I often tell people who haven`t seen me recently and wonder if I have retired, €œI`m not retired, I`m refired. I`m not gonna ease up, let up, shut up or give up until I`m taken up. As a matter of fact, I`m just getting warmed up! The main reason I have no interest in retirement is because I don`t think of what I do as work. What I do is help people learn how to live a more fulfilling life and I agree completely with Ann Holse when she says, “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”
I say give of yourself and begin to enjoy the benefits of living a life that fuels hope in others. People who concentrate on others more than themselves have considerably less depression and do not suffer from loneliness. They contribute to their community in ways younger people with growing families are unable to.
For example, I love the story of the man in his seventies who was setting out fruit trees at his summer home. A friendly neighbor jokingly asked him if he expected to live long enough to gather the fruit. The industrious planter said, “Possibly or possibly not. But,” he said, “even if I never pick any of the fruit from these trees, someday someone will, so the benefits will be substantial.”
The man with the fruit trees was doing something he could be proud of. He could watch those trees grow and anticipate the enjoyment that someone, perhaps even himself, would receive. Regardless of whether he benefited or not, the anticipation of someone else benefiting was sufficient for him. There can be just as much pleasure in planting those trees as there is in harvesting the fruit. And therein lies the answer to being happy and content for the entire length of our lives.
This article was written by Zig Ziglar, America`s motivator and teacher.
Zig Ziglar
A talented author and speaker, Zig Ziglar has an appeal that transcends barriers of age, culture and occupation. Since 1970, he has traveled over five million miles across the world delivering powerful life improvement messages, cultivating the energy of change.
He has shared the platform with such distinguished Americans as Presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Paul Harvey, Dr. Robert Schuller, plus numerous U.S. congressmen and governors. A well-known authority on complete and balanced success, Zig Ziglar has been recognized three times in the Congressional Record of the United States – for his work with youth in the drug war, and for his dedication to America and the free enterprise system.
Zig Ziglar
Zig Ziglar’s corporation is built upon the same philosophy he expounds to his audiences – hard work, common sense, fairness, commitment and integrity. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Ziglar offers public seminars, customized educational programs, workshops and keynote speakers – all focused on personal and professional development. Profoundly affecting the lives of people, Zig Ziglar has a client list that includes thousands of small and mid-sized businesses, Fortune 500 Companies, U.S. Government agencies, churches, schools and non-profit associations.
In addition, Mr. Ziglar has written twenty-five celebrated books on personal growth, leadership, sales, faith, family and success, including See You at the Top, Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World, Top Performance, Courtship After Marriage, Over The Top and Secrets of Closing the Sale. Nine titles have been on the best seller lists; his books and tapes have been translated into over thirty-eight languages and dialects.
In 1998 Success For Dummies and Confessions of a Grieving Christian were released. Not long after that the 25th Anniversary Revised Edition of See You at the Top and Staying Up, Up, Up in a Down, Down World were released. His autobiography, ZIG, was published in July 2002, Conversations With My Dog in 2003, and his NEWEST book, Better Than Good, has just been released!
[tags]Give To Live,Refired, Zig Ziglar,Motivator,Teacher, Leadership, Self development[/tags]