You Can Reach the Top

YOU CANREACH

THE TOPby

ZIG ZIGLAR

Copyright 2001 by Zig Ziglar

This edition published by Barnes & Noble Digital,by arrangement with River Oak Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written

permission of the Publisher.

2002 Barnes & Noble Digital

ISBN 1-4014-0235-6Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from

the Holy Bible, New International Version NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978,1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of

Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,

Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from The New KingJames Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, 1994,

Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations are by Zig Ziglar.

The Bottom Line of SuccessIn everything you do, put God rst, and he willdirect you and crown your efforts with success.

Proverbs 3:6 TLB

The bottom line of success is this: pleasing God.True success, the kind of success that pleases God, canbe measured in eight crucial areas of life: happiness,health, finances, emotional security, the quality ofyour friendships, family relationships, your sense ofhope, and an overall peace of mind.

I have filled this book with stories and challengesthat will encourage and inspire you to excel in theareas of your life that matter most.

These meditations are designed to be easy toread. They would make a great addition to yourmorning devotional reading, your lunch break, oryour wind-down time at the end of the day. Theyonly take a few minutes to read, but the truth youglean can have an impact on you for life.

In addition to my own writing, Ive included quotesfrom some of the great people who have motivatedme. I trust youll be inspired in the same way.

Be encouraged! Be challenged! Be blessed! Besuccessful! Keep moving toward the top!

Zig Ziglar

4YOU CAN REACH THE TOP

When we domore than we are

paid to do, eventuallywe will be paid more

for what we do.

Work hard and cheerfully atall you do, just as though youwere working for the Lord andnot merely for your masters.Colossians 3:23 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

A s a youngster working in a grocerystore, I knew the young boy who worked inthe store across the street. In those depres-sion years, most stores, of financial necessity,carried a very limited inventory. Of course,this frequently led to shortages, and in thesecases the merchants simply borrowed fromone another.

Charlie Scott was the runner for thestore across the street. I recall countlessinstances when Charlie would hit our frontdoor at a dead run and sing out to theowner of our store, Mr. Anderson, I needto borrow six cans of tomatoes! Mr.Anderson always replied, Well, go get em,Charlie. You know where they are. Charliewould dash back to the shelf, grab the itemshe was borrowing, quickly deposit them onthe counter, scribble his name on the slipshowing what he had gotten, and race off.

One day, I asked Mr. Anderson whyCharlie Scott always ran everywhere hewent. He replied that Charlie Scott wasworking for a raise, and he was going to getone. I then asked him how he knew Charliewas going to get a raise, and Mr. Andersonreplied that if the man he was working fordidnt give him one, he would!

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Maintainingthe right attitude

is easier thanregaining theright attitude.

Never be lacking in zeal, butkeep your spiritual fervor,serving the Lord. Be joyful inhope, patient in affliction,faithful in prayer.Romans 12:11-12

ZIG ZIGLAR

Lets look at five life attitudes. First isself-esteem. Thats the way you feel aboutyourself. That feeling of your own worthinfluences every facet of your life.

The second attitude is love, which isyour attitude towards others. Love reallove always thinks in terms of what is bestfor the other person.

The third attitude is faith. Faith is yourattitude towards God. It will influence yourattitudes toward your fellow man and mem-bers of your family.

The fourth attitude is hope, which isyour attitude towards your future. AlfredAdler, the psychiatrist, said, Hope is thefoundational quality of all change, and it isthe great activator. It gets people movingtowards an objective. Hope is the realisticexpectation that something good is goingto happen.

The fifth attitude is forgiveness, whichdeals with your past. Your ability to forgiveothers for any wrong-doing will have atremendous bearing on your future. Theperson who damaged your past is negativelyimpacting your present, and will negativelyinfluence your future unless you forgivehim or her. Forgiveness is the wisest choice.

Maintain these five attitudes in your life,and you will be well on your way to the top!

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When youturn to God,you discover

He has been facingyou all the time.

For the eyes of the LORDare on the righteous,and His ears are opento their prayers.1 Peter 3:12 NKJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

A recent survey revealed that 96% ofAmericans believe in God, 90% say theypray, and 41% say they attend religiousservices at least once a week or almost everyweek. These figures are nearly identical to asurvey conducted in 1947, with the onlyexception being that the percentage ofthose who believe in God has gone up onepercent.

Translation: 105 million Americans arein worship services every week. Thats morethan attend all of the major league baseballgames, plus all NFL football games, all NBAbasketball games all year long. Need Iremind you that virtually every paperdevotes an entire section to whats going onin the world of athletics? By contrast, lastyear there were only 287 stories of signifi-cance in the national media about what wasgoing on in the lives of people of faith.

Please dont misunderstand. I am an avidsports fan, but how many spectators havehad their lives changed because they were ata game versus how many peoples liveswere changed at a religious service?

I wonder what would happen if everyperson who goes to religious services eachweek were to write the editor of their news-paper a letter, suggesting they give morecoverage to our faith.

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YOU CAN REACH THE TOP

Men of genius areadmired. Men of

wealth are envied.Men of power arefeared, but onlymen of character

are trusted. Arthur Friedman

Moreover thou shalt provideout of all the people able men,such as fear God, men of truth,hating covetousness. . . to berulers.Exodus 18L:21 kjv

ZIG ZIGLAR

Several years ago I was speaking at atrade school, with several hundred studentsin attendance. Early on, approximately one-third of the students were attentively listen-ing. The other two-thirds were eitherreading or pretending to be asleep.

The local television station had gottenword that I was to be speaking at the schooland sent a camera crew to get some shots.They walked in down the left-hand aisle,came up on stage, got behind me, andstarted filming the entire student body asthey listened to the presentation.

An interesting phenomenon took place.One hundred percent of the students sud-denly became alert, sat up straight, andbecame enormously attentive. The spot-light was on them.

In many ways the spotlight is always onall of us, as far as our morals, ethics, andresponsibilities are concerned. Lets not getcaught unaware. By conducting our lives asif the camera is on and the mike is open,we will be living with integrity. The picturewe have of ourselves will be character basedand non-hypocritical. We wont have toapologize for or explain tomorrow what wedid today.

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Make failureyour teacher, notyour undertaker.

Dont you know that thisgood man, though youtrip him up seven times,will each time rise again?Proverbs 24:16 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

Sometimes little irritations, mistakes, andfailures come our way that are not earth-shat-tering or life-changing, but they cause amomentary stop in our progress. Sometimeswe permit the little incidents to linger entirelytoo long and give us problems far beyondtheir significance. Lets say that you arecaught in one of these situations, and at themoment youre not depressed, but youre notexactly on cloud nine either. As a result, youknow that you are not as friendly or as pro-ductive as you would like to be, so you want tosnap out of it. What do you do?

Step number one: acknowledge thatyoure in a funky mood; youve got theblahs.

Step number two: recognize that yourmomentary switch from positive thinking tostinkin thinkin is neither permanentnor even life-threatening, so it wont befatal. Its eventually going to end, so insteadof waiting for a change in circumstances tobring an end to the blahs, make a con-scious decision to end them yourself!Which means you have once againaccepted responsibility for improving yourcircumstances. When you take that respon-sibility, your circumstances will change andyou will have turned a small tragedy into abig triumph.

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Where you start isnot as important aswhere you finish.

In all things God works forthe good of those who lovehim, who have been calledaccording to his purpose.Romans 8:28

ZIG ZIGLAR

Just in case you have even a trace ofPLOM (poor little old me) disease and

are saying, But, Zig, you dont understandabout my past, Ive got a better idea foryou. Instead of explaining why it wontwork for you, let me tell you how it hasworked for others.

A study of three hundred world-classleaders, including Franklin D. Roosevelt,Sir Winston Churchill, Clara Barton, HelenKeller, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa,Dr. Albert Schweitzer, and Martin LutherKing, Jr., revealed that 25 percent of themhad serious physical disabilities and anadditional 50 percent had been abused aschildren or were raised in poverty.

The world-class leaders responded (posi-tive) instead of reacted (negative) to whathappened to them. Remember, its notwhat happens to you; its how you handlewhat happens to you thats going to makethe difference in your life.

Neil Rudensteins father was a prisonguard and his mother a part-time waitress.Today, Dr. Neil Rudenstein is president ofHarvard University. He says he learned veryearly in life that there is a direct correlationbetween performance and reward.Rudenstein and the three hundred world-class leaders personally learned that its notwhere you start its where you finish that counts.

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These ten littletwo-letter words If it is to be, it is up

to me are absolutelyvalid. The solution is

to do it now.

For the gifts and calling ofGod are without repentance.Romans 1 1:29 KJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

One reason people do not develop anduse their talents is denial. Many people findit comfortable to deny a talent. After all, ifthey deny their talents, then perhaps theycan persuade others that they really donthave anything to offer.

