here's the big challenge of life you can
have more than you've got because you
can become more than you are that's the
challenge and of course the other side
of the coin reads unless you change how
you are you'll always have what you got
I have found in my experience that
income does not far exceed personal
development
now sometimes income takes a lucky jump
but sure enough unless you grow out
where it is it'll usually come back
where you are life has strange ways if
somebody hands you a million dollars
best you become a millionaire quickly so
you get to keep the money otherwise sure
enough it'll disappear somebody once
said if you took all the money in the
world divided it up equally among
everybody it would soon all be back in
the same pockets incredible success is
something you attract not something you
pursue success is looking for a good
place to stay so instead of going after
it
you work on yourself personal
development see the major question to
ask on the job is not what are you
getting the major question to ask on the
job is what are you becoming - the big
question is not what am I getting paid
here the big question is what am i
becoming here
because true happiness is not contained
in what you get happiness is contained
in what you become so that's our major
subject for tonight personal development
of all the assignments mr. shelf gave me
at age 25 this was probably the most
difficult in fact I'm still working on
this one I think it's an unending
challenge to see what you can become the
next subject is called basic laws and
it's good to study the basics
and I call these basics primarily
because they come from the Bible now I'm
not a theologian or a minister and
that'll be apparent but mr. shelf taught
me that the Bible was a good textbook
for ideas and stories and success
equations how to live the better life I
found out that was true he also taught
me that the Bible is as practical as it
is spiritual and I found out that's true
if you look at your bank account and
your income and you're not happy there
are several places in the Bible to check
to see what the heck's room so you can
make the changes and we're gonna cover
some of those tonight called basics ok
the next subject is my favorite setting
goals mister shelf taught me how to set
goals what a favor that was one morning
at breakfast shortly after I met him he
said Jim let me see your current list of
goals and let's go over them and talk
about him he said maybe that's the best
way I can help you get a better
direction started and I said I don't
have a list
he said well is it out in the car or at
home somewhere I said no sir I don't
have a list anywhere he said well young
man that's where we got to start he said
I can tell you right now if you don't
have a list of your goals with you he
said I can guess your bank balance
within a few hundred dollars which he
did
and that got my attention I said you
mean my bank balance would change if I
had a list of goals he said drastically
that day I became a willing student how
to set goals and sure enough learning
how to set goals change my life and I
often wondered why no one had ever
taught me how to set goals up until age
25 I went to high school but if they
offered it I missed it I went to college
for a year never heard it I work for
Sears really and to my knowledge Sears
never taught it right how to set goals
so here I am age 25 married my family
starting I've been to college I'm
working and I still don't know how to
set goals but fortunately when I was 25
I met the man who taught me how and it
revolutionized my whole life
economically socially personally it's
incredible so I want to share with you
tonight what mr. Show shared with me how
to set goals it can be a life changer
okay the next subject is the negative
part of the seminar life is part
negative so we got to talk about the
negative and this subject is called
diseases
of attitude diseases of attitude there's
a lot of things that can wreck your
chances to do well we live in a rather
dangerous world so you got to be not
only wise you got to be careful now
attitude diseases are just as bad as
physical diseases right high blood
pressure heart trouble I mean a lot of
things lace your chances to do well so
you've got to be careful and attitude
diseases are deadly I mean they'll
destroy all the good things you start
okay so we'll go through those attitude
diseases how to spot them how to look
for them what they are and and the cure
and I'm a pearl on these because I've
had them all so I can give you excellent
advice on these now the last subject
we're going to consider tonight is
called the day that turns your life
around the day that turns your life
around and under this subject we're
going to talk about the emotions that
can change your life
human beings are emotional creatures and
emotions are powerful for life change
now of course the emotions are so
powerful they can go either way on you
emotions can either build or destroy so
you really have to employ emotions
properly we call civilization the
intelligent management of human emotions
if you can intelligently apply your
emotions in the right direction no
telling what can happen could turn your
life around one day would be sufficient
so we'll talk about those okay now
that's a lot to cover in one evening but
we'll keep at it here and see if we
can't get it all done
