by Zig Ziglar
I’ll guarantee that you would do more in the next 24 hours than you normally do in several days, wouldn’t you?
Since you had to say yes to that question, let me ask you another one. Why don’t you go to Acapulco tomorrow—every day? Why don’t you list the things you need to do during the next three days. Then act as if you only had one day to do three days’ work. As my boss in the grocery store used to say, “That will force you to put your thinking cap on.” You will use your mental capacity to think, plan, and delegate before you start working. This will enable you to accomplish so much more that you can literally go to Acapulco—or anywhere else you wish to go—in the tomorrows of your life. Reason: You will have changed from a “wandering generality” to a “meaningful specific.” Your life will have direction.
People often complain about lack of time when lack of direction is the real problem. Many “experts” say we should be arrested for murder when we kill time. Close examination, however, makes it obvious that killing time is not murder—it’s suicide. Time can be an ally or an enemy. What it becomes depends entirely upon you, your goals, and your determination to use every available minute.
NO GOALS—NO GAME
Let me illustrate the importance of goals by looking at a scene of the deciding game of a basketball championship. The teams have taken their warm-up shots and are physically ready for the game. The adrenaline is flowing and it’s obvious the players feel the excitement that goes with a championship game. They return to their dressing rooms and the coaches give them the last “shot in the arm” before action begins. “This is it, Fellows. It’s now or never. We win or lose it all tonight. Nobody remembers the best man at a wedding, and nobody remembers who came in second. The whole season is tonight.”
The players respond. They’re so charged up they almost tear the doors off the hinges as they rush back to the court. As they get to the court they stop short and, in complete confusion which gives way to frustration and anger, they point out that the goals have been removed. They angrily demand to know how they can play a game without the goals. They know that without goals, they would never know whether they hit or missed, never know how they stacked up against competition, and never know whether they were on or off target. As a matter of fact, they wouldn’t even attempt to play the basketball game without the goals. Those basketball goals are important, aren’t they? What about you? Are you attempting to play the game of life without goals? If you are, what’s the score?
LIFE IS VALUABLE
An interesting phenomenon takes place in the rest homes and the homes for the aged around our country. The death rate declines dramatically before holidays and special days, such as wedding anniversaries and birthdays. Many of the people set a goal to live for one more Christmas, one more anniversary, one more Fourth of July, etc. Immediately after the event, when the goal has been reached, the will to live declines and the death rate shoots upward. Yes, life is valuable and is sustained only so long as life has something valuable as its object.
Goals of life are important and virtually everyone knows this. However, by choice—or is it indifference—the average man on the street continues to meander through life following the lines of least resistance as “wandering generalities,” rather than as “meaningful specifics.”
The late Maxwell Maltz wrote a book titled Psycho-Cybernetics. That’s an awesome title, but in reality it’s a simple, beautifully written, and easily understood book. Maltz says man is functionally like a bicycle. Unless he’s moving onward and upward towards an objective—a goal—he’s going to falter and fall.
A GOAL CAN BE A WINNING HORSE
Julie loved her horse, Irish, but at the moment she was mad, hurt, disappointed, frustrated, tired, discouraged, and heartsick. For weeks she had cleaned, groomed, worked, and trained that horse for the big show. She had gotten up at 3:00 a.m. on the big day and groomed Irish down to the final detail. Irish’s mane was perfectly braided, her tail was a work of art, her coat glistened like burnished steel, and her hooves sparkled in the sunlight. The bridle, halter, and saddle had been cleaned and polished and Julie, impeccably attired, looked like the little doll she is as she entered the arena for the big event. So what happened? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Irish, who was supposed to be a jumper, wouldn’t jump. As a matter of fact, she wouldn’t even hop. Hundreds of hours of hard work and the dream of a ribbon all ended for Julie when her horse refused the first jump three times and was disqualified.
As I point out in another section, when you’re frustrated you can either wring your hands and lose what you have or roll up your sleeves and get what you want. Julie Ziglar, age 16 and weighing in at less than 100 pounds, decided to roll up her sleeves and get what she wanted—a horse that was a winner. She set a price on Irish, ran an ad in the paper, and resisted bargaining and “horse trade” talk until she got her price. She put her money into a savings account and started her search for another dream horse. She visited the local stables, attended local shows, and read every available horse publication until finally she found Butter Rum, a beautiful, but “green,” two-year-old thoroughbred gelding. It was an unadulterated case of love at first sight for both Julie and Butter Rum—but there was a small problem. Butter Rum cost considerably more than Julie had gotten for Irish and she stubbornly refused to let Mom and Dad finance the difference.
This situation only slowed her to a fast run, however, because Julie is a girl who believes if you want something you must do something. She also believed the basic goal-reaching principle that you go as far as you can see, and when you get there you will always be able to see farther. Using her money from Irish as the down payment and working out a payment plan for the balance, she bought Butter Rum. Then she got a job to earn money to make the payments. She also sought and personally paid for professional help in training Butter Rum. She worked him—and herself—hard and often. Soon Butter Rum and Julie began winning ribbons. Julie’s wall was covered by ribbons of all colors, and she was offered four and a half times as much for Butter Rum as she paid for him.