A second reason people dont use theirtalents is procrastination. Theyre going touse them in the nonexistent future onSomeday Isle (someday Ill), which is anonexistent island. Tomorrow is the great-est labor-saving device ever brought to light.

I believe fear (which is faith in reverse) isa third reason for not using our talents.Many people dont understand that failure isan event and not a person, so they decide toplay it safe and not do anything at all.

The fourth reason people do not usetheir talents is irresponsibility. They find itmore comfortable to blame other thingsand other people for their failures.

Some of the saddest words youll everhear are what might have been. SpeakerVicki Hitzges puts it in a unique and differ-ent way when she asks, Will you look backon life and say, I wish I had or Im glad Idid? You do have a choice.

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Love is not the basisfor marriage; marriage

is the basis for love.Being loved is the

second-best thing inthe world; loving

someone is the best.

Love. . . does not holdgrudges and will hardlyeven notice when othersdo it wrong.I Corinthians 13:4-5 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

The True Love Daily Checklist1. Did I speak words of love to my mate today?2. Did I act with love toward my mate today?3. Was I patient with my mate today?4. Was I kind to my mate today?5. Was I jealous or envious of my mate today?6. Was I proud or boastful to my mate today?7. Was I selfish with or rude to my mate today?8. Did I demand my own way with my mate today?9. Was I irritable or touchy with my mate today?10. Did I hold on to grudges against my mate

today?11. Was I glad when truth triumphed with my mate

today?12. Was I loyal to my mate today?13. Did I believe in and expect the best from my

mate today?14. Did I use my strengths for my mate today?15. Did I keep the faith with my mate today?16. Did I find hope with my mate today?17. Did I love my mate today?18. Do I understand that the greatest strength is

love?

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The profile ofa wealthy personis this: hard work,

perseverance,and most of all,self-discipline.

Do you know a hard-workingman? He shall be successfuland stand before kings!Proverbs 22:29 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

The Louis Harris poll of people whoearned more than $142,000 a year and hada net worth of over a half million dollars,not including their homes, described thesesuccessful people as being unexciting, mid-dle-aged, and cautious. They emphasizedfamily values and the work ethic. Eighty-three percent of them were married.Ninety-six percent of them acquired theirnet worth through hard work, which meansthey denied themselves immediate gratifica-tion so they could have what they reallywanted later. Eighty percent were politicallyconservative or middle-of-the-road, andthey were relatively nonmaterialistic.

In other words, their goals went beyondmoney. Eighty-five percent said that theirmajor objective was to provide for theirfamily (thats an attitude of responsibility).Only 11 percent rated owning an expensivecar as being very high on their want list.The badges of success didnt matter tothem nearly so much as family, education,and their business or job not muchexcitement but lots of happiness. They hada good standard of living but, infinitelymore important, they had an excellentquality of life. Persistence, consistency, dis-cipline, and hard work (all of which arelearned skills) made the difference. Theirlives seemed to be in balance.

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Remember thefree cheese isin a mousetrap.

For even when we werewith you, we gave you thisrule: If a man will not work,he shall not eat.2 Thessalonians 3:10

ZIG ZIGLAR

Years ago Paul Harvey described howEskimos in the frozen North kill wolves.They take a razor-sharp knife, dip it inblood and freeze it. Next, they bury thehandle of the knife in the frozen tundrawith the blade sticking up. Wolves, attractedto the scent of blood, come to lick theblade. The cold numbs the wolfs tongueand by the time he reaches the blade hesunaware he is licking a sharp edge. As hebegins to bleed, he licks even faster untilultimately he bleeds to death.

In many ways Paul Harvey was describ-ing the way young people are lured intodrug and alcohol traps. Early on, somedrugs and alcohol make a person feel goodand they enjoy the feeling. After a fewtrips on those drugs and alcohol, how-ever, they begin to lose their sense of per-spective and the drugs have less and lesseffect. This leads them to indulge instronger, more potent drugs and he orshe is hooked.

Interestingly enough, the wolf and thedrug addict have another thing in com-mon. Each wanted the same thing namely, to give little or nothing and get alot. A more successful formula is to give alot, and youll get a lot in return.

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Inject peoplewith hope.

I pray that God will help youoverflow with hope in himthrough the Holy Spiritspower within you.Romans 15:12 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

On Saturday, May 3, 1997, I had theprivilege of attending a Special Olympicsevent with my family. Our granddaughter,Elizabeth, participated in two races and wona silver and a gold medal. She was excited.

The opening ceremonies, complete withcolor guard, speeches, master of cere-monies, salute to the flag, Star SpangledBanner, and performances by a drill teamwere all spectacular to watch. However, themost moving sight was watching the open-ing parade. Many emotions were displayed,but the main one was the sheer delight ofso many of the athletes their smiles, thejumping up and down, the way they huggedeach other, and the enthusiasm they dis-played.

The master of ceremonies reminded usthat just thirty years ago the experts believedthat no mentally retarded person would everbe able to swim the length of an Olympic-sizeswimming pool or run a mile. But then herightly observed that they did not measure theheart or the soul of these athletes.

Question: What would happen if all ofus used the same percentage of our abilitythat these special athletes use of theirs?Seeing the athletes commitment gave hopeto those present that day. Remember, thosewho give hope to others are generally filledwith hope themselves.

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If a child liveswith praise,

he learnsto appreciate.

Dorothy Nolte

Lo, children are an heritageof the LORD: and the fruit ofthe womb is his reward.Psalm 127:3 KJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

Children Live What They LearnIf a child lives with criticism,He learns to condemn.If a child lives with hostility,He learns violence.If a child lives with ridicule,He learns to be shy.If a child lives with shame,He learns to feel guilty.If a child lives with encouragement,He learns confidence.If a child lives with praise,He learns to appreciate.If a child lives with fairness,He learns justice.If a child lives with security,He learns faith.If a child lives with approval,He learns to like himself.If a child lives with acceptance and friendship,He learns to love the world.

Dorothy Law Nolte

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The ladder ofsuccess works likeany other ladder.

Very few have climbedit with their handsin their pockets.

Hard work meansprosperity; only a foolidles away his time.Proverbs 12:11 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

The finals of the U.S. Amateur GolfChampionship of 1997 was one of the mostexciting and dramatic golf events of theyear. Playing in the finals were Steve Scottand Tiger Woods. On the eighteenthgreen, the final hole, Steve was one up, put-ting first. Tigers ball was in Steves puttingline, so Tiger spotted his ball a club-headlength away and marked it. Steve Scottputted and missed.

Tiger carefully circled the green, viewedevery possible angle and was lined up to puttwhen Steve reminded him that he had notspotted his ball back in the original spot.Making the correction, Tiger sank the putt,and the match was thrown into suddendeath, which was won by Tiger Woods.

Heres the reason Steve Scott is such amarvelous role model. Had he notreminded Tiger that he had not respottedhis ball correctly, and Tiger had stroked theputt, he would have been penalized twostrokes and lost the championship.

Thats what makes long-term winners.That was sportsmanship and integrity per-sonified. Even though Steve lost the champi-onship, he won something infinitely moreimportant self-respect and the admirationof literally millions of golfers all over theworld. Thats a role model in action.

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It is not whathappens to you that

determines howfar you go in life;

it is what youdo with what

happens to you.

But despite all this,overwhelming victory is oursthrough Christ who loved usenough to die for us.Romans 8:37 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

One of the most remarkable men Iveever known is Charlie Wedemeyer. Charliecoached the Los Gatos high-school footballteam to the only state championshiptheyve ever won. I remember the day Iattended a practice session with Charlie andhis team. He and I were carrying on anextended conversation from the sidelineswhen periodically an assistant coach wouldrun up and ask questions. Without hesitation,Charlie, who had been watching intently dur-ing our entire conversation, would spell outthe specifics he should follow.

The amazing thing is that the only partsof his body he can move are his eyes andmouth. Charlie Wedemeyer suffers fromLou Gehrigs disease. His wife, Lucy, is hisinterpreter. She reads his lips and effec-tively delivers the message.

Charlie has the most remarkable atti-tude and the greatest sense of humor Ibelieve I have ever seen. Though travelarrangements are difficult, he regularlyspeaks to people in schools, businesses,prisons, and churches. He has something tosay, and Lucy verbalizes it to the audience.He might be the only speaker in Americawho cant speak. Needless to say, his lifeand wife communicate a powerful messageof hope, love, and a never-give-up spirit.They both have a passion to make a differ-ence.

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You will make alousy anybody else,but you are the bestyou in existence.

You are the only onewho can use your

ability. It is anawesome responsibility.

