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ByBob Proctor

You Were Born Rich—The Razor’s Edge

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YYYYYou Were Born Rich

Chapter 8The Razor’s Edge

By Bob Proctor

You are only one inch ... one step...

one idea ... away from turningonto the boulevard of beauty

in your own life.

It has often been said the line whichseparates winning from losing is as fine asa razor’s edge—and it is. (I am talking aboutwinning in a big way and in all areas of yourlife.)

W. Somerset Maugham wrote an entirebook entitled The Razor’s Edge, and Daryl

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F. Zanuck spent four million dollarsproducing a movie which had the same title.Both of these great men—author and moviemaker alike—knew there wasn’t a bigdifference among people; there was only abig difference in the things theyaccomplished. (That was the theme of themovie as well as the book.)

One person “just about” starts a project,the other person starts it. One individual“almost” completes a task, the other doescomplete it. One person sees an opportunity,the other acts on it. One student “nearly”passes the exam, the other does pass it—andalthough the difference in their marks maybe only one percentage point out of ahundred, it’s that one point that makes allthe difference.

The annals of sport’s history are richwith dramatic illustrations of the Razor’sEdge concept. For example, at the 1976Olympic games in Montreal, Canada, therewere eight finalists competing in the one-hundred meter dash, but the runner who wonthe Olympic gold medal was only one-tenth

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of a second faster than the runner whofinished in last place.

In 1947, ARMED —the first race horsein the history of United States’ racing to winover one million dollars in prize money overthe duration of his career—had earnings of$761,500. But the horse which finishedsecond in earnings that same year—a horsewhich often lost races a mile long by only“a nose”—won only $75,000. Now, if onewere to look at their winnings alone, itwould appear that ARMED was thirteentimes better than his closest competitor.However, when you compare “the times”that were actually registered by those twohorses in their races, you discover he reallywasn’t even four percent superior!

Now, you may have grown up with theidea that some people have it and somepeople don’t. Or, because some people aremuch better than others, they enjoy muchmore of the abundance of life. But I wantyou to understand, right here and now, thisidea is absolutely false! For you are everybit as good, or as powerful, as anyone you

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see, know, or even hear about. Remember,since the difference between them and youis only in the area of accomplishments, andsince there is something you can do that willvastly improve the results you are achievingpresently, you have the potential to becomeeven more successful than they are. Youmay already know how to do what othersare doing (if you don’t, you can learn), andsince your potential power is unlimited, youcan do even greater things than they are nowdoing.

The “something” that you must do tobecome more successful may not be whatyou think it is. But whatever it may be, restassured, you are quite capable of doing it.Always bear in mind, however, that becauseeach person’s world is just a little bitdifferent, the something which you must dois not necessarily the same thing the personyou live with or work with, must do.Nevertheless, there is no question that youwill eventually find out what it is that youmust do. So make up your mind—immediately—when you do figure out whatthat Razor’s Edge is for you, you will do it.

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Heinz Daues’ Story

As I was writing this chapter, a very dearfriend of mine—Heinz Daues—telephonedto thank me for an idea I had given him. Butbefore I let you in on what that idea was,permit me to give you some backgroundinformation. Heinz Daues works for a largeinsurance company in Toronto and everyOctober his company holds a contest whichis referred to as, “A President’s Month.” Allof the salespeople in the company “gear”themselves up for this contest and they eachperform at their peak level of productivity.Their reward, if they should win the contest,is both fame and fortune. (The companyalways recognizes its proven leaders.)

As he does every year, Heinz had anexceptional “President’s Month.” But, inkeeping with his practice of previous years,he was planning to “relax a bit” inNovember, or at least to revert to what heconsidered to be “normal production.” As Iwas talking to him one afternoon, however,I noticed that his usual high degree ofenthusiasm had levelled off considerably. I

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knew something was amiss, so I asked himwhat was bothering him. He then explainedhe was experiencing a “big let down,” nowthat his “big month” had come to an end. Inan attempt to raise Heinz’s spirits, I askedhim the following question: “Heinz, whatwould you do with the extra commission youwould earn, if you were to repeat yourOctober performance in November?” (Heactually earned three times his usualmonthly income in October.)

