Sound Wisdom Blog

Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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.

Photo by Smart on Unsplash

Photo by Smart on Unsplash

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. 

William James, the father of American psychology, put it this way: “If you would be rich, you will be rich; if you would be good, you will be good; if you would be learned, you will be learned. Wish, then, for one thing exclusively and not for a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.” 

So the secret to achievement is to decide on one thing you want very much. Yes, there are lots of other things you want too, but one thing at a time. Write down all the things you want and then pick the one, just one, that you want more than the rest. Stick with that one thing until it is achieved; then go on to the next item on your agenda. A man following this course can accomplish more in five years than the average man accomplishes in forty. This is because the average man never seems to make the one decision that would give direction and purpose to his life. 

“Decide on one thing you want very much.” 

A gentleman by the name of Edward Bulwer Lytton put it this way: “The man who seeks one, and but one, thing in life may hope to achieve it; but he who seeks all things wherever he goes, only reaps, from the hopes which he sows, a harvest of barren regrets.” This is the whole point. Seek one thing, not two or more…one thing at a time. 

The next question: “How do I know I have the ability to achieve what I want?” The answer is that we do not seriously want things we don’t have the ability to achieve. We all seem to have a built-in governor that keeps us from wanting things beyond our capabilities. That is why one man sets his heart on becoming a lawyer while another applies for a job with the forest service or in an automobile factory. The wide spectrum of occupations and accomplishments shows us the diversity of human desires. Seeing a man working atop the dizzying heights of the steel skeleton of a skyscraper, you have probably said to yourself, “I wouldn’t do that for all the money in the world.” But he enjoys the work and will do it for so much an hour. 

Have no doubt that you can accomplish your goal. It is deciding on the goal that can be the most crucial decision of your life. It has been written, “Providence has nothing good or high in store for one who does not resolutely aim at something high or good. A purpose is the eternal condition of success.” 

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This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s Successful Living in a Changing World, an official Nightingale-Conant publication. Known as the “Dean of Personal Development,” Earl Nightingale grew up in California during the Great Depression. Because his family was very poor, Nightingale educated himself in his local library. His main focus: what makes people turn out the way they do in terms of their wealth, their career achievements, and their happiness. After beginning his career in the US Marines during World War II, he was hired as a radio announcer. He eventually became a popular daily broadcaster for CBS. Through his interest in both personal development and audio, he partnered with Lloyd Conant to form the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, the world’s largest producer of audio programs. Sign up to receive free samples from Sound Wisdom’s Nightingale-Conant Collection here.

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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.

Photo by Hybrid on Unsplash

Photo by Hybrid on Unsplash

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. 

If your youngster asked what this word is, could you tell him? If, from all of the many thousands of words in the language, you were asked to select the one that would influence your life more than any other, could you pick the right word? I call it the “magic word,” and it is “ATTITUDE!” Once we are grown and on our own, this word actually controls our environment, our entire world. 

If you are curious about what kind of an attitude you have, a simple test will tell you what it has been up to this point in your life. Just answer this question with a “yes” or “no”: “Do you feel the world is treating you well?” If your attitude toward the world is good, you will obtain good results. If your attitude is excellent, excellent will be your results. If your attitude is negative, little that is positive awaits you. And if your attitude is just so-so, you will live in a world that is not particularly bad, nor particularly good, just so-so. 

Our environment, which is another way of saying how the world treats us, is nothing more than a reflection—a mirror, actually—of our own attitude. 

One of the most pitiful aspects of society is the really large percentage of people who lead dismal, narrow, darkened lives, crying out against what appears to be a cruel world, which they believe has singled them out for a lifetime of trouble, misery, and bad luck. Those who find themselves in such a prison of discontent should face the fact that they have very probably built their prison with their own hands. And unless they change, their cell will continue to grow smaller and darker. 

The world doesn’t care whether we change or not. Adopting a good, healthy attitude toward life doesn’t affect life and the people with whom we come in contact nearly as much as it affects us. As it says in the Bible: “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” 

It would be impossible even to estimate the number of jobs that have been lost, the number of promotions missed, the number of sales not made, the number of marriages ruined by poor attitudes. But you can number in the millions the jobs that are held but hated, the marriages that are tolerated but unhappy, all because of people who are waiting for others, or the world, to change toward them, instead of being big enough and wise enough to realize that we only get back what we put out. 

