by Zig Ziglar
The pitcher was blaming the catcher, the catcher was blaming the shortstop, the shortstop was blaming the first baseman, the first baseman was blaming the outfielder. As a matter of fact, everybody was blaming everybody else and the results were obviously and understandably disastrous.
And then one day this talent-laden but slump-ridden San Antonio team played Dallas, the weakest-hitting team in the league in an afternoon game, and Dallas won the game, 1-0.
San Antonio got only one hit. Josh O’Reilly, the outstanding manager of the San Antonio team, knew that his team was physically sound. The problem was “a lousy mental attitude.” In short—they were suffering from “stinkin’ thinkin’,” so O’Reilly looked for a “cure” for the disease. At this time there was a faith healer in Dallas named Slater who had gained a reputation as a miracle worker, so O’Reilly devised a plan.
The second game of the series was just one hour away when O’Reilly took action. He rushed into the clubhouse with a burst of enthusiasm and said, “Fellows, I’ve got the answer to our problems. Don’t worry about a thing. Give me your two best bats and I’ll be back with you before the game. We’re going to win the game today and we’re going to win the pennant.” He took each man’s two best bats, put them in a wheelbarrow and left. He returned about five minutes before game time, afire with enthusiasm as he spoke to his team. “Fellows,” he said, “we’ve got the problem solved. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ve been to Mr. Slater, and he’s put his blessings on these bats. He says all we have to do is step up to the plate, take a cut, and we’ll hit the ball. We’re going to win the pennant. Don’t worry about a thing. Just ’go get ’em, Tigers!’”
And what did his Tigers do? Remember now, this is the team that had been beaten a day earlier by a score of 1 to 0. But as the song goes, “What a Difference a Day Makes.” The San Antonio team that had only gotten one hit the day before scored 22 runs and got 37 hits, including 11 home runs. I don’t think it’s necessary to point out that they won the game. Not only did they win the game, but they also won the pennant.
Some intriguing thoughts come to mind from this story, especially since Slater bats sold at a high premium throughout the Texas League for several years. First, no one ever established whether Slater had actually seen those bats. But suppose he had? What could Slater do to the pile of wood from which the bats were made? I’m sure you’ll agree there was nothing Slater could have done to that pile of wood. However, I’m personally convinced there was a great deal he could do with the attitudes of the men who were swinging the bats. Yes, indeed, something did happen to the minds of the men, and that’s why they got all the hits that won the game and the pennant.
ENTHUSIASM IS AN ATTITUDE
A positive attitude will have positive results because attitudes are contagious. One such attitude is enthusiasm. Elbert Hubbard said, “Nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm.” The difference between the good preacher and the great preacher, the good mother and the great mother, the good speaker and the great speaker, or the good salesman and the great salesman is often enthusiasm. The word “enthusiasm” comes from the Greek words en theos and simply means “God within.” If you look at the word “enthusiasm,” the last four letters form an acrostic, “Iasm,” which can stand for “I am sold myself.” If you are sold yourself and if you truly believe in your cause, your company, and your product, then you don’t have a “teeth-out” enthusiasm. You have an enthusiasm that comes from the wellspring of all the resources within you.
Real enthusiasm is not something you “put on” and “take off” to fit the occasion. It is a way of life and not something you use to impress people. It has nothing to do with being loud or noisy; it is an outward expression of an inner feeling. Many extremely enthusiastic people are fairly quiet, yet every fiber of their being, every word and action, attests to the fact they love life and what it means to them. Some people who are enthusiastic are obviously loud, but loudness is neither a requisite for, nor is it necessarily an indication of, enthusiasm.
THE MAD BUTCHER
According to Allan Bellamy, who personifies enthusiasm, most people let conditions control their attitude instead of using their attitude to control conditions. If “things” are good, their attitude is good. If “things” are bad, their attitude is bad. Allan believes that’s the wrong approach. He believes you should build a solid attitude foundation so when “things” are good your attitude is good and when “things” are bad your attitude is still good, which means that soon “things” will be good. His own story supports this point.
