it is something I’d like to share some
ideas and thoughts with you I’m not
asking that you believe anything that I
say I’m not asking that you agree with
me I’m merely asking that you stand on
and in the conversation that we’ll share
with you this evening
and if there’s something that I say that
can fit and work for you I say use it if
not discard it and let it be is that
Alright
say that’s fair enough very good all
right one of the things I have realized
and many of us have that if you want
something out of life if you want to
change yourself if you want to acquire
something if there’s some goal that you
want to reach that is really not easy as
some people will make us feel that
living your dream changing your
behaviors overcoming negative habits
it’s challenging it’s hard that living
alone is just very difficult and once we
begin to come to grips with the fact
that living is difficult life is very
challenging I heard a song once by a guy
named dippel’s call if it ain’t one
I say to you if it ain’t one thing is 12
others always something you will never
ever have a problem free moment in life
somebody said I like this that do you
either in a problem or just left water
or hit it toward would anybody found
that to be so raise your head if you
know what I’m talking about
I mean there’s always something so how
do we begin to nurture that hunger what
are the characteristics of the qualities
of people that are hungry what will it
take for me to get some of the things
that I want and being hungry for those
things number one you’ve got to work on
yourself it’s very important that you
engage in an ongoing process to develop
you spend more time on yourself than
what you’ve been spending it’s very
important you owe that to yourself I was
reading a book by odd man Dino called
the University of Success read one line
gave me a chill I didn’t have to read
anything else in the book he said many
of us never realize our greatness
because we become sidetracked by
secondary activity we spread ourselves
too thin don’t know how to say no and we
find ourselves doing all kinds of things
and never ever have time to do those
things that we need to do to work on
ourselves and then there goes a second
that goes another second that goes
another second and we can’t stop it
whole time and before you know it you
wake up one day and you’re behind in
so decide that you’re going to take some
time to work on you that you deserve
that from yourself that your life
deserves some prime time because you are
creating your own production as Michael
Todd would say you are the star of your
show you are the director you’re writing
the script and you will determine
whether your life is a smash
office hit or flop you determine that
working on yourself talking to yourself
that’s so very important overcoming the
negative conversation that inner
dialogue is going on all the time all
the time even when you don’t want it to
be there you can’t stop yourself right
now from thinking you can’t do it it’s
going on and so learning how to empower
yourself part of doing that is standing
up to yourself you’ve got to stand up
inside yourself sometimes and say shut
you’ve got to do this I was going to
give a presentation and this voice
inside of me saying you can’t do this
you don’t have everything it takes us
shut up I’m behind on my bills are you
telling me what I can’t do I have got to
do it you get scared sometimes your mind
will go blink on you
some people will you will allow to
unnerve you and you wonder what’s wrong
with me I’m not crazy that’s why you’ve
got to learn to make a conscious
deliberate determined effort to stand up
inside yourself working on yourself
watching that inner dialogue it will
determine the quality of your life I
don’t believe this I know this I’ve had
a challenge of losing weight I’m walking
through the airport this voice say why
don’t you have some M&M peanuts you know
[Laughter]
well just one then after you eat that
whoo you might as well have a snicker
now you sucker
I mean it’s challenging
my mother fits the kind of sweet potato
pie you can’t eat with your shoes on
have to take your shoes off so you can
wiggle your toes it sticks on my fingers
it says eat it one little bite won’t
hurt that voice constantly little demons
from Colonel Sanders driving my car in
I’d say no no no no I’ll die it tomorrow
I saw a skinny man get hit by a truck
had it had a little bit more weight he
might have live you know some of you
know what I’m talking about ratio and if
you don’t that voice is awesome so you
have got to stand up to that voice when
you’re working on something you want to
achieve you have got to stand up to that
voice you’ve got to sell yourself every
day on your abilities on what you’re
doing on the goal that you want to reach
you’ve got to sell yourself every day
every day every day according to your
level of belief it will manifest itself
and what you’re doing whatever we have
right now whatever we’re demonstrating
in our lives is result of what we
believe subconsciously that we deserve
and part of increasing that belief level
is that you have got to convince
yourself every day you’ve got to sell
yourself I I do a lot of training for
many corporations and I conduct sales
seminars and I’ve heard all kind of guys
doing techniques and training people
techniques of how to close sales and how
to work within and begin to control the
the sale and how to ask for the clothes
let me share something with you you can
learn all the techniques in the world if
you don’t believe in yourself
it won’t happen for you I learned all of
it so that’s what I do a training called
focus on the seller you’ve got to focus
on you and as you convince you as you
sell yourself every day every day every
day you will begin to see a difference
in the things that you’re doing selling
yourself on your ability to perform a
job to achieve a certain objective
telling yourself every day here I go
again and I got what it takes
this is my day and nothing out here is
going to stop me and when you go out
there licen come over here
that brings you to the next thing it
takes courage to act part of being
hungry when you’ve been defeated it
takes courage to start over again I used
to do door-to-door sales and I was
working with another friend of mine and
door-to-door sales
I mean it’s punishing it’s cool and
unusual punishment and I was the lowboy
knocking on door hello would you like to
buy a nice working television set no
money down no BAM they slammed the door
in your face and the friend of mine that
was working with me
they slammed the door in his face and I
look back and he was going to the car he
said I can’t do this and he sat down in
the car and he said you go ahead I’ll be
here when you get back now he had a
mother and father to take care of him my
mother was ill I’m adopted I was hungry
I had to go on I learned something about
myself that when you step into your
fears somebody said it was Winston
Churchill he said that courage is going
from failure to failure without losing
when you step into your fears and
continue to push yourself to go on
something happens for you it will enable
you to transcend yourself I went to the
next door you like to buy a nice work
until no BAM
went to the next no bet after a while I
no longer took it personal
and I begin to play a game I say well I
know there’s a yes out here somewhere
and I’m gonna keep on until I find it
and I’m not going home until I do and I
continue to knock on doors and then
somebody eventually would say yes and I
said are you sure and I would go in
there and I would get the sale when you
when you have something you want to do
if you don’t develop the courage to do
that which has been given you to do and
you spend a lot of time going around
trying to convince other people are
trying to get their approval what will
happen is that you will lose your nerve
and other people will convince you that
what you’re doing doesn’t have any value
and you’ll give up on your dream it’s an
interesting thing about life I’ve also
found that if you don’t have the courage
