The Boy With The Low I.Q.

'Some day you will find what your special gift is and when you do, you will make your parents very proud of you'

One of the worst evils of today is the exaggerated importance given to so-called intelligence tests. Many other qualities besides agility in answering trick questions go into the making of human personality. A man can fail all the tests and make a wonderful life. Let me tell you what happened to a young Canadian boy.

Call him Johnnie Martin. He was the son of a carpenter, and his mother worked as a housekeeper. They lived frugal lives, saving their money for the day when they could send their son to college. Johnnie had reached the second year in high school when the blow fell. A psychologist attached to the school called the young man, just reached sixteen, into his private office and this is what he said.

'Johnnie, I've been studying your marks and I've gone over your various tests in motor and sensory impressions - your physical examination.  I've made a very careful study of you and your achievements.'

'I've been trying hard,' put in Johnnie.

'That's just the trouble.' said the psychologist.

'You have worked very hard indeed - but it has not helped. You just don't seem able to get ahead in your studies. You're just not cut out for it, and for you to remain in high school would, in my opinion, be a waste of time.'

The boy buried his face in his hands.

'This will be hard on my mother and father,' he said. 'Their one idea is for me to be a college man.'

The psychologist laid his hand on the boy's shoulder. 'People have different kinds of talents, Johnnie,' he said.'

'There are painters who were never able to learn the multiplication table, and engineers who can't sing on key. But every one of us has something special - and you are no exception. Some day you will find what your special gift is and when you do, you will make your parents very proud of you.'

Johnnie never went back to school. Jobs were scarce in town, but he managed to keep busy mowing the lawns of the householders and puttering in their flower-beds. And then a curious thing happened.  Before long his customers began to notice that Johnnie had what they called a 'green thumb'. The plants he tended grew and blossomed, and the rose trees blossomed. He fell into the habit of making suggestions for re-arranging the tiny front-yard landscapes. He had an eye for colour and could make surprising combinations that pleased the eye.

One day while he was down town he happened to notice a stretch of unused land behind the city hall. Chance or fate or whatever you may like to call it brought one of the town's alderman round the corner just at that moment. Impetuously the boy said, 'I can make a garden out of this dump, if you'll let me.'

'The town's got no money for frills,' said the alderman.

'I don't want any money for it,' said the boy - 'I just want to do it.'

The alderman, being a politician, was astounded to find anyone who did not want money, under any and all circumstances. He took Johnnie into an office, and when the young man came out he had the authority to clean up the public eyesore. That very afternoon he borrowed extra tools and seeds and soil. Someone gave him a few young trees to plant.  When others heard of it they offered rose-bushes and even a hedge. Then the town's leading manufacturer heard of it, and volunteered to supply some benches.

Before long the dreary old dump had become a little park. There were grassy lawns and little curving walks and restful seats and little house for birds. All the towns people were talking about what a lovely improvement the young man had made.

But it was also a kind of show window for Johnnie. People saw the result of his skill and knew him for a natural landscape gardener.

That was twenty five years ago. Today Johnnie is the head of a prosperous business in landscape gardening. His customers extend into neighbouring provinces.

Johnnie still cannot speak French or translate Latin, trigonometry is unknown to him. But colour and light and lovely prospects are his bread and butter. His aging parents are proud of Johnnie, for he is not only a success - a man of affairs and a member of the best clubs in town - he has also made his part of the world a lovelier place to live in. Where ever he and his men go, they spread beauty before the eyes of people.

Listen up, One of the most peaceful mindsets ever begins the moment you finally find the courage to let go of what you can’t change. It is what it is. Accept it, learn from it and move on. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done; what matters is what you choose to do from here.

Till I come your way again, I leave you with open mind.....

Modern Parables by Fulton Oursler.  First published in 1951, appeared in Inspir Email No 52 - January 31, 2005, And amplifies - Success Breath. 

Self- Confidence, The Lead Into "Power-House"

Down in Louisville, Kentucky, USA lives Mr. Lee Cook, a man who has practically no legs and has to wheel himself around on a cart. In spite of the fact that Mr. Cook has been without legs since birth, he is the owner of a great industry and a millionaire through his own efforts. He has proved that a man can get along very well without legs if he has a well developed Self-confidence. In many cities one may see a strong able- bodied and able- headed young man, legs, walking down Fifth Avenue every afternoon, begging for a living. His head is perhaps as sound and as able to think as the average. This young man could duplicate anything that Mr. Cook, of Louisville, has done, if he thought of himself as Mr. Cook thinks of himself. 

