A story and a gift: At his retirement dinner, a successful executive told his friends that when he was a young man, one day a mentor of his had handed him his business card, On the back, his mentor had jotted 17 words. He told the young man that whenever he had to make a tough decision or was in a challenging situation, he would read over this list of 17 words. Then he would close his eyes and sit quietly and something amazing would happen. One of these words would always jump out at him and somehow steer him in the right direction. *

The man said to the friends gathered around him, “My boss told me that for 40 years these 17 words never failed him. And I’m here to tell you that they’ve never failed me for my last 40 years.” Then he passed out his own business cards. Here’s what he wrote on the back of each one:

The 17 Words That Will Never Fail You

Prepare

Listen

Smile

Care

Choose

Focus

Believe

Relax

Act

Forgive

Pray

Trust

Change

Persist

Accept

Risk

Wait

Words have magic. And now the magic of these 17 words is ours. Write on!

* This inspiring story first appeared in Bits & Pieces, a wonderful motivational magazine no longer published, edited by my own wonderful friend and mentor, Dr. Rob Gilbert.

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