to act sometimes and particularly if you
have something special to do life will
move on you I if it were not for life I
would still be a disc jockey I didn’t
just leave voluntarily to go to the
I was working on a job and I came home
one day I was married at the time not
told my former wife I said that guy Burt
I work for is stupid
she said if he’s so stupid why does he
sign your paycheck now you see why I
I couldn’t stand her that night I could
not sleep well here was a guy that was
controlling my life I was going through
all kind of changes because this man
controlled my paycheck and it was
Carlyle who said truth crushed to earth
shall rise again Winston Churchill said
the truth is incontrovertible malice mad
tacit ignorant may derive it but at the
end there is and we know scripture that
says he shall know the truth and the
truth shall set you free
and the truth that I had to come to
grips with that I wasn’t in charge of my
destiny the truth was that I wasn’t
giving all that I had the truth was that
there’s some things that I wanted to do
but I didn’t have the courage to act on
those things and the truth was that
Birchall’s was a blessing to me he made
life so miserable for me I had to start
looking at my life differently I started
going to work earlier I started being
the last one to leave there I started
working harder than anybody else the
other guys could not why would you work
so hard less I said I’m not working for
them I have been cheating Burt I thought
I’ve been cheating myself and my family
wherever you are whatever you’re doing
do it with everything that you have
develop the habit of giving more than
what you’re paid for develop the habit
of setting standards that others will be
measured by someone saying do not go
where the path may lead but go where
all right it is easy to be negative
today it is easy to have low morale
today I was at a corporation in there
they’re going through downsizing and
going to lay off some 1500 people over
the next few weeks it’s very depressing
there and those people that stay there
nine times out of ten they’re just going
to do just enough to keep from getting
fired anybody can do that but if you can
begin to harness yourself and say that
where I am I’m going to do the best I
can with what I got because that is an
expression of Who I am if you get into
the habit of just being mediocre it will
become a part of your consciousness if
you get an a habit of giving less than
what you have it within you to give it
will begin to reflect itself in your
personality it will begin to damage you
psychologically and you don’t want to be
a part of that kind of self-destructive
behavior and so you want to set some
high standards for yourself
the next thing part of what feeds that
hunger you’ve got to develop a sense of
see aralia said stop living your life
like you have a thousand years to live
in life you either here today and you’re
gone today if there’s something that you
want to do and you can’t do it all at
one time
do just a little bit of it I like what
Robert Schuller says he said by the yard
it’s hard but inch-by-inch
anything is essentially do just a little
bit of it a friend of mine Bobby Kerr
used to be a roommate Bobby wanted to go
into the area public relations he loved
working with the public young lady you
are Tamara named Clarice Bobby was a
great procrastinator pretty soon the job
where Bobby worked they transferred him
to another location he went out to
celebrate with the people on that new
job site and Bobby suffered a massive
heart attack and died Bobby didn’t drink
and didn’t smoke was under 40 and he
died ask your question how much time do
you have left
how much time do you have left when you
stop thinking about that we don’t know
we don’t know Bobby took all the
greatness and all of the talent and all
of his abilities to his grave whiffing
one other thing that could have put in
parentheses under his name he didn’t use
all his stuff most of most of us do that
most of us don’t use to stuff that we
have brought into the universe and we
want to make a conscious deliberate
determined effort to start living life
with a sense of urgency and using what
we’ve got using ourselves up sharing
what we brought into the universe to
share because if we don’t nobody else
will stop wasting valuable time knowing
that if we begin to live our lives as if
each day where our less our lives will
take off take on a whole new meaning and
take on a whole new expression
valuing each moment that we are blessed
with the next thing that begins to
nurture that hunger honor yourself as
your word don’t give your word out
lightly when you throw your word out
there and you don’t honor it it makes a
statement about you if you decide to
maintain a sense of integrity with
yourself that if I speak it I’m going to
live it that’s who I am
and I’m going to be very cautious and
how I give my word to others and most of
all with the commitments that I make to
myself because I want my life to reflect
my words and honoring Who I am and what
I Express another challenging area in
terms of nurturing and developing that
hunger and yourself is learning the art
of becoming single-minded learning how
to concentrate learning how to focus in
and you’ll be surprised of the things
that you’re able to do when you learn
how to block things out when you learn
how to keep our eyes single you’ll be
surprised of the ideas that will come to
you of the people that you’ll be able to
attract of the opportunities that you’ll
be able to see you begin to see things
I’ve been staying there looking you in
the face
I can’t believe this has been here all
this time here’s a habit that I do maybe
it might be of some value to you I get
up in the morning and I start writing
what great ideas said I can think of
today that can improve me and that will
enable me to reach my goal and I just
let my mind flow sometimes I write
fifteen twenty ideas some days it’s more
difficult than others one idea can
change your life one idea can turn your
life around deciding that you’re going
to focus to develop your skills the guy
was
was the new owner of a team a team a
baseball team that was in the basement
of the league when he took it over he
went to the picture and he says what is
your best throat he said well I got a
good curveball and I’ve got a good
fastball he went on talking about his
different throws he said but tell me
this what is your best throw he thought
for a moment he said I’ve got a good
fastball he said that’s all I want you
to work on nothing else just develop
your fastball the next year they went to
the World Series most people don’t know
what their fastball is most people go
through life never discovering what that
talents are most people never develop
their talents they have skills and
abilities but if you don’t nurture them
if you don’t develop them they will
never serve you your gifts can take you
many places if you develop your gifts
most of us don’t like to do those things
that come too easy to us I’ve always
loved to talk to people I decided taking
this advice to develop my skills as a
speaker and my gift has developed and
developed and has taken me many places
you have something that you brought to
the universe and that if you decide that
my life deserves my developing this what
I do well and becoming the best at it
and mastering myself and seeing what I
have within me if you decide to drop
your buckets where you are and develop
your gifts I grant you you will never
ever be without I grant you that your
gifts will take you places that will
literally amaze you I grant you that if
you begin to work to develop your gifts
you develop a strong sense of happiness
you’ll get a larger vision of yourself
because part of beginning to get a
larger vision of yourself all of us need
some area of our lives work we can have
a feeling of competence that people know
when they think about this area that’s
that you eat and sleep bad and that you
do that you do that and people know it
and you know it and you know that you
know that you know this if you don’t
know anything else
you know this can you tell I know I know
