power or fame but what does that really
mean well let’s start with the word
eager all by itself
eager is kind of exciting kids are eager
for their birthday parties they expect
to be the center of attention get lots
of presents eat too much
I guess grown-ups are eager for
birthdays too unless of course they’re
embarrassed at the number of candles on
the cake outnumber their achievements
but we can be eager to see a ball game
eager to see our kids in a dance recital
eager to see an old friend
eager to shop for a new car eager sounds
like a lot of fun but do you ever hear
people say they are eager to live a
better life
eager to have a better family eager to
make a lot of money probably not and
that’s a problem
because how I see it living a better
life having a better family and making a
lot of money takes an eager desire we
have the remarkable ability to get
exactly what we must have but there is a
difference between wishes and desires
we’ve all heard people say oh I wish I
could just drop 5 pounds I want to be a
little lighter and we’ve probably set it
ourselves especially after a big holiday
dinner of Turkey and homemade pie and
every other thing we can possibly stuff
ourselves with in one 8 hour period of
time and even though we may wish we
could breathe a little easier in our
clothing we have to have the desire to
exercise a little more and eat a little
less the I wish I could lose weight has
to become I have to eat your desire to
lose weight I’m also sure you’ve heard
people talk about wishing they had more
money to pay the bills or take a
vacation or just to take a little
pressure off of life
but before their lifestyle can change
their wish needs to become a desire if
they really desired change they wouldn’t
spend their evenings just watching TV
and wishing they were doing something
more the backbone of an eager desire to
change is discipline true ambition is
disciplined eager desire it’s that
little part within us that says if I
want to be ready for that meeting
tomorrow I need to finish preparing for
it today if I want to make sure I can
pay for my kids college education I need
to start saving today if I want a better
life tomorrow I need to start working on
it today ambition is a minute-by-minute
day-by-day mentality to have the
ambition to work towards a better family
life a newer car a bigger house a
financially secure future you have to
live it every moment if living a
successful life was easy I’m sure more
people would be successful if just being
ambitious was enough I’m sure all of the
broken perplexed people in the world
wouldn’t be broken perplexed while most
people spend most of their lives
struggling to earn a living a much
smaller number seem to have everything
going their way instead of just earning
a living the smaller group is busily
working at building and enjoying a
fortune everything just seems to work
out for them and here sits the much
larger group wandering in awe on how
life can be so unfair complicated and
unjust so what’s the major difference
between the little group with so much
and the larger group with so little
despite all the factors that affect our
lives like the kind of parents we have
the schools we attended
the part of the country we grew up in
none has as much potential power for
doing good as the ability to dream
dreams are a projection of the kind of
life we want to lead dreams can drive
you
dreams can make you skip over obstacles
when we allow our dreams to pull us they
unleash a creative force that can
overpower everything in our way to
unleash this power though your dreams
must be well defined a fuzzy future has
little pull power well-defined dreams
are not fuzzy wishes are fuzzy to really
achieve your dreams to really have your
future plans pull you your dreams must
be vivid if you’ve ever hiked the 14,000
foot peak in the Rocky Mountains one
thought has surely come to mind how did
the settlers of this country do it how
did they get from the east coast to the
west coast by foot carrying one day’s
supply of food and water is hard enough
can you imagine hauling all of your
worldly goods with you mile after mile
day after day month after month these
people had dreams big ones they had
ambition they didn’t focus on the
hardship of getting up the mountain in
their minds they were already on the
other side their bodies just hadn’t
gotten them there yet despite all of
their pains and struggles births and
deaths along the way those who made it
to the other side had a single vision to
reach the land of continuous sunshine
and extraordinary wealth to start over
where anything was possible where
everything was possible their dreams
were stronger than the obstacles in
their way you’ve got to be a dreamer
you’ve got to see the future finished in
advance
you’ve got to see California while
you’re climbing 14,000 foot piece you’ve
got to see the finish line while you’re
running the race you’ve got to hear the
cheers when you’re in the middle of a
monster project and you’ve got to be
willing to put yourself through the
paces of doing the uncomfortable until
it becomes comfortable because that’s
how you realize your dreams our great
country was founded with dreams they’ve
always been important dreams are what
caused thousands of people to leave
their homes and families and start over
in a land where anything was possible to
this day dreams continue to bring people
to our land of opportunity to a country
where you can start with little and end
up with a lot to America don’t you
sometimes wonder why so many immigrants
who come to America can build a new life
and a fortune while many of the people
who were born here are barely surviving
they have a dream a defined goal
ambition aside from the pioneers that
crossed the prairies and the mountains
to reach their vision of hope and future
promises there are other amazing
examples of how ambition has shaped
America take Ben Franklin for instance
when most people think of Ben Franklin
they remember the kite and the lightning
bolt and the discovery of electricity
what a lot of people may not know is
that Ben Franklin was one of the first
riders to address self making when
Franklin started Poor Richard’s Almanack
in 1732
he used the blank spaces between the
crop data and the weather information to
insert clever bits of moral and
practical advice I’m sure you’ve heard
the saying fish and company start to
stink in three days well that was one of
hundreds of Ben Franklin’s comments on
life another was diligent is the mother
of good luck
you know it’s amazing how hard-working
smart
working people have all the luck we
sometimes hear of a brand-new musical
group an overnight success they must
have been in the right place at the
right time knew the right people had a
friend to help them out but if you’ve
ever watched an interview with some of
these folks you’ll probably hear that
their overnight success took several
years diligence is the mother of good
luck now in addition to these witticisms
Ben Franklin gave us three principles of
success and ambition that have withstood
the test of time
number one happiness doesn’t come from
big pieces of great success but from
small advantages hammered out day by day
what mr. Franklin is saying here is that
we must be happy with what we’ve got
when we’re in pursuit of what we want
too often we say oh I’ll be happy when I
just get that promotion I’ll be happy
when I just land that contract I’ll be
happy when I just have more money I’ll
be happy when I just just what you won’t
be any happier when you reach your goals
than you are right now it just doesn’t
work that way Abraham Lincoln said it
best he said you’ll be as happy as you
make up your mind to be right now
whether you’re on your way
whether you’ve already gotten there
you’ll be as happy as you make up your
mind to be now right now being happy on
the way doesn’t mean you can’t aim for
great things after all look at
everything Franklin accomplished in his
lifetime it means that big achievements
come one small advantage at a time it
means that you’ve got to enjoy the
journey it means that you must enjoy and
take pride in your little
accomplishments it means enjoying who
you are becoming in pursuit of your
eager desire
every day every single day Ben
Franklin’s second principle said that
life is plastic within each of us is the
power to mold mold ourselves and mold
our environment it is up to each of us
to begin this molding process with a
final product in mind and it is within
our power to work it and form it every
minute every day every month every year
by using your mind and your abilities
and your attitude to work a little each
day on molding your life you’ll soon see
how magnificent your power is to gain
those small advantages each day the
little steps it takes to build up to
success principle number three success
is a pleasure success is a pleasure if
what you are doing today isn’t
satisfying gratifying guess what you’re
really not successful if you are not
fulfilled with what you are doing today
you cannot possibly be successful it
doesn’t matter how many worldly
possessions you may have how many cars
how many toys how much money if you’re
not happy with your life as it is you
cannot be successful now I know that
success is a relative term it means
different things to different people to
a school kid success may mean a star on
top of his latest test to a homemaker it
probably means that she has a well-run
household and a wonderful family to an
outside professional it’s most likely
the thrill of closing a major contract
or the pride in accepting a performance
bonus or being named the top producing
salesperson but the one thing you will
hear from everyone who is successful is
that they are happy with who they are
and what they are doing
they are happy content satisfied success
is a pleasure what have you done today
that makes this day successful think
