The "Strangest Secret" by Earl Nightingale Some years ago, the late Nobel prize-winning Dr.

Albert Schweitzer was asked by a reporter, "Doctor, whats wrong with men today? !he great doctor was silent a moment, and then he said, ""en simply dont think#" $ts abo%t this that $ want to talk with yo%. &e li'e today in a golden age. !his is an era that h%manity has looked (orward to, dreamed o(, and worked toward (or tho%sands o( years. &e li'e in the richest era that e'er e)isted on the (ace o( the earth ... a land o( ab%ndant opport%nity (or e'eryone. *owe'er, i( yo% take +,, indi'id%als who start e'en at the age o( -., do yo% ha'e any idea what will happen to those men and women by the time theyre /.? !hese +,, people belie'e theyre going to be s%ccess(%l. !hey are eager toward li(e, there is a certain sparkle in their eye, an erectness to their carriage, and li(e seems like a pretty interesting ad'ent%re to them. 0%t by the time theyre /., only one will be rich, (o%r will be (inancially independent, (i'e will still be working, and .1 will be broke 2 depending on others (or li(es necessities. 3nly (i'e o%t o( +,, make the grade# &hy do so many (ail? &hat has happened to the sparkle that was there when they were -.? &hat has become o( the dreams, the hopes, the plans ... and why is there s%ch a large disparity between what these people intended to do and what they act%ally accomplished !*4 D45$N$!$3N 35 S6774SS 5irst, we ha'e to de(ine s%ccess and here is the best de(inition $'e e'er been able to (ind8 "S%ccess is the progressi'e realization o( a worthy ideal." A s%ccess is the school teacher who is teaching beca%se thats what he or she wanted to do. A s%ccess is the entreprene%r who start his own company beca%se that was his dream -that9s what he wanted to do. A s%ccess is the salesperson who wants to become the best salesperson in his or her company and sets (orth on the p%rs%it o( that goal. A s%ccess is anyone who is realizing a worthy predetermined ideal, beca%se thats what he or she decided to do ... deliberately. 0%t only one o%t o( -, does that# !he rest are "(ail%res." :ollo "ay, the disting%ished psychiatrist, wrote a wonder(%l book called "ans Search (or *imsel(, and in this book he says8 "!he opposite o( co%rage in o%r society is not cowardice ; it is con(ormity. And there yo% ha'e the reason (or so many (ail%res. 7on(ormity 2 people acting like e'eryone else, witho%t knowing why or where they are going. &e learn to read by the time were se'en. &e learn to make a li'ing by the time were <,. 3(ten by that time were not only making a li'ing, were s%pporting a (amily. And yet by the time were /., we ha'ent learned how to become (inancially independent in the richest land that has e'er been known. &hy? &e con(orm# "ost o( %s are acting like the wrong percentage gro%p 2 the =. who dont s%cceed. >3A?S *a'e yo% e'er wondered why so many people work so hard and honestly witho%t e'er achie'ing anything in partic%lar, and why others dont seem to work hard, yet seem to get e'erything? !hey seem to ha'e the "magic to%ch. @o%'e heard people say, "4'erything he to%ches t%rns to gold. *a'e yo% e'er noticed that a person who becomes s%ccess(%l tends to contin%e to become more s%ccess(%l? And, on the other hand, ha'e yo% noticed how someone whos a (ail%re tends to contin%e to (ail !he di((erence is goals. Aeople with goals s%cceed beca%se they know where theyre going. $ts that simple. 5ail%res, on the other hand, belie'e that their li'es are shaped by circ%mstances ... by things that happen to them ... by e)terior (orces. !hink o( a ship with the complete 'oyage mapped o%t and planned. !he captain and crew know e)actly where the ship is going and how long it will take 2 it has a de(inite goal. And =,=== times o%t o( +,,,,,, it will get there. Now lets take another ship 2 B%st like the (irst 2 only lets not p%t a crew on it, or a captain at the helm. ?ets gi'e it no aiming point, no goal, and no destination. &e B%st start the engines and let it go. $ think yo%ll agree that i( it gets o%t o( the harbor at all, it will either sink or wind %p on some deserted beach 2 a derelict. $t cant go anyplace beca%se it has no destination and no g%idance.

