FIVE-A-LIVE ! GET UP INSPIRATION

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

It's not going to be easy, but you are what you are and where you are because of what's gone into your mind. You can change what you are. You can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind. At age 45, I was broken in debt. My dad died when I was five years old. I'm one of 12 children. It was the heart of the depression. I went to work in a grocery store on Saturday before I entered the fifth grade on Monday. I worked every afternoon after school, and on Saturday I had a paper route two nights a week and collected one night a week. By age 14, I was running a meat market. I contributed to the support of my family before I was 13 years old. I've worked hard all of my life. But until I was 45 years old, I was stone broke. Now stay with me because this is a critical point that can make a dramatic difference in your life, your family life, your business life, your personal life. Just as a matter of curiosity, how many of you have ever either heard me before or else this is your first time? Could I see your hands please? All right. Then I'm always glad to have so many people in front of me. There are three things I'm going to be stressing today because I think they're so important. Number one, I'm going to say to you that you are what you are and where you are because of what's gone into your mind. And that you can change what you are. You can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind. The second thing I'm going to stress so hard is that life is tough. But I'm also going to stress the fact that when you are tough on yourself, that life is going to be infinitely easier on you. Now, life is tremendously exciting. It's enormously rewarding. But first of all, it is demanding. You see, you got to be before you can do, and you got to do before you can have. The third thing I'm going to stress to you is basically the fact that you can have everything in life that you want. If you'll just help enough other people get what they want. And that phrase, that phrase has never been more meaningful. It has never been truer than it is today because you must, you absolutely must, bill the other individual before you are going to reap the rewards yourself. And I'll be talking today about money, incidentally. Now, I get so amused at people who say that they're not really interested in money. I believe a man or a woman who'd say that'd lie about other things too. I've had it and I haven't had it, and overall it is better to have it. Now, I'm not implying that it's everything because there's stocks and bonds and the real estate, there are a lot of other things other than money. But folks, I'm going to be talking today not just about standard of living, but about quality of life. The reality is, if you'll take care of the quality of life, the standard of living is going to go up. About eight years ago, I was down in San Antonio, and I wanted this, hopefully, to put this in perspective. You know, I've got to kind of apologize as I get started. I just feel so good, I'm almost dangerous. And for that reason, I uh I try to share and communicate that with you, but about eight years ago I was down in San Antonio. During one of the breaks at the rather lengthy seminar, a lady came up to me. She had a question she wanted to ask, but she didn't want to look me in the eye. So she looked down at the floor and she said, Mr. Ziegler, you kind of make nice little old fee for them little old speeches you make, don't you? Then she looked up, grinning so wide she could have eaten a banana sideways. I mean she was uh she was really grinning. I said, now ma'am, I don't know where you heard that. Don't know where you got that information, but I want you to know there's not a word of truth in it. And I want to put a stop to that vicious rumor right now. I don't want it to get out of this auditorium. The reality is, ma'am, I make a great big old fee for them little old speeches I made. But what I did not tell her was the fact that on many occasions I've gotten up early enough in the morning to go down and speak to the men who drive the bread trucks that deliver the cakes and the pies to the restaurants and grocery stores many hours before you even turned over. I didn't tell her the number of times I've driven 50 miles, a hundred miles, and on three occasions, two hundred miles at night, one way, my expense, to speak to a group of a dozen people and then have to drive back home that night because I did not have enough money to pay a motel bill. I didn't tell her the number of times that I've spoken to the lions and the JCs and the rotaries and the women's garden club. I didn't tell her the number of times I've gone into the vacuum cleaner and cookware and real estate and life insurance companies, the number of times I've gone into jails and prisons and drug rehab centers and any other place where I would have a chance to practice and hone my skills. I didn't tell her about all of those things, but I did those things. And I did them because I honestly thought I had something to say. I did them because I knew that if I was ever going to be paid for saying what I had to say, that not only did I have to have something to say, but I had to know how to say it in a way which would be acceptable to the people who were listening. Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly. Until you can learn to do them well. You knew that if it is worth doing, you had to do it over and over again until the day came when you could do them professionally and the results started taking place. And isn't it marvelous that we have to go through a learning process? You see, if we could take three lessons from the pro and be good enough on the golf course to take the tour, the PGA tour, then everybody would be tour players and there'd be no compensation in it or satisfaction either. If we could all take a weekend course at the university and become a physician, we'd all be physicians, and then there'd be nothing in it for anybody. No, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing poorly. Until we can learn to do it well. The key, ladies and gentlemen, is to stay with it. So many people quit with the end in sight. They dream the dream, and then somebody undermines it undermines it, and they forget what their objectives really were. I want to stress something extraordinarily important. I believe it's extremely important. That is important as your past is, and folks, it is important. Your past has brought you to right where you are. It's as important as your past is, it is not nearly as important as the way you see your future. If there is faith in your future, there is power in your present. If there is faith in your future, there's power in the present. Zig, the great truths in life are the simple ones. You don't need three moving parts or four syllables for something to be significant. Think about it. There are only three pure colors, just three. But look at what Michelangelo did with those three colors. There are only ten digits, but look what Einstein did with those ten digits. There are only seven notes. But look at what Chopin and Beethoven and Vivaldi did with those seven notes. Look at what Elvis did with two. It just doesn't have to be that complicated. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 266 words delivered right after the Battle of Gettysburg, which, as you know, took place during the War of Northern Aggression. Depends on where you went to school, folks. It really does. 266 words, and 202 of them are one syllable. Simple, direct. John 3, 16. 26 words. 21 of them are one syllable. But upon them rest your eternal soul. Now let's see. Now let's take a little uh count here and see what we've got. We got 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35. There are 37 qualities. Now what I'm going to do, I'm going to go back down the list. So if you miss some of the words, you can now get them. When I call out the words, I want you to tell me what they are. If they are attitudes, say attitude. If they're skills, say skill. Now some of you will think one thing and some will think another, because some of them are both. You stick by your guns, you respond as to what you think it is. We'll put them both down in those cases. Ambition, is that an attitude or a skill? Consistent. PMA. Enthusiasm. They're dreamers. They're honest and motivated. Have integrity and loyal and have faith. They're persistent. They are good communicators. Well, I'm getting them both, okay? Somebody who's trustworthy and teachable and concerned. They have desire. They've made a commitment. Somebody who is cheerful and optimistic. Good self-image. Sense of humor. They're loving and caring. They're disciplined and flexible. They're a self-starter and a hard worker. They're organized. Somebody who's gentle. Somebody who's a giver and patriotic. And they have courage. They have character. They're dependable and unselfish and patient.