In 30 days, you can change your world and your environment by taking this simple test. For 30 days, treat every person you meet, without a single exception, as the most important person on earth. You will find that they will begin treating you the same way. You see, every person, as far as he or she is concerned, is the most important person on earth. How does the world look at you? Exactly as you look at the world. 

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his is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s Successful Living in a Changing World, an official Nightingale-Conant publication. Known as the “Dean of Personal Development,” Earl Nightingale grew up in California during the Great Depression. Because his family was very poor, Nightingale educated himself in his local library. His main focus: what makes people turn out the way they do in terms of their wealth, their career achievements, and their happiness. After beginning his career in the US Marines during World War II, he was hired as a radio announcer. He eventually became a popular daily broadcaster for CBS. Through his interest in both personal development and audio, he partnered with Lloyd Conant to form the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, the world’s largest producer of audio programs. Sign up to receive free samples from Sound Wisdom’s Nightingale-Conant Collection here

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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.

Photo by Daniel on Unsplash

Photo by Daniel on Unsplash

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. 

To be ignorant is to be poor. It does not have to do with money, necessarily, although one seldom finds a person with knowledge who is not getting along well in the world. They may not be wealthy in the conventional sense, but they have enough for their needs, and they’re enormously wealthy in many important ways. A person will enjoy life, the world, and people to the extent that they move away from ignorance and toward knowledge. Perhaps just as important, or even more so, the degree to which a person has truth and knowledge will determine their degree of freedom as an individual. Every human being has to be born ignorant and, for a time, live in ignorance. But if they remain ignorant, that is their own fault. The fight against ignorance waged by everyone during his or her lifetime must be an individual, personal thing. No one can give us truth. Another person can point out the truth and urge us to strive to make it our own, but it is far too great a thing to be received passively. It must be searched for actively if it is to have significance. We can be inspired to search for truth, but unless we find it for ourselves it will do us little good. 

“The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom—they are the pillars of society.” —Henrik Ibsen 

A strong man cannot make a weak man strong. But a weak man can make himself strong by following a planned course of action for a given time, and of course, a strong man can make himself stronger. 

To my way of thinking, each of us has the opportunity for freedom and the wealth that comes with knowledge and understanding. If we decide to stop before we have reached our riches, we should blame no one but ourselves. I believe a man is poor to the extent that he is ignorant, because the riches and the freedom he seeks—if he is truly seeking them—are all around him. They are under his feet and perched on his shoulder; they are in public library and the corner bookstore. Truth and the riches it brings surround us every day of our lives. If we do not see them, we are poor indeed. Horace Mann put it this way: “Keep one thing forever in view—the truth; and if you do this, though it may seem to lead you away from the opinions of men, it will assuredly conduct you to the throne of God.” 

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This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s Successful Living in a Changing World, an official Nightingale-Conant publication. Known as the “Dean of Personal Development,” Earl Nightingale grew up in California during the Great Depression. Because his family was very poor, Nightingale educated himself in his local library. His main focus: what makes people turn out the way they do in terms of their wealth, their career achievements, and their happiness. After beginning his career in the US Marines during World War II, he was hired as a radio announcer. He eventually became a popular daily broadcaster for CBS. Through his interest in both personal development and audio, he partnered with Lloyd Conant to form the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, the world’s largest producer of audio programs. Sign up to receive free samples from Sound Wisdom’s Nightingale-Conant Collection here.

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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.

Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash

If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. —Benjamin Franklin 

Machines become obsolete because they are unable to change. Times change—they must and will, with ever-accelerating momentum. As they do, the machines of today will be outdated. But human beings are not machines, however fond they are of acting like them; they can change. 

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. 

Every job is part of a much larger organization. Organizations and industries don’t die; they  just change. The industry that once manufactured covered wagons is still here, but today it is making engines, tractors, and automobiles. 

The minute a person stops learning, our world will begin to pass them by. 

Let us say that through a set of circumstances a young man finds himself working as an attendant in a service station. He might wish he had done things differently, but it does no good to brood over the past. These are the facts: he is working in a service station. He wants to get married and have a home and children. And to do this, he decides that he must earn more money. His first inclination is to look around for a job that pays more. But before he moves to a different job, he should be aware that the move entails not only earning more, but also learning a good deal more than he now knows. Otherwise, the chances are he will be no better off than he is pumping gas. 

