Posted 2/13/2003 by Josh Hinds

THE ROSE
by Jim Rohn

Lifestyle is style over amount. And style is an art - the art of living. You can't buy style with money. You can't buy good taste with money. You can only buy more with money. Lifestyle is culture - the appreciation of good music, dance, art, sculpture, literature, plays and the art of living well. It's a taste for the fine, the unique, the beautiful.

Lifestyle also means rewarding excellence wherever you find it by not taking the small things of life for granted. With Valentine's Day approaching I wanted to illustrate this with a personal anecdote:

Many years ago my lady friend and I were on a trip to Carmel, California for some shopping and exploring. On the way we stopped at a service station. As soon as we parked our car in front of the pumps, a young man, about eighteen or nineteen, came bouncing out to the car and with a big smile said, "Can I help you?"

"Yes," I answered. "A full tank of gas, please." I wasn't prepared for what followed. In this day and age of self-service and deteriorating customer treatment, this young man checked every tire, washed every window - even the sunroof - singing and whistling the whole time. We couldn't believe both the quality of service and his upbeat attitude about his work.

When he brought the bill I said to the young man, "Hey, you really have taken good care of us. I appreciate it."

He replied, "I really enjoy working. It's fun for me and I get to meet nice people like you."

This kid was really something!

I said, "We're on our way to Carmel and we want to get some milkshakes. Can you tell us where we can find the nearest Baskin-Robbins?"

"Baskin-Robbins is just a few blocks away," he said as he gave us exact directions. Then he added, "Don't park out front - park around to the side so your car won't get sideswiped."

What a kid!

As we got to the ice cream store we ordered milkshakes, except that instead of two, we ordered three. Then we drove back to the station. Our young friend dashed out to greet us. "Hey, I see you got your milkshakes."

"Yes, and this one is for you!"

His mouth fell open. "For me?"

"Sure. With all the fantastic service you gave us, I couldn't leave you out of the milkshake deal."

"Wow!" was his astonished reply.

As we drove off I could see him in my rear-view mirror just standing there, grinning from ear to ear.

Now, what did this little act of generosity cost me? Only about two dollars - you see, it's not the money, it's the style.

Well, I must have been feeling especially creative that day, so on our arrival in Carmel I drove directly to a flower shop. As we walked inside I said to the florist, "I need a long-stemmed rose for my lady to carry while we go shopping in Carmel."

The florist, a rather unromantic type, replied, "We sell them by the dozen."

"I don't need a dozen," I said, "just one."

"Well," he replied haughtily, "it will cost you two dollars."

"Wonderful," I exclaimed. "There's nothing worse than a cheap rose."

Selecting the rose with some deliberation, I handed it to my friend. She was so impressed! And the cost? Two dollars. Just two dollars. A bit later she looked up and said, "Jim, I must be the only woman in Carmel today carrying a rose." And I believe she probably was.

Can you imagine the opportunity to create magic with those around you, and all for the cost of a few dollars, some imagination and care.

Remember, it is not the amount that matters but the thought and care that often has the greatest impact upon those you love.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
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Posted 2/06/2003 by Josh Hinds

Finally Revealed! The Luckiest Person in the World
by Gary Vurnum

Congratulations... it's... you!

"What? Yeah right!" I bet you're thinking.

Well... yes, you are... but only if you don't stop yourself before you even start. OK. So maybe I should explain a little.

For a start, let me ask you a question.

"What is Luck?"

If you are like most people, you probably associate luck with someone else. I've met very few people who would call themselves lucky. If you look at it a little more deeply,
there are really two ways that we define luck:

1) The "Why not me?" factor
2) The "It will never happen to me" factor

Let's look at each one in turn:

The "Why not me?" factor
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I, for example, could easily fall into this category if I needed an excuse. I could say that I am unlucky because I have a disabled son. I could complain about how lucky my sister-in-law is to have had three healthy children.

But I don't... and I won't.

Why?

Because I am the lucky one.

I have seen one family with three children that are as bad, if not worse, than my son. So aren't I the lucky one to have a 'normal' daughter as well as a disabled son?

To those people who cannot have children... I am the lucky one to have had any at all.

So you see whatever situation you are in, someone is always going to be better off than you... and someone is definitely going to be worse off than you.

Just because someone has something that you haven't doesn't mean that they are luckier than you... it might just mean that perhaps what they have got isn't right for you anyway.

I know for a fact that I wouldn't be writing this now if I was 'lucky' enough to have had two 'normal' children.

The "It will never happen to me" factor
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This could also have been called the "In the right place at the right time" factor.

We've all met them. Those people for whom everything just falls into place. You just know that whenever something could go either way for them... they are always going to
'fall on their feet'.

My brother is a good example. He just wanders through life without a care in the world and guess what? - everything just lines up behind him.

Why? Well there's a clue in the last paragraph - he's 'lucky' precisely because he doesn't worry about whether things will go right or not - he just does what is right for him.

You see... luck is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Dwell too long on the 'fact' that you are never going to be happy, or the 'fact' that you will never have any money... and guess how lucky you will be when happiness and money comes your way?

The reason why something will 'never happen' is because of your belief that it won't. And guess where luck takes its lead from?

Belief.

Luck, whatever form it takes, only seems to 'work' for those people who are classed as 'lucky' by other people.

So if you really think about it, we are all lucky in some form or another. It's just that the 'unlucky' people choose to focus on the negative aspects of their lives, rather than riding with the positives.

That's why if you really let yourself... you could be the luckiest person in the world!

To Our Success!

(c)2002
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Gary Vurnum's life turned around after the birth of his severely disabled son, and he now wants to share with others the tools he used to remain positive during the worst time of his life. His life-changing ebook "The Science of Success" is available here.