SEE YOU AT THE TOP

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by Zig Ziglar


  Edison estimated that he actually performed over 14,000 experiments in the process of inventing and perfecting the incandescent light. He successfully found a lot of ways that wouldn’t work, but he kept at it until he found one way that would. This is another instance where it is truly obvious that the only difference between the big shot and the little shot is that the big shot is a little shot who kept shooting.

  Incidentally it was late at night when Edison finally turned on the first incandescent light and his wife called out, “Turn off that light, Tom, and come to bed.”

  YOU ONLY FAIL BY GIVING UP

  You aren’t licked until you quit. To put it another way, when you put a little hump in “u,” you change a “chump” to a “champ.” Let’s consider some other examples. Jerry West, one of basketball’s all-time greats, was so bad as a youngster that neighborhood kids wouldn’t let him play recreational basketball with them. Work and practice made the difference in his career.

  Words like persistence, dedication, extra effort, and the blood, sweat, and tears Churchill so eloquently described as he aroused England for her finest hour might not sound glamorous, but they work—and are prime ingredients in the recipe for greatness. Realistically, these words describe the only characteristics that will overcome certain obstacles.

  Demosthenes, the famous Greek orator, had such a speech impediment that he was shy and retiring. His father left him an estate that made him a wealthy man, but according to Greek law he had to establish his right to ownership in public debate before he could claim his estate. His impediment, combined with shyness, rendered him helpless and he lost his estate. Then he went to work and by sheer, dogged effort scaled oratorical heights never before reached by mortal man. History neglected to record the man’s name who took his inheritance, but school children around the world have learned the story of Demosthenes for centuries. It’s true: Regardless of how many times you are “down,” you are not whipped if you get up one more time than you are knocked down.

  DON’T LET FAILURE MAKE YOU A COWARD

  When you know in your own mind that you’ve given something your very best effort and you didn’t succeed, don’t quit. Simply start another project. A close friend involved me in a business transaction involving a gadget which didn’t sell. Fortunately, I got out before the roof caved in. My friend, however, lost several thousand dollars. When it was all over, he philosophically stated, “You know, Zig, I hate to lose the money, but the thing that really concerns me is the fear that this will make me overly cautious and a financial coward regarding other business opportunities. If that happens, then my loss will be multiplied many times over.” How true, how true.

  One young man didn’t let this happen to him. He was involved in an oil venture and ran out of money, so he sold his interest to his partners who stuck with it. After much time and effort, they got their break and hit a gusher. The company later became Cities Service, and we know it today as CITGO. The young man who withdrew later got involved in the clothing business and fared even worse than he had in the oil business. As a matter of fact, he went broke. Still, he wasn’t discouraged. Later on he got into politics. Historians are constantly saying kind things about Harry S. Truman, the two-time failure who kept getting back up until he became President of the United States.

  Failure has been correctly identified as the line of least persistence, whereas success is often a question of simply sticking to the job and working and believing while you are sticking. If your particular job is harder than you might wish, just remember you can’t sharpen a razor on a piece of velvet and you can’t sharpen a man by spoon-feeding him.

  Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation. Many times it is just over the hill or around the corner. Sometimes it takes that extra push to climb that hill or round that curve. The wit was right when he said, “If you have enough push you don’t have to worry about pull.”

  President Calvin Coolidge wrote, “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence, determination, and hard work makes the difference.”

  PERSISTENCE OVERCOMES RESISTANCE

  As you continue your journey to the top, you must remember that each rung of the ladder was placed there for the purpose of holding your foot just long enough to step higher. It wasn’t put there for you to rest on. We all get tired and discouraged, but as heavyweight champion James J. Corbett frequently said, “You become the champion by fighting one more round.” William James pointed out that not only do we have the second wind, but we have the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and even the seventh wind. There is an enormous amount of reserve inside each individual, but it’s worthless unless you know it’s there and persist in using it. World famous cellist Pablo Casals, long after he had achieved international recognition as an artist, still practiced six hours every day. Someone asked him why the continued effort. His reply was simply, “I think I’m making progress.”

  The opportunity for greatness doesn’t knock; it’s inside every one of us. However, we must work to get it out. We are often told to strike while the iron is hot, which is good advice. Better advice, however, is to make the iron hot by striking. Yes, persistence and effort are vitally important. Any sales manager will tell you that every “no” brings you that much closer to a “yes.” It’s not just a cliché that it’s often the darkest just before the dawn. When you work and develop your skills and talents your day will come. I might also point out that if your day never came, you would still be the big winner. Inside you will be the knowledge that you’re doing your best with what you have. With this approach to life, and the desire and determination to stick to it, the odds are greater that you’re going to make it and make it big.

  Vince Lombardi, the legendary coaching genius who was the only man to ever coach three consecutive world championship football teams, once said, “I’ve never known a man worth his salt who, in the long run, deep down in his heart, did not appreciate the grind and the discipline. There is something in good men that truly yearns for and needs discipline.”

