Earl Nightingale The Magic Word – Psychology audiobook
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Hello this is Earl Nightingale and this recording, the magic word, is the first of 12 you’ll receive in this series titled “How you can lead the field in the modern World.” Before we start I’d like you to know that I’m not going to try to tell you how to live your life. That’s none of my business, nor is it anybody else’s business. That’s your business. Nor is this lead the field program a collection of pleasantries, platitudes or Pollyanna. It is a summation of more than 20 years of research on one subject. And that is “Why do some people do so well in life, while so many more do not?” And the first thing let’s talk about is the magic word. The experts call it the most important word, as far as the results we get from life are concerned, in this or any other language. And that word is ATTITUDE. It is our attitude toward life which will determine life’s attitude toward us. Let’s face the fact honestly that we shape our own lives and the shapes of them will be determined by our attitudes. A person with a poor attitude toward learning for example, isn’t going to learn much until he changes his attitude. If we take the attitude that we cannot DO something, we generally will not do it. An attitude of failure and were whipped before we start. So we know then that what we receive from life, what we accomplish or fail to accomplish is due in large measure to our overall attitude.
William James of Harvard University put It this way. “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.” And isn’t it wonderful that we have this measure of control? Before we start talking about our Attitude toward the world, let’s talk about our attitude toward ourselves, since it is the attitude we take toward ourselves which determines our attitude toward the world. Now right here we come to a rather strange fact. We’re so familiar with ourselves we tend to take ourselves for granted. We tend to minimize the things we can accomplish, the goals we can reach, and for some equally strange reason believe others can accomplish things in our field which we cannot. There are literally millions of human beings living narrow, darkened, frustrated lives, living defensively simply because they take a offensive doubtful attitude toward themselves, and as a result toward life in general. Many people are suspicious of and oppose change, yet change is the one thing in life on which we can absolutely count. People who stay young all the years of their lives not only welcome change, but see it for what it really is… new opportunity, new chances for further fulfillment.
Attitude is a reflection, a result of a person’s will. It is incalculably powerful. It can bring about marvelous results for us, but we need to train it, patiently, day by day. Now let’s talk about the attitudes of people who are successful. The top 5% of the people who go sailing through life from one success to another and who even when they fail at something shrug it off and head right out again. No matter who the person is or what he does, men and women In sales, business executives, people in all the professions, wives and mothers, students, top people in the Armed Forces, public servants, men and women in the service of religion, working men and women in all fields of endeavor, wherever you find a person doing an outstanding job and getting outstanding results, you will find a person with the right kind of attitude. These people take the attitude toward themselves that they can accomplish what they set out to accomplish. That there’s no good reason on earth why they can’t be competent, successful. They have a healthy attitude toward themselves and as a result, toward life and the things they want to accomplish. And because of this they achieve some remarkable things and they come to be called successful, outstanding, brilliant, lucky and a lot of other things. They’re quite frequently no more brilliant or outstanding than the majority of the people by whom they’re surrounded, but they did develop the right attitude and they found their accomplishments not too difficult and many times surprisingly easy simply because it seems that so few are really trying, really believe in themselves.
Successful people come in all shapes and sizes and in widely varying degrees of intelligence, background and so on. But they all have one thing in common. They expect more good out of life than bad, they expect to succeed more than they fail. If you want something worthwhile take the attitude that there are a lot more reasons why you can have it, then there are that you cannot and set out to earn it. Go after it. Work at it. Ask for it and nine times out of ten, you will get it! Our environment is really a mirror of our mental attitude. If we don’t like our environment, we have to change our attitude first. Now the world plays no favorites. It’s impersonal. It doesn’t care whether we change or not. Adopting a good healthy attitude toward life doesn’t affect the world and the people in it nearly as much as it affects us. It would be impossible to even estimate the number of jobs which have been lost, the number of promotions missed, the number of sales not made, the number of marriages ruined by poor attitudes. But you can number in the millions the jobs which are held but hated, the marriages which are tolerated but unhappy, all because of people who are waiting for the world and others to change toward them, instead of being big enough and wise enough to at least make a test, which will prove beyond any shadow of a doubt where most or at least a big part of the trouble lies.
Studies made of the lives of literally thousands of successful people have shown that they radiate confidence, assurance. They expect success and they Get success. You can spot these people by the way they walk, by the way they look and act. You can feel it about them when they enter a room, They may be short and fat or tall and thin, or any combination in between, but they have about them the attitude of success. In the record “Greener Pastures”, I’ll get into this next statement, but right now I want you to realize if you don’t already, that in five years or less, you can get right to the top of the work you’re now doing. I know this, but the important question here, is do you know this? The minute you do know it, you’ll have this right attitude I’m talking about. The easiest and most effective means of forming a good attitude habit is to begin to ACT as though you have a good positive expectant attitude toward life. That’s right. Begin right now to walk, act, and look as though you belong to this group. If you’re already in the top 5% you’ll know what I mean. If you’ve never tried it you’ll be amazed at what happens.