I think that instead of just looking at his job, he should look at the whole industry of which it is a part. In our example, this is the petroleum industry, one of the world’s largest and most profitable. Without leaving his job for the present, he could spend his free time studying the industry he is already in. Now, instead of being a service station attendant, he is a trainee in a major industry. He no longer has just a job; he has his foot on the first rung of what can be a fine and extremely rewarding career. By sticking with his studies and doing an outstanding job when he is working, he will soon be able to marry and have that home and, in time, anything else he wants. Learning is the answer. 

The same thing applies to the person working in the supermarket, the local factory, or as a salesperson. Naturally, it is best to stay in school, for school is the best place to learn. But for those who have dropped out, the answer is the same: Learn! Learn all you can and keep learning, whether you are 16 or 60, and you will find your way—a way infinitely more interesting and substantially more rewarding—in this changing world of ours. 

The minute a person stops learning, our world will begin to pass them by. They will be left a lonely and disconsolate figure in its wake. To learn or not to learn is a decision each of us must make. 

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This is an exclusive excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s Successful Living in a Changing World, an official Nightingale-Conant publication recently released by Sound Wisdom. Known as the “Dean of Personal Development,” Earl Nightingale grew up in California during the Great Depression. Because his family was very poor, Nightingale educated himself in his local library. His main focus: what makes people turn out the way they do in terms of their wealth, their career achievements, and their happiness. After beginning his career in the US Marines during World War II, he was hired as a radio announcer. He eventually became a popular daily broadcaster for CBS. Through his interest in both personal development and audio, he partnered with Lloyd Conant to form the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, the world’s largest producer of audio programs.

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

One day a few years back, I stopped my car for gas at a service station in Hollywood, California. While the middle-aged owner of the station cheerfully went about taking care of my car’s needs, I noticed the station, although not new, was spotlessly clean. I was particularly surprised at the driveway—it was as clean as if my car was the first to use it.

I asked the owner how in the world he managed to keep the driveway spotless with dozens of cars dropping oil and tracking the dirt of the highways on it. He told me how a common product, sold in every supermarket, was in his estimation the best driveway cleaner in the world. He beamed in response to my comment on the way he kept his place of business. It was a valuable moment for both of us: I learned something of value, and he experienced the pleasure of honest praise. 

The need for praise is basic to everyone. With it, a person blooms and grows. Without it, he tends to shrink and withdraw into himself. 

Praise to a human being represents what sunlight, water, and soil are to a plant—the climate in which he grows best. 

We all know children need constant praise and encouragement. When a child brings home a piece of artwork that looks for all the world like an unfortunate accident, he still expects an encouraging word. But his need for encouragement is no less than his mother’s or father’s. Far too many parents are not getting any praise, or at least not nearly enough. 

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. 

There is a subtle but enormously valuable byproduct or backfire to this sort of thing: In order to praise others, we need to look for the good. It forces us to concentrate on what’s right with people and the things they do rather than on what’s wrong. It focuses our attention on the positive side of the ledger and, as a result, makes us happier, more productive, and more pleasant to be around. Then, too, people like those who praise them and recognize their value. When we give praise, we attract a larger circle of friends. And finally, giving praise is the best known way to receive it. It’s hard for anyone to compliment a chronic grouch. 

 Whenever you hear someone say, “Nobody appreciates me; nobody gives me credit for all I do,” the chances are he is so wrapped up in himself and in getting happiness from others, he has completely forgotten how to give. 

We should try to find some way to commend those we love every day. Praise to a human being represents what sunlight, water, and soil are to a plant—the climate in which he grows best. He does not just want it; he needs it as he needs the air he breathes. 

Molière said, “The most agreeable recompense which we can receive for things which we have done is to see them known, to have them applauded with praises which honor us.” 

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This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s Transformational Living: Positivity, Mindset, and Persistence, an official Nightingale-Conant publication. Known as the “Dean of Personal Development,” Earl Nightingale grew up in California during the Great Depression. Because his family was very poor, Nightingale educated himself in his local library. His main focus: what makes people turn out the way they do in terms of their wealth, their career achievements, and their happiness. After beginning his career in the US Marines during World War II, he was hired as a radio announcer. He eventually became a popular daily broadcaster for CBS. Through his interest in both personal development and audio, he partnered with Lloyd Conant to form the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, the world’s largest producer of audio programs. Sign up to receive free samples from Sound Wisdom’s Nightingale-Conant Collection here.

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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.

