as part of your personal development Quest I call them the five abilities here's the first one develop the ability to absorb the ability to soak it up like you're doing today be like a sponge don't miss anything and not just the words it's true don't miss the words but don't miss the atmosphere don't miss the color don't miss the scenario don't miss what's going on most people are just trying to get through the day here's what I want you to be committed to do learn to get from the day don't just get through it get
from it learn from it let the day teach you join the University of Life what a difference that'll make in your future commit yourself to learning commit yourself to absorbing be like a sponge get it don't miss it I've got a personal friend of mine who's so gifted in this area I think he has soaked up and remembers everything that's ever happened to it he can tell you as a teenager where he was and what he did and what he said and what she said and how they felt and the color of the sky and
what was going on that day and the reason is because he gets it he gets it he gets it and why is it when he's there he doesn't miss anything here's a good phrase for you to jot down wherever you are be there be there to absorb it up be there to soak it up take a picture if you can but take pictures of your mind let your soul and heart take pictures Get It capture it absorb it but such an important ability to develop the ability to get it don't miss it don't be casual
in getting it key phrase casualness leads to casualties second learn to respond ability to respond means let Life Touch you don't let it kill you but let it touch you but sad things make you sad let happy things make you happy I'm telling you give in to the emotion let the emotion strike you not just the words not just the image let the feelings strike you let the emotions strike you here's what's important our emotions need to be as educated as our intellect our emotions need to be educated as well as aren't it's important to
know how to feel it's important to know how to respond it's important to let life in let it touch you I'm the greatest guy in the world to take to the movies I get into a good movie I want a good movie make me laugh make me cry scare me to death teach me something take me high take me low just don't leave me as I was when I came in touch me do something to me I'm asking you to get it [Music] absorb respond we've covered the first two abilities in the personal development Quest
one is the ability to absorb don't miss anything pay attention good watch word for the 90s pay attention things are moving so fast these days you got to pay attention pick it up soak up the colors soak up the sounds soak up what's going on second respond let Life Touch you let the emotions affect you as well as the sights now here's the third ability develop the ability to reflect reflect means go back over study it again go back over these notes that you're taking today go back through the cassettes one more time read the
text one more time there's more to it than that go back over your day I call it run the tapes again so that the day locks in firmly here's some good times to reflect one at the end of the day take a few minutes at the end of the day go back over the day who'd you see and what they say and what happened how'd you feel what went on so that you capture that day a day is a piece of the Mosaic of your life number one don't treat it casual number two get from
the day and then number three go back over the day so that it locks in that experience the knowledge the sights The Sounds the panorama the color motion picture of the day just lock it in so that it will serve you for the future having that day not missing it next take a few hours at the end of the week call time to reflect go back over your daytime or go back over your calendar go back over your appointment book where did you go and who did you see and how did it feel and what
went on capture that week a week is a pretty good chunk of time next take half a day at the end of the month call time to reflect and do the same thing again go back over what you read go back over what you heard go back over what you saw go back over the feelings to capture it so that it serves you next take a weekend at the end of the year to establish this year now firmly in your consciousness firmly in your experience bank so that you've got it so that it never disappears
good ability to acquire the ability to reflect go back over remember remember so valuable to be able to remember the thought remember the idea remember the experience remember the occasion remember the day remember the weather remember the emotion remember the complexity remember the highs remember the lows so valuable at the end of the day lock that day in lock the month in lock the week in lock the year in there's also something to be said for solitude when you reflect sometimes you can reflect with somebody husband and wife reflect on the past year right parents
reflect with their children on the past year how did we do it and how didn't we do it and how could we improve colleagues can reflect with each other but now here's one of the most important you've got to learn to reflect with yourself there's something to be said for Solitude there's something to be said for taking those occasions to shut out the world and shut out everything else for a while for a while I've got a motor home that's how I do it my motorcycle on the back and I head for the mountains and
ride the Jeep trails or there's very few human beings on the Jeep trails or out in the desert somewhere it's called my time to get away when you live a very public life you treasure Solitude a chance to reflect go back over my life go back over my skills go back over my experiences alone alone there are some things you need to do alone Pond or think Wonder read study absorb soak in see if you can't become better this year than you were last year better the next nine than you were the first nine Solitude
there's even a more modern advice that says go to the closet for time of meditation time of prayer go to the closet closet meaning what away and there's even a graphic description of the away said enter into your closet and what got some students here I'm sure what close the door for what just to shut out everything life is experience experience experience and touching and seeing and looking and doing and acting and disciplines and all this stuff but sometimes this is where this reflecting is so important to shut the door to shut the door and
