Lead the Field: How to Build a Millionaire Mindset (Earl Nightingale Series)

by Earl Nightingale

Let’s say what is wanted is a beautiful lawn, bordered by flower gardens, with a big tree, under the shade of which the person can sit one day and admire the work. So the areas for the gardens are marked off; the soil is cultivated, smoothed, and cleared of stones and trash; the lawn, flowers, and tree are planted. From this point on, anyone observing this plot of land can evaluate in a second the amount of service, the contribution, this person is giving to the project. How can you tell? You can tell by seeing what the land is giving back to the person. We are given the plot, and that’s all we should be given. Planting the plot is only the first step. How we tend it determines its degree of greatness and success.

When the farmer who was working in the field got to the end of a row near the road, the preacher stopped his car and hailed him. The preacher said, “God has blessed you with a beautiful farm.” The farmer stopped and thought a moment. Then he replied, “Yes, He has, and I’m grateful. But you should have seen this place when He had it all to Himself.” The farmer understood that he had been blessed with a fine farm; but he was also aware that it was his own love and labor that had brought it to its present state.

Each of us is given a plot to work—“a lifetime and the work we have chosen.”

Like the farmer, we can be grateful if we have the vision, imagination, and intelligence to build well and successfully upon the seemingly unimpressive land of our beginnings. Or we can let it fall into a haphazard condition, with no real continuity or purpose behind it—with unpainted, ramshackle buildings, surrounded by weeds and debris. In both cases, the land is the same; it’s what we do with it that makes the difference. The potential for a miracle is there, if only we...

To come up with ways to increase your service, read books on your specialty; read what others have found to work well for them. Make use of our resources. But at the same time, think of original and creative ways to increase yo...

Each morning, and during the day, ask yourself this question: “How can I increase my service today, knowing that my rewards in life must be in exact proportion to my service?” Do this every day, and you will have started to form one of life’s most valuable habits.

Working hard won’t do it. That isn’t enough. We have to work intelligently.

Succeeding takes time. It takes dedication, 100 percent commitment, and creative thought. We must keep asking ourselves, “How can I broaden my service and, by so doing, increase my harvest, my rewards?”

All right. Let your goal represent the excitement. Your ideas and efforts will weigh down the service end of the scale. And the rewards must and will follow. They’ll be yours—they are yours—the moment you realize this truth!

As you sow, so shall you reap, all the years of your life.

If you’re worried about your income or your future, you’re concentrating on the wrong end of the scale. Look at the other end; concern yourself only with increasing your service—with becoming great where you are—and your income and your future will take care of themselves. Don’t be like the person sitting in front of that empty fireplace and asking for the h...

Next time you’re off by yourself in a quiet place, contemplate your plot of ground, your life, and begin to sow the seeds that will y...