about it and write it down if at the end
of the day you can jot down the things
that have made it a good day you will
soon see patterns for me this really is
a good habit to get into when you can
see a pattern of pleasure you’ll know
you’re on the road to success so take
note of mr. Franklin’s three principles
of success and ambition number one big
achievements come one small advantage at
a time one step at a time one day at a
time
number two you have the power to mold
your life to make it whatever you want
to shape it and reshape it and number
three success is measured through
pleasure this is the key one success is
measured through pleasure you’ve got to
be happy along the way you’ve got to
learn to give yourself a pat on the back
good job you need to tell yourself I’m
proud of me today you’ve got to be happy
you’ve got to learn to enjoy the process
these are really common-sense ideas
they’re practical and William James
agreed he’s another American great one
of the most notable philosophers and
psychologists in our history and he
founded a philosophy called pragmatism
to be pragmatic is to be practical to
test the validity of a concept by its
practical results to actually question
something and rate its usefulness by
what it can do for you to here a method
of doing something and figuring out if
it’s even worth your while
one of the issues mr. James dealt with
in his lifetime was what does it mean to
be a success a significant person after
years of pondering this question William
James described success as a combination
of two things number one and inner ideal
which is followed persistently with
courage and number two outer achievement
related to that idea let’s go back to
number one and inner ideal which is
followed persistently with courage I
take that to mean defining a goal and
having the resolve to complete it no
matter what I’ll do it or die promise
yourself you’ll read the books until
your skills change go to the seminars
until you get a handle on it do it until
it makes sense practice it until you’ve
got it right don’t give up until you get
where you want to be however long that
is step by step piece by piece
book by book seminar by seminar do it
until go for it until is a very
important word it’s magic it means that
you’ll never give up don’t miss the
chance to grow to pay the price until
you learn change grow you’ll discover
some of life’s great treasures when you
pay that price William James second part
to success dealt with the outer
achievement related to that ideal you
need both aspects to really be a success
but what dr. James realized about his
philosophy of success was that the first
part is indeed more important than the
second going for it as long as you’re
working toward your inner goal your
dream then success is possible but once
you give up your inner vision
you can never become successful you
never will become successful until
doesn’t even matter now maybe the person
who’s been working on a project for 10
years can be successful in his own right
if he’s honestly working toward it doing
everything to make himself worthy of
reaching the dream really happy with
where he is doing it until then maybe he
is a success it’s a personal thing going
for it one step at a time going for
small accomplishments along the way for
however long it takes so let’s think
about this for a moment
what outside evidence or results or
proof can be seen when you accomplish
your goals one step at a time you’ll
start to see things change around you
little things not major things but
little everyday things things you may
not even notice unless you are paying
attention if you’re one of those who’d
rather stay up late and get up late only
to discover that your workplace doesn’t
fit your schedule and you roll out of
bed cursing the alarm clock every
morning maybe you could start with the
little change of going to bed half an
hour earlier than normal and maybe
you’ll see in time of course you can’t
train your body overnight maybe you’ll
find out that you jump out of bed in a
better mood and that your day will start
better and that you’ll get more done and
that the people around you that caused
you problems aren’t so hard to work with
after all it all starts by making one
little change and adding to it every day
you see you can’t change what’s going on
around you without first changing what’s
going on within you start changing how
you look at morning’s and sure enough
people will start changing how they look
at you
when you start changing how you think
how you act how you treat others how you
treat yourself when you start responding
instead of reacting to life life will
start responding to you I’m telling you
that you can do it with your lifestyle
you can do it with your sales career you
can do it with your management career
you can do it with any part of your life
if you are looking for equities
unmatched don’t curse the only thing you
have seed and soils sunshine and rain
miracle and seasons but start processing
things like recovering in this program
and change will take off for you you
cannot believe what can happen in such a
short period of time so you ask yourself
what small changes can I start making
today well you can start in your car on
your way to work if you’re sitting on
the highway stop and go traffic moving
at about 15 miles per hour tops
look at the guy or the lady sitting next
to you and give them a smile or thumbs
up or even wave now some people might
think you’re a little strange but hey
you’ll feel better and tomorrow when you
get into the office how about a big
cheery hello to the people at the front
desk and everyone you see on the way to
your office and when you get home
tonight how about giving your wife or
husband and kids big hugs instead of
collapsing on the sofa when you start
with the little things that make others
happy improve their day you’ll find that
these little things add up to big ones
so what happens when you start taking
charge of your own personal happiness
your own life do you think that these
little things will somehow make a
difference in meeting your goals you bet
they will you can’t do it alone you
can’t be successful by yourself it’s
hard to find a rich hermit you know
the ambitious person realizes that each
of us needs all of us you all by
yourself may have finalized the
company’s marketing plan or finished up
the sales projections or even wrote the
mission statement for the year to come
even if you did this all by yourself you
really have the help of all of those
around you who tolerated and supported
your needs to be undisturbed or provided
service to you during the project maybe
you should thank those people every once
in a while with a dinner certificate or
a bouquet of flowers or 18 holes of golf
even a thank-you note thank-you notes
are so important after all without your
support team you probably wouldn’t be
where you are today you can’t be
successful by yourself
so thank them thank those around you and
let them know just how important they
are to you be it your office personnel
or your family or your friends a thank
you sure goes a long way so is it
important to do a little extra for these
people as you are working your way
toward your goals I think so I’m sure
you do too
once you’ve decided that you’re going to
set sail go for it and let loose on your
new charted course you don’t have to
worry about the winds that will most
certainly blow around you the obstacles
the negativity that will stand in your
way you don’t have to worry about what
other people will say you just have to
keep your mind on your course those
winds may blow fast and furious but if
you know your path if you know where you
are going
they will help push you toward the
dreams and goals and treasures that you
have already decided you’re going after
your goals will push you forward ahead
of the stormy weather there are some
amazing people around that we can learn
from today people who have already
braved the storms and come out on top
people who are still alive today people
who started with nothing and ended up
with something great famous people not
so famous people maybe even people you
know but don’t know their stories people
who had an early vision and ambition
people who turned their focused dreams
into the reality of success one of my
friends tells the story about her dad
she thinks he’s cheap he gives him a
hard time every time they go to one of
those all-you-can-eat places because he
eats all he can eat until he can’t move
until he needs to take something for
indigestion but she knows where he came
from his history and understands just
why he is the way he is he eats all he
can eat because he was raised in an
orphanage a place where you had to grab
all you could or you’d be hungry but the
real story behind her father is that he
made himself
a millionaire with nothing more than a
dream
he watched his own father drown when he
was four was taken away from his mother
a few years later and put into an
orphanage because he was so bad
raised by other people strangers after
growing up in foster homes he decided to
go out on his own he barely finished
high school but he found a job as a
vacuum cleaner salesman he did well
really well but the woman he loved
didn’t want to marry a vacuum cleaner
salesman and he really didn’t want to be
one so he went to college went on to
medical school prospered really
prospered led a tremendously successful
life as a radiologist and is now retired
goes fishing rides is Harley stories of
success are all around us everywhere
take the time to talk to these people or
read their stories you might learn
something you might find out that they
have already traveled the path you are
now on you know when most of us think of
Jesse Jackson we think of the political
Jesse Jackson but what most of us don’t
realize is that before Jesse Jackson
went to the streets to gain votes he