Photo by Krissia Cruz on Unsplash

Have you ever thought much about newness? You know, it’s the quality people talk about when they say, “A new broom sweeps clean,” or “Turn over a new leaf.” Well newness, like most things, has its good side and its bad, depending on how we look at it.  

A person in a new job, for instance, may feel he’s at a disadvantage. He may be nervous, uncertain of just what he’s supposed to do and just how to do it. Sometimes he’s bewildered by all that’s going on around him. Maybe he’s even a little scared. Even so, the person who’s new to a business has a unique advantage over some of the other, more seasoned women or men in the company. His job has a sparkle about it. There’s a luster, a challenge in a new job that isn’t always present once that position becomes familiar. 

A rut is little more than a grave with both ends knocked out. 

 Do you remember your first day at work? I do. I can remember the first time I sat down in front of a microphone as though it were yesterday, instead of a good many years ago. Even though it was a radio station so small they used an old walk-in refrigerator for a studio, to me it was one of the most exciting days of my life. I was scared and nervous, and I sounded like a man with his neck caught in a car door, but I was thrilled, too. 

How about your job? Does it still hold the excitement it did that first day? It should and it can, but does it? One of the most common mistakes we make is to let the luster fade from our lives. As it does, we gradually lose our enthusiasm, and if we’re not careful we’ll settle down into a worn, tired groove of boring habits. We become like oxen yoked to a mill, going around in circles with our eyes fixed only on the worn path of our feet. 

People who allow themselves to get in a rut usually don’t realize that a rut is little more than a grave with both ends knocked out. Now how can we stay out of this deadly rut? How can we keep our enthusiasm and maintain the luster in our lives instead of allowing it to fade with time and familiarity? The answer lies in reminding ourselves of things we already know but sometimes tend to forget.  

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.  

You see, even though the everyday details of our work may seem old hat to us, we should remember that those we serve look forward eagerly to the product or service. A person may be indifferent about many things, but the things he spends his money on aren’t among them.  

We shouldn’t be indifferent either, and we won’t be if we look at our product or service through the eyes of a happy customer.  

People are on stage every day. Like the actors in a Broadway play, they’re sometimes required to say the same words and go through the same basic actions day after day and week after week. The professional actor learns his lines and movements and then performs the part every day, often twice a day, for as long as the play will run. He can never allow himself to become bored with the role any more than we can afford to become bored with our work. The actor knows his audience is a new one for every performance. What he is doing isn’t boring to them. 

What does the actor do to main enthusiasm, to keep excitement in his acting? He studies and works. He continues to improve his role. He lives his part, constantly refining his timing and movements, forever finding ways to put even greater meaning into the words he must say. 

All of us are in the people business. Each day we have the opportunity to learn firsthand one of life’s most valuable lessons: how to get along well with people, how to make friends with those with whom we work, and how to persuade them to make decisions that will benefit both them and ourselves. Our success in most any type of activity will always be in exact ratio to our ability to influence people. 

And the best way I know to influence people is to care enough, to know enough, to serve them well. Sometimes we lose sight of the value of our work and when we do, we lose the luster—not just from our work, but from our lives. So here are some more luster-restoring ideas you can use right now and every day from now on. 

  1. Understand that anything, no matter how exciting in the beginning, will grow—not may grow, but will grow—stale in time if we’re not careful.  

  2. Keep in mind that fighting off staleness in our lives is a daily job. There’s something you can—something you must do—every day in order to keep vitality in your performance. It is simply the actor’s technique: live the part. 

  3. Realize that there’s no such thing as a job without a future. Every job has a future just as every person has. Whether or not that future is great or small depends entirely upon the person holding it.  

  4. See the big picture. See your work in relation to the whole scheme of things. Your work is important to those you serve. Your success will depend on how well you provide that service. 

  5. Finally, keep developing your ability to see yourself and your work through the eyes of that most important person, the recipient. And remember, don’t ever lose the luster. 

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This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s Transformational Living: Positivity, Mindset, and Persistence, an official Nightingale-Conant publication. Known as the “Dean of Personal Development,” Earl Nightingale grew up in California during the Great Depression. Because his family was very poor, Nightingale educated himself in his local library. His main focus: what makes people turn out the way they do in terms of their wealth, their career achievements, and their happiness. After beginning his career in the US Marines during World War II, he was hired as a radio announcer. He eventually became a popular daily broadcaster for CBS. Through his interest in both personal development and audio, he partnered with Lloyd Conant to form the Nightingale-Conant Corporation, the world’s largest producer of audio programs.

