NITTY-GRITTY REASONS by Jim Rohn

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be motivated to achievement by
such a lofty goal as benevolence? I must confess, however,
that in the early years of my struggle to succeed, my
motivation was a lot more down-to-earth. My reason for
succeeding was more basic. In fact, it fell into the category
of what I like to call "nitty-gritty reasons." A nitty-gritty
reason is the kind that any one of us can have -- at any
time, on any day -- and it can cause our lives to change.
Let me tell you what happened to me . . .

Shortly before I met Mr. Shoaff, I was lounging at home one
day when I heard a knock at the door. It was a timid,
hesitant knock. When I opened the door I looked down to see a
pair of big brown eyes staring up at me. There stood a frail
little girl of about ten. She told me, with all the courage
and determination her little heart could muster, that she was
selling Girl Scout cookies. It was a masterful
presentation -- several flavors, a special deal, and only two
dollars per box. How could anyone refuse? Finally, with a big
smile and ever-so politely, she asked me to buy. And I
wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to!

Except for one thing. I didn't have two dollars! Boy, was I
embarrassed! Here I was -- a father, had been to college, was
gainfully employed -- and yet I didn't have two dollars to my
name.

Naturally I couldn't tell this to the little girl with the
big brown eyes. So I did the next best thing. I lied to her.
I said, "Thanks, but I've already bought Girl Scout cookies
this year. And I've still got plenty stacked in the house."

Now that simply wasn't true. But it was the only thing I
could think of to get me off the hook. And it did. The little
girl said, "That's okay, sir. Thank you very much." And with
that she turned around and went on her way.

I stared after her for what seemed like a very long time.
Finally, I closed the door behind me and, leaning my back to
it, cried out, "I don't want to live like this anymore. I've
had it with being broke, and I've had it with lying. I'll
never be embarrassed again by not having any money in my
pocket." That day I promised myself to earn enough to always
have several hundred dollars in my pocket at all times.

This is what I mean by a nitty-gritty reason. It may not win
me any prize for greatness, but it was enough to have a
permanent effect on the rest of my life.

My Girl-Scout-cookie story does have a happy ending. Several
years later, as I was walking out of my bank where I had just
made a hefty deposit and was crossing the street to get into
my car, I saw two little girls who were selling candy for
some girls' organization. One of them approached me, saying,
"Mister, would you like to buy some candy?" "I probably
would," I said playfully. "What kind of candy do you have?"
"It's almond roca." "Almond roca. That's my favorite. How
much is it?" "It's only two dollars." Two dollars. It
couldn't be! I was excited. "How many boxes of candy have you
got?" "I've got five." Looking at her friend, I said, "And
how many boxes do you have left?" "I've got four." "That's
nine. Okay, I'll take them all." At this, both girls' mouths
fell open as they exclaimed in unison, "Really?"

"Sure," I said. "I've got some friends that I'll pass some
around to." Excitedly, they scurried to stack all the boxes
together. I reached into my pocket and gave them eighteen
dollars. As I was about to leave, the boxes tucked under my
arm, one of the girls looked up and said, "Mister, you're
really something!" How about that! Can you imagine spending
only eighteen dollars and having someone look you in the face
and say, "You're really something!" Now you know why I always
carry a few hundred dollars on me. I'm not about to miss
chances like that ever again.

And to think it all resulted from my own embarrassment, that
when properly channeled, acted as a powerful motivator to
help me achieve.

How about you? What nitty-gritty reasons do you have waiting
to challenging and provoke you into change for the better?
Look for them, they are there. And once you see them and act
upon them you may never be the same again.