Almost no one understands what their most valuable asset really is. Few understand its power.
Andrew Carnegie is often quoted as saying that you could take all of his wealth away, but leave him his key people, and he would have everything back in a very short time. Were his people his most valuable asset?
A famous real estate investor claimed you could drop him in any major city with only $50 to his name, and within 48 hours he could buy and control real estate with no money and no credit — and actually put money in his pocket from the deals. He was taken up on this challenge not once but twice, and pulled it off both times. Was his knowledge his most valuable asset?
Others might say their most valuable asset is their home, their 401k, their inheritance, or their relationship with God.
Take a moment and answer the question for yourself: What is your most valuable asset?
Your Word
Our most valuable asset is our word. It's very simple. If you keep your word, it becomes powerful. If you break your word, it becomes weak and powerless.
Now go back and consider Carnegie and the real estate investor. Could either of them have succeeded if their word had no power? Could Carnegie have kept his great people if they couldn't trust him? Of course not. Those relationships had value because of mutual trust and respect. Without it, they would have been worthless.
Getting away from the physical — how valuable is one's knowledge and relationship with God if their word is no good? God's word has a lot to say about those who lie and deceive. Satan is called the great deceiver.
Think of every successful person you know, and you will find power in their word. Business is far easier to conduct profitably when your associates trust you. They must believe you will keep your word, or they won't do business with you. An employer will not give greater responsibility and income to someone who can't be trusted.
But that is only the beginning of this asset's power.
Do You Believe You?
What is far more important than others believing you is your opinion of your own word.
When you tell yourself you're going to do something, do you do it? When you tell yourself you're going to make something happen, does it happen?
This is where the real power comes in. Every time we keep our word to ourselves, our word gets stronger. Every time we break it, our power is crushed — and we have to start over.
Many people are in the terrible habit of over-committing. They make so many casual promises they can't possibly keep them all. But there are no casual commitments. Everything counts. If you say it, make it happen. If you can't make it happen, don't say it.
No excuses. No justification. No explanations.
You've Always Known It
Here's what makes this rule inescapable: when you break your word, you will unconsciously punish yourself with some self-sabotaging activity that guarantees failure. You won't let yourself succeed unless you have a high opinion of your own word. It's the way we're wired.
Consider the real estate investor again. He put together deals with no money and no credit. The only thing holding those deals together was his word. People had to trust him and believe in him to move forward. That kind of confidence — the kind that persuades others — doesn't come from nowhere.
Confidence is believing in yourself. And it's hard to believe in yourself if you don't believe yourself.
Self-esteem and confidence are built by keeping our word — to ourselves as well as to others. Keep your word and you're welcome into the garden of success. Break it, and you're out.