went to the ghettos with a message for
inner-city youth during his rallies he
would have the street kids repeat after
him I am somebody Jesse Jackson’s
message to these kids was that ambition
is a moral imperative to be a good
person you have to have ambition you
have to try to do something good with
your life you have to try to get out of
where you are today or make where you
are a better place tomorrow you have to
or anything else is a waste mr. Jackson
knew that his contribution to life began
with America’s youth where he could make
a difference before bad attitudes and
bad habits took over for good he went to
make a difference with the disadvantaged
youth of America what an admirable
mission I’m sure you know that the same
principles he teaches apply to you when
you get up tomorrow morning and are
standing in front of the mirror getting
ready for the day remind yourself that
you are somebody that you are important
and that you can make the changes that
will move you closer to your ideal
future listening to the words of people
like Jesse Jackson are of total
importance because motivation lasting
motivation is backed with education many
of these people have written books on
their journeys these books tell the
stories and give the secrets that we can
all learn from let’s say you decided to
take a trip just a short one maybe for a
weekend let’s say you want to go away to
a place you’ve never been before
wouldn’t you want to find someone who
had been there ask them a few questions
what’s the best way to get there the
safest route the quickest route what do
I need to bring to be totally prepared
what fun things should I look for on the
way what dangers do I need to avoid by
talking with someone who has already
been there it’ll make your trip that
much more enjoyable it’s the same thing
with life by listening to those who are
farther along in the journey the journey
you are interested in taking and
learning from their successes and
failures
you just might pick up something that
will make your journey that much better
listening to the stories of others can
be motivating captivating they can
provide that extra push you’ve been
looking for they can demonstrate what
the power of ambition is truly all about
they’ve been there their knowledge is
valuable and when you use that knowledge
and motivation to take action you’ll
gain momentum eventually you will find
but the key to motivation true
motivation is right there inside you you
won’t have to look elsewhere to get
pumped up turned on charged up with the
right knowledge behind you
you will learn how to motivate yourself
with the right knowledge you will find
yourself becoming inspired on your own
by your own learning by your own
discovery you won’t have to hope that
somebody comes along to turn you on in
the morning they might not show up
you’ll find that your journey of pursuit
is the best alarm clock in the world
Joseph Epstein wrote a book called
ambition in his book Epstein defines
ambition as the fuel of achievement he
says that everybody has a need for
achievement to do well to get somewhere
in life to be better to achieve
achievement means moving forward and in
order to move forward
you must be motivated inspired ambitious
you must have dreams and goals that
create ambition good ambition positive
ambition now ambition does not mean
being greedy it does not mean being
selfish it does not mean getting ahead
at the expense of others ambition is not
greed ambition is not avarice and
all-consuming desire for wealth ambition
is not hoping you can win at the expense
of others do you suppose Judas was
ambitious he ended up with thirty pieces
of silver a fortune in those days was
Judas successful because he had all that
money no Judas sold out was Judas happy
when it was all over with no the money
didn’t make him happy
what he did to get the money certainly
didn’t make him happy what Judas became
in the pursuit of his fortune caused him
to end
own life what drove him was not ambition
ambition is not greed ambition is an
eager desire to achieve an eager desire
to get ahead in life to do more for your
family to prosper in health wealth and
relationship now desire does not always
translate into ambition desire is what
you want for yourself a bigger house a
better car a fatter bank account a
better life I desire to have these
things ambition is how you get their
desire is sometimes healthy desire is
sometimes unhealthy desire might say I
want the tallest building in town the
destructive side of desire might urge
you to tear all of the other buildings
down I guess that’s one way to do it you
might get away with tearing down the
first one and maybe the second one but
in your desire to tear them all down
sooner or later some guy is going to be
standing out in front of his building
saying I’m on to you get out of here and
pretty soon you’re no longer known as a
builder you’re known as a destroyer now
the second way to have the tallest
building in town is to see it dream it
and plan it and put your team on it work
on it go through all of the steps to get
there do it right
have the ambition to be the owner of the
tallest building in town and go through
all of the right steps to get there if
you really want it and have the skills
to do it and the patience to weather all
of the storms your ambition will lead
you there having the ambition to do what
it takes to get you where you want to go
is good
ambition is creative and constructive
ambition is an expression it’s something
inside of you you want to express in a
positive way
I’m sure you have dreams of
accomplishing great things are you
ambitious enough to realize these dreams
are your dreams strong enough to pull
you toward your future are they vivid
enough to see the end result now are
they worthy of doing until you get there
what are your reasons for creating these
dreams reasons vary from person to
person I bet if you did a little
soul-searching you could come up with a
fairly strong list the list of reasons
why is it so important to achieve these
dreams what are you trying to express
these reasons for accomplishing great
things are different for everybody
there are personal reasons sometimes
uniquely personal reasons some people do
well for the recognition
some people do well because of the way
it makes them feel they love the feeling
of being a winner and that is one of the
best reasons once in a while I hear
someone say 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 would just quit
family is another reason a motivator for
doing well some people do extremely well
because of other people and that’s a
powerful reason sometimes we will do
something for someone else that we would
not do for ourselves I know a lady who
was getting back on track from financial
disaster even though she didn’t have
much of anything left her primary
motivator was to keep her daughter in
private school an expensive one one of
the best in the country although her
goal was to financially surpass where
she was before her economic fall her
main reason to work all of those extra
hours was to give her little girl
the best possible education as you can
well imagine wanting to do something for
someone else led her to all sorts of
other accomplishments as well how
fortunate are the people who find
themselves greatly affected by someone
else it’s powerful
what has you getting up early hitting it
hard all day and staying up late
what has you inspired what are your
reasons for doing well what’s at the
core of your quest what is the power
behind your ambition think about it
jot it down do some soul-searching
define your reasons so they will work
better for you so now we have determined
that it’s in your best self-interest to
be ambitious self-interest
self-preservation as human beings we
can’t help but be interested in our own
self-preservation we can’t help but be
self-interested it’s one of the
strongest urges we have interested in
our preservation interested in our
development interested in our success
there’s certainly nothing wrong with
self-interest but here’s the clue
self-interest must be enlightened as to
what truly serves us best
when I found out that self-interest was
okay that was a big relief to me now
we’re not talking about selfish we’re
talking about self-interest
self-interest needs to be educated
enlightened self-interest is willing to
be benefited by service to others not at
the expense of us self-interest at the
expense of others starts to be greed
evil hoping you go up as someone goes
down hoping to attain while someone else
loses I win you lose we call that the
beginnings of evil the dark side of our
nature wishing to benefit at the expense
of others enlightened self-interest
wishes to benefit at the service of
others a friend of mine tells this
little story about a person she hears
from about every three months or so this
guy calls to solicit money for food
baskets for homeless families she’s
happy to give her money to them she was
unfortunately homeless for a short
period of time and she knows the
position these people are in this group
is legit she checked them out but after
the second or third time this guy called
same guy after the second or third time
he called she started talking to him
about other stuff turns out this guy is
broke living in a hotel looking for any
construction job he can find any job at
all but what’s unique about this guy is
that he donates two or three hours a
night every night to call people and get
money to feed the homeless every night
from his hotel room
now most people would say this guy
should use those hours every night to
work a second job or a third job but
while he’s way down on the ladder of
success he feels it’s important to help
those less fortunate than he is he has a
roof over his head he makes enough to
feed himself and my friend says that
every time she talks to this guy every 2
or 3 months he’s doing better
