Sound Wisdom Blog
How to Get What You Want by Earl Nightingale
A very wise man once said, “If you can tell me what you want, I can tell you how to get it.” He was a wise man because he knew that the problem with people is not their ability to achieve what they want. The great majority of people who are dissatisfied with their lives, who feel the world is passing them by and that they are not getting anywhere, are not suffering from a lack of ability—far from it. They are suffering from not having decided where they want to go.
How’s the World Treating You? by Earl Nightingale
We live in a world of words. We have a word for everything, and some of these names and labels mean a great deal to us. Words such as “love,” “happiness,” “success,” “achievement,” “joy,” and “ability” describe conditions all of us want, but there is one word that controls them all. That is, there is one word that describes a condition that will bring us all of these things or keep us from getting any one of them.
The Most Important Thing by Earl Nightingale
Ask yourself: “What’s the most important thing on earth as far as a human being is concerned?” I think it is truth. Truth is knowledge, and truth is honesty. To the extent that a person has knowledge and honesty, they are rich. Mirabeau once said: “If honesty did not exist, we ought to invent it as the best means of getting rich.” Shakespeare wrote: “To be honest as the world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand.” Both of them were right.
Our Changing World by Earl Nightingale
Never before in the history of humankind has it been so necessary as it is today for us to develop a new awareness of ourselves with respect to our changing world. We need to face the fact that in the world of tomorrow, jobs will be radically different; many will be eliminated entirely. What can we do about it? We can take the advice of the former president of the University of Chicago, Robert M. Hutchins: “We can learn!” If we refuse to learn, if we insist on acting like machines, we may find ourselves idle tomorrow.
The Wonders of Praise by Earl Nightingale
Understanding the importance of self-esteem and seeing the never-ending need for reaffirmation of a person’s worth, we should make it our business to watch for honest opportunities to give praise—especially to the members of our families and those with whom we work.
Keeping the Luster in Your Life by Earl Nightingale
A Chicago executive once told me how he maintained the luster in his job, how he charged his batteries during the early days of his career. Whenever over-familiarity with his product and service or the negativity of some of his prospects or associates began to undermine his enthusiasm for what he was selling, he’d simply make a service call on one of his best customers. There he could reassure himself of the excellent results being realized through the use of his company’s products. Then my friend would head out again with renewed confidence in himself, in his ability to be of service, and in the benefits he could deliver to every new prospect.
The Importance of Reading by Earl Nightingale
The last time I checked the statistics I think they indicated that only about 4 percent of the adults in this country have bought a book within the past year. That’s dangerous. It’s extremely important that we keep ourselves in the top 5 or 6 percent. Reading good books is not something to indulge in as a luxury; it’s a necessity for anyone who intends to give his or her life and work a touch of quality. The truest wealth is not what we put into our piggy banks but what we develop in our heads.
Worry by Earl Nightingale
It’s been proven many times that by a simple change in attitude and mental outlook, the same amount of time and energy devoted to worry could be used to solve our problems. Instead of worrying about the bills that have to be paid, shift gears and think creatively about ways of making more money. Instead of constantly stewing and fretting over a problem, we should try to think of ways of solving it.
Earning the Right to Be Wrong by Earl Nightingale
The most important subject a person can learn, I suppose, is how to get along well with others. And one of the most important rules in mastering this most difficult subject is knowing when to be wrong, even if you’re right.
There is no more exasperating human being on earth than the one who insists upon being right all the time. This is the person who feels that to be wrong, or not know the answer to something, means, at least for the moment, the end of the world.
Idleness by Earl Nightingale
When we think of service, we tend to think of being busy. But that’s only part of the story. Idleness is important too—the kind of leisure we need in order to listen to that inner voice, to let our imaginations really take off.
Finding Your Great Motivating Desire by Earl Nightingale
Did you ever wonder where those human dynamos, those people who can pack as much work into one day as most of us do in two, get all the energy and drive that makes them go? Well, the source of drive and energy in human beings is known. It’s the personal excitement that comes from a great motivating desire.