$ts the same with a h%man being. *owe'er, the h%man race is (i)ed, not to pre'ent the strong (rom winning, b%t to pre'ent the weak (rom losing. Society today can be likened to a con'oy in time o( war. !he entire society is slowed down to protect its weakest link, B%st as the na'al con'oy has to go at the speed that will permit its slowest 'essel to remain in (ormation. !hats why its so easy to make a li'ing today. $t takes no partic%lar brains or talent to make a li'ing and s%pport a (amily today. &e ha'e a platea% o( so-called "sec%rity. So, to s%cceed, all we m%st do is decide how high abo'e this platea% we want to aim. !hro%gho%t history, the great wise men and teachers, philosophers, and prophets ha'e disagreed with one another on many di((erent things. $t is only on this one point that they are in complete and %nanimo%s agreement 2 the key to s%ccess and the key to (ail%re is this8 &4 0473"4 &*A! &4 !*$NC A036! !his is !he Strangest Secret# Now, why do $ say its strange, and why do $ call it a secret? Act%ally, it isnt a secret at all. $t was (irst prom%lgated by some o( the earliest wise men, and it appears again and again thro%gho%t the 0ible. 0%t 'ery (ew people ha'e learned it or %nderstand it. !hat9s why it9s strange, and why (or some eD%ally strange reason it 'irt%ally remains a secret. "arc%s A%reli%s, the great :oman 4mperor, said8 "A mans li(e is what his tho%ghts make o( it." Disraeli said this8 "4'erything comes i( a man will only wait ... a h%man being with a settled p%rpose m%st accomplish it, and nothing can resist a will that will stake e'en e)istence (or its (%l(illment." &illiam Eames said8 "&e need only in cold blood act as i( the thing in D%estion were real, and it will become in(allibly real by growing into s%ch a connection with o%r li(e that it will become real. $t will become so knit with habit and emotion that o%r interests in it will be those which characterize belie(. *e contin%es, " ... only yo% m%st, then, really wish these things, and wish them e)cl%si'ely, and not wish at the same time a h%ndred other incompatible things B%st as strongly." "y old (riend Dr. Norman Fincent Aeale p%t it this way8 "$( yo% think in negati'e terms, yo% will get negati'e res%lts. $( yo% think in positi'e terms, yo% will achie'e positi'e res%lts." >eorge 0ernard Shaw said8 "Aeople are always blaming their circ%mstances (or what they are. $ dont belie'e in circ%mstances. !he people who get on in this world are the peo-ple who get %p and look (or the cir-c%mstances they want, and i( they can9t (ind them, make them." &ell, it9s pretty apparent, isn9t it? &e become what we think abo%t. A person who is thinking abo%t a concrete and worthwhile goal is going to reach it, beca%se that9s what he9s thinking abo%t. 7on'ersely, the person who has no goal, who doesn9t know where he9s going, and whose tho%ghts m%st there(ore be tho%ghts o( con(%sion, an)iety, (ear, and worry will thereby create a li(e o( (r%stration, (ear, an)iety and worry. And i( he thinks abo%t nothing ... he becomes nothing. AS @4 S3& - S3 S*A?? @4 :4AA !he h%man mind is m%ch like a (armer9s land. !he land gi'es the (armer a choice. *e may plant in that land whate'er he chooses. !he land doesn9t care what is planted. $t9s %p to the (armer to make the decision. !he mind, like the land, will ret%rn what stances ... people to li'es o( s%c yo% plant, b%t it doesn9t care what yo% plant. $( the (armer plants two seeds - one a seed o( corn, the other nightshade, a deadly poison, waters and takes care o( the land, what will happen :emember, the land doesn9t care. $t will ret%rn poison in B%st as wonder(%l ab%ndance as it will corn. So %p come the two plants - one corn, one poison as it9s written in the 0ible, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." !he h%man mind is (ar more (ertile, (ar more incredible and mysterio%s than the land, b%t it works the same way. $t doesn9t care what we plant ... s%ccess ... or