  NO LAZY PERSON

  Throughout this segment, I’ve been talking about work and “selling” you on the idea. Therefore, it might surprise you now when I say there’s no such thing as a lazy person; he’s either sick or uninspired. If a person is sick, he should go to his doctor. If he’s uninspired, there are several things he should do. He should read and re-read this book, listen to motivational speakers, and associate with inspirational people. Bob Richards, former Olympic champion and an outstanding speaker, makes a strong case for inspiration by association. He points out that the Olympics repeatedly produce record-breaking performances from the athletes because they are caught up in an atmosphere of greatness.

  When a young man or woman sees other athletes from all over the world beating their former best efforts time after time, each one is inspired to “beat his best.” Mankind at his best is capable of some awesome accomplishments and Richards points out that the association with champions brings out championship performances.

  At the risk of oversimplification, I believe many “lazy” people have an image attitude problem. Feeling that if they give their all and don’t make it, they’ll be failures, they rationalize that if they give a half-hearted effort and don’t make it, they have a built-in excuse. In their own minds they don’t feel like a failure because they did not really try. They often shrug their shoulders and say, “It doesn’t make any difference to me.” It’s the same way with many workers. Many times the unwillingness to work stems from other and deeper problems.

  With this in mind, let me urge you to take another look at yourself. If, at this point, you are harboring any feelings of a poor image attitude, go back to the second segment and dig in until you have gotten your self-image where it belongs.

  CHAPTER 22

  Priming,
Pumping, and Producing

  PRIMING THE PUMP

  One of the props I use in my talks around the country is an old-fashioned chrome-plated water pump. I personally love the story of the pump because to me it represents the story of America, the story of the free enterprise system, and the story of life. For your benefit, I hope you’ve had the opportunity of using one of these old-fashioned water pumps on at least one occasion. That experience will help you to appreciate the significance of this series of thoughts.

  Several years ago two friends of mine, Bernard Haygood and Jimmy Glenn, were driving in the South Alabama foothills on a hot August day. They were thirsty, so Bernard pulled behind an old abandoned farmhouse with a water pump in the yard. He hopped out of the car, ran over to the pump, grabbed the handle and started pumping. After a moment or two of pumping, Bernard pointed to an old bucket and suggested to Jimmy that he get the bucket and dip some water out of a nearby stream in order to “prime” the pump. As all pumpers know, you must put a little water in the top of the pump to “prime” the pump and get the flow of water started.

  In the game of life, before you can get anything out you must put something in. Unfortunately, there are many people who stand in front of the stove of life and say, “Stove, give me some heat and then I’ll put some wood in you.”

  Many times the secretary comes to the boss and says, “Give me a raise and then I’ll start doing better work and being more conscientious.” Often the salesman goes to the boss and says, “Make me the sales manager and I’ll really show you what I can do. It’s true I haven’t done much until now, but I need to be in charge in order to do my best work. So just make me the boss and then watch me go.”

  Many times the student says to the teacher, “If I take a bad grade home for this semester my folks will really lay it on me. So Teacher, if you will just give me a good grade this quarter, I promise I’ll study real hard next quarter.” My experience has been that it doesn’t work that way. If it did, I could easily imagine a farmer praying, “Lord, if you will just give me a crop this year, I promise to plant the seed and work hard next year.” What they are really saying is, “Reward me and then I’ll produce.”

  But life doesn’t work that way. You must first put something into life before you can expect to get anything out of it. Now, if you’ll just transfer this knowledge to the rest of your life, you will climb higher and be happier in the process.

  The farmer must plant his seed in the spring or summer before he reaps the harvest in the fall. He also “puts in” lots of work before the crop reaches the harvest stage. The student puts in hundreds of hours of work before he acquires the knowledge and the graduation certificate. The secretary of today who is the office manager of tomorrow puts a considerable amount of extra into her job. The athlete of today who becomes a champion of tomorrow “puts in” a great deal of himself in the form of sweat and effort before he reaps the champion’s reward. The junior executive of today who becomes the corporate president of tomorrow is that individual who put himself into the job. The salesman of today who becomes the sales manager of tomorrow is the person who understands the principle of priming the pump. When you put something “in,” the law of compensation says you’ll get something “out.”

  DON’T STOP NOW

  Well, let’s get back to my friends in South Alabama. South Alabama is hot in August and after a few minutes of pumping, Bernard worked up a considerable sweat. At that point he started asking himself just how much work he was willing to do for that water. He was concerned about the amount of reward he would receive for the amount of effort expended. After a time he said, “Jimmy, I don’t believe there’s any water in this well.” Jimmy replied, “Yes, there is, Bernard; in South Alabama the wells are deep and that’s good, because the deep well produces the good, clean, sweet, pure, best-tasting water of all.” Jimmy is also talking about life, isn’t he? The things we have to work for are the things we appreciate most.

