Chapter 8 Chapter 6 The Acrobatic Tightrope of Life: Balancing Education and Entertainment

third and fourth aspects You might say that after exploring the first two aspects of true happiness, the spiritual life and the importance of finances, nothing else is needed.But to achieve true balance in life, two other dimensions are indispensable.The third area is education, if it is not in harmony with the other laws, your road to happiness will be full of hardships, and seriousness is impossible; the fourth area, entertainment (that is, the satisfaction of desires) is here. It is expressed in the proverb: "There is work and no play, and Jack is a dull fellow." Every job will create many "Jacks" in a short time, and after that, poor Jack will end up in the hospital or Lived in the slums.Without entertainment (which is essential to good balance) Jack is doomed to collapse, and in a collapsed state one cannot, of course, find true happiness.

Aspect Three: Educational Balance Do you know someone who is out of balance educationally?He was so drawn to knowledge that he ended up being an educated fool. He thinks mechanically, forgetting how to apply his knowledge to practical situations.His only interest was in acquiring more and more knowledge, but he never seemed to find a way to use his knowledge to the benefit of himself and his family. He represented a cultured, economically A stretched figure, and unfortunately, there are many like him in the world.I know people with diplomas and certificates that could plaster the walls of Madison Square Gardens and die of froze and starvation.Knowledge without application is useless knowledge.Education does not guarantee success, only the application of education does.In addition, there are many uneducated people who have little or no education, and who, because of his lack of desire to educate himself, must suffer throughout their lives with the unfortunate consequences of this lack of education.Both extremes demonstrate educational imbalances.Somewhere between these two extremes, there is a point of perfect educational balance, which a person can reach by setting goals and planning in education.There are two types of knowledge: generalized and specialized.Generalized knowledge helps you to be a well-developed person in all aspects, but it does not necessarily help you to earn a living. I know some people who have a lot of knowledge in many fields.But still losers at their jobs, they spread their minds over so many unimportant things that there is little room left for the information they need to make a living.As for specialized knowledge, it is that which guides a man in his work and serves as the basis for his goals and plans.If you have a normal level of intelligence, are willing to work and have a desire to acquire specialized knowledge, you can succeed!

Bill Roberts sells machine tools.That's not all he did. According to his wife, Bill "eat and slept with mechanical tools".She may be exaggerating a bit, but Bill does spend most of his spare time on his career as well.When a competitor started selling a saw machine that was a few dollars cheaper than his, he was concerned and nervous, but not for long.In order to achieve that low price and still maintain a profit, competitors used inferior parts, which resulted in their lathes not being comparable to Bill's.A few days after the other product came out, Bill lost a regular customer. He tried his best to persuade his customers to buy his brand, but the price difference made his argument that the new tool would not stand long-term use. portion.But when that tool overheated in use and damaged parts, customers returned to the dealer who knew not only his own product, but his rival's as well.A salesman who understands his own product can be said to have professional knowledge, and if he also understands the competitor's product, he will be more professional.Unfortunately, many salespeople don't even know enough about the products they sell themselves.Without this knowledge, they are doomed to fail, and without expertise, a salesperson cannot climb to the top.One can acquire this expertise through experience and study, as Bill Roberts did.Each of us must participate in at least one organized educational activity each year.This educational experience will prevent our minds from becoming dull and uncreative, and will help us maintain the mental alertness that allows us to work extremely efficiently.You can do this in several different ways: through formal classroom programs, co-op tutorials, or self-study.No matter which path you choose, you will proceed on a planned basis and with the aim of gaining professional knowledge.If possible, persuade a bright colleague to study with you.You will find that two learn better than one.Remember: "If you have a normal level of intellect, are willing to work and have a desire to acquire specialized knowledge, you can succeed."

Aspect 4: Balance in Recreation Do you know someone who is stuck in an unbalanced recreational life?There are two types of people, the former one whose "entertainment" directly leads to his financial disaster, and whose life is completely controlled by his entertainment.He thinks only about having fun all the time, and doesn't give enough attention to the spiritual, financial, and educational aspects of life, and this imbalance makes him an unhappy, burnt-out person who never has enough in life. Not satisfied.I have a close friend, Charles E. Parker, of Walker Township, Delsas.For a while he was caught in an unbalanced entertainment life.He is one of the brightest and most versatile people I have ever met, Charlie will do anything!He was an athletic athlete in high school and college, a gifted musician, an excellent golfer, and a fishing tournament champion.From pinball to chess, Charlie can beat you at everything you want to do!Having such an abundance of talent created a problem for him, centering his activities on entertainment, with no regard for spiritual life, finances, education, and he was out of balance in entertainment! Charlie came to me a few years ago and said: " I've been in the life insurance business for six years and I'm even worse now than when I started. I'm on the verge of getting squeezed out or staying in the life insurance business! Can you help me?" I replied, "Charlie, since you asked for help, I will help you." Even though I had tried to help him before, he just wouldn't listen to me.The Lord said, "They have ears, but they cannot hear." We all have ears, but only a few of us can hear and understand when the truth is spoken.Often one has to be "at the end of the road" before his head is willing to listen to a solution to the problem.In order to tell you briefly what would have been a long story, I'll just tell you: Charlie obeyed!This man, he finally obeyed!Behind the closed doors of my office, we conducted a three-day exercise in goal-setting and planning.From that moment on, Charles became a man with a mission in life, destined to become the greatest life insurance salesman of our time.It's the balance that caused all this!By setting goals and making plans, every aspect of Charlie's life was put into place, bringing balance to his life.As a follow-up to the initial sword out, we meet once a week and do "Operation Truth," as Charlie calls it.The purpose of this move: to help him stay on track.