Seeing the true meaning behind myquestion, Heinz’s face brightenedconsiderably and a broad smile appearedacross his face. Then I quickly added, “Weboth know you are quite “capable” ofrepeating your October performance inNovember; there is absolutely no questionabout that.” By this time Heinz had becomethoroughly convinced, that not only was hecapable of repeating his performance, but hedefinitely would repeat it. He said, with hiscustomary confidence and vigor fullyrestored, “All right Bob, I’m going to do it.”

The Razor’s Edge—he did it—Heinz

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Daues beat his own record of October inNovember! Think of the difference this willmake in his annual income, not to mentionhis standing in the company. You just knowhe will duplicate or better his performancenext November, following “President’sMonth.”

The “something” for Heinz Daues turnedout to be nothing more sophisticated, thandeciding to do the same thing in November,which he had already done in October.Perhaps you are saying to yourself, “anyonecould have figured that out,” and you’reright—they could have. But there are a fewthousand people selling for the samecompany that Heinz sells for and I’ll bet you“dollars to donuts,” there weren’t five otherswho did!

Vince Lombardi, former football coachof the outstanding Green Bay Packersfootball team, described the Razor’s Edgeconcept in football very well when he said,“Most games are won or lost in the last twominutes of the first and second half.” Butwhat Lombardi is best remembered for—

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with respect to football’s Razor’s Edge—isthe “Second Effort” concept, which heintroduced for the edification of his players.In a nutshell, the “Second Effort” conceptsimply meant, that when a player wasinitially stopped by the opposing team, hewould always surge forward a second time,with the added thrust of a “second effort.”

Now, just consider the tremendousdifference you could create in your own lifeif you were to adopt a similar mentalattitude. For example, if you are a personwho is working in sales and currently sellingonly three units a week, what would theconsequences be for you if you were todecide to make one additional sale per week,through a conscientious application of thesecond effort concept? Well, on a weeklybasis, it might not appear to be a majorbreakthrough. However, viewed over thetime frame of an entire career, it wouldactually amount to well over two thousandextra sales. Moreover, from a monetarystandpoint, it would mean you wouldactually receive an extra ten years’ incomeover the span of a forty-year career. Yes,

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that one sale would be the Razor’s Edgedifference, which could catapult you into“the big leagues” in your chosen career.

Milt Campbell’s Triumph

One individual who discovered theRazor’s Edge difference for himself, in hisown life, is Milton Campbell. You see, Miltwent to the Olympic Games in 1952, tocompete in the decathlon event. Heperformed with distinction, finishing insecond place in the world and as a result,brought home an Olympic silver medal.However, Milt’s ambition has always beento win the Olympic gold medal. Therefore,when he returned home, he gave it that oldsecond effort and he started his trainingprogram all over again. For the next fouryears, Milt Campbell dedicated himselfsinglemindedly to a training schedule, whichwould culminate with his winning theOlympic gold medal for his country at the1956 Olympic games.

In the aftermath of that spectacularachievement, I had the pleasure of speaking

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with Milt on numerous occasions. He oftenconfided to me that many of the athletesagainst whom he competed in high schoolwere far superior to him at that time. But atsome point, they had made the decision toabandon a sports career and the Razor’sEdge difference for Milt was that he kepttraining. The result—the day they pinned thegold medal on Milt, he was recognized asthe best athlete in the entire world!

One of the most powerful illustrationsof the fine line which separates winningfrom losing was revealed in the filming ofthe movie, The Razor’s Edge. The cast forthe movie was comprised of eight “principalactors,” and eight “stand-ins.” (That is tosay, each “principal” had a “stand-in” to dothe hard, gruelling and tiresome work forhim, while the stars did “the rest!”) Afterthe film had been completed, Life Magazinepublished a story in which the pictures ofthe eight “principals” were exhibited on onepage, and the eight “stand-ins” were shownon the opposite page.

The stand-in for “the star” of the film,

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Tyrone Power, was a man by the name ofThomas Noonan. Noonan was a closeassociate of Power’s and they had evenattended the same high school at the sametime. Both men were about the same size,they were equal in intelligence, they dressedalmost identically, and they resembled oneanother very closely, even in their physicalappearance. In point of fact, as close aresemblance as was humanly possibleexisted between each “principal actor” andhis or her “stand-in.” But in one way—andone way only—the “principal actors” andtheir “stand-ins” were completely dissimilar.For the combined salaries received by theeight “principals” for the picture amountedto, what was at that time, a staggering$489,000. The combined salaries for theeight “stand-ins,” on the other hand,amounted to a paltry $6,534. The“principals” may only have been slightlymore talented than their “understudies”were, but the monetary compensation whichthey received was seventy-five timesgreater!

As your awareness becomes increasingly

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great with respect to “The Razor’s Edge”concept, you will be astounded by thenumber of such examples you encounterevery day. As a case in point, just considerhow much kindlier you feel towards aparticular retail store, where the cashiersmiles and “thanks you for your business,”and then asks you to come back “real soon”,as compared to one where you are greetedwith a stern, “Well, are you going to buyanything or not,” attitude.

Or consider this illustration—approximately one year ago, a familyattended one of my seminars in Toronto.They were a truly beautiful family, but theyhad a serious problem and they asked me ifI could help them solve it. They informedme, to begin with, that they were the ownersof an automobile repair shop. But they alsoexplained their business had gone sour, so“sour,” in fact, they were seriouslycontemplating “closing their doors,” andgoing to work for someone else.

In an attempt to assist them, I visitedthem on the premises of their shop and I

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asked them a series of related questions.Then, I “sat back” and listened verycarefully to the answers which they providedme with. It wasn’t long before I ascertained,that whenever I asked a question having todo with their ability as mechanics, theyanswered with great enthusiasm and literallyoverflowing with confidence. In fact, theysoon had me convinced not only were theyvery skillful mechanics, but they wereexceptionally hard workers as well.

On the other hand, however, I alsodiscerned, that whenever I asked them aquestion which touched upon the publicrelation’s side of their business, theyexhibited absolutely no enthusiasm,whatsoever. In fact, an aura of pessimismand despondency actually came over them.It was fairly obvious to me, therefore, theonly problem which this family really hadwas dealing with their own mental attitudes.

Once I had identified the exact nature ofthe problem, I was able to suggest correctiveaction. I told them they must begin to“visualize their shop full of cars which

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needed to be repaired.” I suggested,moreover, that every time they visualizedthemselves doing work on a car, they alsovisualize themselves vacuuming the insideof the car, washing the outside, and makingsure the windows were spotless. I pointedout to them, that because most people don’treally understand very much about themechanical aspects of a car, the only thingwhich they would notice, was “how itlooked,” and since almost everyone feelsbetter driving a car that looks good, theselittle extra touches would soon start payinggreat dividends for them.

Approximately two weeks later, Ireceived a phone call from one of the familymembers. She told me that none of themquite understood how “something so basic,”could make such a tremendous difference.But nevertheless, they had become so busyin the next two weeks since I had visitedthem, their only problem now wascompleting all of the work which they hadattracted to themselves. The Razor’s Edgedifference that changed their business froma loser into a winner, turned out to be

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nothing more dramatic than a hospitableattitude and a few additional touches on eachand every automobile. Was it worth it? Justask the Jacob’s family of Toronto, Canada!

Most educators will admit—with somecoaxing—that the average individual readsat only about a grade six or seven level. Thereason for this is we are taught to read bythe time we reach grade six or seven, andthen we never bother to improve our readingskills beyond that point. You should realize,moreover, that what is true about “reading,”is also true of most other skills which weacquire in life. Once people have becomeproficient in the basics in any particularfield, they usually choose to stop learning,and of course, from that point forward theycease to improve. Since this is true of mostpeople, it follows that it is only the smallminority of people in any given field whowill go on to become the acknowledgedexperts in their chosen vocation. Therefore,they are the people who can demand andwho will receive the lion’s share of theincome in their field. (Just reflect upon thevast difference in the incomes of the actors

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in the movie The Razor’s Edge.)

Taking this information into account,consider the job you are doing presently andask yourself the following questions: “Howgood am I at doing it?,” and “How muchbetter could I be?” Realize, that if you wouldstudy your chosen field for one hour per day,in five years time you would have studiedfor 45 forty-hour weeks, which amounts toalmost a full year of study. Moreover, sinceyou would only be studying for one hour atany given time, you would be able to givethe material your undivided attention.Therefore, it would actually be theequivalent of “a full year” of concentratedstudy. This means that by the end of the firstyear, you would already have put in nineforty-hour weeks of invaluable study time.Although this amounts to only one hour ofstudy per day, if you were to follow thisschedule rigorously, in a relatively shortspan of time you would stand among yourpeers like a giraffe in a herd of field mice.

In fact, when you really think about it,you will soon understand there isn’t any

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competition at all, because there are so fewpeople in the race, that even the losers arewinners. Therefore, you need not do atremendous amount of studying to gain theunderstanding you require, because again,the difference between knowledge andignorance, may be as fine as “the Razor’sEdge.”

Let’s get down to specifics again—as Ihave explained to audiences on numerousoccasions, I do a great deal of studying bylistening to educational tapes while I amdriving my car. I’d like to suggest that youturn your radio off and your tape-recorderon when you get into your car, as it couldmake as big a difference for you, as it hasfor me. You should be aware that thosepeople who drive twenty-five thousandmiles per year spend thirteen forty-hourweeks sitting behind the wheel of their car.Therefore, they are in an excellent positionto have a wealth of invaluable informationdeposited in their subconscious minds, whilethey are, otherwise, engaged in the routineactivity of driving. Remember, it is virtuallyimpossible to keep exposing your mind to

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great ideas without having those ideasexpressed in your physical world. Moreover,it is probably only one idea you need to makethe difference in your life.

Consider this illustration—by merelymoving an index finger a fraction of an inch,a person can transform a cold piece of metalinto a deadly weapon. Or, by simplyshouting the word “Fire,” a person can turna room full of happy people into ascreaming, panic-stricken mob. Obviously,these are both very negative examples.Nevertheless, they do graphically illustratethe important truth, that “the Razor’s Edgecan cut both ways.” In other words, sincethe law of opposites is at work in everyaspect of life, it follows, that if you are notconsciously striving to move across that fineline to improve the quality of your life, youcould be inadvertently moving in such away, that your particular position in life isactually starting to backslide.

Let me elaborate. A couple of weeks ago,I was doing a talk show on the radio. A ladyphoned in and she was in a fairly negative

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frame of mind because the reality of her life,as she perceived it, was far different fromwhat she had dreamed it would be when shewas still a student in university. Apparently,at that time, she had dreamed of having anexciting career as a famous author. However,she felt her plans had been ruined becauseshe married shortly after graduation and nowhad two young children to contend with. Thechildren, she explained, were still quiteyoung and they were, as she described it,“under my feet, most of the day.” She saidthat due to this circumstance of life, she wasunable to go away by herself to write andthis made her feel very resentful towards herfamily and towards life in general.

I suggested to her, however, it was notnecessary to “go away” to write her book,even though it is quite true some writers dogo off to some south sea island, just to write.But I assured her, these individuals were inthe minority, and there are, in fact, very fewauthors who devote all their time to writing(or who even earn a major portion of theirincome, while engaged in this activity).Therefore, I continued, there was absolutely

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nothing preventing her from writing at leastone page per day—and if she followed thisschedule religiously, in a year’s time shewould have completed a good-sized book(365 pages), or possibly two or three smallerones. Yes, just getting out of bed one hourearlier in the morning could be the Razor’sEdge difference which would permit her torealize her dream. Moreover, she would havethe additional benefit of having her familynear her to provide “moral support.”

First Artificial Heart

As I am writing this particular chapter,the media is literally inundating us withstories about the “first artificial heart,” everto have been placed in the chest of a humanpatient. The Toronto Daily Star, forexample, printed one story a few days ago,in which it quoted the chief surgeon for theoperation, Dr. William DeVries. Accordingto the newspaper, he said that his credo, withrespect to surgery, had always been—“Rehearse ... rehearse ... and then rehearsesome more! For if you ‘stick to’ thisprinciple,” he continued, “when it comes

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time to perform the actual operation, theprocedure will have become almost routinefor you.”

Dr. DeVries is an exemplary case of anindividual who gave that little bit extra. Forhe took the time and effort to rehearse theoperation on the screen of his own mind,before he actually performed it in thehospital operating room. (Incidentally, thatRazor’s Edge difference has enabled Dr.DeVries to become a world renownedsurgeon, who is destined to be “written up”in the annals of medical history, not tomention the fact that it enabled him toprolong the life of one Dr. Barney Clark!)

Another excellent illustration of “goingthat extra mile” by trying one more time, isoffered in the same historic event. For Dr.Robert Jarvik—only 36 years of age—andthe man who designed the world’s firstartificial heart, is another prime Razor’sEdge candidate. For you see, Dr. Jarvik isalso a man who was rejected, at least threetimes, by every medical school in the entireUnited States of America. In fact, he was

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even advised by one teacher, whose coursehe was failing, to apply to dental school.

But Robert Jarvik was a man with avision, and he would not be denied it. Heintuitively grasped that he was the masterof his fate, and he must have innatelyunderstood the Razor’s Edge concept—forhe would not accept defeat. As a result ofhis remarkable perseverance, he was finallyaccepted into the University of Utah Schoolof Medicine, Salt Lake City, in 1972. A meredecade later, young Robert Jarvik achieveda medical breakthrough, the likes of whichhad never been seen before.

Speaking of her husband, Dr. Jarvik’swife Elaine said, “He has qualities whichare very difficult to measure—he is creative,and that is something you cannot measurewith a test.” Clearly, young Robert Jarvikentered the fierce competition for a place inmedical school, with none of theconventional assets—superior grades, aprestigious academic degree, and a highscore on the medical entrance exam.Nevertheless, he did possess those all

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important intangibles: namely, perseveranceand a consuming passion to be successful.

Now, I am in no way suggesting that allof us will one day make medical history.Still, we might resemble Dr. Jarvik, in thesense that our particular talents andaptitudes, like his, may not translate wellonto standardized tests of ability. Therefore,like Robert Jarvik, it may be necessary forus to bring our particular talents to bear,through tenacity, perseverance, and courage;and just “one more bite at the apple,” maybe all that is required for us to succeed.

Napoleon Hill devoted an entire chapterin his classic book, Think and Grow Rich,to the subject of “persistence.” He said,“There may be no heroic connotation to theword persistence, but the quality is to thecharacter of man, what carbon is to steel.”

In another part of that same chapter, hewrote, “I had the happy privilege ofanalyzing both Mr. Thomas Edison and Mr.Henry Ford, year by year, over a long periodof years, and therefore the opportunity to

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study them at close range. Therefore, I speakwith actual knowledge when I say that Ifound no quality, save Persistence, in eitherof them, that even remotely suggested themajor source of their stupendousachievements.”

Surely you would have to agree therewas a tremendous difference in theaccomplishments of these two men, ascompared with the accomplishments of mostother people. Yet by their own admission,neither of these men were intellectuallysuperior—in fact, in terms of their I.Q.—they may actually have been inferior to manyother people. Nevertheless, because bothmen possessed the vital quality of“persistence,” their results in life wereinvariably superior to those of the masses.

Therefore, perhaps the factor which willcatapult you into the “big leagues,” whichwill multiply your income from a material,as well as a psychic point of view, will beyour own ability to persist. So the next timeyou step out to do something, and “the goinggets tough,” just remember that the Razor’s

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Edge difference for you could well be yourown ability to persevere. Just try one moretime—with enthusiasm—and you couldwatch your accomplishments go from thevery ordinary, to the very extraordinary!

Let me share a brief anecdote from myown experience. To complete this book, Iam forming a new habit. Each morning I getup before everyone else at home, showerquickly and pour myself a cup of coffee(which I drink on my way to the office). Iarrive at the office before seven a.m. andthen I start writing. Since it is absolutelyquiet at this hour in the morning—notelephones ringing, no interruption—I amable to write without any distractions and Ireally enjoy it. By the time the other peoplearrive to begin work, I have several pagesalready written, so I am then free to get busywith the other work which I have scheduledfor the day.

Simulation

Now try to relate this story to your ownsituation, for just a moment. For example,

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if you are employed in a “sales” capacity,consider the dynamic sales presentationwhich you could be delivering in a monthor two, if you did a similar thing eachmorning. In other words, if, instead ofwriting as I do, try to simulate a salespresentation with an imaginary prospect, orpossibly with one of your associates. (I usedthe word simulate rather than role play,because the latter usually turns out to beexactly what the word suggests—play, andthe exercise often turns into a game. Theword simulate, on the other hand, came intopopular parlance when we learned howastronauts prepared for their space missions.When they were simulating, they wereactually pre-living the in-space experience,as if it were already happening.) Therefore,I would suggest that if you practised yoursales presentation in a similar manner, everymorning—for one or two hours—you wouldwitness an incredible improvement in yourperformance, in a relatively short span oftime. With a year or two of diligent effortunder your belt, you would become soproficient, you would rarely miss a sale. Soremember, “If the need is there, and the

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means are there and you still haven’t madethe sale, it is probably because you are notgood enough, yet!”

A guaranteed way to become “goodenough,” is to do what Dr. DeVriesprescribed: namely, “Rehearse, rehearse,and then rehearse some more.” For in thismanner, you will attain the stature of a trueprofessional, and of course, you will receivethe compensation a true professionaldeserves. And, although I am onlysuggesting you set aside one hour per dayfor preparation, like the actors in Zanuck’smovie, you will probably be rewarded manytimes over.

Consider the following account. Severalyears ago, I was travelling through thesoutheastern United States with RudyMichaud, the Senior Vice-President of oneof the world’s largest insurance companies.Rudy had some papers out that he wasworking on, as we were flying from one cityto the next, and I was also busy working ona project. Suddenly Rudy turned to me andshowed me some figures he had written on

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a sheet of paper. He then pointed out to me:there were actually individual salespeople,in his company, who were earning moremoney themselves, than the combinedincomes of the thirty or forty people whoconstitute “a district sales operation.”

Do you think these individuals werereally thirty or forty times better than theircolleagues?— of course not! For like therace horse ARMED, they were probablyonly three or four percent more effective.But in terms of annual income, there wasabsolutely no comparison. What made thedifference for them? Perhaps they plannedtheir day, while others didn’t; or maybe theypractised for that one hour, while the othersdid not. Nevertheless, whatever it was thatthey did, you can be sure the difference wasas fine as a Razor’s Edge!

Now stop reading, sit back, relax, andthink, really think—what is it in your lifethat will make the Razor’s Edge differencefor you? You know what it is?

Good—then do it now!