Topic : Procrastination
George Burns Wanted To Insure His Voice
Friends of George Burns have always kidded him about his singing. Burns, a master of self-deprecating humor, decided to take advantage of this and insure his voice for a million dollars. He thought it would be a wonderful publicity stunt.
“I was so excited,” said Burns, “I couldn’t wait to rush down to the insurance company. I took a cassette and a tape recorder with me so the insurance man could hear my voice. It was one of my best numbers—a syncopated version of Yankee Doodle Blues with a yodeling finish. The insurance man listened patiently to the whole thing, then he just looked at me and said, ‘Mr. Burns, you should have come to us before you had the accident.’”
Procrastination
In his book Being the Best (Thomas Nelson Publishers), Denis Waitley has some interesting observations about procrastination.
"When you stop to think about it,? he says, 'there is no such thing as a future decision. You face only present decisions that will affect what will happen in the future. Procrastinators wait for just the right moment to decide. If you wait for the perfect moment, you become a security seeker who is running in place, going through the motions, and getting deeper in a rut.
"If I wait for every objection to be overcome, I will attempt nothing. My personal motto is, Stop Stewing and Start Doing. I can't be depressed and active at the same time. I like changing the word motivation slightly to reflect a personal commitment to take charge of today and make it the best day I can-motive plus action equals motive-action.
"Everybody is looking for new ways to get motivated. Companies and corporations pay sizable fees to consultants who try to make their personnel more productive and fire up their salespeople. A motivated person things, I'm going to try it. But motivation must turn into motive-action, or nothing will happen.'
"That is the quandary of the unknown poet who wrote:
I spent a fortune
On a trampoline,
A stationary bike
And a rowing machine
Complete with gadgets
To read my pulse,
And gadgets to prove
My progress results,
And others to show
The miles I've charted'
But they left off the gadget
To get me started!
"The gadget that can get you started is motive-action.
"Try it and see!'