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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.

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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. 

You do not read a book for the book’s sake but for your own. You may read because in your high-pressure life, you need periods of relief, and yet you recognize that peace of mind does not mean numbness of mind. You may read because you never had an opportunity to go to college and books give you a chance to get something you missed. You may read because your job is routine and books give you a feeling of depth and life. You may read because you did go to college. You may read because you see social, economic, and philosophical problems that need solutions and you believe that the best thinking of the past ages may be useful in your age too. You may read because you’re tired of the shallowness of contemporary life, bored by the current conversational commonplaces, and wearied of shoptalk and gossip about people. Whatever your main personal reason, you will find that reading gives knowledge, creative power, satisfaction, and relaxation. It cultivates your mind by exercising its faculties. 

Books are a source of pleasure—the purest and most lasting. They enhance your sensation of the interestingness of life. Reading them is not a violent pleasure, like the gross enjoyment of an uncultivated mind, but a subtle delight. Reading dispels prejudices that hem in our minds to narrow spaces. You can no more be a healthy person mentally without reading substantial books than you can be a vigorous person physically without eating solid food. 

I’ve often been struck by the meager libraries of so-called business executives. I guess they believe that managerial and creative talent and know-how is supposed to come to them in dreams and that they’re somehow above the need to read the words of others. They’re quite mistaken, and they are, more often than not, holding their jobs only because of a shortage of real management talent today. 

I believe you can judge the reaches of a person’s mind and capacities, as well as his or her real interests, by examining his or her library. I have known so-called experts on various subjects who don’t own ten books on that subject. They just keep saying the same things over and over again, hoping, I suppose, for a fresh audience every time they speak. 

There’s only one way to obtain knowledge, and that is through study—through reading. But as [José] Ortega [y Gasset] said, “Studying is for most people like paying income taxes.” They’ll never do it unless they have to. A good idea would be to provide a bookcase in every junior office. Then, from time to time, make the rounds and watch the bookcases. Their growing contents, or the lack thereof, will give you an excellent yardstick for determining future promotion—or the lack of it. 

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This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s The Direct Line, available from AmazonBarnes & NobleBooks-a-MillionPorchlight Book CompanyGoogle PlayApple Books, and other fine retailers. The first beautifully packaged print edition of Nightingale’s famous audio program, this book offers a practical guide designed to help you find real and lasting success in your career, relationships, and finances. Order a copy today and begin the most exciting and rewarding journey on earth—your journey of self-discovery and personal fulfillment! Also, don’t forget the accompanying action guide, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Sign up here to receive free samples from this and other Nightingale-Conant publications. 

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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. 

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It’s easier to win than to lose, and it’s easier to succeed than to worry about failing. The reason most choose the latter is because it can be done sitting down. 

You know, the mind is like an adding machine: before you can solve a problem with it, it must be cleared of all previous problems. Worry jams up the mechanism. It short-circuits the whole operation, impairing the most valuable mechanism on earth. 

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. 

Creative people look at problems as challenges. They realize that without problems everything would come to a stop. Problems are what keep the human race moving forward. Indeed, problems are responsible for every forward step we’ve ever taken—collectively or individually. All industry exists solely for the solving of our problems, as does agriculture, education, and government. People go to school to learn to solve their problems or the problems of others. We’ve all got problems, and that’s good. Without them, we’d still be swinging through the trees and living in caves.  

And all problems are temporary. As the wise man said, “This too shall pass.” So, if you want to have a lot more fun and a lot less worry, try to put your problems in perspective. See yourself as part of the world, and the world as part of the universe, and the universe as part of a great and mysterious living picture. Seen in their true light, most problems shrink to a modest size. Next, choose not to worry about them. Shift your mental gears. Clear your mind of worry and direct it to the solution of the problem at hand. It has a solution. It will be solved. The same kind of problems have been solved a million times before. 

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This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s The Direct Line, available from AmazonBarnes & Noble800-CEO-READ, and other fine retailers. The first beautifully packaged print edition of Nightingale’s famous audio program, this book offers a practical guide designed to help you find real and lasting success in your career, relationships, and finances. Order a copy today and begin the most exciting and rewarding journey on earth—your journey of self-discovery and personal fulfillment! Also, don’t forget the accompanying action guide, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Sign up here to receive free samples from this and other Nightingale-Conant publications. 

