Table of Contents
PREFACE
This book was written specifically for recent high school and college graduates to provide them with a head start in life by teaching them how to function at an exceedingly high level in the real world with proven, time-tested principles. If youre willing to apply what you read in these pages, within a year, youll be able to function at the level of someone ten years your senior. I realize thats a big assertion; however, I can say it with authority because of personal experience.
When I was in my twenties, I was privileged to have a mentor who told me he would grow me twenty years in one yearand he did.
My life has never been the same. So, if youre serious about making the most of your future, youre about to learn how. My objective is to give you the means to turn your goals and dreams into reality. I want you to become the person who hits the proverbial home run to win the game or sets an Olympic record. I will show you how to have your own Mercedes, live in a dream home near the sea with your own pool and tennis court, marry the person you love, and have your marriage be lasting and blissful. Ill provide you with tools that will allow you to live anywhere in the world, obtain a job that excites you each morning and leaves you fulfilled every evening, have ample money to live in financial peace, and be able to help others less fortunate than yourself.
As you read the following pages, youll encounter the words success and riches frequently. Its important that you realize that money is only one measurement of success and riches. Youre rich and successful when you have good health, a loving family, close friends, a pleasing personality, a job you love doing, and the ability to help others. Keep those definitions in mind as you measure your progress. You can achieve your dream life with a reasonable amount of effort. It will take self-discipline, but a life without self-discipline cant be a good life. You will learn to function in ways that will benefit you in all areas of your life. Its important to learn that much of the joy youll receive in life will come from being a blessing to others. You will profit directly from what you learn; however, you will also be shown how to bless others, a skill thats vital to having the wonderful future you desire and deserve.
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time a life guide this complete has been available in one book. If youre willing to put the things youll be taught here into practice, youll achieve more than youve ever thought possible. Youll learn how to deal effectively with people. Youll see how to acquire the habits that will make your dreams come true, how to find your ideal mate and be happy with him or her, how to satisfy your financial needs and make money work for you, and how to select the right career. Youll learn the importance of your thoughts and how to use that knowledge to enrich your life and the lives of others. Youll discover the importance of mentorshow to choose them as well as how to keep them and why. This book will also help you gain an understanding of the meaning of love and how to apply that knowledge to benefit your life and the lives of others. While youre still in your twenties, youll have the advantage of knowing things I didnt learn until my forties.
Now, lets begin your journey to a beautiful future.
CHAPTER 1
HUMAN RELATIONS
At the beginning of each chapter, Ill share a personal story that illustrates the advice and information in the pages that follow.
It was a beautiful, sunny June day and Id just stepped off the stage with my high school diploma in hand. My car was already packed. I never returned home again except to visit. I headed north from Escondido, California, to Los Angeles, where I was to have a tryout with a new major league baseball team, the Los Angeles Angels. It was an exhilarating day. Id played baseball since I was five and I was good at it, so I had hopes of a major league career. When I arrived at the field, I took my first big gulp when they told all the infielders to take turns at shortstop. I was a second baseman and the throw from shortstop to first base was much longer than I was accustomed to. I was an excellent fielder but didnt have the arm of a shortstop. I was stunned at the number of players who could throw the baseball from that distance as if it were shot from a rifle. That was strike one. I was an outstanding hitter and did well in batting practice, which encouraged me. For the next drill, they had their stopwatches out, timing us as we ran the bases. Speed on the bases was a weakness of mine. Some of the others could run the bases like greyhounds, so that was strike two. To conclude the day, they separated us by age and experience. I was the only guy who just graduated from high school the day before. Strike threeand I was out.
I got into my car and headed north again, this time to Fresno, California. Id been recruited to play baseball at Fresno State College. I played summer ball; to make money, I took a job soliciting customers for a local dairys home delivery routes. They paid me five dollars for each new customer I signed up. In the fall, school started and I was growing optimistic about my future when a sad event occurred. Early one morning, one of the milk delivery drivers failed to see an approaching train in the darkness. It demolished his milk truck and killed him. The owner of the dairy needed someone to take over the mans business; I was the most logical candidate because I had recruited many of his customers, so I left college and went into the dairy business.
By now, you may be wondering what this story has to do with human relations. Hang in for a few more minutes and youll understand the connection.
I was successful at the local dairy and was soon recruited by the largest dairy in Fresno to work in their home delivery unit. I signed up numerous new customers and they soon put me in charge of their twenty-six home delivery routes. Shortly after that, opportunity came knocking again. The owner of the dairy found it difficult to get his department heads to work together and couldnt entice his eldest son to work at the dairy. It was very important to him that both these events take place. He learned of a consultant in Seattle who had a superb record in building teams and managing people. He interviewed this man and hired him to solve his two problems.
The next thing I knew, I was being introduced to Glenn H. Lay and told he would be working with all the department heads to teach us teamwork. Glenn was a little overweight, balding, very friendly, about forty-five years old, and always had a big smile. He seemed to be a person who could teach me things I needed to know. Little did I know the enormous influence he would have on the balance of my life.
Most of the department heads were much older than I was and were set in their ways. Most of them were not looking for help from Glenn or anyone else. This turned out to be a blessing for me.
You never know when your opportunities will come or what form they will take. A fundamental secret of success is to be ready for your opportunities when they appear. Opportunity does you no good if youre not in a position to take advantage of it. This important truth applies to all aspects of your life.
Ill never forget my first meeting with Glenn. He set the time for our meeting and arrived at my modest office a few minutes early. I felt like a big shot because this important man wanted to meet with me. He told me we were going to have our conversation in the owners office. Id never been invited to the owners office and was delighted. We walked through the administration area and down a long hall, arriving at a massive door. Glenn opened the door and stepped to one side, motioning me to enter. I didnt understand that by this act he was demonstrating one of the fundamentals of good human relations:
