It Pays to be Nice ... and CALM!

by Jack Canfield
(Arizona, USA)

Jack Canfield Training Group

The North Wind boasted of great strength. The Sun argued that there was great power in gentleness. "We shall have a contest," said the Sun. Far below, a man traveled a winding road. He was wearing a warm winter coat.

"As a test of strength," said the Sun, "Let us see which of us can take the coat off of that man." "It will be quite simple for me to force him to remove his coat," bragged the Wind.

The Wind blew so hard, the birds clung to the trees. The world was filled with dust and leaves. But the harder the wind blew down the road, the tighter the shivering man clung to his coat.

Then, the Sun came out from behind a cloud. Sun warmed the air and the frosty ground. The man on the road unbuttoned his coat.

The sun grew slowly brighter and brighter.
Soon the man felt so hot, he took off his coat and sat down in a shady spot.

"How did you do that?" said the Wind. "It was easy," said the Sun, "I lit the day. Through gentleness I got my way."

Today's featured article was an easy one for me. In this world of increased stress, financial pressures, pink slips, traffic jams and cancelled flights, it pays to know how to stay centered and calm; how to interact like the sun and not the wind. Believe it or not, it's a critical success strategy.

Pamela Bruner is one of my students. She is a graduate of my seven-day Breakthrough to Success Summer Training (this year August 8-14), a participant in my year-long Train the Trainer Mentorship Program, and a member of my Platinum Inner Circle Master Mind Group.

Pamela is a master practitioner of the success principles I teach, and is currently working on a book with me applying the principles and techniques of the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to removing the emotional blocks and limiting beliefs that confront people when they attempt to apply the 64 success principles that I teach in my book The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.

She sent me and an e-mail earlier this month that shows just how valuable it is to stay calm, expect the best, believe it's possible to get what you want no matter what is happening around you, and to take action to produce the desired result.

Here is Pamela's e-mail. I hope it will uplift and inspire you as much as it did me. More importantly I hope it will serve as a valuable lesson for what to do if you find yourself in a similar situation; "trying to get from where you are to where you want to be" when all the flights to where you want to be are being cancelled!

I was flying to West Palm Beach to film a TV spot for my husband Dave's company, Heartland Harps. My plane was supposed to arrive at 8pm, and we needed to be in the studio at 7:30 am the next morning. The film crew would be there, waiting. My flight was delayed, and then delayed 3 more times. At 9:50pm, they announced that they were waiting for a call from the higher ups as to whether the flight would be cancelled.

Many people were angry, and were yelling at the two USAir representatives behind the counter. I went over and said to one of the reps, "The flight might still go, is that right?"

She replied, "I really think that they'll cancel it at this point."

I said, "I really need to be in Boca Raton tomorrow morning at 7:30am. I'm not upset, but I've got a film crew waiting for me. Is there any way you can help me?"

She went around the corner, and a few minutes later she beckoned me over. "There's a flight leaving for Ft. Lauderdale at 10:15. It's oversold, but I might be able to get you on it. I think they'll lose a few people." I said, "It's 9:55 now. Can I make it?"

She replied, "It's been delayed also. Go now!" As I grabbed the new boarding pass she'd printed for me, I thanked her profusely, and as I ran away, she said, "It pays to be nice and quiet!"

I ran to the other terminal, exchanged my new boarding pass for one with an actual seat assignment (hurray!) and waited. The plane didn't leave until midnight, and I got in at 2am. All around me I heard people grumbling about the delays, the service, etc. All I was thinking was how grateful I was to have made it before my 7:30am deadline.

I did see a few people from my West Palm Beach flight come over to the Ft. Lauderdale flight, but no one else got on. I was the only one who made it that night! Thank you Spirit!!

The Success Principles employed:
*#4: Believe It's Possible and You Get What You Expect
*#55: Be a Class Act, and
*#17: Ask, Ask, Ask!

Warmly, Pamela

This is a great example of how applying the principles can literally get you from where you are to want to be when everyone else is being left behind. Try a little kindness and be a class act. As Pamela's story illustrates, warm sunshine works a lot better than a harsh wind.
© 2010 Jack Canfield
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