There is one thing that has led to the building of empires, one thing that has made it possible for nations to win battles. One thing that anybody that wants to become wealthy must do or forget about the dream. One thing if… I see someone becoming eager to hear it. Hear this:
During the battle of Gettysburg, the Army of the Potomac, over 100,000 strongmen, faced the 10,000-man Army of Northern Virginia. The Union Army had suffered many defeats at the hands of General Robert E. Lee and his brilliant commanders, General “Stonewall” Jackson and General Longstreet. Newly appointed Union commander, General Meade held the high ground near the town of Gettysburg, while Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain held the flank position of the Union line.
On the first day of the battle, July 1, 1863, Confederate forces drove Union Forces out of the town and seemed to prevail. On the second day, Lee intended to flank the entrenched Union Forces by taking the small hill called “Little Round Top,” where Colonel Chamberlain was positioned. Chamberlain was told he could not retreat; he was to “hold the position to the last.” During the long afternoon, Chamberlain’s forces held their ground, repulsing multiple attacks by some of the best soldiers in the Confederacy under General Hood. By evening, Chamberlain’s command had been reduced to less than 200 men, and most were out of ammunition. The hard – pressed Union Army had been unable to provide reinforcements or supplies.
As Chamberlain looked down the sloping hill at the Confederate Forces mounting yet another attack, he knew if he stood his ground with little or no ammunition that his line would be overwhelmed and would fail. He also knew that if he retreated, Confederate Forces would sweep up the hill and outflank the Union Army, which would then lose the battle and possibly the war.
In an instant, he sized up his options and selected the one plan that was most improbable and also most direct. Stepping to the front, he shouted, “Bayonets!” His 200 men affixed their bayonets and followed him in a charge down the hill toward some 500 fully armed Confederate soldiers who were attacking Chamberlain’s position. But the frenzied attack, and the surprise of Chamberlain’s action, stunned the Confederate Forces, many of whom turned to run; and Chamberlain’s small, poorly armed force saved the battle for the Union. Certain defeat was turned into victory by Chamberlain’s courage to act.
Mother Teresa, considered by many a modern – day saint, was relentless in this particular act of courage. She had little regard for authority, for titles, for egos, for the past, or for excuses. She always found the courage to act in the moment and confront whatever was in front of her, occasionally deferring, only slightly, to the Pope. She was predisposed to act with integrity and full commitment, speaking always on behalf of the poorest of the poor. Her whole life was based on courage, built by countless acts of courage. She found the courage to leave her family and commit to being a nun. She had the courage to leave her country for her mission in an Indian convent. Then, responding to an even deeper call, she had the courage to leave the safety of the convent to live and work in the streets of Calcutta. Each act of courage developed her capacity to perform even greater acts. Her whole life was shaped by her courageous choices and actions. It was Aristotle that said, “Whatever we learn to do, we learn by actually doing it; men come to be builders, for instance, by building, and harp players by playing the harp. In the same way, by doing just acts we come to be just: By doing self-controlled acts, we come to be self-controlled; and by doing brave acts, we become brave.”
She overcame a lot of obstacles in her career, and she never let failure get the better of her. Her fist career was in direct sales and she was quite successful. But she also found that it was difficult for a woman to progress in the corporate world, especially in the 1950s and 1960s – even after twenty – five years of success. She said, “I had worked my way up to being a member of the board of the company only to find that, even though our sales force was made up entirely of women, governed by an all male board, my opinions were of no value. I constantly heard, ‘You are thinking like a woman again!’ I felt rejection in the worst form. So l decided to retire.”
Her retirement didn’t last long. By the time a month passed, the idleness became unbearable. She was ready to start her own business. If she was going to encounter obstacles, they would be there only because that would give every woman who worked in it unlimited opportunities. She purchased the formulas to the best beauty product she’d ever found, worked up a marketing plan, and prepared to set up a corporation.
It didn’t take long for her to hit her first obstacle. When she visited her attorney to make legal arrangements for the corporation, he insulted her and predicted her failure. He told her, “If you are going to throw away your life savings, why don’t you just go directly to the trash can? It will be so much easier than what you are proposing.” Her accountant spoke to her in similar terms.
Despite their attempts to discourage her, she moved ahead. She sank her $5,000 life savings into her new business – every cent she had. She put her husband in charge of the administrative side of things as she worked feverishly to prepare the products, design the packaging, write the training materials, and recruit consultants. They were making wonderful prayers. But then a month before she was to open for business, her husband died of heart attack right at their kitchen table.
Most people would never have been able to go on after that. They would have accepted defeat and faded away. But not her. She kept going, and on September 13, 1963, she launched her business. Today, the company has more than $1billion in annual sales, employs more than 3,500 people, and empowers 500,000 direct-sales consultants in 29 markets worldwide. And she has received just about every award an entrepreneur could dream of. Despite all the rejections, Mary Kay Ash made it to the top before her death.
It is dangerous to sit on the fence. You must form the habit of taking action. Some of us wait until the condition is perfect before we take action. There is never and there will never be a perfect time to act. I remember the story of a farmer who was sitting on his front steps during a planting season. A stranger stopped at the farmer’s house to ask for a drink of water.
“How’s the wheat coming along?” asked the stranger.
“Didn’t plant none,” replied the farmer.
“Really?” said the stranger. “I thought this was good wheat country.”
“I was afraid it wouldn’t rain,” said the farmer.
“Oh, well, how’s the corn crop?” asked the stranger.
“Ain’t got none,” said the farmer.
“You didn’t plant any corn either?” asked the puzzled stranger.
“Nope,” said the farmer. “Afraid of corn blight.”
“For heaven’s sake,” shouted the stranger, “what did you plant?”
“Nothing!” said the farmer. “I just played it safe.”
Henry Ford thought of the possibility of everyone having access to automobiles and he acted on it. The Wright Brothers thought about the flying object and they acted on it. Most of the inventions we enjoy today wouldn’t have been possible if men and women who invented them didn’t act on their dreams.
According to Og Mandino, “I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words again and again, each hour, each day, every day, until the words become a habit as my breathing and the actions which follow become as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every act necessary for my success. With these words I can condition my mind to meet every challenge.”
Dear reader, you will agree with me that our second commandment is very important. Nothing happens without individuals taking action. Your dream of being wealthy will never become a reality till you leave your comfort zone. And do you know one fascinating thing about the second commandment, only you can make it happen. For instance, if you didn’t take action in reading this paper, you cannot acquire the information therein. The Chinese says a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step. Be willing to start small. You’ve got to take action.
Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold – but so does a hard – boiled egg. Take action now. Do that which you have been putting off.
To your success.
Shalom!