5/20/08

Learning From the Masters Club - Lifetime Member

Benjamin Franklin, easily one of the greatest figures in American history, said this: "If a man empties his purse in his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."

History class in high school was boring and it seemed like all they wanted us to do was to memorize some dates and events, pass the test and move on. That was true for me except for one teacher who I only had the pleasure of working with for a few months. This teacher read parts of books, told interesting stories, taught us what things were different back then and how people responded the things and events. It was fascinating because this teacher was inspired and fascinated himself. That came across to me perfectly and I am grateful for the experience.

Reading books during my school years did not happen. I used to buy summary books to avoid reading a whole book. I wanted to learn, but not so much as to read a thick book all the way from cover to cover. I mean, get real. It wasn't until I got into sales when I was 22 that I really began reading books and they continue to inspire me today 36 years later--and frankly, even more so now times ten.

There are so many awesome books, audio books, seminar tapes, CD's, MP3's, DVD's, Flash Movies available now that to me it is like a kid in a candy store! One of the newer things in the last few years is the advent of websites like YouTube, Facebook, Digg, and many others where you can get interesting information in staggering volume and depth. You might have to wade through some odd stuff to get there, but I have presented a number of YouTube videos in this blog and there are hundreds more like them that are instructive and uplifting.

Want to learn more about sales, sales management, personal finances, investing, playing guitar, biographies of great people, inspirational messages, etc.? They are now so easy to find and get them from a wide variety of people and companies. When I started in sales in 1972, I had a very hard time trying to find books and other materials on sales and now it is very easy; albeit, you do have a lot of choices and choosing can be a bit strenuous--and exciting!

So now, you heard of this strange named guy called Zig Ziglar, so you go to YouTube and type in Zig Ziglar and you will be amazed how much stuff is on there about and including Zig Ziglar. If you don't know about Zig, he is a classic motivational speaker from the 70's and 80's and beyond. One of my personal mentors is Jim Rohn. You will find tons about him. In the last few years, my sales guru is Jeffrey Gitomer and I am sharing a number of his videos, books and such. Powerful information to make changes, get inspired, learn better ways of doing things, make more money, whatever.

I got through high school without reading one average size book cover to cover. I dropped out of college and joined the service. At 22, I went back to school by reading books and a couple thousand books later, I decided to stay in school for life. I wonder what I will learn next? Memberships are still available in this club. It is the Learning from the Masters Club. All interested parties are welcome!

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