what I’m doing
oh hello you know this so you’ve got to
work on it when other folks are having a
good time you’ve got to have this the
strength of character to concentrate to
read to digest information if you decide
in any particular area that you’re
concerned about to make a conscious
deliberate determined effort to read one
book a month in that area in five years
you’ll be among the top 5% experts in
the world I read a minimum of two books
a week the average American reads only
one book a year if you decide that area
that you love that you are going to
master that particular area in this era
of accelerated change overwhelming
complexity and tremendous competition as
you begin to develop and expand your
skills and your talents and your vision
of yourself you will always be in
control of your destiny
the next thing is whatever it is that
you want to do you want to do it
massively have a friend who was telling
me that his sales were down I said well
how many phone calls you make a day he
said 25 I said double them make 50 or 75
or 100 he said ah man that’s just too
much what do you mean too much you
behind on your bills you’re talking
about too much you know one way to get
back on your feet real quick is to miss
you talk about your time there’s no
competition out here decide that you’re
going to push yourself most people won’t
do that most people give up on
themselves easily you know the human
spirit is powerful this nothing is
powerful it’s hard to kill the human
spirit
there’s Benjamin Disraeli a man who
became the head of a country at a time
when Jews were not allowed out after ten
o’clock he said how did you do it how do
you achieve against such great odds he
said nothing can resist the will of a
people that will stake even their
existence on the extent of their purpose
for good that when you have a made up
mind when you decide that you want to do
something I was reading something the
other day he said the power to hold on
in spite of everything the power to
endure this is the winners quality the
hunger the ability to face defeat again
and again without giving up this is a
winner’s quality you have that quality
within you when you’re hungry you don’t
care about the facts you don’t care
about the arts Doug Williams played for
the Washington Redskins quarterback John
Elway of the Denver Broncos and the
Superbowl everybody was talking about
Elway Elway after the Superbowl when
Doug Williams made a historic passing
game asked him said how are you able in
spite of all of that negative publicity
saying that you couldn’t win how did how
did you do it he said I ignored my
critics
I just didn’t pay any attention to them
I ignored myself because they kept on
saying it so much there were times I
doubted whether or not I can do what I
needed to do there’s a Doug Williams and
everybody here there’s greatness in you
and you’ve got to learn how to tune out
the critics outside and the critic
inside and since I’m going to do this
I’m going to harness my will and I’m not
going to let anything stop me I deserve
this
I’m going to do it until and this way I
told him sis start increasing your calls
I said make a hundred calls a day
I got a callus in my ear my you’d kind
his sales have increased he’s working
harder now the other thing is that if
you want something you have got to be
relentless you’ve got to learn how to
become resourceful you’ve got to learn
how to become creative when crises
strike in your life and in a Chinese
language crises mean danger but it also
means opportunity and this is an
opportunity for you to grow and you’ve
got to be so relentless regardless of
what comes down the pike that you’re
always looking for a way to get over
always looking for a way that you can
break through always looking for a way
and always looking for a way that you
can strike a telling blow in pretty soon
I think there’s some people watching us
in the universe they say wait let’s call
a meeting over here you know that guy
Mustafa look hitting on there
he won’t stop just that fool won’t know
he can’t get over look look look look
here why don’t we do this let him go and
let’s make mess with somebody else
let him go life will just get tired of
whoopin you sometimes and just say let’s
just let this one go now I know what
it’s told me this but I just kept on
kicking I didn’t have sense enough to
stop I was intelligently ignorant I
didn’t know what I couldn’t do so I just
tried anything and the fascinating thing
about life because you can’t get out of
it alive you might as well have a good
time
[Laughter]
live your life with passion with some
Drive I was giving a seminar the other
day and I mentioned that I was going to
do some training in August with some
young teenagers and take about a hundred
away to a two or three day camp and wipe
them out I’ve been working on this so
after the speech what our parents walked
up to me and said mr. Brown I’d like for
you to do something for my son he’s not
[Applause]
see what what you do speak so loudly foe
can’t hear what you say and so if you
don’t have any fire you know you’ve got
to watch the the people the
relationships that you develop how
people of kindred mindsets if you around
folk who are dead and negative all the
time they will affect you you want
people that around you that have smiles
on their faces looking good I was
telling a group last week Abraham
Lincoln refused to hire a guy because of
its face he said but the guy can’t help
but he said anybody over 30 is
[Applause]
if you have some depressing face looking
at you every day it affects your blood
pressure
keep these dead faces away from you it’s
this is serious so you’ve got to watch
your countenance watch your face have an
uplifted expression watch your body
posture all of these things affect you
psychically you’ve got to be the kind of
person that you are fearless fearless
func lead fearless people alone there’s
some people walk through neighborhood
and every dog in the neighborhood would
but there’s some people come through
ain’t nobody gonna mess with this
you are unstoppable and because you
aren’t stoppable because you’ve got
power that you haven’t even began to use
yet you are to yourself to release your
brakes how many of you have the
experience of pulling out of your
driveway and you’re matched on the
accelerator and the car was just you
could move and you match harder and it
couldn’t move and then you discovered
your head your emergency brakes on and
then you release those emergency brakes
to the girls true have you ever had that
experience before most of us go through
life with our brakes on holding back not
giving all that we have not sharing all
of ourselves most of us go to our graves
still holding on rather than releasing
it what are some of those things that
that keep us from releasing it because
of past experiences past defeats past
pain we look back well it didn’t work
many people get confused their
performances with who their are they are
I was reading Pat Riley the coach of the
Los Angeles Lakers
[Laughter]
[Applause]
but you’re gonna like this quote here
after the Trailblazers had blown them
out of the water and I’m sure he said
this last night they asked him how do
you feel he said tonight we were exposed
for what we are right now you see that
if my speech tonight doesn’t work it
doesn’t mean that I’m a bad speaker it
means that what I did didn’t work
tonight and I’ve got to separate what I
do from Who I am and I’ve got another
shot see the last chapter to your life
has not been written yet and it doesn’t
matter about what happened yesterday
it doesn’t matter about the things that
you’ve done that you feel guilty about
if you wouldn’t do it today you’re
convicting an innocent person you’ve
been reborn to a new state of
consciousness and as I say if we knew
better we would do better and so you
begin to decide I’m not going to be
tonight I remember and I was telling
someone and they asked me would you
repeat that again I was interested in
going into broadcasting I’m adopted and
that was my key out I want to make my
mama proud of me I was a proud I was
