Laying the Foundation

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A "rock-solid" article from Mr. Ziglar via Mr. Rohn...

Laying the Foundation by Zig Ziglar:

There are six characteristics that comprise the foundation stones of your life and your success. The six characteristics are honesty, character, faith, integrity, love, and loyalty. All of these foundation stones are necessary to create a Wheel of Life that is balanced and will produce the kind of success I’ve described. In my eighty-five years of living I have learned that people who compromise any of these principles usually end up with only a beggar’s portion of what life offers them. I’ve seen people acquire money through dishonesty and deceit, but their friends are few and they lack true peace of mind. The business professional who alienates his family in his climb to the top is not a success.

People who have no faith in something greater than themselves can only rely on themselves in times of great difficulty. The longer I live and the more successful people I meet, the more convinced I become that these foundation stones are the most critical success weapons you have in your arsenal.

Why are these foundation stones so important to your success? Well, I’m glad you asked, because I’m going to tell you! A human being goes through life thinking and doing. Then they usually do what they think about most of the time. I want to remind you that you were born to win. I also want to remind you that you are what you are and where you are because of what’s gone into your mind, but you can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind. The reason this is so is because you generally do what you think. Your thinking drives your choices. Choices determine the action you take, and action produces the results of your life. You can only think in ways consistent with the information you have in your mind. So to change what you do, you have to change the way you think, and to think differently, you need to change what goes into your mind.

Who we are is determined by the foundation stones of honesty, character, faith, integrity, love, and loyalty. The six foundational stones essentially provide the raw material for all your thinking. As such, they become the core characteristics of what you are, do, and have, which ultimately determines the results you get in life. These stones form your code for success or failure because your thinking and your actions must be consistent with the characteristics of the foundation you build.

I wish it were possible for me to introduce you to the many personable, persuasive, talented—even brilliant—people I have met in my travels who are generally just one step in front of the bill collector and sometimes just two steps ahead of the law. They are always looking for a “deal” and the “fast buck.” They never build very much or very high, because they have no foundation to build on. Others don’t realize that the real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the job; that you can best get to the top by getting to the bottom of things and then climbing the stairs of success, one at a time. Success and happiness are not matters of chance but choice. The foundation stones provide the basis for making the right choices.