Henry Ford owns more millions of dollars than he will ever need or use. Net worth: $188.1 billion (based on February 2008 data from Forbes). Not so many years before he started his company, he was working as a laborer in a machine shop, with but little schooling and without capital. Scores of other men, some of them with better organized brains than his, worked near him. Ford threw off the poverty consciousness, developed confidence in himself,
thought of success and attained it. Those who worked around him could have done as well had they thought as he did.

Milo C. Jones, of Wisconsin, was stricken down with paralysis a few years ago. So bad was the stroke that he could not turn himself in bed or move a muscle of his body. His physical body was useless, but there was nothing wrong with his brain, so it began to
function in earnest, probably for the first time in its existence. Lying flat on his back in bed, Mr. Jones made that brain create a definite purpose. That purpose was prosaic and humble enough in nature, but it was definite and it was a purpose, something that he had never known before. His definite purpose was to make Pork Sausage.
Calling his family around him he told of his plans and began directing them in carrying the plans into action. With nothing to aid him except a sound mind and plenty of Self-confidence, Milo C. Jones spread the name and reputation of "Little Pig Sausage" all over the United States, and accumulated a fortun6e besides. All this was accomplished after paralysis had made it impossible for him to work with his hands.

Where thought prevails power may be found!

Henry Ford had made millions of dollars and is still making millions of dollars each year even after death, because he believed in Henry Ford and transformed that belief into a definite purpose and backed that purpose with a definite plan. The other machinists who worked along with Ford, during the early days of his career, visioned nothing but a weekly pay envelope and that was all they ever got. They demanded nothing out of the ordinary of themselves. If you want to get more be sure to demand more of yourself. Notice that this demand is to be made on yourself!

There comes to mind a well-known poem whose
author expressed a great psychological truth:

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't;
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.
If you think you'll lose you've lost,
For out of the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will –
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are -
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

Somewhere in your make-up there is a "subtle something" which, if it were aroused by the proper outside influence, would carry you to heights of achievement such as you have never before anticipated. Just as a master player can take hold of a violin and cause that instrument to pour forth the most beautiful and entrancing strains of music, so is there some outside influence that can lay hold of your mind and cause you to go forth into the field of your chosen endeavour and play a glorious symphony of success. No man knows what hidden forces lie dormant within you. You, yourself, do not know your capacity for achievement, and you never will know until you come in contact with that particular stimulus which arouses you to greater action and extends your vision, develops your Self-confidence and moves you with a deeper desire to achieve. 

I make bold to say ‘You have within you all the power you need with which to get whatever you want or need in this world, and about the best way to avail yourself of this power is to believe in yourself.’

"Know thyself, man; know thyself."

Napoleon Hill Is Instrumental To This Article, The Law Of Success In Sixteen Lessons, Pages 53-56.

Les Brown: HARD WORK BEATS TALENT - Motivational Speech for Success & Study

Success is for all, nobody have the monopoly of success, if you do what successful people do over and over, you will get the result they got.
To be born poor is not a sin but to die poor is a sign of lack of knowledge.

Success - Luck or Choice

In the words of Elizabeth Bourgeret, "Success is a choice; a promise that you make to yourself to keep moving forward."

The foundation of success goes largely unnoticed. Success is almost always built in small, inconspicuous stages. When a major accomplishment is attained the world notices. Recognition is quick. It seems everyone takes notice. Yet while the accomplishment is happening, while the hard work and effort is being executed it rarely draws any attention at all.

If attention is only focused on the finished product, it would appear that success is available only to the lucky few. However when we go behind the scenes, a completely different picture appears.

The opera singer who gives a standout performance received with a standing ovation has practiced and rehearsed offstage hour after hour, day after day, year after year. The overnight successful business owner who appeared to be in the right spot at the right time worked unnoticed late into the night, month after month to get there.

