A Christmas Gift For My Daughter by Harry Browne
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The1st Tuesday of every month we have a training call led by two of our dynamic leaders Bob & Anna Bassett, where we have been going through one chapter a week from Harry Browne's great book “The Secret Of Selling Anything”
But this week Anna so graciously shared Harry’s Christmas letter that he wrote to his nine year old daughter in 1966, which I thought would be valuable to pass on:
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http://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/wap/70038/images/Harry Browne.jpg" height="504" width="404" />A
Gift for My Daughter
by Harry Browne
December 25, 1966
(This
article was originally published as a syndicated newspaper column,
dedicated to my 9-year-old daughter.)
It’s Christmas and I
have the usual problem of deciding what to give you. I know you might
enjoy many things — books, games, clothes.
But I’m very
selfish. I want to give you something that will stay with you for
more than a few months or years. I want to give you a gift that might
remind you of me every Christmas.
If I could give you just one
thing, I’d want it to be a simple truth that took me many years to
learn. If you learn it now, it may enrich your life in hundreds of
ways. And it may prevent you from facing many problems that have hurt
people who have never learned it.
The truth is simply
this:
No One Owes You Anything.
Significance
How
could such a simple statement be important? It may not seem so, but
understanding it can bless your entire life.
No One Owes You
Anything
It means that no one else is living for you, my
child. Because no one is you. Each person is living for himself; his
own happiness is all he can ever personally feel.
When you
realize that no one owes you happiness or anything else, you’ll be
freed from expecting what isn’t likely to be.
It means no
one has to love you. If someone loves you, it’s because there’s
something special about you that gives him happiness. Find out what
that something special is and try to make it stronger in you, so that
you’ll be loved even more.
When people do things for you,
it’s because they want to — because you, in some way, give them
something meaningful that makes them want to please you, not because
anyone owes you anything.
No one has to like you. If your
friends want to be with you, it’s not out of duty. Find out what
makes others happy so they’ll want to be near you.
No one
has to respect you. Some people may even be unkind to you. But once
you realize that people don’t have to be good to you, and may not
be good to you, you’ll learn to avoid those who would harm you. For
you don’t owe them anything either.
Living your Life
No
One Owes You Anything
You owe it to yourself to be the best
person possible. Because if you are, others will want to be with you,
want to provide you with the things you want in exchange for what
you’re giving to them.
Some people will choose not to be
with you for reasons that have nothing to do with you. When that
happens, look elsewhere for the relationships you want. Don’t make
someone else’s problem your problem.
Once you learn that you
must earn the love and respect of others, you’ll never expect the
impossible and you won’t be disappointed. Others don’t have to
share their property with you, nor their feelings or thoughts.
If
they do, it’s because you’ve earned these things. And you have
every reason to be proud of the love you receive, your friends’
respect, the property you’ve earned. But don’t ever take them for
granted. If you do, you could lose them. They’re not yours by
right; you must always earn them.
My Experience
A great
burden was lifted from my shoulders the day I realized that no one
owes me anything. For so long as I’d thought there were things I
was entitled to, I’d been wearing myself out — physically and
emotionally — trying to collect them.
No
one owes me moral conduct, respect, friendship, love, courtesy, or
intelligence. And once I recognized that, all my relationships became
far more satisfying. I’ve focused on being with people who want to
do the things I want them to do.
That understanding has served
me well with friends, business associates, lovers, sales prospects,
and strangers. It constantly reminds me that I can get what I want
only if I can enter the other person’s world. I must try to
understand how he thinks, what he believes to be important, what he
wants. Only then can I
appeal to someone in ways that will bring me what I want.
And
only then can I tell whether I really want to be involved with
someone. And I can save the important relationships for those with
whom I have the most in common.
It’s not easy to sum up in a
few words what has taken me years to learn. But maybe if you re-read
this gift each Christmas, the meaning will become a little clearer
every year.
I hope so, for I want more than anything else for
you to understand this simple truth that can set you free: No One
Owes You Anything.
I invite you to plug into these Free interactive training sessions by downloading your Free copy of this eBook http://AskMartyMisner.bigmlmlies.com
I will then contact you with more info and your invite to all the Free training available through Mentoring For Free. I look forward to having you join us!
To Your Success,
Marty Misner
Be a leader in this world. Empower people with hope, mentorship and a WAY to own their lives!
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