I don’t classify them as buddies. I’d love to, but don’t misunderstand. I am proud of the fact that the last time I saw Colin Powell he did give me a big ol’ hug and, since he’s one of my heroes I liked that, But anyhow…I do a lot of public seminars. Now, they did a study—and who is they? They is David Jensen, the Chief Administrative Officer for the Crump Institute for Biological Imaging, Department of Pharmacology, UCLA School of Medicine. Now, with a title like that, you know he is somebody, don’t you? Well, he’s a good friend of mine, too. They did a study on the people who came to the seminars. It represents a broad section of American industry, everybody from psychiatrists and truck drivers to school teachers and household executives, salespeople, entrepreneurs, business owners—all kinds of people. And those who set goals and developed a plan of action to get there earned an average of $7,401 a month. Those who did not set goals earned an average of $3,397 a month. Over four thousand dollars a month difference.
Do you have time to invest another ten minutes a day to pick up another four thousand bucks a month? The survey also showed that not only did they earn the additional money, but they were happier and healthier and got along better with the folks at home. People who know where they’re going and have a plan to get there are easier to get along with, that’s what this really does boil down to. You set those goals and then you got organized. Organization is important. Our controller at our company is well-organized. She even proofreads the Xerox copies she sends out. And then, once you’ve got it organized you’ve accepted responsibility. Now, that’s something a lot of us don’t like to do. And it goes back to Adam and Eve; you remember the story. They were in the Garden of Eden. God gave it all to them. He said, “You can have everything you want, and there’s a tree right in the middle of the garden, leave it alone. Don’t eat it.”
Well, you know what happened. They ate the fruit on the tree. To this day a lot of people say it was the apple in the tree that caused man’s problems. Not so. It was the pair on the ground that created the problem. And you know what happened. God came walking in the garden that evening and He said, “Adam! Where are you?”
Now, God knew were Adam was, but He wanted Adam to say, “Over here, Lord.”
“Adam, did you eat that fruit?”
Now, God knew the answer, but He wanted Adam to confess, but Adam did “the manly thing,” and has passed it on to every generation since. He said, “Lord, let me tell you about that woman!”
The Lord said, “Eve! Did you eat that fruit?” She kept the ball rolling.
She said, “Lord, lemme tell you about that snake!” And, of course, the snake didn’t have a leg to stand on!
Now, for the benefit of you Bible students, I know theologically I don’t have a leg to stand on with that last statement, either, but here’s the point I’m making. You don’t have a leg to stand on, I don’t have a leg to stand on, when we constantly blame other people and the past. Now, realistically, if somebody fouled up your past—come on, you’re not going to give them permission to ruin your future, are you? What we have to do is get serious about doing something about our future. We have to get serious about doing things with our lives.
I speak and write at the seventh grade, ninth month level. Now, the reason I do that deliberately is because I learned a few years ago if you kept it there that even the college professors would be able to follow right along with you and understand what you’re saying. And see, college professors are people. But, like my good friend, Dr. Steve Franklin, a college professor at Emory University, says, “You know, Zig, the great truths in life are simple. You don’t need three moving parts and four syllables for it to be significant. Think about it for a moment. There are only three pure colors on the face of this Earth, but look at what Michelangelo did with those colors. There are only ten mathematical digits, but look at what Einstein did with them. Only seven notes but look what Chopin and Beethoven and Vivaldi did with those seven notes! Look at what Elvis did with two!”
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, delivered after the Battle of Gettysburg, which, as you know, took place during the war of northern aggression. Two hundred and sixty-two words, that’s all there are in that address. Two hundred and two of them… one syllable. Simple. Direct. John 3:16. Twenty-five words; twenty-one of them one syllable. I believe in keeping it simple. I believe in making it so plain that nobody can miss what is being said.
Now, you’ve gotten organized and accepted the responsibility and made the commitment. Most people are about as committed as a Kamikaze pilot on his 39th mission—I mean, they just don’t really take it seriously. I remember January 7, 1992, I rode past the Plano, Texas, recreation center— that’s where I do my exercises and weight-lifting. The reason I rode past was because there wasn’t a parking space. I was back over there the next day and this time I squeezed in, but in the Nautilus room they had lines behind every machine—three, four, five, six deep. Well, you can’t exercise three minutes and rest fifteen, so I went back outside to the desk and I asked the young man, “Shawn, what on earth’s goin’ on?” Shawn laughed and said, “Oh, Zig, don’t give it a thought. Give us about three weeks. This’ll be back to normal. These are our New Year’s resolution people.”
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
