📕 Jim ROHN - 7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness - Full Audiobook - ENG #lucianapinto

Performance comes from inside, not outside. Success is not something you pursue; success is something you develop. You can have more than you've got because you can become more than you are. Unless you change how you are, you'll always have what you've got. The major key to your better future is you. The key to a great future is within you, and you'll be able to find it and use it with success strategies.

Seven keys to wealth and happiness. These keys will help you unlock the door to success that faces every one of us. All we have to do is use the right combination of skills and knowledge. In this exciting program, Jim Rohn will help you find the way to achieve your goals in every area of your life. You don't have to sacrifice family and friends to gain wealth and professional prestige. You just have to have the right plan, and Jim will help you map out your personal path to success, just as he's helped companies around the world reach their goals.

You'll benefit from his wisdom and knowledge, gathered in a more than 25-year study of behaviors that affect performance. Jim Rohn has first-hand experience of what these behavioral factors can do. His is the story of a small-town boy made good, very good, with the help of a wise mentor to whom he'll introduce you. Jim forged his way right to the top. He'll show you how you can do the same by implementing a few key strategies.

In this program, you'll hear how to choose a lifetime of achievement instead of settling for one of mediocrity. You'll discover how to develop the critical advantages that lead to major accomplishments, and you'll learn how to get more satisfaction and enjoyment out of every area of your life, whether it's financial, personal, or professional. Jim Rohn's ideas work, as his clients around the world have discovered. He's earned a reputation as a dynamic and effective trainer all over North America, England, Spain, Taiwan, and Australia. In this program, you too will reap the benefits these companies have paid thousands of dollars for, and you'll have a private one-on-one session with Jim Rohn.

And now, the Nightingale-Conan Corporation is very pleased to present Mr. Jim Rohn.

This is Jim Rohn. You're going to hear a great number of ideas as you go through the sessions on these six cassettes. Ideas that help successful people accomplish more of their goals, achieve certain wealth, and experience greater joy and satisfaction in their lives. My hope is that you'll find a few of these ideas very useful to you right now. Unfortunately, I don't know you personally. I'm not familiar with your dreams or your problems. But fortunately for you, I don't need to be, because the ideas we'll be talking about on these cassettes are fundamentals to the art of winning. They will help you achieve your most inspiring dreams, guaranteed. They are, in fact, the seven fundamentals for wealth and happiness.

As we go through these cassettes, you'll see very clearly for yourself just how these ideas can start making a major difference in your life right away. Where did these fundamentals come from? I didn't make them up. I first discovered them when I was 25 years old, at a time in my life when I needed some new ideas to help change the direction of my life. I wasn't destitute at the time, but I certainly needed some help. I guess we could all use a little help at age 25.

Let me take a minute to tell you how it happened. I had gotten off to a great start in life. I was raised in farm country in Idaho, a small community of about 5,000 people, not far from the Snake River in the southwest corner of the state. A great place to grow up. In fact, my parents still live in this small farm community. My father is 82 years old, my mother is 75, and they are still healthy and doing very well, as active now as they have ever been. I'm very proud of them, and they have always been a great example for me.

After graduating from high school, I went to one year of college and then I decided I was smart enough, so I quit. Which was one of my major mistakes among many major mistakes I made in those early days. But I was ambitious and willing to work hard and figured I wouldn't have any trouble getting a job, which turned out to be accurate. So, with a head full of dreams and ambitions, I started my first job. About three years later, I got married, made lots of promises, worked hard, and a couple of years later, started a family. And at age 25, I started taking a new look at my life.

My weekly paycheck amounted to the grand total of $57. I was far behind on my promises, behind on my bills, and discouraged. I was far from making the progress I thought I should have made. I was willing to work hard; that was not my problem. But it was clear that it was going to take more than hard work, and I didn't want to wind up at age 60 broke, needing assistance, like so many people I saw around me, not in the richest country in the world.

So, what do you do to change the direction of your life? I thought, "Well, I should go back to school." One year of college doesn't look that good on an application. But now, with my family starting, going back to school seemed like a tough decision. I didn't have any money to start my own business. Money was one of my problems. I always had far too much month left over at the end of the money. If you've ever been in that position, I remember one time losing $10, and I was physically ill for two days over a $10 bill. Some of my friends tried to be cheerful. They said, "Look, maybe some poor person who needed it found it." But that was not really helpful. I must admit, at that time in my life, benevolence had not yet seized me. I was the person who needed to find $10, not lose $10.

So that's where I was at that time in my life, behind on my dreams and constantly wondering what I could possibly do to change my life for the better. Well, at age 25, good fortune came my way. And many times, it's difficult to explain good fortune. Why do unique things happen to you when they do? I don't know. Part of that is a mystery to me. However, my good fortune was meeting a man, a very unique and successful man. His name was Mr. Earl Shoff. When I met him, I said to myself, "I would give anything to be like him. I wonder what it would take."

Well, to make a long story short, this very special gentleman took a liking to me, and a few months after I met him, he hired me, and I went to work for him. I spent the next five years working for him in several of his businesses, and then unfortunately, he died. But I did get to spend five years with this remarkable man. And the best thing he gave me during that five years was not a job. The best thing he gave me was the benefit of his philosophy, the fundamentals of living successfully, how to be wealthy, how to be happy. And sure enough, his ideas worked for me. So, I will always be grateful for meeting someone who made a difference in how my life worked out. I am sure if Mr. Shoff were still alive, I would have called him one more time today and thanked him for sharing the ideas and inspiration that changed my life.

For many years, I shared this philosophy for wealth and happiness with my business partners and met with equally exciting results. I am primarily a businessman, not a professional public speaker, but I have been intrigued with the challenge of trying to put into words the ideas that can make a difference in how a person's life works out. And now I have the chance to share these ideas with you. I don't claim to have all the answers on how to do well, but I do have some answers that have worked extremely well for me and thousands of others. Take these ideas and edit them all you wish. You certainly don't have to buy everything any one person says, but give me a chance. If something sounds good, try it. If it doesn't make sense, discard it. Remember, don't be a follower; be a student.

All the ideas we'll discuss in these cassette sessions will stem from a group of very important key concepts. I'd like to begin this session by briefly but clearly looking at each of them. These keywords are very important for us to understand if we're to get maximum value from this program and add significantly to our wealth and happiness.

The first keyword is fundamentals. What an important word, fundamentals. This word calls attention to the primary issue in our quest for greater success. It is the keyword in making our lives work well. Fundamentals: those basics that build the foundation for accomplishment, productivity, success, and lifestyle. Fundamentals form the beginning, the basis, the reality from which everything else flows. And remember, there are no new fundamentals. Fundamentals are old, well-established. Beware of someone who claims to have a new fundamental. That's like someone who claims to manufacture antiques. We would have to be suspicious, right? So, fundamentals, basics. They are so very important to understand and consider in practice if you wish for the good life. And may I add here, make sure you don't go looking for the exotic answers to success. Success is a very basic process. It doesn't fall out of the sky. It doesn't have any mysteries, nor does it fall into the realm of the miraculous. Success is merely a natural result that comes from the consistent operation of the practical fundamentals. As someone wisely remarked, "To be successful, you don't have to do extraordinary things; just do ordinary things extraordinarily well."

Mr. Shoff, my teacher, gave me many great phrases. I'll always remember one of them was, "There are always about a half dozen things that make eighty percent of the difference." What a key thought! A half dozen things. Whether we are working on our health, wealth, personal goals, or professional enterprise, the difference between our ultimate success or inevitable failure lies in the degree to which we are willing to seek out, study, and to go to work on those half dozen things. For a farmer to reap a plentiful harvest in the fall, for example, the major basics are fairly obvious: soil, seed, water, sunshine, nourishment, and care. Each fundamental being equally in need of study and attention, for together they bring about the best chance for a successful harvest. A good question to ask before undertaking any project or setting any new objective, then, is: "What are the most important half dozen things that will make the major difference in how it works out?" So, whether the enterprise is art or architecture, music or sculpture, mathematics or sports, business or farming, success or lifestyle, it's the fundamentals that count. To understand them and to practice them is to take the first intelligent step toward accomplishing your objectives and living your dreams.

The second keyword for us to consider is wealth. Wealth is a word that brings about a wide variety of mental images, and that is part of my purpose in these cassettes: to provoke that wide variety of mental images, for that is where the dreams are, that is where the inspiration comes from, and that is where true incentive is born. The mystery and mixture of mental image, the stuff and the staff of life. It's right use, its constant use, is the way to a life unique and a life abundant. Now, to one, wealth means having enough financial substance to be able to do whatever you wish to do with your life. To another, it may mean freedom from debt, freedom from the constant claim of obligation. To yet another, it means opportunity. And to many, wealth means a million dollars. That's a unique word, millionaire. It rings of success, freedom, power, influence, pleasure, possibility, benevolence, and excitement. Not a bad mental image. Now, we could talk of the wealth of experience, the wealth of friends, the wealth of love, the wealth of family, the wealth of culture, wealth of many kinds. However, in this program, we are more specifically going to talk about wealth in the sense of financial freedom. Wealth that comes from the conversion of effort and enterprise into currency and equity. For each of us, the amount of money required to be wealthy will differ, but the dream for all of us, I'm sure, is the same: freedom from financial pressure, more freedom of choice, freedom to enjoy, and the opportunity to create and to share wealth. The possession of great financial resources that improves the quality of your life and gives you added dignity and expanded lifestyle. So, decide for yourself what wealth means to you. Latch on to your own mental image of wealth, and let's see if the ideas I'm about to bring to you will make sense and perhaps provide you with the inspiration to put the plan into high action, so that as the days pass, you will discover a growing sense of freedom and dignity, self-worth, substance, and lifestyle.

The next keyword is happiness. The universal quest. Happiness is a joy that most often comes as a result of positive activity. Like wealth, it too has a wide variety of meanings and interpretations. Happiness is both the joy of discovery and the joy of knowing. It is a result of an awareness of the full range of life: the color, the sound, the harmony. And it is the joy that comes from designing a life and practicing the fine art of living well. Happiness is being able to explore the offerings of life by perception, response, and enjoyment. Happiness is both receiving and sharing, reaping and bestowing. It is being able to feast on harmony as well as food, on ideas as well as bread. Happiness is the deliberate act to create a wider world of experience and awareness. Happiness is having a handle on disappointment. It is being in control of both emotion and circumstance. Happiness is freedom from the negative children of fear, such as worry, low self-esteem, envy, greed, anger, resentment, and so on. Happiness is an awareness and a grasp of the positive power of life and loving values. It is an order of thought, activity, and lifestyle. Happiness is values in balance. It is contact with people of substance. Happiness is contentment with the tasks of your life. It is thought inspired by, organized with, and rooted in your personal philosophy. Happiness is a life well lived in which a wide variety of experiences are deliberately captured to become an invaluable form of currency for you to spend and invest in your own better future. Happiness is activity with purpose. It's love in practice. Happiness is both a grasp of the obvious as well as in awe of the mysterious. But for most people around us, happiness seems to be either something left behind or something yet to be discovered. Like all the good things in life, happiness is elusive by nature, but not impossible to capture.

A major key for bringing joy into our lives lies in the next word we shall briefly examine: discipline. If there is a magic word that stands out above all the rest, this is the one: discipline. And in this program, you'll discover how positive this word is. Discipline is the bridge between thought and accomplishment. The bridge between inspiration and value achievement. The bridge between necessity and productivity. Remember, all good things are upstream. The passing of time takes us drifting, and drifting only brings us the negative, the disastrous, the disappointment, and the failure. Failure is not a cataclysmic event. It is not generally the result of one major incident, but rather a long list of accumulated little failings. Failing in life is failing to think today, failing to act today, failing to care, to strive, to climb, to learn, to keep trying day by day. If your goal requires that you write 10 letters today and you write only three, you are down seven letters. If you want to make five calls and you only make one, you are down four on calls. If your plan calls for saving $10 today and you save none, you're down $10 today. Now, the danger is looking at an undisciplined day and concluding that no great harm has been done. It doesn't seem like such a bad day. But add up these days to make a year, and then add up those years to make a lifetime, and perhaps you can now see how repeating today's small failures can easily turn your life into a major disaster.

Success, on the other hand, is just the same process in reverse. If you plan to make 10 calls and you end the day making 15, now you're up five calls. If you then get up a few on letters, move up the savings numbers, you can see what a massive difference it could make in a year, and what wealth and accomplishment awaits for a lifetime. Discipline is like a set of magic keys that unlocks all the doors of wealth, happiness, sophistication, culture, high self-esteem, pride, joy, accomplishment, satisfaction, and success.

The first key to discipline is awareness of the need for and the value of discipline, and especially the discipline to make the changes. "What will it take? What must I do? And what must I become to get all I want from my life?" The second key is the willingness, more than that, the eagerness to maintain your new discipline deliberately, wisely, consistently. And the third key to discipline is the commitment to master the circumstances of your daily life, to see and harness the opportunities, to make something of the sun and the rain, the good as well as what comes in the guise of misfortune.

Discipline does many things, but most important of all is what it does for you. First, it makes you feel better about yourself. Even the smallest discipline can have an incredible effect on your attitude and the good feeling you get, that surging feeling of self-worth that comes from starting a new discipline is almost as good as the feeling that comes from the accomplishment of the discipline. Second, a new discipline immediately alters your life direction. You don't change destinations immediately; that is yet to come, but you can change direction immediately, and direction is very important. Third, discipline cooperates with nature. Everything strives. It is a common life function. How tall will a tree grow? As tall as it can. Everything strives to become all it can possibly be, and that striving to become is what discipline is all about: disciplining ourselves to fulfill our natural potential, to become all that we can be. And finally, discipline attracts opportunity. Opportunity is always looking for ambition and skill in action. Discipline taps the unlimited power of commitment. The human will in action, driven by inspiration, enticed by desire, tempered by reason, guided by intelligence, can bring you to that high and lofty place called the good life. Discipline: those unique steps of intelligent thought and activity that put a lid on temper and a faucet on courtesy, that develop positive and control negative, that encourage success and deter failure, that design lifestyle and control frustration, that enhance health and curb sickness, that promote happiness and manage sadness. Discipline: the start and the continuing process that brings all good things.

And remember, anyone can start the process. It's not "if I could, I would." It's "if I would, I could. If I will, I can." So, start the new process. You can begin a new habit, no matter how small. It's not important whether it's small; whether or not you start and whether or not you continue are all that is important. And don't be deluded by an affirmation. Only affirm what you are truly prepared to do. Many of us delude ourselves with our words into believing that we're making changes and making progress when, in fact, our daily activity is taking us in the exact opposite direction of our affirmations. Why would you walk in the opposite direction of your dreams? The man dreams of wealth and walks daily towards certain financial disaster. The man wishes for happiness and thinks the thoughts and commits the acts that take him to certain despair. So, to have a prosperous life, start a prosperity plan. To become wealthy, start a wealth plan. Remember, you don't have to be wealthy to have a wealth plan. A person with no means can have a rich plan. If you are ill, start a health plan. If you don't have energy, start an energy plan. If you don't feel good, start a feel-good plan. If you're not smart, start a smart plan. If you can't start, a "can" plan. If you haven't, start a "have" plan. Anyone can, even a bad person, can start hearing good messages and reading good books. Recognize that the start of the better life, the happy life, the wealthy life, is today. This is exciting. Both the process and the result can begin today. Start the new journey today. If you think of a new idea, today is the day to begin the discipline of putting that idea into action. Set this day up as a long, busy, exciting start for your new life. Get your first book for your new library today. Begin your new practice of setting goals today. Start clearing out a drawer of your new orderly desk today. Start eating an apple a day on your new health plan today. Put some money in your new investment for fortune account today. Start reading with intensity for your new wealth of mind plan today. Write a postponed letter today. Make a delayed telephone call today. Pick up your camera and take a picture of something to start your new treasury of photographs today. Get some momentum going on your new commitment to the better life. See how many activities you can pile on in this first day. Go all out. Break away from the negative downward pull of gravity. Start the thrusters going. Prove to yourself that waiting is over, hoping is past, and that faith and action have now taken charge. It's a new day, a new beginning for your new life. With discipline, you can't believe the list of positive moves you can make in the first day of your new beginning. What have you got to lose? Only the despair and fear and guilt of the past. Only the dissatisfaction and unhappiness and lack of fulfillment of the past. Only the frustration and low self-esteem of the past.

[Applause]

Take great pleasure in assisting in your own new birth. No matter how successful you may already be. Now, I offer you the next challenge: make this new first day a part of the week of new beginnings. See how many things you can continue and start in this week of new beginnings. Then make it the first month of the new beginnings, then the first year of the new beginning. By the time that first year is finished, you will never again be claimed by the past: past habits, past influences, past regrets, or past failures. You are ready to, as the Bible phrase says, "fly with the eagles," and you will have begun your certain journey toward the last key concept we'll discuss on this cassette: success.

Success is both a journey and a destination, isn't it? It is both the steady, measured progress toward a goal and the achievement of a goal. Success is an accomplishment, whether it be great or small, and it's an understanding of the potential and power of an entire human life. Success is an awareness of value, and it's the cultivation of value through discipline. It can be tangible or intangible. Success is a process of turning away from something in order to turn towards something else: from no exercise to exercise, from candy to fruit, from not investing to investing. Success is responding to an invitation: an invitation to change, to grow, to develop, to become, to move up to a better place with a better vantage point. But most of all, success is making your life what you wanted to be. Considering all the possibilities, considering all the examples, what do you want for your life? That is the big question. Remember, success is not a set of standards from our culture, but rather a collection of personal values, clearly defined and ultimately achieved. Success is your better life, for you, the design you give it, the dreams you accomplish. Making your life what you want it to be for you, that is success.

All right, with that overview of some of the key concepts we'll explore in this program, let's begin the further development of your success by looking at the art of properly selecting and setting goals. I think you'll hear a couple of thoughts you've never heard before. Of all the things that changed my life for the better most quickly, it was learning how to set goals. And mastering this unique process can have a powerful effect on your life too.

[Music]

One morning at breakfast, shortly after I met Mr. Shoff, he asked me if he could see my current list of goals. He said, "Let me see your list of goals, and let's go over them and talk about them. Maybe that's the best way I can help you right now." And I said, "I don't have a list." He said, "Well, is it out in the car or at home somewhere?" I said, "No, sir, I don't have a list anywhere." He said, "Well, young man, that's where we better start then." He added, "If you don't have a list of your goals, I can guess your bank balance within a few hundred dollars." Which he did, and that got my attention. I said, "You mean that if I had a list of goals, that would change my bank balance?" He said, "Drastically." That day, I became a student of how to set goals, and sure enough, when I learned how, my whole life changed: my income, my bank account, my personality, my lifestyle, my accomplishments. So, I'd like to share with you the best I have learned and practiced on goal setting.

First of all, I'd like to say that we are all affected by five factors. The first is environment, the second is events, the third is knowledge, the fourth is results, and the fifth, and often overlooked, factor that affects our lives is our view of the future, our dreams. I won't get into all of these influences here, but let me concentrate on the fifth one: dreams. Of all these five influences, make sure your dreams are the greatest influence on your daily decisions and activities. Put another way, make sure that the greatest pull on you is the pull of the future. For your dreams to greatly influence you, for the future to pull you, your future must be well planned.

There are two ways to face the future: one is with apprehension, the other with anticipation. Guess how many people face the future with apprehension? Why, they don't have it well designed. And without really thinking about it, they have probably bought someone else's view of how to live. You will face the future with anticipation when you have planned a future you can get excited about, when you have designed your future results in advance. In this way, the future will capture your imagination. It will exert an enormous influence on you. And to design your future, you must have goals. Well-defined goals are like a magnet. They pull you in their direction. And the better you have defined them, the better you have described them, the harder you work on them, the stronger they pull. And they pull you through all kinds of difficulties too. Without goals, it is easy to let life deteriorate to the point where you're just making a living. It is not difficult to get trapped by economic necessity and settle for existence rather than substance. We all have a choice. We can either make a living or design a life.

Mr. Shoff said to me, "I don't think your current bank balance is a true indicator of your level of intelligence." I was happy to hear that. He said, "I think you have plenty of talent and ability, and that you're much smarter than your bank balance indicates." And that turned out to be true. I was much smarter. My question to him was, "Then why isn't my bank balance bigger?" And he said, "You don't have enough reasons for accomplishing great things. If you had enough reasons, you could do incredible things. You have enough intelligence, but not enough reasons." That's the key. If you had enough reasons.

In my years of study, I've also discovered this: reasons come first, and answers come second. Life has a strange way of hiding all the answers and disclosing them only to people who have been inspired to look for them, who have reasons to look for them. Put another way, when you know what you want and you want it badly enough, you will find ways to get it. The answers, the methods, the solutions will become evident to you. Hey, what if you had to be rich? Are there any books and tapes on the subject? The answer is yes, there are plenty of good ones. But if you don't have to be rich, you probably won't read the books or listen to the tapes. What drives us to find the answers is necessity. So, work on your reasons first, answers second.

Now, what are some of the reasons for doing well? It varies from person to person. I'm sure that if you did a little soul searching, you could come up with a fairly strong list of reasons why you want to accomplish great things. There are personal reasons, sometimes uniquely personal reasons. Some people do well for the recognition. Some do well because of the way it makes them feel. They love the feeling of being a winner. That's one of the best reasons I have. Some millionaire friends who keep working 10 to 12 hours a day, making more millions, and it's not because they need the money. It's because of the joy, pleasure, and satisfaction that come to them from being constant winners. To them, money is not their main drive. It's not the money; it's the journey. Once in a while, someone says to me, "If I had a million dollars, I'd never work another day in my life." Hey, that's probably why the good Lord sees to it that he doesn't get his million, because he just quit.

Family is another reason or motivator for doing well. Some people do extremely well because of other people, and that's a powerful reason. Sometimes we will do things for someone else that we would not do for ourselves. We are made that way. I met a man who once said to me, "Mr. Rohn, to do everything I want to do around the world with my family, I need at least a quarter of a million dollars a year." I thought, "Incredible. Could a man's family affect him that much?" And the answer is, of course. How fortunate are the people who find themselves greatly affected by someone else. It's powerful.

Benevolence, the desire to share, can be a powerful reason for wanting to achieve. Some people do extremely well gathering up resources so they can then be benefactors. When Andrew Carnegie, the great steel magnet, died, his desk was opened, and in one of the desk drawers was found a slip of paper. On that slip of paper, Mr. Carnegie had written his goal for his life, and he wrote it when he was in his twenties. On that slip of paper, he had written, "I'm going to spend the first half of my life accumulating money. I'm going to spend the last half of my life giving it all away." That's terrific. He was so inspired by that goal that during the first half of his life, he accumulated $450 million, and during the last half of his life, he gave it all away. How powerful.