very much appreciative of what she’s
done for my brother and sister and I and
that was my way out and I went over to a
radio station that’s the guy that and
told him that I was interested in
broadcasting he looked at me and my
straw hat in my overalls he said you
have any broadcasting background I said
no sorry no what do you do I cut grass
young ladies ask me what kind of work I
do and I was working on the garbage
truck I say well I’m a sanitary
he said we don’t have any job for you I
decided that that was something I was
going to do I decided I’m unstoppable
I’m going to go up in here I’m going to
do this I started going to the radio
station every day developing a
relationship with the people that were
doing what I wanted to do and that’s
what I encourage you to do where
whatever area you want to go and find
people that are doing it the way you
want to do it and develop a relationship
with them when I decided to go in this
area I wrote letters to dr. norman
vincent peale to Zig Ziglar to Denis
Waitley all of the Giants in this area
and I said this is something I want to
do I’ve been following your career would
you help me dr. norman vincent peale
answered my letter did an article on me
wrote about me in the most recent book
that he issued and done many broadcasts
about me I’d wanted to develop a
relationship and rapport with those
people that were achieving those things
that I wanted to achieve by the same
token I would go to the radio station
and I developed a relationship with the
guys and they used me as the errand worm
they needed some food or someone to go
pick up entertainers that came into town
temptations singing my girl Jerry Butler
singing for your precious love Sam Cooke
singing darling you send me I would pick
up the entertainer’s at the airport and
driving around in the disc jockeys big
Cadillacs didn’t have any driver’s
license but I was acting like a head
every day I used to go home and work on
my communication skills developing
myself it was Whitney Young he said it’s
better to be prepared for an opportunity
and not have one than have an
opportunity and not be prepared start
working and developing yourself not and
prepare yourself for what it is that you
want because you expect to get it and
when the disk jockeys were in the
control room I would go in and watch
them and develop a trust level and they
would let me stay and I would watch and
observe them working the controls when
you want something out of life don’t
worry about how you’re going to get it
how is none of your business
the most difficult thing that is this to
hold the vision it’s to hollow the
vision so there I was at the radio
station a guy was on the air and he
started to drink by the name of rock I
was outside the window looking at him
and watch hungry
pretty soon the phone rang it was a
general manager I said hello
he said les this is mr. Klein I said I
know he said Rock can’t finish his
program he’s slurring his words I said I
know can you work the controls until one
of the other disk jockeys come in would
you call them I said yes sir hung the
phone up
I said now he must be think I’m crazy I
call my mom and my girlfriend Cassandra
said y’all come out on the front porch
and turn up the radio I’m about to come
I waited by 15 minutes I called him back
I said mr. Klein I can’t find nobody he
said well why don’t you go in there work
your controls until they get there
and don’t say nothing here I said yes
sir I couldn’t wait to sit down at that
turntable Mustapha I said look out this
is me lb Triple P Lester on a platter
playing papa there were none before me
and there will be none after me
therefore that makes me the one and only
you’re insane gonna love Domingo
certified bonafide then duplicate I to
bring you satisfaction and a whole lot
of action look out baby I’m your love
shake somebody’s hand on your right and
we’re y’all something else yeah you want
to be persistent about what it is that
you want to achieve Alexander Graham
Bell said what this power is I cannot
say all I know is that it exists and it
becomes available only when a man or
woman is in that state of mind in which
he or she knows exactly what he or she
wants and is fully determined not to
quit until they find it when our
children are learning how to walk how
many times will your baby attempt to
walk and fall and you just say just sit
down don’t try anymore you fall in 20
times just sit down somewhere busting
your lip and everything get there folks
when will the baby walk it will walk
when it walks that’s when it will walk
less when will you be known nationally
as the motivator I will be known when
I’m known that’s when I’ll be known
don’t get caught up in well I’ve tried
it four or five times and things didn’t
work out if there’s something that you
want and you’re hungry for it you’ve got
to do whatever is necessary until and
when you give the best you can and
that’s not enough you must do what is
required and don’t give up on yourself
don’t throw the towel in so quickly many
people give up on the one-yard line we
if they have the determination just to
keep on market it’s a funny thing of God
life if you alone one day and someone is
knocking on the door and you say I don’t
want to be bothered today and if a
person just keep on anoxic can you
believe that fool still knock
pretty soon you’ll say what is it what
do you want and that’s how you’ve got to
be about your dream some people well I
guess there’s nobody home I’m not gonna
do it but nobody Katie I heard the
television on and people were moving
around but I guess opportunity probably
went out the back door oh no no no see
life is not just that simple it’s not
that cut-and-dried and that’s why most
people never realize their personal
greatness because they’re casual about
life and when you are casual about life
you will end up a casualty life is
serious business
not decide that well I’ve done the best
I can I guess I just can’t have it don’t
make that decision many of us make
premature decisions about ourselves
Calvin Coolidge says something man who
was a president that was not known for
his eloquence or making any historical
decisions but something he wrote about
persistence
he says press on
nothing can take the place of
persistence talent will not the world is
full of unsuccessful people with tell
genius will not unrewarded genius is
almost a proverb
[Music]
education alone will not the floral is
full of educated derelicts persistence
as a person that is the embodiment of
[Music]
persistence and determination a person
who decided that some time ago that I’m
not going to take anything to my grave
with me I’m going to use myself up and
I’m gonna give and give and give until
my last breath this summer I’m going to
be working for her and with her doing
training teaching young people
techniques and strategies on how to
manifest their personal greatness
teaching them techniques and strategies
that will change them at the
subconscious level changing their value
systems and let them see the major role
they can play in society
let’s give mrs. Rosa Parks a round of
applause fifty please
[Music]
and we are the presence of greatness
[Music]
mrs. Fox people he couldn’t see you
would you come up give you she’s such a
[Music]
[Music]
I encourage you to see mrs. Potts and
mrs. Elaine Steele about the Rosa and
Raymond parks Institute for self
development if you’re interested in your
children participating in that they have
some information over here to share with
you it is just fascinating and just a
blessing to to have this woman when a
lot of folk who are giving up here this
year she celebrated her 75th birthday
and still has a dream of being an
instrument of change and there is the
Rosa Parks and all of us who made a
decision at one point in time standing
on the platform of oughtness as Immanuel
Kant talks about our book hall critique
of pure reason that there are certain
things we know we ought to do we just
know it we are to ourselves and those
around us I don’t know what your dreams
are I don’t know what your goals are but let me leave this with you
