A DEFINITE CHIEF AIM 165He looked at the outline of the points for a few minutes, then
turned to me and said:
"Yes, your discovery is going to help you make better speeches, but
that is not all it will do. It will help you become a more effective writer,
for I have noticed in your previous writings a tendency to scatter your
thoughts. For instance, if you started to describe a beautiful mountain
yonder in the distance, you would be apt to sidetrack your description
by calling attention to a beautiful bed of wild flowers, or a running
brook, or a singing bird, detouring here and there, zigzag fashion, before
finally arriving at the proper point from which to view the mountain.
In the future you are going to find it much less difficult to describe an
object, whether you are speaking or writing, because your seventeen
points represent the very foundation of organization:'
A man who had no legs once met a man who was blind. He pro-
posed to the blind man that they form an alliance that would be of great
benefit to both. "You let me climb upon your back;' said he to the blind
man, "then I will use your legs and you may use my eyes. Between the
two of us we will get along more rapidly:'
COMMENTARY
Marty and Helen Shih are a brother-and-sister team that has proven the
value of a Master Mind in turning organized effort into success. In 1919 they
opened a flower stall on a street corner in Los Angeles. Their first day they took
in just $1.99.
Together they worked hard. One of their smartest decisions was to record as
many details as possible about each of their customers. This allowed them to call
and remind people of approaching birthdays, anniversaries, and special events-
saving many a forgetful customer from embarrassment and earning the Shihs
enormous goodwill. From this simple start, the Shihs began compiling a valuable
database. This value was increased by the fact that the Shihs were targeting the
Asian-American community, one that many businesses had overlooked.