In my last email, I shared with you a famous Zig Ziglar story. A woman asked to meet with him for some advice before a presentation in Birmingham, Alabama – and Zig obliged.

The woman was miserable in her job, and she wanted Zig to fix it. He asked if she’d be open to trying something new. She agreed.

He then told her that when she got home, just before bedtime, take a sheet of paper and write at the top, ‘I like my job because…’

She immediately said, “That will be easy because I don’t like anything about that job!” She thought that was the end of it.

Zig said, “Well, do you work there just to be nice, or are you paid for working there?”

The woman admitted they paid her, and yes, she liked being paid for what she did.

Zig instructed her to open her notebook so they could start with a short list, right then and there. She wasn’t happy about and finally angrily opened her notebook. In a short time, she listed 22 things she liked about her job. In addition to enjoying getting paid, she listed:

• They paid her above average.
• She had 3 weeks’ vacation with pay.
• She had a retirement program.

Zig told her to look in the mirror and say enthusiastically, “I love my job because …” before every one of the statements.

Of all the emotions we can have, the healthiest of all human emotions is gratitude.

Six weeks later, Zig was back in Birmingham, Alabama. He was doing a follow-up sales seminar. And the woman was there, seated in the front row – with a huge smile on her face.

Zig asked how she was doing, and she said, “Mr. Ziglar, I’m doing wonderfully well in my job, and thank you for asking. You cannot believe how much those people down there have changed!”

Zig’s lesson: You’re not going to change anybody else, until you change you. Everything begins with you.

We know that creating your dream retirement starts with you. Yes, we have dependable advice and sound strategies to get you there—but until you take the time to do something about it, that dream will just remain a dream.

We want to change that. Give us a call at 513-563-PLAN (7526) or book online to schedule a conversation and we’ll work to make your dreams come closer to reality. And if you’d like to buy a gratitude journal to celebrate, we think that’s a great idea. Because after meeting with us, we believe you’ll have a lot of reasons to use it.

Regards,
Nikki Earley, CFP®