BOB PROCTOR

COMMANDING
the LAWS of
WEALTH
M ANAGEMENT
G UIDE /W ORKBOOK

SESSION 7
IT’S EASIER TO WIN —
CONFORMITY/NONCONFORMITY
IMPORTANT
To begin — Please save this workbook to your
desktop or in another location.

How can you get the most out of this writable workbook?
Research has shown that the more ways you interact with
learning material, the deeper your learning will be.
Nightingale-Conant has created a cutting-edge learning
system that involves listening to the audio, reading the
ideas in the workbook, and writing your ideas and thoughts
down. In fact, this workbook is designed so that you can
fill in your thoughts right inside this document.

© P MMXIII Nightingale-Conant Corporation and Bob Proctor Seminars

Introduction

It has been said many times, there are three types of people in the world: those who make things happen,
those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.

Earl Nightingale was definitely a qualifying member of the result-oriented group who made things
happen. He never wondered what happened ... although he very likely asked why. He certainly never sat
back to watch what happened; however, he was often amused by what he saw. Yes, Earl Nightingale
made things happen. At one time he was the most listened to man in the history of the broadcast industry
with his award-winning radio show Our Changing World. Along with Lloyd Conant, his business
partner, and a long-playing record titled “The Strangest Secret,” he literally started an industry that has
been responsible for changing the lives of millions of people on every continent an industry that I have
been proud to be a part of for approximately 40 years.

Somewhere in the mid-sixties, I had the good fortune of visiting with Earl Nightingale for an hour or so
in his office at 333 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. That meeting changed the course of my life. I
returned to my home in Toronto knowing that I would spend the rest of my days on planet Earth doing
what my new friend, Earl Nightingale, was doing ... and doing so well.

A couple of years after that meeting, I moved my family to Chicago and began working with the
Nightingale-Conant Corporation. I could not have been happier — this was a dream come true. I have
often said that I would have willingly paid them to let me work there. Earl Nightingale and Lloyd Conant
became my mentors. It was a rich and rewarding experience, an experience for which, to this day, I am
grateful.

Lloyd Conant and I became good friends; he seemed to be fascinated with my knowledge of
Nightingale-Conant’s programs. I clearly remember how genuinely interested he was in hearing how
I had been studying and teaching Lead the Field for approximately five years in Canada and England.

It is probably worth mentioning that Lead the Field at that time, was on records — we were not able to
enjoy the convenience or portability of cassettes, CDs, or the Internet.

We were, however, able to enjoy the tremendous benefits of this powerful personal growth program. It
was exciting! Lloyd Conant asked me to teach Lead the Field to all of the employees and I did. Over the
past 30 years I have taught this program all over the world. I have seen the sales in a number of large
corporations rise by hundreds of millions of dollars when their people began to understand the great
truths and universal laws that are buried in this masterpiece called Lead the Field.
On a visit to Chicago, I had dinner with Vic Conant and Vic’s son Carson, who is a bright young guy and
rising star in the company. Carson is fortunate to come from such a great gene pool ... he is very much
like Lloyd, who of course was his grandfather. During dinner, Vic explained to Carson how his father
had me conduct the Lead the Field Seminar for the company so many years ago ... before Carson was
even born. He also told him how that seminar had impacted his life, when he was just about Carson’s
age.

It was there during dinner that the idea surfaced ... I should record the Lead the Field Seminar for the
whole world to enjoy. So, here it is ... approximately 31⁄2 decades of intense research into the greatest
personal growth program in the world. Welcome to Commanding the Laws of Wealth.

Come with me as we explore the deep hidden meaning behind many of Earl Nightingale’s directives.
The understanding you will develop from this explosive information will catapult your results to levels
of accomplishment you have been dreaming about for years. Your world is about to change. As Earl
Nightingale himself explained — “Strange and marvelous things will begin to happen with constant
regularity.”

Have your Management Guide/Workbook handy, follow along and pay close attention. Listen carefully
as we go inside Lead the Field with Commanding the Laws of Wealth.

Bob Proctor
 Notes

7 — IT’S EASIER TO WIN

All kinds of studies have been made regarding motivation. What is

it that motivates people to do the things they do, live the way they
live, achieve the goals they achieve? And, while there is certainly
no single answer to so large and complicated a question, I believe
the overriding force which motivates us, as persons, is a thing I call
CHOICE OF ENVIRONMENT, environment being the immediate
world by which we are surrounded.