(ail%re. A concrete, worthwhile goal ... or con(%sion, mis%nderstanding, (ear, an)iety, and so on. 0%t what we plant it m%st ret%rn to %s. !he problem is that o%r mind comes as standard eD%ipment at birth. $t9s (ree. And things that are gi'en to %s (or nothing, we place little 'al%e on. !hings that we pay money (or, we 'al%e. !he parado) is that e)actly the re'erse is tr%e. 4'erything that9s really worthwhile in li(e came to %s (ree - o%r minds, o%r so%ls, o%r bodies, o%r hopes, o%r dreams, o%r ambitions, o%r intelligence, o%r lo'e o( (amily and children and (riends and co%ntry. All these priceless possessions are (ree. 0%t the things that cost %s money are act%ally 'ery cheap and can be replaced at any time. A good man can be completely wiped o%t and make another (ort%ne. *e can do that se'eral times. 4'en i( o%r home b%rns down, we can reb%ild it. 0%t the things we got (or nothing, we can ne'er replace. 3%r mind can do any kind o( Bob we assign to it, b%t generally speaking, we %se it (or little Bobs instead o( big ones. So decide now. &hat is it yo% want? Alant yo%r goal in yo%r mind. $t9s the most important decision yo%9ll e'er make in yo%r entire li(e. Do yo% want to e)cel at yo%r partic%lar Bob? Do yo% want to go places in yo%r company ... in yo%r comm%nity? Do yo% want to get rich? All yo% ha'e got to do is plant that seed in yo%r mind, care (or it, work steadily toward yo%r goal, and it will become a reality. $t not only will, theres no way that it cannot. @o% see, thats a law 2 like the laws o( Sir $saac Newton, the laws o( gra'ity. $( yo% get on top o( a b%ilding and B%mp o((, yo%ll always go down 2 yo%ll ne'er go %p. And its the same with all the other laws o( nat%re. !hey always work. !heyre in(le)ible. !hink abo%t yo%r goal in a rela)ed, positi'e way. Aict%re yo%rsel( in yo%r minds eye as ha'ing already achie'ed this goal. See yo%rsel( doing the things yo% will be doing when yo% ha'e reached yo%r goal. 4'ery one o( %s is the s%m total o( o%r own tho%ghts. &e are where we are beca%se thats e)actly where we really want or (eel we deser'e to be 2 whether well admit that or not. 4ach o( %s m%st li'e o(( the (r%it o( o%r tho%ghts in the (%t%re, beca%se what yo% think today and tomorrow 2 ne)t month and ne)t year 2 will mold yo%r li(e and determine yo%r (%t%re. @o%re g%ided by yo%r mind. $ remember one time $ was dri'ing thro%gh eastern Arizona and $ saw one o( those giant earth-mo'ing machines -roaring along the road with what looked like <, tons o( dirt in it - a tremen%s, incredible machine - and there was a little man perched way %p on top with the wheel in his hands, g%iding it. As $ dro'e along $ was str%ck by the similarity o( that machine to the h%man mind. E%st s%ppose yo%9re sitting at the controls o( s%ch a 'ast so%rce o( energy. Are yo% going to sit back and (old yo%r arms and let it r%n itsel( into a ditch? 3r are yo% going to keep both hands (irmly on the wheel and control and direct this power to a speci(ic, worthwhile p%rpose? $t9s %p to yo%. @o%9re in the dri'er9s seat. @o% see, the 'ery law that gi'es %s s%ccess is a do%ble-edged sword. &e m%st control o%r thinking. !he same r%le that can lead people to li'es o( s%ccess, wealth, happiness, and all the things they e'er dreamed o( 2 that 'ery same law can lead them into the g%tter. $ts all in how they %se it ; (or good or (or bad. !hat is !he Strangest Secret# Do what the e)perts since the dawn o( recorded history ha'e told %s to do8 pay the price, by becoming the person yo% want to become. $ts not nearly as di((ic%lt as li'ing %ns%ccess(%lly. !he moment yo% decide on a goal to work toward, yo%re immediately a s%ccess(%l person 2 yo% are then in that rare gro%p o( people who know where theyre going. 3%t o( e'ery h%ndred people, yo% belong to the top (i'e. Dont concern yo%rsel( too m%ch with how yo% are going to achie'e yo%r goal 2 lea'e that completely to a power greater than yo%rsel(. All yo% ha'e to do is know where yo%re going. !he answers will come to yo% o( their own accord, and at the right time. Start today. @o% ha'e nothing to lose 2 b%t yo% ha'e yo%r whole li(e to win.