Mastering The Art Of Success

(^) Mastering the Art of Success
professional, for example, you put in place enough life insurance to
make a difference in p eoples’ lives.
It always amazes me that when the cornerback, who gets paid
millions because he is athletic and can knock down a pass, has
thousands of cheering fans saying how great he is and, “Isn’t he
successful?” Of course he is talented and may be successful financially.
However, I believe his real success comes when he uses his position to
be a positive role model for young people or fosters a charity. On the
other hand, when a life insurance agent can, with a few drops of ink,
send children to college, save a home by paying off the mortgage, or
establish a lifetime income stream for a widow, he or she knows he or
she is s uccessful. Unfortunately, life insur ance agents must be limber
enough to reach around and pat themselves on the back and say “at a
boy” because most people only s ee the trophy and have no concept of
th eir real success.
Success is not what your peers say or think about what y ou have
accomplished, rather, it is how you feel about what you have
accomplished. It is not necessarily in having money but creating it
where there was lack. What good is world a cclaim if you are fill ed with
self-disdain? I believe success is to the brain as embezzlement is to a
bank—it’s an inside job. While worldly success is measured by the
perception others have of our individual achievements, it is in the
contribution we make to the circumstances and betterment of others
th at gives accreditation to our lives, creates our legacy, and is the real
success of our existence.
WRIGHT^
So, are you saying it’s your philosophy that our legacy is the
ha llmark of our success?
FORD
Like you, I had my start in banking. I’m sure you worked to leave it
better than you found it. I consider that a form of a legacy. Of all the
ways people have tried to explain it, I believe Linda Ellis’s example
of the tombstone is most re vealing.