I praise you because I amfearfully and wonderfullymade; your works arewonderful, I know that full well.Psalm 139:14

ZIG ZIGLAR

A round the turn of the century near thetown of Beaumont, Texas, a landowner wasforced to sell portions of his land to feedhis family. Then an oil company told himthere could be oil on his property andoffered to pay him royalties if he would per-mit them to drill. The landowner agreed,because he had nothing to lose.

When the well came in, it destroyed thewooden derrick, creating enormous excite-ment. Before they could cap the well, sev-eral hundred thousand barrels of oil hadpumped out. That was the discovery ofSpindletop, the most productive single oilwell in history.

The landowner became an instant multi-millionaire or did he? The answer is reallyno. You see, hed been a multimillionaireever since he had owned the property.Unfortunately, he had no knowledge of thatfact and consequently did not capitalize on it.

It is my personal conviction that inside allof us, there is incredible ability and talent,much of which is never recognized and used.My suggestion is simple: Get acquainted withyourself. Recognize, develop, and use whatyouve got. Who knows maybe there is aSpindletop underneath. Youve certainlygot nothing to lose by doing a little drillingand exploring. Who knows what might cometo the surface?

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The parent whotruly has a good

self-image understandsthat real love demands

they do what is bestfor the child.

Being punished isntenjoyable while it ishappening it hurts!But afterwards we can seethe result, a quiet growthin grace and character.Hebrews 12:11 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

This morning I heard a fascinating conver-sation between a father and a talk-show host.The father said his two little boys had beenput on probation, because they had been lateto school nine times in the last sixty days.

A family council was called and they all(including Dad) accepted full responsibilityfor their parts in the scenario. The parentsexplained that each morning at exactly7:30 they would leave the house for school.If the kids were not ready they wouldgather everything they were going to wearand head for the car. When they arrived atthe school they would exit the car and walkinto the school, whether they had theirshoes on or not.

The parents accepted their responsibil-ity for getting the kids up early enough togive them time to get dressed and havebreakfast.

Getting to school on time teaches theentire family to accept responsibility, butespecially those two little guys. If they hadbeen allowed to get by with being lateand showing irresponsible behavior, a nega-tive pattern might have been established.The teacher who reported them, the par-ents who accepted responsibility, and thetwo boys are all going to be winners. Thatsa winning approach to life.

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For a child,love is spelled

T-I-M-E.

Think constantly about thesecommandments. . . teachthem to your children andtalk about them when youare at home or out for awalk; at bedtime and thefirst thing in the morning.Deuteronomy 6:6-7 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

A young man was to be sentenced to pen-itentiary. The judge had known him fromchildhood and was well acquainted with hisfather, a famous legal scholar. Do youremember your father? asked the magis-trate. I remember him well, your honor.

Then, trying to probe the offendersconscience, the judge said, As you areabout to be sentenced and as you think ofyour wonderful dad, what do you remem-ber most clearly about him?

I remember when I went to him foradvice, he looked at me from the book hewas writing and said, Run along, boy; Imbusy! When I went to him for companion-ship, he turned me away, saying, Runalong, son; this book must be finished!Your honor, you remember him as a greatlawyer. I remember him as a lost friend.The magistrate muttered to himself, Alas!Finished the book, but lost the boy!

The workaholic approach to life seemsto be growing in popularity. Strange as itmay sound, the workaholic is lazy. Itrequires considerably more effort and riskto learn how to communicate effectivelywith your spouse. And it requires consider-ably more energy for the workaholic tolearn to play with, deal with, and communi-cate with a child on his emotional level.

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Ive got to say noto the good soI can say yes

to the best.

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For physical training is ofsome value, but godliness hasvalue for all things, holdingpromise for both the presentlife and the life to come.1 Timothy 4:8

ZIG ZIGLAR

I love to eat in cafeterias, and I especiallylike ones that are arranged so that I canview whats being offered before I get to theserving line. Several years ago the Redhead(my wife) and I went into a new cafeteria,and I had the opportunity to carefully eval-uate what was being offered. This enabledme to quickly move down the line, tellingthe people behind the counter to give mesome of this and this and this. Thats veryimportant, because regardless of how hun-gry you are, you cannot eat some of every-thing on the line.

I wanted to choose foods that I feltwould not only taste good but would alsobe good for me. In short, I had to pass up alot of good food to get the best.

Thats the parallel between the cafeterialine of life and the cafeteria line for food. Inlife, we simply cannot be, do, and have every-thing in this big, beautiful world of ours. Weneed to choose, and the choices we make willultimately determine how successful we arein the eight crucial areas of life: happiness,health, peace, prosperity, security, friend-ships, family, and hope. Its up to you tochoose the best and pass up the good.

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We deplete naturesnatural resourcesby using them up.We deplete mans

natural resources byfailing to use them.

The man who had receivedthe one talent went off,dug a hole in the groundand hid his masters money.Matthew 25:18

ZIG ZIGLAR

Little Johnny was a pistol. One Fridayafternoon his teacher said to the class,Students, if any of you have an unusualevent take place this weekend, pleaseremember it and tell us about it on Mondaymorning.

On Monday morning, Little Johnny satat his desk, quivering with excitement. Theteacher said, Johnny, it looks like some-thing exciting happened for you over theweekend.

With enthusiasm, Johnny said, Me andmy daddy went fishin and caught seventy-five catfish, and they all weighed seventy-five pounds. The teacher said, Now,Johnny, you know that simply did not hap-pen. Johnny replied, Yes, Maam, it did!

Now, Johnny, if I were to tell you thaton the way to school this morning all of asudden a big, grizzly bear appeared in frontof me and was about to grab me when sud-denly a little yellow dog appeared out ofnowhere, jumped up, grabbed the grizzlybear by the nose, broke his neck and killedhim dead, now Johnny, would you believethat?

Johnny cheerfully replied, Yes, Maam,I sure would! As a matter of fact, thats mydog!

Our imagination brings creative solutionsto many problems, so lets encourage ourkids to use their creative imaginations in life.

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It seems universallytrue that people who

have direction in theirlives go farther andfaster and get moredone in all areas of

their lives.

Where there is no vision,the people perish: buthe that keepeth the law,happy is he.Proverbs 29:18 KJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

Andrew Gardner, an assistant vice presi-dent with Merrill Lynch, says they have asclients a large number of men and womenfrom all walks of life who earn $100,000 ayear. They are different in many ways. Theonly common ground they have is the factthat at any given time of the year, whenasked where they are on their objectives,any of these $100,000-a-year income earn-ers can tell you precisely what their accom-plishments are up to that date.

It is a fact of life that you need to knowwhere you are, as well as how to get whereyou want to be. David G. Jensen, from theUCLA School of Medicine, surveyed thepeople who attend public seminars I con-duct. He divided them into two groups:Those who set goals and developed a planof action to reach them, and those whotook no specific action to set their goals.

The goal-setters earned an average oftwice as much per month as the non-actiongroup. Not surprisingly, the action grouptended to be more enthusiastic, more satis-fied with life and work, happier in mar-riage, and their overall health was better. Ithelps to know where youre going.

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When you break goalsinto increments and

start controllingyour time, thingsbegin to happen.

Teach us to number ourdays aright, that we maygain a heart of wisdom.Psalm 90:12

ZIG ZIGLAR

Perhaps the greatest advantage of havinga goals program is the freedom that goeswith having direction. When your goals areclearly defined and intelligently set, youhave, in essence, taken a major step towardprogramming your left brain. That freesyour right brain to be its creative best.

The best analogy I can give you is thesuperbly conditioned and gifted athletewho is so disciplined and committed to thefundamentals of the game that he or she isfree to be at their creative best.

Michael Jordan, for example, is con-fronted a number of times in every gamehe plays with a new situation. BecauseMichael is so drilled in the fundamentals,he, with his superb athletic skills, can becreative in the way he handles the trulyunique situations that arise.

The same situation happens to all of us.Only with discipline, do doctors, students,and people like you and me have the free-dom to give their best performance. Whenwe are fundamentally sound with a base ofmoral, ethical values to work from, a goalsprogram to focus on, and the optimisticoutlook of automatically seeking the solu-tions to problems with the expectancy offinding those solutions, we free the creativeright brain to do exactly that.

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By the mile its a trial,but by the inch

its a cinch.

For precept mustbe upon precept. . .line upon line; here a little,and there a little.Isaiah 28:10 KJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

James Bostick was six years old, had anintense dislike for school, did not like his

teacher, and was making poor grades. Hecried at night, complained of nightmares,and parent-teacher conferences were regu-lar events for his mother, Laura.

In the course of events, James parentsdivorced, and Laura took a class on devel-oping the qualities of success. She realizedthat the missing ingredients in Jameslearning process were the qualities of hon-esty, enthusiasm, positive thinking, andrespect the qualities that, in general,make an individual more pleasant and suc-cessful. Laura started teaching the meaningof these skills to her son. She also cut outsmall i can circles and used them toreward James for improvement. She chal-lenged him to do better in school andrequired him to tell her something good hehad discovered about his friends andteacher every day.

It happened slowly, but during the yearJames changed. His grades showed drasticimprovement and moved him to the topportion of his class. He won the first-placeblue ribbon in the science fair competitionfor his class. His mothers efforts wererewarded when the young boy who beggedto stay home was singled out for hisachievements and honored with theStudent of the Week award.

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Some peoplefind fault likethere was a

reward for it.

Let no corrupt communicationproceed out of your mouth,but that which is good tothe use of edifying, that itmay minister grace untothe hearers.Ephesians 4:29 kjv

ZIG ZIGLAR

In his book, To Thine Own Self Be True,Court Flint tells a story of a prominentwoman invited to share before a largewomens club the secret of her happy life.She told them a tramp was responsible.

She was washing dishes one morningwhen a tramp knocked at the back door,politely took off his hat, bowed and asked ifhe could work for breakfast. The womansaid she told him in harsh tones, I have nopatience with tramps. I work for my livingand you can work for yours. If you dont go,Ill call my husband. At that point thetramp said, Your husbands not at home.She was startled and asked, How do youknow that? He replied, If he is home itsbecause hes sick. He wouldnt stay homewith you unless he was sick.

This prominent, happy lady said sheshut the door, unable to finish washing thedishes. Her thoughts went back over themorning when she had scolded her hus-band and had not been kind to him theevening before. The next day she askedGod to help her change her life. Shechanged from a faultfinder into a good-finder. A much happier marriage and aninfinitely happier life was the result.

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You get better resultsif you have high

expectations. This istrue in science,math, reading,

football, or band. Charles Adair

The creation waits in eagerexpectation for the sons ofGod to be revealed.Romans 8:19

ZIG ZIGLAR

In the early 1900s, Vilfredo Pareto, anItalian engineer-economist-sociologist,developed what he called the 80/20 rule.His research indicated that in a business 20percent of the items accounted for 80 per-cent of the business and that roughly 20percent of the population controlledroughly 80 percent of its wealth.

Since then others have incorrectly statedthat 20% of the workforce contributes 80%of the results, and 20% of the sales force pro-duces 80% of the sales. In most cases this isnot true. At The Zig Ziglar Corporation in1996, 20% of our sales people produced25% of the business and 80% of our salesforce produced 75%. In addition, our lowest-producing sales person produced 57% asmuch business as our top producer. This vali-dates the fact that he is an extremely valuableemployee. He served his clients well andmade himself and the company a profit. As aresult, we treat him with the same courtesy,respect, and dignity that we show all theother sales people. In short, hes a valuableemployee and a first-class individual.

Treat everyone like they are top-drawer;show them respect and courtesy, and youllbe amazed at the number of them who willrespond to your expectations and producewonderful results.

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Directionliterally creates

time.

The steps of good menare directed by the Lord.He delights in each stepthey take.Psalm 37:23 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

One day a traveler in a remote countrytown, convinced that he was on the wrongroad, came to a halt in a village. Callingone of the villagers to the car window, hesaid, Friend, I need help. Im lost.

The villager looked at him for a moment.Do you know where you are? he asked.

Yes, said the traveler. I saw the nameof your town as I entered.

The man nodded his head, Do youknow where you want to be?

Yes, the traveler replied.Youre not lost, he said, you just need

directions.Many of us are in the same position as

that traveler. We know where we are some-times disappointed, dissatisfied, and experi-encing little peace of mind. And we knowwhere we want to be at peace, fulfilled,and living life abundantly. Like the traveler,we are not lost we just need directions.

It doesnt take much to find the highroad to success, but to reach it you need anagenda for the present. You need directionsfor today. You need a purpose. Listen to theadvice the president of Lincoln Universitygave to a group of incoming freshmen:Your life cant go according to plan if youhave no plan!

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When a job is loved,work makes life

sweet, purposeful,and fruitful.

So I decided that there wasnothing better for a manto do than to enjoy his foodand drink, and his job.Then I realized that eventhis pleasure is from thehand of God.Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

Many people look only at a problemand not at the opportunity which lieswithin the problem. For instance, two menlooked out from prison bars one sawmud, the other saw stars. That accuratelydescribes two views of the world. Manyemployees complain about their job, notrealizing that if the job were simple, theemployer would have hired someone withless ability at a substantially lower wage.

Pessimism muddies the water of oppor-tunity. For example, any time a new innova-tion came along promising to make lifeeasier and people more productive, protest-ers always complained that it would throwpeople out of work.

In our own lifetime we have seen theadvent of the computer. Initially it wasbelieved that many people would lose theirjobs because the computers could do somuch more. It is true that some had toretrain to stay marketable. However, I thinkalmost everyone would agree that comput-ers have created jobs and improved ourstandard of living immeasurably.

The next time you catch yourself com-plaining about the difficulty of your job, askyourself the question, Is there an easier,better, faster, cheaper way of doing this?Who knows, maybe out of the question willcome an answer and some real benefits foryou, because it benefits others.

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Remember thatproductivity alone doesnt

guarantee security. Youmust combine productivitywith a consistent positiveattitude and a team effort,whether youre looking for

a job or looking to keepthe one you have.

Marvin Walberg

For as the body withoutthe spirit is dead, so faithwithout works is dead also.James 2:26 KJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

My wife and I recently checked into anice hotel and immediately went to therestaurant for dinner. I explained to thehostess that we were both hungry and in ahurry. The lady pleasantly said, No prob-lem. Ten minutes later I asked a nearbywaitperson if she could get someone to takeour order. She smiled and said shed behappy to. A moment or two later our wait-ress arrived. She was pleasant, enthusiastic,and brought water and menus with her. Myfirst words to her were, Thank you. We arein somewhat of a hurry and are really hun-gry. She said, Ill take care of it rightaway. Nearly ten minutes later shereturned and took our order.

At that point my wife and I jointly decidedthat we had to leave. The manager inter-ceded and apologized profusely. We did notencounter a single person during our onehour-plus wait who was not courteous,friendly, and pleasant. Under the circum-stances, we would have preferred to havesomeone who was just casually nasty butefficient in delivering what we ordered than someone who was pleasant and courte-ous but who did not bring our food. Message:Combine a pleasant, positive attitude withefficient service; your business will prosper.

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Children paymore attention towhat you do than

what you say. Mamma Ziglar

Train the younger womento love their husbandsand children.Titus 2:4

ZIG ZIGLAR

R ichard was the second-youngest ofnine children. One Saturday afternoon,three days before Christmas, my mother wasin her usual rush to get everything done.She asked Richard to go upstairs and polishher Sunday shoes. After awhile Richardbrought down the shoes, obviously proud ofthe job he had done. Mother was so pleasedthat she reached into her purse and handedhim a quarter. A quarter was quite a treas-ure, especially three days before Christmas,but Richard looked puzzled. He took themoney, picked up the shoes, and quietlywent back upstairs. In a few minutes,mother rushed up to change her clothes. Asshe slipped her feet into the shiny shoes,her right foot hit a lump in the toe. She washalf-annoyed and hurriedly pulled out awad of paper. She unwrapped it and out fella quarter. Written in a seven-year-old scrawlwere the words, I done it for love.

Margaret Baillargeon in Catholic Digest

Richards parents had taught him thetrue meaning of love. Surely his mother,with nine children, was a busy lady.However, a wise and loving mother will findsome time to spend with each child.Demonstrate your love to that little one,and you will help make a better world.

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It is far moreimportant to bethe right kind ofperson than it is

to marry the rightkind of person.

Rejoice with the wifeof your youth.Proverbs 5:18 NKJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

Coming home on a plane, I noticed thatthe fellow seated next to me had his wed-ding band on the index finger of his righthand. I couldnt resist the temptation so Icommented, Friend, youve got your wed-ding band on the wrong finger. Heresponded, Yeah, I married the wrongwoman.

Many people have a lot of wrong ideasabout marriage and what it takes to makethat marriage happy and successful. Ill bethe first to admit that its possible that youdid marry the wrong person. However, ifyou treat the wrong person like the rightperson, you could end up having the rightperson after all. On the other hand, if youmarry the right person and treat that per-son wrong, you certainly will have ended upmarrying the wrong person. I also know thatit is far more important to be the right kindof person than it is to marry the right per-son. In short, whether you married the rightor wrong person is primarily up to you.

Research, personal observation, andexperience prove that stable, sound mar-riages are not built on the passion of themoment. Realistic (and positive) expecta-tions lead to marriages that last.

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You are the way youare because thats theway you want to be.If you really wantedto be any different,you would be in theprocess of changing

right now. Fred Smith

I havent learned allI should even yet, but I keepworking toward that daywhen I will finally be allthat Christ saved me forand wants me to be.Philippians 3:12 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

If youve made a commitment to do some-thing and you encounter difficulty, look fora solution to the problem. Without a com-mitment, you will look for an escape fromthe problem, and will generally find whatyou are looking for.

