Being, Doing & Having – By Zig Ziglar – August 2003 – 5Pillars.com

One of my favorite phrases is “You’ve got to be before you can do, and do before you can have.” In short, you have to be a person of character and do the right things, and then you can have the things you really want. To make the “be, do, have” theory valid, believable, and usable on your part, look at some examples in your own life:

1. Take a sheet of paper and draw two vertical lines to make three columns.

2. At the top of the left-hand column, write BE; in the middle column write DO; and over the last column, write HAVE.

3. In the right-hand column, list all the things that you really want in life, whether it’s an education, good family relationships, a beautiful new home, a fancy luxury car, a trip around the world, better health–you name it.

4. Work your way down the center column of the page, identifying the things you have to do in order to have the things listed in the right-hand column.

Say that you want a successful marriage. To do so, you must be willing to share your innermost thoughts and concerns with your mate. You must carry more than your share of the workload, encourage you mate when he or she is down, and defend your mate against criticism. You need to remember special occasions. Be particularly helpful when your mate is having a “down day,” is not feeling well, or has had a tough time on the job. Apply the philosophy that you can have everything that you want out of this marriage if you just help your mate get what he or she wants.

Everybody’s list varies, because each of us has unique needs, beliefs and interests. However, the formula remains the same.

5. Go to the left-hand column and identify what you have to BE in order to DO so that you can HAVE. To have a successful marriage, some of the things that you must BE are faithful, attentive, loving, caring, helpful, empathetic, encouraging, persistent, committed, kind, thoughtful, considerate and responsible. Not having all these qualities at this moment is okay, because they’re all skills, and skills can be developed.

Regardless of what you want to HAVE you can use this basic formula. Just look at what you have to DO in order to accomplish that objective, and then examine yourself and determine what kind of person you have to be in order to do so that you can have.

“So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snow capped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

“We cannot truly face life until we face the fact that it will be taken away from us.” — Billy Graham

“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go…purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything…whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.”   Tina Turner

“A leader leads through inspiration. People like to work with people going places and are starved for the energy and excitement that business was always meant to have.”  Loral Langemeier

“The deeds you do today may be the only sermon some people will hear today.”      St. Francis of Assisi

“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” Gandhi

The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognized for their commitment.   Judd Gregg

“There are no secrets to success: don’t waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence.”   Colin Powell