The Motivation To Succeed Series

Successful people almost always attribute their success, in large

measure, to the influence and inspiration of some other person. Henry

Ford tells of how he was in a period of uncertainty about building his

gas engine. He was discouraged about it, and was letting the idea go

dead in him. It was at this point that he met Thomas Edison at a

convention in New York City. Edison got him to explain his idea, and

draw his plan on a menu card. When Ford finished, Edison banged his

fist on the table and said, "Young man, that's the thing; you have it!

Keep at it!" This word of encouragement from the world's greatest

inventive genius is just what Ford needed. He wrote, "That bang on

the table that night was worth world's to me." He went back from

that convention and built his engine. He had it in him to do it, but it

may never have gotten done without that encouragement from Edison.

Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke wisdom when he said, "Our chief

want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can." Paul was

striving to be that person to the Corinthian Christians. He was trying

to be that external stimulus that motivates people to be all they can be.

In part one of our study of success we stressed the basic truth that the

arena where the battle for success is fought is within. We must never

lose sight of this truth. Dr. Maxwell Maltz, the celebrated plastic

surgeon and psychologist, and author of Psycho-Cybernetics, wrote,

"Your mind is the battleground in which you win or lose....it is a

battleground in which you lose the war against negative feelings or in

which you win this essential battle and go on to face life with

success-type approaches."

Because this is a vital part of the story of successful living, Paul

emphasizes, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."

A vital part is not the whole, however. The heart is vital, but it is not

the whole of the body. The battle is within, but it is also a fact that a

successful battle within depends upon influences from without. It is

almost impossible to be successful alone. We need the positive

influences of others to bring out the best in us.

Victor Goertzel and his wife read over 5,000 volumes of biography

to produce their book Cradles Of Eminence. They examine the

childhood and home life of 400 of the most famous men and women of

the 20th century. They concluded that if you want to be successful you

have got to be influenced by the right people. In the majority of cases

these successful people were influenced by one or both parents who

had a strong drive toward intellectual or creative achievement. The

external influence of someone is what motivated them to will to win

within.

Joseph Brunten Jr., who was born and educated in Pittsburgh, tells

of the influence that motivated him to climb to Chief Scout Executive

of Boy Scouts of America. He was on a hike with a scout troop as a

boy, and they had gone a long way and were tired. When the scout

master said to rest they all flopped on the grass. Then the scout

master said, "Look about you. What do you see?" All in chorus they

shouted, "Grass!" He ordered each patrol to lash 4 sticks together in

a crude frame about a foot square, and place it on the ground. This

was to be their world for the next hour. The boys were puzzled, but

they began to observe. In minutes they realized there was more than

just grass. There was a world of great variety with different plants,

spiders, mites, earthworm mounds, and even a bit of fluff off a rabbit's

tail. There were rock particles, pebbles, and minerals.

Joseph never forgot that experience, and he writes, "In one hour I

received one of the most important lessons I have ever had in my life.

I learned to observe instead of just to see. I learned to look below the

surface instead of to judge by appearance." The scout master

happened to be his father, and this lesson on seeing was a motivating

factor in his success.

Success through seeing is common for successful people, for they

usually see more than others. William T. Brady, one of America's

most successful executives, told of the little girl who was taken for a

cruise around Manhatten Island on a clear day. Suddenly she

exclaimed, "Daddy, I can look farther than my eyes can see." Brady

who knows what success is all about said that is the key- to look

farther than our eyes can see. The person who can help us do that is a