In all candor, there were long stretchesof time when, despite my best efforts, Icould not get a speaking engagement ofany kind. That was discouraging, but notonce did I consider abandoning my dreamof being a speaker. The difference betweenme and many others who want to be speak-ers and have the necessary talent is that Inever let go of my dream or the willingnessto work toward achieving it. I had a dream,and the dream had me.

Most people who fail in their dream, failnot from lack of ability but from lack ofcommitment. Commitment produces con-sistent, enthusiastic effort that inevitablyproduces greater and greater rewards.

Motivation gives you the want to.Training gives you the how to, and thecombination produces the necessary cre-ative ideas to be more effective in realizingyour dream. Commitment, discipline, andresponsibility keep you going when thegoing gets tough.

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The best thinga parent can do fora child is to lovehis or her spouse.

Husbands, love your wives,just as Christ loved thechurch and gave himselfup for her.Ephesians 5:25

ZIG ZIGLAR

This reality was brought home to mewhen my son was about fifteen years old.We were taking a walk and I asked him,Son, if anyone should ask you what youliked best about your dad, what would yousay?

He said, Id say that the thing I like bestabout my dad is that he loves my mom.Naturally I asked, Son, why would you saythat? He replied, I know because you loveMom youre going to treat her right, and aslong as you treat her right, we will always bea family, because I know how much Momloves you. That means, Dad, that I willnever have to choose between you andMom.

Talk to your kids about how great yourspouse is. Tell them how much you loveyour spouse. Tell them how you met andwhat attracted you to your mate (You mayneed to remember this too!).

Knowing that you and your spouse loveeach other, gives your children a sense ofsecurity they cannot get any other way.They may try to find it elsewhere, buttheres nothing like it. Let your kids knowtheir parents love each other today!

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Persistence iswhat makes the

impossible possible,the possible likely,

and the likely definite. Robert Half

We do not want you tobecome lazy, but to imitatethose who through faith andpatience inherit what hasbeen promised.Hebrews 6:12

ZIG ZIGLAR

The small boys mother asked him aquestion: What would you like to be anddo most of all? He looked at her and said,I want to be big and I want to be athletic.

Unfortunately, that answer presented aserious problem. His mother, father andgrandparents on both sides were all smallin stature. His mother told him there mightnot be anything he could do about beingbig, but there was a great deal he could doabout being an athlete.

For a long time it appeared that hismother was wrong on both counts, becausethe boy was clumsy. He was the last onechosen for any of the pick-up games,regardless of the sport. In the ninth gradehis coach asked him why he continued topursue the impossible dream of becomingan athlete.

For most boys this would have been adevastating blow, but the youngster thecoach was talking to was Merlin Olsen. Notonly had he started to grow, but he wasdeveloping the speed and coordinationthat enabled him to become an all-American high school football player. AtUtah State he was an all-American defen-sive player and played in the nfl Pro Bowlfourteen times. Persistence pays!

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The goal of manyleaders is to get peopleto think more highly

of the leader. The goalof a great leader is

to help peoplethink more highly

of themselves. John Maxwell

But he that is greatestamong you shall beyour servant.Matthew 23:11 KJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

In a typical organization employing 100people, roughly 8 of them do not fit. Sixof the 100 will be super-stars and will pro-duce 8 times as much per individual as dothe 86 remaining performers.

Obviously, these super-stars cant type8 times faster or get 8 times as much workdone. Their productivity comes from whatthey do, their attitudes and their relation-ships with other people. The super-starsare excited and make it a point to becomewell-informed on their jobs. They willinglyshare information with those who ask. Theybecome mentors without thinking in termsof mentoring, only doing the right thing,fitting in, being helpful, and making theircompany a better one.

Why dont we hire more super-stars?You cant hire them you must develop

them. Thats the reason in our ever-chang-ing society, with the dramatic increase intechnology, an on-going training and per-sonal development program is a must. Notonly does it increase proficiency and compe-tency, but it substantially reduces turnover.

For those companies that ask, Whyshould I train my people and then losethem?, the answer is obvious: One thingworse than training people and losing themis not training them and keeping them.

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Caring is morethan compromise

and more thanmutual agreement

not to hurt each other.It is a tacit agreement

to help each other. Anonymous

Carry each others burdens,and in this way you willfulfill the law of Christ.Galatians 6:2

ZIG ZIGLAR

One day when I was in the cookwarebusiness, I found that I had made moreappointments than I could keep. I con-ducted dinner demonstrations that enabledus to sell cookware to the hostess andguests. We then delivered the cookware tothe purchasers and taught them how to useit on their own stoves.

Since my mouth had made promises Icouldnt keep, I asked my assistant, GerryArrowood, to help. I explained I wantedher to deliver the cookware to the six cou-ples who had purchased from me thatevening and teach them how to use it ontheir own stoves. Terror appeared inGerrys eyes. Her hands shook as she said,I cant do it!

At first, I could not persuade her tochange her mind. But on the way home,she gave it some more thought, and as shestarted to get out of the car she said, Okay,Ill do it. You stuck your neck out, and Idont want to see it cut off.

The next night I got the most excitingphone call. Gerry said, I dont everremember having this much fun or feelingso good about myself. Ill be glad to do thisfor you anytime you want me to!

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Dont wait untilyou feel like takinga positive action.Take the action,

and then you willfeel like doing it.

What is faith?. . . It is thecertainty that what we hopefor is waiting for us, eventhough we cannot see it upahead.Hebrews 11:1 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

Remember my assistant Gerry? Shehelped me out of a bind by doing some-thing she didnt really want to do. However,after taking that first step, she becamehighly motivated, and her self-imageimproved dramatically. Her confidencestarted to soar, her personality blossomed,and she became more assertive. She startedsetting bigger goals; her optimism rose; shebecame more positive. The results speak forthemselves.

Let me point out that Gerry started withonly courage, compassion, pride, andhumility; she was conscientious, absolutelydependable, and a very hard worker. Shedeveloped other success qualities as a directresult of using what she already had. Thatsa tremendous lesson for you to learn aboutmotivation!

Dont miss a major, major point. Themotivation came after she took action.Lesson dont wait until you feel like tak-ing a positive action. Take the action andthen you will feel like doing it. Thats tak-ing responsibility. And when Gerry did that,the picture she had of herself changed, andher life changed.

The same can happen for you. Dontwait any more for the feeling to hit you.The motivation will come after you takethose first steps.

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You cannot receivea sincere compliment

without feelingbetter . . . and justas important, you

cannot give a sincerecompliment without

feeling better yourself!

Pleasant words are ahoneycomb, sweet tothe soul and healingto the bones.Proverbs 16:24

ZIG ZIGLAR

One of the most effective tools you canever use to teach and motivate is a sincerecompliment. The more sincere the compli-ment, the more effective it will be.Unfortunately, too many of us pass outthose sincere compliments as if each onewere skin off our backs. In our business,personal, and family lives, we continue toplay the Gotcha! game. You come in atthe end of the day, walking kind of proud,wearing your new coat and tie, and yourloving spouse greets you at the back door.Her eyes grow large as she zeros in on yournew attire and your proud bearing and shesays, Honey, I like your coat and tie . . .[pause] . . . hang on to them I heartheyre coming back in style. Gotcha!

Evidence is solid that even one nastygotcha can do serious damage, and acontinuous barrage of them can doirreparable harm and adversely affect anentire department.

Part of our hesitancy in sharing a com-pliment is the fear that it will be misinter-preted. Even though it would be sincere, weoften dont share it because of the fear ofbeing misunderstood. This results in twopeople losing. Sharing the complimentresults in a double win!

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The dollar bills thecustomer gets from

the teller in fourbanks are the same.

What is differentare the tellers.

Stanley Marcus

Her ways are ways ofpleasantness and allher paths are peace.Proverbs 3:17 NKJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

My dictionary tells me that personalityis the personal or individual quality thatmakes one person be different and act dif-ferently from another. Personality is thetotal physical, intellectual and emotionalstructure of an individual, including abili-ties, interests and attitudes.

There are many benefits to having a pleas-ant personality. Unfortunately, many peoplehave forgotten that we can choose to smileand be pleasant or to frown and be thought-less. Regrettably, too many people make thewrong choice and, as a result, their personal-ity makes them come across as someone wedont want as a friend or co-worker.

There is only one opportunity to make afirst impression, and all of us instinctivelymake decisions or judgments about an indi-vidual within the first few seconds of crossingpaths. With that in mind, I believe when weteach our kids to smile, to be pleasant andcheerful, to be courteous and respectful ofothers, to pleasantly respond to requests orquestions, we are helping them develop apersonality that will open many doors forthem. Once the doors are opened, characterwill keep them open; but personality, notcharacter, is on display in the first few sec-onds. Therefore, its important to develop apleasant personality and use it for life.