Some people make this choice consciously, but I’m certain the
great majority of people make the choice unconsciously as a result
of environmental conditioning.

As an example, consider the statistics regarding the financial

condition of men and women over age 65: The median income of
people over 65 is less than $50 a week — far below the poverty
level.

Yet ... if a working person saved only a dime out of each dollar
they earned, and if that person never made more than $6,000.00 a
year in their entire life, they’d save $24,000.00 by the time they
reached age 65. At very average interest rates, it would amount to
$58,909.80. This sum of money would certainly represent financial
independence to the average worker at age 65. Add adequate life
insurance to this amount, and they will also have provided
financial independence for their spouse.

Now, why, according to statistics, do only about three people out

of a hundred achieve financial independence during their lifetimes?
Why are only three motivated to achieve FINANCIAL
INDEPENDENCE, something which almost everyone will tell you
they want to achieve?

The questions Earl Nightingale is asking here must be

answered, and they must be answered by you if you hope to
live a balanced, healthy life. While the figures that he quotes
are almost comical they’re so low, understand they were
very accurate at the time he shared this information with us
 Notes
in the early ’60s, and it wouldn’t have been comical for the
person who was living on that kind of income. If you were to
take the time and go to the necessary source, you would find
that the income for individuals 65 years of age and over has
not really changed much. Although the numbers may be very
different, their buying power would be very much the same.

I think the point that Earl Nightingale is stressing in this

lesson is one that you and I must give serious thought to.
And that is, that most are a product of their environment,
and that the masses of people historically have never saved
money and end up as poor old people, because they were
poor young people who grow old without ever changing
their situation. By following the exercises in this program,
you can break away from the crowd and catapult yourself
into that select 3% of the population who enjoy the abundant
life.

Years ago, I remember a function where Earl Nightingale

was the guest speaker. He said something that I shall never
forget, “The opposite to courage is not cowardice; it is
conformity.” You might play with that idea for the next 50
years when you’re making decisions and see how it improves
your life.

Let’s return to Earl Nightingale’s words as he elaborates on

the power of environment and why so many people feel
boxed in.

Well, it’s here that we begin to see motivational forces at work.

Motivation is closely linked to environment. Our normal reaction
to environment is to act, think, and talk like the people by whom
we’re surrounded. Since only 3% achieve financial independence
during their lifetimes, the odds are 97 to 3 that in any given case a
person is surrounded by those who are not thinking and working
toward financial independence. Instead, they are surrounded by,
and as a result conform to, a “group” which does not stress the
importance of being financially independent. They have conformed
to their environment. And, I’m using finances as only one example.
Other examples could be education, health, language, work,
attitude, and so forth.
 Notes
These people can be said to be those who do not consciously
choose their environment, but simply GO ALONG WITH THE
ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THEY FIND THEMSELVES.

Now, that would be fine ... if the statistics were reversed. If 97%
of the people could be said to be successful, the odds would be
excellent if we just went along with the crowd. In that event,
selecting an environment might not be too important. But this is
not the case — and never has been.

If a person does not choose, of their own volition, the environment

in which they want to live and raise their children, the chances are
about 97 to 3 that neither they nor their children will live in an
environmental climate offering the best opportunities for success
and the enjoyment of life.

I would like to suggest that you pause for a moment, stand

back, and objectively take a look at the environment you now
find yourself in.

Make a list of 10 or 12 business people that you associate

with most frequently.

Now I want to suggest that you think about each of these

people, one at a time — what are they like? I’m not
suggesting that you question their character or integrity.
 Notes
Without being judgmental, ask yourself, “Do they entertain
big ideas? Are they exciting and positive individuals who see
the unlimited potential in all situations? Are they high
achievers?” And finally, a beautiful question: “If you have
children, would you like your children to grow up and
conduct themselves in business the way these people do?”
The truth is, they could be beautiful people who are going
nowhere, and if you spend a lot of time with them, I can
assure you — if you are not already like them — you are
moving in that direction. After thinking about each one of
these individuals, pick six (6) who you honestly feel could
teach you something valuable, and select the ones you would
like to emulate. Being super honest with yourself with
respect to this exercise, it is very important to go back to
your list and place a checkmark in the box to the right of
that person’s name. I once heard someone suggest that if you
want to play a better game of golf, you should quit playing
with your friends. There’s probably a bit of truth in that.

