Keep It SIMPLE

"In the mid-1980's, John Opel, the then Chairman of IBM, gave a talk to an audience of Stanford MBAs.
In response to a question for his advice about how newly-minted MBAs should embark on their careers, he delivered this very centered advice:

1. Create value
2. Don't fake it
3. Business is people

The element that made his answer so engaging was that, after number two (Don't fake it), John paused and
read the body language in the room. He then said, with passion, "No, really, I mean it!". It brought the
house down.

He had correctly detected a subcurrent of dismissal of this statement, and called them on it. He went on to say that we were all smart enough and smooth enough to fake it and get away with it, and that the only thing preventing us from doing so was our own desire to do better than that. For the right kind of person, not faking it is its own reward, and don't allow anyone ever to tell you otherwise.

The MBA whipper-snappers were shocked that they were so apparent to such an old fart. I think it had a
profound effect on at least a few attendees -- a great moment of wisdom passing from one generation to
another."

Recently, I began the practice of asking prospective coaches for my referral network to answer a version of the following question: "If you had to give three pieces of advice to a complete stranger that you felt certain would massively impact their happiness, success, and wellbeing, what would they be?"

Unsurprisingly, the answers have been fascinating, helpful, and fun. What I didn't expect was the value of the process to the person being asked the question! What seems to happen is that in being asked to formalise a lifetime of experience into three pithy phrases, people become more aware of what it is they have to offer that is unique to them, and what starts as an intellectual exercise becomes a wonderful affirmation of our inner wisdom and inner knowing.

Even better is the fact that because your three pieces of advice come directly from your self,
you'll never have to worry about forgetting them!

If you had to give three pieces of advice to a complete stranger that you felt certain would positively impact their happiness, success, and well-being, what would they be? or... If you could only give 3 pieces of advice to your children/a child on how to have a happy, healthy, successful life, what would they be?

This is the best true story being experimented.

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning. A man with a violin plays six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people passed through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin valued at $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the price of seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made... what else are we missing?

When asked, “How do you develop mental toughness in life?” my response might sound negative at first. I answer, “Always be prepared for a surprise. The surprise might be a negative surprise. Something is going to happen in your day, whether you are late because you got stuck behind a train or your car had a flat tire—something is going to happen. And the key is your ability not to take mole hills and look at them as mountains.”

Problems are a normal part of change. Things are changing so rapidly that there are going to be problems you face. So you must look at failure as an event, not as a person. I’m not a failure. Maybe I’ve had a failure or a temporary inconvenience. I’ve had a stumbling block, and the idea is to turn the stumbling block into a steppingstone, and step on it instead of stumble over it. So look at failure as the fertilizer of success.

Fertilizer stinks, it smells. You see that guy putting it on his lawn and you say, “Wow, that guy fertilized his lawn.” You fertilize your mistakes. You don’t wallow in them, lay in them, roll in them; you pick yourself up off your mistakes and learn from them. You try not to repeat that same thing again. But you look at it as a temporary inconvenience, as a detour—a detour in life—not as a failure.

--by Denis Waitley

A Philosophy professor stood before his class and has some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked his students if the jar was full? All the students agreed that the jar was full. So, the professor then picked up a box of small pebbles, and poured then into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, or course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar, and again, the sand filled up everything else.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things in your life - your family, partner, your health, children - anything that is so important to you, that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else,
the small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse or partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal." Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set Your priorities. The rest is just sand."

Most of us spend so much time talking, grieving and being angry about the closed door in our lives, we don’t see the open door. Les Brown, legendary human-potential expert, says our trials and disappointments can take us all to a door of discovery and greatness. Brown shows you how to:

Be Thankful. It’s easy to think about what is missing and ignore what you have. When you develop an attitude of gratitude, you begin to view things from that positive light and start working toward making something happen. Giving up is not an option you can entertain.

Be Thoughtful. When things go wrong, don’t go with them. As you look at yourself, you have to harness your will, you have to be grounded, you have to pause and you have to go within. Begin to clear your head and give yourself permission to accept the reality that is happening. And then turn the page and start working toward where you will go from there.