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Efficiency isdoing things right.

Effectiveness is doingthe right things.

Thomas K. Connellan

A man is knownby his actions.Proverbs 21:8 tlb

ZIG ZIGLAR

The proper utilization of our time andresources involves some truths which are sosimple and basic that many people missthem completely. We need to understandthat there is no point in doing well thosethings which we should not be doing at all.When you take on a task, you should askyourself if this is something you should bedoing, or is it something someone elseshould be doing. Focus on effective use oftime, rather than efficient use of time.

What happens to those effective peoplewho take their jobs seriously and use their timewisely? According to an Associated Press releasefrom a few years ago, they get promoted:

Dull people may not be the firstinvited to parties, but they are usually thefirst in line for promotion, according to aresearch team at a medical college inChicago. The team made a study ofeighty-eight executives and found thatthose people with a low pleasure capac-ity make the most successful executives.This is because they can concentrate ontheir work without being distracted. . . .Executives who were categorized as funseeking tended to have lower salaries.That doesnt mean youre not a fun per-

son. It just means you take your job seri-ously and do things effectively.

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LOST Somewherebetween sunrise and

sunset one golden hourencrusted with sixty silver

minutes, each studdedwith sixty diamondseconds. No reward

is offered. They are lostand gone forever.

Anonymous

Be very careful, then howyou live not as unwise butas wise, making the most ofevery opportunity becausethe days are evil.Ephesians 5:15-16

ZIG ZIGLAR

My friend Dan Bellus is in my judge-ment the number one time-managementauthority in our country. He says this:

When the Colonists declared theirindependence from Great Britain, astatement was written: All men are cre-ated equal. There has been a lot of dis-cussion about the truth of that statementsince the time it was written. I dont pro-pose I can clear it all up, but this I doknow everyone is equal in theamount of time he or she receives.

Everyone gets twenty-four hours a day sixty minutes for every hour and sixtyseconds for every minute. No one canget more; no one can get less. You cantplay the army game with time: if youknow the guy whos handing out thechow you can say, I want more. Youcant build a bigger time pipeline andsay, I want more. No one can live morethan one second at a time. In this sense,then, everyone is truly equal. Now thisone fact alone makes time the most pre-cious of all commodities. This factorforces us to an inescapable conclusion:Weve got to make our time work for us its the most perishable and nonnego-tiable possession we have. We have to getproduction out of every second.

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What you do off thejob plays a major rolein how far you go onthe job. How manygood books do you

read each year?How often do youattend workshops?Who do you spend

most of yourtime with?

Study to shew thyselfapproved unto God, aworkman that needethnot to be ashamed, rightlydividing the word of truth.2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

A classic example of someone who has-nt finished her education is Laurie Magers.She has been my administrative assistant foryears. She came to work with less than a high-school education, but she clearly understoodthat she could continue her education as shehad already been doing from the momentshe left school and went to work. Shes anavid reader and a good student of vocabu-lary. She attends lectures and seminars on aregular basis, and has for many years.

When we conducted a comprehensiveevaluation for the key people in our com-pany, Laurie scored slightly higher than themasters level of education average. (AGeorgetown University Medical Schoolstudy revealed that in 100 percent of thecases when a person improved vocabulary,his or her IQ increased.) Because Lauriecontinued her education on the job and offthe job, she has not only job security at ourcompany, but employment security, shouldsomething happen to our company.

Your input determines your output.Read biographies of successful people, readtraining books that relate to your field.Attend workshops and seminars. Rubelbows with the leaders in your company.All those little things will add up to makingyou a better employee.

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If you want to changeyour life for the better,

you must startimmediately and

do it flamboyantly. William James

Now your attitudes andthoughts must all beconstantly changing forthe better.Ephesians 4:23-24 TLB

ZIG ZIGLAR

I am your constant companion. I amyour greatest helper or heaviest burden. Iwill push you onward and upward or dragyou down to failure. I am completely atyour command. Ninety percent of thethings you do might just as well be turnedover to me, and I will be able to do themquickly and correctly. I am easily man-aged, show me exactly how you wantsomething done and after a few lessons Iwill do them automatically. I am the ser-vant of all great people and, alas! of allfailures as well. I am not a machine,though I work with all the precision of amachine, plus the intelligence of a man.You can run me for profit or run me forruin it makes no difference to me.Take me, train me, be firm with me, and Iwill place the world at your feet. Be easywith me and I will destroy you. Who am I?I am Habit.

Author Unknown

Good habits must be grabbed firmly,forcefully, with a strong commitment.Regardless of how you feel at the moment,any decision reinforced by your will to takeaction on your commitment, will producesome marvelous results in an amazinglyshort period of time.

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You become greatby doing small things

in a great way.

Whoever can be trustedwith very little can also betrusted with much.Luke 16:10

ZIG ZIGLAR

Sometimes its the things that dont takemuch time a kind word, an encouragingthought, a courageous act or even a battlein a war that can affect the course of his-tory. In the spring of 1942 things were notgoing well in World War II for the Alliesand America.

Then came those thirty seconds overTokyo that made a difference. Lt. Col.Jimmy Doolittle led the attack of sixteenU.S. B-52s, and they struck not only Tokyobut four other cities as well. The net resultwas Tokyo reacted by pulling ships andplanes closer to Japan, while extending itsdefense perimeter. This decision soon led tothe Battle of Midway a U.S. triumph thatmarked the turning point of the Pacific war.

There is little doubt this brilliantly-planned, audacious attack shortened thewar by many months and saved countlessthousands of lives. Yes, even things that takeas little as thirty seconds make big differ-ences. Each one of us can identify a kindword, a friendly smile, a cheerful greeting,a thoughtful favor, etc., that lifted our spir-its and increased our effectiveness.Interestingly enough, when we spend ourtime doing those simple little things forother people, we create a win/win situa-tion, and both parties benefit.

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Sitting still andwishing makesno person great.The good Lord

sends the fishing,but you mustdig the bait.

But he who looks into theperfect law of liberty andcontinues in it, and is not aforgetful hearer but a doer ofthe work, this one will beblessed in what he does.James 1:25 Nkjv

ZIG ZIGLAR

When I entered the business world Istarted and spent sixteen years in directsales. Early on I had to knock on a lot ofdoors we called it canvassing. I do notever remember looking forward to knock-ing on that first door or even the sec-ond, or the third. However, by about thefourth or fifth door I was getting into theswing of things and actually looked forwardto getting to the next door.

The start was by far the most difficultthing for me. I finally took the advice ofone of my early mentors, Mr. P. C. Merrell,who suggested I make an appointment withmyself to knock on the door of my firstprospect at exactly the same time each day.He then suggested I put it out of my minduntil it was time to go the next day. Thisapproach eliminated procrastination,worry, and decision-making. It was some ofthe best advice I ever received.

Not just for sales people, but for procrasti-nators in general, if you have anything of adisagreeable nature which you must do, makean appointment with yourself. Forget about itand then, at the appointed time, start theproject. Youll get more done with less worry.

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For good or illyour conversation isyour advertisement.Every time you open

your mouth youlet men look into

your mind. Bruce Barton

Out of the abundanceof the heart themouth speaketh.Matthew 12:34 KJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

Two geese were preparing to start theirjourney southward for their annual migra-tion when a frog asked if they would be will-ing to take him with them. The geese saidyes, but wondered how it could be done.The frog was very creative, so he produceda long but strong stalk of grass. He per-suaded the two geese to hold each endwhile he clung to the middle by his mouth.

The unusual three-some took off andwere making good progress when somemen below, observing the strange sight,loudly expressed their admiration for theircreativity and wondered aloud who hadbeen clever enough to design it. When thefrog heard them, his vanity got the better ofhim and he opened his mouth to shout, Itwas I! He immediately fell to the earth andwas dashed to pieces.

Perhaps the oldest adage about keepingour mouths shut is Keep your mouth shutand people will never know just how ignorantyou are. Open it and you remove all doubt.

As in most things, there are some ele-ments of truth in these words. However,think of what we would lose if nobodytalked. Wisdom will provide us the answeras to when we should talk and when weshould listen.

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The secret ofgetting ahead isgetting started.

Lazy hands makea man poor, but diligenthands bring wealth.Proverbs 10:4

ZIG ZIGLAR

A ll of us have undoubtedly made thestatement, I dont feel like it, a number oftimes. This expression in this particularinstance has nothing to do with whether ornot we are having a coronary or a migraine.It has to do with something which we needto do and should do, but dont want to do;so we simply say, I just dont feel like it.