ideas and thoughts with you I’m not
asking that you believe anything that I
say I’m not asking that you agree with
me I’m merely asking that you stand on
and in the conversation that we’ll share
with you this evening
and if there’s something that I say that
can fit and work for you I say use it if
not discard it and let it be is that
Alright
say that’s fair enough very good all
right one of the things I have realized
and many of us have that if you want
something out of life if you want to
change yourself if you want to acquire
something if there’s some goal that you
want to reach that is really not easy as
some people will make us feel that
living your dream changing your
behaviors overcoming negative habits
it’s challenging it’s hard that living
alone is just very difficult and once we
begin to come to grips with the fact
that living is difficult life is very
challenging I heard a song once by a guy
named dippel’s call if it ain’t one
I say to you if it ain’t one thing is 12
others always something you will never
ever have a problem free moment in life
somebody said I like this that do you
either in a problem or just left water
or hit it toward would anybody found
that to be so raise your head if you
know what I’m talking about
I mean there’s always something so how
do we begin to nurture that hunger what
are the characteristics of the qualities
of people that are hungry what will it
take for me to get some of the things
that I want and being hungry for those
things number one you’ve got to work on
yourself it’s very important that you
engage in an ongoing process to develop
you spend more time on yourself than
what you’ve been spending it’s very
important you owe that to yourself I was
reading a book by odd man Dino called
the University of Success read one line
gave me a chill I didn’t have to read
anything else in the book he said many
of us never realize our greatness
because we become sidetracked by
secondary activity we spread ourselves
too thin don’t know how to say no and we
find ourselves doing all kinds of things
and never ever have time to do those
things that we need to do to work on
ourselves and then there goes a second
that goes another second that goes
another second and we can’t stop it
whole time and before you know it you
wake up one day and you’re behind in
so decide that you’re going to take some
time to work on you that you deserve
that from yourself that your life
deserves some prime time because you are
creating your own production as Michael
Todd would say you are the star of your
show you are the director you’re writing
the script and you will determine
whether your life is a smash
office hit or flop you determine that
working on yourself talking to yourself
that’s so very important overcoming the
negative conversation that inner
dialogue is going on all the time all
the time even when you don’t want it to
be there you can’t stop yourself right
now from thinking you can’t do it it’s
going on and so learning how to empower
yourself part of doing that is standing
up to yourself you’ve got to stand up
inside yourself sometimes and say shut
you’ve got to do this I was going to
give a presentation and this voice
inside of me saying you can’t do this
you don’t have everything it takes us
shut up I’m behind on my bills are you
telling me what I can’t do I have got to
do it you get scared sometimes your mind
will go blink on you
some people will you will allow to
unnerve you and you wonder what’s wrong
with me I’m not crazy that’s why you’ve
got to learn to make a conscious
deliberate determined effort to stand up
inside yourself working on yourself
watching that inner dialogue it will
determine the quality of your life I
don’t believe this I know this I’ve had
a challenge of losing weight I’m walking
through the airport this voice say why
don’t you have some M&M peanuts you know
[Laughter]
well just one then after you eat that
whoo you might as well have a snicker
now you sucker
I mean it’s challenging
my mother fits the kind of sweet potato
pie you can’t eat with your shoes on
have to take your shoes off so you can
wiggle your toes it sticks on my fingers
it says eat it one little bite won’t
hurt that voice constantly little demons
from Colonel Sanders driving my car in
I’d say no no no no I’ll die it tomorrow
I saw a skinny man get hit by a truck
had it had a little bit more weight he
might have live you know some of you
know what I’m talking about ratio and if
you don’t that voice is awesome so you
have got to stand up to that voice when
you’re working on something you want to
achieve you have got to stand up to that
voice you’ve got to sell yourself every
day on your abilities on what you’re
doing on the goal that you want to reach
you’ve got to sell yourself every day
every day every day according to your
level of belief it will manifest itself
and what you’re doing whatever we have
right now whatever we’re demonstrating
in our lives is result of what we
believe subconsciously that we deserve
and part of increasing that belief level
is that you have got to convince
yourself every day you’ve got to sell
yourself I I do a lot of training for
many corporations and I conduct sales
seminars and I’ve heard all kind of guys
doing techniques and training people
techniques of how to close sales and how
to work within and begin to control the
the sale and how to ask for the clothes
let me share something with you you can
learn all the techniques in the world if
you don’t believe in yourself
it won’t happen for you I learned all of
it so that’s what I do a training called
focus on the seller you’ve got to focus
on you and as you convince you as you
sell yourself every day every day every
day you will begin to see a difference
in the things that you’re doing selling
yourself on your ability to perform a
job to achieve a certain objective
telling yourself every day here I go
again and I got what it takes
this is my day and nothing out here is
going to stop me and when you go out
there licen come over here
that brings you to the next thing it
takes courage to act part of being
hungry when you’ve been defeated it
takes courage to start over again I used
to do door-to-door sales and I was
working with another friend of mine and
door-to-door sales
I mean it’s punishing it’s cool and
unusual punishment and I was the lowboy
knocking on door hello would you like to
buy a nice working television set no
money down no BAM they slammed the door
in your face and the friend of mine that
was working with me
they slammed the door in his face and I
look back and he was going to the car he
said I can’t do this and he sat down in
the car and he said you go ahead I’ll be
here when you get back now he had a
mother and father to take care of him my
mother was ill I’m adopted I was hungry
I had to go on I learned something about
myself that when you step into your
fears somebody said it was Winston
Churchill he said that courage is going
from failure to failure without losing
when you step into your fears and
continue to push yourself to go on
something happens for you it will enable
you to transcend yourself I went to the
next door you like to buy a nice work
until no BAM
went to the next no bet after a while I
no longer took it personal
and I begin to play a game I say well I
know there’s a yes out here somewhere
and I’m gonna keep on until I find it
and I’m not going home until I do and I
continue to knock on doors and then
somebody eventually would say yes and I
said are you sure and I would go in
there and I would get the sale when you
when you have something you want to do
if you don’t develop the courage to do
that which has been given you to do and
you spend a lot of time going around
trying to convince other people are
trying to get their approval what will
happen is that you will lose your nerve
and other people will convince you that
what you’re doing doesn’t have any value
and you’ll give up on your dream it’s an
interesting thing about life I’ve also
found that if you don’t have the courage
to act sometimes and particularly if you
have something special to do life will