he’s digging himself out of debt he’s
starting to save money he thinks he’ll
be able to move into an apartment in
another month or two now recently an
interesting thing happened my friend was
talking with an associate of hers she’s
single lives in a big house needs to
find a handyman to help her out on a
regular basis someone who can build an
addition onto her house but my friend
told her about this guy the only reason
this guy ended up being hired was that
my friends associate was touched by his
dedication to service while he himself
was down and out service success at the
service of others now this guy isn’t
rich by any stretch but through my
friends Network he now has constant work
doing things around several people’s
houses and now he’s in a place of his
own and guess what he does every night
he’s still making phone calls to get
money to feed the homeless
what great character this man has
enlightened self-interest leads to
wealth self-preservation leads to
poverty
somebody says well I can’t be concerned
about other people I have to pay
attention to myself well then you’ll
always have to somebody says I can’t be
concerned about other people’s bills
I’ve got enough worries trying to pay my
own well then you’ll have to worry about
them for the rest of your life the best
way to get that monkey off your back is
to turn your attention around once I
understood some of this stuff I’m
telling you it revolutionized my whole
life
now self-interest is okay yes but here’s
what self-interest must be if you truly
want to be happy it must be enlightened
it says don’t keep your attention on
yourself if you want your life to work
out well turn your attention to others
in your own self-interest be enlightened
truly act in your own self-interest by
making an investment in service to
others next if you wish to receive now
there’s nothing wrong with wishing to
receive it’s part of self-interest but
here’s the enlightened part if you wish
to receive you must give some people say
if you give it’s gone no no not if
you’re educated if you’re stupid yes
it’s gone but if you’re enlightened
chances are if you give you’ve invested
and what do we expect an investment to
do return
get back what you put out no we expect
it to return multiply bigger greater
better my father taught me way back son
always do more than what you get paid
for now some individuals might argue
with that they’d say no you’re going to
mess up the whole program I know they’re
wrong in my own self-interest I did what
my father taught me to always do more
than I got paid for why to make an
investment in my future do more than you
get paid for to make an investment in
your future and it’s paid off for me if
you’re wanting that big promotion are
you going to go up to your boss and say
just give it to me I’ll work harder if
you just give me that promotion no it
doesn’t work that way you’ve got to do
more in your current position so that
you get noticed so you stand out from
everybody else so the boss says hey
we’ve got this position opening up and I
think we should give it to Nancy she
does so much more than we expect
just imagine what she’ll do if we give
her this promotion you’ve got to do more
than you’re paid for
you’ve got to it’s an investment in your
future it’s one thing to make a sale I’m
telling you if you make a sale you’ll
make a living if you go beyond making
the sale and serve people by keeping in
touch calling them before they call you
writing a thank-you note
sales will lead to multiple sales you
can make a fortune if the customer is
well taken care of people who are well
taken care of will open doors you can’t
get through by yourself all of us have
found ways to make a living what got
interesting for me
early on was to figure out ways to make
a fortune you’d say well mr. Roane how
would I deserve to make a fortune it’s
easy render fortunes of service people
will do things you cannot believe for
people who give them good service here’s
one of the greatest gifts you can give
anybody the gift of attention in return
they will do extraordinary things for
your career take you by the hand and
lead you to more people than you could
meet by yourself always do more than you
get paid for
next in enlightened self-interest life
responds to deserve not need life
responds to deserve not need life was
not designed to give us what we need
life was designed to give us what we
deserve what we deserve
once you understand that little life
principle in your own self-interest I’m
telling you it’s life changing
the ancient law does not go like this if
you need you will reap no it doesn’t
work that way a lot of people out there
are hoping it works that way but no it
doesn’t the ancient law goes like this
if you plant you will reap if you sow
you will reap somebody says well I
really need to reap well then you really
need to plant in your own self-interest
your own self-interest needs to be
educated in how to plant how to do it so
everybody wins
because life doesn’t respond to need you
can’t go to the soil and say I need a
crop the soil just smiles at you and
here’s what the soil says don’t bring me
your need bring me some seed bring me
some effort bring me some discipline
bring me some interest bring me some
service bring me these things and I’ll
return to you x 2 x 5 x 10 x you can’t
come with need you’ve got to come with
seed you’ve got to come with willingness
you’ve got to come with skills you’ve
got to be willing to learn willing to
change willing to grow willing to put
yourself out willing to stand up to the
bad weather willing to pull out the
weeds willing to nurture that’s the only
way you get a return once you understand
these principles self-interest now truly
becomes an exciting challenge making
sure everybody wins enlightened
self-interest makes sure that everybody
wins
[Music]
now here’s another one if you want to
find you must search and if you search
you will find
in order to find you must search you
must go to church you must go to the
seminar you must go to the library
you’ve got to go to the bookstore you’ve
got to go to the class you’ve got to go
to the training you’ve got to go
searching why if you search you will
find you’ll find ideas you’ll find
inspiration you’ll find hope you’ll find
contacts but you’ve got to be out there
on the search on the look life reserves
its treasures for those who deserve it
not those who need it
enlightened self-interest giving so that
you will receive searching so that you
will find making sure that everybody
wins
all the way around enlightened
self-interest needs to be educated
enlightened self-interest says I will
learn that life is not just the passing
of time I will learn that life is the
collection of experiences ups and downs
highs and lows laughter and tears you
must decide to act you must have the
discipline to act now here’s what’s
important about discipline one
discipline affects another discipline
all disciplines affect each other in
fact here’s a good philosophical phrase
everything affects everything else
nothing stands alone
don’t be naive and say this doesn’t
matter of course it matters it all
matters some things may matter more than
others but everything matters if you’d
rather sleep in than go for a walk
around the neighborhood pretty soon it
will matter if you’d rather spend your
money instead of saving it pretty soon
it will matter if you’d rather put off a
letter to an old friend instead of
corresponding regularly pretty soon it
will
if you’d rather work late every night
instead of going home and spending time
with your family pretty soon it will
matter it all matters
every letdown affects the rest if you
won’t walk around the block you probably
won’t eat right and you probably won’t
buy the books and you probably won’t
attend the seminars and you probably
won’t spend your money wisely and after
years of this it all adds up so the key
to reversing this process is to start
picking up the disciplines it does
matter it all matters now here’s the
positive side every new discipline
affects the rest every new discipline
makes a difference that’s why action is
so important the smallest action the
least action the action that you won’t
think will matter it all matters take it
because when you start accomplishing and
the value starts to return you’ll find
inspiration to do the next one and the
next one and the next one if you start
walking around the block it’ll inspire
you to start eating right you start
eating right it’ll inspire you to get a
book you get a book then it’ll inspire
you to get a journal you get a journal
and it’ll inspire you to develop some
skills disciplines affect each other
lack affects the rest of your life the
key is to diminish the lack one of our
greatest temptations is to just ease up
a bit
to do just a little bit less than you’re
capable of to take a little break
somebody says it’ll just affect my sales
no it’ll affect your consciousness
it’ll affect your philosophy it’ll
affect your home life it’ll affect
everything no you can’t ease up a bit
that’s what vacations are for when
you’re at work work when you’re on
vacation rest wherever you are be there
if you think about vacation when you’re
at work you’ll surely think about work
when you’re on vacation you’ll just mess
it all up so be disciplined get involved
do all that it takes to get the job done
get your health back get your bank
account where it’s supposed to be get
your family in order get disciplined be
disciplined every day when you setup the
disciplines that give your life
structure miracles can happen multiply
and I’m telling you anybody who wants to
make a drastic change in their income
can do it
I was broken age 25 and a millionaire at
age 31 everything around me was the same
I changed I refined my philosophy I read
the books I took the classes started
looking at life a little differently I’m
telling you