What has you turned on? What has you getting up early, hitting it hard all day, and staying up late? What has you inspired? Next question: What's got you turned off? When I found the answers to those two questions, my life exploded into change. I finally found out what negative philosophy of life I had allowed to limit me and had me turned off, and I got that cured. Then I found a long enough list of reasons to turn me on. And once the lights went on for me at age 25, they have never gone out. I've fallen out of the sky a few times, but I've never lost that drive to do something unique with my life.

Now, there's another list of reasons for doing well called "nitty-gritty." Those hard little reasons that can really affect your life. Sometimes it doesn't take much of a goal to start you in a brand new life direction. I now carry a few hundred dollars in my money clip. It's only a few hundred dollars, but the story behind why I do it reveals one of those reasons that greatly affected me.

Just before I met Mr. Shoff, I heard a knock at my door one day. When I opened it, there was a little girl selling Girl Scout cookies, and she gave me one of the finest sales presentations I've ever heard. A special deal, several flavors, and only two dollars. Back when you could get a lot for two dollars. And with a big smile, she very politely asked me to buy. And I wanted to. Big problem: I didn't have two dollars. And to this day, I can still clearly remember the pain and the embarrassment. I was a father. I had been to college. I was working, and I didn't have two dollars. Now, since I didn't want to tell her that, I did what I thought was next best: I lied to her. I said, "Hey, I've already bought lots of Girl Scout cookies. I've still got plenty stacked in the house." Now, that wasn't true, but it seemed to get me off the hook for the moment. She said, "That's wonderful, sir. Thank you very much." And she went away. After she had left, I closed the door, and that was the day I said, "I don't want to live like this anymore. I've had it with being broke, and I've had it with lying. I've had it with being embarrassed over not having any money in my pocket." I promised myself that day that this would never happen again. I picked a day and an amount, and I said, "I'll never carry less." It was one of those reasons that still affects my life after all these years.

So, I now carry a few hundred dollars in my money clip. I do that for two reasons, I guess. One reason is the way it makes me feel, that special feeling of having plenty. Mr. Shoff said to me, "The first $500 you earn, put into your pocket, not in the bank. It feels much better in your pocket than it does in the bank." I've found that's true. But I also carry plenty in case I bump into another Girl Scout who's selling cookies. I'm ready.

I remember walking out of the bank one day in Northern California, where I lived at the time, and there were two little girls selling candy right outside the bank for some girls' organization. The first little girl walked up to me and said, "Mister, would you like to buy some candy?" I said, "I probably would. What kind is it?" She said, "It's Almond Roca." I said, "That's my favorite." She said, "Wonderful." I asked, "How much is it?" She said, "It's only two dollars." I thought, "It couldn't be still two dollars after all these years." I couldn't help remembering the Girl Scout and the cookies. I said, "How many boxes of that candy have you got?" She said, "I've got five." And the other little girl standing there, she was selling candy too. I asked, "How many boxes do you have?" She said, "I've got four." I said, "That's nine. I'll take them all." They said, "Really?" I said, "Yes, I've got some friends, so I'll pass them around." They got so excited. Put all this candy together. I reached in my pocket and gave them $18. Now, when I've got the candy and they've got the money, that first little girl looks up and says, "Mister, you are really something." How about that? Can you imagine only spending $18 and having someone look at you in the face and say, "You are really something"? Now you know why I carry heavy. I'm not going to miss those chances anymore. It was a small goal, just a few hundred dollars, but it had a big effect on my life.

I have a dear friend, Robert DePew. Bobby used to be a school teacher in Lindsay, California, the olive capital. After he taught school for several years, he became a little weary of teaching and decided to get into sales. One day, without telling anyone, he quit his teaching job and jumped into sales. When he did, his brother poked fun at him. His brother said, "You're going to go right down the drain. You had a good teaching job. Now you're going to lose everything you have. You must be out of your mind." He put him down something fierce. Bobby said, "The way my brother acted made me so angry, I decided to get rich today." Robert happens to be one of my millionaire friends. The attainment of wealth is not just a matter of intelligence; mostly it's a matter of inspiration. So, if you have strong enough inspiration, a strong enough reason, large or small, it can have an incredible influence on the direction of your life.

To actually start designing the next 10 years of your life, we're going to start setting your goals. Goal setting is one of the most important skills to develop if you want to design your future. I'm going to give you enough homework not only to keep you busy for the rest of your life but also to help you create the kind of life you may have always dreamed about living but never believed possible. So, let's get on with it. The sooner you exert the discipline, the sooner you will be enjoying the results. Once the results start to come, believe me, you won't mind the hard work and discipline it's going to take.

Now, get a sheet of paper and at the top of it, write the words "Long Range Goals." I'm going to ask you some questions, and I want you to jot down the answers. If you don't have paper and pen handy, follow along with me now, anyway, just listening, then later listen again when you can write down your ideas after I've asked the questions, which is the first part of this exercise. You can stop the tape and work on your answers.

All right, let's start this exercise. The basic question you are going to answer is: What do I want within the next one to ten years? I want you to take about 12 to 15 minutes and make a list of at least 50 things you want within the next one to ten years. These are long-range goals. To help you get started with your list, consider these questions: What do I want to do? What do I want to see? What do I want to be? What do I want to have? Where do I want to go? And what would I like to share? Now, with these thought-starter questions in mind, answer the basic question: What do I want within the next one to ten years? See how many things you can write down at this point. Don't take the time to describe in detail everything you want. This is the time for you to let your thoughts pour, to write fast, and to abbreviate. For example, if you just write down "380," you'll know what that means. You don't have to describe the color and the interior of the car. You'll do that later. In this exercise, I want you now just to abbreviate and write fast. Make the list as long as you possibly can. Try to write down at least 50 items, 50 things you want within the next one to ten years. These are long-range goals. Spend about 12 to 15 minutes on this.

After you've completed your list, you're ready for the next part of the exercise. Go through your list and next to the things you think you can accomplish or acquire a year from now, write a number one. Next to the things you think it will take three years to realize, write a three. Next to the things it will take five years to accomplish, write a five. And next to the things it will take ten years to accomplish, write a ten. Go through this list now to the best of your ability and say, "That looks like it will take me about a year, or three years, or five years, or ten years." Some big goals might be out there 10 years from now.

Once you complete this part of the exercise, you might come to the conclusion that you need a lot more three-year goals and less one-year goals, for example, or that you need more ten-year goals. You see, while you're working on one goal, you must have something else in the planning stages. If you don't, what happened to some of the early Apollo astronauts could happen to you. After they came back from the Moon, "Now where do you go?" That seemed to be the end, the finish. What later astronauts did was to make sure that they had major projects lined up after they returned from the Moon trip. The way you enjoy life best is to wrap up one goal and start right on the next one. Don't linger too long at the table of success. The only way to enjoy another meal is to get hungry.

Another thing to check for on your list is that you have included goals for each of these three important categories. First, make sure you've listed your economic goals: your goals for income, profits, and productivity. Second, make certain your list includes material items you want: tangibles such as a home, a car, a boat, furniture, or jewelry. Don't attach the wrong importance to things, but they are important. Third, you'll want to include on your list goals for personal development. Write down all your personal development goals: your goal is to be more physically fit, to lose weight, to be more decisive, to be a more effective leader, to be a better communicator, to learn another language. Of course, there are other types of goals to consider: family goals, social goals, lifestyle goals. This is pretty heavy homework, but remember, whether or not you do your homework shows up in the marketplace as well as in the classroom.

After you have determined which of your goals are one-year, three-year, five-year, and ten-year, and after you've made certain your list includes economic goals, things, and personal development goals, I want you to go back to this list again. Now, pick out the four most important one-year goals, the four most important three-year goals, the four most important five-year goals, and the four most important ten-year goals. Those 16 goals will give you plenty of work for now. Get out some more paper and in a brief paragraph, describe each goal: how high, how long, how much, what size, what model, what color, for example. Also, describe why it is important to you. This is a process where you either talk yourself into it or talk yourself out of it, which is good. When you're unclear as to why something is important, usually you put only half-hearted effort into it. What you want is a powerful motivator, but the reason why you want it is an even more powerful motivator. It has greater pull. You may find that some of your goals you thought at first glance were important are not important after all. Do some reflecting, refining, and revising. The point is, right now, try to have approximately four one-year, three-year, five-year, and ten-year goals that you truly believe in, that inspire you, that you've sold yourself on. When these goals and the reasons you want to obtain them are each clearly described in a brief paragraph, transfer this information to a journal or some type of notebook that you can carry with you easily and refer to often. It's essential to set aside some time every week to review all of your goals, to rearrange them, redo them, restructure them, to add goals, or to tear up the whole list and start over. Goal setting is not something you do just once; it's a continual process. Also, you must constantly check your progress toward your goals. You don't want to fall too far behind on, or worse, lose sight of your important goals.

Now, just as important as your long-range goals are your short-range goals: your goals for tomorrow, next week, next month, six months from now. These are goals you can accomplish within the next year, the immediate future. We call these goals confidence builders. When you work hard, burn the midnight oil, and accomplish these little things, it builds your confidence to go for your long-range goals. Write down in your notebook or journal all the little things you would like to have or accomplish in the next year. How you set up this list is up to you. You might want to break it down by week or by month. Set it up in whatever way works well for you. Part of the fun of having a list is being able to check off something as obtained or completed every week. Try to check off at least one thing on your list of short-term goals. And when you are able to check off something major, something on your list of long-range goals, celebrate. Make winning joyful. Congratulate yourself. It is very important to celebrate progress. We grow from two experiences: one is the joy of winning, and the other is the pain of losing. Here's what that also means: make losing painful. Put it on yourself. If you set something up, fooled around, didn't pull it off, put it on yourself, and get around people who will help in this area. Hey, don't join an easy crowd. Go over the expectations.

Are High? Where the pressure to perform is high, it's how we grow. I'm certain that part of the reason why people let goal setting slide is because it is a lot of work. As I said, you'll be constantly revising your lists of short-range and long-range goals, rearranging them, refining them, redesigning them, establishing different priorities, adding new goals, perhaps deleting others. It's interesting that so many people work hard on their jobs, but they don't work hard on their futures. They let that slide.

Some people live such mediocre lives that at the end of the day, they don't know whether they're winning or losing. They just go through life with their fingers crossed. I know most people don't make definite plans, but don't let that be you. The guy says, "Well, you work where I work, but the time you get home, it's late. You've got to have a bite to eat, watch a little TV, and get to bed. You can't sit up half of the night and plan, plan, plan." And this is the guy who's behind on his car note. He's a good worker, hard worker, sincere. But I've discovered that you can be sincere and work hard all your life and wind up broken, embarrassed. You've got to be better than a good worker. You've got to be a good planner, a good goal setter. You've heard the old saying, "The people who fail to plan are planning to fail." It's true. So work on your plans. Put yourself in the top few percent who put this power to work for themselves. Writing your goals down also shows you're serious, and to do better, you must get serious. You don't have to be grim, but you do have to be serious.

Hey everybody, hope things will get better. But remember, the future does not get better by hope. It gets better by plan. And hope, unaided by clear plans, can finally become an illness. There's a Bible phrase that says, "Hope long delayed makes the heart sick." It's a sickness I used to have. The illness known as passive hope. It's bad. And there's one that is even worse, and that is called happy hope. That is really bad. The man is 50 and he's broke, and he's still smiling. That's bad. So get serious. Make plans. Put them on paper. My suggestion from experience is a phrase from the Bible that goes, "Without dreams and vision, we perish." How true! Humans have this unique ability to aspire, to dream, to go for something, to become something. Without that, life is not life. We must have dreams and never give up on our dreams.

I'd like to share with you some further observations I've made on goal setting. Understand that your goals, whatever they are, are affecting you all day long. Your goals affect your handshake, your attitude, how you feel. Your goals affect how you look, how you dress, how you walk, how you talk. All day, every day, your personality, conversation, activity—it's all affected by your goals. I asked a man one time, "What are your goals for this month?" And he said, "If I could just scrape up enough money to pay these lousy bills." That was his goal. Hey, I'm not saying it isn't a goal. It is. But it's such a poor goal. It certainly isn't inspiring. You don't jump out of bed on Monday morning and say, "Oh boy, another chance to go out and scrape up the money to pay these lousy bills." The point is that goals should be fun. They should be big, challenging, rewarding. They should allow you to grow.

Remember too that the major purpose of having a goal is not just to acquire the goal. The major reason for setting goals is to compel yourself to become the person it takes to achieve them. In other words, attaining the goal is of secondary importance. What's far more important is what you become in the pursuit of it. The greatest value in becoming a millionaire, for example, is not the million dollars. The greatest value is the skills, the knowledge, the discipline, and the leadership qualities you acquired in becoming a millionaire. It's the experience you acquired in planning, development, strategy. It's other qualities you acquired such as courage, commitment, and willpower. To attract a million dollars, you could lose everything you attained, but you could not lose the skills, knowledge, and experience you have obtained. Even better than having is being.

Here's a most important question to spend some time answering: What kind of person will I have to become to get all I want? Write down a few thoughts on that. Write down some skills you'll have to develop, for example, and some of the things you're going to have to learn. Just spend a little time writing a few sentences on this: "What kind of person will I have to become to get all I want?" The answer to this will give you some personal development goals. Remember that income does not far exceed personal development. All of us have to do this kind of self-examination. I have to look at my own life and say, "Well, here's what I want, but am I willing to become what it takes to get what I want?" If I'm too lazy, if I don't want to learn, read, study, and grow to become that kind of person, then I cannot attract what I want. Now, either I have to change my wants, or I have to change myself.

Here are a few more key points I'd like to share with you on goals and designing your future. First, if you don't right now feel as if you're equipped to get all you want, just remember, ability will grow to match your strong dreams. That's why the goal-setting process we've discussed is so important. The more you work on this, the more ideas you will get on how you can change, how you can grow. I am nowhere near the person I was when I met Mr. Shoaf 25 years ago. I'm not that person anymore. I've changed. There's nothing you can do about the past, but you can do a great deal about your future. You don't have to be the same person you were yesterday. You can make changes in your life, absolutely startling changes in a fairly short period of time. You can make changes you can't even conceive of now if you give yourself a chance. Your abilities will grow. You have untapped talents and potential that you haven't even reached for yet, and as time goes on, you'll be able to reach deeper and deeper. The first thing you'll know, you'll be able to do things you never thought you could do. You'll be able to handle things you never thought you could handle. You'll have ideas that you've never had before. All of this is sparked by the goal-setting process. When you know what you want and you want it badly enough, the answers will come to you. I can't tell you why it works. All I know is it works. Give yourself a chance to become all you can become and to accomplish all you can accomplish.

Let me give you a Bible philosophy that teaches how to get whatever you want. Here's what it says: "Ask." That's it. Ask. Of all the important skills to learn in life, be sure to include the skill of asking. What does "ask" mean? Ask means, "What do you want?" And the complete formula is staggering. It says, "Ask and you will receive." Hey, we ought to look into that. The man says, "Yes, but you work where I work. But the time you struggle home, it's late. You've got to get a bite to eat, watch a little TV, and get to bed. You can't sit up half the night and ask, ask." And this guy is behind on his bills. He's a good worker, hard worker, sincere. But you've got to do better than work hard and be sincere all your life. You'll wind up broke and embarrassed. You've got to be better than a good worker. You've got to be a good asker.

Let me give you some key points on this asking and receiving, setting goals, asking of life. Here's part of the philosophy that helped me to change. First, asking starts the receiving process. Asking is like pushing a button, and all this machinery starts working—mental and emotional machinery. I don't even know how it works, but I do know it works. There are a lot of things you don't need to know how they work; just work them. Some people are always studying the roots; others are picking the fruit. It all depends on what end of it you want in on. So, asking is the beginning of receiving.

Second, receiving is not the problem. You don't have to work on receiving; it's automatic. So, if receiving is not the problem, what is the problem? It's failing to ask. The man says, "I see it now. I got up every day this year and hit it hard, but nowhere in my house is there a list of what I want from my life." Can you see? Good worker, poor asker.

Third, receiving is like the ocean. There's plenty, especially in this country. It's like an ocean here. Success is not in short supply. It isn't rationed so that when you step up to the window, it's all gone. No, no. Well, if that's true, what is the problem? Well, the problem is some people go to the ocean with a teaspoon. Have you got the picture? A teaspoon. What I suggest you do, in view of the size of the ocean, is trade your teaspoon for at least a bucket. And you will look better at the ocean with a bucket. Kids won't make fun of you.

Now, here's something else to remember about asking. There are two ways to ask. One is, "Ask with intelligence." It didn't say "ask intelligently," but I'm sure it meant that. Don't mumble. You won't get anything by mumbling. Be clear. Be specific. Intelligent asking means: How high? How long? How much? When? What size? What model? What color? Describe what you want. Define it. Remember, well-defined goals are like magnets. The better you define them, the stronger they pull. And give your goals purpose. Answer both questions: What do I want? That's the object. And the second question: What for? That's purpose. Purpose is stronger than object. What you want is powerful and it will pull, but what you want it for is more powerful.

Here's the second way to ask: "Ask with faith." Faith is the childish part. It means believe you can get what you want, like a child, not an adult. Many adults are too skeptical. They've lost that wonderful childlike faith and trust. Don't let that happen to you. Believe in, have faith in yourself and your goals, and get excited like a child. Childlike enthusiasm. Nothing can beat it. Kids think they can do anything. How exciting! They hate to go to bed at night and can't wait to get up in the morning. Develop that kind of enthusiasm toward your life and your goals. And be curious like a child. Kids can ask a thousand questions. Just when you think they're finished, they come up with a thousand more. They'll drive you to the brink, but it's really a virtue. Have plenty of curiosity. Ask questions. That's how you learn.

Another fringe benefit of setting goals is what it does for your ability to manage your time effectively. This is no small thing. We'll look at time management in detail in a later session, but now, while we're talking about goals, I'd like to share a few ways your use of time are affected by or influence the achievement of your goals. Have you ever thought that without some very clear written goals, you never even need to consider managing your time? Essentials come from objectives. Well-defined time can't be critical if objectives aren't defined. Now, you might be one of those uniquely fortunate individuals who can keep all their objectives and purposes clearly defined in their minds and operate from that, but I wouldn't take the chance. Write your goals down and set careful priorities. Sometimes priorities are determined by the season. For a farmer, in springtime, the season dictates his most important activities. During the spring, a farmer must work around the clock, burn the midnight oil, and keep the equipment running because he has only this small window of time for the planting of his crops. One of the difficulties of living in an industrialized society is the losing of the sense of seasons—when to pour it on, when to ease back, when to take advantage. It's easy to keep going from nine to five, year in and year out, and lose a natural sense of priorities and appropriate time. Don't let one year just blend into the next. Keep an eye on your own seasons, lest you lose track of values and substance.

Part of setting priorities is learning to separate major activities from minor activities. This is a whole skill in itself, but once you have learned it, it will pay dividends you won't believe. So, learn to put everything on your mental scales to be carefully weighed before you spend time or money. And here's a good question to constantly ask: "Is this a major or a minor?" By asking that question, you will reduce the amazingly natural tendency to spend major time on minor things. In sales training, we are taught that major time is the time spent in the presence of the prospect, while minor time is the time spent on the way to the prospect. If you're not careful, you will spend more time on the way too than in the presence of. So, in sales, we teach: Don't go across town until you've gone across the street. Wouldn't it be wise to make an evaluation if you're in sales and ask, "How much time am I spending in the presence of and how much time on the way to?" Majors and minors. What a great discipline to exercise. It also reads: "Don't spend minor time on major things." It's easy to get values mixed up. The man spends three hours watching television and only 30 minutes playing with his kids. Something is probably out of line there, right? It also reads: "Don't spend major money on minor things." If you spend more on candy than on audio cassettes like this or books, that would be foolish, right?

Here is a great goal-achieving tip: Don't mistake movement for achievement. It's possible to be busy all day, come home exhausted, and only then realize that very little of your day consisted of productive activities in the pursuit of your goals. Don't get faked out by being busy. The man says, "I've been going, going hard all day. I've really put in the hours and the effort." But here's the major question: "Doing what?" It isn't going, going hard all day that counts. It's the doing what, the value that counts.

Another essential is concentration. This is one of those difficult things, especially in a society where there are so many voices asking for our attention: the television voices, the radio voices, your family voices, the friends' voices, social voices, business voices, advertising commercials. Isn't it amazing you can turn off the television and the commercials keep running? How do you turn them off in your mind? That is the challenge to be mastered. The best use of time comes from putting plenty of value in it, and concentration means you take that challenge seriously. It's called careful investment for maximum results. Concentration. The big sports stars will tell you the cost of not concentrating. Just a little slip of concentration, and they put one by your feet, and there goes first place, and maybe the big money. So, writing a letter, concentrate. Making a call, concentrate. Having a conversation, concentrate. Trying to solve a problem, concentrate. You won't believe the effect this will have on your life.

Now, there is a time to let your mind wander, but it's a time you designate specifically for that purpose. At that appointed time, you can go off for that walk on the beach or that drive to the mountains, away from business. Let the breezes blow and your mind soar. Do some dreaming. That's healthy. But do it at that pre-planned time. At all other tasks, concentrate.

Another aspect of managing goals and time is constant review. There's just no way to keep on target with your priorities without this, whether it's business goals, personal goals, family goals, or investment goals. They must all be reviewed to see if you are on track. Which is all the more reason for writing them down. Careful goal setting could be the time management answer you've been looking for. Goals, well-defined and well-described and well-thought-out, make us look carefully at the time we have and how to get the most from it to make all of our dreams come true. The answers to "do better" come from the necessity to do better. You will undoubtedly be amazed at the ideas you can come up with for the use of your time when goals and purpose have you stimulated to the maximum.

Now, there is a last main point to consider. You won't get everything you want. What a statement to make after studying how to get whatever you want! But you won't get everything you want. And the reason is, it's not that kind of planet. Sometimes it's going to hail on your crop and rain on your parade. I'm sure you are very well aware of this, but in my opinion, if you work the system I've just shared with you, you will get more than plenty, more often than not, you will get what you want. Those are good odds. There's no telling what you can do when you get inspired by results in advance. There's no telling what you can accomplish when you have goals and you believe in them. Just try this system for 90 days. Just try it. It may work even better for you than it has for me. I wish that for you.

The fundamental process of knowing what information you need and gathering it is one of the keys to living the good life. Some of the best advice Mr. Shoaf gave me in those early years was why and how to study. That's a key word for life change: study. If you wish to be successful, study success. If you wish to be happy, study happiness. Happiness is not an accident. It is first a study and then a practice. If you wish to be wealthy, study wealth. Would you like to guess how many people make wealth a study? Right. Very few. Surely, since wealth and happiness and success are all values to cultivate, you would naturally assume that most people would make a careful study of them. Why they do not is yet another example of those aspects of life that fall into the category of mysteries of the mind.

