. I'm here to tell you, at our company, everything that we do, and I mean literally everything that we do, is designed for the purpose of developing the qualities which will take you to where you want to go. You got to be before you can do, and you got to do before you can have.

I close, ladies and gentlemen, with this: believe in you. You were created by God in his own image. He loves you, and he wants the best for you. I can tell you, the thing that made the difference in my life was when I committed it to Christ on that July 4th, 1972. When you start talking about dreams and goals, do I need to remind you that you are going to be dead a lot longer than you're going to be alive? So the goal you set there is important. Believe in you. Believe in your fellow human beings because you can't have everything in life you want if you'll just help enough other people get what they want. Believe in what you're doing in this great business. I've been saying it for years. If we had enough Amway distributors in our society today with all of the attitudes that you have, the patriotism you show, the flag waving you do, the concepts and the spirits which you have, enough Amway distributors alone would turn this country around, and we could go. Don't just buy the dream for yourself. It is a magnificent dream for you and your family and your loved ones. But we are part of the big package. Buy the dream for what it can mean to our society.

I've have been almost all over the world. I've been behind the Iron Curtain. I've been in the third world countries. I have been in the other industrialized nations, and there's no other land, ladies and gentlemen, like the good old USA. And freedom, freedom in our world today is dependent upon us, and that means we're dependent upon you. Believe in your dream. Believe in our great country. Ask yourself every day, "If everybody in America was doing exactly the same thing I'm doing, would my land be getting better or would it be getting worse?" And when you answer that question, then you know exactly what you got to do. You might say, "What can I do, Zig? I'm only one." That obviously is not true. But if it were true, just remember this: God said to build a better world. And I said, "How? The world is such a dark and lonely place, and I'm so small and useless. There's nothing I can do." But God, in all his wisdom, said, "Just build a better you." And let, ladies and gentlemen, that's what this weekend is all about. Building a better you, so you can build a better future for your family, so America itself will have a better future. Buy these ideas that you're going to be here in all weekend. Put them in execution. Remember that you were born to win. Take the steps we've talking about because if you do, I can close as I always do by saying, "I'll see you," and yes, I very definitely, emphatically, positively, definitely do mean you, you at the top. God bless you and thank you.

To watch another amazing Zig Ziggler video, check it out right there next to me. I think you'll love it. Continue to believe, and I'll see you there.

When somebody says, "How you doing?" and you really are doing bad, I mean things are just awful. What I want you to do is look at your watch. When they say, "How you doing?" I want you to look at your watch and say, "Well, at exactly 3:30, I'll be doing super good."