The exciting thing about this story, aside from the fact it is about my little girl, is it tells us again that if we want something badly enough, we must make it our definite goal. When we go after it as if we can’t fail, many things will happen to help make certain we won’t.
HARNESS THE POWER
Several years ago it was my privilege to fly over Niagara Falls for the first time. As we approached the Falls, the captain of the aircraft announced over the intercom, “Ladies and gentlemen, on your left is Niagara Falls. Those of you who have never seen the Falls from the air should move to the left side of the aircraft. It’s an awesome sight.” I took his advice and even though the Falls were several miles away, I could see and feel the enormous power of Niagara as I viewed the spray rising hundreds of feet into the air.
As I watched the spray and looked at those Falls, a thought ran through my mind. For thousands of years untold trillions of tons of water had gone over that 180-foot drop and drifted into a comparative nothingness. Then one day, a man—with a plan—harnessed a portion of that awesome power. He directed a portion of the falling water at a specific target and created billions of kilowatt hours of electricity to turn the wheels of industry. Thousands of homes have been lighted, tons of food harvested, numerous products manufactured and distributed. Jobs have been created, children educated, roads built, and buildings and hospitals constructed as a result of this new power source. The list of benefits is almost endless, and it all came about because a man with a plan took part of the power of Niagara and directed it toward a specific target or goal. That’s what I’m asking you to do.
GOALS? FOR WHOM?
The dictionary says a goal is an aim or purpose. It’s a plan. Something you expect to do. Without any reservation, I’m going to say that whoever you are, wherever you are, and whatever you do, you should have goals. J.C. Penney expressed it beautifully when he said, “Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I will give y
ou a man who will make history. Give me a man without a goal, and I will give you a stock clerk.” Mothers should have goals. Salespeople should have goals. Housewives, students, laborers, doctors, and athletes should have goals. You might not, like Niagara, light up a city, but with definite goals you release your own power, and things start happening.
To stress the necessity of goals, can you imagine Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest, explaining how he was able to accomplish that feat? Suppose he had explained he was just out walking around one day when he happened to find himself at the top of the tallest mountain in the world? Or the chairman of the board of General Motors explaining that he got his position because he just kept showing up for work and they just kept promoting him until one day he was chairman of the board? Ridiculous—of course—but no more ridiculous than your thinking you can accomplish anything significant without specific goals.
WHAT KIND OF GOALS?
There are seven different kinds of goals: physical, mental, spiritual, personal, family, career, and financial. Throughout the book I weave all the goals into the examples, but space limitations demand that I concentrate on only part of them. Since my philosophy could, with some justification, be described as idealistic, you might be a little surprised at the space I give to financial goals. You shouldn’t be. Money, assuming it is legitimately earned, is a yardstick that simply measures the service you have rendered. You are obligated to earn more than you need because in so doing you create job opportunities for those less talented than you. Many people, misquoting the Scriptures, as is frequently done, say money is the root of all evil. Not so. The love of money is the root of all evil.
Having said these things, let me now stress that God’s first commandment is that we have no other God before Jehovah God—that includes money. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, tells us in Ecclesiastes, “He who seeks silver will never be satisfied with silver.” Meaning simply, if money becomes our God it will never satisfy us, regardless of how much we have.
Regardless of your profession, almost without exception the more service you render, the greater the financial rewards. One thing you have already discovered, when money is needed there are very few substitutes. Everything else being equal, I can assure you it is better to have it than not to have it. Besides, it is beautifully colored and goes with anything.
CHAPTER 11
Characteristics of Goals
NUMBER ONE— WE NEED SOME BIG GOALS
When you set goals, something inside of you starts saying, “Let’s go, let’s go,” and ceilings start to move up. In the following segments and chapters we will look at people from virtually all walks of life who have succeeded. Each one had goals and did some fabulous things. I want you to read their stories carefully, because in each example I’m going to be speaking directly to you. You need to interpolate and put yourself in their shoes. By adopting their dedication to reach your goals, some wonderful things can and will happen to you—and that’s a promise.
Some of our goals must be big, because it takes a big goal to create the excitement necessary for maximum accomplishment. There’s no excitement in mediocrity or in keeping up with anybody. There is no excitement in just making a house payment, a car payment, or just getting along. The excitement comes when you do your best, which you can do only with the proper goals.
It’s an established fact in the sports world that an athlete will perform better against tough competition than against mediocre competition. The golfer, tennis player, football player, fighter, etc., will have a tendency to loaf against mediocre or poor competition. This is one of the reasons so many “upsets” occur in the world of sports. The same is true in politics. Now, if the goal, which is really the “competition,” you have set for yourself is big (tough), it will bring out your best effort. It will create excitement and it’s that excitement that permits you to perform at your best and to reach your goals.