  That which is easily obtained is generally not worth a great deal. If you could become an M.D. in a six-week summer course, just how much would it be worth? If you could become a super salesman by listening to a four-hour sales lecture, competition would be so intense your commission would be considerably smaller. Go down the list and you’ll discover that those skills and objectives that require your blood, sweat, and tears are the ones that bring the real satisfaction and rewards. Back to the pump.

  By now Bernard was getting hot and tired, so he threw up his hands and said, “Jimmy, there just isn’t any water in this well.” Jimmy quickly grabbed the pump handle and kept pumping as he said, “Don’t stop now, Bernard; if you do, the water will go all the way back down and then you’ll have to start all over again.” That, too, is the story of life. There isn’t a human being in existence, regardless of age, sex, or occupation, who doesn’t occasionally feel he might as well “stop pumping” because there isn’t any water down there. So if you occasionally feel that way, it should be comforting to know that you’ve got lots of company.

  JUST ONE MORE TIME

  Now let’s look at something intriguing and obvious. There’s no way you can look at the outside of a pump and determine whether it will take two more strokes or two hundred more to bring forth the water. There’s often no way you can look into the game of life and determine whether or not you’ll get the big break tomorrow or whether it will take another week, month, year, or even longer.

  This I do know beyond any reasonable doubt. Regardless of what you are doing, if you will pump long enough, hard enough and enthusiastically enough, sooner or later the effort will bring forth the reward. I also know that just as you add nothing to the score if you stop on third base, you can’t quench your thirst with the water that almost comes out of the pump. Fortunately, once the water starts to flow, all you have to do is keep some steady pressure on the pump and you’ll get more water than you can use. This is the story of success and happiness in life.

  The message is clear. Whatever you’re doing, work at it with the right attitude and the right habits, but above all, keep at it with bulldog tenacity and persistence. Just as the flow of water is often one stroke away, the sweet taste of success and victory is often just over the hill or around the corner. Whether you’re a doctor, lawyer, student, housewife, laborer, or salesperson, once you get the water flowing, it’s easy to keep it flowing with a little steady effort.

  We will never know how many youngsters missed winning a college scholarship because they didn’t study just 10 minutes more every day. Or how many employees missed out on a promotion because they didn’t stay at their task just a few more minutes each day for a few more weeks. Or how many sales were missed because the prospect wasn’t given just one more reason to make a yes decision today.

  I believe the story of the pump is the story of life and the free enterprise system. I say this because it has nothing to do with age or education, whether you are black or white, male or female, overweight or underweight, extrovert or introvert, or whether you are Catholic, Jew, or Protestant. It has everything to do with your God-given rights as a free person to work as long as you wish, as hard as you wish, and as enthusiastically as you wish to get everything in life you really want.

  As you move to the top, remember the story of the pump. If you start pumping casually or half-heartedly, you will pump forever before anything happens. Pump hard to begin with and keep it up until you get that water flowing. Then a great deal will happen. Once the flow of water starts, just maintain that steady pressure and the time will come when the rewards will be so enormous that you’ll be getting what you want instead of having to want what you have.

  The analogy I used in Chapter Thirteen of starting the locomotive is certainly appropriate here. It’s often difficult to get the train started, but once it’s moving it requires considerably less fuel to keep it on its way.

  Now as you look at the symbolic you on the Stairway to the Top, you find yourself on the “work” step. You are now ready to ta
ke the last or “desire” step, which will put you squarely in front of the glass doors of tomorrow that are ready to be opened by you. At this point it is obvious that with a little extra “push” you have no need for “pull.” So “push on,” friend; you’re just one exciting step from the banquet hall of life.

  SEGMENT SEVEN

  Desire

  Purpose:

  I. To fan your motivational flame to such an intensity that the hot water of mediocrity is converted to the steam of overwhelming desire.

  II. To introduce you to intelligent ignorance and teach you how to take life’s lemons and convert them to lemonade.

  III. To learn how to use obstacles as stepping stones to the richer life.

  IV. To sell you on free enterprise and to point out the positive aspects of the America I love. To emphasize its strength, compassion, and goodness, with special attention reserved for the unique opportunities America offers you.

  V. To clearly identify the steps you can take to preserve and make America even stronger.

  CHAPTER 23

  From Mediocrity to Meteority

  THE “EQUALIZER”

  In the Old West there was an equalizer. They called it the “six shooter.” It enabled a small man to chop a big man down to size. In today’s world, the six-shooter is out but there is an equalizer—it’s called “desire.” Desire is the ingredient that changes the hot water of mediocrity to the steam of outstanding success. It’s the ingredient that enables a person with average ability to successfully compete with those who have far more. Desire is the “extra” that makes the little differences and it’s the little differences that make the big difference in life.

 

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