The Secret

Andrew Carnegie said, “There are two types of people who never achieve very much in their lifetimes. One is the person who won’t do what he or she is told to do, and the other is the person who does no more than he or she is told to do.”  

People who are uninspired, rarely, if ever, do inspired work! There are those, however, who mistakenly believe that a job change, a promotion, or more money, would inspire them to do better. But truthfully, it wouldn’t. If they can’t be inspired where they are with what they have, chances are, they wouldn’t be inspired anywhere or with   anything.  That’s why more training, more compensation, more perks, and more benefits seldom stimulate individuals, over the long haul, to do better work. The secret is not in the things, it’s in the person. 

When one does the right things for the right reason and with the right attitude, the impact in their own life and the lives of others will be long-lasting and memorable. When one does what they do because they want to and not because they have to, when they see their work as an opportunity and not an obligation, when they look for the best in circumstances and not the worst, a tremendously positive difference will show up in their work, their life and the lives of others.   

In Patrick Morley’s book Ten Secrets for the Man in the Mirror, he shares a story about Kyle. Kyle was a    married, twenty-eight [28] year old. He and his wife both worked, made good money, and had every material thing they could possibly want. One day, he said to his wife, “You know, we get up, make up our bed, go to work, come home, have dinner, wash dishes, clean the house, relax a little, go to bed, then get up the next morning and do it all over again. It’s all so boring.” After some discussion, they realized that everything in their life was about them…getting what they wanted, meeting their needs, advancing their careers. After just a few moments, Kyle and his wife began to see that they were all about getting for themselves but giving nothing to others in return.