mean well let’s start with the word
eager all by itself
eager is kind of exciting kids are eager
for their birthday parties they expect
to be the center of attention get lots
of presents eat too much
I guess grown-ups are eager for
birthdays too unless of course they’re
embarrassed at the number of candles on
the cake outnumber their achievements
but we can be eager to see a ball game
eager to see our kids in a dance recital
eager to see an old friend
eager to shop for a new car eager sounds
like a lot of fun but do you ever hear
people say they are eager to live a
better life
eager to have a better family eager to
make a lot of money probably not and
that’s a problem
because how I see it living a better
life having a better family and making a
lot of money takes an eager desire we
have the remarkable ability to get
exactly what we must have but there is a
difference between wishes and desires
we’ve all heard people say oh I wish I
could just drop 5 pounds I want to be a
little lighter and we’ve probably set it
ourselves especially after a big holiday
dinner of Turkey and homemade pie and
every other thing we can possibly stuff
ourselves with in one 8 hour period of
time and even though we may wish we
could breathe a little easier in our
clothing we have to have the desire to
exercise a little more and eat a little
less the I wish I could lose weight has
to become I have to eat your desire to
lose weight I’m also sure you’ve heard
people talk about wishing they had more
money to pay the bills or take a
vacation or just to take a little
pressure off of life
but before their lifestyle can change
their wish needs to become a desire if
they really desired change they wouldn’t
spend their evenings just watching TV
and wishing they were doing something
more the backbone of an eager desire to
change is discipline true ambition is
disciplined eager desire it’s that
little part within us that says if I
want to be ready for that meeting
tomorrow I need to finish preparing for
it today if I want to make sure I can
pay for my kids college education I need
to start saving today if I want a better
life tomorrow I need to start working on
it today ambition is a minute-by-minute
day-by-day mentality to have the
ambition to work towards a better family
life a newer car a bigger house a
financially secure future you have to
live it every moment if living a
successful life was easy I’m sure more
people would be successful if just being
ambitious was enough I’m sure all of the
broken perplexed people in the world
wouldn’t be broken perplexed while most
people spend most of their lives
struggling to earn a living a much
smaller number seem to have everything
going their way instead of just earning
a living the smaller group is busily
working at building and enjoying a
fortune everything just seems to work
out for them and here sits the much
larger group wandering in awe on how
life can be so unfair complicated and
unjust so what’s the major difference
between the little group with so much
and the larger group with so little
despite all the factors that affect our
lives like the kind of parents we have
the schools we attended
the part of the country we grew up in
none has as much potential power for
doing good as the ability to dream
dreams are a projection of the kind of
life we want to lead dreams can drive
you
dreams can make you skip over obstacles
when we allow our dreams to pull us they
unleash a creative force that can
overpower everything in our way to
unleash this power though your dreams
must be well defined a fuzzy future has
little pull power well-defined dreams
are not fuzzy wishes are fuzzy to really
achieve your dreams to really have your
future plans pull you your dreams must
be vivid if you’ve ever hiked the 14,000
foot peak in the Rocky Mountains one
thought has surely come to mind how did
the settlers of this country do it how
did they get from the east coast to the
west coast by foot carrying one day’s
supply of food and water is hard enough
can you imagine hauling all of your
worldly goods with you mile after mile
day after day month after month these
people had dreams big ones they had
ambition they didn’t focus on the
hardship of getting up the mountain in
their minds they were already on the
other side their bodies just hadn’t
gotten them there yet despite all of
their pains and struggles births and
deaths along the way those who made it
to the other side had a single vision to
reach the land of continuous sunshine
and extraordinary wealth to start over
where anything was possible where
everything was possible their dreams
were stronger than the obstacles in
their way you’ve got to be a dreamer
you’ve got to see the future finished in
advance
you’ve got to see California while
you’re climbing 14,000 foot piece you’ve
got to see the finish line while you’re
running the race you’ve got to hear the
cheers when you’re in the middle of a
monster project and you’ve got to be
willing to put yourself through the
paces of doing the uncomfortable until
it becomes comfortable because that’s
how you realize your dreams our great
country was founded with dreams they’ve
always been important dreams are what
caused thousands of people to leave
their homes and families and start over
in a land where anything was possible to
this day dreams continue to bring people
to our land of opportunity to a country
where you can start with little and end
up with a lot to America don’t you
sometimes wonder why so many immigrants
who come to America can build a new life
and a fortune while many of the people
who were born here are barely surviving
they have a dream a defined goal
ambition aside from the pioneers that
crossed the prairies and the mountains
to reach their vision of hope and future
promises there are other amazing
examples of how ambition has shaped
America take Ben Franklin for instance
when most people think of Ben Franklin
they remember the kite and the lightning
bolt and the discovery of electricity
what a lot of people may not know is
that Ben Franklin was one of the first
riders to address self making when
Franklin started Poor Richard’s Almanack
in 1732
he used the blank spaces between the
crop data and the weather information to
insert clever bits of moral and
practical advice I’m sure you’ve heard
the saying fish and company start to
stink in three days well that was one of
hundreds of Ben Franklin’s comments on
life another was diligent is the mother
of good luck
you know it’s amazing how hard-working
smart
working people have all the luck we
sometimes hear of a brand-new musical
group an overnight success they must
have been in the right place at the
right time knew the right people had a
friend to help them out but if you’ve
ever watched an interview with some of
these folks you’ll probably hear that
their overnight success took several
years diligence is the mother of good
luck now in addition to these witticisms
Ben Franklin gave us three principles of
success and ambition that have withstood
the test of time
number one happiness doesn’t come from
big pieces of great success but from
small advantages hammered out day by day
what mr. Franklin is saying here is that
we must be happy with what we’ve got
when we’re in pursuit of what we want
too often we say oh I’ll be happy when I
just get that promotion I’ll be happy
when I just land that contract I’ll be
happy when I just have more money I’ll
be happy when I just just what you won’t
be any happier when you reach your goals
than you are right now it just doesn’t
work that way Abraham Lincoln said it
best he said you’ll be as happy as you
make up your mind to be right now
whether you’re on your way
whether you’ve already gotten there
you’ll be as happy as you make up your
mind to be now right now being happy on
the way doesn’t mean you can’t aim for
great things after all look at
everything Franklin accomplished in his
lifetime it means that big achievements
come one small advantage at a time it
means that you’ve got to enjoy the
journey it means that you must enjoy and
take pride in your little
accomplishments it means enjoying who
you are becoming in pursuit of your
eager desire
every day every single day Ben
Franklin’s second principle said that
life is plastic within each of us is the
power to mold mold ourselves and mold
our environment it is up to each of us
to begin this molding process with a
final product in mind and it is within
our power to work it and form it every
minute every day every month every year
by using your mind and your abilities
and your attitude to work a little each
day on molding your life you’ll soon see
how magnificent your power is to gain
those small advantages each day the
little steps it takes to build up to
success principle number three success
is a pleasure success is a pleasure if
what you are doing today isn’t
satisfying gratifying guess what you’re
really not successful if you are not
fulfilled with what you are doing today
you cannot possibly be successful it
doesn’t matter how many worldly
possessions you may have how many cars
how many toys how much money if you’re
not happy with your life as it is you
cannot be successful now I know that
success is a relative term it means
different things to different people to
a school kid success may mean a star on
top of his latest test to a homemaker it
probably means that she has a well-run
household and a wonderful family to an
outside professional it’s most likely
the thrill of closing a major contract
or the pride in accepting a performance
bonus or being named the top producing
salesperson but the one thing you will
hear from everyone who is successful is
that they are happy with who they are
and what they are doing
they are happy content satisfied success
is a pleasure what have you done today
that makes this day successful think
about it and write it down if at the end