wonder prayer contemplation thinking and let things move into your Consciousness and awareness that no other way can it be done right flying down the freeway I'm telling you it's difficult to get through so many things to do it's difficult to get through but times of solitude times to reflect so valuable learn to reflect now here's why it's important to reflect to make the past more valuable to serve you for the future here's what's really powerful learning to gather up the past and invested in the future gather up today and invest it in tomorrow gather up
this week and invest it in the next week gather up this year and invest it in the next year see that's so powerful rather than just hanging on one more year hanging in there seeing what's going to happen learn study this is part of the personal development Quest becoming better than you are more valuable than you are not just in terms of economics in terms of motherhood in terms of fatherhood in terms of being a better brother a better colleague making a better contribution to the family to society to the community to the church to
the office to the commitment to the partnership doesn't matter what it is that has value work on yourself then you bring more value to the partnership to the marriage to the franchise to the corporation to the Enterprise to the community to the nation self-development personal development the best contribution you can make to someone else is self-development self-sacrifice only stolen Tim self-development earns respect pity the mother who says I'm just going to give up my life for my children self-sacrifice is not Noble self-investment is Noble from self-development if I work on myself and become more valuable
think of what that'll do for our friendship I used to use the old expression you take care of me and I'll take care of you I found out how shallow and short-ended that was and I changed it to read like this I'll take care of me for you if you will please take care of you for me this is part of it the personal development that we work harder on ourselves than we do on our job now we bring that to the friendship now we bring that to the marriage now we bring that to the
family relationship as a father as a mother and we develop the strength and we develop the power and takes I think this scenario of disciplines these abilities to acquire those gifts and those skills that value so that we bring more now we bring more to the next week we bring more to the next month we bring more to the next year if you follow this absorbed respond and reflect I said to my father when he was about to turn 76. 76th birthday I said dear father of mine can you imagine what it's going to be
like to gather up the last 75 years of your life and invest them in your 70s sixth year what a difference in philosophy rather than just hanging on one more year gather up 75 and invest them in the next one and gather up the last six years and invest it in the next year see that's so powerful in communication which we're going to study soon so powerful consider this one the ability to absorb second the ability to respond third the ability to reflect here's number four develop the ability to act take action tasty if it
isn't required but don't lose much time here's the time to act when the idea is hot and the emotion is strong that's the time to act see Mr Ron I'd like to have a library like yours see if you feel strong about that what you got to do is get the first book and then get the second book before the feeling passes and before the idea gets dim chin Pronto action immediate action as soon as possible because if you don't here's what happens we call it the law of diminishing intent we intend to when the
idea strikes us we intend to when the emotion is high but now if you don't translate that into action fairly soon now the intent starts to diminish diminish diminish and a month from now it's cold year from now can't be found act set up a discipline when the emotions are high and the idea is strong and clear and Powerful that's the time to set up the discipline somebody talks about good health and you're stirred says right I need to get a book on nutrition get the book before the idea passes and before the emotion gets
cold go for the book start the library start the process fall on the floor do some push-ups action got to take action otherwise the wisdom is wasted otherwise the emotion soon passes unless you put it into a disciplined activity capture it disciplines is called how to capture the emotion and how to capture the wisdom and translate it into Equity disciplines now here's what's important about disciplines all disciplines affect each other in fact here's a good philosophical phrase everything affects everything else nothing stands alone don't be naive in saying well this doesn't matter I'm telling you
everything matters there are some things that matter more than others but there isn't anything that doesn't matter we all pity The Man Who Says well this is the only place I let down not true key to take home every letdown affects the rest of your performance every letdown affects the rest this is part of the educational process on personal development if you don't take the walk around the block you probably won't do the apple a day if you don't do the apple a day you probably won't consist you know start building your library if you
don't build your library you probably won't keep a journal and you won't take pictures and you won't do this you won't do wise things with your money won't do wise things with your time won't do wise things with your possibilities and relationships and the first thing you know six years of that accumulated and we say you have messed up so the whole key to reversing that process now is to start picking up these disciplines now here's the positive side every new discipline affects the rest of your disciplines every new one affects the rest that's why