move on you I if it were not for life I
would still be a disc jockey I didn’t
just leave voluntarily to go to the
I was working on a job and I came home
one day I was married at the time not
told my former wife I said that guy Burt
I work for is stupid
she said if he’s so stupid why does he
sign your paycheck now you see why I
I couldn’t stand her that night I could
not sleep well here was a guy that was
controlling my life I was going through
all kind of changes because this man
controlled my paycheck and it was
Carlyle who said truth crushed to earth
shall rise again Winston Churchill said
the truth is incontrovertible malice mad
tacit ignorant may derive it but at the
end there is and we know scripture that
says he shall know the truth and the
truth shall set you free
and the truth that I had to come to
grips with that I wasn’t in charge of my
destiny the truth was that I wasn’t
giving all that I had the truth was that
there’s some things that I wanted to do
but I didn’t have the courage to act on
those things and the truth was that
Birchall’s was a blessing to me he made
life so miserable for me I had to start
looking at my life differently I started
going to work earlier I started being
the last one to leave there I started
working harder than anybody else the
other guys could not why would you work
so hard less I said I’m not working for
them I have been cheating Burt I thought
I’ve been cheating myself and my family
wherever you are whatever you’re doing
do it with everything that you have
develop the habit of giving more than
what you’re paid for develop the habit
of setting standards that others will be
measured by someone saying do not go
where the path may lead but go where
all right it is easy to be negative
today it is easy to have low morale
today I was at a corporation in there
they’re going through downsizing and
going to lay off some 1500 people over
the next few weeks it’s very depressing
there and those people that stay there
nine times out of ten they’re just going
to do just enough to keep from getting
fired anybody can do that but if you can
begin to harness yourself and say that
where I am I’m going to do the best I
can with what I got because that is an
expression of Who I am if you get into
the habit of just being mediocre it will
become a part of your consciousness if
you get an a habit of giving less than
what you have it within you to give it
will begin to reflect itself in your
personality it will begin to damage you
psychologically and you don’t want to be
a part of that kind of self-destructive
behavior and so you want to set some
high standards for yourself
the next thing part of what feeds that
hunger you’ve got to develop a sense of
see aralia said stop living your life
like you have a thousand years to live
in life you either here today and you’re
gone today if there’s something that you
want to do and you can’t do it all at
one time
do just a little bit of it I like what
Robert Schuller says he said by the yard
it’s hard but inch-by-inch
anything is essentially do just a little
bit of it a friend of mine Bobby Kerr
used to be a roommate Bobby wanted to go
into the area public relations he loved
working with the public young lady you
are Tamara named Clarice Bobby was a
great procrastinator pretty soon the job
where Bobby worked they transferred him
to another location he went out to
celebrate with the people on that new
job site and Bobby suffered a massive
heart attack and died Bobby didn’t drink
and didn’t smoke was under 40 and he
died ask your question how much time do
you have left
how much time do you have left when you
stop thinking about that we don’t know
we don’t know Bobby took all the
greatness and all of the talent and all
of his abilities to his grave whiffing
one other thing that could have put in
parentheses under his name he didn’t use
all his stuff most of most of us do that
most of us don’t use to stuff that we
have brought into the universe and we
want to make a conscious deliberate
determined effort to start living life
with a sense of urgency and using what
we’ve got using ourselves up sharing
what we brought into the universe to
share because if we don’t nobody else
will stop wasting valuable time knowing
that if we begin to live our lives as if
each day where our less our lives will
take off take on a whole new meaning and
take on a whole new expression
valuing each moment that we are blessed
with the next thing that begins to
nurture that hunger honor yourself as
your word don’t give your word out
lightly when you throw your word out
there and you don’t honor it it makes a
statement about you if you decide to
maintain a sense of integrity with
yourself that if I speak it I’m going to
live it that’s who I am
and I’m going to be very cautious and
how I give my word to others and most of
all with the commitments that I make to
myself because I want my life to reflect
my words and honoring Who I am and what
I Express another challenging area in
terms of nurturing and developing that
hunger and yourself is learning the art
of becoming single-minded learning how
to concentrate learning how to focus in
and you’ll be surprised of the things
that you’re able to do when you learn
how to block things out when you learn
how to keep our eyes single you’ll be
surprised of the ideas that will come to
you of the people that you’ll be able to
attract of the opportunities that you’ll
be able to see you begin to see things
I’ve been staying there looking you in
the face
I can’t believe this has been here all
this time here’s a habit that I do maybe
it might be of some value to you I get
up in the morning and I start writing
what great ideas said I can think of
today that can improve me and that will
enable me to reach my goal and I just
let my mind flow sometimes I write
fifteen twenty ideas some days it’s more
difficult than others one idea can
change your life one idea can turn your
life around deciding that you’re going
to focus to develop your skills the guy
was
was the new owner of a team a team a
baseball team that was in the basement
of the league when he took it over he
went to the picture and he says what is
your best throat he said well I got a
good curveball and I’ve got a good
fastball he went on talking about his
different throws he said but tell me
this what is your best throw he thought
for a moment he said I’ve got a good
fastball he said that’s all I want you
to work on nothing else just develop
your fastball the next year they went to
the World Series most people don’t know
what their fastball is most people go
through life never discovering what that
talents are most people never develop
their talents they have skills and
abilities but if you don’t nurture them
if you don’t develop them they will
never serve you your gifts can take you
many places if you develop your gifts
most of us don’t like to do those things
that come too easy to us I’ve always
loved to talk to people I decided taking
this advice to develop my skills as a
speaker and my gift has developed and
developed and has taken me many places
you have something that you brought to
the universe and that if you decide that
my life deserves my developing this what
I do well and becoming the best at it
and mastering myself and seeing what I
have within me if you decide to drop
your buckets where you are and develop
your gifts I grant you you will never
ever be without I grant you that your
gifts will take you places that will
literally amaze you I grant you that if
you begin to work to develop your gifts
you develop a strong sense of happiness
you’ll get a larger vision of yourself
because part of beginning to get a
larger vision of yourself all of us need
some area of our lives work we can have
a feeling of competence that people know
when they think about this area that’s
that you eat and sleep bad and that you
do that you do that and people know it
and you know it and you know that you
know that you know this if you don’t
know anything else
you know this can you tell I know I know
what I’m doing
oh hello you know this so you’ve got to