When Allan returned from the Korean War, his mother invited him to join her in a “Mom & Pop” grocery store. Allan says it was so small, when you opened the front door it bumped against the meat counter— which was at the back door. Business was good—real good for Allan and his mother—in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. This wasn’t surprising, because any mother who can raise her family from the dirt floor of a tent when left on her own during the Depression, and give them an education, has a lot going for her.
Since he was raised on the “someday we’ll make it big” philosophy, Allan wasn’t the least bit bashful about talking to the local banker about a loan—a big one, to expand the store. With limited capital but unlimited enthusiasm he persuaded the bank to loan them $95,000 to build a supermarket. Opening day was chaotic (lots of rain on an unpaved parking lot) but highly successful. His business grew and prospered—and then word leaked out that Pine Bluff, Arkansas, was the place to build a supermarket.
During the next six months, ten major chain competitors opened stores in the area. Every opening took a little more of the Mad Butcher’s business. (He got the name when a salesman told him it was madness to buy neck bones for 15 cents a pound and sell them for 10 cents. Allan assured him it was all right because he was the “Mad Butcher”—and the name was born.) Pretty soon Allan was doing less business in the big store than he had in the little one; and things looked pretty bleak. Then Allan and four of his people signed up for a public speaking course which places considerable emphasis on the right mental attitude. The fifth session of the course was on enthusiasm which is, after all, an attitude.
After that night Allan decided he and his people would be five times as enthusiastic as ever before. Now everyone in Pine Bluff knew he was mad. His customers were met at the door with an enthusiastic welcome and the entire attitude from top to bottom and front to back changed dramatically—and so did the results. In just four weeks the business jumped from $15,000 per week to $30,000 per week—and it hasn’t fallen below that amount since.
Please understand, Pine Bluff didn’t suddenly increase its population nor did the competition (though seven of them have now thrown in the towel). The only change was the addition of enthusiasm. Since it worked so well on a temporary basis, Allan decided to leave his “enthusiasm policy” in place permanently. Since that date nearly seventeen years ago, the Mad Butcher has expanded into 26 highly successful stores. In 1974, in the face of a declining economy, The Mad Butcher, Inc., had the largest dollar and percentage increase in its history; 1976 was even better, with sales in the neighborhood of $35,000,000 (that’s a nice neighborhood). The enthusiasm is so contagious that personnel turnover is practically zero. Since people are the prime reason for any business success or failure, Allan Bellamy—The Mad Butcher—is enthusiastically in the people-building business. He believes—as do most successful business people— that if you build your people, your people will build your business.
THE “GO-GIVE” ATTITUDE
In today’s world we hear so much about the go-getter we often overlook the go-giver. Don’t misunderstand. I’m 100% for the go-getter. I feel “this old boy down home” was right on target. In the days of yesteryear, he ferried passengers across the Yazoo River which flows along the outskirts of Yazoo City, Mississippi. It was on this river within the city limits that the first torpedo was used in actual warfare. It happened in the War of Northern Aggression, which
is referred to in some Yankee history books as the Civil War. (That lump you see in my cheek is my tongue.) This old boy charged ten cents for each trip across the river. Once, when asked how many trips he made each day, he answered, “As many as I can because the more I go, the more I get, and if I don’t go, I don’t get.”
Yes, I believe in the go-get attitude and the go-give attitude. As a matter of fact, I don’t believe you can separate them, as the story of Israel, which is the most exciting story of the 20th Century, so clearly demonstrates. Born in adversity in 1948—as the Bible had prophesied—the Israelis have created prosperity and a veritable oasis in a sea of sand and poverty among their Arab neighbors. (Don’t be misled by those wealthy oil sheiks. The majority live in poverty.) Although Israel was terribly short of many resources, the Israelis did not let what they did not have prevent them from using what they did have. When you’ve waited 2,000 years to come back home, and have suffered persecution and discrimination all over the world, you can rest assured that every man, woman, and child returned to his homeland with a tremendous amount of zeal and determination. Each came bringing the pent-up frustration of 2,000 years of being denied freedom and equal opportunity. Each one came to carve for himself a place in his homeland, and he was not only willing, he was anxious to give something in return.
