I’m reading a book about Billionaire Howard Buffet and he is quoted as saying, One does not have to be correct very many times in a life time; twelve investment decisions in my forty year career have made all the difference.” At the time this book was written he had run $100 up to $19.4 billion.
For some reason my mind switched over from the idea of decisions to that of people in our lives. I’d say that you don’t have to meet a great number of people to have a successful life but you have to meet the right ones at the right time and you have to really listen to what they have to say. Then you must act on what you hear.
What if you had access to Howard Buffet and had listened when he said, “Buy Coca Cola?” Or if you had purchased GEICO at $2 a share?
In 1948 I met a man named Frank Bishop. He hired me at Grand Trunk Western Railroad and I worked there for thirty-five years. I met John Burdakin who became President of that railroad and that determined the direction of my life for the last ten years with the railroad. I met Herb True PhD and he influenced the rest of my life and my career as a professional speaker and, yes, as an author too. I met Rog Bates and took his class on stand up comedy and he convinced me that I should pursue the idea of being an Andy Griffith look-alike and thus I became Almost Andy. I could follow these same sort of tracks in regard to my social life and my spiritual life. Single individuals have a tremendous influence on our lives and yet we might meet people who could have that impact and we often run away from them and miss that impact.
Yes, I still get calls or e-mails or letters from people who contact me just to tell me of the impact that hearing a speech or reading a book or even copying a poem of mine had on their life. Maybe I just spent a few minutes with them at a conference or even a corporate meeting. That right person at that right moment with that right word or wisdom or encouragement might make the difference in the future of an individual and that is why each of us should try to take the time out in our lives and share what we might with someone else.
i think that spiritual life is much more important compared to our earthly life.*”-
Hello Art,
My what a great day it has been in australia weather perfect 26 celsius. I thought i had lost my work diary that i use in the prison where work. I was not even worried about the diary so much but it’s contents which was of course the little poem of yours that i wrote down over 20 years ago , that you call the Self Esteem Credo. i carry it every where i go and have all these years. I recently passed it on to a friend of mine who is having diffulculty making a decision about a change in her career. i hope it does help . Always have a great day . Carpe Diem.
PS i did receive your booklet in the mail of the Self Esteem Credo and intend to use it.
We all need to take a few minutes, evey so often, to think about the people who have mentored us in our lives. One reason is to personally acknowledge them but to also remind us how they mentored us and their impact on us. We need to take what we’ve learned from them, add our spin and pay it forward to some unsuspecting individual.