work on it when other folks are having a
good time you’ve got to have this the
strength of character to concentrate to
read to digest information if you decide
in any particular area that you’re
concerned about to make a conscious
deliberate determined effort to read one
book a month in that area in five years
you’ll be among the top 5% experts in
the world I read a minimum of two books
a week the average American reads only
one book a year if you decide that area
that you love that you are going to
master that particular area in this era
of accelerated change overwhelming
complexity and tremendous competition as
you begin to develop and expand your
skills and your talents and your vision
of yourself you will always be in
control of your destiny
the next thing is whatever it is that
you want to do you want to do it
massively have a friend who was telling
me that his sales were down I said well
how many phone calls you make a day he
said 25 I said double them make 50 or 75
or 100 he said ah man that’s just too
much what do you mean too much you
behind on your bills you’re talking
about too much you know one way to get
back on your feet real quick is to miss
you talk about your time there’s no
competition out here decide that you’re
going to push yourself most people won’t
do that most people give up on
themselves easily you know the human
spirit is powerful this nothing is
powerful it’s hard to kill the human
spirit
there’s Benjamin Disraeli a man who
became the head of a country at a time
when Jews were not allowed out after ten
o’clock he said how did you do it how do
you achieve against such great odds he
said nothing can resist the will of a
people that will stake even their
existence on the extent of their purpose
for good that when you have a made up
mind when you decide that you want to do
something I was reading something the
other day he said the power to hold on
in spite of everything the power to
endure this is the winners quality the
hunger the ability to face defeat again
and again without giving up this is a
winner’s quality you have that quality
within you when you’re hungry you don’t
care about the facts you don’t care
about the arts Doug Williams played for
the Washington Redskins quarterback John
Elway of the Denver Broncos and the
Superbowl everybody was talking about
Elway Elway after the Superbowl when
Doug Williams made a historic passing
game asked him said how are you able in
spite of all of that negative publicity
saying that you couldn’t win how did how
did you do it he said I ignored my
critics
I just didn’t pay any attention to them
I ignored myself because they kept on
saying it so much there were times I
doubted whether or not I can do what I
needed to do there’s a Doug Williams and
everybody here there’s greatness in you
and you’ve got to learn how to tune out
the critics outside and the critic
inside and since I’m going to do this
I’m going to harness my will and I’m not
going to let anything stop me I deserve
this
I’m going to do it until and this way I
told him sis start increasing your calls
I said make a hundred calls a day
I got a callus in my ear my you’d kind
his sales have increased he’s working
harder now the other thing is that if
you want something you have got to be
relentless you’ve got to learn how to
become resourceful you’ve got to learn
how to become creative when crises
strike in your life and in a Chinese
language crises mean danger but it also
means opportunity and this is an
opportunity for you to grow and you’ve
got to be so relentless regardless of
what comes down the pike that you’re
always looking for a way to get over
always looking for a way that you can
break through always looking for a way
and always looking for a way that you
can strike a telling blow in pretty soon
I think there’s some people watching us
in the universe they say wait let’s call
a meeting over here you know that guy
Mustafa look hitting on there
he won’t stop just that fool won’t know
he can’t get over look look look look
here why don’t we do this let him go and
let’s make mess with somebody else
let him go life will just get tired of
whoopin you sometimes and just say let’s
just let this one go now I know what
it’s told me this but I just kept on
kicking I didn’t have sense enough to
stop I was intelligently ignorant I
didn’t know what I couldn’t do so I just
tried anything and the fascinating thing
about life because you can’t get out of
it alive you might as well have a good
time
[Laughter]
live your life with passion with some
Drive I was giving a seminar the other
day and I mentioned that I was going to
do some training in August with some
young teenagers and take about a hundred
away to a two or three day camp and wipe
them out I’ve been working on this so
after the speech what our parents walked
up to me and said mr. Brown I’d like for
you to do something for my son he’s not
[Applause]
see what what you do speak so loudly foe
can’t hear what you say and so if you
don’t have any fire you know you’ve got
to watch the the people the
relationships that you develop how
people of kindred mindsets if you around
folk who are dead and negative all the
time they will affect you you want
people that around you that have smiles
on their faces looking good I was
telling a group last week Abraham
Lincoln refused to hire a guy because of
its face he said but the guy can’t help
but he said anybody over 30 is
[Applause]
if you have some depressing face looking
at you every day it affects your blood
pressure
keep these dead faces away from you it’s
this is serious so you’ve got to watch
your countenance watch your face have an
uplifted expression watch your body
posture all of these things affect you
psychically you’ve got to be the kind of
person that you are fearless fearless
func lead fearless people alone there’s
some people walk through neighborhood
and every dog in the neighborhood would
but there’s some people come through
ain’t nobody gonna mess with this
you are unstoppable and because you
aren’t stoppable because you’ve got
power that you haven’t even began to use
yet you are to yourself to release your
brakes how many of you have the
experience of pulling out of your
driveway and you’re matched on the
accelerator and the car was just you
could move and you match harder and it
couldn’t move and then you discovered
your head your emergency brakes on and
then you release those emergency brakes
to the girls true have you ever had that
experience before most of us go through
life with our brakes on holding back not
giving all that we have not sharing all
of ourselves most of us go to our graves
still holding on rather than releasing
it what are some of those things that
that keep us from releasing it because
of past experiences past defeats past
pain we look back well it didn’t work
many people get confused their
performances with who their are they are
I was reading Pat Riley the coach of the
Los Angeles Lakers
[Laughter]
[Applause]
but you’re gonna like this quote here
after the Trailblazers had blown them
out of the water and I’m sure he said
this last night they asked him how do
you feel he said tonight we were exposed
for what we are right now you see that
if my speech tonight doesn’t work it
doesn’t mean that I’m a bad speaker it
means that what I did didn’t work
tonight and I’ve got to separate what I
do from Who I am and I’ve got another
shot see the last chapter to your life
has not been written yet and it doesn’t
matter about what happened yesterday
it doesn’t matter about the things that
you’ve done that you feel guilty about
if you wouldn’t do it today you’re
convicting an innocent person you’ve
been reborn to a new state of
consciousness and as I say if we knew
better we would do better and so you
begin to decide I’m not going to be
tonight I remember and I was telling
someone and they asked me would you
repeat that again I was interested in
going into broadcasting I’m adopted and
that was my key out I want to make my
mama proud of me I was a proud I was
very much appreciative of what she’s