Be Active. Matt Jones, one of my speakers, wrote a book with the message: If you’re going through hell, don’t stop. Keep moving. Start with small steps and build from there. When you are not active and you’re not engaging in life, you have a tendency to worry and regret and to engage in less-than-useful emotions. It’s very important that you start moving and working and doing things that can give you some headway. The more active you are, the less chance you have of becoming depressed, angry and immobilized with fear.

Be Connected. Many times, people fail because they can’t see the picture when they are in the frame. They think there is no way out. These are people who are disconnected and feel isolated and desperate. But interacting with others provides a number of benefits, including helping us find new paths and new ideas to explore.

Be Patient. Don’t expect instant results. Plug away carefully and consistently, and keep the mindset that things are going to get better even though you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are living in a microwave society where we want instant results. But it’s not that kind of party. Patience and a spirit of expectation and trust will help you work to reach your goals and dreams.

--by Les Brown

"When he realizes that he is a creative power, and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of which circumstances grow; he then becomes the rightful master of himself." —As a Man Thinketh

While reading an old classic, The Message of a Master by John McDonald, I was rocked by an incredibly insightful passage: “The cause of the confusion prevailing in your mind that weakens your thoughts is the false belief that there is a power or powers outside you greater than the power within you.”

Stop and think about that. What keeps us from attempting greater things—from reaching for the brass ring in our life? What makes us take that great idea that could make our family financially free and bury it underneath a lot of reasons why it’d never work? What stops us from that career change that would result in working in a profession we could really enjoy, and could get passionate about?

There’s only one thing that EVER stops us from forward momentum and McDonald nailed it: “The false belief that there is a power or powers outside you greater than the power within you.”

As I once heard a speaker say, “The magic is in YOU!” As James Allen tells us, once we realize that we can create our circumstances, then, and only then, are we truly the master of our life and our destiny.

Regardless of your particular spiritual beliefs, you may find these words from the Gospel of John very enlightening, “He that believeth in me, the works that I do, shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.” That would indicate to me that we are already “endowed” with the power to do amazing things—far more amazing than most of us will ever attempt—if we’d only understand and BELIEVE that the power is within, not without.

And that’s worth thinking about.

--by Vic Johnson

Everyone wants to be physically healthy. You want to be mentally healthy as well. The true measure of “mental fitness” is how optimistic you are about yourself and your life.

Below you will learn how to control your thinking in very specific ways so that you feel terrific about yourself and your situation, no matter what happens.

Control Your Reactions and Reponses
There are three basic differences in the reactions of optimists and pessimists. The first difference is that the optimist sees a setback as temporary, while the pessimist sees it as permanent. The optimist sees an unfortunate event, such as an order that falls through or a sales call that fails, as a temporary event, something that is limited in time and that has no real impact on the future. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees negative events as permanent, as part of life and destiny.

Isolate the Incident
The second difference between the optimist and the pessimist is that the optimist sees difficulties as specific, while the pessimist sees them as pervasive. This means that when things go wrong for the optimist, he looks at the event as an isolated incident largely disconnected from other things that are going on in his life.

See Setbacks as Temporary Events
For example, if something you were counting on failed to materialize and you interpreted it to yourself as being an unfortunate event, but something that happens in the course of life and business, you would be reacting like an optimist. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees disappointments as being pervasive. That is, to him they are indications of a problem or shortcoming that pervades every area of life.

Don’t Take Failure Personally
The third difference between optimists and pessimists is that optimists see events as external, while pessimists interpret events as personal. When things go wrong, the optimist will tend to see the setback as resulting from external factors over which one has little control.

If the optimist is cut off in traffic, for example, instead of getting angry or upset, he will simply downgrade the importance of the event by saying something like, “Oh, well, I guess that person is just having a bad day.”

The pessimist on the other hand, has a tendency to take everything personally. If the pessimist is cut off in traffic, he will react as though the other driver has deliberately acted to upset and frustrate him.

Remain Calm and Objective
The hallmark of the fully mature, fully functioning, self-actualizing personality is the ability to be objective and unemotional when caught up in the inevitable storms of daily life. The superior person has the ability to continue talking to himself in a positive and optimistic way, keeping his mind calm, clear and completely under control. The mature personality is more relaxed and aware and capable of interpreting events more realistically and less emotionally than is the immature personality. As a result, the mature person exerts a far greater sense of control and influence over his environment, and is far less likely to be angry, upset or distracted.

