Long Term

Thinking

The Time of Your Life

Notes From Brian Tracy’s

“Something From Nothing”

Why? • In 1964, Dr. Edward Banfield published The Unheavenly City, describing his 25

years of research into success in America, and other countries.

• The focus of his inquiries was to discover the real reason for upward

socio-economic mobility in American society.

• “Why is it that some people move up

socially and economically in the

course of their lifetimes, and others

do not?”

What?He carefully compared factors such as

family background, intelligence, schools or colleges attended, industry or

business worked in, marriage and divorce, different cities or regions in the

country, and personal talents and abilities.

• What he found astonished him.

• There did not seem to be any direct

correlation between any of these factors and upward social

mobility.

Why? • Some people went to top universities and then went on to live mediocre lives.

• Others dropped out of high school and went onto head

up major industries.

• Some people had high IQ's and

ended up going nowhere

How?• Others with average IQ's became extremely successful and important people within

their societies.

• Some successful people grew up with

every blessing of family background

and others immigrated to the US knowing no one, and not even speaking the

language.

Truth!• 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

• 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the

wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; • 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are

not, to bring to nought things that are:

Truth!• 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

• 29 That no flesh should glory in his

presence. • 30 But of him are ye in Christ

Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and

redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in

the Lord.

Study • After several years, he finally stumbled on the real reason for

socio-economic advancement and upward mobility. He called it

• “long-time perspective.”

• He defined time perspective as, the amount of time that a person takes

into consideration when deciding what he is going

to do in the present.

Study• He found that successful

people tend to be future-oriented.

•They think about the

future much of the time.

• They project five, ten and even twenty years into the future in considering their

current decisions.

Study •Especially, they carefully

calibrate what would be likely

to happen in the future if they

were to take a certain action in

the present.

Study • As a result of thinking this way, they made better

and better decisions in the

short term that led to better and

better results in the long term.

Examples• Moses Refusing Egypt

and Choosing God's People, by Faith

• Hebrews 11:24-25

• By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's

daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the

people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.

Examples• Hebrews 12:2-4

• 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;

• who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the

shame, • and is set down at the right hand of

the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such

contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint

in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against

sin.

Examples• Romans 8:17-19

• 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

• 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this

present time are not worthy to be compared

with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

• 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the

manifestation of the sons of God.

Consequences• Henry Hazlitt, in his book

Economics in One Lesson, explained that

• the ability to accurately predict the secondary consequences of your

actions is the true mark of the superior intellect. • The initial reason for every

action is expedient.

Consequences

• It is focused on the primary consequences of the act, which

are always positive, or the individual would not act in the

first place.

• It is driven by the desire to get the things

you want faster and easier than any other way available to you, with little concern for

what is likely to happen as a result.

MOREConsequences

• For example, a young man goes to school, fools around, is inattentive

to his studies, gets poor grades, and finally drops out to get a job

and buy a car.

• In the short term, he has a car and money, but at the price of a

lifetime of low wages and limited possibilities.

MOREConsequences

• Another common example of short-term thinking is

• when labor unions strike for higher-than-market wages

(airlines, steel, automobile manufacturing) at the long-term price of making their companies and industries non-competitive

with non-union or foreign suppliers.

• They get increased wages in the short term at the price of

permanently crippling their companies and industries in the long term, throwing them out

of work permanently.

MOREConsequences

• Another example of short-term thinking that is damaging our

country is

• when the government continually increases

expenditures, expands programs, adds

entitlements, boosts budgets, hires more staff at inflated salaries at the long

term cost of huge government deficits that will have to be repaid by

our children and grandchildren.

MOREConsequences

• Many people quit their jobs in the short term to live off

unemployment at the long-term price of diminished self-respect

and lower lifetime earnings.

• Criminals engage in robberies,

burglaries and theft to get immediate

money at the price of ruined lives in

society.

MOREConsequences

• People in the workplace only do what they have to do to earn a paycheck, and then spend their time socializing and watching

television at the long-term price of under achievement and failure in

life.

• Over all, men and women continually do what is fun and easy in the short term

rather than what is hard and necessary, at the long-term price of never fulfilling their unique potentials as human

beings.

Educatingthe Young

• Aristotle wrote,

• “All advancement in civilization begins with

the development of character in the

young.” • The greatest need for a child

is to learn the core values of honesty, integrity,

responsibility, courage, compassion, hard work,

generosity and persistence.

Educatingthe Young

• The child learns these virtues by being instructed by his

parents in them and by seeing his parents

demonstrate them in their daily lives.

• Once a child has been taught these values and virtues, he must

then be encouraged to develop the self-control and personal discipline necessary to live by

them, no matter what the temptation of the moment.

Self Discipline

• The most important quality for a child to

learn is self-discipline. • This quality will have an impact on the child for the rest of his life.

• In an experiment at Harvard some years ago, they tested

this idea. • They seated several children under the age of five around a table and gave each of them a

candy.

Life Long

Success• They told these children

that, if they could refrain from eating this candy, they would receive two

candies when the experimenter came back

into the room. • They then watched the children

through a one-way mirror.

• Some of the children gobbled up the candy

immediately.

Self Discipline

• Others did not. • As the time passed, the children

who were holding themselves back from eating the candy

engaged in all kinds of behaviors to control themselves.

• Some closed their eyes. Some covered up the candy. Some looked

away from the candy. Others sang or spoke to

themselves. • Most of them finally gave in and

ate the candy.

Life Long

Success• Twenty years later, they followed

up on these children. • What they found was quite

revealing.

• There turned out to be a direct relationship

between how quickly the child ate the candy after the re-searcher

had left the room and how successful and

happy he had turned out to be in adult life.

Self Discipline

• The ones who had gobbled the candy immediately were

dissatisfied, struggling and working at lower level jobs.

• The ones who had not eaten the candy at all were more successful,

happier and better paid.

• This is why Napoleon Hill once wrote,

• “Self-discipline is the master key to riches.”

GodEternal

• God plans Long Term• Romans 8:28-31 KJV

• (28) And we know that all things work together

for good to them that love God, to them

who are the called according to his purpose. (29) For whom he did

foreknow, he also did

predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,

that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

GodEternal

• Romans 8:28-31 KJV

• (30) Moreover whom he did predestinate,

them he also called: and whom he called, them

he also justified: and

whom he justified, them he also glorified. (31)

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be

against us?

GodEternal

• Revelation 13:8 KJV• (8) And all that dwell upon the

earth shall worship him, whose names are not written

in the book of life of

•the Lamb slain from

the foundation

of the world.

GodEternal

• Jeremiah 29:11 KJV• (11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not

of evil, to give you an expected end.

• Jeremiah 29:11(GNB) • I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring

you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring

about the future you hope for.