Remember, major keys to your better future are going to be ideas and information. If we have any lack, it is not because we lack money or opportunity or resources. It is because we lack ideas that have taken form from information. Many years ago, I learned that some of the best advice ever given comes from the Bible. There's a phrase in that amazing book that says, "If you search, you will find." So, that is the way to discover ideas and life-changing information. Search. In order to find, you must search. You must go to the seminars and to the training classes. You must listen to the cassette programs that can give you breakthrough ideas. You must go and engage in conversations with people of substance. You must go looking. Go searching. Rarely does a good idea interrupt you. And as you make a diligent search, you will find just the ideas you need.

Now, here is the next key word in the process of seeking information that can change your life, and that word is: capture. When you find a good idea, capture it. Don't trust your memory. Capture everything. Write it down. Record it. This is one of the reasons why we have put this program on cassette tapes: to capture the ideas. As a serious student of wealth and happiness, I would encourage you to make use of a journal as a gathering place for all the ideas that come your way. I consider personal journals to be one of the three treasures a wise person will leave behind. Here are those three treasures: One is your photographs. Take a lot of pictures. Being able to capture the event in a fraction of a second is a phenomenon of the 20th century, and how easy it is to take phenomena for granted. I've gone to Taiwan to lecture three times in the last three years. On my last trip, there were about a thousand people in attendance for a weekend seminar. Now, if there were 1,000 people in the room, guess how many cameras were also in the room? Right. One thousand. Everyone brings a camera to capture all the events and the people, new friends, new experiences. I spend a big part of my time having my picture taken with everyone. Have you ever looked at the pictures a couple of generations back? Unfortunately, there are only a handful. But wouldn't it be great if there were hundreds of pictures to tell the whole story? So, make sure you leave behind your whole story in your treasure of pictures.

The next treasure to leave behind is your library: all the books you have chosen, books well-read, well-underlined with notes and observations and reflections you have written in the margins, the books that have helped shape your philosophy and the values of your life. That is a treasure. Your library. And your listening library, too. All these terrific cassettes. They are a treasure. The third treasure to leave behind is perhaps the most important, and that is your journals, containing all the ideas you have captured in your lifetime: business ideas, social ideas, culture ideas, investment ideas, lifestyle ideas. Can you imagine the value these journals would have? They will certainly be more valuable to leave behind to your children than your couch. So, get serious about your search for information and ideas and about leaving that information behind for future generations.

Here's the next keyword for expanding your life for the better, and that word is: review. Go back over all your life experiences. Learn a skill called reflection: pondering life's events with the intent of learning. That is so important. I call it "running the tapes again." The events of your life are some of the best sources of information. Don't merely go through your days. Get from your days. Be aware of what's going on around you so that you will drive the grooves in the record of that day deep into your consciousness. Here are some good times to reflect: First, at the end of the day. Take a few minutes and go back over your day: where you went and what you did and what you said, what worked and what didn't, what do you want to do again, what do you want to correct. The colors, the sights, the sounds, the conversations, the experiences. You see, experience can become commodity currency, coin, an incredible source of value, but only if you take time to reflect on the experience and turn it into something of value. As we mentioned in our First Fundamental, it's not what happens that makes the difference in how your life works out, but rather what you do about what happens. And part of doing something about what happens is this process of reflection: studying an event in order to glean valuable information from it. Another time to reflect is at the end of the week. Take a few hours. Take a half a day. At the end of the month, take a weekend. At the end of the year. Reason to make the past more valuable. Sophisticated people have learned how to gather up the past and invest it in the future. When my father was about to celebrate his 76th birthday, I said to him, "Father, can you imagine what it's going to be like to gather up the last 75 years and invest them in your 76th?" How life can become productive and exciting, not just living one more year, but gathering up the years and investing them in the next one. By reflecting, you can gather up all the conversations you have ever had and invest all that you have learned and all that you have felt in the next conversation. Gather all your experiences and invest all that you have learned and felt in your next experience. And the more value, the more substance, the more information, the more wisdom you can gather from all of your yesterdays, the more exciting your future becomes.

Probably all of us already know all that we need to know in order to make our lives turn out the way we want, except for one thing: how to gather what we've learned in order to invest it in what we want to become. So, start a new discipline that can lead to wealth and happiness. Find out how things work. Never let it be said you didn't find out. Now, let me give you a qualifying phrase: You may not be able to do all you find out, but make sure you find out all you can do. You don't want to wind up at the end of your life and find out that you lived only one-tenth of it and the other nine-tenths went down the drain, not for lack of opportunity, but for lack of information.

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Let me share with you two of the best sources of information available. First, as we have mentioned, learn from your own experiences. Become a good student of your own life. It's the information you are most familiar with and feel the strongest about. So, make your own life one of your most important studies. And in studying your own life, be sure to study the negative as well as the positive, your failures as well as your successes. Our so-called failures serve us well when they teach us valuable information. They're frequently better teachers than our successes. One of the ways we learn how to do something right is simply by doing it wrong. Doing it wrong is a great school for learning. Now, I would suggest that you not take too long. If you've done it wrong for 10 years, I wouldn't suggest another 10. But what a close-at-hand and emotionally impactful way to learn from your own experiences.

When I met Mr. Shoaf, I had been working six years. I started when I was 19, and when I met him, I was 25. He said to me, "Mr. Own, you have been working now for six years. How are you doing?" I said, "Not very well." He said, "Then I suggest you not do that anymore. Six years is long enough to operate the wrong plan." Next, he asked, "How much money have you saved in the last six years?" I said, "Not any." He said, "Who sold you on that plan six years ago?" What a fantastic question! Where did I get my present plan that wasn't working well? Hey, everyone has bought someone's plan. The question is, whose plan have you bought? Now, those initial confrontations as you come to grips with your own past experiences may be a little painful at first, especially if you have made as many errors as I did. But think of the progress you can make when you have finally confronted those errors by becoming a better student of your own life.

Now, the next way to learn is from other people's experiences. And remember, you can learn from other people whether they have done it right or wrong. You can learn from negative as well as positive. The Bible is such a great book because it is a collection of human stories on both sides of the ledger. One list of human stories is called examples: "Do what these people did." And the other list of human stories is called warnings: "Don't do what these clowns did." What a wealth of information! What to do and what not to do. I think it also means, however, that if your story ever gets in somebody's book, make sure they use it as an example, not a warning.

There are three ways to learn from other people. The first is to listen to the cassettes and read the books by and about people who've accomplished great things. All the successful people I know and work with around the world are good readers. They just read, read. They are so curious that they are driven to read because they just have to know. It is one of the things they all have in common. Here's a good phrase: "All leaders are readers." And they use cassette programs too, especially while they're in the car or during other times when they can't read. Cassettes can help all of us easily pick up new ideas and new skills. Did you know there are cassettes and books on how to be stronger, more decisive, a better speaker, a more effective leader, have a better effect on other people, become more loving, develop personality, get rich, develop influence, become sophisticated? And people don't use them. How would you explain that? Did you know that hundreds of successful people have written their stories in books and told how they did it on cassettes like this, and people don't want to listen? How would you explain that? The guy's busy, I guess. He says, "Well, yeah, if you worked where I work, by the time you struggle home, it's late. You've got to have a bite to eat, watch a little TV, and get to bed. You can't stay up half the night and read, read." And this is the guy that's behind on his bills. He's a good worker, hard worker, sincere. But remember, you can be sincere and work hard all your life and wind up broke, confused, and embarrassed. You've got to be better than a good worker. You've got to be a good reader, a good listener. At least he could hear a good cassette on the way home, right? Now, you don't have to read or listen to educational cassettes half the night, although if you're broke, it's a good place to start. But here is all I ask: just 30 minutes a day. That's all. Stretch it to an hour if you can, but at least 30 minutes. Half-rich isn't bad. 30 minutes. Hear or read something challenging, something instructional. At least 30 minutes a day. And here's the next key: every day. Don't miss a meal, but not your 30 minutes. Hey, you can get along without some meals, but you can't get along without some ideas, examples, and inspiration. There's a Bible phrase that says, "Humans cannot live on bread alone," or food alone. It says the next most important thing to bread is words. Nourish the mind. Words nourish the soul. Humans have to have food and words to be healthy and prosperous. Make sure you have a good diet of words every day. I told my staff one day, "Some people read so little, they have rickets of the mind." And also, to properly feed the mind, you must have good balance. Don't just read or listen to the easy stuff. You can't live on mental candy. Here is a thought: Why not call good books and cassettes "tapping the treasure of ideas"? That's it. Tapping the treasure of ideas, like you're doing with this program. And if somebody's got a good excuse for not tapping the treasure of ideas for at least 30 minutes every day, or spending the money and getting the books and cassettes, I'd like to hear it. Some excuses you wouldn't believe. I say, "John, I've got this gold mine. I've got so much gold, I don't know what to do with it all. Come on over and dig." John says, "I don't have a shovel." I say, "Well, John, get you one." He says, "Do you know what they want for shovels?" Hey, invest the money. Get the cassettes and books. The best money you can spend is money invested in your self-education. Don't shortchange yourself when it comes to investing in your own better future.

Mr. Shoaf got me started on my library when I first met him. He said to me, "Become self-educated. Standard education will get you standard results. Check those numbers and see if that's what you want. And if it isn't, if you want something better than standard, you must become self-educated." So, I went to work on my library, and I now have one of the best. Mr. Shoaf recommended a couple of books in particular to get me started. Now, I had a Bible. That's 66 books, so that was a pretty good start, and my parents saw to it that I had a good study of the Bible. But the first book Mr. Shoaf told me to get was the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. If you don't already have it, it's a great one to add to your library. Earl Nightingale has put it on cassette. The title should intrigue you: "Think and Grow Rich." I read it several dozen times. Shoaf said, "Repetition is the mother of skill." And if you could have seen my bank account at the time, you would have known I needed lots of that kind of repetition. Some of the ideas in that book made major changes in my life. As I look back now, the book was worth thousands, and I bought it for pennies. I learned a very valuable lesson: there can be a great deal of difference between cost and value. Before I met Mr. Shoaf, I used to ask, "How much does it cost?" After I met him, however, I soon learned to ask, "How much is it worth?" I started basing my life on worth instead of cost, and everything changed. So, that was one book he recommended: "Think and Grow Rich." The next book he recommended I get was a book on nutrition. Shoaf said, "Study nutrition. Vitality plays an important part in doing well. Some people don't do well because they don't feel well. It's not that they're not intelligent; it's that they're ill. They don't have the fire and the vitality to do well." So, he really got on me about nutrition. Now, some of those health books are a bit weird, but you can separate out the weird stuff. There are cassettes on nutrition, too. Remember, don't be a follower; be a student. Someone says, "I read this book. Should I follow?" And the answer is, "No. Read at least two books and make up your own mind." Don't be a follower; be a student. So, take care of yourself. There's a Bible phrase that says, "Many times the spirit is willing, but the body's weak." So, you have to work on both. You wake up in the morning, and the mind says, "Let's go get 'em," and the body says, "I can't even get out of bed." So, work on your health. A person's library of books and cassettes reveals his or her most dominant desires. It's interesting to walk into someone's house and browse through the library. What does your library say about you? So, read all the books.

Now, here's good news: You don't have to read them all at once. Try this: two books a week. In 10 years, that's a thousand books. If you read a thousand books in the next 10 years, do you think they would greatly influence all the dimensions of your life? The answer is, of course. Well, here's what's exciting: it's only two books a week. However, I would suggest if you haven't read two books a week for the last 10 years, you are about a thousand books behind. Can you imagine the incredible disadvantage it will be 10 years from now to stride into the marketplace a thousand books behind? For some confrontations, you won't be a match. And for some opportunities, your knowledge will be too lacking. For some values, your philosophy will be too shallow. Missing skills, missing knowledge, missing insights, missing values, missing lifestyle. It could happen if you don't read the books. Remember, the book you don't read won't help you. You can't read too many books, but you can read too few.

Now, the next way to learn from others is to listen. Become a great listener. Get around successful people and listen. Listen to what they say and listen to how they say it. There is something to be said for style as well as content. And never has listening to successful people been easier or less costly than it is today with cassettes like the one you're listening to now. You can own cassette programs by and about the most successful people in any field, and you can listen to their ideas while you do something else: while driving your car, exercising, getting dressed in the morning, anytime. Listen over and over again until their ideas become your ideas, their inspiration your inspiration. A lot of the books you're anxious to read, such as "Think and Grow Rich," have been condensed and narrated on cassette. Your cassette library of great authors and ideas can be the investment with the greatest return of all. Great cassettes will do more than teach you great ideas; they'll also remind you of the important things you already know but sometimes forget. They'll lift your spirit. They'll keep your mind on what's important, on your goal, and how you can achieve it. And what a modest investment for the seeds of fortune! Ideas well written, well spoken, well received, well learned, and well invested can be your driving life force for wealth and happiness.

Here's another way to succeed by listening: Choose a really successful person and take him or her out to dinner and listen. Ask questions and listen. If a man is poor, he can really help himself by taking a rich person out to dinner and listening. Spend $50, $60, $80, or $100. Go for the full nine courses. Start with the hors d'oeuvres. Then the salad. Takes 15 minutes. Keep the conversation going. The biggest steak in town takes 45 minutes. Keep it rolling. Ask more questions. Pour on the dessert. Stretch the meal about two hours. See if you get someone successful to eat and talk for two hours. He or she may drop ideas in your lap that could change your life, multiply your income by two, by three, by five. But you're right, poor people don't usually take rich people out to dinner. That's the problem. The man says, "If he's rich, let him buy his own dinner. I'm not coming up with any money." And besides, "If you worked where I work, by the time you struggle home, it's late. You've got to have a bite to eat, watch a little TV, and get to bed. You can't spend all that time trying to find a rich man to feed." And this man's behind on his installment payments, behind. He's a good worker, hard worker, sincere. But remember, you can work hard and be sincere all your life and wind up broken, unhappy. You've got to be better than a good worker. You've got to be a good listener.

The third way to learn from others is to observe. Watch what successful people do. Here's why: success leaves clues. Watch how the man shakes hands. People who do well do certain things over and over and over, and if you're clever, you can pick them up. Don't miss anything that could help you change your life for the better. Be a careful observer.

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Thank you. We have covered a lot of ideas in this part, but what a major fundamental to wealth and happiness: the consistent, disciplined, purposeful, constant search for knowledge. It's where the life-changing ideas are. Pursue it with high expectations. Spend the money and the time and the effort. They're all investments: time, effort, and money. But the payoff is so great, it's hard to compare the cost to the reward. First is the money, and it does take some money. I have a great suggestion for the cassettes and the books and the lectures, the seminars, and the videos you need for a constant flow of ideas and inspiration: set up an educational fund. Take a portion of your income each month and set it aside to invest in all the means of the search for knowledge. Remember, the best money spent is the money spent to cultivate the genius of your own mind and spirit. Make sure you don't spend more for accommodation than you do for education. The money, small price; the promise, unlimited potential. Next is the time. That is a valuable expenditure. I understand that to ask people for their money, that's one thing, but to ask them for their time, that's a major request. But I don't know any shortcuts to this. It takes time, precious time. The time you spend is that much less time you have to spend. You can get more money, but you can't get more time. However, life has a unique way of rewarding high investment with high return. This major investment you're making now, listening, could be that small fine-tuning you need for major accomplishment. And last, the investment in effort. There is a great deal of difference in casual listening and serious listening. Listening to now, listening to learn, listening that opens up the whole mental and spiritual processes. Truly an investment in effort, bringing heavy attention to bear. That takes effort. A mental rifle shot to strike the idea target. That takes a great deal of concentrated effort. However, this effort, high-gear mental machinery, is the effort investment that opens the floodgates where ideas can work their magic for you in the marketplace. So, I do not hesitate to ask you to spend, in deliberate, consistent fashion, the money and the time and the effort. It's an investment that turns on the lights, opens the windows, sharpens the focus, and starts turning wishes into pride and product, wealth and happiness.

Of all the assignments that Shoaf gave me in those early days when we were working together, personal development was probably my most challenging. Some things he taught me, I caught on to right away, and some things took longer than I want to admit. This one I've been working on all these years, and I'm certainly not finished. I guess it is a lifetime project: seeing what you can become. Personal development is truly the key to the good life. You see, what you become is far more important than what you get. The most important question to ask on the job is not, "What am I getting?" The most important question is, "What am I becoming?" However, it is also true that what you become directly influences what you get. Most of what we have, we have attracted by the person we have become. So, here's the great challenge of life: You can have more than you've got because you can become more than you are. That is the great focus of attention for life change. Now, on the other side of the coin, it reads, "Unless you change how you are, you'll always have what you've got." I've discovered that income does not usually exceed personal development. Sometimes income takes a lucky jump, but unless you keep growing out where it is, it will usually come back where you are. If someone hands you a million dollars, best you become a millionaire quickly so you can keep the money. Life has strange ways. A very rich man once said, "If you took all the money in the world and divided it equally among everybody, it would soon all be back in the same pockets." I guess it is hard to keep what you haven't attracted by your own personal development. Personal development, how important. Remember, the major key to your better future is you. That's a sentence with a lot of value. I suggest you put it up somewhere for a while where you can see it every day, just to remind you as you put your day together. I call it the silent seminar: "The major key to your better future is you." For a share of my life, I didn't understand the importance of that phrase among a lot of things I didn't understand back in those early days. Back then, some things used to puzzle me. I used to wonder why two people could work for the same company and one make twice as much money. Why would one person be paid $2,000 a month and the other person $4,000? If it was the same company, same product, same service, same training, same weather, same traffic, maybe they were the same age and went to the same school? Wouldn't that be a puzzle? Why would one person do twice as well? Speaking economically, I know there are many ways to do well, but in this narrow area called compensation, what is the difference? What is the difference between $2,000 and $4,000 a month? And I don't mean $2,000; I could figure that out. Well, back then, I tried to figure it out the best I could. I thought time makes some of the difference. Some people do better because they have more time. I used to say, "Harold ought to do well. He's got a lot of time. If I had all of Harold's time, I could do well." Now, that's got to be dumb, right? You can't get someone else's time. A man once said to me, "If I had some extra time, I could make some extra money." I said, "Then you have to forget it. There isn't any more time. Where would you find any?" Hey, when the clock strikes 12 midnight, that's about it. It's over. There isn't any more time. If you insist on finding more than 24 hours a day, they will come and take you away. So, if we can't get more time, what could we get that would make the difference in economic results? And the answer is: value. Value makes the difference. You can't get more time, but you can become more valuable. So, value makes a major difference in how much money you earn. Now, here's a primary lesson in economics: We get paid for value. Bringing value to the marketplace is how we get paid. Whether you work on a job or whether you bring goods and services, we get paid for the value. Now, I know it takes time to bring value to the marketplace, but you don't get paid for the time. You get paid for the value. Mistakenly, the man says, "I'm getting $20 an hour." And the correction is, "No, not for the hour. If that was true, you could just stay home and have them send you your money." No, you don't get paid for an hour. You get paid for the value you put in an hour. An hour is simply a convenient way to measure.

The value. So, one of the important questions to ask is, is it possible to become twice as valuable and make twice as much money in the same time? Could you become three times as valuable and make three times as much money in the same time? And the answer is, of course, yes. You can become more valuable if. And it's always "if," right? Life is known as the big "if." Harry Truman once said, "Life is iffy." How true. And here's the big "if." We are going to consider it's possible to earn two or three or more times as much money in the same amount of time if you go to work primarily on yourself. And that's what we're considering in this session: learning to work primarily on ourselves. Mr. Shof put it to me this way when I first met him. He said, "Mr. Own, if you wish to be wealthy and happy, learn this lesson well." He said, "Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job." When he said that, I suddenly understood why I was broke. I was a hard worker on my job. If anyone would have asked me at age 25, "Mr. Own, are you a hard worker?" I would have said, "Yes, I'm a hard worker. Check my record." And that was true. I was a hard worker. But see, that was my problem. I was working hard on my job, but I wasn't working hard on myself. And that was the main reason for my lack of progress. See, it's easy to get faked out. The man says, "I've got 10 years of experience. I don't know why I'm not doing better." What he doesn't understand is that he probably has one year of experience repeated 10 times. He grew pretty well that first year, and then he just did that first year nine more times. He didn't keep growing.

Some people look for more money, but they look for it in the wrong direction. The man says, "I need more money. I'm going to go to work on my boss." Hey, I found out bosses are notorious. They don't play fast and loose with the company till. I've never seen a boss get excited and triple somebody's wages. They don't behave in such an irrational manner. So that's not it. Some people say, "I'll strike for more." Well, the problem with that is, once you start, you'll always have to strike. And I'll tell you what you get by demand: little bitty pieces, barely enough. And now inflation beats that approach, right? Inflation will usually equal or exceed a small wage increase, especially after taxes. Forget the little increases that just let you get by. Hey, you can get by with a crust of bread and a pair of shoes. But in this program, we are talking big success, not just getting by. The guy in sales says, "I know what I'll do. I'll get me some of those sales books that teach the tricky sales. I'll put it on my prospects, dazzling with my sales footwork, grab their money before they know what's happened." Well, you can try that, but my experience shows you wind up at the bottom of the economic ladder, not the top. See, it's not what you get by tricks that counts. It's not what you get by demand. It's what you get by performance that counts. And I found this out: performance comes from inside, not outside. For the first part of my life, I was looking for the answers outside before I finally discovered they were inside. Success is not something you pursue. Success is something you develop. People are often asking me, "How do you develop an above-average income?" And the answer is, become an above-average person. Develop an above-average handshake. Some people want to be successful, and they don't even work on their handshake. As easy as that would be to get started on, they let it slide. They don't understand. Develop an above-average smile. Develop an above-average intelligence. Develop an above-average interest in other people. Develop an above-average intensity to win. See, that will change everything. Probably one of the most frustrating experiences in life is looking for an above-average job with above-average pay without becoming an above-average person. It's called frustration.

Mr. Shof one day gave me one of the most important statements of our entire association. I was giving him a rundown on how things hadn't worked out for me, and he said, "Mr. Own, I have an answer for you." If you will listen carefully. And listen carefully I did. That day, and for the next five years. If someone is wealthy and happy, you've got to listen. He said, "Jim, I've only known you for a short time, but it is my honest opinion, for things to change for you, you've got to change." That was not quite the answer I was looking for, but that's the one he gave me. And now I bring it to you after pondering it all these years: For things to change for you, you've got to change. No matter what successes you've already achieved, otherwise it isn't going to change for you. Before I met Mr. Shof, I used to say, "I sure hope things will change." That seemed to be my only hope. If it wasn't going to change, I was in serious trouble. Then I found out it wasn't going to change, and I was in serious trouble. Hey, remember, it isn't going to change.