Take the Long View
Look upon the inevitable setbacks that you face as being temporary, specific and external. View the negative situation as a single event that is not connected to other potential events and that is caused largely by external factors over which you can have little control. Simply refuse to see the event as being in any way permanent, pervasive or indicative of personal incompetence or inability.

Resolve to think like an optimist, no matter what happens. You may not be able to control events, but you can control the way you react to them.

Action Exercises
Now, here are three actions you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, remind yourself continually that setbacks are only temporary, they will soon be past and nothing is as serious as you think it is.

Second, look upon each problem as a specific event, not connected to other events and not indicative of a pattern of any kind. Deal with it and get on with your life.

Third, recognize that when things go wrong, they are usually caused by a variety of external events. Say to yourself, “What can’t be cured must be endured,” and then get back to thinking about your goals.

--by Brian Tracy

Humans have the remarkable ability to get exactly what they must have. But there is a difference between a “must” and a “want.”

The best motivation is self-motivation. A guy says, “I wish someone would come by and turn me on.” What if they don’t show up? You’ve got to have a better plan for your life.

When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.

Motivation alone is not enough. If you have an idiot and you motivate him, you now have a motivated idiot.

Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.

Whatever dream you decide to go after, whether it is a family or a career goal, you must consciously decide that it is your life’s mission. Benjamin Disraeli said, “The secret of success is constancy to purpose.” You must go at it obsessively and set high standards for yourself along the way. There is no room for compromise when you are charting a course for your life or your career.

I spoke to a group of sharp young people not long ago, and when I finished, some of the fellows came up to me and said they were interested in becoming professional speakers. They invited me to go out with them that evening to have a good time. These fellows looked as though they knew how to have a seriously good time.

I had planned to work on my delivery that night by listening to the audio of my speech. (I record my speeches and listen to them later so I can study what works and what does not work with a particular audience. In effect, I listen to the audience listening to me.)

I was tempted to go with these fellows, and back when I was their age, I probably would have given in to that temptation and gone. But I have become more disciplined and more committed to my craft. A friend of mine, Wes Smith, wrote a humor book called Welcome to the Real World, and in it, he offered advice to fresh high-school and college graduates. He had a line in the book that pertains to the situation I faced that night. It said, “Having a drink with the boys after work every night is a bad idea. Notice that the boss doesn’t do it. That is why he is the boss and they are still the boys.”

Wes told me that he wrote that line with one particular group of hard-partying young businessmen in mind, and five years after the book came out, he ran into one of them. The guy volunteered that he’d read that line in Wes’s book and decided never to go drinking after work again. It paid off, he said. He had risen to a vice presidency at a savings and loan firm.

In my drive to become a public speaker, I developed that kind of focus, too. There is not a lot of time for hard partying if you are pursuing greatness. It was not that these young fellows were not serious about their interest in professional speaking, but that they were just as serious about having a good time. I don’t believe they were focused on their goals. They were seeking a profession, but they were not on a mission to make a dramatic difference in the world. I am. You should be, too.

Rather than the party crowd, I prefer to seek out people with knowledge that might be useful. I like to find out what books successful and intelligent people are reading. I want access to the information that contributes to their success and intelligence.

--by Les Brown

Donald Trump says the easiest way is often the mediocre way, and if you want to be innovative, it begins with an open mind. Here's his advice for you from his latest book, Think Like a Champion.

• "Instead of just focusing on what the masses are doing, you should take a break from expectations and plug into yourself."
• "Innovation follows the intersection of ideas." Get your mind working in new directions that can prove fruitful.
• Reevaluate. "You might find that your electricity is better suited to another socket. You might have to expert yourself, but look at the alternatives that remain."
• Get out of your comfort zone. "I call it complacency, and it's a good way to nowhere."
• "Take your pulse once in a while."
• "Don't limit yourself to staid thinking if you want to excel in business. My first book was called The Art of the Deal because I view business dealings as an art form. I employ both sides of my brain when I am thinking and working."

