Paying for College

by Greg McClanahan

I’ve been thinking about the importance of “Focus” lately.  We become so busy at times that we can be distracted doing good things and fail to focus on the best things.  As an introduction to this topic, please click on the following link to watch an insightful 1 minute video from 'The Foundation for a Better Life' titled Holding The Light.  Then return to read more about this subject.

If we want to realize the highest levels of success, it is imperative that we maintain our focus and to make sure that we focus on the best things.  In today's video presentation, we saw a father who readily helped others.  He was a good man and I am sure enjoyed helping others but I believe he was predominantly focused on teaching his son how to live.  We also saw a young boy who knew just where to focus the light so his father could see --- all the while learning without realizing who he was becoming.  Both of them accomplished great things by maintaining their focus.  We need to learn to apply these same principles in our life and career.    

Below is a story that further demonstrates this point.  Here we find another father whose focus made all the difference in his son's life.  Through a seemingly small daily habit, this father was able to find a way to pay for his son's college and give him the chance at a better life.

The Pickle Jar

As far back as I can remember, the pickle jar sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When my father got ready for bed, he would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar.

As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They ended with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled. I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window.

When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank. Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully.

"Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back."

Each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly.

"These are for my son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me."

We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla.
When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm.

"When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again."

He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other.

"You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters," he said. "But you'll get there. I'll see to that."

The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done.

When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar.

To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me pouring catchup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me.

"When you finish college, Son," he told me with glistening eyes, "You'll never have to eat beans again...unless you want to."

The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms.

"She probably needs to be changed," she said.

Susan carried her into my parents' bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room.

"Look," she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar. The bottom was already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins.

With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt.

Neither one of us could speak as the tears readily flowed.

Unknown Author

Love can be the greatest power in driving us to focus on the best things we can do each day. Your love for your family and my love for mine make it easy for us to make sacrifices as we stay focused on the things we can accomplish on their behalf. As I go to work each day I know I must strive to serve each client that walks in my door by focusing on their needs and circumstances.  I carry an attitude of hope.  I’m hopeful that all-the-while I can make a difference in their lives.  

Clients know if your focus is on them by your actions and conversation --- they know if you are focused on them or focused on your commission and profits.  Change your focus and your profits will soar as a natural byproduct.  

If the father in today's story were to have focused on his bills and household expenses, or if he were to have focused on the things he wanted to buy for himself, the pickle jar would have been empty.  It is when we focus on the right things that we are able to accomplish great things.

One very important point is to realize that your ability and willingness to remain focused can absolutely make up for a lack of ability.  Aesop's fable about the race between "The Tortoise and the Hare" makes this point very clear. The race is not always won by the strongest or fastest but rather victory often goes to the one who remains focused.

I encourage you to focus your devotion and attention in the best direction. I promise that you will be able to more easily find a way to make your business efforts profitable when you simply stay focused on your clients needs. # #