January 13, 2025 • 19 mins
Les gives perspective to those major questions we ask ourselves. What are the answers to a fulfilling life? What are you going to do to get it?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:11):
You have something special, you havegreatness in you. Hello, this is
Les Brown, you know. Andwhen I give speeches, I often talk
about the value of creating o QPonly quality people. As you look at
yourself, look at your life rightnow, and look at all the time
that we have on our hands rightnow, I think it's a good time
(00:34):
to look at the relationships that youhave and ask the question, what are
these relationships doing to me? AmI growing mentally, and emotionally and spiritually.
Make a really honest assessment of therelationships in your life because people rub
off on you, and I'm encouragingyou not to isolate yourself. A study
(00:59):
was done the Power of Social interactionand it says that social interaction a rich
social network provides sources of support,reduces stress, combats depression, and enhances
intellectual stimulation. Studies have shown thatthose with the most social interaction within their
(01:22):
community experience the slowest rate of memorydecline. So I want to ask you,
are you building and expanding your networkof relationships and are you working the
network? And George Fraser said this, your network determines your net worth.
(01:47):
Upgrade those relationships. As you thinkabout yourself, you know doctor Dennis Kimbrough.
I often quote him. He said, you're in within two to three
thousand dollars of your closest friends,and if you're the smartest one in your
group, you need to get anew group. This truly is a time
for self awareness as you begin tothink about yourself and think about the people
(02:07):
that's in your life that's speaking inyour mind, your heart, and your
spirit. They have a major rolethat they play, whether you acknowledge it
or not. Family members and friends, they impact you. And so as
you look at yourself, look atwhat it is you want to do this
(02:27):
next chapter of your life when wecome through this pandemic and a lot of
people are panic and hopefully that youare not among those that are panicking right
now, but really becoming aware ofyourself, getting still, getting quiet,
journaling and listening to the still smallvoice within, and as you do that,
(02:53):
asking yourself the question what is thenext greatest version of self? And
what is it I have to doto become that kind of person? Because
Earl Nightingale was right, you don'tget in life what you want. You
get in life what you are.So giving some deep thought into looking at
(03:16):
the vision of yourself in the future, And what is it you need to
do. What radical change must youmake in order for you to become the
next greatest version of yourself? Andwhat are the behaviors that you need to
let go of, the choices thatyou've made in the past that no longer
(03:39):
fit into your vision of yourself.Have you ever had relationships with someone that
you're very close to and you mighthave been apart for a while and then
you get back together. You wereonce bosom buddies, and now you have
nothing in common. I remember whenI was speaking in Chicago and this couple
(04:02):
always showed up, and then Icame one time and he was seated on
one side of the room and shewas seated on the other. And I
said, Man, why'tch you seatedwith Gloria? And he said, oh,
she left me because I don't haveanything. And I said, oh,
I'm sorry to hear that. Andas I was walking toward her,
(04:25):
she said, no, I heardwhat he said. I didn't leave him
because he didn't have anything. Ileft him because he didn't want anything.
Whoa that she had outgrown that relationshipand she had swallowed her voice. She
stopped pursuing her dream. She turnedher power down and she got tireder that
(04:48):
I remember seeing a book once thatsaid, why do I have to kill
myself to be with you? Mydaughter owner, She told me about a
relationship. She said, this guypursued her and he spent all of his
time trying to put her light out, which he was attracted to her charisma,
her presence, her mindset. Andso as you look at yourself,
(05:13):
look at your goals, and lookat your dreams, this is a time,
a very special time for all ofus to go within to take personal
inventory, self awareness, know thyself, and the next thing is self approval.
When you determine what it is youwant in your life, it's very
(05:36):
important that you continue to work onyourself when you become aware of those things
that really turn you on your sweetspot, those things that give your life
a sense of meaning and purpose andsignificance. When you are approaching life from
the standpoint of doing, those thingsthat give your life a sense of purpose,
(05:59):
and that you go to sleep atnight with a smile on your face.
Self awareness, self approval. Youmust continuously work to expand and increase
your sense of self worth because onceyour achievements exceed your own sense of self
worth, you will unconsciously engage inself destructive behavior. Self awareness, self
(06:27):
approval, self commitment when you approveand say to yourself, that's something I
want. A guy by the nameof William Hollis, I call him my
spiritual son. He has a verypowerful presentation. He does call I didn't
come this far to come this far. And what he's saying is, hey,
(06:49):
I want more than what I've got. I've went through too much to
get here, not to reach formore, to reach higher. And Socrates
says, a man's reaches to supersededas grass, or what are the heavens
for? And so this process,when I do trainings for corporations and individuals
(07:10):
and churches and people who have agrowth desire, we call it four stages
of greatness, self awareness, selfapproval, and self commitment, because when
you approve certain things for yourself thatyou want in your life, it requires
a level of commitment to go afterthose things, to be all in,
(07:34):
to give it everything. You haveto find a way to do it,
and you are committed to make ithappen. No matter what you become a
no matter what person you're going tohave failures, You're going to have setbacks.
Things are going to happen that willcatch you on the blind side that
you never saw coming, that willdrop you to your knees. And some
(07:58):
of you might be going through thatkind of experience right now. But when
you feel this is something that I'msupposed to do, when it's your calling,
it's a passion, it's something thatyou love it so much. You
do it for nothing, but youdo it so well that people will pay
you to do it. You achievea level of mastery while doing it,
(08:22):
and you call attention to yourself.John Ates Johnson said when he got a
five hundred dollar loan from his motherto start Ebony and Jet magazine. He
said, there's no defense against anexcellence that meets a pressing public need.
That when you provide service that allowsyou to develop a reputation for a go
(08:45):
to person, a resourceful person,person will hold themselves to a higher standard.
You can write your own check inlife, self awareness, self approval,
self commitment, giving it all thatyou have, and out of that
commitment comes fulfillment. Self fulfillment.You're gonna have some victories, You're going
(09:07):
to do some things. You're goingto accomplish some things, but you don't
rest there. Now you got toask yourself, how did I get here?
What do I need to do nowto upgrade my strategy? What game
plan do I need now? Whatnew training that will be required, What
new relationships that I need to takeon, or the relationships that I presently
(09:31):
have that I need to deepen,Or what skills that I need to acquire
that will allow me to go tothat next level of living, self awareness,
self approval, self commitment, selffulfillment. It's a cyclic process.
What do you want out of life? What is it that that right now?
(09:56):
If you had six months to live, what would you do differently?
Were you still if you're working?Would you still have the same job?
Would you work until the end?What would you do would you would you
still interact with the same people?Would you take some trip someplace that you've
(10:18):
been thinking about doing and you younever got around to it, Or go
back to someplace that you had sucha great time while you were there and
you decided I want to go back. Or would you spend time with somebody
that you love or care about andyou just allowed life to get in the
way, or would you decide,you know what, I don't want to
(10:41):
be in this relationship where I amright now. They did the study of
people who had been going to severalpsychiatrists for several years for therapy, and
they monitor them, and they foundsomething very fascinating that once any of those
people who were going to see apsychiatrists, once they were diagnosed with a
(11:05):
terminal illness, even though they hadbeen going for therapy for years, they
stopped going to therapy. They nolonger came back, and they went on
to live their lives. Isn't thatinteresting? So the truth of the matter
(11:26):
is we know the answers. AndI remember the president of Procter and Gamble
said something about life and he said, in life, if you want to
really live your life on your terms, you have to make some tough decisions.
(11:48):
And he said, a tough decisionis a tough decision, not because
you don't know the answer. Hesaid, a tough decision is a tough
decision because we know the answer,but most of us don't conjure up the
courage to do what we know.M If my mother would say, put
(12:11):
that in your pipe and smoke itso as you look at your life right
now and this time where we arespending quiet time with ourselves and family members
and friends and listening to the stillsmall voice within. What tough decisions do
(12:35):
you need to make right now sothat when you emerge from where we are
that it will take your life ina totally different direction. What tough decision
have you been sitting on that you'vebeen afraid to make? And I can
(12:56):
just share with you that having thecourage to do what you know, it's
not the absence of fear. It'sthe willingness to act in spite of the
fear, having the courage to makethe tough decision. I had a friend
who she just did not like togo to doctors and she felt, oh,
(13:20):
what you don't know can hurt you. Well, she was wrong.
She waited too long and she didnot go until it was too late,
and it took her out of hereand didn't have to. I believe that
life is full of tough decisions,and if we want to live a life
(13:43):
of happiness, of joy, ofpeace, of excitement, of adventure,
Helen Keller said, life is eithera daring adventure or it's boring. If
you want to live a life that'sworthwhile, living your life on purpose if
you want to, as Miles Munroewould say, rob the cemetery of your
(14:09):
gifts, of your talents, ofyour dreams, of your abilities, and
make a major contribution to life.The Book of Life asked the question,
Adam, where are you? Adam? Where are you? And I think
we're always being asked the question whereare you? In terms of your talents,
(14:33):
abilities and skills? Where are you? When you look in the mirror
do you see the person that youthought you would see? I know,
I'm shocked what I got on thescales that Cancer Centers of America and it
said two hundred and ninety seven pounds. I said, are you sure this
scale working right? I'd never expectedto be this big, so I said,
(15:00):
I'm out of alignment. This isnot me. My daughter, doctor
owner Brown, she said, Daddy, your stomach is so big we could
give it a microphone. I said, oh, good boy, that is
cruel. And so now it's notabout just complaining about my size, digging
a grave with my teeth. It'sabout being actively engaged in doing something about
(15:26):
it, making a change, goingfor walks, exercising, using everything that
I possibly can to reverse the unhealthychoices that I've made that brought me here.
I loved the quote that says,wherever you find yourself, at some
point in time, you made anappointment to be there. So I have
(15:50):
no one to blame but me.I could say to all the doctors gave
me this steroid to stop cancered itput eighty pounds on me. Well,
you can't it eighty pounds on youwithout it coming through your mouth. Ye
shall know the truth, that thetruth shall set you free. Kilos said,
(16:11):
truth crushed to earth shall rise again. Winston Churchill said, the truth
is incontrovertible. Malice may attacket ignorance. Me derided, But at the end,
there it is. And at theend I wasn't moving my body.
At the end, I was eatingall the time. Have a sweet tooth,
(16:32):
and I had to become disciplined todo what I know and not what
I feel. You have something special. Decide to live a life of non
negotiables. Have certain things in yourlife that you say that you value.
Your peace of mind, your health. Your health is your wealth. Relationships
(16:56):
that are meaningful that can help yougrow mentally and emotionally and spiritually. But
most of all, making it apriority to have peace, yes, to
enjoy it, to laugh at thisthing called life, To create experiences that
(17:17):
you will enjoy in special moments thatyou can look toward. A friend of
mine, she was rightly so,was depressed because her father died, And
I said, don't focus on thefact that he's gone. No, focus
on the fact that you had himfor fifty one years, over half a
(17:40):
century gift from God, and thespecial moments that you've spent together. Oh
yes, you will miss his physicalpresence, but even the casket and the
grave can never rob you of thememories that you share together, his laughter,
his smile, the playfulness, andthe man that he was, your
(18:03):
hero. Oh yes, his spiritis in you, and now he will
be able to build a legacy throughyou, through your presence and how you
show up in life, because youare his baby girl. You have something
(18:23):
special. What are you going todo with that specialness? Rob the cemetery,
don't let it rob you. Livefull and die empty. You have
something special. You got greatness inyou. That's my story and I'm sticking
to it. You were listening toLess Brown Greatness Radio, positive and motivational
(18:49):
content curated by the legendary Less Brown
You have something special, you havegreatness in you. Hello, this is
Les Brown, you know. Andwhen I give speeches, I often talk
about the value of creating o QPonly quality people. As you look at
yourself, look at your life rightnow, and look at all the time
that we have on our hands rightnow, I think it's a good time
(00:34):
to look at the relationships that youhave and ask the question, what are
these relationships doing to me? AmI growing mentally, and emotionally and spiritually.
Make a really honest assessment of therelationships in your life because people rub
off on you, and I'm encouragingyou not to isolate yourself. A study
(00:59):
was done the Power of Social interactionand it says that social interaction a rich
social network provides sources of support,reduces stress, combats depression, and enhances
intellectual stimulation. Studies have shown thatthose with the most social interaction within their
(01:22):
community experience the slowest rate of memorydecline. So I want to ask you,
are you building and expanding your networkof relationships and are you working the
network? And George Fraser said this, your network determines your net worth.
(01:47):
Upgrade those relationships. As you thinkabout yourself, you know doctor Dennis Kimbrough.
I often quote him. He said, you're in within two to three
thousand dollars of your closest friends,and if you're the smartest one in your
group, you need to get anew group. This truly is a time
for self awareness as you begin tothink about yourself and think about the people
(02:07):
that's in your life that's speaking inyour mind, your heart, and your
spirit. They have a major rolethat they play, whether you acknowledge it
or not. Family members and friends, they impact you. And so as
you look at yourself, look atwhat it is you want to do this
(02:27):
next chapter of your life when wecome through this pandemic and a lot of
people are panic and hopefully that youare not among those that are panicking right
now, but really becoming aware ofyourself, getting still, getting quiet,
journaling and listening to the still smallvoice within, and as you do that,
(02:53):
asking yourself the question what is thenext greatest version of self? And
what is it I have to doto become that kind of person? Because
Earl Nightingale was right, you don'tget in life what you want. You
get in life what you are.So giving some deep thought into looking at
(03:16):
the vision of yourself in the future, And what is it you need to
do. What radical change must youmake in order for you to become the
next greatest version of yourself? Andwhat are the behaviors that you need to
let go of, the choices thatyou've made in the past that no longer
(03:39):
fit into your vision of yourself.Have you ever had relationships with someone that
you're very close to and you mighthave been apart for a while and then
you get back together. You wereonce bosom buddies, and now you have
nothing in common. I remember whenI was speaking in Chicago and this couple
(04:02):
always showed up, and then Icame one time and he was seated on
one side of the room and shewas seated on the other. And I
said, Man, why'tch you seatedwith Gloria? And he said, oh,
she left me because I don't haveanything. And I said, oh,
I'm sorry to hear that. Andas I was walking toward her,
(04:25):
she said, no, I heardwhat he said. I didn't leave him
because he didn't have anything. Ileft him because he didn't want anything.
Whoa that she had outgrown that relationshipand she had swallowed her voice. She
stopped pursuing her dream. She turnedher power down and she got tireder that
(04:48):
I remember seeing a book once thatsaid, why do I have to kill
myself to be with you? Mydaughter owner, She told me about a
relationship. She said, this guypursued her and he spent all of his
time trying to put her light out, which he was attracted to her charisma,
her presence, her mindset. Andso as you look at yourself,
(05:13):
look at your goals, and lookat your dreams, this is a time,
a very special time for all ofus to go within to take personal
inventory, self awareness, know thyself, and the next thing is self approval.
When you determine what it is youwant in your life, it's very
(05:36):
important that you continue to work onyourself when you become aware of those things
that really turn you on your sweetspot, those things that give your life
a sense of meaning and purpose andsignificance. When you are approaching life from
the standpoint of doing, those thingsthat give your life a sense of purpose,
(05:59):
and that you go to sleep atnight with a smile on your face.
Self awareness, self approval. Youmust continuously work to expand and increase
your sense of self worth because onceyour achievements exceed your own sense of self
worth, you will unconsciously engage inself destructive behavior. Self awareness, self
(06:27):
approval, self commitment when you approveand say to yourself, that's something I
want. A guy by the nameof William Hollis, I call him my
spiritual son. He has a verypowerful presentation. He does call I didn't
come this far to come this far. And what he's saying is, hey,
(06:49):
I want more than what I've got. I've went through too much to
get here, not to reach formore, to reach higher. And Socrates
says, a man's reaches to supersededas grass, or what are the heavens
for? And so this process,when I do trainings for corporations and individuals
(07:10):
and churches and people who have agrowth desire, we call it four stages
of greatness, self awareness, selfapproval, and self commitment, because when
you approve certain things for yourself thatyou want in your life, it requires
a level of commitment to go afterthose things, to be all in,
(07:34):
to give it everything. You haveto find a way to do it,
and you are committed to make ithappen. No matter what you become a
no matter what person you're going tohave failures, You're going to have setbacks.
Things are going to happen that willcatch you on the blind side that
you never saw coming, that willdrop you to your knees. And some
(07:58):
of you might be going through thatkind of experience right now. But when
you feel this is something that I'msupposed to do, when it's your calling,
it's a passion, it's something thatyou love it so much. You
do it for nothing, but youdo it so well that people will pay
you to do it. You achievea level of mastery while doing it,
(08:22):
and you call attention to yourself.John Ates Johnson said when he got a
five hundred dollar loan from his motherto start Ebony and Jet magazine. He
said, there's no defense against anexcellence that meets a pressing public need.
That when you provide service that allowsyou to develop a reputation for a go
(08:45):
to person, a resourceful person,person will hold themselves to a higher standard.
You can write your own check inlife, self awareness, self approval,
self commitment, giving it all thatyou have, and out of that
commitment comes fulfillment. Self fulfillment.You're gonna have some victories, You're going
(09:07):
to do some things. You're goingto accomplish some things, but you don't
rest there. Now you got toask yourself, how did I get here?
What do I need to do nowto upgrade my strategy? What game
plan do I need now? Whatnew training that will be required, What
new relationships that I need to takeon, or the relationships that I presently
(09:31):
have that I need to deepen,Or what skills that I need to acquire
that will allow me to go tothat next level of living, self awareness,
self approval, self commitment, selffulfillment. It's a cyclic process.
What do you want out of life? What is it that that right now?
(09:56):
If you had six months to live, what would you do differently?
Were you still if you're working?Would you still have the same job?
Would you work until the end?What would you do would you would you
still interact with the same people?Would you take some trip someplace that you've
(10:18):
been thinking about doing and you younever got around to it, Or go
back to someplace that you had sucha great time while you were there and
you decided I want to go back. Or would you spend time with somebody
that you love or care about andyou just allowed life to get in the
way, or would you decide,you know what, I don't want to
(10:41):
be in this relationship where I amright now. They did the study of
people who had been going to severalpsychiatrists for several years for therapy, and
they monitor them, and they foundsomething very fascinating that once any of those
people who were going to see apsychiatrists, once they were diagnosed with a
(11:05):
terminal illness, even though they hadbeen going for therapy for years, they
stopped going to therapy. They nolonger came back, and they went on
to live their lives. Isn't thatinteresting? So the truth of the matter
(11:26):
is we know the answers. AndI remember the president of Procter and Gamble
said something about life and he said, in life, if you want to
really live your life on your terms, you have to make some tough decisions.
(11:48):
And he said, a tough decisionis a tough decision, not because
you don't know the answer. Hesaid, a tough decision is a tough
decision because we know the answer,but most of us don't conjure up the
courage to do what we know.M If my mother would say, put
(12:11):
that in your pipe and smoke itso as you look at your life right
now and this time where we arespending quiet time with ourselves and family members
and friends and listening to the stillsmall voice within. What tough decisions do
(12:35):
you need to make right now sothat when you emerge from where we are
that it will take your life ina totally different direction. What tough decision
have you been sitting on that you'vebeen afraid to make? And I can
(12:56):
just share with you that having thecourage to do what you know, it's
not the absence of fear. It'sthe willingness to act in spite of the
fear, having the courage to makethe tough decision. I had a friend
who she just did not like togo to doctors and she felt, oh,
(13:20):
what you don't know can hurt you. Well, she was wrong.
She waited too long and she didnot go until it was too late,
and it took her out of hereand didn't have to. I believe that
life is full of tough decisions,and if we want to live a life
(13:43):
of happiness, of joy, ofpeace, of excitement, of adventure,
Helen Keller said, life is eithera daring adventure or it's boring. If
you want to live a life that'sworthwhile, living your life on purpose if
you want to, as Miles Munroewould say, rob the cemetery of your
(14:09):
gifts, of your talents, ofyour dreams, of your abilities, and
make a major contribution to life.The Book of Life asked the question,
Adam, where are you? Adam? Where are you? And I think
we're always being asked the question whereare you? In terms of your talents,
(14:33):
abilities and skills? Where are you? When you look in the mirror
do you see the person that youthought you would see? I know,
I'm shocked what I got on thescales that Cancer Centers of America and it
said two hundred and ninety seven pounds. I said, are you sure this
scale working right? I'd never expectedto be this big, so I said,
(15:00):
I'm out of alignment. This isnot me. My daughter, doctor
owner Brown, she said, Daddy, your stomach is so big we could
give it a microphone. I said, oh, good boy, that is
cruel. And so now it's notabout just complaining about my size, digging
a grave with my teeth. It'sabout being actively engaged in doing something about
(15:26):
it, making a change, goingfor walks, exercising, using everything that
I possibly can to reverse the unhealthychoices that I've made that brought me here.
I loved the quote that says,wherever you find yourself, at some
point in time, you made anappointment to be there. So I have
(15:50):
no one to blame but me.I could say to all the doctors gave
me this steroid to stop cancered itput eighty pounds on me. Well,
you can't it eighty pounds on youwithout it coming through your mouth. Ye
shall know the truth, that thetruth shall set you free. Kilos said,
(16:11):
truth crushed to earth shall rise again. Winston Churchill said, the truth
is incontrovertible. Malice may attacket ignorance. Me derided, But at the end,
there it is. And at theend I wasn't moving my body.
At the end, I was eatingall the time. Have a sweet tooth,
(16:32):
and I had to become disciplined todo what I know and not what
I feel. You have something special. Decide to live a life of non
negotiables. Have certain things in yourlife that you say that you value.
Your peace of mind, your health. Your health is your wealth. Relationships
(16:56):
that are meaningful that can help yougrow mentally and emotionally and spiritually. But
most of all, making it apriority to have peace, yes, to
enjoy it, to laugh at thisthing called life, To create experiences that
(17:17):
you will enjoy in special moments thatyou can look toward. A friend of
mine, she was rightly so,was depressed because her father died, And
I said, don't focus on thefact that he's gone. No, focus
on the fact that you had himfor fifty one years, over half a
(17:40):
century gift from God, and thespecial moments that you've spent together. Oh
yes, you will miss his physicalpresence, but even the casket and the
grave can never rob you of thememories that you share together, his laughter,
his smile, the playfulness, andthe man that he was, your
(18:03):
hero. Oh yes, his spiritis in you, and now he will
be able to build a legacy throughyou, through your presence and how you
show up in life, because youare his baby girl. You have something
(18:23):
special. What are you going todo with that specialness? Rob the cemetery,
don't let it rob you. Livefull and die empty. You have
something special. You got greatness inyou. That's my story and I'm sticking
to it. You were listening toLess Brown Greatness Radio, positive and motivational
(18:49):
content curated by the legendary Less Brown
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