"Time is life. It is irreversible and irreplaceable. To waste your time is to waste your life, but to master your time is to master your life and make the most of it."
-- Alan Lakein

"Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it."
-- M. Scott Peck

Action! It's the most powerful word in the English language.

Planning is important; positive belief is critical; preparation makes a difference.

But, without the follow-through principle of action, nothing happens -- nothing!!

This concept is simple, but sometimes, not so easy to implement. Have you ever had a time in your life when you just couldn't get motivated? You knew what you wanted to do, you had the desire, but you just couldn't motivate yourself to take the first step. When your get-up-and-go has gone and you find it difficult to get motivated to take action, consider this -- you may be going about it all wrong.

Experts in the field of human motivation tell us that instead of waiting until we are motivated to take action, we need to reverse the process and take action to get motivated.

Nothing makes us feel enthusiastic like acting enthusiastic. Nothing inspires creativity like getting started on a new project. Nothing gives us the energy to move ahead like taking that first step, and then the next. Your emotions take their clues from your actions, not the other way around.

Many lack motivation because of fear: fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of too much success, fear of what others might think, fear, fear, fear. It can leave us paralyzed and ineffective. What is the cure for fear? ACTION! If you are afraid of rejection, contact more people. If you fear ridicule, make your presentation dynamic and audacious. If you worry about failure, take action that will move you toward success. The truth is, most of the things we worry about never come to pass. So why worry? Instead, take decisive action to cure your worry and overcome fear!
So, next time you just don't feel like it, do it anyway. Few things are as bad as we imagine they will be if we will simply jump in with both feet, pretending that we can't wait to get started. Pretty soon you will feel like it. Shakespeare said it like this, "assume a virtue if you have it not." In other words, if you want to be happy, try acting happy. If you need energy, act as if you have barrels full! If you want to feel motivated, take motivated action. Ham it up! Make it fun. Without a doubt, your feelings will follow your actions and pretty soon your actions will help you feel truly motivated.

Try it!

“Motivation is an inner force that compels behavior.”
--Denis Waitley

“Love is a better master than duty.”
--Albert Einstein

“To succeed… you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.”
--Tony Dorsett

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing, that’s why we recommend it daily.”
--Zig Ziglar

Most people are just trying to get through the day. Sophisticated people learn how to get from the day.

Sophistication is understanding the difference between trinkets and treasures.

Don’t spend major money on minor things. In the last ten years the guy has bought two tons of donuts and only two books—and the books are primarily filled with pictures.

Sophisticated people don’t leave early. The man says, “Yeah, but I want to beat the traffic.” Isn’t that a great skill to have—beating the traffic!

It doesn’t take a million dollars to learn the difference between a bottle of fine wine and a Pepsi. Sophistication is a study, not an amount.

One of the early signs of sophistication is not giving way to all inclinations but rather sending your emotions to school so they will learn how to behave.

Money doesn’t make you sophisticated. Only study and practice make you sophisticated. Even people of modest means can become sophisticated because it is within study and practice. How much is a night out at the symphony? About thirty dollars. You say, “Poor people can’t afford thirty dollars to go to the symphony.” Yes, they can. It’s only thirty Hershey bars!

We must teach our children not to spend their money a dollar at a time. If you spend your money a dollar at a time, you’ll wind up with trinkets instead of treasures. You can’t buy much of value a dollar at a time.

“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
--Denis Waitley

“I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed; and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep on trying.”
--Tom Hopkins

“No man ever became great or good except through many and great mistakes.”
--William E. Gladstone

“When you make a mistake, don’t look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind, and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.”
--Mary Pickford

Marc Wright, president of the Kiddie Card Company, is one of the youngest entrepreneurs in Canada. He started his business when he was just 6 years old after listening to some motivational tapes. Following a visit to an art museum, Marc thought he would make some drawings and see if he could earn money. His mother suggested he put his pictures on cards and sell them. He was an immediate success with some rather unique concepts.

Marc knocks on doors and gives his short, but effective sales talk. “Hi. My name is Marc, and I’m freezing! I’m selling greeting cards. How many would you like to buy? Here’s a handful. Just pick the ones you want and pay me what you want.” His cards are hand-drawn on pink, green and white paper. They cover the season of the year, and Marc sells them about three days a week. He averages about 75 cents a card and sells about 25 cards an hour.