of the day you can jot down the things
that have made it a good day you will
soon see patterns for me this really is
a good habit to get into when you can
see a pattern of pleasure you’ll know
you’re on the road to success so take
note of mr. Franklin’s three principles
of success and ambition number one big
achievements come one small advantage at
a time one step at a time one day at a
time
number two you have the power to mold
your life to make it whatever you want
to shape it and reshape it and number
three success is measured through
pleasure this is the key one success is
measured through pleasure you’ve got to
be happy along the way you’ve got to
learn to give yourself a pat on the back
good job you need to tell yourself I’m
proud of me today you’ve got to be happy
you’ve got to learn to enjoy the process
these are really common-sense ideas
they’re practical and William James
agreed he’s another American great one
of the most notable philosophers and
psychologists in our history and he
founded a philosophy called pragmatism
to be pragmatic is to be practical to
test the validity of a concept by its
practical results to actually question
something and rate its usefulness by
what it can do for you to here a method
of doing something and figuring out if
it’s even worth your while
one of the issues mr. James dealt with
in his lifetime was what does it mean to
be a success a significant person after
years of pondering this question William
James described success as a combination
of two things number one and inner ideal
which is followed persistently with
courage and number two outer achievement
related to that idea let’s go back to
number one and inner ideal which is
followed persistently with courage I
take that to mean defining a goal and
having the resolve to complete it no
matter what I’ll do it or die promise
yourself you’ll read the books until
your skills change go to the seminars
until you get a handle on it do it until
it makes sense practice it until you’ve
got it right don’t give up until you get
where you want to be however long that
is step by step piece by piece
book by book seminar by seminar do it
until go for it until is a very
important word it’s magic it means that
you’ll never give up don’t miss the
chance to grow to pay the price until
you learn change grow you’ll discover
some of life’s great treasures when you
pay that price William James second part
to success dealt with the outer
achievement related to that ideal you
need both aspects to really be a success
but what dr. James realized about his
philosophy of success was that the first
part is indeed more important than the
second going for it as long as you’re
working toward your inner goal your
dream then success is possible but once
you give up your inner vision
you can never become successful you
never will become successful until
doesn’t even matter now maybe the person
who’s been working on a project for 10
years can be successful in his own right
if he’s honestly working toward it doing
everything to make himself worthy of
reaching the dream really happy with
where he is doing it until then maybe he
is a success it’s a personal thing going
for it one step at a time going for
small accomplishments along the way for
however long it takes so let’s think
about this for a moment
what outside evidence or results or
proof can be seen when you accomplish
your goals one step at a time you’ll
start to see things change around you
little things not major things but
little everyday things things you may
not even notice unless you are paying
attention if you’re one of those who’d
rather stay up late and get up late only
to discover that your workplace doesn’t
fit your schedule and you roll out of
bed cursing the alarm clock every
morning maybe you could start with the
little change of going to bed half an
hour earlier than normal and maybe
you’ll see in time of course you can’t
train your body overnight maybe you’ll
find out that you jump out of bed in a
better mood and that your day will start
better and that you’ll get more done and
that the people around you that caused
you problems aren’t so hard to work with
after all it all starts by making one
little change and adding to it every day
you see you can’t change what’s going on
around you without first changing what’s
going on within you start changing how
you look at morning’s and sure enough
people will start changing how they look
at you
when you start changing how you think
how you act how you treat others how you
treat yourself when you start responding
instead of reacting to life life will
start responding to you I’m telling you
that you can do it with your lifestyle
you can do it with your sales career you
can do it with your management career
you can do it with any part of your life
if you are looking for equities
unmatched don’t curse the only thing you
have seed and soils sunshine and rain
miracle and seasons but start processing
things like recovering in this program
and change will take off for you you
cannot believe what can happen in such a
short period of time so you ask yourself
what small changes can I start making
today well you can start in your car on
your way to work if you’re sitting on
the highway stop and go traffic moving
at about 15 miles per hour tops
look at the guy or the lady sitting next
to you and give them a smile or thumbs
up or even wave now some people might
think you’re a little strange but hey
you’ll feel better and tomorrow when you
get into the office how about a big
cheery hello to the people at the front
desk and everyone you see on the way to
your office and when you get home
tonight how about giving your wife or
husband and kids big hugs instead of
collapsing on the sofa when you start
with the little things that make others
happy improve their day you’ll find that
these little things add up to big ones
so what happens when you start taking
charge of your own personal happiness
your own life do you think that these
little things will somehow make a
difference in meeting your goals you bet
they will you can’t do it alone you
can’t be successful by yourself it’s
hard to find a rich hermit you know
the ambitious person realizes that each
of us needs all of us you all by
yourself may have finalized the
company’s marketing plan or finished up
the sales projections or even wrote the
mission statement for the year to come
even if you did this all by yourself you
really have the help of all of those
around you who tolerated and supported
your needs to be undisturbed or provided
service to you during the project maybe
you should thank those people every once
in a while with a dinner certificate or
a bouquet of flowers or 18 holes of golf
even a thank-you note thank-you notes
are so important after all without your
support team you probably wouldn’t be
where you are today you can’t be
successful by yourself
so thank them thank those around you and
let them know just how important they
are to you be it your office personnel
or your family or your friends a thank
you sure goes a long way so is it
important to do a little extra for these
people as you are working your way
toward your goals I think so I’m sure
you do too
once you’ve decided that you’re going to
set sail go for it and let loose on your
new charted course you don’t have to
worry about the winds that will most
certainly blow around you the obstacles
the negativity that will stand in your
way you don’t have to worry about what
other people will say you just have to
keep your mind on your course those
winds may blow fast and furious but if
you know your path if you know where you
are going
they will help push you toward the
dreams and goals and treasures that you
have already decided you’re going after
your goals will push you forward ahead
of the stormy weather there are some
amazing people around that we can learn
from today people who have already
braved the storms and come out on top
people who are still alive today people
who started with nothing and ended up
with something great famous people not
so famous people maybe even people you
know but don’t know their stories people
who had an early vision and ambition
people who turned their focused dreams
into the reality of success one of my
friends tells the story about her dad
she thinks he’s cheap he gives him a
hard time every time they go to one of
those all-you-can-eat places because he
eats all he can eat until he can’t move
until he needs to take something for
indigestion but she knows where he came
from his history and understands just
why he is the way he is he eats all he
can eat because he was raised in an
orphanage a place where you had to grab
all you could or you’d be hungry but the
real story behind her father is that he
made himself
a millionaire with nothing more than a
dream
he watched his own father drown when he
was four was taken away from his mother
a few years later and put into an
orphanage because he was so bad
raised by other people strangers after
growing up in foster homes he decided to
go out on his own he barely finished
high school but he found a job as a
vacuum cleaner salesman he did well
really well but the woman he loved
didn’t want to marry a vacuum cleaner
salesman and he really didn’t want to be
one so he went to college went on to
medical school prospered really
prospered led a tremendously successful
life as a radiologist and is now retired
goes fishing rides is Harley stories of
success are all around us everywhere
take the time to talk to these people or
read their stories you might learn
something you might find out that they
have already traveled the path you are
now on you know when most of us think of
Jesse Jackson we think of the political
Jesse Jackson but what most of us don’t
realize is that before Jesse Jackson
went to the streets to gain votes he
went to the ghettos with a message for