Theres been an on-going conflictbetween doing our own thing and notdoing things we really dont want to dobecause we dont feel like doing them. Butthe question is, Can we trust those feel-ings? Looking at the physical, any of youwho have ever participated in any athleticendeavor know there have been many occa-sions when you did not feel like going outfor practice, but because you did not wantto incur the wrath of the coach and facepossible dismissal from the team, yougrudgingly got prepared, went to the prac-tice field, and resentfully started the rou-tine. A few minutes after you got intoaction, you began to feel a little better, andthe more action you took, the better youfelt. Then you went all out.

The message is simple: Do it and youwill feel like doing it.

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Having your dreamsfulfilled is far more

therapeutic thanhaving them analyzed.

I can do all thingsthrough Christ whostrengthens me.Philippians 4:13 NKJV

ZIG ZIGLAR

On August 6, 1926, Gertrude Ederlebecame the first woman to swim theEnglish Channel. Her time was fourteenhours and thirty-one minutes, breakingCharles Toffs record by two hours andtwenty-three minutes.

There are lessons from Gertrude(Trudy) Ederle that need to be mentioned.In the field of human endeavor, most of thetime those on the sidelines admonish theparticipant to hang in there and see itthrough. However, in Trudys case, thoseaccompanying her her father, sister,newspaper men, photographers, and hertrainer, William Burgess, an Englishmanwho had finally conquered the Channelafter eighteen previous failures wereencouraging her to throw in the towel. Shewas frozen, exhausted, battered, and sick-ened by the eleven hours of effort, but shenever complained or showed any signs offaltering. Three miles from her goal, theChannel was buffeting her furiously and atthat point her father and trainer called onher to quit, lest she be injured. Soon aftercame her classic reply to echo around theworld: Quit? What for? Trudy staggeredashore and into the history books.

Theres an old saying When the goinggets tough, the tough get going. Trudyteaches all of us quite a lesson with heraccomplishment.

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When I see theTen Most Wanted

list I always have thisthought: If wed made

them feel wantedearlier, they wouldnt

be wanted now. Eddie Cantor

Therefore comfort eachother and edify one another,just as you also are doing.1 Thessalonians 5:11 NKJV

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Star Daily is a man who became promi-nent in England as a notorious, viciouskiller, a hardened armed robber whose dif-ficulty can be traced to his childhood. Histeacher routinely called on him to standand read a passage in front of the class.Unfortunately, Star was a very poor reader,self-conscious, shy and inhibited; and theharder he tried, the more he failed.

On one occasion he was having a partic-ularly difficult time and open laughtererupted in the classroom. Even his sisterburied her head in laughter and embarrass-ment. The teacher, too, was working at hid-ing her laughter when he turned to her forsupport. At this point, young Star Dailyexploded in anger and threw a bookagainst the wall, screaming as he left, Oneday you will fear me. You will hate me, butthis will be the last time you laugh at me.The rest as the saying goes is history.

The word encouragement means toput courage into. Its the fuel that providesthe support people need to pursue theirdreams. When we encourage our childrenand others to pursue their dreams, we helppropel them into success. And when yougive encouragement, you will receiveencouragement.

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Our chief want inlife is someone

to inspire us to bewhat we really

want to be. Ralph Waldo Emerson

But exhort one another daily,while it is called To day.Hebrew 3:13 KJV

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When Thomas Edison was sixty-sevenyears old, his uninsured plant at MenloPark burned to the ground. By the time theashes had cooled, Henry Ford presentedEdison a check for $750,000. He told himthere would be no interest charged, and ifhe needed more, it was available.

At that time Henry Ford was a successfulmanufacturer, and Edison was recognized asthe premier inventor in the country.Question: Why was Mr. Ford so generousand compassionate? Answer: When Mr.Ford was a young inventor, Edison was busyworking on an electric automobile when helearned that Ford was working on a gasolineengine for cars. He went to see him andasked him innumerable questions abouthow the car would function. When the visitended, Thomas Edison said to Henry Ford,Young man, you are onto something. Iencourage you to pursue it. It can revolu-tionize transportation in our country. Itwas later said that the encouraging wordsfrom Thomas Edison caused Ford to renewhis efforts to build the gasoline engine.

What you and I do might not have thatmuch significance, but then, we may neverknow. As someone once said, Its always agood time to encourage others and do ourgood deed for the day.

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Look at thebright side

no matter how oldyou are, you are

younger than youllever be again.

Now also when I am old andgreyheaded, O God, forsakeme not; until I have shewedthy strength unto thisgeneration, and thy power toevery one that is to come.Psalm 71:18 KJV

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On this bitterly cold day in Dallas,Texas, my beautiful redheaded wife askedme to put a leaf in the dining room table inpreparation for the company party we werehaving at our home. I went downstairs andspread the table in preparation for the leaf.Then she asked the question, Does thepool need water? I looked out, agreed thatit did, and headed outside to turn the wateron. It was frozen solid and I could not turnit on. I came back inside, promptly headedupstairs and continued with my writing. Nosooner had I gotten seated when my wifecalled and asked me if I was going to putthe leaf in the table. She was laughingpretty hard when she asked. I laughinglysaid I was planning on doing it later, since Iwas busy at the moment. I said this as Iheaded downstairs to do her bidding, thenreturned to my writing.

Question: Do I have a memory prob-lem, or am I too focused on finishing myobjective? Needless to say, I believe it wasmy focus and not my memory. Be good toyourself on the memory issue. Claim thepositive aspects of your memory and workon the others.

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As the earth revolvesaround the sun,

so should our livesalso revolve

around the Son.

If you confess with yourmouth, Jesus is Lord, andbelieve in your heart thatGod raised him from thedead, you will be saved.Romans 10:9

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On July 4, 1776, thirteen isolatedcolonies declared their independence fromGreat Britain, an event that shook theworld and changed the course of history.On July 4, 1972, I declared my completedependence on Jesus Christ, an event whichcompletely changed my own personal, fam-ily, and business life.

From that moment on, God looked pastmy faults and saw my needs. He immediatelyshowed me that He could and would replaceeverything that was missing in my life, butthat nothing could replace Him in my life.

One thing I stress, even though I claimJuly 4 as my born again day, Im not certainthat it actually happened that day. I am cer-tain it happened during that weekend. Forme, there was no clanging of bells or flashingof lights. There was a warm, solid feeling ofcomplete confidence that God saw my heart,heard my confession of sin, and welcomedme into His Kingdom when I acknowledgedJesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Its important that you understand this,because many people, maybe includingyou, never have that earth-shatteringmoment of ecstasy. If you dont or didnt,dont be concerned. You are not saved by afeeling, but by trusting God and acceptingJesus Christ as your Savior.

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You can no more doGods work withoutGod than you could

have sunshinewithout the sun.

Make every effort toenter through the narrowdoor, because many, I tellyou, will try to enter andwill not be able to.Luke 13:24

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I met a man at a service station not longafter I turned my life over to the Lord. Aswe visited, he noticed the Fish and Sevenpin I was wearing. He commented that heknew what the fish meant, but was unfamil-iar with the overlaid seven. I explained thatthe seven was to serve as a reminder to methat there are seven days in every week, andthey all belong to the Lord. I explainedthat I had recently turned my life entirelyover to the Lord and that it had made adramatic difference.

He lit up like the proverbial light bulband said, I know exactly what you mean,because I just accepted Christ as my per-sonal Savior and it has really made a differ-ence in my life. He went on to say that forover fifteen years he had served as a choirdirector in one of the local churches buthad not known Jesus Christ personally untilvery recently.

At the time I thought this was an iso-lated incident, but since then Ive metmany people who are so close and yet sofar. Dont be one of those people! If yourlife is out of balance in this one area, youcant be truly successful.

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The way yousee yourself today

will affect yourperformance today.

For we walk by faith,not by sight.2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV

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Unfortunately, many people feel its allover when they are in the prime of life. Aclassic example occurred once when I wason a call-in radio talk show. One caller wasa lady who said to me, Mr. Ziglar, Im fifty-five years old. Ive never done anything withmy life, and now its too late. Its all over.

Having experienced conversations withmany people in that category, I had accu-mulated some information which I knewwould be helpful. I came back at her with,Maam, at fifty-five youre just a springchicken! As a matter of fact, does yourmama know where you are?

I asked the lady if she was honest and atleast reasonably intelligent and if she wasemployed. She responded in the affirmative,so I then asked, Do you generally get two orthree times as much work accomplished onthe day before you go on vacation as you doon ordinary days? She laughed and admit-ted that she did. Then I said, Maam, onesimple step will make a dramatic differencein your future. Go to work every day andperform like you do on the day before vaca-tion. You can do the same.

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Men and womenare limited not by theplace of their birth,not by the color of

their skin, but by thesize of their hope.

