Message for Daily Living - Column by Zig Ziglar

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The Metric System

Zig Ziglar

Change always is challenging, but in our marketplace today, we need to understand that change is inevitable. However, it does create some unique situations. This is especially true when we apply the metric system to some old standbys that all of us learned as kids.

For example, "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers" will have an entirely different sound when we switch to the metric system because it will come out "Peter Piper picked 8.81 liters of pickled peppers." Loses something, doesn't it? The phrase "it hit me like a ton of bricks" will be "it hit me like 907 kilograms of bricks."

Surely, many of us have used the phrase "a miss is as good as a mile." Somehow I cannot imagine saying, "A miss is as good as 1.609 kilometers." The same can be said of "a pinch of salt" when it is switched over to "a decigram of salt" or "give them an inch, and they take a mile," which, under the metric system, would be "give them 2.54 centimeters, and they take 1.609 kilometers."

The experts tell us that for myriad reasons, the whole world should be using the metric system. Perhaps that is true, but before it happens, there will need to be a different sales approach for us to be sold on this idea, which, in all probability, is in our own best interests. I believe a good place to start would be with a little humor. If we can get people laughing about a change or about valuable information, they are far more likely to be open-minded about accepting it.

I encourage you to take the humor approach when the occasion demands, and I'll see you at the top!

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What Will You Leave Behind?

I love the story of the man in his 70s who was setting out fruit trees at his summer home. A friendly neighbor jokingly asked him whether 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."

Probably every person older than 16 has read from time to time what happens to people when they retire. Oftentimes, if they do not have new objectives in life, they grow stale, wither and die much earlier than they would have died had they remained busy. 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 he, would receive. Regardless of whether he benefited or not, the anticipation of someone else benefiting was sufficient for him.

Message: There can be just as much, perhaps more, pleasure in planting those trees as there is in harvesting the fruit. People who leave nothing have feelings of regret. It's true that you really can have everything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want. You get what you want -- the satisfaction of leaving something beautiful behind. Those who come later will get the benefit of the delicious fruit. Both of you will win.

One of the paradoxes of life is the fact that ultimately all you will be able to keep are those things you sent ahead or left behind. Take this approach, and I will see you at the top!

To find out more about Zig Ziglar and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. Subscribe to Zig Ziglar's free e-mail newsletter through info@zigziglar.com.

Copyright 2008 Creators Syndicate Inc.

This news arrived on: 09/29/2008

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