inner-city youth during his rallies he
would have the street kids repeat after
him I am somebody Jesse Jackson’s
message to these kids was that ambition
is a moral imperative to be a good
person you have to have ambition you
have to try to do something good with
your life you have to try to get out of
where you are today or make where you
are a better place tomorrow you have to
or anything else is a waste mr. Jackson
knew that his contribution to life began
with America’s youth where he could make
a difference before bad attitudes and
bad habits took over for good he went to
make a difference with the disadvantaged
youth of America what an admirable
mission I’m sure you know that the same
principles he teaches apply to you when
you get up tomorrow morning and are
standing in front of the mirror getting
ready for the day remind yourself that
you are somebody that you are important
and that you can make the changes that
will move you closer to your ideal
future listening to the words of people
like Jesse Jackson are of total
importance because motivation lasting
motivation is backed with education many
of these people have written books on
their journeys these books tell the
stories and give the secrets that we can
all learn from let’s say you decided to
take a trip just a short one maybe for a
weekend let’s say you want to go away to
a place you’ve never been before
wouldn’t you want to find someone who
had been there ask them a few questions
what’s the best way to get there the
safest route the quickest route what do
I need to bring to be totally prepared
what fun things should I look for on the
way what dangers do I need to avoid by
talking with someone who has already
been there it’ll make your trip that
much more enjoyable it’s the same thing
with life by listening to those who are
farther along in the journey the journey
you are interested in taking and
learning from their successes and
failures
you just might pick up something that
will make your journey that much better
listening to the stories of others can
be motivating captivating they can
provide that extra push you’ve been
looking for they can demonstrate what
the power of ambition is truly all about
they’ve been there their knowledge is
valuable and when you use that knowledge
and motivation to take action you’ll
gain momentum eventually you will find
but the key to motivation true
motivation is right there inside you you
won’t have to look elsewhere to get
pumped up turned on charged up with the
right knowledge behind you
you will learn how to motivate yourself
with the right knowledge you will find
yourself becoming inspired on your own
by your own learning by your own
discovery you won’t have to hope that
somebody comes along to turn you on in
the morning they might not show up
you’ll find that your journey of pursuit
is the best alarm clock in the world
Joseph Epstein wrote a book called
ambition in his book Epstein defines
ambition as the fuel of achievement he
says that everybody has a need for
achievement to do well to get somewhere
in life to be better to achieve
achievement means moving forward and in
order to move forward
you must be motivated inspired ambitious
you must have dreams and goals that
create ambition good ambition positive
ambition now ambition does not mean
being greedy it does not mean being
selfish it does not mean getting ahead
at the expense of others ambition is not
greed ambition is not avarice and
all-consuming desire for wealth ambition
is not hoping you can win at the expense
of others do you suppose Judas was
ambitious he ended up with thirty pieces
of silver a fortune in those days was
Judas successful because he had all that
money no Judas sold out was Judas happy
when it was all over with no the money
didn’t make him happy
what he did to get the money certainly
didn’t make him happy what Judas became
in the pursuit of his fortune caused him
to end
own life what drove him was not ambition
ambition is not greed ambition is an
eager desire to achieve an eager desire
to get ahead in life to do more for your
family to prosper in health wealth and
relationship now desire does not always
translate into ambition desire is what
you want for yourself a bigger house a
better car a fatter bank account a
better life I desire to have these
things ambition is how you get their
desire is sometimes healthy desire is
sometimes unhealthy desire might say I
want the tallest building in town the
destructive side of desire might urge
you to tear all of the other buildings
down I guess that’s one way to do it you
might get away with tearing down the
first one and maybe the second one but
in your desire to tear them all down
sooner or later some guy is going to be
standing out in front of his building
saying I’m on to you get out of here and
pretty soon you’re no longer known as a
builder you’re known as a destroyer now
the second way to have the tallest
building in town is to see it dream it
and plan it and put your team on it work
on it go through all of the steps to get
there do it right
have the ambition to be the owner of the
tallest building in town and go through
all of the right steps to get there if
you really want it and have the skills
to do it and the patience to weather all
of the storms your ambition will lead
you there having the ambition to do what
it takes to get you where you want to go
is good
ambition is creative and constructive
ambition is an expression it’s something
inside of you you want to express in a
positive way
I’m sure you have dreams of
accomplishing great things are you
ambitious enough to realize these dreams
are your dreams strong enough to pull
you toward your future are they vivid
enough to see the end result now are
they worthy of doing until you get there
what are your reasons for creating these
dreams reasons vary from person to
person I bet if you did a little
soul-searching you could come up with a
fairly strong list the list of reasons
why is it so important to achieve these
dreams what are you trying to express
these reasons for accomplishing great
things are different for everybody
there are personal reasons sometimes
uniquely personal reasons some people do
well for the recognition
some people do well because of the way
it makes them feel they love the feeling
of being a winner and that is one of the
best reasons once in a while I hear
someone say 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 would just quit
family is another reason a motivator for
doing well some people do extremely well
because of other people and that’s a
powerful reason sometimes we will do
something for someone else that we would
not do for ourselves I know a lady who
was getting back on track from financial
disaster even though she didn’t have
much of anything left her primary
motivator was to keep her daughter in
private school an expensive one one of
the best in the country although her
goal was to financially surpass where
she was before her economic fall her
main reason to work all of those extra
hours was to give her little girl
the best possible education as you can
well imagine wanting to do something for
someone else led her to all sorts of
other accomplishments as well how
fortunate are the people who find
themselves greatly affected by someone
else it’s powerful
what has you getting up early hitting it
hard all day and staying up late
what has you inspired what are your
reasons for doing well what’s at the
core of your quest what is the power
behind your ambition think about it
jot it down do some soul-searching
define your reasons so they will work
better for you so now we have determined
that it’s in your best self-interest to
be ambitious self-interest
self-preservation as human beings we
can’t help but be interested in our own
self-preservation we can’t help but be
self-interested it’s one of the
strongest urges we have interested in
our preservation interested in our
development interested in our success
there’s certainly nothing wrong with
self-interest but here’s the clue
self-interest must be enlightened as to
what truly serves us best
when I found out that self-interest was
okay that was a big relief to me now
we’re not talking about selfish we’re
talking about self-interest
self-interest needs to be educated
enlightened self-interest is willing to
be benefited by service to others not at
the expense of us self-interest at the
expense of others starts to be greed
evil hoping you go up as someone goes
down hoping to attain while someone else
loses I win you lose we call that the
beginnings of evil the dark side of our
nature wishing to benefit at the expense
of others enlightened self-interest
wishes to benefit at the service of
others a friend of mine tells this
little story about a person she hears
from about every three months or so this
guy calls to solicit money for food
baskets for homeless families she’s
happy to give her money to them she was
unfortunately homeless for a short
period of time and she knows the
position these people are in this group
is legit she checked them out but after
the second or third time this guy called
same guy after the second or third time
he called she started talking to him
about other stuff turns out this guy is
broke living in a hotel looking for any
construction job he can find any job at
all but what’s unique about this guy is
that he donates two or three hours a
night every night to call people and get
money to feed the homeless every night
from his hotel room
now most people would say this guy
should use those hours every night to
work a second job or a third job but
while he’s way down on the ladder of
success he feels it’s important to help
those less fortunate than he is he has a
roof over his head he makes enough to
feed himself and my friend says that
every time she talks to this guy every 2
or 3 months he’s doing better
he’s digging himself out of debt he’s