“The greatest benefit which one friend can confer upon

another is to guard, excite, and elevate their virtues.”
—Samuel Johnson

PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS

When you need advice or information, go to the experts.

This is a cardinal principle. Everyone should know, well,
at least two or three very capable people in their business
or industry to whom they can refer for experience and
guidance.

List the names of six people who are acknowledged experts

in your field, whom you would like to emulate.
 Notes
How will you gain an introduction to two or three of the
people whom you will emulate?

I will have gained these introductions by

(date)

How will you cultivate a friendship with them after you have
been introduced?

Let’s take a hypothetical case, and call him an average person in

the free world — although there’s no such thing as an average
person. The trouble comes from ACTING AS THOUGH WE’RE
AVERAGE.

In the case of this so-called average man, from the time he’s born
until about age 25, most of his life is spent in doing what others
have told him to do. As a child, it’s his parents; and they mold him
much as a potter molds clay. He talks as his mother and father talk;
he thinks the way they think. If they think something is bad, he
thinks it’s bad. He tends to grow up in their religious faith, and
very probably ultimately in their political party. If they have deep-
rooted prejudices, he will likely adopt them.
 Notes
When he reaches school age, he’ll begin to emulate the other
children. To a youngster in school, the most important thing on
earth is to be liked. Acceptance and esteem in the eyes of his
contemporaries is his deepest craving. So he’ll do what the others
do. He’ll dress as they dress. He wants to belong, to be liked. But
remember, he is following people who do not know any more than
he does. He isn’t playing follow the leader; he’s playing FOLLOW
THE FOLLOWER.

Do you recall what Willie Loman said in Arthur Miller’s play

Death of a Salesman? He said, “The important thing is to be
liked.” Willie Loman had never grown up. Of course, it’s important
to be liked. But this is only one part of life. To Willie it was
everything, and his ignorance of life and of the world brought him
frustration and despair. But to a boy in school — on the average —
being liked and doing what the other boys do is the most important
thing in the world. And this vise-like pressure of conformity lasts
for many years.

Out of school, our young man may go into military service. Here
again he’s gripped by a vise of conformity far greater even than
he’s known in school. He still acts like the other fellows and talks
and thinks much as they do. And now he even looks exactly like
them; same shoes, same clothes, same actions, everything. He
becomes a unit in a thing called the military. And while that’s the
way things have, unfortunately, had to be, the effect of such
standardization is, of course, enormous.

Now, let’s say our young man is 25, out of school, out of service.
He goes back to his hometown — unless he’s married, in which
case he usually goes to live in his wife’s hometown — but let’s say
he’s still single.

For the first time in 25 years, he finds himself really on his own.
He must make a decision as to what to do, and it’s a little
frightening. One day he’s standing on a corner, not knowing just
what to do, when he’s met by an old friend from his school days.
And the friend asks:

“What are you doing?”

 Notes
“Nothing.”

“Why don’t you come down and go to work where I work? It’s a
good job, the pay’s regular, 40-hour week, fringe benefits — the
whole thing.”

So he does, and that’s often the end of him.

By taking the job suggested by his friend, he’s still going along
with the gang; but he’s also giving less attention to the selection
of a career than he would give to selecting a shirt or a necktie.

On the job, what’s the most natural thing in the world for him to
do? It’s to continue to go along with the gang. He’s been doing it
for 25 years. Why should he change now? So, on the job, he looks
around to see how the other fellows are doing their work, and he
begins doing his the same way.

You see, no one had told him that he’s living in THE GOLDEN
AGE that mankind has been dreaming of, and building toward, for
thousands of years. No one has told him that from now on, what
happens to him WILL BE IN HIS HANDS — not his parents’ —
not his teachers’ — not his commanding officers’ — not his
associates’— but it’s all up to him from here on out. He has before
him perhaps a half-century or more in the greatest age the world has
known. Now, what’s he going to do with his most productive years?

Well, with a steady job, he can marry his girl. Which he does. He
then often goes out to a large suburban development and buys a
house or rents an apartment that looks very much like every other
house or apartment on the street for as far as the eye can see.
Makes him feel comfortable: He belongs. What he actually does is
disappear again, as he did in the classroom and in the service.

