Mr. Gordon begins by telling his readers about a time he spent with a group of scientists talking about all the amazing wonders of man's creation, such as the laser. He noticed that of all the great scientific achievements no one ever mentioned unlocking the latent power in humans themselves.
He wrote about how some people have moments of a surge of confidence, creativity and well being, only to drop back into our old every day selves again. However, there were others who seemed to live a life constantly filled with confidence, creativity, and well being. These persons are never discouraged or weary but vital, dynamic, and productive. His take is that somehow, they have discovered the secret of self renewal.
Mr. Gordon then set out to discover how that was possible for them.He selected 4 friends who seemed to have made that discovery. First, he would talk with a minister in Manhattan, then an insurance executive in Chicago, then a psychiatrist in Colorado, and a widowed lady in his hometown.
The conversations were much more lengthy than I share here but the resulting advice is what he came away with. From the minister, he gleaned to "give in to goodness now and then." "What he meat was to perform a deliberate act that has ethical value; helping someone in need, helping right a wrong, forgiving an enemy. The best result would be to do such a thing that cannot possibly benefit you. If you give in to goodness reasonably often, you won't have to seek self renewal. It will come to you."
Next he talked with the insurance executive who advised, "expose yourself to enthusiasm." He talked of how an enthusiastic person has nothing to be afraid of in life and that great opportunities often go to the enthusiastic people.
In fact, Emerson and Sam Goldwyn both said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." He writes that enthusiasm is the magic quality that overcomes inertia, banishes discouragement, gets things done. The insurance executive then said to Arthur, "Enthusiasm is the state of caring - really caring- about something." He went on, "Always look for it in others. When you find it, strike sparks from it. Some of those sparks will kindle a fire in you."
Then he met with the psychiatrist who spoke of hidden powers in people such as a person who lifts a car off a trapped driver or a woman who swims a mile towing her child safely to shore after a boating accident. Such physical energy comes from the unconscious mind and so does such mental energy. Such people have found out how to keep the channel to that energy open most of the time. Arthur asked how they keep those channels open. The psychiatrist replied that he could only offer a suggestion, "Step out of your own shadow." What he was saying is that we should stop judging ourselves so harshly and stop focusing on our faults and shortcomings. Stop telling ourselves that we are failures or no good and to be kind to ourselves. Negative self talk blocks the flow of that power that some have found out how to live in. Realize and give yourself credit for all the things you do for others and come to understand that all we really do for ourselves is maybe 5-10 percent of our time. The rest goes to family or children and the good in us far outweighs the bad. He advises that we let happiness, self esteem and energy back into our lives.
His last conversation was with his widow friend regarding self renewal. Her answer was, "It's just the old laws of challenge and response, isn't it? When you meet a challenge, something in you will respond. It's as simple as that." She went on to tell him we shouldn't refuse the challenges, be fearful that they might go wrong, or be afraid of what others might say. If we accept the challenges, we will find that we do have what it takes to get the job done. Once you get past the fear and tackle the challenge you will find it easier and easier to accomplish what is demanded. Her final advice was to "Find something that needs to be done and start doing it."
Mr. Gordon was still with this friend and told her that he has now talked with four different people and gotten four different answers. He went on to share all the advice he gathered. She smiled and responded with this. "I think my grandmother summed it all up in just nine words: "Love life- and it will love you right back!"
If we love life, (and I add, love others), live with enthusiasm by really caring about something, live being kind to ourselves by realizing that there is way more good we do than not, and accept the challenges that come our way by finding something that needs to be done and do it, then we will fall in love with life all over again and it will love us back.
I know that in my life, I get weighed down with things that don't go as I think they should. I know I get overwhelmed with so many things that need to be done. On the other hand, the lack of things that need to be done also weigh heavy on me making me feel bored or useless. It is easy to tear ourselves down for life offers a plethora of opportunities to find fault in ourselves or how we live. All that leads to is a lousy, unhappy, unfulfilled life - I know this from personal experience.
If we can set out to apply the advice Mr. Gordon gathered, we can then lead ourselves into a fulfilled, joy-filled life that we love. In the process we will find it easier to love those around us and to love ourselves more.
So let's get out there and do just that. Yes, today, right now.