Cheaper but practical

Johnny can’t sleep. He has a problem. He knew that if he doesn’t do anything then he’ll lose everything. So Johnny went to his friend, and his friend advised him to see a psychiatrist.

The psychiatrist isn’t cheap. He was trained in New York, and his list of patients showcase people who live in plush subdivisions. And he charges by the hour.

But Johnny has no choice. So he went to see this psychiatrist.

“Doc,” he said, “I’ve got trouble. Every time I get into bed, I think there’s somebody under it. I get under the bed, I think there’s somebody on top of it. Top, under, top, under… You gotta help me! I’m going crazy!”

“Just put yourself in my hands for two years,” said the shrink. “Come to me three times a week, and I’ll cure your fears.”

“How much do you charge?” Johnny asked.

“P5,000 per visit.”

“I’ll sleep on it,” said Johnny.

But you see, that was exactly Johnny’s problem – he couldn’t sleep. Six months later, the doctor met Johnny on the street.

“Why didn’t you ever come to see me again?” asked the psychiatrist.

“For P5,000 a visit? I couldn’t afford that. And besides, when I told our company janitor about my problem, he cured me for P200!” Johnny answered.

“Is that so? But how?”

Johnny explained, “I told our company janitor about my fears, that every time I want to go to sleep, my mind begins to play tricks on me – I would imagine there’s someone under the bed. And every time I go under the bed, I would imagine there’s someone on top of the bed. I also told him that you offered to cure me in two years time for P5,000 per session. He just asked me for P200 and gave me advice that got me cured – he told me to cut the legs off the bed!”

Sometimes we become so dependent on experts, we forget to be practical.

Being practical is important, especially for leaders. Here are practical things motivator Jim Rohn has to say for leaders:

• “Leaders must not be naive. I used to say, ‘Liars shouldn’t lie.’ What a sad waste of words that is! I found out liars are supposed to lie. That’s why we call them liars – they lie! What else would you expect them to do?”

• “Leaders must understand that some people will inevitably sellout to the evil side. Don’t waste your time wondering why; spend your time discovering who.”

• “Leaders, whether in the family, in business, in government or in education, must not allow themselves to mistake intentions for accomplishments.”

• “Managers help people to see themselves as they are. Leaders help people to see themselves better than they are.”

• “A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better. As a leader, you should always start with where people are before you try to take them to where you want them to go.”

• “We must learn to help those who deserve it, not just those who need it. Life responds to deserve, not need.”

• “When dealing with people, I generally take the obvious approach. When someone says, ‘This always happens to me and that always happens to me. Why do these things always happen to me?’ I simply say, ‘Beats me. I don’t know. All I know is that those kinds of things seem to happen to people like you.’”

• “We could all use a little coaching. When you’re playing the game, it’s hard to think of everything.”

Life is a non-stop learning session. That’s why I read books and I have mentors. And that’s why I read my Bible every day.

Scriptures never cease to teach me, form me and equip me to face the everyday challenges of life. From it, I have learned so much, not just about history, prophecy and theology, but more so about practical things for life. 

(Thank you to all those who attended the recently-concluded Developing The Leader Within You! We had a full house during the two-day seminar. The next run will be on October 16-17 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, and is now open for early registration! For further inquiries, contact Hannah at 09228980196, or call 632-6310658 or 6310660 for more details.)