Not long ago, I did a seminar for a group of oil company executives during their convention in Honolulu. Sitting around this conference table, one of them asked, "Mr. Own, you know some important people around the world. What do you think the next 10 years are going to be like?" I said, "Gentlemen, I do know the right people. I can tell you." So they all listened very carefully. I said, "Gentlemen, based on the people I know and from the best of my own experience, I've concluded that in the coming 10 years, it's going to be about like it's always been." Aren't you glad you're listening? I don't share that with just everybody. Now, I said that to make a point, but I also said it because it's accurate. It's going to be about like it's always been. The tide comes in, and then what? It goes out. For six and a half thousand years that we know of, called recorded history, and probably long before that. So it's not likely to change. It gets light, and then what? It turns dark. For six thousand years, we are not to be startled by that. Now, if the sun goes down, and the man says, "What's happened? What's happened? Surely he just got here, I guess." Hey, it always goes down about this time of day in rotation. The next season after fall is winter, and pray tell, how often does winter follow fall? Every time, without fail, for six thousand years that we know of. Now, some winters are long, and some are short. Some are difficult, and some are easy, but they always come right after fall. It isn't going to change. Sometimes you can figure it out, sometimes there's no way to figure it out. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it gets in a knot. Sometimes it sails along, sometimes it gets in reverse. See, that's not going to change. The last six thousand years reads like this: Opportunity mixed with difficulty. That's how it reads. It isn't going to change. The man says, "Well, then, how will my life change?" And the answer is, when you change. Whether I'm talking to high school kids or business executives, my message is always the same: The only way it gets better for you is when you get better. Better is not something you wish. Better is something you become.

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Let me take some time now and give you what I think are the four major lessons in life to learn. Four major lessons. It is so important to study the majors. Have you ever noticed that some people don't do well because they major in minor things? Whatever you do, check at the end of the week, the end of the year, and make sure you're not spending major time on minor things. Otherwise, you will wind up with a below-average life. Now, before I get to the four major lessons, here are two phrases to consider. First, life and business are like the changing seasons. That's one of the best ways to illustrate life. It's like the seasons that change. Frank Sinatra sings, "Life is like the seasons." Here's the second phrase: You cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself. Now, with those two key phrases in mind, here are the four major lessons in life to learn.

The first is, learn how to handle the winters. They come right after fall with regularity. Summer, long summer, short. Some are difficult, some are easy, but they always come right after fall. Remember, it isn't going to change. Now, there are all kinds of winters, right? The winter when you can't figure it out. The winter when it all goes smash. Wintertime, we call it. The winters of your life. One writer called it "the winter of discontent." The winter when it turns upside down, when it all goes wrong. There are economic winters, social winters, personal winters when your heart is smashed into a thousand pieces. Wintertime disappointments. Disappointment is common to us all. So learn how to handle the winters. You must learn how to handle the nights. They come right after days. You must learn how to handle difficulty. It always comes after opportunity. You must learn to handle recessions. They come right after expansions. It isn't going to change. So the big question is, what do you do about the winters? Well, you can't get rid of January simply by tearing it off the calendar. But here's what you can do: You can get stronger, you can get wiser, and you can get better. Make a note of that trio of words: stronger, wiser, better. See, the winters won't change, but you can. Before I understood this, when it was winter, I used to wish it was summer. I didn't understand. When it was difficult, I used to wish it was easy. I didn't know then. Mr. Shof gave me the answer from a part of his very unique philosophy when he said, "Don't wish it was easier. Wish you were better."

Here's the second major lesson in life to learn: Learn how to take advantage of the spring. It's called opportunity. And uniquely enough, spring follows winter. And pray tell, how often is it reliable? Can you count on it? Well, 6,000 years that we know of. That's pretty reliable. And what a great place for spring, right after winter. If you were going to put it somewhere, that would be the place to put it. God is a genius. Hey, days follow nights. Isn't that terrific? Opportunity follows difficulty. Expansion follows recession. And all with regularity. You can count on it. However, make a special note of the two words: "take advantage." That is what we must learn to do. Take advantage. Just because spring comes is no sign you're going to look good in the fall. You must do something with it. In fact, everyone has to get good at one of two things: planting in the spring or begging in the fall. So take advantage of the day. Take advantage of the opportunity. And read every book you can get your hands on to learn how to take advantage of the spring. And one more thought: Get busy quickly on your springs, your opportunities. There are just a handful of springs that have been handed to each of us. Life is brief. Even at the longest. The Beatles wrote, "Life is so short." And for John Lennon, on the streets of New York, it was extra short. But it is short. Elton John sings, "She lived her life like a candle in the wind." Life is fragile. Life is brief. Whatever you're going to do with your life, get at it. Don't just let the seasons pass. Pass.

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[Applause]

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The third major lesson in life to learn is, learn how to nourish and protect your crops all summer. Sure enough, as soon as you've planted, the busy bugs and the noxious weeds are out to take it. And here is the next bit of truth: They will take it unless you prevent it. And that is the third major lesson to learn, major skill to develop: preventing the intruder from taking the good. Here are two key phrases to consider under the third major lesson. Number one: All good will be attacked. That's the first phrase. On this planet, all good will be attacked. And don't press me for a why. I was not in on some of the early decisions, so I don't know why. All I know is it's true. Let reality be your best beginning. Every garden will be invaded. Not to think so is naive. Here's the second phrase: All values must be defended. Social values, political values, friendship values, marriage values, family values, business values. Every garden must be tended all summer. If you don't develop this skill, you will never wind up with anything of value.

Last is the fourth major lesson in life to learn: Learn how to reap in the fall without complaint. That's number four. Take full responsibility for what happens to you. It is one of the highest forms of human maturity: accepting full responsibility. It's the day you know you have passed from childhood to adulthood: accepting full responsibility. And learn how to reap in the fall without apology. Without apology if you have done well, and without complaint if you have not. That's the best of human maturity. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying it's the best. Now, I used to have some problems in this area. Way back in those early days, I used to have this list of reasons why I wasn't doing well to explain. Right? Otherwise, you're going to look bad. I used to have this funny list called "Reasons for Not Looking Good." I really did. I used to blame the government. You can believe that or not. It was at the top of my list. I had a lecture second to none: the government. I blamed taxes. Look what you've got left after they take everything out. Taxes. That was on my list. I blamed prices. That's easy, right? You walk into a supermarket with twenty dollars and come out with this little half bag of groceries. That was on my list. I blamed the weather. I blamed the traffic. I blamed my car. I blamed the manufacturers. I blamed my negative relatives. They were always putting me down. I blamed my cynical neighbors. They were just selfish, looking out for themselves, wouldn't loan me any money. I blamed the community. I blamed the economy. Hey, that's a pretty good list for not doing well, isn't it? I thought it was a good list. I will never forget this one day. Mr. Shof was very kind, but he was also very blunt, which was helpful for me. If he hadn't been blunt, I would have missed some things. On this particular day, with the kind of question mark look on his face, he said, "Jim, just out of curiosity, tell me, how come you haven't done well up until now?" Excellent question, right? Well, so I wouldn't look too bad, I decided to go through my list. How I ever had the nerve to do that, I don't know, but I did. I went through the whole list: the government, taxes, prices, everything. He was very patient and let me go through it all. When I finished, he looked over my list very carefully and said, "Mr. Own, big problem with your list. You aren't on it." How brilliant and how true. When I went to work for him a few months later, I learned very quickly to tear up my list of "Reasons for Not Looking Good" and threw it away. And then I got a fresh piece of paper and I put one word on it: "Me." There's a Black Heritage spiritual that says, "It's not my mother, nor my father, nor my brother, nor my sister, but it's me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer." I used to blame everything outside for my lack of progress until I found the problem was inside. For a big share of my life, I kept looking for the answers to do well outside, and I found out the answers were inside. Success is not something you pursue. Success is something you become.

You see, it's not what happens that determines the quality or the quantity of your life. It's not what happens. And the reason is because what happens happens to about everybody. The sun went down on all of us last night, a common event. And I found out the same things can happen to two different people, but one gets rich and the other stays poor. Why is that? It's because it's not what happens, but rather it's what you do about it that is an important phrase for your written and mental notes. It's not what happens. It's what you do that makes the difference in how your life works out. What happens is about the same for everybody. It's what people do that makes the difference. Anything can happen, right? I've heard all of the stories. Hey, I've been one of the stories. We could all tell stories for days on end. Anything can happen. Have you heard of Murphy's Laws? Surely you have. Murph had these laws. One of the laws was, "If anything can go wrong, it will." That's one of Murphy's laws. Anything can happen. I've fallen out of the sky so many times. Once to the tune of a couple of million. Devastating. Took me a while to get over that one. Now, it wasn't all that much, but it was all I had. That's much, right? When it's all you've got. If you've got three and two go, and you've got one left, you aren't looking that bad. But when it all goes. I'm sure you've had that kind of experience. Of course, a long time ago, when you ran out of money and got to zero, you were all through. Heck, now you can whistle right on by zero. Right? They will bury you these days. But those are happenings. Everyone's got the same happenings. The big question is, what are you going to do about it? Someone says, "Yes, but you don't understand the disappointments I've had." Come on, everyone has disappointments. Disappointments are not special gifts reserved for the poor. Everybody has them. The question is, what are you going to do about it?

While we're talking about personal development and letting go of limitations, here are what I consider to be the biggest self-imposed limitations any man or woman has ever had to deal with. First, procrastination. Procrastination is particularly life-threatening because when we put something off, it doesn't seem at the moment to be all that important. At the end of the day, if you have let a few things slide, it doesn't seem like such a bad day. However, enough of those days piled up will make a disaster here and eventually a disastrous life. Our inability to come to grips with a natural tendency to procrastinate will surely send us drifting in the wrong direction. Before you reach the final session of this program, you'll have left procrastination behind. If you're still troubled by it, you'll have discovered that it's simply too costly to put up with any longer. Besides, you'll be too excited about where you're going to postpone the activities taking you there.

Self-imposed limitation number two: Blame. All of us have blamed others for our troubles from time to time. In fact, the tendency to blame someone or something goes back a long way. When there were only two people on Earth, it wasn't long before they started blaming. The man said it was the woman, "She got me into this." And the woman blamed the serpent. Blame seems to be one of those negative tendencies that just comes naturally. The ego striving to defend itself. Remember the list I came up with to explain why I wasn't doing well? One of the items that was high on my list was prices. I told Mr. Shoaf that my problem was, "Everything costs too much." However, he soon set me straight on that by saying, "Mr. Own, that is not the problem. Let me tell you the real problem: You can't afford it." It's not "it." If you keep dealing in "it," you will always be broke, unhappy, and disillusioned because you will never have enough. Don't deal in "it." Deal in "you." When I finally learned to change my thinking from "it" to "me," I changed my whole life. What a life-changing experience to finally meet someone who doesn't hesitate to put it on you or on your tendency to indulge in blame or procrastination. That is indeed a banner day when you meet someone who has learned how to skillfully and carefully attack the same problem that has kept you from doing very well, or kept you beneath your potential, or kept you off balance as to your own self-worth. It is so easy to mistake appearances for reality, to confuse the symptom with the real cause.

Along with blame comes the third negative tendency we want to eliminate: excuses. Guess how many excuses we have? A million. And in the course of a lifetime, we will probably use them all unless somebody finally comes along and blows all those excuses apart to make us come face to face with the real reasons for our current dilemma. Until that time, we will probably use another million excuses to prevent ourselves from having a million dollars. Here's one of the major questions I'll pose to you during this program: What are you going to do, starting today, that will make a difference in how your life works out? Good question, right? What are you going to do? See, if you don't do something starting today that will make a difference, guess what? It's going to be the same. And you can guess what the next five years are going to be like. Just look at the last five. The next five years will be like the last five unless you major key make all the changes now. Here's another key question: What can you do, starting today, that will make a difference? That's a good question. What can you do? What can you do with economic chaos? What can you do with massive disappointment when it's all gone wrong? What can you do when it won't work? When you've run out of money? When you don't feel well and it's all gone sour? What can you do? Well, let me give you the broad answer first. Here's what you can do: You can do the most remarkable things, no matter what happens. Hey, people can do incredible things, unbelievable things. A man can do the most amazing things with the most impossible circumstances. A woman can do the most remarkable things with the most disastrous circumstances. Hey, I found out kids can do remarkable things, that is, if they have remarkable things to do. I also found out if they don't have remarkable things to do, there's no telling what they'll do. Now, here's why humans can do remarkable things: It's because they are remarkable. They are not dogs, animals, fish, birds, amoebas. Humans are different than any other creation. When a dog starts with weeds, he winds up with weeds. And the reason is because he's a dog. But that's not true with human beings. Human beings can turn weeds into gardens. That's one of the major differences being a human versus being a dog. Humans can turn nothing into something. Pennies into fortune. Disaster into success. And the reason they can do such remarkable things is because they are remarkable. So why not reach down inside of you and come up with some more of those remarkable human gifts? They're there, waiting to be discovered and employed. And with those gifts, change anything for you that you wish to change. And I challenge you to do that because you can change. If you don't like how it is for you, change it. If it isn't enough, change it. If it doesn't suit you, change it. If it doesn't please you, change it. And I challenge you to do all that because you can change. See, you don't ever have to be the same after today, only by choice. If you don't like your present address, change it. You're not a tree.

Now, for the process of change, just a philosophical pronouncement won't do it. It takes more than that. And it takes more than enthusiasm. I know we are hearing a lot about enthusiasm these days. We're still hearing the old cliché of the '30s: "To be enthusiastic, you must act enthusiastic." But see, that won't help. I'm sorry. Hey, after you have leaped about, there are some things you've got to do, or it isn't going to change for you. You can get all excited about lifting 200 pounds until you get to the gym. Then you need a new excitement, and the new excitement is discipline. Discipline. The major step to human progress. If there is one thing to get excited about, this is it. Get excited about your ability to make yourself do the necessary things to get a desired result. That's true excitement, not just optimistic panic. True excitement. Hey, what could you do, starting today, that would make a big difference in your life? Answer: No telling what will. Some people do. Starting today, that's what's disappointing. It's not what we can do that's in question. What we can do is fantastic. What we can do is unbelievable. What we can do. It's what we settle for that's disappointing. Remember, the major question to ask on the job is not, "What are you getting?" The major question to ask is, "What are you becoming?" What we become is what leads to all the good things. And the habits we form, habits of mind, attitude, and behavior, are a dominant part of what we are becoming. Now, I understand as well as anyone, but forming new habits doesn't come easy. But new habits will come when we change. It is usually not in one cataclysmic explosion, but rather by changing small pieces and parts at a time. I think that's how most of us change. We just keep nudging ourselves in the right direction, forming one or two new habits at a time, little by little, until finally we've made the turn. And this is where the good life comes from: those personal changes. There's nothing you can do with the seasons, but there's everything you can do with yourself. Don't wish for the winters to change. Wish for your own attitude, strength, and capabilities to change in order to handle the winters. Really making personal changes calls for 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Wishing we could change is a beginning, but now wish must be translated into activity. And inspiration and affirmation must lead to discipline. We can affirm that we are going to change, but we must now form new habits and develop new disciplines for the affirmation to come true. Make sure your activities are not going in the opposite direction of your affirmation. Make sure your daily thoughts and activities take you in the direction of your affirmation.

Now, in the personal development quest, there are three major aspects of ourselves to improve. We can look at developing ourselves spiritually, physically, and mentally. With respect to our spiritual development, this may be a major or a minor issue for you, depending on your values and your goals. I confess to being an amateur in this field, but I think it's very wise for you and me to look at the spiritual side of our lives and decide what growth we want to experience here. Come to your own decisions as to what it will take to nourish your spiritual nature. Next, let's look at physical development. The body and the mind work together and depend on each other, so they both need attention. There's a Bible phrase that says, "Treat your body like a temple." So, just put it in your notes: Body like temple, not a bad suggestion. Treat your body like a temple, not a wood shed. Now, in taking care of the physical, we must learn to be conscious of ourselves, but not self-conscious. We need to be aware of our physical appearance, our physical well-being, but not to the point of being self-conscious. We need to be aware. We need to take care. But some people devote too much of their day to physical appearance. Physical appearance is going to have something to do with your future, your well-being, your income. So do spend some time on physical appearance. How we appear to other people does make a difference in terms of our acceptance and our ability to function and do well in the marketplace. In fact, there's another Bible phrase that says, "Take care of the outside for people, and take care of the inside for God." People look on the outside, and God looks on the inside. Now, you might believe that people shouldn't judge you by physical appearance. Well, let me give you a clue: they do. Make sure you don't order your life based on "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts." You'll always be confused and you'll always have trouble. The best thing to base your life on is reality. What people really do. So, since people generally judge by appearance, then that's probably one thing we want to take care of. That's just part of the game. Now, of course, when people get to know you, or if they've been around you any length of time at all, they're going to judge you by more than appearance. But sure enough, people at first are going to take a look. So, taking care of yourself in personal appearance is a consideration.

Now, physical development also includes your good health and your well-being. You've got to spend some time on that so that you feel good in the marketplace. Get involved in some form of disciplined exercise. Keeping fit and feeling good has a positive effect on your attitude, not just your appearance. Even if you're not into sports, there are some cassette programs and books on how to stay in excellent shape in only 20 to 30 minutes a day. The tapes and find your best way to stay physically fit. Just develop a bit of consciousness about taking care of yourself physically. Physical fitness pays great dividends in terms of your energy level, your ability to live a long, healthy life, and your general sense of well-being. The other part of physical well-being is nutrition. There are some excellent cassettes and books on this subject for you to investigate as well. Do all you can to stay fit, to stay healthy, and to stay well, because physical health and fitness affect how you feel about yourself and how you perform in the marketplace. When you feel good about yourself, other people will feel good about you too. Appearance, vigor, vitality, and well-being have a lot to do with how your life works out. That's the physical side.

Now, the mental exercise and nourishment are just as important as physical and spiritual exercise and nourishment. You want to make sure that the acceleration of your mental health, mental well-being, and mental capacity keeps up with your physical capacity. So make sure at 40 that your mind has kept up with the passing of the years. Don't stay 30 at 40. Don't stay 30 at 50. Keep up the learning curve with mental exercises. I congratulate you for your investment in this cassette program as a further expansion and stimulation of your mind and your thinking. It's so important for you and me to be stretched beyond where we are. It's too easy to just comfortably sit and stop growing. It often doesn't seem to be that necessary to make the push, to make the effort, to learn and to grow and to challenge yourself. But let me give you something to think about: The last few years of the 20th century are going to demand a lot more mental vigor and mental activity. The competition and complications of life are going to truly challenge the full capacity of our mentality. So stretch your mind. It's easy when you finally find yourself in a good job to stop pursuing mental development. Have you heard about the accelerated learning curve? From birth up until the time we are about 18, our learning curve is dramatic, and our capacity to learn during this period is just staggering. We learn a tremendous amount very fast. We learn our language, our culture, our history, science, mathematics, everything. But guess when this learning curve starts to taper off? When we get our first job, usually. Now, sometimes for some people, it will continue, but sure enough, here's where it usually levels off. If there are no more exams to take, if there's no demand to get out paper and pencil, why read any more books? Now, you will just learn by some experience, just getting out there and by doing it wrong and doing it right and stumbling around, you learn some. But can you imagine what would happen if you kept an accelerated learning curve all the rest of your life? Can you imagine what you could learn to do? The skills you could develop? The capacities you could have? So here's what I'm asking you to do: Be that unusual person who keeps up his learning curve. Succeeding in life is not usual; it's unusual. You need to develop some unusual habits to earn the outstanding rewards. A friend of mine said, "A standard education will get you standard results." You want a lot more than standard results. You need to become a lot more than a standard person.

And now I've got some more good news for you. Never before in the history of the world has it been easier for someone like you or me to become educated, skilled, highly creative, innovative, and spilling over with profitable ways of thinking. I'm talking about making full use of audio cassettes like the one you're listening to now. You can turn your automobile into a professional growth seminar on wheels. I'm serious. Cassettes can turn the time you spend driving your car, dressing in the morning, or exercising into solid, effective personal development. While your friends are vegetating on the way to work, listening to the radio that doesn't help them one bit to do a better job, you're picking up new negotiating skills, better sales techniques, or a new creative way to solve problems. Keep building your library of fine quality cassette resources. There isn't a better place you can put a few dollars every month. Become a student of good ideas wherever they can be found. Always be on the lookout for a good idea, a business idea, a product idea, a service idea, an idea for personal improvement.

Now, since forming these new habits of personal growth will require some discipline in the beginning, let me give you a key to discipline. Discipline starts with the little ones and works up to the big ones. Start with all the things you can do to make your life better and make you feel better about yourself. Make a list. Life will give you some pretty big challenges if you can handle the small ones. But unless you practice on the small ones and master those, you don't have a chance for the major ones. A man strides out of his house to go straighten out the corporation, and he has not yet straightened out his garage. Who's kidding who? So work on all the disciplines that will improve the quality of your life. And here's an important thought: Everything affects everything else. Every lack of discipline affects every other discipline. Mistakenly, the man says, "This is the only place I let down." See, that's not true. Every letdown affects the rest of your performance. Now, here's the positive side: Every new discipline affects every other discipline. Every new thing you try affects the rest of your performance. Isn't that exciting? So get started on every small discipline you can think of. You can't believe what it will do for your self-confidence. And remember, the greatest deterrent to success is lack of self-confidence. And lack of self-confidence comes from not doing what you could do.

Next comes self-motivation. And really, it's the only kind of motivation there is: self-motivation. I was on a lecture tour in Australia not long ago, and the press interviewed me. They asked me, "Mr. Rohn, are you one of those American motivators?" I said, "No, I'm a businessman. I can share my ideas and my experiences, but people have to motivate themselves." Hey, I found out you can't change people. They can change themselves, but you can't change them. Lord knows I've tried. I had a super group of sales people back in those early days, and I said, "I'm going to make them successful if it kills me." Guess what? I almost died. You can't do that. In management, we learn good people are found, not changed. If you want good people, you have to find them. That's the best answer I can give you. If you want motivated people, you have to find them, not motivate them. The first rule of management is: Don't send your ducks to eagle school. Why? Because it won't work. I've tried it all. I picked up a magazine not long ago in New York which had a full-page ad in it for a hotel chain. The first line of the ad read, "We do not teach our people to be nice." Now, that got my attention. And the second line said, "We simply hire nice people." I thought, what a clever shortcut.