The results have been the wonder of this century. Each added commitment, pride, and the go-giver spirit to a population of less than 3,000,000 people. This commitment and dedication in building a free and prosperous land has enabled Israel to more than hold her own against the combined forces of the 100,000,000 Arab people who surround her. Yes, Israel is quite a story. They came to give—and get. They did both. Incidentally, Israel has the lowest crime rate in the Western world and vandalism is virtually nonexistent.
It’s universally true; when you build something with your own blood, sweat, and tears, it’s highly unlikely you will turn around and tear it down. Builders are not destroyers—and destroyers are not builders.
INPUT DETERMINES OUTPUT
You are what you are and where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind. In late 1979, our company invested a considerable sum of money in a computer. I told everyone about this marvelous machine which would handle our inventory, payroll, mailing list, labeling, and do everything up to and including making our morning coffee and cleaning the kitchen. I was really excited about that computer! Six months later I would have sold it for a fraction of its price tag.
Today, if I could not replace it, I would not take ten times what I paid for it. What’s the difference? The answer is simple. The first people we hired to program the computer could have fouled up a two-car parade. (As a matter of fact, that’s what they did!)
Then one day, Marilyn and Dave Bauer walked in the front door and assured us they could make that computer laugh and talk and whistle and sing and even do some work. We eagerly put them to work and in short order the computer was doing everything we had hoped it would— and a lot more. That computer is truly amazing—but its “output” is determined by its “input.” It is no better and no worse than the person or persons who “program” it. That’s the way you are. To a large extent you will act, think, and perform as you have been “programmed” to do.
A major difference between you and the computer is that you can choose the program and programmers for your mind. If you are not as far down life’s highway as you would like to be, maybe you have been following the wrong program. Maybe—just maybe—the input into your mind has been negative and, hence, has held you back instead of propelling you forward. One other purpose of See You at the Top is to help you with an “input” program that will help you do what you want to do, have what you want to have, and be what you want to be.
TOO BIG TO HIT OR TOO BIG TO MISS
The way you see things—your attitude—is the most important factor in your success. It has always been that way, as this story, which happened thousands of years ago, proves.
I love the Bible and believe it should be made available as a course in every school, because God so clearly demonstrates the difference between positive and negative thinking. The story of David and Goliath is one of my favorites and clearly emphasizes the point. The 9-foot, 400pound Goliath was challenging the children of Israel and blaspheming Almighty God. David, a 17-year-old, fuzzy-cheeked lad who came to see his brothers, demanded to know why they weren’t accepting the challenge. (The rest is Scripturally accurate, but slightly Ziglarized.) The brothers explained that you could easily get hurt by fighting fellows like Goliath. They felt certain Goliath was just too big to hit. David knew Goliath was too big to miss. Next, David wanted to know where the king was, and the brothers explained that the king didn’t feel so good. When David told the brothers he would fight Goliath, they figured he was crazy. Obviously, the brothers were comparing their size to Goliath’s and that made the 9-foot Goliath pretty big. David was comparing Goliath’s size to God—and that quite obviously made Goliath pretty small. (In case you haven’t heard—David and God won.)
I was telling Tom, my eight-year-old son, the story of David and Goliath when he made an observation so matter-of-factly that it made a lasting impression on me. I was describing David as the ruddy-faced youngster who hadn’t yet started to shave when he went out to face the giant Goliath. I commented that David was really a brave boy, and put it in the form of a question as I asked, “Wasn’t he, Son?” My son looked at me and said “Yes, Dad, David was brave—but Goliath was really the brave one.”