He has a steady job, a wife, a place to live, a new car, the biggest
paycheck, and the highest standard of living the world has ever
known. A wonderful start in life! Now, what does he do?
 Notes
Well, he works 40 hours a week. This leaves him 72 hours a week
when he’s neither working nor sleeping. Seventy-two free hours a
week — almost twice the time he spends on the job earning a
living for his wife and future children. What does he do with his
free 72 hours a week? As a rule, he’ll do the same thing the other
fellows are doing with their free 72 hours a week. He doesn’t do
much of anything with them.

On a typical afternoon, he quits work, right on the dot, and drives

his little car to his abode. He goes into his little kitchen, kisses his
little wife, and says, “I’m tired.” It’s believed he says this because
he used to hear his father and his grandfather say it in the days
when men actually worked hard enough to get tired. The
wonderful technological and sociological advances which have
given him freedom from backbreaking toil and grinding poverty
permit him to retain just that much more energy and good health.

After dinner, as likely as not, he’ll devote the rest of the evening to
watching television. In this way, he’s able to lose himself in worlds
he must believe to be more interesting than his own. What he is
actually doing is watching other people earning excellent incomes
in the pursuit of their careers, while he DOESN’T MAKE A
NICKEL. And while his most valuable possession — TIME — is
silently slipping away.

All too frequently, he doesn’t know how fortunate he is. He doesn’t

realize that for the first time in all the difficult centuries of
mankind, he no longer needs to work from early morning until late
at night, six days a week, just to earn enough to keep his family
alive. Instead, he will earn from a third of a million to a million
dollars or more. He has free time, lots of it, and he takes for
granted a great many luxuries which are the wonder and envy of
three-quarters of all the human beings on earth. Furthermore, he
can actually decide for himself what he wants to do with his life.
He knows how to read and write, and all the great books of the
world are available to him at his local library. In short, he usually
TAKES FOR GRANTED ALL THE WONDERS THAT HAVE
BEEN GIVEN HIM.

And with all of this, he lives a minimal existence doing no more

than he has to do to get by without too much discredit, hoping that
 Notes
times remain good so he can keep his job. He thinks it’s only
natural that his company, his town, and his country should continue
to improve, expand, and advance. But somehow, he seems to
believe it isn’t necessary for him to do likewise.

Why does he live this way? Because this seems to be the way the
rest of the fellows are living, and if they’re living that way, he feels
it must be all right. Here is a case of MASS MOTIVATION. Of
playing follow the follower.

Earl Nightingale makes reference to mass motivation. This is

an excellent opportunity for us to find out what that really
means. We’re dealing with seven levels of awareness, and
mass awareness is one of those levels. Examine this graphic
illustration.

The Seven Levels of Awareness

7. Mastery
6. Experience
5. Discipline
4. Individual
3. Aspiration
2. Mass
1. Animal

Now let’s take a look at these levels one at a time. Earl

Nightingale has done a masterful job in painting the picture
of this hypothetical individual and the ridiculous existence
that he is experiencing that he calls life. He then points out
that his reason for living this way is mass motivation. As you
take a look at the levels of awareness and see where mass
motivation fits in, it is only one level above animalistic
consciousness. The fact that they even get along as well as
they do is a little surprising. From a creative perspective
they’re not really any better off than their pets.
 Notes
On the first level — the animal level — it’s fight or flight,
putting an individual in a reactionary mode.

The next level — mass consciousness — is the one Earl

Nightingale made reference to. This is where an individual,
without thinking, steps into the crowd and obediently
follows, wherever the crowd leads.

Let’s stop right here and examine what is happening from a

psychological perspective. To do this, it will be necessary to
revisit the model of our mind.

CONSCIOUS
MIND

DEDUCTIVE INDUCTIVE

SUBCONSCIOUS
MIND
TOTALLY
DEDUCTIVE

BODY
Physical
Instrument

The conscious mind reasons both inductively and

deductively, while the subconscious mind is totally
deductive. Inductive reasoning is where we go from the
specific to the general. In other words, we think a thought,
we add it to another thought, then another thought, and as
we keep adding thoughts, we build the idea. This is, in truth,
what is referred to as thinking.
 Notes
INDUCTIVE REASONING

The inductive reasoning factor in the personality is what we

think with. When it is not working, the mind is in a totally
deductive state and the personality is totally subjected to
whatever thoughts or ideas happen to be present.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING

Deductive reasoning is where we go from the general to the

specific. Let’s imagine that you are out visiting someone.
You’re having a nice evening, but you or your spouse looks
at your watch and realizes it’s time to go home. The order is
given to the mind to go home. Everything that has to be done
to get home will be expressed one at a time. 1) You will get
up and get out of the chair; 2) you will go to the car; 3) put
the keys in the ignition; etc. Every action that’s necessary
will be expressed to complete the command to go home.
 Notes
IDEA

}
IDEA

1
2
3
4
5
A c tio n s R
6

Consider for a moment what kind of actions a person would

be involved in where there was nothing but ideas of lack,
limitation, jealousy, resentment, and blame circulating in
the environment that a person found themselves with their
subconscious mind wide open almost all of the time. I know
you would agree it would be nothing short of a miracle for a
person in that position to break out of that environment —
become aware of the cause of their behavior and the results
— to alter their paradigm or their conditioning and improve
the quality of their life. Although the odds may be great
against such an individual, there are numerous people who
do it, and anyone can.

The information that Earl shares with us here is of utmost

importance.

We know that our young man has tremendous abilities and

potentialities intrinsically his own. There is no other human being
on earth exactly like him. We know there are, within his job, wide
fields of interest which, if he knew about them, would change his
life to one of excitement — and make him a real contributor to the
economy, instead of a feeder.
 Notes
All too often, he walks down a narrow road. Yet right in his own
job, and stretching clear to the horizon, are the rich, sunlit fields of
opportunity. Between him and these fields, however, there’s a tall
hedge which shields them from view. This hedge is called
“conformity.” And until he breaks through — cuts his way through
this thorny barrier — he will never see nor know the joys of
LIVING FULLY EXTENDED.

But, how can we do this?

Well, FIRST, we must begin to THINK. We must look at ourselves

objectively for what we really are — distinct individuals with
UNLIMITED OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT.

SECOND, we must ask ourselves some questions: Do I want to be

like the people I’m following? Are these the people I want my
children to be like? I know they’re pretty good people, but do they
know where they’re going? Are they successful? Are they as
successful as I want to be? If I continue to go along as I have in the
past, where will I be in five years from now? Am I operating at or
near peak efficiency? Am I really a professional, or have I been
doing just enough to get by? Am I devoting a part of my time each
day to thinking of ways and means by which I can increase my
contribution? Am I really aware that my rewards in life will always
be in exact proportion to my service? Am I following an intelligent
course for improving my mind and increasing my knowledge? Do I
have a reading and study program? Or do I think I already know
enough?

I expect my company, my community, and my country to improve

with the passing of each year. But what am I doing — personally
— to keep pace with this improvement or to exceed it? Have I
thought much and told my children about how lucky we are to live
in a free society in which we can go where we please without
having to ask for permission; work where we please and at the job
of our choice; vote and worship as we please; and say what we
please? Am I aware of the responsibilities that go with freedom?
The responsibility to produce as much as I can so my freedom may
be maintained ... the responsibility to become so effective as a
person that even if times should become bad for a while, I could go
right on providing for my family through the crisis?
 Notes
THIRD: When I get up in the morning, do I know exactly what it
is I’m working toward? Have my life and my work a clear
direction and a worthwhile purpose? Or am I simply marking time
and going along with the crowd? Am I motivated by what I really
want out of life, or am I mass motivated?

INDUCTIVE REASONING

3 4
2 5
1 6

IDEA

Choosing the thoughts that will build the

image of whatever it is that you want
 Notes
Harry Emerson Fosdick once wrote: “No horse gets anywhere until
he is harnessed. No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is
confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is
channeled. And no life ever grows great until it is focused,
dedicated, disciplined.”

You see, it’s actually EASIER TO WIN. All we have to do is know

some of the rules — and follow them. P.G. Hamerton wrote: “A
strong life is like a ship of war which has its own place in the fleet
and can share in its strength and discipline. But can also go forth
alone to the solitude of the infinite sea. We ought to belong to
society and have our place in it but be capable of an individual
existence, outside of it.”

And it’s never too late. For with a purpose, a goal, a person will
frequently do more and travel further in a year than they might
otherwise in a lifetime without one.
21240PG1-WCDR single:Layout 1 10/7/13 1:16 PM Page 199

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21240PG1-WCDR
Session 7