The Young Female Reporter

The Young Female Reporter

Inspirational short stories with lessons; How to achieve your aim and desires

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In 1995, I granted an interview with a newspaper in Singapore. The young female reporter was on time, and the interview got underway immediately. We sat in the lobby of a luxurious hotel, sipping coffee and discussing the purpose of my visit to Singapore. I was to share the platform with Zig Ziglar. He was speaking on motivation, and I was speaking on "The Secrets of the Rich."

"Someday, I would like to be a best-selling author like you," she said.

I had seen some of the articles she had written for the paper, and I was impressed. She had a tough, clear style of writing. Her articles held a reader's interest. "You have a great style," I said in reply.  "What holds you back from achieving your dream?"

"My work does not seem to go anywhere," she said quietly. "Everyone says that my novels are excellent, but nothing happens.  So I keep my job with the paper. At least it pays the bills. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Yes, I do," I said brightly.  "A friend of mine here in Singapore runs a school that trains people to sell. He runs sales-training courses for many of the top corporations here in Singapore, and I think attending one of his courses would greatly enhance your career."

She stiffened.  "Are you saying I should go to school to learn to sell?"

I nodded.

"You aren't serious, are you?"

Again, I nodded.  "What is wrong with that?" I was now back peddling. She was offended by something, and now I was wishing 11 had not said anything. In my attempt to be helpful, I found myself defending my suggestion.

"I have a master's degree in English Literature. Why would I go to school to learn to be a salesperson? I am a professional. I went to school to be trained in a profession so I would not have to be a salesperson. I hate salespeople. All they want is money. So tell me why| I should study sales?" She was now packing her briefcase forcibly. The interview was over.

On the coffee table sat a copy of an earlier best-selling book I wrote. I picked it up as well as the notes she had jotted down on her legal pad. "Do you see this?" I said pointing to her notes.

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She looked down at her notes.  "What," she said, confused.

Again, I pointed deliberately to her notes.  On her pad, she had written "Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling author." "It says 'best-selling author,' not best 'writing' author." Her eyes widened immediately.

"I am a terrible writer. You are a great writer. I went to sales school. You have a master's degree. Put them together and you get a 'best-selling author' and a 'best-writing author."

Anger flared from her eyes. "I'll never stoop so low as to learn how to sell. People like you have no business writing. I am a professionally trained writer and you are a salesman. It is not fair."

The rest of her notes were put away, and she hurried out through the large glass doors into the humid Singapore morning. 

At least she gave me a fair and favourable write-up the next morning.

As narrated by Robert T. Kiyosaki (Author of Rich Dad Poor Dad)

Brief Biography: Robert Toru Kiyosaki (born April 8, 1947) is an American businessman and author. Kiyosaki is the founder of Rich Global LLC and the Rich Dad Company, a private financial education company that provides personal finance and business education to people through books and videos.

Lessons from the story

1. Be open to learning

2. Don't be offended by good advice, rather think about the lessons

3. Great talent is not enough, learn as much as you can.

How to achieve your aim, goals, and desires

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Everything in life is all about the decision. If you win, it is as a result of your decision. And if you lose, it is the outcome of your decisions as well. Read on How-to- be-more_productive

1. Be teachable: If you want to be successful, you must keep growing. The best way to achieve your aim is to make yourself a continual learner. ''It is what you learn after you know it all that counts" ___John Wooden 
2. Build a great interest in learning things that will help you achieve your aims: Learning is not an activity that has a climax, it Is a lifelong pursuit. Your ego is the first thing you need to deal with if you ever want to be teachable. Feeling superior will never help matters because there is a thing you can learn from everyone whether young or old. Pride leads to a loss of desire to learn and an unwillingness to change. Pride often makes a person unteachable. And if you ever want to accomplish your aim, you must become teachable. Learn to listen to instructions, listen more than you talk. Listen openly for the truth, do not act defensive when criticized. never skip the learning process. 
3. Be disciplined: Discipline can be defined as making yourself do something when you could be doing something more pleasant. Start by taking small activities to make things better. Then you can be increasing the speed as you go on. Do the things that hurt you less, so as not to feel discouraged at first. Push yourself into discomfort a little bit, so you can get better at this over time.

   

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4. Develop the habit of following decisions promptly: Don't try to back up your mistakes with a formidable array of excuses. A disciplined person won't neglect any issue that needs attention. "Discipline is doing what you really don't want to do so you can do what you really want to do." ___Jeff Fisher

   

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5. Work on your mindset: Make personal development a priority for yourself. This may take a little time because every individual is a product of nature and nurture. The beliefs and notions that every individual grew up with will surely affect the mindset. Your hands will only reach the things that you believe is possible. Doubts and false ideas can prevent anyone from achieving his aim. 

   

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6. Look at issues with a positive perception: Don't be an agent of doom. Instead of talking about why it cannot be done, think of ways it can be done. Your mind is the greatest tool that can help you achieve your aim. Work more on feeding it with information that will make it grow from a chicken mindset to a lion's mindset. Picture whatever you want in your mind and back it up with steadfast faith. The first determinant of your success is the mind. Once you can overcome the negative of your desire, you are 99% to getting it.
7. Be hungry for more: The greatest threat to being all you could be is satisfaction with who you are. Back to the story above, the young female reporter said "...so I keep my job with the paper, at least it pays the bills." It shows clearly that her desire to become a bestselling author didn't consume her. She just wants to play it safe. Although she was a great writer she lacks the right things to move to the next stage. She said, "everyone says that my novels are ex excellent, but nothing happens." If she wants something to happen, she must have a burning desire to achieve her aim. And if you have previous achievements, don't rely on your laurels. "Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying" ___Roy T. Bennett

   

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8. Be specific: Let your aim or goals be clear. Don't say, "I just want to make it." Pinpoint the exact thing you want. The goal statement should indicate what should be accomplished. It should be phrased using action words like "sell," "save, " "create," "build," "implement,"). If the goal is measurable and specific, you can determine if you have accomplished it. If the goal is accomplished, the project is a success. Suppose your objective is to raise capital for your proposed business. An example of a specific goal to help you meet this objective is: "I will save 240 dollars in two months by saving 4 dollars every day for 60 days.
9. Have a definite plan and deadline: You need to map out the exact way you want to do it. The step by step guides should be written down. And most importantly, create a deadline for that plan. Procrastination is one of the greatest causes of failure. Most times, it is not a lack of knowledge or skill that causes disappointment. It is a lack of focus and inability to make a prompt decision.

   

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10. Persist: It is pertinent to understand that despite your great courage and hard work, you may need to 'refire.' The exact result you desire may not appear immediately. That should never be an excuse to stop shaking the tree of life. Persist and you will surely get down the fruit unheard of. If you keep trying, you will learn, grow and as well be whatever you want to be. If Micheal Jordan had stopped at the sight of failure when he first attempts basketball, He won't be noticed or ever called a great basketball player. He said;

"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something but I cannot accept not trying" ___Micheal Jordan

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