His first year in business, Marc earned $3,000, enough to take his mom on a trip to Disney World.

By age 10, Marc had become something of a media celebrity. He appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and was interviewed by Conan O’Brien.

Marc had an idea, didn’t count his birthdays, received some encouragement from his mother, and started his business.

Question: Do you have an idea that’s marketable? If you do, take action!

--by Zig Ziglar

I believe every person has within themselves inexhaustible reserves of potential they have never even come close to realizing.

I believe each person has far more intelligence than they have ever used.

I believe each person is more creative than he or she has ever imagined.

I believe the greatest achievements of your life lie ahead of you.

I believe the happiest moments of your life are yet to come.

I believe the greatest successes you will ever attain are still waiting for you on the road ahead.
And, I believe through learning and application of what you learn, you can solve any problem, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal that you can set for yourself.

--by Brian Tracy

Lesson 1: Definiteness of Purpose
Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. Without a purpose and a plan, people drift aimlessly through life.

Lesson 2: Mastermind Alliance
The Mastermind principle consists of an alliance of two or more minds working in perfect harmony for the attainment of a common definite objective. Success does not come without the cooperation of others.

Lesson 3: Applied Faith
Faith is a state of mind through which your aims, desires, plans and purposes may be translated into their physical or financial equivalent.

Lesson 4: Going the Extra Mile
Going the extra mile is the action of rendering more and better service than that for which you are presently paid. When you go the extra mile, the Law of Compensation comes into play.

Lesson 5: Pleasing Personality
Personality is the sum total of one’s mental, spiritual and physical traits and habits that distinguish one from all others. It is the factor that determines whether one is liked or disliked by others.

Lesson 6: Personal Initiative
Personal initiative is the power that inspires the completion of that which one begins. It is the power that starts all action. No person is free until he learns to do his own thinking and gains the courage to act on his own.

Lesson 7: Positive Mental Attitude
Positive mental attitude is the right mental attitude in all circumstances. Success attracts more success while failure attracts more failure.

Lesson 8: Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm is faith in action. It is the intense emotion known as burning desire. It comes from within, although it radiates outwardly in the expression of one’s voice and countenance.

Lesson 9: Self-Discipline
Self-discipline begins with the mastery of thought. If you do not control your thoughts, you cannot control your needs. Self-discipline calls for a balancing of the emotions of your heart with the reasoning faculty of your head.

Lesson 10: Accurate Thinking
The power of thought is the most dangerous or the most beneficial power available to man, depending on how it is used.

Lesson 11: Controlled Attention
Controlled attention leads to mastery in any type of human endeavor, because it enables one to focus the powers of his mind upon the attainment of a definite objective and to keep it so directed at will.

Lesson 12: Teamwork
Teamwork is harmonious cooperation that is willing, voluntary and free. Whenever the spirit of teamwork is the dominating influence in business or industry, success is inevitable. Harmonious cooperation is a priceless asset that you can acquire in proportion to your giving.

Lesson 13: Adversity & Defeat
Individual success usually is in exact proportion of the scope of the defeat the individual has experienced and mastered. Many so-called failures represent only a temporary defeat that may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Lesson 14: Creative Vision
Creative vision is developed by the free and fearless use of one’s imagination. It is not a miraculous quality with which one is gifted or is not gifted at birth.

Lesson 15: Health
Sound health begins with a sound health consciousness, just as financial success begins with a prosperity consciousness.

Lesson 16: Budgeting Time & Money
Time and money are precious resources, and few people striving for success ever believe they possess either one in excess.

Lesson 17: Habits
Developing and establishing positive habits leads to peace of mind, health and financial security. You are where you are because of your established habits and thoughts and deeds.