done for my brother and sister and I and
that was my way out and I went over to a
radio station that’s the guy that and
told him that I was interested in
broadcasting he looked at me and my
straw hat in my overalls he said you
have any broadcasting background I said
no sorry no what do you do I cut grass
young ladies ask me what kind of work I
do and I was working on the garbage
truck I say well I’m a sanitary
he said we don’t have any job for you I
decided that that was something I was
going to do I decided I’m unstoppable
I’m going to go up in here I’m going to
do this I started going to the radio
station every day developing a
relationship with the people that were
doing what I wanted to do and that’s
what I encourage you to do where
whatever area you want to go and find
people that are doing it the way you
want to do it and develop a relationship
with them when I decided to go in this
area I wrote letters to dr. norman
vincent peale to Zig Ziglar to Denis
Waitley all of the Giants in this area
and I said this is something I want to
do I’ve been following your career would
you help me dr. norman vincent peale
answered my letter did an article on me
wrote about me in the most recent book
that he issued and done many broadcasts
about me I’d wanted to develop a
relationship and rapport with those
people that were achieving those things
that I wanted to achieve by the same
token I would go to the radio station
and I developed a relationship with the
guys and they used me as the errand worm
they needed some food or someone to go
pick up entertainers that came into town
temptations singing my girl Jerry Butler
singing for your precious love Sam Cooke
singing darling you send me I would pick
up the entertainer’s at the airport and
driving around in the disc jockeys big
Cadillacs didn’t have any driver’s
license but I was acting like a head
every day I used to go home and work on
my communication skills developing
myself it was Whitney Young he said it’s
better to be prepared for an opportunity
and not have one than have an
opportunity and not be prepared start
working and developing yourself not and
prepare yourself for what it is that you
want because you expect to get it and
when the disk jockeys were in the
control room I would go in and watch
them and develop a trust level and they
would let me stay and I would watch and
observe them working the controls when
you want something out of life don’t
worry about how you’re going to get it
how is none of your business
the most difficult thing that is this to
hold the vision it’s to hollow the
vision so there I was at the radio
station a guy was on the air and he
started to drink by the name of rock I
was outside the window looking at him
and watch hungry
pretty soon the phone rang it was a
general manager I said hello
he said les this is mr. Klein I said I
know he said Rock can’t finish his
program he’s slurring his words I said I
know can you work the controls until one
of the other disk jockeys come in would
you call them I said yes sir hung the
phone up
I said now he must be think I’m crazy I
call my mom and my girlfriend Cassandra
said y’all come out on the front porch
and turn up the radio I’m about to come
I waited by 15 minutes I called him back
I said mr. Klein I can’t find nobody he
said well why don’t you go in there work
your controls until they get there
and don’t say nothing here I said yes
sir I couldn’t wait to sit down at that
turntable Mustapha I said look out this
is me lb Triple P Lester on a platter
playing papa there were none before me
and there will be none after me
therefore that makes me the one and only
you’re insane gonna love Domingo
certified bonafide then duplicate I to
bring you satisfaction and a whole lot
of action look out baby I’m your love
shake somebody’s hand on your right and
we’re y’all something else yeah you want
to be persistent about what it is that
you want to achieve Alexander Graham
Bell said what this power is I cannot
say all I know is that it exists and it
becomes available only when a man or
woman is in that state of mind in which
he or she knows exactly what he or she
wants and is fully determined not to
quit until they find it when our
children are learning how to walk how
many times will your baby attempt to
walk and fall and you just say just sit
down don’t try anymore you fall in 20
times just sit down somewhere busting
your lip and everything get there folks
when will the baby walk it will walk
when it walks that’s when it will walk
less when will you be known nationally
as the motivator I will be known when
I’m known that’s when I’ll be known
don’t get caught up in well I’ve tried
it four or five times and things didn’t
work out if there’s something that you
want and you’re hungry for it you’ve got
to do whatever is necessary until and
when you give the best you can and
that’s not enough you must do what is
required and don’t give up on yourself
don’t throw the towel in so quickly many
people give up on the one-yard line we
if they have the determination just to
keep on market it’s a funny thing of God
life if you alone one day and someone is
knocking on the door and you say I don’t
want to be bothered today and if a
person just keep on anoxic can you
believe that fool still knock
pretty soon you’ll say what is it what
do you want and that’s how you’ve got to
be about your dream some people well I
guess there’s nobody home I’m not gonna
do it but nobody Katie I heard the
television on and people were moving
around but I guess opportunity probably
went out the back door oh no no no see
life is not just that simple it’s not
that cut-and-dried and that’s why most
people never realize their personal
greatness because they’re casual about
life and when you are casual about life
you will end up a casualty life is
serious business
not decide that well I’ve done the best
I can I guess I just can’t have it don’t
make that decision many of us make
premature decisions about ourselves
Calvin Coolidge says something man who
was a president that was not known for
his eloquence or making any historical
decisions but something he wrote about
persistence
he says press on
nothing can take the place of
persistence talent will not the world is
full of unsuccessful people with tell
genius will not unrewarded genius is
almost a proverb
[Music]
education alone will not the floral is
full of educated derelicts persistence
as a person that is the embodiment of
[Music]
persistence and determination a person
who decided that some time ago that I’m
not going to take anything to my grave
with me I’m going to use myself up and
I’m gonna give and give and give until
my last breath this summer I’m going to
be working for her and with her doing
training teaching young people
techniques and strategies on how to
manifest their personal greatness
teaching them techniques and strategies
that will change them at the
subconscious level changing their value
systems and let them see the major role
they can play in society
let’s give mrs. Rosa Parks a round of
applause fifty please
[Music]
and we are the presence of greatness
[Music]
mrs. Fox people he couldn’t see you
would you come up give you she’s such a
[Music]
[Music]
I encourage you to see mrs. Potts and
mrs. Elaine Steele about the Rosa and
Raymond parks Institute for self
development if you’re interested in your
children participating in that they have
some information over here to share with
you it is just fascinating and just a
blessing to to have this woman when a
lot of folk who are giving up here this
year she celebrated her 75th birthday
and still has a dream of being an
instrument of change and there is the
Rosa Parks and all of us who made a
decision at one point in time standing
on the platform of oughtness as Immanuel
Kant talks about our book hall critique
of pure reason that there are certain
things we know we ought to do we just
know it we are to ourselves and those
around us I don’t know what your dreams
are I don’t know what your goals are but let me leave this with you
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