A woman living in New York's elite Central Park South district had just about everything anyone could wish for — everything, that is, except a healthy child. Her 5-year-old daughter had been stricken with a life-threatening illness, and no one knew what to do. New York's finest physicians were stymied and unable to help her, even though she spared no expense trying to save her child. However, just when it seemed all hope was lost, the mother read in The New York Times of a prominent doctor from Switzerland who was coming to New York to lecture at the NYU School of Medicine.

The mother instinctively knew that this doctor was the one who could save her child, so she began her relentless pursuit of him, calling, writing and pleading for his assistance; but there was never a reply. Then, one rainy afternoon, while steeped in her personal misery, there came a knock at her door by a short, portly and very wet bearded man. "What do you want?" she demanded.

"I beg your pardon," he began, embarrassed, "but I seem to have lost my way and would like to use your phone to call my driver if I may. Do you mind?"

"Well, I'm sorry," the woman replied in a stern voice, "but I have a very sick child and do not want her to be disturbed," and she closed the door. The following morning, she spied yet another article on the doctor she had sought so urgently to help her child, only this time, there was a picture of the man. Incredibly enough, it was the man she had closed the door on just the day before.

The story is repeated thousands of times each day when we close the doors of opportunity that come our way. Message: Be patient and nonjudgmental. Open your mind and heart, and I'll see you at the top!

Trust Is the Key

When I was a youngster, one of the little sayings that was common was: "Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me." The message was simply that we're inclined to trust most people one time, but once that trust is broken, we approach everything the offender says with considerable skepticism.

My trusty 1828 Noah Webster dictionary says that trust is "to comfort, to strengthen." It is "to place confidence in, to rely on," and "we cannot trust those who have deceived us." I believe if you search your memory bank, you will come to the conclusion that all of your long-term relationships — whether they're with your mate, friends, merchants, physicians or anyone else — are built on many qualities, but trust is the true foundation stone for happy, long-term relationships.

Sometimes, it's a matter of life and death. Most of us trust our family physicians, but when we move to a new area and have to find a new doctor, we generally ask many questions. We listen to the experiences of others, and the bottom line is that they say, "You can trust him to be honest with you," "You can trust her to do her very best," "You can take her word seriously because she is a person of integrity, and you can also trust her to be up-to-date on the latest medical techniques." Build trust, and it's easier to maintain long-term relationships of any kind. Obviously, the best way to build trust is to be trustworthy. Take that approach to life, and I'll see you at the top with many happy, long-term relationships.

To find out more about Zig Ziglar and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. Subscribe to Zig Ziglar's free e-mail newsletter through info@zigziglar.com.

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