action is so important the least action the smallest action take it because when you start accomplishing and the value starts to return from that one accident it'll inspire you to do the next one and the next one and the next one you start walking around the block it'll inspire you to get an Apple get an Apple it'll inspire you to get a book get a book it'll inspire you to get a journal get a journal it'll inspire you to grow develop some skills all disciplines affect each other every lack affects the rest every new affects
the rest the key is to diminish the lack and set up the new and you've started a whole new life process take charge of your own life take charge of your own day take charge of your own conversation take charge of your own family take charge of your own possibilities and learn these skills develop this kind of strategy and I'm telling you life will open up for you join the three percent join the ten percent join the five percent walk away from the 95 number one do what you can number two do the best you
can here's number three rest very little don't rest too long why the weeds take the garden kids have got that figured out can't rest too long here's the clue make rest a necessity not an objective the objective of life is not to rest the objective of life is to act think of more disciplines think of more ways and means in which to use your own wisdom and your own philosophy and use your own attitude your own faith your own courage Your Own commitment your own desires your own excitement invest it invest it invest it invested
in discipline so that it's not wasted smallest of discipline thereby transform your life join the five percent join the ten percent join the three percent now here's the last ability develop the ability to share pass along to someone else if you've picked up a good idea today pass it along don't let it stay pass it along a book if you take one of these little books I've suggested home and it affects you pass along say hey I found a book really helped me I found a book got me thinking I found a book changed my
health I found a book got me inspired pass it along pass it along pass it along here's what's exciting about sharing if you share with 10 different people they get to hear it once you get to hear it ten times [Music] so it's probably going to do more for you than it is for them but it's called what everybody wins when somebody shares everybody wins wow share your ideas share your experiences share your knowledge you can have just as much pleasure as I do I said giving this seminar this is one of my joys in
life give a seminar like this make the best investment I can of words and spirit and heart and soul and time energy I don't have to work this hard [Music] but I gladly worked this hard why I want the return your words touch my life see that's heavyweight stuff you can't buy it with money but I'm telling you you can get the same thing started by recommending a book somebody will read that book and then they'll read another one and they'll read another one and they'll come to you someday and say you got me started
that book you recommended turn my lights on turn my mind around got me thinking got me pondering and I've been on track ever since you can get just as much praise as I do if you'll share share with your children share with your colleagues share with everybody that comes within your grasp share now here's what cheering does not only helps you helps the person you share with here's what else it does makes you bigger than you are [Music] if I had a glass of water up here and it was full question can that glass hold
any more water if it's full if the glass is full can it hold any more water the answer is yes but for it to hold more you got to pour out what's already in that's what I'm asking you to do if you're full of ideas if you're full of good things I'm asking you to pour it out pour it out pour it out why I'm telling you more will be poured in poured in poured in [Music] next when you do pour out you become bigger not like a glass that stays the same human beings have
the ability to grow in Consciousness and awareness and capacity it's unlimited capacity I found out kids don't lack capacity in Europe the kids speak what two three four five six languages when I grew up my father spoke German never talked my mother spoke French never taught me they were trying to get away from all the old world languages back then had no concept how valuable languages were going to be in the future just to know so they abandoned the German abandoned the French I could have learned all three languages instead of just English question how
many languages can a child learn here's how many as many as you'll take the time to teach them they do not lack capacity they only lack teachers and I'm telling you the same thing as with you you don't lack capacity but here's how you expand your capacity that is to share what you've got now you get bigger share some more now you get bigger I'm here for a very self-interest reason if I share with you my Consciousness grows if I share with you I get to hear this again but hey pour out what you've got
so that your capacity grows now why should you want your capacity to grow very self-interest reason here it is to hold more of the next experience [Music] you mean to tell me that sitting in this audience some people will get more out of it than others and the answer is yes if you haven't been into expanding your own capacity lately you might not get much from this seminar but if you've been into expanding your capacity and you've been sharing and you've been doing all this stuff I'm telling you no telling what all this could mean
to you today this chance to grow change develop absorb take in I'm asking you to expand and grow so you can hold more of the next experience some people can't be very happy you could pour happiness out on the whole world some people can't be very happy why they're not big enough if you're small you don't get much small in comprehension small and the ability to think and wonder small and appreciation no matter how much is poured out Prosperity can be poured out on the whole country some people don't get much why they're too small
too small in their thinking too small in their ability to share have not expanded to their full capacity don't be like that now some people aren't going to get much because they've got their cup turned upside down you couldn't put anything in learn to share it's a glorious glorious experience