I'd like to have you now jot down the
theme of the seminar every seminar
should have a theme I guess we've got
one it's on some of our literature if
you happen to notice it but if you
didn't for your notes here it is the
theme of the seminar goes like this the
major key to your better future
[Music]
is you
that's the theme of our seminar tonight
the major key to your better future is
you and I'd like to have younger line to
words just to give it some added punch
underline the word major and the word
you so that it reads the major key to
your better future is you now my first
suggestion is transfer this to a card or
something where you can put it up where
you can see it every day
preferably put it up where you can see
it at the beginning of the day before
you go off to put the day together this
is a good phrase just to glance at to
keep in mind as you're putting the day
together it's called the silent seminar
if you'll just let this talk to you
during the day I found it to be
tremendously helpful the major key to
your better future is you for a big
share of my life now I didn't have this
one quite figured out among a lot of
things I didn't have quite figured out
many things just to puzzle me back in
those early days I used to wonder why
two people could work for the same
company one make twice as much money now
see that used to puzzle me and maybe
they were the same age graduated from
the same school live in the same
community work for the same company with
the same products in the same services
they've got the same traffic the same
problems and one makes a thousand a
month the other one makes two thousand a
month now that was my puzzling question
why would this long list be the same and
the money twice as much I asked what's
the difference between a thousand a
month and two thousand a month and I
don't mean a thousand a month right I
could figure that out but what what
makes the difference why would one
person do twice as well three times as
well speaking economically now I know
there's more than one way to do well I
understand that but in this little
narrow area called compensation what's
the difference well back then with my
faulty thinking I'm trying to reason it
out
I thought well maybe time makes some of
the difference right some people do
better because they have more time I
used to say Harold ought to be able to
do well he's got a lot of time if I had
all of Harold's time I could do well now
that's got to be done right number one
you can't get somebody else's time a guy
says to me one time he says you know if
I had some extra time I could make some
extra money I said then forget it
there isn't any extra time hey when the
clock strikes 12:00 midnight that about
wraps it up right I mean you can look
around the dongs there for a little more
but it's over you say to the guy what
are you doing is I'm looking for extra
time see they'll come and take you away
right there isn't any more time now if
you can't get more time which you can't
what could you get more of that would
make a difference in economic results
and here's the key word make it a part
of your notes we're going to consider it
tonight the word is value and I have a
little phrase for your notes value makes
the difference in results value makes
the difference you can't get more time
but you can create more value
now here's the first lesson of economics
everybody should learn it from the time
they're old enough to understand what a
dollar means how to earn one how to get
one how to keep one what to do with it
first lesson of economics we primarily
get paid for value that's lesson one
bringing value to the marketplace that's
how you get paid you don't get paid for
the time I know it takes time to bring
value to the marketplace but you get
paid for the value not the time now
since that's true here's one of the key
questions of the evening is it possible
to become twice as valuable at the
marketplace and make twice as much money
in the same time could you become three
times as valuable make three times as
much money in the same time is that
possible
the answer is yes if and it's always if
right life is known as the big if
Harry Truman once said life is iffy how
true and here's the big if we're going
to consider it tonight it's possible to
do much better at the marketplace if you
go to work primarily on yourself and
that's the theme of our seminar tonight
learning to work primarily on yourself
people have asked me for the last 24
years how do you develop an
above-average income and the answer is
become an above-average person develop
an above-average handshake some people
want to be successful they don't even
work on their handshake as easy as that
would be to start on they let it slide
they don't understand develop an
above-average smile develop an
above-average excitement develop an
above-average interest in other people
develop an above-average intensity to
win see that'll change everything
probably one of the most frustrating
experiences in life is looking for an
above-average job with above-average pay
without becoming an above-average person
it's called frustration
and mr. shelf gave me probably the
greatest clue he gave me when I first
met him he said Jim if you want to be
wealthy and happy the rest of your life
just learn this lesson well he said
learn to work harder on yourself than
you do on your job