How Much Are You Worth ?

This is from a reading by the Late Earl Nightingale :

Before the atomic age,chemistry professors used to say that a person's worth - from a strictly chemical standpoint -was
about thirty-two dollars on the going market.In recent years,this view has undergone a starling change.Scientist now calculate
that if the electronic energy in the hydrogen atoms of your body could be utilized,you could supply all the electrical needs of
a large,highly industrilized country for nearly a week.A Dupont scientist said that the atoms of your body contain a potential energy of more than eleven million kilowatt-hours per pound.The average man,by this estimate,is worth about EIGHTY-FIVE BILLION DOLLARS !
Moreover the electrons in the atoms of your body are not just particles of matter ; they are waves of living energy.And these
waves ripple out and spread themselves in patterns of light,and as they move,they sing ! If you had the proper hearing aid,you could hear a great symphonic concert as these waves play and flow,merging with the waves of neighboring atoms.And they not
only sing ; they shine.If you stand in front of an infrared television camera in a completely dark room,the screen will show you,
from the top to toe,as a glistening,radiating,gleaming form.
In short,you're a whole lot more than meets the casual eye.Add to all this,the fact that to try to reproduce your mind mechan-
ically would cost billions of dollars,and you really are AN AMAZING INFINITELY VALUABLE CREATURE.And not only are you
immensely valuable as a human being,you are unlike any other human who ever lived,or ever will live.YOU ARE UNIQUE.
Now what are you selling all this for ? All human beings are priceless,but the payments - tangible and intangible - they receive
from life vary greatly.The purpose of this message is to help you decide just WHAT YOU'RE WORTH - as a human being -
right now,in today's society.And what you intend to be worth say,one to five years from now.
In the last analysis,every person is in reality in business for themselves - in that they are building their own lives,reguardless
of who happens to write their paycheck.So,for the purpose of this particular message, I want you to think of yourself as " A
BUSINESS " - as,let's say, " A CORPORATION."
You hold the office of president of this corporation,in that you are responsible for its success or failure.You and the members of your family are stockholders in your corporation,and it's your responsibility to see that the value of the stock increases in the years ahead.Your family has evidenced faith in you - and it's your responsibility to prove their faith is justified.This is the job not only of the breadwinner,but of any employed family member.
Now,while the operations of a corporation are multitudinous and complex,they can be reduced to four basic functions :