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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.

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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.  

I was spending some time with friends in Arizona some time back. One night we were going someplace in the car and my friend’s father was driving. We came to the road where we should turn, and seeing that our driver was going to go blithely by the turnoff, both of us suddenly told him that this was where we should turn. It caught him by surprise; he suddenly braked the car and managed to make the turn, not easily, and as he did so, he said, “I know. I know this is where we turn.”  

Now, the fact of the matter was that he had not known. It was apparent to everyone in the car, but he was just one of those people who simply cannot admit there’s something they don’t know. My friend winked at me. But later he said, “I wish Dad would admit once in a while that there are things in the world he doesn’t know; I wish he would admit he can be wrong like the rest of us.” 

How much better it would have been, how much more human a person he would have been, if he simply smiled and said, “Thanks for telling me. I’d have gone right on by.” This would not have diminished him one whit in our eyes; it’s perfectly human to make mistakes or not know something. But his actual response—his obvious cover-up and attempt to make us think he had known about the turnoff—did diminish him in our eyes. It caused us to feel sorry for him, and it pushed him a little ways out of our circle of companionship. 

The worker who insists upon always being right is disliked by his associates, his subordinates, and his boss. He’d be much better off to make it a point to be wrong once in a while and say so. 

The smart manager and executive knows the value of being wrong occasionally, even when he’s right. There will come times when he’s going to have to insist upon being right, so he can afford to graciously give in when it comes to small and unimportant matters. 

In Nation’s Business, it is suggested that before you tell a subordinate that you’re right and he’s wrong, ask yourself exactly what’s to be gained and what is to be lost by deflating him. It might be a small matter to you; it could mean a complete loss of face to him. 

Giving in is also better for your health. Dr. George Stevenson of the National Association for Mental Health says, “Even if you’re dead right, it’s easier on your system to give in once in a while. And,” he added, “if you yield, you’ll usually find that others will, too.” 

Try it with the members of your family. You’ll be amazed at how it cuts down on the number of arguments and the way you’ll find other people suddenly saying to you, “No, I’m wrong and you’re right.” 

It’s a whole lot better to say you’re wrong, even when you know you’re right, and get along well with others than it is to insist you’re right at the expense of being disliked. 

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Known as the “Dean of Personal Development,” Earl Nightingale was a Gold Record-winning radio broadcaster who dedicated his life to encouraging people on their journey to joyful, purposeful living. This is an excerpt from Nightingale’s Your Greatest Asset: Creative Vision & Empowered Communication, which contains some of Nightingale’s most inspiring broadcasts on the subjects of brainstorming, problem-solving, decision-making, goal achievement, and interpersonal communication. It is available tomorrow from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Books, and other fine retailers—preorder your copy today, and sign up here to receive free Nightingale-Conant book samples!

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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. 

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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. 

In his book The Conquest of Happiness, Bertrand Russell blames modern parents for failing to recognize the advantages to their youngsters of what he calls “fruitful monotony.” He wrote, “A generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation of little men, of men unduly divorced from the slow processes of nature, of men in whom every vital impulse slowly withers, as though they were cut flowers in a vase.”  

Today’s great concern is for organized, supervised, and directed activity. Each year fewer children are being left alone long enough to discover and enjoy the world—the time of fruitful monotony. Too many of us feel we have to pacify and occupy our kids with toys and more toys, games and television. Television takes up some of the time that would otherwise be spent in creative activity. 

Robert W. Wells, a feature writer for the Milwaukee Journal, wrote an article many years ago that I clipped and saved. In it, he said, “Children have an inalienable birthright—the leisurely pressure-free hours when a child is thrown on his own resources and forced to become acquainted with himself.” Wells told of a time when he was a boy that he found himself terrifically bored. He complained to his grandmother about having nothing to do. He explained, “She took me by the hand and led me out onto the big front porch, where a succession of fiercely preoccupied bumblebees plunged headlong into blue morning glory blossoms. The sounds and smells of summer were in the air.” And his grandmother said, “Nothing to do? The world is there. Go use it.” 

Boredom is a great time for reflection, for using the imagination. I suppose Isaac Newton was bored when he saw the apple drop from the tree and began to wonder about gravity. You can get your best ideas when you have nothing to do but think. Fruitful monotony—don’t fight it; use it creatively. 

