The first rule of management is
this: Don't send your ducks to
eagle school. Why? Because it
won't work. Good people are found, not
changed. They can change themselves,
but you can't change them. If you want
good people, you have to find them. If
you want motivated people, you have
to find them, not motivate them.
I picked up a magazine not long ago
in New York that had a full-page ad in
it for a hotel chain. The first line of the
ad read, "We do not teach our people
to be nice." Now that got my attention.
The second line said, "We hire nice
people." I thought, What a clever
shortcut!"
Motivation is a mystery. Why are
some people motivated and some are
not? Why does one salesperson see his
first prospect at seven in the morning
while the other sees his first prospects
at 11 in the morning? Why would one
start at seven and the other start at 11?
I don't know. Call it "mysteries of the
mind."
I give lectures to a thousand people
at a time. One walks out and says, "I'm
going to change my life." Another
walks out with a yawn and says, "I've
heard all this stuff before." Why is that?
The wealthy man says to a thousand
people, "I read this book, and it started
me on the road to wealth." Guess how
many of the thousand go out and get
the book? Answer: very few. Isn't that
incredible? Why wouldn't everyone go
get the book? Mysteries of the mind.
To one person, you have to say,
"You'd better slow down. You can't
work that many hours, do that many
things, go, go, go. You're going to have
a heart attack and die." And to another
person, you have to say, "When are
you going to get off the couch?" What
is the difference? Why wouldn't everyone
strive to be wealthy and happy?
Chalk it up to mysteries of the mind
and don't waste your time trying to
turn ducks into eagles. Hire people
who already have the motivation and
drive to be eagles and then just let
them soar.
Learn more about Jim Rohn at
www.AdvantEdgeMag.com/Rohn.
(Edited by Carson V. Conant)