Earl Nightingale was an American motivational speaker who was known as the ” Dean of Personal Development. since his childhood the question that haunted his mind was the following: “how can a person, starting from scratch, who has no particular advantage in the world, reach the goals that he feels are important to him, and by so doing, make a major contribution to others?”
The following quotes, some of the fruite of his mind, give the answer.
10 “You do not read a book for the book’s sake, but for your own.” He says that people read because they have problems or pressing issues need to be solved fast, which means that people only read when they need, still not all of them take reading as as a long life method of learning. So if someone is looking for peace of mind, by this he/she will not turn to reading because they will have to work their minds! While others will read to quench the thirst for learning if they did not manage to get a college education. Another reason why someone would read is because the routine rhythm of life pushes them to look for a new world to plunge into. Others seek solutions for their social or financial problems in books. They turn to the wisdom of of their predecessors for a solution.
All these are good intentions that will yield knowledge for the seeker. Nightingale, as such, encourages everyone to exercise their minds through books. He adds that stereotypical thinking and the prejudices that some minds cherish could all be healed and fixed through the wide horizons books offer. Nightingale suggests that if people will never get fit without healthy food, likewise their mentalities will never reach genius without good knowledge. He then puts an eternal sentence which says that people should choose books not because they are void of evil ideas or whatever but because there are some pieces of wisdom and good in them. By this, it is clear what did books meant for Nightingale, yet we should add that knowledge if not practiced is in vain. So every reader should seek to practice and teach others.
9 “Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future.
Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored”
8 “Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become reality.”
7 “Wherever there is danger, there lurks opportunity; wherever there is opportunity, there lurks danger. The two are inseparable.”
6 “Each of us must live off the fruit of his thoughts in the future, because what you think today and tomorrow, next month and next year, you will mold your life and determine your future. You are guided by your mind.”
5 “Everything begins with an idea.”
4 “A great attitude does much more than turn on the lights in our worlds; it seems to magically connect us to all sorts of serendipitous opportunities that were somehow absent before we changed.”
3 “You become what you think about.”
2 “Men credited with all kinds of ability, talent, brains and know how, including the ability to see into the future, frequently have nothing more than the courage to keep everlastingly at what they set out to do. They have that one great quality that is worth more than all the rest put together. They simply will not give up! When a man makes up his mind to do something then it’s only a matter of time. Staying with time take bulldog persistence. This seems to be the entrance examination to success – lasting success — of any kind!”
1 “We can let circumstances rule us, or we can take charge and rule our lives from within.”