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This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s The Direct Line, available from AmazonBarnes & Noble800-CEO-READ, and other fine retailers. The first beautifully packaged print edition of Nightingale’s famous audio program, this book offers a practical guide designed to help you find real and lasting success in your career, relationships, and finances. Pick up a copy today and begin the most exciting and rewarding journey on earth—your journey of self-discovery and personal fulfillment! Also, don’t forget the accompanying action guide, available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble!  

Sign up here to receive free samples from this and other Nightingale-Conant publications. 

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Eileen Rockwell Eileen Rockwell

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. 

The key that unlocks energy is desire. It’s also the key to a long and interesting life. If we expect to create any drive, any real force within ourselves, we have to get excited. 

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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. 

If you ask most people why they get out of bed in the morning and slug away all day on the job, they’ll probably have to think about it awhile before coming up with an answer. When they do, it’s usually along the line of “Oh, to pay the rent” or “To put food on the table.” Answers like these aren’t exciting. I belong to the group that thinks life is far too short to be dull. Shelter and food are things we need, but unless we’re living out in the street or starving to death, we’re not up to getting too excited about a place to sleep or something to eat. 

Those who have no exciting reason for getting out of bed in the morning may be fine people, but they never seem to accomplish anything out of the ordinary, and they miss a lot of fun and a lot of rewards that they could be enjoying. They haven’t got the drive to become outstanding because they don’t have a great motivating desire. 

The key that unlocks energy is desire. It’s also the key to a long and interesting life. If we expect a person to do something we want him to do, we have to get him excited. And if we expect to create any drive, any real force within ourselves, we have to get excited. We have to decide on something we desire very much—a goal that fires our imagination with a mental picture of having something, doing something, or being something. 

In a company I once surveyed, one of the men had won the admiration of all the others. I noticed that he had thorough knowledge of his company, its products, its markets, and its competitors. He took pains to understand his customers and their problems. These things, along with an easy manner and a good personality, marked him as an outstanding employee. We asked him about all this, and he said, “When I came to this company a few years back, I decided to shoot for a manager’s job in one of our districts. I’m doing everything I can to be the kind of man who would have that job.”  

Well, that explained it. In his mind, he was already running his own district. The rest of him was merely carrying out the motions that would soon propel him into the job he wanted. Meanwhile, he was enjoying himself tremendously. The mental image of being a district manager so appealed to him that he found all the enthusiasm, energy, and drive he was going to need to achieve that position. Everything he said and did in his current job had to conform to the image he held in his mind. He was outstanding because nothing less than his best would fit with the goal he’d picked out. 

Of course he’ll get that district manager job and all that goes with it. People with unusual drive and energy, people who excel, are the ones who have given themselves a mental picture, a goal to work toward. And the amount of drive they possess will always be in exact proportion to the strength and desire to make that mental picture a reality, to reach that goal. 

We don’t have to worry about setting a goal we can never reach; that’s the strange and wonderful thing about humans, something that most people seem to miss. We never seriously desire anything we can’t possibly have. If you get all fired up over something, whether it’s an executive position in your company or the income you feel you and your family need to do and have the things you want, if you can clearly envision how it will feel to satisfy your desire, well, then it can be yours. 

Arnold Bennett wrote that the kind of desire that triggers drive and energy within us isn’t some vague hankering, some undefined wish. The productive kind of desire is real, it’s concrete, it’s a mental picture that will never leave us alone. It’s always there in front of our minds, prodding and poking, goading us on. It’s an obsession, a whip. It has no mercy, and we’ll never be satisfied until we’ve achieved that which we truly desire. 

Well, how about you? What’s your goal? What is it that gets you fired up every time you think about it? If you have such a goal, you’ll never have to worry about the drive and energy you’ll need to achieve it. But if you find that you lack drive, that you’re short on energy, give it some thought. Decide on the dream that’s more important to you than any other. Then begin to make that dream a reality. You can—and you’ll find that you’ve got all the drive you need and all the energy you want. 

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This is an excerpt from Earl Nightingale’s Your Success Starts Here: Purpose and Personal Initiative, now available from AmazonBarnes & NobleBooks-a-Million800-CEO-READ, and other fine retailers. This volume contains Nightingale’s most potent messages about finding your purpose and taking the steps to better your life and relationships and achieve professional and financial success. It is never too late to give your life meaningful direction—pick up your copy of Your Success Starts Here today! 

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