Today, Charlie Parker is the greatest seller of life insurance, and all he did to improve his life was the Brand method of goal setting and planning when it was just an idea in my head.Now, this set of methods is being taught to you.What will you use it for?While Charlie was making progress, he wrote an article for his company's monthly sales bulletin. The article attracted so much attention that the Life Insurance Brokers Operating Association of Hartford, Connecticut, asked permission for their publication "Business Plan" reproduced it, the following is a part of the original text, I hope it can inspire you. "Knowing many people in the industry has been a great asset to me. I remember a friend of mine once introducing me to a stranger by saying: 'Mr. Top fisherman.'

I believe it was at this time that I began to understand.I wondered why my friends didn't mention that I was in the life insurance business, and after thinking about it for a while, I really understood why, although I am a winner in fishing, I am not in the life insurance business, I need The real question answered is why am I a winner in fishing but not in life insurance.The answer is relatively simple, I have the best fishing gear and every time I go fishing I think about nothing but fishing.Think how well a man can do it when he thinks of nothing but fishing (or anything else).On the 13th of last month (May) I decided to start applying the principles I used when I was fishing to my business.The way I work now is: I get up at 7 am, go to my office at 8 am, and every Monday morning I conduct an "act of truth", analyze the mistakes I made last week, and plan for this week, I Now use the calendar every day, even when I'm off work in the afternoon.I even use reverse psychology when planning my work for a month or a year, by first cutting out some days.For example, I took out Thursday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday, and in doing so, it made sense to me that since I had deducted two and a half days, I would have to Four and a half days of hard work.And there is nothing wrong with working hard.In fact, it's the only way a person can achieve success and build pride.Through hard work, I have earned myself: first, professional status; second, an edge in front of clients; and finally, guilt-free when I deduct days.I convinced myself that working four and a half days out of seven was not bad.I reached this point in a very short time: no one asked me out fishing except on Thursday afternoons and weekends.I send out thank you notes after every client meeting and I'm always looking for new ideas, of course I'm just using the lessons that have helped me sell that I've learned over the past six years.My take is that these useful aids have been there, they've just been dormant for a long time.I believe the key to my transformation was this: I, Charlie Parker, decided to start listening and to try to do something that was good for others.The more prepared I am, the easier the fishing trip becomes, and that's about it.I used to think that success meant beating certain people.Or have someone say to themselves 'Charlie, you're amazing. ’ But I now think the real definition of success is telling yourself you’re a winner and believing it!”

I want to thank Charles for empowering me to tell this story.He did it because he wanted to help you!From the story of Charlie Parker, now a multimillion-dollar life insurance seller, you should absorb two fundamentals: 1. Imbalances lead to depression and failure.Second, Brand's goal-setting and plan-making methods are indeed effective. Let's look at the second type of entertainment imbalance.This kind of guy is the exact opposite of Charlie Parker, he takes no pleasure in entertainment, only sees work, and never has enough time for "stupid" things like exercising or relaxing.He also creates tension everywhere in his life.In every group there is an "Old Man Tom," and when I describe him, you might think I'm describing someone you know. The "old man" is not old, in terms of age, but judging from the way he behaves, he is already very old.He works early and ends late; he never takes a vacation, you can find him working half the day on every holiday; he also works at home; his wife listens to him talk about work as he reviews the day; eats breakfast every morning By that time, he was already fidgeting about the problems he was facing.It's not surprising that people call him old man.In his own way he was old and a servant to his work.His body is also aging because he does nothing but work and sit and think about work.The last exercise he did was jumping up when he came to a certain conclusion.Tom will disappear from his career one day, and probably not for long.Adequate entertainment might have prolonged his life, added joy to it, and, believe it or not, would have allowed him to be more worthy professionally.These two extremes show that a truly ideal situation requires a perfect balance.Planned recreation is very important to maintaining your physical and mental health.A strong body and a reliable brain are bound to work in complete harmony and bring success!

In Chapters 5 and 6, I've given you quite a few basic principles for setting goals and planning.A balanced life is so important that you will have to re-read these chapters from time to time.Keep these principles in your mind forever. The "Bible" says: "A house is built by wisdom, and it is established because of understanding, and it is full of all kinds of good and precious wealth because of knowledge." (Proverbs 24: 3-4) Definite goals and plans are important to you personally Yes, but it's equally important to your entire family.Having firm family goals and having a clear plan for their attainment is a huge positive force.You will find details about the family plan in the Action Plan section.For now, remember you must choose a worthwhile goal, free yourself from your past self, and run toward your goal!You see, nothing can stop a man who has a plan, because no one has a plan to stop him.If you can believe what you read, all things are possible for you, believe and succeed!

Before proceeding to the next chapter you must accept the following principles. First, a balanced education and balanced entertainment are necessary to your happiness and success. Second, imbalance leads to unhappiness and failure. Third, set clear goals and plans for the entire family. Accepting these principles means you are one step closer to a life of happiness and abundance. KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER First, knowledge without application is useless knowledge. Second, if you have a normal level of intelligence, are willing to work and have a desire to acquire specialized knowledge, you can succeed.

Third, choose a worthy goal, free yourself from your past self, and run toward your goal. Fourth, a strong body and a reliable brain must work in perfect harmony and bring success! Fifth, no one can stop a man who has a plan, because no one has a plan to stop him. Sixth, believe and succeed!