--by Napoleon Hill

"Make a habit of dominating the listening and let the customer dominate the talking."
--Brian Tracy

"I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention."
--Diane Sawyer

"A professional knows when his or her most effective presentation is not to give one. Do you have clients who are having a bad day? Don't try to sell to them. Do try to listen to them and earn their trust."
--Tom Hopkins

"Most of us tend to suffer from 'agenda anxiety', the feeling that what we want to say to others is more important than what we think they might want to say to us."
--Nido Qubein

Most people dread accepting responsibility. That’s just a fact of life, and we can see it in operation every day. Yes, we can see avoidance of responsibility all the time in both our personal and professional lives. And here’s something else we can see just as often: We can see that most people aren’t as successful as they wish they were. Do you see there is a connection between these two very common phenomena?

It’s in your best interest to take responsibility for everything you do. But that’s only the beginning. Many times it’s even best to take responsibility for the mistakes of others, especially when you’re in a managerial or leadership role.

During the years when professional basketball was just beginning to become really popular, Bill Russell, who played center for the Boston Celtics, was one of the greatest players in the pro league. He was especially known for his rebounding and his defensive skills.

But like a lot of very tall centers, Russell was never much of a free throw shooter. His free throw percentage was quite a bit below average, in fact. But this low percentage didn’t really give a clear picture of Russell’s ability as an athlete. And in one game he gave a very convincing demonstration of this.

It was the final game of a championship series between Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers. With about 12 seconds left to play, the Lakers were behind by one point and Boston had the ball. It was obvious that the Lakers would have to foul one of Boston’s players in order to get the ball back, and they chose to foul Bill Russell.

This was a perfectly logical choice, since statistically Russell was the worst free throw shooter on the court at that moment. If he missed the shot, the Lakers would probably get the ball back and they’d still have enough time to try to win the game. But if Russell made his first free throw, the Lakers’ chances would be seriously diminished. And if he made both shots, the game would essentially be over.

Bill Russell had a very peculiar style of shooting free throws. Today, no self-respecting basketball player anywhere in America would attempt it. Aside from the question of whether it’s an effective way to shoot a basket, it just looked too ridiculous. Whenever he had to shoot a free throw, the six-foot-eleven Russell would start off holding the ball in both hands about waist high, then he’d squat down and as he straightened up he’d let go of the ball. It looked like he was trying to throw a bucket of dirt over a wall.

But regardless of how he looked, as soon as Bill Russell was fouled, he knew the Celtics were going to win the game. He was absolutely certain of it because, in a situation like this, statistics and percentages mean nothing. There was a much more important factor at work, something that no one has found a way to express in numbers and decimal points.

Simply put, Bill Russell was a player who wanted to take responsibility for the success or failure of his team. He wanted the weight on his shoulders in a situation like this. No possibility for excuses. No possibility of blaming anyone else if the game was lost. No second-guessing. Bill Russell wanted the ball in his own hands and nobody else’s. And, like magic, even if he’d missed every free throw he’d ever shot in his life before this, he knew he was going to make this one. And that is exactly what happened.

That is what virtually always happens when a man or woman accepts responsibility eagerly and with confidence. I’ve always felt that accepting responsibility is one of the highest forms of human maturity. A willingness to be accountable, to put yourself on the line, is really the defining characteristic of adulthood.

--by Jim Rohn

“It is better to say, ‘This one thing I do’ than to say, ‘These forty things I dabble in.’ ”
--Washington Gladden

“A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.”
--Louis Nizer

“A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn’t particularly feel like it.”
--Alistair Cooke

“I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand.”
--Baruch Spinoza

Don’t become a victim of yourself. Forget about the thief waiting in the alley; what about the thief in your mind?

It is not what happens that determines the major part of your future.
What happens, happens to us all. It is what you do about what happens that counts.

You say, “The country is messed up.” That’s like cursing the soil and the seed and the sunshine and the rain, which is all you’ve got. Don’t curse all you’ve got. When you get your own planet, you can rearrange this whole deal. This one, you’ve got to take it like it comes.

Walk away from the 97% crowd. Don’t use their excuses. Take charge of your own life.

Take advice, but not orders. Only give yourself orders. Abraham Lincoln once said, “Since I will be no one’s slave, I will be no one’s master.”

You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself.
That is something you have charge of. You don’t have charge of the constellations, but you do have charge of whether you read, develop new skills, and take new classes.

Your paycheck is not your employer’s responsibility; it’s your responsibility. Your employer has no control over your value, but you do.