Success and accomplishment are not limited to those who are lucky. They are available to anyone who chooses to be disciplined, focused, persistent, committed, positive and enthusiastic. True, from time to time luck can play a role in success. However luck bestowed upon anyone is only ever significant for those who choose to turn opportunity into success. Success like the colour of the shirt we wear is a choice. Our approach to life is a choice. I believe we should consciously make success a chosen way of life.

Set out on all your journeys throughout life with the end in mine. Choose to make success the destination for all your life's undertakings. Provide your life with the stewardship it requires for ultimate success, fulfilled happiness. The first step in achieving success in anything starts and ends with a choice.

There is no question that luck plays a role in life and where it can sometimes lead us. But remember the ability for anyone or any situation to impact on our emotions, is the result of our response to such experiences. No one can make you feel any particular way until you first empower them to do so. The power of our feelings remains ours. We choose how we will respond to the daily dynamics in life. Don't give that responsibility to anyone other than yourself.

We are the captains of our life sailing through the many different climatic conditions life presents. We decide what direction we take. We ultimately adjust our sails for a new course of direction.

Lady Oprah Winfrey Concludes; "I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn’t been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn’t have been lucky".

Benson Adima summarize, "if you believe in the philosophy of luck you will die a miserable failure".

Happy Sailing

Believers Are Achiever

'In an Inspirational insight recollected in tranquility, Harvey Mackay, Author of the New York Times Bestsellers - 'Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive' and 'Pushing The Envelope.'

The professor stood before his class of 30 senior molecular biology students, about to pass out the final exam. 'I have been privileged to be your instructor this semester, and I know how hard you have all worked to prepare for this test. I also know most of you are off to medical school or grad school next fall,' he said to them.

'I am well aware of how much pressure you are under to keep your GPAs up, and because I know you are all capable of understanding this material, I am prepared to offer an automatic 'B' to anyone who would prefer not to take the final.'

The relief was audible as a number of students jumped up to thank the professor and departed from class. The professor looked at the handful of students who remained, and offered again, 'Any other takers? This is your last opportunity.' One more student decided to go.

Seven students remained. The professor closed the door and took attendance. Then he handed out the final exam. There were two sentences typed on the paper:

'Congratulations, you have just received an 'A' in this class. Keep believing in yourself.'

I never had a professor who gave a test like that. It may seem like the easy way out of grading a bunch of exams, but it's a test that any teacher in any discipline could and should give. Students who don't have confidence in what they've learned are 'B' students at best.

The same is true for students of real life. The 'A' students are those who believe in what they're doing because they've learned from both successes and failures. They've absorbed life's lessons, whether from formal education or the school of hard knocks, and become better people.

Those are the people who you look for when you're hiring or promoting, and the ones you keep if you're downsizing. Your organisation needs their brand of thinking.

Psychologists say that by the age of two, 50 percent of what we ever believe about ourselves has been formed; by age six, 60 percent, and at eight years, 80 percent. Wouldn't you love to have the energy and optimism of a little kid? There is nothing you couldn't do or learn or be.

But you're a big kid now, and you realise you have some limits. Don't let the biggest limit be yourself. Take your cue from Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest: 'It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.'

Believing in yourself comes from knowing what you are really capable of doing. When it's your turn to step up to the plate, realise that you won't hit a homerun every time. Baseball superstar Mickey Mantle struck out more than 1,700 times, but it didn't stop him from excelling at baseball. He believed in himself, and he knew his fans believed in him.

Surround yourself with positive people - they know the importance of confidence and will help you keep focused on what you can do instead of what you can't. Who you surround yourself with is who you become.

Never stop learning! I would work this advice into every column if I could; it's that important. Don't limit yourself only to work-related classes, either. Learn everything about every subject that you can. When you know what you're talking about, it shows.

Be very careful not to confuse confidence with a big ego. If you want people to believe in you, you also have to believe in them. Understand well that those around you also have much to contribute, and they deserve your support. Without faith in yourself and others, success is difficult.

At the end of a particularly frustrating practice one-day, a football coach dismissed his players by yelling, 'Now all you idiots, go take a shower!' All but one player headed toward the locker room. The coach glared at him and asked why he was still there.

'You told all the idiots to go, Sir,' the player replied, 'and there sure seems to be a lot of them. But I am not an idiot.'

Confident? You bet. And smart enough to coach that team some day.

I Have One Message For Young People Around The World 'Believe in Yourself, Even When No One Else Does.'