When you are at your best and do your best, you can lie down at night and truthfully say, “Today I did my very best.” The result will be a rewarding and satisfying night of sleep, because you recognize you’re doing your best toward reaching that big goal. It’s exciting to know that as long as you’re reaching for the stars (your big goal) you won’t end up with a handful of mud. You need to see life as something big and exciting and your major goals as big ones. A wise man once said, “Make no small plans for they have no capacity to stir men’s souls.”
The way you see life will largely determine what you get out of it. Take a bar of iron and use it for a door stop and it’s worth a dollar. Manufacture horseshoes from that iron and they’re worth about fifty dollars. Take the same bar of iron, remove the impurities, refine it into fine steel, manufacture it into mainsprings for precision watches and it’s worth a quarter of a million dollars.
The way you see the bar of iron makes the difference, and the way you see yourself and your future will also make the difference. You need to have a big goal. Obviously, the size of goals will vary with individuals. Booker T. Washington said, “You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you have to overcome to reach your goals.” I agree with him, for “to whom much is given, much shall be required” (Luke 12:48).
GUARANTEED “WORST IN TOWN”
Next door to the grocery store where I worked as a boy was a combination coffee shop and peanut stand. The owner was simply known as “Uncle Joe.” The smell of roasting coffee and peanuts was very tantalizing and attracted a crowd virtually every time Uncle Joe was doing any roasting. He roasted the peanuts in a coal-burning, hand-turned roaster. When he finished roasting some peanuts, he would dump them into a large cardboard box. He filled bags with those peanuts. At that time, they sold for a nickel a bag. After he filled a bag, he would remove two peanuts and place them in a small box. When he had completed the job of filling the bags, he would always have several bags left in this “bonus box.” Uncle Joe was born a poor man. He lived a poor man’s life and he died a poor man. He thought a lot about peanuts, but peanuts were not his problem.
I shall never forget a sign I saw as I entered Columbia, South Carolina, to attend the University of South Carolina. The sign simply said, “Cromer’s Peanuts—Guaranteed Worst in Town.” Curiosity demanded I inquire about it. I was told that when Mr. Cromer started his business, he had a small sign painted with that message on it. People grinned when they saw the sign, but they bought the peanuts. Later, he added the slogan to the bags of peanuts. People smiled even more broadly, but they bought the peanuts. As time passed, Mr. Cromer employed a large number of boys to sell peanuts on the streets of Columbia on a commission basis. His signs got bigger and his business got better. Soon, he acquired rights to sell his peanuts at the South Carolina State Fair and at the local athletic events, including the games played at the University of South Carolina. His fame and business grew. Today, Mr. Cromer is a successful and wealthy man. He, too, thought a lot about peanuts.
Here are two men who sold the same product in essentially the same type area. One was poor and remained that way. The other was poor but wasn’t content to stay that way. They sold the same product, but their individual goals for that product were seen in a different light.
IT’S NOT THE JOB
It doesn’t make any difference what your occupation might be. Whether you are a doctor, businessman, lawyer, salesperson, minister, etc., there are wealthy people who do whatever it is you do for your living. I know some wealthy people who run service stations, and I know some service station owners who are broke. There are wealthy people who sell and there are poor people who sell. There are rich educators and there are poor educators. There are rich lawyers and there are poor lawyers. The list is endless. The opportunity lies with the individual first and then with the occupation. The occupation provides the opportunity only if the individual does his part.
Whatever it is you do, there are many people in the same profession who are making significant contributions to that profession and
are making a lot of money as a result. It’s not the occupation or profession that makes you succeed or fail. It’s how you see yourself and your occupation. Big goals are necessary. “You must see it big before you can make it big.”
NUMBER TWO— GOALS MUST BE LONG-RANGE
Without long-range goals, you are likely to be overcome by short-range frustrations. The reason is simple. Everybody is not as interested in your success as you are. You might occasionally feel that some people are standing in the way and deliberately slowing your progress, but in reality the biggest person standing in your way is you. Others can stop you temporarily—you are the only one who can do it permanently.
Occasionally, circumstances arise that are beyond your control. If you don’t have long-range goals, then temporary obstacles can be needlessly frustrating. Family problems, sickness, an automobile accident, or circumstances over which you have no control can be the big obstacles but they need not be. In a later chapter I will teach you how to respond positively to the negative as well as to positive situations. You will learn that a setback—regardless of the severity—can be a stepping stone and not a stumbling block. When you have that long-range goal it’s easier. Why? Because you go as far as you can see and when you get there you will always be able to see farther. Thought: If you wait until all the lights are “green” before you leave home, you’ll never get started on you trip to the top.
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
As I write these words, I am aboard a DC-10 from Los Angeles to Dallas. Our scheduled departure was 5:15 p.m. Unavoidable delays held us until 6:03 p.m. When we left the Los Angeles airport we were headed for Dallas, but within 20 minutes the situation had changed. The wind currents were a little different from those predicted before takeoff, so we were slightly off course. The captain made a minute adjustment and we were again headed for Dallas. My point is this: When we were a little off our course, the captain didn’t turn the plane around and return to Los Angeles to make a fresh start. Even so, as you head toward your goals, be prepared to make some slight adjustments in your course. You don’t change your decision to go—you do change your direction to get there.