Actions trigger feelings, just as feelings trigger actions. Now let me tell you a little test you can make, which will prove beyond any shadow of a doubt, that a good attitude can change a person’s life as dramatically as walking from a darkened room into the bright clear light of day. Not long ago I read a line which went “life is dull only to dull people.” This is true, but it also could have read “life is interesting only to interesting people” or “life is successful only to successful people.” And what I’m trying to say is that you must first become mentally from an attitude standpoint that which you wish to achieve. A famous restauranteur was being interviewed by a reporter who asked “When did you become successful?” and he replied, “I was successful when I was sleeping on park benches because I knew what I wanted to do and that I would do it.” In short his attitude had been one of success, of expecting success, long before the material, that tangible rewards of success had been earned. We’ll get into this particular phase of lead the field in record number three “A Worthy Destination,” but for now remember that a person must act, look, and because of these things, feel successful, before the success he seeks can come.
Chances are you know people who seem to be what others call lucky. All kinds of good and wonderful things seem to happen to them and they give the impression of happily sailing through life having a wonderful time and getting more accomplished in a year, than most people do in five. This has been figured out fairly scientifically and if anyone will conscientiously go about the test I’m going to recommend and stay with it every day for the next thirty days without fail, that person can join this small, happy and extremely productive group of people. You’ll find himself becoming lucky as they say and most of his problems will pretty well take care of themselves. Of this you can be sure, the results will be nothing short of amazing. Now it makes no difference how good a person’s attitude has been in the past. Anything can be improved upon and it’s the small refinements upon something already good that makes it great. So Here’s the test. For the next 30 days, act toward the world, everything and everyone with whom you come in contact, with the attitude which represents the kind of results you want to achieve. That is, if the result you want is more success in what you’re doing, act as though you are already in possession of the success you seek. If you want others to treat you with admiration and respect, treat others with admiration and respect first.
Have you ever stopped to think of this? Every human being on earth is the most Important human being on earth as far as he or she is concerned. You may never get Anyone to admit it but it’s a fact. So for the next 30 days, treat every person with whom you come in contact as the most important person on earth. Remembering as you do so that as far as that person is concerned he is. Now the reason I say treat everyone in this fashion is mainly because this is the way human beings ought to treat each other and because it will help you form a habit that will bring you amazing and delightful results for the rest of your life. Have you ever noticed that the higher you go in any organization of value the nicer the people seem to become? You see the bigger the person the easier it is to talk to him, to get along with him, to do business with him. You know why? It’s because he’s got a good attitude and people with the best attitudes just naturally gravitate toward the top. So for 30-days act toward others in the world at large in exactly the same manner you want the world and others to act toward you. Treat your wife or husband as the person he or she really is, the most important person in your life. The same with the children. Carry out into the world each morning for 30 days the kind of attitude you would have if you were the most successful human being on earth and notice how it quickly develops into an habitual attitude.
When a person does this he should realize he has already placed himself on the road to what he seeks. He is right now in the top 5% of the people in this or any other country. He has prepared the ground and planted the seed. He has made of himself a magnet, an embodiment of that which he seeks. Before metal can be cast into a desired shape, the mold, the expectant receptacle must first be fashioned. Before a building can be erected the excavation must be made and the foundation laid. And before a person can achieve the kind of life he wants, he must become that kind of individual. He must think, act, talk, walk and conduct himself in all of his affairs, as would the person he wishes to become. He is then actually that person and the things that person would have and do will naturally come to him. Almost immediately a change will be noticed. Irritations that used to frustrate and annoy disappear. When some less informed individual gives you a bad time, stay on the track. When someone cuts in front of you with his car or acts in any other manner that shows his ignorance and lack of courtesy, don’t permit yourself to drop to his level. Pity him for that’s what he really deserves. That’s the very group a person doesn’t want to belong to and if he acts like them well, let’s face it, he belongs with them.
There’s nothing in the world that men, women and children want and need more than the feeling that they’re Important, that they’re needed and respected. They will give their love, their affection their respect, and their business to the person who fills this need. So the magic word is attitude and in summing up, a few points to keep in mind.
1) It is our attitude at the beginning of a task which more than anything else will affect its successful outcome.
2) It is our attitude toward life which determines life’s attitude toward us.
3) We are interdependent. It is Impossible to succeed without others and it is our attitude toward others which will determine their attitude toward us
4) Before a person can achieve the kind of life he wants, he must become that kind of individual. He must think, act, talk, walk and conduct himself in all of his affairs as would the person he wishes to become.
5) The higher you go in any organization of value the better will be the attitudes you’ll find.
6) Your mind can hold only one thought at a time and since there’s nothing at all to be gained by being negative, be positive.
7) The deepest craving of human beings is to be needed, to feel important, to be appreciated. Give it to them and they’ll return it to you.
8) Look for the best in new ideas. As someone said I’ve never met a person I couldn’t learn something from.
9) Don’t waste valuable time broadcasting personal problems. It probably won’t help you, it cannot help others.
10) Don’t talk about your health, unless it’s good.
11) Radiate the attitude of well-being, of confidence, of a person who knows where he’s going. This will inspire those around you and you’ll find good things will begin happening to you and
12) Lastly, for the next 30 days treat everyone with whom you come in contact as the most important person on earth. If you’ll do this for 30 days, you’ll do it for the rest of your life.
In the next recording I’ll talk to you about “Greener Pastures” but now in closing, remember the words of Walter Dale Scott of Northwestern University. “Success or failure in any undertaking is caused more by the mental attitude even than by mental capacities.
Thank you