Motivation is a mystery. Why some people are and some are not. Why does one person in sales see his first prospect at seven in the morning, and the other salesperson sees his first prospect at 11 in the morning? Why would one start at seven and the other start at 11? I don't know. I call it mysteries of the mind. I give a lecture to a thousand people. One walks out and says, "I'm going to change my life." Someone else walks out and says, "I've heard all this stuff before." Why is that? Why aren't they both affected the same? I don't know. I call it mysteries of the mind. A wealthy man says to a thousand people, "I read this book, and it started me on the road to wealth." Guess how many people of the thousand go out and get the book? Answer: Very few. Isn't that incredible? Why wouldn't everyone go get the book? It's called mysteries of the mind. To one person, you say, "You better slow down. You can't work that many hours, do that many things, go, go, go. You're going to have a heart attack and die." And to another person, you say, "When are you ever going to get off the couch?" What is the difference? It's called mysteries of the mind. Why wouldn't everyone strive to be wealthy and happy? I don't know. It's a mystery. So be self-motivated. Don't give that job away to someone else. The guy says, "Boy, if someone will just come by and turn me on." Hey, what if he doesn't show up? You've got to have a better plan for your life. Since you're self-motivated, and I would assume that you are, since you've invested your money and now you're investing your time to gather good ideas for more success, I want to share the best of what I've learned and experienced in my life. You deserve the best I have to give, and more.

Now, I'm sure you'll agree that this fundamental personal development is a major part of the platform, the foundation on which you can build. So let's get on now with the rest of the fundamentals for wealth and happiness. Of all the subjects that stir the imagination, this has to be one of the major ones: Financial Independence. Freedom from financial concerns. Owning the financial resources that give you the means to really do what you want to do, to make your life all that you want it to be. We don't have time to go through all the interesting ideas that have been written and discussed on the subject of financial wealth, but I will offer you a few major ideas that have really made a difference in my life, financially and otherwise. Mr. Shof said to me that he thought it was a worthy goal to become financially independent for three major reasons. First, with money no longer a time-consuming consideration, I could then begin devoting heavy time to all the other dimensions of my life. Second, he suggested I become financially independent because it would tremendously increase my ability to help others. Only from positions of strength, including financial strength, can we help someone else. Finally, and most important, he said, "I believe it is worthwhile to become financially independent for the sake of developing the person you must become to achieve that goal." What a major secret he taught me: Set a goal to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve it. Reaching the goal is the lesser value. The primary value lies in the person you become by reaching it. You see, it's not the million dollars that's most important. It's what you must do and become in order to be a millionaire.

We're all aware that many people feel that we must be careful of focusing on money or affluence or abundance. That in it, or in the pursuit of it, there is danger. We often hear quoted from the Bible, "The love of money is the root of all evil." And I do agree. If you make money your love, and you pursue affluence to the exclusion of, or at the expense of, other values of life, you have lost. Not one. However, let us consider this question: If you could do better, should you? That's not a bad question. In the time allotted to labor, in the time given to economics, care for family, success, achievement, productivity, the creation of value, the development of skills and creativity, if you could do better, should you? I think that one of the greatest satisfactions of living life to the fullest is doing the best you can with whatever you have. Doing less than your best has ways of eroding the psyche. We seem to be creatures of enterprise. Surely, it is the reason for the seasons, the soil, and the sun, and the rain, and the seed. All say, "What can you do with us?" The seasons say, "Do you have the genius to make something unique of us?" Life says, "Here's the raw material. What splendid things can you produce from all there is?" So go for high productivity, the full employment of your genius, the full development of your potential in all areas of your life, including earning money. That is the essence of life. Truly sophisticated people know it isn't the amount that counts. It's doing all that you can with all you've got that counts.

With that background, let me recommend a book for you to read. The title is "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George Clayson. Perhaps you've already read it. I would suggest that you read it again. It's just a small book. You can read it in one evening. I call it the appetizer for the full discourse on the subject of financial independence. Now, let me give you the major theme of the book. The major theme is that what you do with what you have is more important than what you have. What you do with what you get is more important than what you get. What we do with what we have says so much about us. It reveals our philosophy of life, our attitude, what we know, and what we think, and the makeup of our character. It is a reflection of what is going on inside of our head and within our value system and decision-making process. It also reveals our ability to weigh and to perceive. The outer is always a reflection of the inner. It is an indication, a reading, a revealing. It speaks, it tells, it shows. Remember that key phrase I gave you earlier? Everything is symptomatic of something. And it is symptomatic of something right or something wrong. It is a wise policy not to ignore the symptoms, for they can be early signs of a poor choice of philosophy or a sign that something important is being misread, misunderstood, miscalculated. So, of all places, take a look here. What you are doing with your money says something about you. Now, what you're doing may be okay. All I'm suggesting is that you take a look.

Let me give you some of the details of a good financial plan, as suggested by Clayson's book. First, a very broad but important statement: Learn to live on 70 percent of your net income. Net meaning the money you have left after paying your taxes. And before we go any further, let us consider that most important part of our personal, social, and economic life. We must all, in our lifetime, whether we are young or old, understand the necessity and the practice of paying taxes. We have to teach our children as soon as they have any money at all from any source that if they spend it for anything, they immediately become what we call a consumer. And all consumers of goods and services, no matter how young, have to pay taxes. In California, where I live, if a child is only 10 years old and goes to the store to buy something that costs a dollar, the proprietor asks him for an extra sixth sense. The child may look at the price tag and say to the proprietor, "But it says a dollar. What's the sixth sense for?" And what a great time to teach the necessity for everybody to pay taxes, even at age 10. So a full explanation is due. If you're going to take six cents off a kid, you've got to tell him where it goes. After all, it is his sixth sense. He could well ask the proprietor, "Do you keep it?" The proprietor, of course, would explain that it's for taxes, that he doesn't get to keep it, that he merely collects it. The next obvious questions are, "Who gets it?" and "What is it used for?" And with these very intelligent questions come some very important answers. To the child, we explain, "Since we all have decided to live together, we call ourselves a society. And for that society to function, there are some things we cannot individually do for ourselves. We cannot each build a piece of the street. The machinery would be too expensive, and it would take too long to learn how to use it and then to do it. So we have a government."

And government is people we have put to work doing those things for us as a community that we cannot do for ourselves. The streets, the sidewalks, the police, all of this must be paid for. So we have agreed to take some of the money when all of us buy something and give it to the government so that it can do things for us. This is such an important subject. Kids have to learn it. We all have to learn it.

We then move up to federal taxes and all that those tax dollars are meant to do. Here's a pretty good way to explain federal taxes. I call paying taxes the care and feeding of the goose that lays the golden eggs. It is so very important to feed the goose, not abuse the goose, not tear off a wing of the goose, but to feed and care for it. You might say, "Well, yes, but the goose eats too much." Hey, that's probably true. But remember, just about every appetite eats too much, don't we all eat too much? Let not one appetite accuse another. If you step on the scales and you're 10 pounds heavy, you've got to say, "Yes, me and the government are about 10 pounds heavy. Looks like we both eat too much." Remember, every appetite must be disciplined. Yours, mine, and the government's. We could all use a diet.

Mr. Shelf did give me a very great service when he taught me how to be a happy taxpayer. Now, I must admit, it took a while, but I did finally become a happy taxpayer. Part of it was understanding what tax dollars were for and that it is right for everyone to pay his fair share. I finally decided I didn't mind picking up my share of the tab for the radar. It's so necessary for our safety as a country to keep the international bullies away. Some people say, "Why bother with all that expensive equipment?" After all, they won't come over here. Obviously, they haven't read their history books. Says I'm not picking up any part of the radar. Well, then, I would suggest you go where they don't have any radar. If you are going to enjoy the benefits, then you have to pay your share.

Jesus, the master teacher, gave some very clear advice one day when he said, "Pay Caesar first." Caesar, meaning the government, in taxes. Hey, that's pretty clear. Pay Caesar first. And for some unique reason, he didn't see fit to criticize Caesar. He just said, "Pay." I don't think we need a prophet to explain that one to us. Now, don't pay more than you should. Take advantage of the advantages and the incentives. But then, when you get to the bottom line, whatever that is, pay it. And pay with happiness, knowing that you are feeding the goose that lays the golden eggs. The golden eggs of freedom, safety, protection, justice, free enterprise, a society that works, provides a market, an unprecedented opportunity, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, education for our children. This is the most powerful nation on Earth, and it provides us with the greatest chance to create a unique life. Some goose, some eggs. And remember, everyone should pay. Dignity demands that we all contribute, no matter how small the amount. Everyone should pay, even the federal tax bill, in my opinion, if only a dollar a year. That's okay, just so you can say with dignity, "I pay my fair share."

A classic example, an ancient Bible story, says Jesus and his disciples were watching people come by and contribute to the treasury. Some came by and gave large amounts. Some gave average amounts, and some gave modest amounts. The story then continues, "A little lady came along and put two pennies in the treasury." Jesus said to his disciples, "Look at that lady and the two pennies." They said, "Two pennies? You give us this example out of all who made a contribution? Two pennies?" He said, "You don't understand. She gave more than anyone else." They said, "Two pennies more than anyone else? Some have given fortunes." He said, "You don't understand. Her two pennies represented, I'm sure, more of what she had than the large amounts represented of what their givers had. So she gave the most." How remarkable.

But let's continue the story. Sometimes what is not said or reported is also a valuable part of the story. Consider what Jesus did not do. He did not take the two pennies out of the treasury and run after the little lady and say, "Here, little lady, we have observed that you are so poor and so pitiful. We're going to give you back your two pennies. We just can't let you pay." What an incredible insult that would have been. She would surely have said, "Aren't my two pennies good enough? They represent a great portion of what I have. Will you take away my dignity?" No, that scene did not occur. And what a meaningful lesson we learn from what did not happen as well. Let me give you the eloquence of silence, the eloquence of what was not reported, but certainly must have been true. And it reads: Jesus left her two pennies in the treasury. What an important silent statement. It's of the highest philosophy. It best explains our earthly experience. Life is conditional. Value is on the other side of price. And of first importance is the act, not the amount. Everyone must pay, even if it is only two pennies.

Now, after taxes, and I said all that to get to this: learn to live on seventy percent. The reason it's 70 is because you're going to be doing some very special things with the 30 percent. So what's left, seventy percent, is yours to spend. Now let's talk about the all-important subject of how you allocate the 30 percent. I remember one day saying to Mr. Shoaf, "If I had more money, I would have a better plan." He said to me, "Mr. Roan, I would suggest that if you had a better plan, you would have more money." So it's not the amount that counts, it's the plan that counts. It's not what you allocate, it's how you allocate it.

Here's the first part of the allocation process of the thirty percent. You're not spending. Ten should go to charity, giving back part of what you have taken out to help those who cannot help themselves. I think that's a good percentage. Now, you can pick your own percentage. It's your life and it's your plan. But giving your money to a church or to an institution is a good idea. More often than not, they can find the people who are in need. But whether you administer it yourself or give it to an institution to distribute, ten percent should be given to charity. And by the way, the best time to teach this allocation process is when a child gets his first dollar. Take him on a visual tour. There's nothing better than visual to illustrate what you're trying to teach. Take him to where some very unfortunate people live who cannot take care of themselves. Kids have big hearts. If they see the problem, they won't have any trouble giving a dime out of every dollar. And one more thing, the time to start this is when the amounts are small. It's pretty easy to flip a dime out of a dollar, and it's a little more difficult to give away a hundred thousand out of a million. You say, "Oh, if I had a million, I'd give a hundred thousand." I'm not so sure. That's a lot of money. Best we start you early so you will have the habit before the big money comes your way.

Now, here's what to do with the next ten percent. Set aside ten for capital you manage. That is capital you find ways to utilize. Do some buying and selling yourself. Buy something, fix it, and sell it. Engage in commerce, even if it's only a part-time venture. Your home is a major capital project. In my opinion, we should all engage in capitalism in this country. Here, we believe capital belongs in the hands of the people. Communism teaches that capital belongs in the hands of the state. That's a great difference in ideology. I guess communism feels that humans are too dumb and stupid to know what to do with capital, so it should all be given to the state. Let the state run everything and let the people meekly show up for their work assignments. In our country, we believe the genius to know what to do with capital resides in the populace, the people. The genius to come up with ideas for goods and services brought to the marketplace. It has built a dynamic enterprise known as capitalism and has created opportunities in abundance. And again, remember this thought: the best time to teach capitalism is when a child is old enough to be stimulated by ideas for goods and services. Learn the concept of performing services in exchange for capital early, right? They mow the lawn, help in the house, earn an allowance. But take it a step beyond that as soon as possible. They will pick it up fast. Kids ought to have two bicycles: one to ride and one to rent. It doesn't take much to be in business. It doesn't take a million dollars. And the same business principles apply whether it is a bicycle business or General Motors. Show kids how to buy a bottle of soap for two dollars and sell it for three, right in the neighborhood. It's called capitalism in action. Profits, products, and services brought to the marketplace. It is most exciting once you understand the mechanics and the dynamics. It's the stuff of which fortunes are made. And teach kids the advantage of being kids. Some people will buy from you just because you're little, so you must get on with it. You won't be little forever.

So, Johnny goes a few doors down from your home in the neighborhood and knocks on a door. Mrs. Jones answers, and Johnny says, "Mrs. Jones, I have this bottle of soap. It is the best there is. My mother uses it, and lots of people I know wouldn't use anything else. You should really have some. It only costs three dollars, and I'm your neighbor, so I can take care of you. And besides, I'm little." Isn't that simple? Commerce in action, capitalism at its foundation. You see, the only danger in capitalism is if capital gets in the hands of too few people. As long as it is in the hands of the many, it is a dynamic force for profitable and exciting enterprise.

Back to our story. Mrs. Jones says, "Johnny, I appreciate your coming by, and I think your product is unique, but really, to be honest with you, I have plenty of soap." Johnny says, "Let me come in and check." Hey, kids know how to overcome objections. They have been mastering that skill all their lives. Johnny knows how to get in the door. Mrs. Jones says, "You've got me. I'll be a customer." Now, when he comes home, you must get ready to teach all the principles of enterprise and successful living. The two should go together. First, Johnny says, "I've got three dollars to spend." And you point out the obvious: "If you spend all three dollars, you will be out of business." He says, "I can see that." Then you explain, "You must set aside two dollars to invest in another bottle of soap. You can't spend your capital. It must be carefully preserved. What would you think of a farmer who ate his seed corn? Dumb farmer, right?" So, capital must be defended. It is your only chance for another harvest.

Now, here's another thought for your notes. Make sure you turn part of your income into capital. I would suggest ten percent. And use that ten percent yourself to give your own skill a chance to do something remarkable in the marketplace. No telling what genius lies unused, waiting for the spark of opportunity. It is part of the path of fortune. Use this thought: Why not work full-time on your job and part-time on your fortune? You can, you know. It's up to you. And you can't believe the feelings every day when you can honestly say, "I'm working to become wealthy. I'm not just working to pay my bills." It makes a different kind of day. You will find it hard to go to bed at night and exciting to get out of bed in the morning. Remember, it's the same day, the same opportunity, the same you, but it is a greatly different life: working to become wealthy or working to get by.

Now, here's the next principle to teach. Johnny says, "Okay, I'll set aside two dollars so I can stay in business and continue to make one dollar profit, but I get to spend the one dollar right now." Comes the most important opportunity. You must explain that if he spends that whole dollar, he will wind up broke and unhappy. And then take him on another visual tour to some part of town where he can get a good look at people who spend all they make and are broke and unhappy. And say, "Do you want to live like this?" He will say, "No." Then you say, "All right, then you can't spend the whole dollar." He says, "Well, then, tell me what to do with it." And with that open door comes the obvious opportunity to teach all the principles of wealth and happiness and lifestyle. One of the major factors that affects your life all your life is what you do with your money. So here's what you do: First, pay your taxes, right? And for kids, that is easy. They pay when they spend. Unless they make a lot of money, then you must teach them to pay federal taxes. Remember the care and feeding of the goose that lays the golden eggs. Next comes the ten cents for charity, which we have already covered. Johnny says, "Oh, yes, here is a dime for those who cannot help themselves." "Now I can spend the rest." "Answer: No, no, you will wind up broke and unhappy." He says, "Okay, what now?"

And now comes another major life lesson. The next ten cents out of every dollar of wages or profit is for the increase of capital you manage. Set aside ten cents out of every dollar profit so that someday you can buy two bottles of soap instead of one. I'm sure Johnny will catch on to that one right away. He says, "Of course, if you buy two bottles instead of one, you save yourself a trip. How clever!" And the next point you teach is that some companies will sell you two bottles cheaper than if you buy just one bottle at a time. They sell you one bottle for two dollars and two bottles for three dollars and eighty cents. Johnny says, "Wow, then when I sell it, I can make even more money. How clever!" It's true. Everybody benefits from the increase of capital. The company gets to sell two bottles at one time, you save a trip and some costs, and you can keep some of the saving or pass along some of it to Mrs. Jones, your customer. Let's review so far: First, pay taxes. Next, ten cents for charity and ten cents for capital you manage and for the increase of that capital out of every dollar of wages or profits.

Now, here's the third ten cents from every dollar, and that is capital you provide. Take ten cents out of every dollar and put it in a financial institution. And now we have come to a major benefit for all of us. If you bring this ten of your earnings to the marketplace, you see some projects in our society need more capital than one person can provide. So we have a system whereby all of us can loan or invest our money in capital provided so that large businesses can be built to provide more jobs and products and service and help create an even more dynamic society. So, ten cents out of every dollar should go into a savings account. I really prefer to call it an investment account because then kids will love this. They pay you for the use of your money. You can get back the money you loaned, and you will have more profit from what you are paid for the use of your money. And be sure that you teach this: that if kids start this program from whatever they earn on a job or in engaging in enterprise or both while they are in their teens, by the time they are 40, they will be wealthy enough to be able to do what they want to do the rest of their lives instead of all their lives doing what they have to do. Now, from your teenage years, it could take a much shorter period of time to become financially independent, depending on what ideas and opportunities you take advantage of. Mrs. Fields developed a new chocolate chip cookie and became a millionaire before she was 30. Mrs. Fields' chocolate chip cookies. What an example of capital in the hands of the people, not in the hands of the state.

A ten-year-old takes a dollar, searches around the community, and finds a broken, abandoned wagon. Pays a dollar for it, brings it home, cleans it up, sands off the rust, paints it till it's shiny and new, straightens out the wheel, and sells the like-new wagon for eleven dollars. You ask, "Does a ten-year-old deserve ten dollars profit?" And the answer is, "Of course." Society now has a mended wagon, and that's what it's all about. Find something and leave it better than you found it. Create a value, build an equity. It's how we build this most dynamic society called America. And everyone can contribute. Everyone can bring some value to the marketplace. We can all be students of capital, profit, equity, and value. We can all engage in enterprise. We can all participate in the disciplines that bring wealth, lifestyle, and treasure. All of us and our children can build the most powerful and attractive society ever. We have the knowledge, the tools, the schools, the market, the resources. All we need is the will. Let each of us begin. Its riches are for the having. All of these principles in action furnish, to the best of my knowledge, the best soil from which to have a high chance for fortune and lifestyle at a very early age. It is so simple, but it is so powerful. Just try it. Just try it. You can always go back to the old way, but if you just try it, I predict you will be so excited about your new commitment and discipline for wealth that you will never turn back.

What we're seeing here is that wealth is a matter of allocation, not opportunity, especially in this country. There are subtleties on both sides of any issue of health and sickness, the issues of success and failure. It is the subtleties that determine the direction and the destination. The major reason it is so subtle is because what you do in a single day or a single week or month doesn't seem to matter that much. But remember, as we said earlier, everything matters. Everything weighs something. Sophisticated people never say, "It doesn't matter." If you spend or invest five dollars today, it doesn't seem to matter much either way. You seem to be no richer or poorer at the end of the day, but it does make all the difference in the world. As you save five dollars every day, and the days accumulate into weeks and into months and into years, you see, it's the accumulated total of the allocation of each day that makes all the difference in the world whether you become rich or poor, healthy or ill, successful or mediocre.

Now, back to Johnny. He is going to ask about his investment account where he's putting ten cents out of every dollar. "What kind of interest did they pay kids?" So you give him the Blockbuster, same as adults. That will be almost unbelievable. At last, he can be treated like an adult, getting that adult interest when you're only a kid. And one added note: just by working this part of the financial independence plan alone, by putting aside less than two hundred dollars a month, will make you a millionaire in 30 years. Remember, it's called the subtlety of wealth or poverty. What you do in one day doesn't seem to matter, but as all sophisticated kids and adults know, it is the accumulated days of proper allocation of your money that makes you wealthy. It is using the ideas we're discussing coupled with the passing of a little time that creates fortunes. Now, the passing of time is automatic, but using the ideas is a matter of your own discipline, whether you want to or not, or whether you care or not. Bottom line, it's all up to you.

Let me give you the definition of rich and poor. It is brief, but I'm sure you will get the message. Here it is: Poor people spend their money and save what's left. And you guessed it already: Rich people save their money and spend what's left. Remember, it's the same money, just a different philosophy. If 20 years ago, two people each earned a thousand dollars a month, and they each had an average increase in income over the last 20 years, one had the philosophy, "Spend your money, save what's left." And the other had the philosophy, "Save your money and spend what's left." Today, 20 years later, we call one poor and the other rich. The difference was in philosophy. But I can't stress too much the subtlety of it all. At the end of a day or a week or a month, it doesn't seem to matter a rich plan or a poor plan to an unsophisticated person. But to make wise decisions, we must all weigh a larger measure of the result. We don't just weigh a week; we wait five years of weeks, ten years of weeks, and let the weight of that measure determine the change in our weekly activity and commitment. Wise decisions for wealth and lifestyle come from the wise measure of results.

Here's another philosophy to learn and to teach, especially to your kids. They will love it. It is called the ant philosophy. You know, little ants. There's a Bible phrase that says, "Everyone, especially lazy people, should study ants." Ants are unique. Consider this: First, an ant will never quit. If he is headed somewhere and you put your hand in his way, he will try to climb over, climb under, climb around. He keeps trying. If you let him go on his way, away he goes. And if you put something in his way again, he will try again to go over, under, around. And guess how long an ant will try? Answer: Until he dies. So an ant will never quit. What a philosophy! Next part of the ant philosophy: Guess what an ant has in the back of his mind all summer? Answer: Winter. Ants prepare for winter all summer. How very bright! Now, some adults aren't that smart. They think summer all summer. That philosophy we call fatal.

Now, here's another piece of ant philosophy. Question: How much will an ant gather in the summer to prepare for the winter? Answer: All he possibly can. That's it. The secret to the higher life: doing all you possibly can. That is the great life quest: seeing what all you can become. My man says to me, "Mr. Roan, I'm making about fifty thousand dollars a year. Isn't that enough? I'm taking care of my family, and we are comfortable. Isn't fifty thousand enough?" And my answer is, "Yes, it is enough if it's the best you can do in the time allotted to labor and enterprise. However, if you are capable of making a half million dollars a year and you only make fifty thousand, we call you a loser." Remember, it's not the amount that counts, it's the extent of your reach that counts. If your best is ten thousand a year, that's enough. If your best is a million dollars a year, that's enough. It's not the amount, it's your best we count. How tall will a tree grow? Sir, as tall as it can. Did you ever hear of a tree growing half as high as it could? No. Only humans, with the power of choice, settle for less than they can be. But I would ask you to walk the high road. Earn as much money as you can. Share as much as you can. Create all you can. Read as many books as you can. See as many places as you can. Become as skillful as you can. It's your birthright.

Now, part of the learning to live on seventy percent falls under another fundamental, which we will cover in another session in this cassette program that talks about lifestyle, how to get joy from your 70 percent. And that's what life is all about: doing the things that bring us satisfaction and joy. But before we move on to this subject, let me add a few closing notes on the subject of a good financial plan. I've come up with the major role of grandparents in this country. Here it is: The major role of grandparents in this country should be to teach their grandchildren how to be wealthy, cultured, and happy, just like me. Grandparents should not have to say, "I've worked all my life, now I need help." They should be able to say, "I've worked all my life, now I can help." If you are not financially independent by age 40 to 50, it doesn't mean you live in the wrong country. It doesn't mean you live in the wrong community. It doesn't mean you live at a wrong time. It doesn't mean you are a wrong person. It doesn't mean you have the wrong chance. It simply means you have the wrong plan. I discovered you can be a nice person with the wrong plan. You can be a sincere person with a poor plan. And remember, it's not uncommon. Everything by longevity tends to get off course. When they make a moon shot, it isn't the first set of the guidance systems that serve for the whole trip. They have what is known as mid-course corrections, those fine-tuned changes that set you on a more certain course and on the way to the destination called the moon. They are so important. Hey, if there's one objective you don't want to miss, it's the moon. Now, if you will make wealth and financial freedom that important a necessity, you will have the highest chance to arrive.

Next, if you have not done so in a while, or if you have never done so, put together a financial statement. When I first met Mr. Shoaf and we talked about financial independence, he asked me if I had a current financial statement. I said, "What is a financial statement?" So I got my primary education in taking a picture of where I was financially. Mr. Shelf explained that it is very important to know exactly where you are without kidding yourself, so that you can then come up with a good plan for going from where you are to where you want to be. It turned out to be fairly easy to put one together. You merely list the value of your assets on one side of a piece of paper and the total of what you owe, called your liabilities, on the other side of the paper. Then, by subtracting one from the other, you come up with what we call your current net worth. Now, it doesn't tell you what you are worth as a person, but rather what you are worth in money. I said to Mr. Shoaf, "My financial statement isn't going to look that good." He said, "It is not important how good it looks. What is important is that you do it." So I put that first financial statement together. I had plenty of liabilities: money I owed my parents, Budget Finance, my car, and all kinds of other debts. Now, on the asset side, I really had to scrape the bottom of the barrel. I even put my shoes on the asset side. They were worth something. Wow, how embarrassing after six years of working. But it must be done. You don't have to put the results on a public bulletin board because it's not important that the community knows how you are doing. It's not important that I know how you're doing, but it's desperately important that you know how you're doing.

Thank you. Here are some other points. First, keep excellent books, not only for tax purposes but for yourself, your financial future, and for your own sense of self-worth. Have you ever heard the expression, "I don't know where it all goes"? Well, from now on, make a new commitment to financial independence and to the value and the feeling that comes from knowing where it all goes and where it all comes from. It is just one of those important disciplines that cause you to prove to yourself that you are on a new road, walking in a new direction, becoming a new person, and arriving at a new destination. Without that effort, you will keep falling back. Hey, I found out you can make five thousand dollars a month and still go broke. You say, "How could you go broke making five thousand dollars a month?" It's easy. Spend six thousand. And when you make five thousand, spending six thousand is not that difficult. Someone once said, "If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep becomes your downfall." So be the master over whatever you have and whatever you are. That's where the seeds of greatness are sown: great wealth, great health, great results, great influence, and great lifestyle. Take interest and even delight in doing all the small things well. It makes you a sophisticated person who knows where the beginnings of wealth and happiness are. There's a Bible phrase that we could quote here that would be appropriate. It says, "If you will be faithful over a few things, the small things, you will someday be ruler over many things." And major things. That's it. That's the philosophy that counts. Surely, life is reluctant to hand a fortune to someone who constantly messes up his paycheck. It's not the amount that counts, it's the plan and the faithful discipline of that plan that counts. The disciplines are those ingenious keys that unlock the door to the kind of person we really want to become. And becoming attracts all those treasures and values that most anyone would call the good life: life in abundance, life in productivity, life in enterprise, life in influence, life in style.

Now, to wind up this rather lengthy subject, let me close with this: Mr. Shelf's best instructions to me in those early years were to develop a new attitude. A new attitude about myself and a new attitude about all the principles that it takes to make life unique. Develop a new attitude about taxes, about paying your bills, about the marketplace, opportunity, your chances, wealth, activity, prosperity, service, productivity. Let me give you a good example of my old attitude. I used to say, "I hate to pay my taxes." Shelf said, "Well, you can live that way if you want to. That's one attitude." I was a bit perplexed. I thought it was the only attitude. How strange. I used to say, "I hate to pay my bills." And he said, "Well, you can live that way if you want to." I thought it was the only way. I used to say, "I hate to part with my money." He said, "That's one choice for lifestyle and attitude." I thought, "Could it be that there is another way to feel about it?" He said, "What if you said, 'I love to pay my taxes, knowing it's the care and feeding of the goose that lays the golden eggs'? What if you said, 'I love to pay my bills, reduce my liabilities and increase my assets'? What if you said, 'I love to part with my money, put it into circulation, help build this dynamic society'? Wouldn't that be a better way to live? If you love to instead of hated to?" What an incredible way to look at it. I bought the idea and started the practice. I will admit that it took me a while to actually say truthfully, "I love to." But when I did, I found a completely unique new way to live. To love to instead of hate to.

Shelf even taught me to pay my bills with enthusiasm. He said, "The next time you pay a hundred dollars on an account, put a note inside with your check that says, 'With great excitement, I send you this hundred dollars.'" He said, "You won't believe what happens on the other end. They don't get many notes like that. But best of all, you won't believe what happens on your end. The new feeling of being in control and having a philosophy of life that brings joy instead of frustration." This whole new attitude will create for you a whole new world. Remember, it's something anyone can do. Mr. Shelf got me to open my first savings account. He said, "Do you have a savings account?" I said, "I don't have enough money." And he reminded me, "It's not the amount that counts, it's the plan. The important thing is to begin. Wealth is a plan, not an amount." He asked me if I had ten dollars. I said, "Well, yes." He said, "Then open up your savings account and do it with your new attitude and enthusiasm."

Well, that took some doing. I went to the bank in the town where I lived and walked in to open my account. I went to the window and told the lady I wanted to open up a savings account. She said, "Great. What is your name?" I said, "Mr. Roan." She said, "Fine, Mr. Roan, just fill out these papers." I filled him out, handed them back to her, and she said, "That's all in order. Now, how are we going to get this account started?" I said, "Put ten in." She said, "Ten what?" I said, "Ten dollars." Now, can you imagine the scene? I'm a grown man, 25 years old, I have a family, I'm working, and opening up my first savings account with ten dollars. I said, "Hey, this may not seem like much, but I have a great plan. In fact, before long, I'll probably have the largest savings account in this bank." She said, "Well, if you say so." It was a bit embarrassing, I must admit. But Shelf said, "Get excited about where you're going and excited about the fact that you are one of the few who have a wealth plan in place and working." To make a long story short, guess what? Within less than three years, I did have the largest savings account in that bank. Now, it was just a small country bank, but I did reach my goal. What magic, and how quickly it works once you develop a new plan and a new attitude and commit to the discipline to do it. Wealth plans, anyone can have them. Wealth goals, anyone can design them. Wealth habits and disciplines, anyone can develop them. Why not start today? This can be a new day that opens up a new future and creates a new excitement about life and its possibilities for you.

The management of time. Wouldn't you agree this has to be one of the master keys to wealth and happiness? I was in South Africa for a lecture tour some years ago, and I picked up this short article by Arnold Bennett on the subject of time. I thought it was excellent, and I'd like to share it with you now. "Time," he wrote, "is the inexplicable raw material of everything. With it, all is possible. Without it, nothing. The supply of time is truly a daily miracle, an affair genuinely astonishing when one examines it. You wake up in the morning, and lo, your purse is magically filled with 24 hours of the unmanufactured tissue of the universe of your life. It is yours. It is the most precious of possessions. No one can take it from you. It is unstealable. And no one receives either more or less than you receive in the realm of time. There is no aristocracy of wealth, and no aristocracy of intellect. Genius is never rewarded by even an extra hour a day, and there is no punishment. Waste your infinitely precious commodity as much as you will, and the supply will never be withheld from you. Moreover, you cannot draw on the future. Impossible to get into debt. You can only waste the passing moment. You cannot waste tomorrow. It is kept for you. You cannot waste the next hour. It is kept for you." Isn't that well said?

Let's consider some approaches to managing our time most effectively. The first approach is to ignore the subject altogether. The man says, "I've been late all my life. I can't ever seem to get a handle on my time. Heck with it, I'll just struggle along the best I can." That's okay. It's your life, right? You can do with it as you please. But consider what this attitude might be costing you. Here's the second approach: Step down to something easier again. That's okay, too. A man works for a company, then decides he wants to own one. When he gets that responsibility, comes to work before everyone else, leaves after everyone else. Now he says, "I would rather work for someone else's company." Hey, again, it's your life. Success is not a stereotype. There isn't just one model. Know clearly what success means to you and be comfortable with the price you pay for it. You might have heard the story of the little girl who complained to her mother that her daddy never had time to play with her. She said, "Why doesn't my daddy play with me? He comes home from work, goes to the study and works, comes out for dinner, goes back to work again. I want to play with my daddy." So her mother explained to her, "Your daddy is very busy. He loves you very much, and that is why he works so hard at his office. He has so much work to do that he has to bring the rest of it home and finish it here. That is why he can't play with you." The little girl thought for a moment, trying to solve this problem, and came up with the answer. She said, "Well, why don't they just put him in a slower group?" Hey, not a bad idea. Don't throw away other important values in your life just going for one. I went for some things in my life and found out later I had paid too much. If I had known how much they were going to cost, I never would have paid. So that is a consideration.

The next approach to time management is to work longer and harder. And we all know the dangers there, right? Unless you aren't working at all, then you probably need to work longer and harder. But for some people, if 10 hours won't do it in a day, they work 12. And if 12 won't do, they move it up to 14. Some people even take on two jobs. And there are some very real dangers here, not least of which is health problems that result from not being able to handle the stress. So you've got to be careful with this approach. The last approach, I think, is the best. And that is to get more out of you in the time you have assigned to labor. Make the hours more valuable. The key is not to work harder, but to work smarter. If you're putting in about eight or ten hours a day, six days a week, that's about it. You can't work much harder. But remember, it's not the hours you put in that counts, it's what you put in the hours. Get more from you to make the investment of time more valuable. And no telling how valuable you can become. We don't lack the capacity; we only lack the ideas and the will and the discipline to carry them out.

In considering the subject of time management, remember that a big part of the key for changing is to take it in small steps. Most of us don't make revolutionary changes. We change a few degrees at a time. When you get some life momentum rolling, it's not that easy to make all the changes all at once. Hey, you can't whip a U-turn with the Queen Elizabeth II. When that big ship gets moving, they say it takes seven miles just to get it stopped. So when it's really moving, you just have to nudge it a little. Nudge it a little, and finally, you get it turned. That's a lot like our lives. A few nudges at a time. But if you're consistent, you can't believe the progress you can make in a fairly short period of time.

My first key point on the management of time: either you run the day or it runs you. That's fairly simply put, but it is so true. Everything in life is a lot like that. Emotions are a good example. Either you master them, or they will master you. Something is always going to master, and something is always going to serve. Whether it's your emotions, your enterprise, or your project, difficulty will serve or master. Fear, anxiety, inclinations, they all serve or master. We must learn to send our inclinations to school, to teach them how to behave, how best to serve, and to learn their true value. So that is key one: Get in charge. You be the master. It pays to take a look often and examine all the parts of your life and all the things that you are involved in and all the things that are affecting you so that you can get an intelligent answer to the question, "Who's in charge here?" It's so easy when you get something started to unwittingly relinquish the reins of authority so that it begins to subtly but surely take over. Soon you become the servant. It dictates, it demands, and you respond. So let's turn this whole challenge around. You take over the reins of authority. You subtly but surely take charge. You dictate, you demand, and you will be delighted to see early signs of positive response from your enterprise, your business, and your life.

The next time management essential is to learn to say no. I had some difficulty here. It is so easy to say yes to everything, trying to be a nice person, and then have to spend all that time trying to come up with excuses to get out of the obligation. It's one of the great time wasters. How much better to say, "No, I don't think I can. But if that changes, I'll give you a call." And isn't it a better feeling to call someone with the good news, "I can come," than with the bad news, "Guess what? I can't come"? When in doubt, learn to say no. A friend of mine, Ron Reynolds, has a good saying: "Don't let your mouth overload your back." That's a great thought to keep in mind when scheduling your time.

Here's the next tip: When you work, work. And when you play, play. Or time efficiency and for that good feeling that comes from doing something without any guilt feeling. Don't mix the two. Many years ago, I used to say, "I've got to get my family to the beach. I've been promising to take them to the beach. What are they going to think if I don't take them?" Now, guess where I am while I'm thinking about the beach? Right at the office. Now, I finally get my family to the beach, but at the beach, I'm saying, "I should be at the office. I have so much to do." Now I've messed up my beach time with the family by thinking about the office. So I learned this lesson: Make a play day a play day, and a work day a work day. Don't mix the two. Sure enough, if you say, "I'm going to take off at three o'clock and go play," guess what you are thinking about all morning? Taking off to go play. So don't play at work, and don't work at play. It's a great rule to follow to ensure that your time is used more effectively.

Now, I know all of this has to be modified to fit your particular situation. No one rule will apply to all. But keep the main thought in mind: separate work and play. When I take a lecture tour to Spain or Africa or Australia, I make it a work trip. Every day is filled with lectures, speeches, and business conferences. Then I arrange a play trip because when I play, I really want to play. A builder friend of mine now has the luxury of working a week and taking off a week. That's what he calls it: "Work a week, play a week." However, with weekends on either side of his play week, it's really nine days. So he works five and takes off nine. That's luxury, right? However, the five days he works, he really works. Secretaries, accountants, architects, superintendents, long days, around the clock, into the night, five heavy, full days. Then he's off to play. So when he works, he really works so that he can save all the play time for a longer stretch. Now, perhaps we can't all do that, but we can learn to practice the skill of separating work and play.

The next time management essential is to analyze how you are. Then, if the challenge calls for it, you must either change how you are or change your procedure. That is productivity waiting to make time pay. Self-analyzing. The first thing to analyze is your periods of greatest productivity throughout the day. If you are a morning person who wakes up early, ready to start the day.

That is the best time to do your creative work. You can get more done when you're at your best. Some people are night people, fuzzy in the morning, late to get started, but alert and awake long into the evening. If that's the way you are, then this is the best time to pack in the activity and creativity. The key is to find your best time and use it to its fullest.

Next, analyze your habits. If, for example, you're not good at keeping records, get someone to do it for you. If you have promised yourself that you're going to keep your records or balance your checkbook, and this has been going on for a few years, it looks like you aren't that kind of person, nor are you likely to become that kind of person. You may say, "No, I'm really going to do it this time." Hey, I would suggest that a few years is long enough. Don't promise yourself anymore. Just say, "Maybe." The smart thing to do is to get someone to do this and make me look good. You would be surprised at how often you can remain a lot like you are in many areas if you will just make the arrangements to have it covered.

Some years ago, my office came to the conclusion that I was a poor courier. Someone would ask me to take a check to San Francisco. Since I was going there anyway, I would say, "Sure, no problem." Put the check in my pocket and fly off to San Francisco. Guess when I would next hear about that check? From my dry cleaners. Next time, someone says, "This document has to go to New York. Will you be sure to give it to them this time?" I'd say, "Of course, you can count on me. This time, I'm not flaky." So I put the document in my briefcase and head off for New York. Guess what? Right. It would still be in my briefcase when I got back to the office the following week.

So there is a saying now in my office: "Don't give the chairman anything. He's good at some things, but he's a poor courier. Make other arrangements." And that is my point. There is nothing wrong with admitting that you just aren't going to do certain things, as long as you are clever enough to make arrangements to have them done. It's much better than continually promising that you will when the chances are good that you won't.

Next, time management essential: the telephone. What an incredible instrument for business, social, and emergency situations! The job it can do for you is unbelievable. However, there are some tips for using the telephone so that it won't use you. Here's the first one: Before you make a call, make an agenda. An agenda is simply a list of the items you want to talk about, especially if it's a business call. It is one of the better habits to develop. Did you ever make a call and toward the end of the conversation say, "Let's see, there was something else I was going to talk to you about. I just can't think of it right now, but if I think of it later, I'll call you back"? A great time waster, and for a business call, not very sophisticated on your part.

Making an agenda before you make a call serves to keep your conversation on course so that you cover the essentials without missing any of them. Also, it helps to keep the conversation on track and controlled, a tendency to wander into non-essential chit-chat. It is also a money saver. The extra minutes saved by keeping to an agenda and a few pleasantries is major. I know my business telephone bill just in California got up to thirteen thousand dollars a month, and this was one of the problems. Doing business internationally, we have learned the incredible savings of both time and money by taking the time to write down an agenda before we begin to dial.

And here's another benefit: If you have made an agenda, when it comes time to recall that conversation you had, you've now got the details in writing. When you say, "John, how are you doing on those four things we talked about the other day?" and John says, "What four things?" We didn't talk about that. You now have a written record to show that you did. Remember, people can talk you out of what's in your head, but it's hard to talk you out of what's in your book.

Next, if you can afford the luxury, have your calls screened. Then, when you pick up the messages, you can decide who to call and when to call and have the time to formulate the important information before you make the call. Now, this is a luxury, I will admit. It may be that you just have to answer the phone when the call comes in, but at least file this idea away for the future when you might be able to use it.

And one more: The telephone at home. Here, you have to exercise great care to not let the telephone intrude during social time with family or friends. My suggestion is that you shut the phone off. They have all those neat devices now so you can put on the recorder to take messages or just pull the plug. Family is a high priority. Take care of that valuable family time. It is not subject to frequent intrusions. If you set up this rule, you will not only have uninterrupted time with your family and friends, but also they will give you high marks for caring about them enough to make them a priority.

Every situation calls for an evaluation of values. You've just got to weigh everything and make the necessary adjustments if you want to get full time and full value out of your life.

The next time management tip I have is to listen to the cassette programs and read the books on the subject. You can't possibly get all the ideas you'll need from any one cassette program or person. Remember, you have to go in search of the ideas; they don't just come by. Make a thorough investigation of the subject on your own. Sort out the ideas, choose those that you think are most valid, and put them to work in your life.

Next point: Be more alert and analyze all your procedures and tools. Old filing methods, old bookkeeping methods. Some things we do can become quickly outdated, especially these days. Check for all the new tools that can help you to use your time more efficiently: dictating machines, tape recorders, answering devices, computers, calculators. There is just about every tool imaginable in today's marketplace. I now have a fabulous computer in my office that can do the most amazing things and save a great deal of time. I also have a portable computer typewriter that I can take on an airplane or in my motorhome. Then I merely transfer what I have typed onto special cassettes or send the information via telephone back to the main terminal. When I get home, all of my letters and scripts are typed and waiting for my signature or my attention. So take a look, do some research, do some shopping, find out. There's no telling how much you can improve your efficiency or multiply your skills by eliminating the barriers and the hindrances so that you are now free to do all the creative things that make for fortune and lifestyle.

Now, here's an important time saver: Learn to ask questions. This habit will serve in so many ways. Have you ever talked to someone for an hour and then asked some questions and found out that you just wasted the last hour? Make a note. Almost everything is symptomatic of what's really wrong. Surface details don't usually give us enough information to effectively communicate. So ask questions. Before, if John isn't making sales, we say, "Okay, let's get on him about making sales." But perhaps we should ask, "Why isn't he making sales?" Someone says, "He isn't making enough calls." We say, "Okay, let's get on him about making calls." Well, maybe we should ask another question first: "Why isn't he making calls?" Well, it's because he isn't getting up early and getting out into the marketplace. We say, "Okay, let's get on him about getting up early and getting out into the marketplace." Well, perhaps we should ask just one more question: "Why isn't he getting up early and getting out into the marketplace?" Now we have probably gotten to the heart of the problem. Perhaps it's something personal, problems at home, not his sales skills. The real problems are usually about three or four questions deep. So if you get good at asking questions, you can save yourself a lot of time by getting right at the heart of the matter when dealing with other people. Otherwise, you tend to waste valuable time just finding out what the problem really is.

Now, here's the last part of time management: Learn to think on paper. From all of my experience working on many projects and in many countries, one of the major time savers is thinking on paper. It is so important to take things out of your head and put them on paper, then work from the paper. Building your business is a lot like building a house. You take the ideas out of your head, put them on paper, and then build from the plan. We have a saying on this idea: "Operate from document, not from thought." It's just about over when a person wakes up in the morning and says, "Let's see, what shall I do today?" Too late, right? The best thing you can do now is to take today off and at least plan tomorrow.

Let me give you four major ways to think on paper. The first is a journal. I spend a lot of time talking about journals in my lectures and programs, you see, because it is such an invaluable tool for the serious student of the better life. A journal is merely a gathering place for all the good information that comes your way: from sermons, from books, from lectures, from business conferences, magazines, thinking time, research, any source of information that you feel is worth keeping. Don't let the good ideas of life escape you. Remember, most good ideas usually only come by once. Get into the habit of capturing them with pen and paper by making daily use of your journal. Now, maybe you won't write in it every day, but at least make sure it's with you every day.

Here's the second way to think on paper: A project's book. This is simply a ring binder with tabs in it to help you keep track of all the current people and projects you are involved with and need to work on to make all the parts of your life work to the maximum. If you are working with people, give them each a tab in your project's book. Then, under this tab, you keep a running account of all the current information you need to know about that person: performance, family, goals, strengths, needs, perhaps even some graphs showing recent progress or comparisons to past performance. Essentially, you make a note of all the information you need to know so that when you sit down to have a meeting with this person, you have all the pertinent facts there before you in order to have a meaningful and productive conversation. Without this habit, it's so easy to take up time talking with someone and get so very little accomplished because most of the meeting ends up by being devoted to bringing you up to date on the facts you could have already had in your project's book.