starting to save money he thinks he’ll
be able to move into an apartment in
another month or two now recently an
interesting thing happened my friend was
talking with an associate of hers she’s
single lives in a big house needs to
find a handyman to help her out on a
regular basis someone who can build an
addition onto her house but my friend
told her about this guy the only reason
this guy ended up being hired was that
my friends associate was touched by his
dedication to service while he himself
was down and out service success at the
service of others now this guy isn’t
rich by any stretch but through my
friends Network he now has constant work
doing things around several people’s
houses and now he’s in a place of his
own and guess what he does every night
he’s still making phone calls to get
money to feed the homeless
what great character this man has
enlightened self-interest leads to
wealth self-preservation leads to
poverty
somebody says well I can’t be concerned
about other people I have to pay
attention to myself well then you’ll
always have to somebody says I can’t be
concerned about other people’s bills
I’ve got enough worries trying to pay my
own well then you’ll have to worry about
them for the rest of your life the best
way to get that monkey off your back is
to turn your attention around once I
understood some of this stuff I’m
telling you it revolutionized my whole
life
now self-interest is okay yes but here’s
what self-interest must be if you truly
want to be happy it must be enlightened
it says don’t keep your attention on
yourself if you want your life to work
out well turn your attention to others
in your own self-interest be enlightened
truly act in your own self-interest by
making an investment in service to
others next if you wish to receive now
there’s nothing wrong with wishing to
receive it’s part of self-interest but
here’s the enlightened part if you wish
to receive you must give some people say
if you give it’s gone no no not if
you’re educated if you’re stupid yes
it’s gone but if you’re enlightened
chances are if you give you’ve invested
and what do we expect an investment to
do return
get back what you put out no we expect
it to return multiply bigger greater
better my father taught me way back son
always do more than what you get paid
for now some individuals might argue
with that they’d say no you’re going to
mess up the whole program I know they’re
wrong in my own self-interest I did what
my father taught me to always do more
than I got paid for why to make an
investment in my future do more than you
get paid for to make an investment in
your future and it’s paid off for me if
you’re wanting that big promotion are
you going to go up to your boss and say
just give it to me I’ll work harder if
you just give me that promotion no it
doesn’t work that way you’ve got to do
more in your current position so that
you get noticed so you stand out from
everybody else so the boss says hey
we’ve got this position opening up and I
think we should give it to Nancy she
does so much more than we expect
just imagine what she’ll do if we give
her this promotion you’ve got to do more
than you’re paid for
you’ve got to it’s an investment in your
future it’s one thing to make a sale I’m
telling you if you make a sale you’ll
make a living if you go beyond making
the sale and serve people by keeping in
touch calling them before they call you
writing a thank-you note
sales will lead to multiple sales you
can make a fortune if the customer is
well taken care of people who are well
taken care of will open doors you can’t
get through by yourself all of us have
found ways to make a living what got
interesting for me
early on was to figure out ways to make
a fortune you’d say well mr. Roane how
would I deserve to make a fortune it’s
easy render fortunes of service people
will do things you cannot believe for
people who give them good service here’s
one of the greatest gifts you can give
anybody the gift of attention in return
they will do extraordinary things for
your career take you by the hand and
lead you to more people than you could
meet by yourself always do more than you
get paid for
next in enlightened self-interest life
responds to deserve not need life
responds to deserve not need life was
not designed to give us what we need
life was designed to give us what we
deserve what we deserve
once you understand that little life
principle in your own self-interest I’m
telling you it’s life changing
the ancient law does not go like this if
you need you will reap no it doesn’t
work that way a lot of people out there
are hoping it works that way but no it
doesn’t the ancient law goes like this
if you plant you will reap if you sow
you will reap somebody says well I
really need to reap well then you really
need to plant in your own self-interest
your own self-interest needs to be
educated in how to plant how to do it so
everybody wins
because life doesn’t respond to need you
can’t go to the soil and say I need a
crop the soil just smiles at you and
here’s what the soil says don’t bring me
your need bring me some seed bring me
some effort bring me some discipline
bring me some interest bring me some
service bring me these things and I’ll
return to you x 2 x 5 x 10 x you can’t
come with need you’ve got to come with
seed you’ve got to come with willingness
you’ve got to come with skills you’ve
got to be willing to learn willing to
change willing to grow willing to put
yourself out willing to stand up to the
bad weather willing to pull out the
weeds willing to nurture that’s the only
way you get a return once you understand
these principles self-interest now truly
becomes an exciting challenge making
sure everybody wins enlightened
self-interest makes sure that everybody
wins
[Music]
now here’s another one if you want to
find you must search and if you search
you will find
in order to find you must search you
must go to church you must go to the
seminar you must go to the library
you’ve got to go to the bookstore you’ve
got to go to the class you’ve got to go
to the training you’ve got to go
searching why if you search you will
find you’ll find ideas you’ll find
inspiration you’ll find hope you’ll find
contacts but you’ve got to be out there
on the search on the look life reserves
its treasures for those who deserve it
not those who need it
enlightened self-interest giving so that
you will receive searching so that you
will find making sure that everybody
wins
all the way around enlightened
self-interest needs to be educated
enlightened self-interest says I will
learn that life is not just the passing
of time I will learn that life is the
collection of experiences ups and downs
highs and lows laughter and tears you
must decide to act you must have the
discipline to act now here’s what’s
important about discipline one
discipline affects another discipline
all disciplines affect each other in
fact here’s a good philosophical phrase
everything affects everything else
nothing stands alone
don’t be naive and say this doesn’t
matter of course it matters it all
matters some things may matter more than
others but everything matters if you’d
rather sleep in than go for a walk
around the neighborhood pretty soon it
will matter if you’d rather spend your
money instead of saving it pretty soon
it will matter if you’d rather put off a
letter to an old friend instead of
corresponding regularly pretty soon it
will
if you’d rather work late every night
instead of going home and spending time
with your family pretty soon it will
matter it all matters
every letdown affects the rest if you
won’t walk around the block you probably
won’t eat right and you probably won’t
buy the books and you probably won’t
attend the seminars and you probably
won’t spend your money wisely and after
years of this it all adds up so the key
to reversing this process is to start
picking up the disciplines it does
matter it all matters now here’s the
positive side every new discipline
affects the rest every new discipline
makes a difference that’s why action is
so important the smallest action the
least action the action that you won’t
think will matter it all matters take it
because when you start accomplishing and
the value starts to return you’ll find
inspiration to do the next one and the
next one and the next one if you start
walking around the block it’ll inspire
you to start eating right you start
eating right it’ll inspire you to get a
book you get a book then it’ll inspire
you to get a journal you get a journal
and it’ll inspire you to develop some
skills disciplines affect each other
lack affects the rest of your life the
key is to diminish the lack one of our
greatest temptations is to just ease up
a bit
to do just a little bit less than you’re
capable of to take a little break
somebody says it’ll just affect my sales
no it’ll affect your consciousness
it’ll affect your philosophy it’ll
affect your home life it’ll affect
everything no you can’t ease up a bit
that’s what vacations are for when
you’re at work work when you’re on
vacation rest wherever you are be there
if you think about vacation when you’re
at work you’ll surely think about work
when you’re on vacation you’ll just mess
it all up so be disciplined get involved
do all that it takes to get the job done
get your health back get your bank
account where it’s supposed to be get
your family in order get disciplined be
disciplined every day when you setup the
disciplines that give your life
structure miracles can happen multiply
and I’m telling you anybody who wants to
make a drastic change in their income
can do it
I was broken age 25 and a millionaire at
age 31 everything around me was the same
I changed I refined my philosophy I read
the books I took the classes started
looking at life a little differently I’m
telling you
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