John Johnson

May the God of hope fill youwith all joy and peace as youtrust in him, so that you mayoverflow with hope by thepower of the Holy Spirit.Romans 15:13

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John Johnson was raised in Arkansas City,Arkansas. That was a real break, because

it is an established but little known fact thatArkansas City, Arkansas is the geographicalcenter of the world. You can start there andgo anywhere in the world you want to go and the maximum distance is just twelvethousand miles.

Mr. Johnson went less than two thou-sand miles from the tin-roofed shotgunhouse where he was born, but he did go farenough to live on Chicagos Gold Coastand next door to Bob Hope in PalmSprings, California. He has been listed asone of the four hundred wealthiest men inAmerica.

You, too, are fortunate because regardlessof where you live, you are in the geographi-cal center of the world. You can go fromwhere you are to anywhere you want to go,and I speak of far more than just a geo-graphical location. To be fair, I must warnyou that it is not an easy trip. There will bethe inevitable hills and valleys before youcan go over the top. However, if you will sup-ply the want to, the information you haveat your disposal will supply the how to.

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Nothing will everbe attempted if allpossible objections

must first be overcome.

Things which areimpossible with men arepossible with God.Luke 18:26 NKJV

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A few years ago, I spoke to the faculty andstudent body at Hinds Community Collegein Raymond, Mississippi. In 1943 I attendedthe school and took a course in historyunder Coach Joby Harris that had a pro-found impact on my life. I was speaking thatday in an effort to raise funds to establishThe Joby and Jim Harris Scholarship Fund.

The auditorium was packed, and peoplewere standing at the back and along thesides of the room. I noticed there wereseven vacant seats on the front row and fiveempty seats on the second row. After a fewmoments I pointed out the empty seats andencouraged them to come on down.

On the second row those five emptyseats are in the middle, and you will have toclimb over three or four people to get tothem. However, I said, thats the way lifeis. In most cases there are obstacles stand-ing between you and those opportunities inlife, but I just want you to know that front-row seats are available everywhere. There isplenty of room at the top but notenough room to sit down.

Remember front-row seats are avail-able, but you must step up and claim them.

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Important:Until you commit

your goals topaper you have

intentions that areseeds without soil.

Anonymous

Write the vision, and makeit plain upon tables, that hemay run that readeth it.Habakkuk 2:2 KJV

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Goal setting is demanding, which is oneof the reasons only three percent of us havea goals program. This is also one reasonthe rewards for those who have a programare so great.

If you dont have time to invest in estab-lishing a goals program, is it possible thatyou dont have time because you dont havea goals program? In all probability lack oftime always has been and always will be theproblem.

Make the commitment to establish agoals program now, and you will havemore time in the future to do what youneed to do and want to do.

Stop! Right now set aside one hour, andmake the commitment to start before youturn out the lights tonight.

Remember, change starts when you takethe first step, and without action there willbe no progress.

If you begin developing your goals pro-gram, you will create for yourself an addi-tional two to ten hours of productive timeevery week for the rest of your life. And, whenyou learn how to set one goal, you will knowhow to set them all. Its also nice to know thata number of goals will involve several aspectsof life and include goals within goals.

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You get the bestout of others whenyou give the best

of yourself. Harvey Firestone

Serve one another in love.The entire law is summed upin a single command: Love yourneighbor as yourself.Galatians 5:13-14

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Over the years I have frequently madethe observation that anyone who could notget along with my wife has a problem. Sheis the most people-oriented, genuinely lov-ing and caring person I have ever known.She has a rare capacity to establish rapportimmediately and get on familiar groundsoon thereafter. She has such a beautifullaugh, and her whole countenance lightsup as she talks with people. This is truewhether shes talking to a person who isstruggling for survival or whether shesdealing with a celebrity.

This morning her love for people wasemphasized when an immigrant who hadtold her he was going back to India pre-sented her with a gift. The gift was inexpen-sive, but it spoke volumes about hisappreciation to her for being kind,thoughtful, and considerate to him. Sheprotested, but he just reiterated that herkindness and pleasantness to him madehim simply want to give her a token ofremembrance.

My wife and I just celebrated our fiftiethhoneymoon and I can remember few giftsof any kind, value, or size which she hasreceived with as much pleasure as this giftfrom an impoverished immigrant. She wasgenuinely moved. This genuine gracious-ness is one reason I love her and why she isso popular with everyone she meets.

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Money will buyall kinds of things

for my family, but itwont buy their love.

For the love of money is aroot of all kinds of evil. Somepeople, eager for money,have wandered from thefaith and pierced themselveswith many griefs.1 Timothy 6:10 NIV

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I confess that I was once like a young manwho equated security with money andmoney with success. I was able to help himsee where his perspective was off, because lifehad taught me that true contentment andtotal success come from the things moneycant buy. Dont misunderstand. I like thethings money can buy, and Ill bet you do,too. I like nice clothes, a beautiful house, big,comfortable cars, relaxing vacations, mem-bership in a nice country club, and so on.

However, I love the things money wontbuy. It will buy me a house, but not a home;a bed, but not a good nights sleep; pleas-ure, but not happiness; a good time, butnot peace of mind; and a companion, butnot a friend.

If you go for standard of living (money)first, you will probably earn considerablesums of money, but you will have no guar-antee that your quality of life will improve.However, if you go for quality of life first,your standard of living will inevitably go up.With this approach you will arrive at theend of lifes road with more of the thingsmoney will buy and far more of the thingsthat money cant buy.

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Kids go wheretheres excitement.They stay where

theres love.

As arrows are in the handof a mighty man; so arechildren of the youth.Psalm 127:4 KJV

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In 1924 Bill Havens was one of Americasbest rowers, and most people thought hewould win three medals probably gold at the Olympic games in Paris. However,a few months before the Olympics, Havensrealized that his wife was going to delivertheir first-born child during his trip toParis. Bill decided he could not leave hiswife during this important time and for-feited his spot to another.

In 1952 Bill Havens got a telegram fromhis son, Frank, who had just won a goldmedal in the 10,000 meter canoeing finalat the Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. DearDad: Thanks for waiting around for me toget born. Im coming home with the goldmedal you should have won. Your lovingson, Frank. Bill Havens knew he had madethe right choice.

One of the ironies of life is that manytimes parents work overtime or even take sec-ond jobs in order to provide their familieswith more of the good things in life.However, study after study has revealed thatwhen given the choice, children for whomMom and/or Dad are working so hard wouldprefer more of their parents time. Your pres-ence says more than a thousand gifts evercan, so parents, get your priorities in order.

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No man evergot lost on

a straight road. Abraham Lincoln

Make level paths for yourfeet and take only waysthat are firm.Proverbs 4:26

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Several years ago there was a scandalinvolving Solomon Brothers because ofsome securities violations. The situation wasso serious that many people feared theywould be closed down by the government.The economic impact would have beenastronomical. Mr. Warren Buffett, thelargest individual stockholder in SolomonBrothers, entered the picture and per-suaded the government agencies to call offthe dogs. Though he had not been activein the running of the company, he prom-ised the government he would do so for atleast a year until it stabilized.

One of the ironies of the case is this: Theillegal actions by Solomon Brothers repre-sentatives averaged earning them $250,000for each incident. The ones they did in alegal and above-board manner netted theman average of $1.5 million. This reminds meof something my mother said to me manytimes when I was growing up. She pointedout that the right way is always the best way.

Mr. Buffett always makes his investmentsnot on the current price of the stock but onthe current condition of the companysmanagement. He knows that men andwomen build business, and if they are menand women of ability and integrity they willbuild a profitable business. Yes, integritydefinitely pays.

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Your attitudedetermines (establishes)

your altitude, as youcannot go higher than

you think you can.

Therefore, prepare yourminds for action; be self-controlled;set your hope fullyon the grace to be given youwhen Jesus Christ is revealed.1 Peter 1:13

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In his Speakers Source Book, Glen VanEkeren tells a fascinating story about JoshOReilly and the San Antonio baseball teamwhich was a member of the Texas BaseballLeague back in the days when minor leaguebaseball was really good. It seems that allnine of his starting players were battingover .300, and everyone figured they were ashoo-in for the league championshipwhen suddenly disaster struck. The entireteam fell into a slump.

Then OReilly heard about a travelingevangelist who was capable of creating mir-acles. In a burst of inspiration, OReillygrabbed every baseball bat his team had,placed them in a wheelbarrow, and went offto see Rev. Slater. When he returned,OReilly announced to his team that eachbat had been blessed by Slater, and theywere now assured success. As a result, amiraculous turn-around occurred.

The irony, of course, is that no one everknew with certainty whether or not Slaterhad even seen those bats. But suppose hehad? What on earth could he have done to abaseball bat? I think youll agree nothing.But what could he do to the minds and atti-tudes of the players? Obviously, a great deal.Yes, attitude really does make a difference.

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You Can Reach the Top

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