Wouldn't it be wonderful to be motivated to achievement by such
a lofty goal as benevolence? I must confess, however, that
in the early years of my struggle to succeed, my motivation was
a lot more down-to-earth. My reason for succeeding was more
basic. In fact, it fell into the category of what I like
to call "nitty-gritty reasons." A nitty-gritty
reason is the kind that any one of us can have -- at any time,
on any day -- and it can cause our lives to change. Let me tell
you what happened to me.
Shortly before I met Mr. Schoaff, I was lounging at home one day
when I heard a knock at the door. It was a timid, hesitant
knock. When I opened the door I looked down to see a pair
of big brown eyes staring up at me. There stood a frail
little girl of about ten. She told me, with all the courage and
determination her little heart could muster, that she was
selling Girl Scout cookies. It was a masterful
presentation -- several flavors, a special deal, and only two
dollars per box. How could anyone refuse? Finally, with a
big smile and ever-so politely, she asked me to buy. And I
wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to!
Except for one thing. I didn't have two dollars!
Boy, was I embarrassed! Here I was -- a father, had been to
college, was gainfully employed -- and yet I didn't have two
dollars to my name.
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Naturally I couldn't tell this to the little girl with the big
brown eyes. So I did the next best thing. I lied to
her. I said, "Thanks, but I've already bought Girl
Scout cookies this year. And I've still got plenty stacked
in the house."
Now that simply wasn't true. But it was the only thing I
could think of to get me off the hook. And it did.
The little girl said, "That's okay, sir. Thank you
very much." And with that she turned around and went
on her way.
I stared after her for what seemed like a very long time.
Finally, I closed the door behind me and, leaning my back to it,
cried out, "I don't want to live like this anymore.
I've had it with being broke, and I've had it with lying. I'll
never be embarrassed again by not having any money in my
pocket." That day I promised myself to earn enough to
always have several hundred dollars in my pocket at all times.
This is what I mean by a nitty-gritty reason. It may not
win me any prize for greatness, but it was enough to have a
permanent effect on the rest of my life.
My
Girl-Scout-cookie story does have a happy ending. Several
years later, as I was walking out of my bank where I had just made
a hefty deposit and was crossing the street to get into my car, I
saw two little girls who were selling candy for some girls'
organization. One of them approached me, saying,
"Mister, would you like to buy some candy?"
"I probably would," I said playfully. "What
kind of candy do you have?" "It's almond roca."
"Almond roca. That's my favorite. How much is it?"
"It's only two dollars." Two dollars. It couldn't
be! I was excited. "How many boxes of candy have you
got?" "I've got five."
Looking at her friend, I said, "And how many boxes do you
have left?"
"I've
got four."
"That's
nine. Okay, I'll take them all."
At this, both girls' mouths fell open as they exclaimed in unison,
"Really?"
"Sure," I said. "I've got some friends that I'll
pass some around to."
Excitedly, they scurried to stack all the boxes together. I
reached into my pocket and gave them eighteen dollars. As I
was about to leave, the boxes tucked under my arm, one of the
girls looked up and said, "Mister, you're really
something!" How about that! Can you imagine spending
only eighteen dollars and having someone look you in the face and
say, "You're really something!"
Now you know why I always carry a few hundred dollars on me.
I'm not about to miss chances like that ever again.
And to think it all resulted from my own embarrassment, that when
properly channeled, acted as a powerful motivator to help me
achieve.
How about you? What nitty-gritty reasons do you have waiting
to challenging and provoke you into change for the better?
Look for them, they are there. Sometimes it can be as simple
as a brown-eyed girl selling Girl Scott cookies.
Reproduced
with permission from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine.
All contents Copyright Jim Rohn International except
where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide.
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