Many years ago when I was working hard but drifting with no guidance I was fortunate to be introduced to Earl Nightingale's "The Strangest Secret." It changed my entire life immediately and put the Journal on the right path to success.
Before this discovery the Journal had no written goals and no time limits to reach them. We were broke and ready to fold up our tent and go home.
After listening to Nightingale, I wrote down my goals on a small index card and carried it with me wherever I went and constantly looked at it.
I recently found the faded and ripped card and here's what I had written: $500 PER WEEK IN ADVERTISERS. TOP SALESMAN IN REAL ESTATE, OCT. 20, 1963. YOU BECOME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT.
The final thought came from a popular motivation book written by Napoleon Hill, "Think And Grow Rich." This is the book that led Nightingale into writing about success motivation.
Nightingale was a very interesting character. At age 17 he joined the United States Marine Corps. In 1941 he was stationed in Hawaii and was on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was one of the only 12 surviving Marines on board.
After serving for seven years he began working in the radio industry. And in the early 1950s he became the voice of the popular weekly series, Sky King.
Meanwhile he couldn't get a particular thought out of his mind, YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT. That also reminded him of the Biblical phrase - AS YE SOW, SO YE SHALL REAP. And in 1956 he recorded THE STANGEST SECRET. Which turned out not to be strange or even a secret.
The album sold over a million copies and was the first non-musical record to achieve Gold record status.
In 1963 I bought a copy and it changed my life.
In 1988 Earl was appearing in Boston. Yay! I could finally see and maybe even meet him and thank him personally. So I purchased a bunch of tickets for my office staff.
When the day came, that afternoon I met with a young relative who was interested in entering the business world. His name is James Boudrot. I spent an hour lecturing him. As Jim got up to leave I noticed I had one Nightingale ticket on my desk. Because Earl had taught me that it is better to give than to receive, I gave Jim the ticket and strongly suggested he listen to Earl Nightingale live. He did. That evening Earl announced that it was his last live appearance, and several months later he passed away.
Boudrot successfully worked at the Journal using all the Nightingale tips, soon he joined one of Boston's most successful brokerage firms, The Hunneman Company. Jim is now an executive vice president with NAI Hunneman and is a former president of the SIOR New England Chapter.
I never got a chance to directly thank Earl, but I, and millions of others will always be grateful that he survived the bombing of Pearl Harbor and writing "The Strangest Secret". It changed my life for the better. You can listen to his book on your computer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYHbLS5s2Ks
Roland Hopkins is founder of the NYREJ, Norwell, Mass. Tags: