Life is Like a Cafeteria Line

Before we get into the meat of this book, I want to say that life is very much like a cafeteria line. A number of years ago, the Redhead and I saw this new cafeteria. Now, when I talk about my wife, at her suggestion, I always call her The Redhead. When I’m talking to her, it’s Sugar Baby. Incidentally, her name is Jean. Anyways. So, this new cafeteria was the Romano’s that had just opened out on North Central Expressway. We knew it was going to be good because the line was always out the door! Well, on this particular day we weren’t willing to wait that long in line, so we kept going past. Then one day we rode past, and we couldn’t see a line, so I said, “Hey! Looks like we can get in there today; let’s go!”

We parked, walked in, and quickly understood why the line was not outside. Because it was wound all over the building. We’d already parked, so we got in line, albeit grudgingly. As we got down to the end of the line, we turned around, and there was another line of thirty people. So we were still walking and talking, and we got down to that one, and wouldn’t you know it, there was another line of thirty people. But this time we could see the food! As we walked down the line, I said to myself, “Now, I’m gonna get me some of that, and I want me some of that. Yeah, that looks good! I’ll have me some of that. I want some of that.” I love to eat in cafeterias. I like to see what I’m going to eat before I choose it, so I’d already made up my mind.

Now, let me clarify: I don’t care how prodigious your appetite is, you cannot eat some of everything that’s on the line. When I got to the end of the line, I reached in and took out my money. The lady at the end of the line held up her hand, and she said, “No, you don’t pay for it until you get ready to leave.”

I said, “You mean you’re gonna let me eat all this food before I pay for it?”

She said, “Yeah, that’s just the way we do it.”

I have since thought about that scenario quite often. Life is exactly like a cafeteria line inasmuch as we’ve got so many things to choose from. In the Romano’s cafeteria line, you get to eat, and then you pay. Now, life is not like that cafeteria line because in life, you pay and then you eat. Your employer will make you work from two to four weeks before he or she will give you a dime. That’s the way we treat our people—we make them work before we give them the pay. The farmer plants the crop, raises it, and fertilizes the soil. He does all the things, and then—and only then—can he go to the marketplace and be rewarded for his effort. The students study their lessons. Then they take the test, then they graduate, then they receive the reward. But the point is very simple: You’ve got to do those things in order for things to happen for you, and this all takes place before you’re rewarded.

Let’s identify what it is that everybody wants. Everyone wants to be happy. They want to be healthy. They want to be at least reasonably prosperous. They want to be secure. They want to have friends. They want to have peace of mind. They want to have good family relationships, and by all means, they want to have hope!

If you want those things, did you specifically identify all of them as goals and write them down? Did you list the benefits of all of those? Now, that’s a very important point. A lot of people talk only about the problem. “I’d quit smoking, but I’d gain 38 pounds!” Or, “I’d go back to school and get my degree, but by then, I’ll be 45 years old—it’d take me ten years!” Well, all of us have heard the additional thought to that: How old will you be in ten years if you don’t go back to school and get your degree? We concentrate on the obstacles and difficulties instead of the benefits.

How many of you are salespeople? If all you talked about was price, how much would you sell? You talk about the benefits that come with it. If you see somebody with braces on their teeth, they’re not very happy while they’ve got them, but the benefits later on are what they really are buying. Did you list the benefits? Do you have the necessary skills and knowledge to reach this objective? Did you identify the obstacles? There are always going to be obstacles in life; we’ve just got to identify them. Have you identified the individuals, groups, and organizations to work with? Have you developed a plan of action, and have you set the completion date? That’s what goal planning is really all about.

Happiness is Now

Now the question comes up, “Well, now, wait a minute, Ziglar! You said everybody wants to be happy. Can you really set happiness as a goal?” Well, let’s talk about that. All of my life, I’ve been told you can’t set happiness as a goal. Happiness, like money, is the result of what you do. For example, say we’re talking about the qualities of success. If you were honest, hard-working, enthusiastic, and had integrity; if you were dependable and responsible, how would you feel about yourself? That image you have of yourself would be a good one. Now, if you are happy with yourself, if you know that you are using the abilities you have, then your chances of being happy dramatically improve.

There are an awful lot of people who will be happy in their own mind when they get the new home. Then they’ll be happy when they get everything arranged properly in it, and they’ll be happy when they get the new furniture. Then they will be happy when they finish paying for it. Then they’ll be happy when they get the patio and the backyard landscaping. It’s always a when or where. “I’ll be happy when I win the trip to Hawaii. Then I’ll be happy when I get there.” No. You will not be happy in a when or a where.

What we’ve got to understand is that you can lose what you have and still be what you are. Now that’s very important. Because if you are what you are, if that’s what you build on, then the chances of being happy really do increase rather substantially.

How many of you believe that if your health is good, that if you’re reasonably prosperous, that if you’re secure within yourself and what you do, if you have friends and...