Now, depending on your particular business or enterprise, you might want to have a tab for each office, or each department, or each ongoing project. On a more personal level, you might want to have a tab for each family member, or for your personal projects, investments, finances, game plans, and so forth. It's just an effective way to keep all the key pieces of information readily available so you won't have to be continuously hunting through files and drawers for the data. It is the best way I know of to study your business and life projects. A project's book is a guideline for this study. We simply don't study files; they are for storing information. The project's book is for the daily or weekly summary accounting of all the pieces, like a financial statement of your business at the end of the month. In fact, that is one of the sections in your project's book. And another secret with the guideline to study: it keeps you on good mental track. If you try to study your business and your life in your head, you will for sure miss something, miscalculate, or let your mind go undisciplined in those high thought areas where the ideas and plans and inspiration for fortune lie. It's the organized, better-disciplined thought that produces abundance. Everyone is thinking, but mostly about how to get by. I'm asking you to develop these tools and disciplines to think about how to become wealthy and happy, powerful and influential, sophisticated and unique.

The next way to think on paper is to keep a day timer. A daily log of your list of things to do, and your appointments and schedules. This is where I also keep the agenda for my telephone calls. It becomes a clear and useful record. If you have a business and need to keep track of expenses for income tax purposes, your day timer should also accommodate this need. A day timer is also a good place to record telephone numbers and other key information that you need on a daily basis. Basically, it's a way of keeping a record of your daily activities. Your day timer can also be used as a gathering place for all the details or highlights from your day which need to be logged into your journal or project's book at a later date. It's just an efficient means of keeping track of your days and scheduling your projects and appointments. I strongly recommend that you develop the day timer habit. It only takes a few minutes a day to keep your records up to date, and the time and information you save by using one is massive.

Now, here is the fourth way to think on paper: The all-important game plan. A game plan can make all the difference in the world in how your months and years work out for you in terms of both accomplishment and satisfaction. Whether you do business at home, down the street, within the community, or around the world, game plans are essential for maximizing productivity. Here's a phrase worth remembering: "Don't start the day until you have it finished." That idea is worth the money. A plan before you start a day is a major piece of the whole strategy of your wealth plan, your success plan. I know it is laborious, but it's labor and effort that pays in cash and accomplishment. And remember, value is on the other side of effort, not hope.

Now, if you want to make a lot more progress and income, here's the key: Don't start the week until you have it finished. Of course, it is more challenging to finish a week than to finish a day, but the pay and the results are so exciting, you won't mind the challenge. And if you want to make a lot of money and big success, don't start the month until you have it finished. That one is a stretch, but high in reward. Now, if you want to start walking among the heavyweights, here's the key: Don't start the year until you have it finished. I don't want to kid you; this one is difficult. It's reserved for those few who do and become the superstars in accomplishment, enterprise, wealth, influence, and lifestyle. It's a high road of sophisticated disciplines, but I'm positive you will like the view, and the taste, and the company.

A game plan is merely a spreadsheet for your activities. It can be a game plan for a day, a week, a month, a year, several months, or several years. And a game plan can be for a single project or for a variety of concurrent projects. Here's how it works: On a sheet of graph paper, you make vertical columns for the weeks or months that this plan is to cover. Then, on the left side of the paper, you make a heading called "Activities." Under this heading, you list all of the activities to be performed within that time frame. Let's say that part of your business requires providing ongoing training programs for your employees. Under the column marked "Activities," you merely list the various training programs you wish to conduct for the next 12 months. Then, under the vertical columns for each month, you block off particular periods of time for these training classes.

Game plans can be used to help you plan almost any aspect of your business or enterprise. They can also be used to help you organize all areas of your life, from investment plans to reading plans. Game plans are particularly useful when it comes to scheduling family time, vacations, special weekends, and trips, and so forth. Everyone who is important to you wants to see where he or she is on your game plan, especially if your business often requires you to spend a lot of time away from home. And remember, there's nothing like a visual plan. It's so much more effective to be able to show members of your family where they are on your game plan as opposed to merely telling them in conversation.

Now, a game plan can be as detailed as you wish. And please be forewarned: now that you are probably going to tear up several before you get what you want. This is something you have to work with. Every game plan must be tailored to fit a particular need. The chart you use for your personal plans may not necessarily be suitable as a chart for your business plans.

Here is another key benefit of using game plans: If you have your plan in your project's book or up on a wall somewhere, it serves as a constant reminder to get busy on all the activities you have scheduled. Or, if there are a lot of blank holes beside the activities you have listed, your plan reminds you to get busy scheduling them. Now, you might well ask, "Doesn't the calendar do the same thing?" Not really. Many of the events on your game plan will be on your calendar, but here are the major differences: First, the visual reminder of the spreadsheet and the list of activities on the left that have no corresponding time assigned to them on the right serve to remind you of what is not yet done. A calendar just won't give you that kind of information. And second, it is so important to take a look at three months, six months, one year at a time for highly effective planning. With a game plan, you can get a sense of the whole picture of the time frame and all of the important activities at one look. To effectively design something, you just have to have a picture of the whole finished project, complete or as complete as possible.

Game plans are both exciting and painful. Painful because of all the things you must get on with and plan, make up your mind about, or give serious thought to. And painful because they illustrate how far behind you are sometimes. But they are also very exciting, both because they help you to foresee how your life, your business, and your family are going to unfold over the coming months, and because they can help you get the job done. It's like looking at the artist's rendering of the finished project. It brings all kinds of feelings to the surface as we see it all take shape and unfold. And it also gives you that incredible feeling of being in charge. You have your life in hand, and in order, and well designed.

Remember how valuable a day is. It is part of your whole life enterprise. A day is like a piece of the mosaic of your life. Passion it wisely, to the best of your genius. For as someone once said, "At midnight, the wing messengers come and gather up all these pieces and take them off to wherever the mosaic is kept." And surely, on occasion, one messenger says to another, "Wait till you see this one." A well-fashioned day, with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a texture. This well-fashioned day takes its place among the many and becomes a valuable memory and treasure, an equity of experience and spirit and life. And remember, the genius to do all this lies within you. Never forget that. Some people say, "If I was as smart as you are." Make sure you make the correction in thinking to say, "If I had developed as much of my smart as you have." That's it. We're all smart enough. We just have to develop that smart into a plan. Hopefully, this program will help. There it is: how to think on paper. With those thoughts, and with all the other things we've brought to your attention under the subject, time management, let's move on to the next key to wealth and happiness.

If you were to evaluate the major influences in your life that shape the person you are becoming, this has to be high on the list: the people you choose to allow into your life. Mr. Shelf gave me a very important caution in those early days, which I would like to repeat here for you. He said, "Never underestimate the power of influence." What an important statement! The influence of those around us is so powerful. Many times, we don't even realize we're being strongly influenced because it generally develops over an extended period of time. Peer pressure is an especially powerful form of influence because it is so subtle. If you're around people who spend all they make, chances are excellent that you'll spend all you make. If you're around people who go to more ball games than concerts, chances are excellent that you'll do the same. If you're around people who don't read many books, chances are excellent you won't read many books. People around us can keep nudging us off course, a little at a time, until finally, 10 years from now, we find ourselves asking, "How did I get here?" Those subtle influences need to be studied carefully if we really want our lives to turn out the way we've planned.

Now, on this major point, let me give you three key questions to ask. This may help you to make a better analysis of your current associations. Here is the first question: Who am I around? Good question. Make a mental study of the major people with whom you most often associate. You've got to evaluate everybody who is within the circle of being able to influence you. So, major question: Who am I around?

Next question: What are they doing to me? That's a major question to ask. What have they got me doing? What have they got me listening to? What have they got me reading? Where have they got me going? What have they got me thinking? How have they got me talking? And how have they got me feeling? What have they got me saying? You've just got to make a serious study of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively. Now, maybe the influence of all those around you is okay, but just ask yourself. It doesn't hurt to ask: Who am I around and what are they doing to me?

Now, here's the final question: Is that okay? Maybe the people you associate with and their collective influence is okay, but then again, maybe it's not. All I'm suggesting here is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Positive influence can have an incredible effect on your life, but so can negative influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you truly wish to go. It's so easy just to dismiss the things that influence our lives. The man says, "I live here, but I don't think it matters. I'm around these people, but I don't think it hurts." I would take another look at that. I've got a good phrase for you: Everything matters. Now, sure, some things matter more than others, but everything matters. Everything weighs something. So you've got to keep checking to find out whether associations are tipping the scales toward the positive or toward the negative. It doesn't hurt to look, right? Ignorance is never the best policy. Finding out is the best policy.

Remember, part of the purpose of this program is to get us to say, "The days of kidding myself are over. I really want to know what I have become and what I am becoming. I want to know where my strengths and my weaknesses lie. What has power over me? What's influencing me? What have I allowed to affect my life?" Perhaps you've heard the story of the little bird. He had his wing over his eye and he was crying. The owl said to the little bird, "You're crying?" "Yes," said the little bird. And he pulled his wing away from his eye. "Oh, I see," said the owl. "You're crying because the big bird pecked out your eye?" And the little bird said, "No, I'm not crying because the big bird pecked out my eye. I'm crying because I let him." Hey, it's easy to let influences shape our lives, to let associations determine our direction, to let persuasions overwhelm us, to let tides take us, to let pressures make us. The big question is: Are we letting ourselves become what we wish to become?

In this most important subject of association, here are some actions you may want to take. First, disassociation. You may, after a study of those three questions: "Who am I around? What are they doing to me? And is that okay?" you may come to the serious conclusion that there are some people you just have to break away from. I'm not saying that it's an easy step to take, and it's not to be taken lightly. However, I am saying it may be an essential task. You may just have to make that hard choice not to let certain negative influences affect you anymore. Remember, it could be a choice that saves the quality of your life.

The second action you may want to take is limited association. It could well be that you are spending too much time in a certain area of your life with a certain group of people. It's easy to put time and effort in the wrong place. The guy spends three hours at the ball game and 30 minutes listening to the sermon. See, that's called out of balance. 30 minutes for spirituality, three hours for entertainment. That doesn't weigh well, five years from now, ten years from now, when you take a look at the sum total of your values in your life. Here's one of the easy ways to end up with a mediocre, average life: spending major time on minor things. Sophisticated people learn to weigh everything before they spend time or money. You've got to weigh before you pay whether you're going to spend heavy time or light time. You've just got to weigh. Otherwise, if you're not careful, you can get trapped into spending heavyweight time with lightweight people. Now, it's okay to have casual friends, as long as you give them casual time, not serious time. Spend major time with major influence and minor time with minor influence. It's so easy to do just the opposite, but don't let it be said that you fell into that trap. So maybe all you need to do to change some of the influences in your life is not to eliminate them, but merely limit them. Say, "I have a good time with these people, but I'm not going to spend days and days with them anymore. I'm just going to cut that down and save some of that time for more major people and more major enterprises." Remember, it's your life. You can spend your time with whomever you want and whenever you want. But you didn't invest in this program for me to kid you. Take a look at your priorities and your values. We have so little time at our disposal. Wouldn't it make sense to invest it wisely? If you have only a hundred dollars in your pocket, it's okay to spend 20 for fun and put 80 toward your important values and commitments. But would you be happy reversing those percentages? Better to put the majority of your money where you know it will get you a positive return, rather than put it where the taste is brief and the results are poor. Of course, you must be the judge. You must determine whether the situation and the people call for disassociation or limited association. But remember, if it isn't taking you where you want to be five years from now, ten years from now, now is the time to fix it.

The third process is the one I most strongly suggest you begin, and that is called expanded association. That is, spending more time with the right people of substance and culture, people who understand philosophy and discipline, people of accomplishment and character. Many years ago, Mr. Shelf said to me, "Mr. Rohn, if you truly wish to be successful, you've got to get around the right people." Then he said, "It looks like in your present circumstances, you're going to have to plot and scheme." And that was true. I had to plot and scheme to get around the right people. On some of those early opportunities, I had to be around successful people. I would park my car a couple of blocks away. I knew that if they saw my car, I'd never get in. On more than one occasion, I got the question, "How did you get here?" to which I would respond, "Oh, someone dropped me off." And that was me dropping me off a couple of blocks away. Whatever you have to do, do it. Keep asking the question: "Who can I get around? Who could I spend some time with? Who would have a positive influence on my life?" I played every trick in the book I could think of to get around the right people, but it was worth it.

Now, here's the surprise: It is possible for a modest investment to get around major people. If you had a chance to sit down for an hour or two with a wealthy person, and all that you had to do was to pick up the lunch tab, wouldn't that be a bargain? That person might drop an idea on you that could change your life for a lunch tab. And that's where we need to go to get our success plan from: successful people. Don't pick up your plan, especially your financial plan, from unsuccessful people.

Here is something else exciting: It's possible for people of modest means to start a wealth plan. You don't have to be wealthy to have a wealth plan. You don't even have to be healthy to start a health plan. All you have to be is smart. Smart enough to say, "Hey, I've got the wrong plan, and I'm going to get around someone who has a better plan and make it my plan." So find some successful people to help you fill out your success plan. Find somebody healthy to get your better health plan going. Find somebody living a unique lifestyle to develop your lifestyle plan. This is called association on purpose, getting around the right people by expanding your circle of influence.

I have a really unique friend. I'm always trying to find more ways to spend more time with him. He's the big game hunter, millionaire businessman, traveler, and, in my opinion, one of the world's great philosophers. He has two special gifts, among many, that make it worth all the time I can possibly spend with him. And those gifts are: One, the ability to absorb. The ability to soak up a day in all of its events. His memory is uncanny. I swear, he remembers in detail almost every day of his life and every book he's read. I think it is more exciting for him to go to Spain and come back and tell you about it than it is to go yourself. And the reason is, when he's there, he doesn't miss anything. He picks up the sounds and the colors, the experiences and the happenings. He absorbs like a sponge the sights, the people, the whole scene. Then he has this second unique gift: the gift of expression. He can put all he saw and touched and felt into words, exciting words. When he talks, you can feel the water lapping on your feet, you can see the colors, you can smell the aroma of the flowers and the food. What great gifts to absorb and to express! If I spend a day with him, I get my time's worth. He can put a year into a day's conversation. It leaves you spellbound. He can read a book and with flawless detail, give you a capsule version and more often than not, make it more exciting than if you read the book yourself. From Shakespeare to The Beatles, from Africa to Beverly Hills, he's got it recorded and can express it with spirit and precision. You can imagine what a valuable association this is for me. From this association, I've multiplied my knowledge, my perception, my skills, my enterprise, and my lifestyle many times over.

Here's another good question for you: Where do you go for your intellectual feast? Where do you go? Pity the man who has a favorite restaurant but not a favorite thinker. He's picked out a favorite place to feed his body, but he doesn't have a favorite place to feed his mind. One way to associate with people of influence is through their writings: books, cassette tapes, whatever you can pick up. Maybe you can't meet the person, but you can read his books or listen to his cassettes. Churchill's gone, but he's left some books. Aristotle's gone, but we still have his ideas. Search the catalog for cassettes and libraries for books. Search the magazines, search the documentaries. They are full of chances for association and intellectual feasting.

But in addition to reading and listening, we also need a chance to do some talking and sharing. I have some people in my life with whom I spend time on a regular basis who help me with important life questions, who help me refine my own philosophy, weigh values, and ponder questions about success and lifestyle. We all need associations with people of substance to provide influence concerning major issues: society, money, enterprise, family, government, love, friendship, culture, taste, opportunity, community. Behavior is mostly influenced by ideas, and ideas are mostly influenced by education, and education is mostly influenced by the people with whom we associate. So don't join an easy crowd. Make sure you get around people who can ask the right questions about the latest ideas you've discovered about your philosophy, your enterprise, your goals, your lifestyle. Go where the demands are high, where the expectations are high, where the spotlight is on to grow, to produce, and to become more than you currently are.

One of the great good fortunes of my life was being around Mr. Shelf those five years. During that time, he shared with me at dinner, on an airplane, at a business conference, in private conversation with a group, all those ideas that caused me to make the helpful and necessary adjustments in my thoughts and activities. And those daily changes, some so very slight, so very important, added up to such weighty sums in one year, three years, and five years. A big part of the value of this association was having Mr. Shelf repeat the ideas over and over. You just can't hear basics, fundamentals, major pieces of the philosophy of life too often. Another part was Mr. Shelf's unique ability to check and measure my progress. That is so important. Measurable progress, in having someone to monitor that progress. I will never forget my first list of goals that I put together after Mr. Shelf's breakfast lecture on setting goals. My list contained only four or five items. When I showed it to him, he said, "Is this your list?" I said, "Yes." Then he started asking those very wise questions that all people of success and substance are inclined to ask. He asked, "How about your health goals?" I didn't have any of those on my list. He asked, "How about your investment goals?" Those were lacking. How about your travel goals? Your family goals? How about your goals for gifts and sharing? Who would you like to meet? What would you like to become? What skills would you like to develop? Did you ever want to write a book, a poem? Would you like to be a sophisticated person of power and influence and culture? How about education for your children? Would you like to be debt-free? How about a splendid library stocked with the best of books? Would you like to make some new friends? Did you ever want to parachute out of an airplane, fly a glider, own a music library? Would you like to see New York, visit Paris, explore Rome? Do you need a ranch someday? A cabin in the mountains? Is there something you'd like to prove? A mark you'd like to make? Wow, what a mind-expanding conversation that was. And this was only one of many to come over those five years. What fantastic help it is to have someone who can ask the right questions. Remember, it's not just the answers that are important; it's the questions. Some of the most valuable influence comes from people with the awareness and skill to ask the major questions.

Here's a project you might consider: Choose two or three people for whom you have a great respect. Ask each of them to make a list of the major questions they would ask if they wanted to help someone make the best choice that would lead to a successful and happy life. If you get three lists, you will be surprised at the difference among them. Successful people approach life from a variety of experiences and a variety of attitudes. Now, from these questions, you may get enough homework to get busy on for years to come.

Another benefit of my association with Mr. Shelf was that I kept growing in experience, knowledge, and accomplishment, and was able to bring all that value to the same basic questions. What a learning experience that was. Some of the early questions I had shrugged off, I now saw a growing importance they had. It was really my education that was changing, not the questions. It's like reading the Bible or listening to cassettes. When you have some added, measurable experience, you now bring to the reading and listening a new worth. You now listen and read at a new level, and the substance gleaned, the wisdom gathered from that new level, can well be where your fortune and the best of your lifestyle can be developed.

One more thought, and that is: Strive to become the kind of person that people of quality and substance would want to be associated with. Become a person of skillful language, positive attitude, well-read and well-disciplined, a person of culture and intelligence. You will be uniquely rewarded by this reputation, drawing exciting people to you. Remember, to attract valuable people, you must be attractive. Association is truly one of the seven fundamentals to your future wealth and happiness. It has such a major effect on how your life works out. Constantly be aware of the power of influence. Continually weigh your time and your associations and put them to better work for you.

Of all the parts of our life we want to work well, perhaps the most important is lifestyle. Mr. Shelf gave me one of his strongest concepts when he said, "Don't just learn how to earn; learn how to live." And that's what lifestyle is all about: learning how to live. Here's one of the great challenges of life: being happy with what you have while in pursuit of what you want. I have founded a practice well worth exercising with skill. Now, consider this: Some people have plenty of beautiful things filling their days, but they get little happiness from them. Some people have money, but they have trouble finding joy in their lives. Imagine a father wads up a five-dollar bill and throws at his son, saying, "Here, if you need the darn stuff that bad, take it." Same money, poor style. And remember, it's not the amount that counts; it's the style that counts.

Mr. Shelf taught me lifestyle in those early days, starting with small amounts. He said, "Imagine that you're getting your shoes shined, and the shoeshine boy has done a fabulous job. You have one of the world's all-time great shines. So you pay him for the shine. Now, you consider from the change in your hand what kind of tip to give him. And the question pops into your mind: Shall I give him one quarter or two quarters for my neat shine?" Mr. Shelf said, "If two amounts for a tip ever come to your mind, always go for the higher amount." He said, "Become a two-quarter person." I said, "What difference would that make? One quarter or two quarters?" He said, "All the difference in the world. If you said, 'Well, I'll just give him one quarter,' that will affect you for the rest of the day. You will start feeling bad. Sure enough, in the middle of the day, you will look down at your great shoe shine and say, 'I've got to be cheap, one lousy quarter.' That will affect you." However, if you go for two quarters, Shelf said, "You can't believe the feeling you can buy for another quarter." That's lifestyle: becoming a two-quarter person and learning to get joy from the greater person you are becoming.

A man came up and introduced himself to me after one of my seminars in Detroit, Michigan, and he said, "Mr. Rohn, you got to me tonight. I've decided to change my whole life." I said, "Fantastic." He said, "You will hear about it someday." I said, "I don't doubt that." Sure enough, a few months later, I was back in Detroit for another lecture, and the same man walked up and said, "Mr. Rohn, do you remember me?" I said, "I do. You are the man who said he was going to change his life." He said, "That's me. And I've got to tell you a story." Here's the story he told me: "Seminar," he said, "I started thinking about ways to begin changing my life, and I decided to start with my family. I have two lovely teenage daughters, the best kids anyone could ask for. They never give me any trouble. However, I've always given them a hard time, especially as teenagers. One of the things they dearly love to do is to go to rock and roll concerts to see their favorite performers. Now, I've always given them a hard time on this subject. They would ask to go, and I would say, 'No, I don't want you to go. The music is too loud, you'll ruin your hearing, and besides, it's the wrong crowd.' I would always give them a hard time. Then they would beg, 'Please, Daddy, we want to go. We don't give you any trouble, we're good girls, please let us go.' Well, after they had begged long enough, I would reluctantly throw them the money and say, 'Okay, if you have to go that bad.' So that's where I decided to start to make some changes in my life. Then he said, 'Here's what I did. Not long ago, I saw this advertisement that one of my daughter's favorite performers was coming to town. Guess what I did? I went down to the concert hall and bought the tickets myself. Later that day, when I saw my girls, I handed them this envelope and said, "Daughters of mine, you may not believe this, but inside this envelope are your tickets to the concert that's coming to town. I knew it was one of their favorites." They could not believe it. Then I told them one more thing. I said, "Begging days are over." Now, my girls really couldn't believe it. Finally, I made them promise not to open the envelope till they got to the concert, and they agreed. Now comes concert time. When they arrive, they open the envelope and hand the tickets to the usher. He says, "Follow me," and he starts down front. They say, "Wait a minute, something must be wrong." The usher looks at the tickets and says, "Nothing is wrong. Follow me." They walked down front, tenth row center. Now the girls really cannot believe it. He said, "I stayed up a little late that night, and sure enough, around midnight, my daughters came bursting through the front door. One of them lands in my lap, the other one has her arms around my neck, and they both say, 'You have got to be one of the world's all-time great fathers.'" What a neat story. What a great example of how it's possible, with just a change in attitude and a little thought, to live the good life. Same money, different style.