1) finance 2) production 3) sales 4) research

Without proper financing,there would be no production.Without production,the company would have nothing to sell.Without
sales,it would have to completely stop production,Without research,it could not hope to keep abreast, or ahead,of our
rapidly changing times.
Now slight anyone of these four vital functions and you have a deformed -a crippled company and,if you slight it long enough,
you'll commit corporate suicide. [ we'll discuss finance - the money part of the whole thing - in another message ]
For now,let's concentrate on Research,Production, and Sales.They are the head,hands,and legs of a company.We could
say that the head handles the Research ; the hands take care of Production ; and the legs handle the Sales.Cut off any
one of these parts - and you're left with a shocked,staggering organization.How many once large companies and trade names can you think of which became giants - then disappeared entirely from the economic scene ? Names which once were
leaders in there fields and are now only memories.They failed to KEEP IN BALANCE these three crucial functions.
What about research for your personal corporation ? Research can be said to exist in two areas- present and future.That is,
the Research of a company should be devoted to ways and means of improving its present products - or services -present
production - and present Sales.Future Research is concerned with ways and means of developing new products and services
- new methods of production - and new methods of marketing.But,while this Research is going on,present production must
continue at as high a level as Sales warrant.
In short,a corporation - your corporation - has two factors to consider : the present and the future.How successful we are in
meeting these challenges will determine our PRESENT PROFITS - and our - FUTURE GROWTH.
Why are all companies concerned with growth - even when they seem to be doing well today ? It's because of a law which
operates with companies,just as it does with human beings.NOTHING IN THE WORLD STANDS STILL - nothing in the entire
Universe stands still.A law of physics goes, " A body in motion tends to remain in motion,until acted upon by an outside
force."
A company which is growing has a tendency to continue to grow.Conversely,a company which is going backwards - or
shrinking - has a tendency to continue to go backwards,or shrink - until acted upon by an outside force.All responsible
company officers know that unless a company is growing - it's developing the first signs of death.Well,you're the head of
your personal corporation - and you should realize that this same law applies to you as well.
Now, just for a minute,let's take a look at the next ten years.Before we do,keep this in mind : if anyone had predicted just
ten years ago that we would be living in the kind of world we have today,they would have been ridiculed.This includes
everything - from our basic industrial technology to the luxuries and new products we now take for granted - along with our
present average income.We're reaching a point in the expansion of human knowledge where our advance is more than
dynamic - it's EXPLOSIVE.Any prediction for the next ten years is very likely to be far on the ultra-conservative side.But
let's take a look at what the experts have to say : According to many recent research studies - the next ten years are going
to offer business and the individual unlimited rewards.
In the next eight to ten years,the bulk of spending in the highly developed nations,believe it or not,will be for things,products
and services - over and above the necessities,which are food,clothing,shelter,transportation,and medical care.Imagine - most
of the spending will be for things above and beyond the necessities ! This will be the first time this has happened in the entire
history of the human race !
It's estimated the consumer market will expand fifty percent and more in the next eight to ten years - an astounding
increase soaring into the hundreds of billions of dollars.In the next thirty years,alongside every building now in existence -
a new building must be built.And what about Research and development - which is the future of our economy ? Today,more
money is being spent for Research and development in a single year - than was spent during the past 150 years.
Think for a moment - what does all of this mean to you and your individual company - the one of which you are President ?
It means YOUR FUTURE IS UNLIMITED,if you'll see yourself in relation to the present and the future.Never before,throughout
all the centuries of man,has a person faced as bright a future as yours.Our population isn't just exploding - it's getting a lot
SMARTER.Educational advances during the past ten years have been remarkable ; during the next ten,they'll be amazing !
The customers are getting smarter everyday.And if we're going to continue to meet their demands and sell them our products,
we'd better get smarter everyday too ! Because,if we don't - they're not going to buy from us.
The market of the next ten years will be characterized by diversity - not uniformity.It will also be dominated by taste - not
necessity.There'll be a great increase in the quality as well as the quantity of customer choices.There are many signs of the
rising urge for the better things in Life.Many millions of adults are currently interested in after-hours study programs,and this
number is growing by MILLIONS each year.Well,that's just a glance at a few of the things going on around us.And what Life
will be like in eight to ten years.
Now,each one of us - as President and unquestioned manager of his own corporation - can decide what to do about it.We
can either grow with it - or go backward.WE CAN'T STAND STILL - even if we'd like to ! This gives us an opportunity to stand
back and look at ourselves and our futures objectively - as an intelligent stranger might.Ask yourself," HOW MUCH AM I
Worth,RIGHT NOW - today - as a corporation ? WHAT IS MY VALUE - today,to myself,my family...and my company ? If I
were an outside investor,a stranger,would I invest in this corporation ?
A company growing at a rate of 10 % a year will double in size in about eight years.What attention are you giving to the
Production of your personal corporation ? Can you grow and improve as a person at least 10 % a year ? Of course you can.
In fact,if we go along with the experts estimates,a person can increase their effectiveness anywhere from 50 % to 100 % and
more WITHIN THIRTY DAYS ! Our files are filled with reports from people who exceeded their previous performance to an
almost unbelievable extent.People in management and in Production who multiplied their effectiveness many times.Students
who moved from failing grades to straight A's and the Dean's list.People in Sales who found they could,through the proper
management of their abilities,minds and time - sell as much of their company's products in a single month as they had
previously sold in AN ENTIRE YEAR !
Think what this means ! It means being TWELVE TIMES as effective as a human being,and getting back to the [ law of
cause and effect ] - it means putting out twelve times as much Service,which must and will guarantee our receiving eventually
twelve times THE REWARD we formerly knew.TWELVE TIMES THE REWARD ! Remember,please,if we do twice as much,
we have to receive twice as much.And nothing on earth can keep it from us.And the same thing applies if we triple our
effectiveness.Now,you and I know this - everyone should know it - but remember that fully 95 % of the people do not know
this ( understand this ).
Think of the advantage this gives to us.It isn't that we want to take advantage of anyone -and we're not - but it drawmatical-
ly demonstrates the truth of the saying : " Knowledge (applied) is Power." Today is a brand new day - THE GREAT EQUALI -
ZER - no more,nor less time than anyone else on earth can have to work with.Right now,begin to think of ways in which you
can begin to INCREASE YOUR EFFECTIVENESS [ RAISE YOUR PRODUCTION ] - knowing that by so doing you're auto -
matically presetting your rewards.Each day that comes to you,beginning with tomorrow,offers you a clean,brand new page on
which to write the story of your Life.Forget the past:it's gone.Don't concern yourself with the opportunities you may have mis -
sed in the past - this is true of everyone - but reachout and take each new day as it comes,and ask yourself," how can I best
use this day ?" You know,we're going to run out of them eventually.
If we waste an hour of productive time everyday,it adds up to about 250 hours a year that our corporation,our plant is shut
down.We can earn nothing with the doors closed.What is your time worth an hour ? Multiply this by 250 and you can see
what you're throwing away.Now whether your employer pays for this wasted hour,or not,is unimportant.LIFE WILL NOT PAY
FOR IT !
Learn to enjoy every minute of your Life." BE HAPPY NOW ! " - Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you
Happy in the future.Think how really precious is the time you have to spend,whether it's at work,or with your family - every
minute should be enjoyed,savored.A human Life is really nothing more than a collection of minutes,hours and days - these
are the building materials... and it's left up to us to determine the kind and size structure we build.
You see,a person has a tremendous advantage over even the largest corporation.Think of any large corporation.Can it dou-
ble it's Production in a single day ? NO - Can it double its Sales in a single day ? NO - It would like to,but its growth must be
a gradual,steady thing,because of the interconnecting complexities of operating so large an organization.Yet,a person can
DOUBLE,TRIPLE,QUADRUPLE their effectiveness IN A MONTH OR LESS.It's like comparing the movement of a single
scout to the movement of a great army.
How have you been handling the three vital functions of your Business : Research, Production, and Sales ? How much
time and effort are you giving to RESEARCH - to the study of your work(business),your career ? Can this be improved ? And
what about PRODUCTION ? Is there a way in which you can vastly improve the way in which you conduct your Business(work)?
And SALES - how can that be improved ? SALES is morethan selling a product or service : it's the way in which we sell ourselves to everyone with whom we come in contact.It's the way we get along with our associates,wives,children,and
neighbors.And,if our Business happens to be selling - how can we see more people everyday,or improve the effectiveness of
every part of our contact ? One extra call a day comes to 250 extra calls a year.How many additional sales could we make
with 250 additional contacts ? In 5 years that comes to 1,250 extra calls we would not otherwise had made.It's the difference
between being average - good, OR GREAT !
Taking this new active approach to Life brings peace to our minds,absolute security to our future, and great new stature as human beings.In this way,we can work toward reaching full maturity.With this ATTITUDE toward Life,we need never for a moment concern ourselves with its outcome.It will begin to become successful tomorrow,and it will pour ABUNDANCE upon
us for the REST OF OUR YEARS !