I asked him, “Son, how do you figure that?” (Now we need to reverse our ages: My son is forty-five and I’m the eight-year-old.) He looked at me as only a child can and said, “Well, Dad, you’ve got to understand that Goliath was out there by himself, and David had God with him.” I looked at my son and said, “You know, Son, I’d never thought about it like that.” How does it go . . . “Out of the mouth of babes . . . ” How true it is!
I also love the Bible because of its beautiful simplicity and clarity. Many people say they don’t read the Bible because they don’t understand it. I’m convinced their problem is not what they don’t understand but what they do understand. Personally, I feel God speaks quite clearly. I’m sure you’ve noticed, He didn’t call the Ten Commandments the Ten Suggestions.
The “right” mental attitude encompasses so many areas that it would be difficult to decide which is the most important one. The next story zeroes in on one of the most neglected areas.
GREEN—AND GROWING
When I was an instructor for the Dale Carnegie Institute in New York City, it was my privilege to meet an outstanding salesman who was over 60 years of age. His name was Ed Green and he sold real “pie in the sky” advertising. His income was reputed to be in excess of $75,000 a year, which was a considerable sum of money at that time. One night after one of the classes, I engaged Ed in conversation and asked him quite frankly what he was doing in a class being taught by three men who had a combined income less than his. He smilingly replied, “Zig, let me tell you a little story. When I was a boy, my dad took me on a trip through our garden. Dad was probably the best gardener in the community. He worked at it, loved it and was proud of it. After we finished the trip, Dad asked what I learned from the tour.” Ed smiled as he continued, “The only thing I could see was that Dad had obviously done a lot of work in the garden. At this point Dad became somewhat impatient and said, “Son, I had hoped you would observe that as long as the vegetables were green, they were growing, but when they got ripe, they started to rot.”
Ed finished the story by saying, “And you know, Zig, I’ve never forgotten that story. I came to this class because I figured I would learn something. To be completely honest, I did learn something in one of the classes that enabled me to close an account worth many thousands of dollars in commissions. I’d tried for over two years to make that sale. The commission for it has paid for all the sales tra
ining I’ve taken all of my life.”
Naturally, it was exciting to get a testimonial from a man like Ed Green. We continued the conversation, and I pointed out how pleased I was at his response. I also mentioned that one of the younger members of the class complained he “had heard all of these things and wasn’t getting a thing out of the class.” Ed drew an interesting analogy, “Zig, I’ve been married over 40 years and when my wife puckers up for me to kiss her, I know exactly how it is going to be, but I still enjoy it.”
In the game of life, you retain that zest for living and for learning by constantly seeking to put into your mind the things that will result in growth. Peter Drucker expressed it this way: “Knowledge has to be improved, challenged and increased constantly or it vanishes.”
ACTION—REACTION
The next example might make the most important point in this book.
Mr. B wasn’t satisfied with the way things were going in his company. He called a meeting and said, “Now, Folks, we have to get organized. Some of you come to work late and some leave early. Why, some of you don’t even accept the full responsibility of your jobs. Now, as President of this company, I am going to make some changes. Since I should set the example for you to follow, here’s what I’m going to do. From now on, I will be here early, I will stay late. In everything I do, I intend to be an example. If my example isn’t good, I will understand if you follow it. We have a fine company and the future looks great if each of us properly handles his job and does his best.”
Like a lot of people, Mr. B’s intentions were good, but a few days later he became engrossed in conversation during a luncheon at the country club and forgot the time. When he finally looked at his watch he was so startled he almost dropped his cup of coffee as he said, “Oh, my goodness, I’m due back at the office in 10 minutes.” He hopped up, made a mad dash to the parking lot, jumped in his automobile, scratched off and burned rubber like nobody you have ever seen. He was doing about 90 miles per hour down the freeway when the long arm of the law entered the picture and gave him a blistering tongue lashing and a ticket. (Hope this doesn’t bring back painful memories.)