Remember, the challenge is to get joy from your life and what you have to share. It's not the amount that counts; it's the uniqueness, the love, and the attitude that counts. Even people of modest means can experience a sophisticated lifestyle. They simply learn to save up some of their Pepsi money for a bottle of fine wine. Don't spend all your money a quarter at a time. Save up and buy something of special value, something fine, or something that lasts, or something you are proud of, or a gift of value to give to someone special. Even with modest means, you can save your candy money for a concert. And for a sophisticated person, a few may be better than many. Better a few treasures than a house full of junk. Lifestyle is a matter of awareness, values, education, and discipline. Taste. It is an art that brings joy as it's practiced, not just a subject to be studied. It is the deliberate decision to savor and enjoy all the experiences and possibilities of life. Lifestyle means expanding your knowledge and experiences from the influence of books, people, films, and new adventures. So take advantage of everything and everyone with whom you come in contact. You can begin expanding your lifestyle today. Think of something you can do today to make you feel richer and better about yourself and your life. Make a phone call. Reserve tickets.

To a concert, buy some unique music records, send flowers, send a thank you note, plan a trip of new discovery, begin to read a classic. All better within 50 miles of where you are right now.

There are some places you have never seen, some foods you have never tasted, experiences you've never had. I grew up in Idaho and I've never been to Yellowstone Park, and part of it is in Idaho. Thousands of people from all over the world have traveled to Yellowstone. Old Faithful, doesn't everyone know about Old Faithful? Hey, I've been to Africa, but not to Yellowstone. Isn't it easy to miss something? Isn't it often easier not to do something, see something, experience something?

Hey, let's all set a new goal: not to miss anything, especially things within our reach, within travel time, walking time, effort time. And that's the key word: effort. Remember, all good things are Upstream. A conscious act from a unique thought. That's where the pleasure is, and the act serves as a bridge between dreams and reality. So develop your lifestyle a little more, your style of seeing, giving, sharing, enjoying. It's not the amount that counts, but the experience of choosing to live with style.

I remember saying to Mr. Show, "Funtime, if I had more money, I would be happy." And he gave me some of the better words of wisdom when he said to me, "Mr. Roan, the key to happiness is not more. Happiness is an art to be studied and practiced." He said, "More money will only make you more of what you already are. More will only more quickly send you on to your destination." He said, "If you're inclined to be unhappy, if you get a lot of money, you will be miserable. More money will only make you more." "More money will only amplify. If you're inclined to be mean and you get a lot of money, you will be a terror. If you're inclined to drink a little too much when you get a lot of money, you can now become a drunk because you can drink everything." So style is not more, style is an art, a genius, a design. Lifestyle is reserved for those who are willing to study and practice the higher arts of life. Lifestyle is culture, music, dance, art, sculpture, literature, plays, concerts. Lifestyle is a taste of the fine, the better, the best. Mortimer Adler, the philosopher, says, "If we don't go for the higher tastes, we will settle for the lower ones." So develop an appreciation for the fine. That is a worthy purpose. Developing an appetite for the unique things in life. Study the art and reach for the best to have the best in the time we have available to us. That is the quest. Remember, it's not the amount, it's the imagination.

My lady and I were on a trip to Carmel, California, one sunny summer day to do some shopping and exploring. I stopped to have the car serviced at a gas station. This young man, about 18 or 19, I would guess, came bouncing out to the car with a big smile and he said, "Can I help you?" I said, "Yes, a full tank of gas, please." Well, not only did he fill the tank with gas, he checked every tire, washed every window, even the moon roof, checked everything. And all the time he was working, he was whistling and singing. My lady and I couldn't believe all the service and his obvious happiness. The young man brought me the bill, and as I was finding it, I said, "Hey, you really have taken good care of this. I appreciate it." And he said, "I really enjoy working. It's fun for me. I get to meet nice people like you." We couldn't believe it. This kid was something else. I said, "My lady and I are going to Carmel, and we want to drink one of those two-dollar milkshakes on the way up there. Where is the nearest Baskin Robbins?" He said, "That's a great idea. Baskin Robbins is just a few blocks away." And he told us where to find it. And he said, "Don't park out front, park around to the side so your car won't get hit." What a kid.

So we drove to Baskin Robbins, walked in, and checked the flavor board and ordered milkshakes. However, instead of ordering two milkshakes, we ordered three. Then we drove back to the station. The young kid dashes out to the car again and says, "Hey, I see you got your milkshakes." I said, "Yes, and this one is for you." When I offered it to him through the window, he couldn't believe it. He said, "For me?" I said, "Sure, with all the fantastic service you gave us, I couldn't leave you out of the milkshake deal." He said, "Wow, no one has ever bought me a milkshake." I said, "That's probably true. Have a nice day." Then I buzzed up the window and we drove away. When I looked in the rear-view mirror, there he was, holding that milkshake, a big, surprised smile on his face. Now, what did that cost me? Only two dollars. Hey, I've enjoyed and shared the memory of that experience a hundred times for just two dollars. Remember, it's not the amount that counts, it's the style.

That same day, I guess I was feeling extra creative. When my lady and I got to Carmel, I drove straight to the flower shop. We walked inside and I said to the florist, "I need a long-stem red rose for my lady to carry while we go shopping around Carmel." She was some impressed. The florist said, "Well, we sell them by the dozen." I said, "I don't need a dozen, I just need one." He said, "That'll cost you a couple of dollars for just one." I said, "Wonderful. There's nothing worse than a cheap rose." I selected the rose, handed it to my lady, and said, "Here, carry this while we stroll around town." She was impressed, and the cost? Two dollars. Just two dollars.

A couple of hours later, we were having some refreshments, and my lady looked across the table and said, "Jim, I just thought of something." I said, "What's that?" She said, "I think I'm the only lady in Carmel today carrying a rose." I said, "That's probably true. For two dollars, can you imagine? Two dollars." Remember, it's not the amount.

Hey, just two ideas and a total cost of four dollars for unique experiences and sweet memories. Just two modest examples of how easy it is to put style in your life. Make sure you don't miss out. Don't miss anything you can enjoy. Be sure you live your life in style.

Here's something else to think about. Did you ever hear where the expression "tip" came from, as in tipping the waiter or waitress in a restaurant? Mr. Shoaf taught me that it began as a symbol for the phrase "to ensure promptness." Now, Shoaf said, "If a tip is to ensure promptness, when should you give it?" Answer: Up front. See, I didn't know that. I said, "No, you have lunch, and if you get good service, you leave a good tip. If you get lousy service, no tip." And he said to me, "No, no, Mr. Roan. Sophisticated people don't take a chance on good service. They ensure good service by giving the money up front." I said, "Wow, what a way to live. I had never thought of that." So the next time you have someone special to take to lunch, call the waitress over, arm around the shoulders, and say, "Here's five dollars. Would you take good care of me and my friend?" Shoaf said, "You won't believe what happens. They do." What's known as hover. They hover around your table. Without the insurance, you are usually looking around, saying, "Where is my waitress? Has she gone on a break?" Same money, different style.

One last major point: Life in style is also life in balance. Make sure you pay attention to all the values and dimensions of your life. One is family. If you have someone you care about, there is no value to match that. One person caring for another is life in the best of style and value. Protect it with a vengeance. If a chair gets in the way, I suggest you destroy the chair. It was wisely said so long ago, but is still true for today. There are many treasures, but the greatest of these is love. Better to live in a tent on the beach and have a love affair than to live in a mansion by yourself. Ask me, I know. Family must be cultivated like an enterprise, like a garden. Time and effort and imagination, creativity, and genius must be summoned constantly to keep it flourishing and growing.

Next is friendship. A priceless value, friendship. Friends are those incredible people who know all about you and still like you. Friends are those people who are coming in when everyone else is leaving. And as someone once suggested, "Be sure to make the kind of friends on your way up who will take you in on your way down." Life is a bit of both, up and down, but with true friends, friends who care regardless of your circumstances, the ups are more automatic and the downs less devastating.

Traveling around the world, I have made some unique friends. I've also got some strange friends. One of them is a thief. He steals, but you'd love him. He's really a neat guy, but he really does steal. Now, he's not a big thief, he's just a little thief, but he is a thief. Once in a while, someone reminds me, "Your friend steals." I say, "I know. What can I do? I talk to him about it. He's just my thieving friend." I do have one very special friend, though. If I was stuck in a Mexican jail and accused unduly, I would call this friend. Guess why I'd call this friend? He would come and get me. Now, that is a friend. Someone who would come and get you. Guess how much you would spend to get me? Right, as much as it would take. Guess how long he would try to get me out? You're right, as long as it would take. That is a friend. Someone who would come and get you. Now, I also have some casual friends who would probably say, "Call me when you get back." I guess we all have some of those friends. But friendship is so vitally important to those in search of the good life. Make sure your friendships get the attention and the effort they deserve. Properly nourish them, they will give back to you that priceless treasure of both pleasure and satisfaction called "The Good Life." And remember, the good life is not an amount. The good life is an attitude, an act, an idea, a discovery, a search. The good life comes from lifestyle that is fully developed, regardless of your bank account, so that it provides you with a constant sense of joy and living and fuels the fires of commitment to all of the disciplines and fundamentals that make life worthwhile. What is wealth without character? Industry without art? Quantity without quality? Enterprise without satisfaction? Possessions without joy? Become a person of culture to add to the whole. Culture, for we are most certainly a product of all the values of our community and country. Become that person of unusual substance that brings an added measure of genius to the whole, so that our children and the children of many will be the beneficiaries of the treasure.

There are three major parts to life change. First is knowledge. Second is emotion. And third is action. When all three come together in a unique way, we call that the day that turns your life around. Hopefully, from all that you have heard in this album, it has added to your knowledge, a blend of your experience, the experience of others, and now my experience. I hope I have brought you some wealth of knowledge.

Now, here's the next important part, and that's emotions. Human emotions are powerful. They are so powerful that any one of them can have a dramatic effect on your life in a single day. However, make this careful note: emotions are tricky. They can go either way on you. Emotions can build or destroy, weaken or strengthen, make or break. It all depends on how you use them. We call civilization the intelligent management of human emotion. That's it. The power given an intelligent direction and objective can accomplish spectacular things. The power, the feelings, those surges of heart and soul. What are they? What can they do? Well, here are some.

First, disgust. Disgust is a powerful emotion. Disgust says, "I have had it." Hey, that could be the day that turns your life around. That's what I said. The day that little girl scout came to my door, I give her the big lie. She leaves, and I say to myself, "I don't want to live like this anymore. I've had it with being broke. I've had it with being embarrassed. And I've had it with lying." What a day. A life-changing day. The day when you've had it. And whether it's something major or something small, the day you can say, "Enough is enough." That could be the life-changing day.

The man has finally had it with being a loser. He's had it with mediocrity. He's had it with those awful, sick feelings inside, knowing his wife is at the grocery store looking at two cans of beans, one marked 69 cents and one marked 67 cents. The man knows his wife is going to buy the 67-cent can, and she doesn't even like the brand. Know why she's going to buy the 67-cent can? To save two cents. The man, sick inside, says, "I've had it with being on my knees in the dust looking for pennies. We are not living like this anymore." Look out. That's the day. The "I've had it" day. The "never again" day. The "enough is enough" day. Powerful. Hey, nothing is so life-changing as a powerful disgust. And there's probably nothing so pitiful as a mild disgust. The man says, "I kind of think I've had it." How sad. Not powerful enough for life change.

Now, here is the second emotion: decision. Decision-making is emotional. Those knots in the pit of your stomach, waking up in the middle of the night, lying there in a cold sweat, trying to decide. We sometimes call it inner civil war, conflict, battle of the mind, heart, and soul. It's emotional. It's powerful and critical. It sets the course or blinds the course. It sets the mind or leaves us helpless, drifting, not being able to make up our mind. Well, for progress, we must decide. Come to grips with the surges, the tides, the conflicts. The best advice I can give you is, if it's easy, do it. Easy. If it's hard, do it. Hard. Just get it done. If after listening to this program, you cleaned up a whole list of decisions that might furnish enough inspiration for the next 10 years. And I might add, sometimes getting on with it is easier than deciding. Sometimes deciding is the toughest part. But once you have waded those waters, you can climb the mountain. Deciding is truly the day that turns your life around.

Next is desire. Wanting it too bad enough. And I don't know how to tell you to want it. You have to come up with that. There are two things, however, that I know about desire. First, it comes from inside, not outside. You don't send off for it, although some people try. And second, desire can be triggered. Sometimes it waits and sleeps, waiting for something to happen. And who knows what that trigger, that happening, might be? Maybe it's a song. Maybe it's a sermon. Maybe it's a movie, a lecture, a seminar. Maybe it's a conversation with a friend, a confrontation with an enemy, an event, a day, a bitter experience. Whatever it is, it's good. Sometimes from the bitterest experience comes the greatest awakening. Here are some of my best advice to you: Welcome every human experience. You never know which one is going to turn it all on. Don't keep up the walls. The same wall that keeps out disappointment keeps out happiness. Let life touch you. Don't let it kill you, but let it touch you. It could be the next touch that makes the day that turns your life around.

And here is the last emotion: resolve. Resolve says, "I will." Two of the most powerful words in the language: "I will." Benjamin Disraeli once said, "Nothing can resist a human will that will stake even its existence on the extent of its purpose." Shortly put, "I'll do it or die." That could be the day. The man says, "I will climb the mountain. They've told me it's too high, it's too far, it's too steep, it's too rocky, it's too difficult. But it's my mountain. I will climb it." Pretty soon, you will see me waving from the top, or dead on the side, because I'm not coming back. Hey, that's powerful. Time and fate and circumstance call a hasty conference, and they all agree, "We might as well let John have it. He says he's going to get it or die." Wow. That's it. Resolve. The best definition of resolve I ever heard was from a junior high girl in Foster City, California. I'm talking to the junior high kids, and I asked the question, "Who can tell me what resolve means?" I got several hands. Some were pretty good, but the last one was the best. She said, "I think resolve means promising yourself you will never give up." I said, "That's it. Best I've heard. Promise yourself you will never give up."

I asked the kids, "How long should a baby try to learn how to walk? How long would you give the average baby before you shut him off?" You say, "That's crazy. Any mother in the world would say, 'My baby is going to keep trying until it learns how to walk.'" No wonder almost everyone walks. Magic formula: the "until" formula. Good question: How long are you going to work to make your dreams of wealth and happiness come true? I suggest the "until" formula. It's the best. Emotions: disgust, decision, desire, resolve. Now, let me give you the third part of the equation. That equation that gets results. It's action. Disciplined action. There's a famous line that says, "Don't just be listeners, be doers." That's it. Doers. The whole world loves the doers. That's what makes the wealth and the winning. Doing disciplined, emotional action. Another famous line says, "Faith without action serves no useful purpose." Wow, what a major piece of information. Many people these days are big on affirmations. You have to be very careful of affirmations. Remember, there is a thin line between faith and folly. Here's the best I can give you on affirmation: Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion. And there is nothing worse than delusion, walking west looking for the sunrise. It's bad. However, affirmation with discipline can bring the most incredible results. But remember, they go together. Make sure you have a game plan to match your wishes, otherwise, they will always be wishes.

Now, in closing, I ask you to consider these four questions. I call them questions to ponder. The first question is: Why? Why should you try? Kids often ask why. It's a good question. Ask yourself: Why get up that early? Why work that hard? Why read that many books? Why make that many friends? Why go that far? Why earn that much? Why give that much away? Why put yourself through all those disciplines? Why is an excellent question. The best answer I know to the question "Why?" is the second question to ponder: Why not? What else are you going to do with your life? Why not see how far you can go? How much you can earn or read or share? Why not see what you can become or how far you can go? Why not you? You have to stay here until you go. Why not?

The third question goes a bit further: Why not you? Some people have done the most incredible things with a limited start. Why not you? Some people do so well, they get to see it all. Why not you? Why not you watching the morning mist rise over the mountains of Scotland? Soaking up history in London? Or exploring the mysteries of Spain? Why not you? Having lunch in one of those neat little sidewalk cafes in Paris? There's nothing like a stroll through the Palace of Versailles. Someday you must gaze directly at the Mona Lisa. Why not you? On a sailing schooner in the Caribbean? Two weeks there and you lose all your cares. I can show you where to find the most exquisite seashells in Australia. I know where they are. Why not you? Shopping on Fifth Avenue in New York City, staying at the Waldorf? Or having sliced roast goose on a bed of apple strudel at Luchow's? Stop off and drink in an Arizona sunset. Take a quiet walk along the beach with that incredible feeling, knowing you are enjoying the result of a disciplined effort. Why not you? With an unusual awareness to the heartbeat of life. Why not you?

The last question is the key to action: Why not now? Why postpone your better future any longer? Get at it today. Get some new books. Make a new plan. Set a new goal. Ask some new questions. Lock onto a new resolve. Make a new effort. And do it all now.

Another thing is to ask for God's help, which may sound a little strange. This is not a religious program. My personal word would be that humans are unique, but we could all use a little extra help. Of course, it's a two-way street. I think God will do his part if we will do our part. During this program, we have talked about our part. There is a story about a man who took a rock pile and in two years turned it into a fabulous garden, and people came from everywhere to see it. One day, a man came by, saw the garden, and thought it was fabulous. But he wanted to make sure the gardener did not take all the credit. He had this deep feeling inside that a lot of people leave God out. So he toured the garden and had a chance to meet the gardener. When he met him, he shook his hand and said, "Mr. Gardner, you and the good Lord together have made this beautiful garden." The gardener understood his message and his point, so he said, "I think that's true. If it was not for the sunshine and the rain and the miracle of the seed and the soil and the seasons, there would be no garden at all. But," he said, "you know, you should have seen this place a couple of years ago when God had it all by himself." I think that's true. We do play an important part in this challenge called making all we can out of all we have.

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Well, we have shared a feast together during these cassette sessions, a feast of ideas that can, if we'll digest those ideas, satisfy our lifelong appetite for both wealth and happiness. Here's what I want to offer in the way of a suggestion: Now that we've feasted on the philosophical side, the theory side of the fundamentals, let me encourage you to participate in what should always follow any feast, and that is activity, exercise, and effort. In this case, the active and intense application of all that we've learned and shared together. I want to appeal to you right now to go to work. I appeal to you to review your associations with those people around you. I appeal to you to set your goals, to begin the quest for developing yourself, and to embark on a journey leading to your own financial independence by following a well-defined plan. I appeal to you to enjoy your life as you seek to improve it. I give to you my strong appeal to seek knowledge so that your value to yourself and to others might increase. And finally, I appeal to you to discipline yourself for the control and management of the precious commodity of which we are granted only a limited amount: time. Work on all these areas, but by all means, work. It is always easier to think than to do. It is easier to promise than to achieve. It is easier to pretend than to produce. It is easier to plan than to act. I ask you not to do what is easy, but to do what will actually bring you the achievements you seek. Those who enjoy wealth but not happiness, those who are happy but not prosperous, as well as those who are neither happy nor wealthy, seem to ignore some or all of the fundamentals we've discussed. They are perhaps too busy, too tired, too preoccupied, too lazy, and perhaps even too rich to give attention to the basics. But don't let that be you. Go to work today on the fundamentals and commit yourself to yourself. The results will be well worth it. I promise. This is Jim Rohn giving you my final appeal. Let's do something remarkable.

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We know you've benefited from this remarkable program, Success Strategies: Seven Keys to Wealth and Happiness. We're confident that if you choose, your plan can help you make your dreams reality. This is just one of the many programs Nightingale-Conan produces to help you reach your highest potential. For instance, listen to this excerpt from another of our dynamic products, Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins. Robbins discusses the power of neuro-linguistic programming and how we can all use our personal power to produce new behaviors and emotions. In this segment, he talks about how movie maker Steven Spielberg got his start by using his personal power. He isn't the only one who wanted to be involved with movies. He's got a love for movies since he was 13 years old. When he was 17 years old, he decided to go on the Universal Studios tour in California, and he went on the tram and got real bored, real fast. Said, "I want to see real movies." So he had a thing called personal what. So he got himself to take action. He snuck away from the tram and he got down to the movie lot and he actually stepped onto a filming and actually watched some filming going on. He wasn't supposed to be there. But he also had a tool called rapport. He developed rapport with a director and started talking with this man. And this guy liked this moxie, little kid, you know, young kid, right? Who seemed to have this real desire. And he loved the creativity and the intensity that he saw on this young man. And so he told him about what it was like to be a producer and a director. Told him it was the greatest career he could ever have, and he should do whatever it took to become one. And then finally, the man said, "Okay, now it's time for you to go." And the security escorted him off the lot. Now, for most people, that would have been, "God, what a neat story, huh? You know, you're 17, you get to meet a real director, watch real filming, instead of just going on the tour." But see, once again, this man was totally committed to a dream. And so, guess what? Using his personal what power, he took action. And the next day, he came up with a plan. He showed up at Universal's lot wearing this one suit that he owned and borrowed his dad's old briefcase, threw in their candy bar and a couple sandwiches, and he walked by purposely, congruently. Passed the guard, went, "Hey, how's it going, Harry?" Of course, he got the guy's name by reading his name tag, but he was so congruent that Harry just went, "Oh, hi." And he walked right on by. So now he's in the lot where he now goes around meeting people, watching movies, learning, right? Knowing his outcome, taking action, getting some sense, recruiting, learning what worked and what didn't work in movie making. And he went there every day after school and throughout the summer. Some people began, he's just the guard would say, "Harry, say, 'Hey, how's it going, Stephen? How are your movies coming?'" "Hey, great. It's really fabulous." He found himself an abandoned trailer. There are lots of them on Universal Studios lot. He found one, cleaned it out, got some plastic letters on the outside. He wrote, "Steven Spielberg, Director." People say, "Where's your office?" He said, "Oh, they're at, you know, K9 and everything else." People come to his office. One day, finally, a director said, "Well, let's see one of your movies." So he pops out this Super 8 cartridge. He said, "Well, wait, we got to see a real movie." He said, "You know, you seem to know a lot about that. How did you learn so much about movies?" Well, "I spent two years, a year on the lot, right? Being there, developing acuity, developing and stuff, getting creative, letting his mind run, totally committed to his outcome." So finally, said, "Look, if you'll make a film and show it to us, a short film," he said, "we may hire you." So he went out and convinced one of his friends who was in my seminar last week, and I told the story. This guy got up and said, "I financed that original film. It took ten thousand dollars, and Steven Spielberg made this little film about a group of teenagers that went from the desert and hitchhiked to California." And this guy financed it. It was amazing. Anyway, bottom line is, he showed at Universal Studios, and they hired him with a seven-year contract to make television programs. Not bad. Why was he there? Because he had this great gift. His great gift was commitment to an alchemy, to do whatever it took. And out of his personal power, took action until he found a way to make it work. That's where the power is. Commitment to practice what is important to you, to do whatever it takes, and not to accept less than you can be, not to accept results that are less than you deserve, or anyone that you support or represent. That's critical.

If you'd like more information about Unlimited Power or any of Nightingale-Conan's inspiring audio and video programs, call us toll-free at 1-800-323-5552. Thanks for listening, and come hear us again.

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