The Templeton Plan

by Sir John Templeton

  In the mountains of Tennessee, there is an old ditty—a longtime favorite of John Templeton’s—that goes, “You never can tell the depth of the well by the length of the handle of the pump.” If we judge by appearances, by how people dress, or how they speak or look, we are making a mistake. Deal with the inner person. Approach others with kindness and patience and you will be repaid with a glimpse of their common humanity.

  In all facets of life, whether in business or in family or social life, the successful people are the ones who reach out. They give of themselves. They know that they are no better than others and that others are not their enemies.

  To illustrate the basic truth in the teaching of the “Golden Rule” as given by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, here is the same idea as expressed in other cultures and religions. We can learn from these examples how to make love the essential ingredient in our lives.

  Zoroastrianism: “Do as you would be done by.”

  Confucianism: “Do not unto others what you would not they should do unto you.”

  Buddhism: “One should seek for others the happiness one desires for oneself. Hurt not others with that which pains yourself.”

  Hinduism: “Guard and do by the things of others as they would do by their own. This is the sum of duty; do naught to others which if done by thee would cause thee pain.”

  Egyptian: “He sought for others the good he desired for himself. Let him pass on.”

  Chinese: “What you would not wish done to yourself, do not to others.”

  Persian: “Do as you would be done by.”

  Taoism: “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own.”

  Judaism: “What is hurtful to yourself, do not to your fellow man.”

  Islam: “Let none of you treat his brother in a way he would himself dislike to be treated. No one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”

  In summary, Step 15 teaches us:

  That it is easy to love our friends. The hard job is to love our enemies, and yet that is the goal we must pursue if we are to make loving the essential ingredient in our lives.

  That we must allow ourselves to love ourselves. All love for others radiates outward from within.

  That we must practice kindness and patience with others to begin to glimpse our common humanity.

  That it is the successful and happy person who is willing to risk reaching out to others.

  STEP 16

  MAXIMIZING THE POWER OF YOUR FAITH

  IN THE BOOK The Natural Way by Lao-Tzu, a Chinese philosopher born six centuries before Jesus, are lines that reveal as eloquently as any from Western thought a method for moving toward the light within ourselves: “Moved by deep love, a man is courageous. And with frugality, a man becomes generous, and he who does not desire to be ahead of the world becomes the leader of the world.”

  By studying the behavior of those with whom we come in contact, it should soon be apparent that the most happy and productive among them are the ones who rejoice in the good fortune of others. And it is not a counterfeit form of rejoicing. They truly care.

  During his years as an investment counselor for hundreds of families, Templeton has noticed that successful people consistently care about others. They seek to find good in them. They are quick to sense the best qualities that dwell within others.

  Successful people never fail to mention the positive traits of other people. They point out good qualities and treat the more negative ones as though they didn’t exist. They proceed on the theory that by playing to someone’s strengths and overlooking the weaknesses, those weaknesses will not have fertile soil in which to grow. This is a way of putting the power of your faith into action—the power that spells success.

  You should be particularly charitable to those with whom you are in competition. Multitudes of friends will be drawn to you if you’re careful never to say anything negative about a competitor. When John Templeton was in his formative stages as a young businessman, he learned one of the laws of life: “If you can’t say something good, keep your mouth shut.”

  Successful and happy people will try to express their empathy in all circumstances. This means putting yourself inside the minds and hearts of others and feeling the effect your words and attitudes will have on them. This insight will help you to speak only those words that offer affirmation and a positive result. It is wise to pray, “Oh Lord, give me the courage to improve what I can improve, the patience to endure what I cannot improve, and the wisdom to tell the difference between the two.”

  Empathy is a quality that can be practiced and perfected. In moments of quiet meditation it will be helpful to repeat to yourself the words of Christ: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength…. You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30–31).

  It is important to meditate on how circumscribed is our knowledge and how infinite is the knowledge of God. God’s creations are thousands of times more numerous and mysterious than the things we, his children, have yet observed or understood.

  Realizing our human limitations in perceiving the full extent of God’s universe is what John Templeton calls the humble approach. Ninety-nine and nine-tenths of all that humans comprehend has been learned in the last one-millionth of the earth’s history, 50 percent in the latest 1 percent of that one-millionth. Imagine, then, how much there is that we do not know, which remains hidden from us!

  When meditating on the laws of life in high school, John Templeton made a lifelong resolution: “Never write down what you don’t want published. Whatever you say or write should be intended to uplift and inspire the reader and should never be harmful.” Even at an early age he understood the importance of faith for a happy and successful life.

  To fully maximize the power of our faith, we must expunge all envy from our hearts. If friends win the lottery, we should rejoice with them as though we had won it ourselves. It costs nothing and makes their joy in having won even greater. We should never, under any circumstances, begrudge others their good fortune. John Templeton often recounts the parable of the workers in the vineyard from Matthew (20:1–16) because, to him, it is a clear and beautiful lesson on the sin of envy and the virtue of Christian equity.

  “In the kingdom of heaven,” he says, “there was once a landowner who went out early one morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He offered them a day’s wages and sent them off to work. Three hours later, when he checked on their progress, he saw some men standing around with nothing to do. ‘If you want to work for me,’ he said, ‘I’ll pay you a fair wage.’ They agreed.

  “In the early afternoon he went out again, found more idle men, and made the same arrangement with them. An hour before sunset he found still another group standing there.

  “He said to them, ‘Why are you standing around like this all day with nothing to do?’

  “And they answered, ‘No one’s hired us.’

  “So he told them, ‘Well, you can work for me.’

  “When evening fell, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Give the workers their pay, beginning with those who came last and ending with the first.’

  “Those who had started work an hour before sunset came forward and were paid the full day’s wage, as were all the others. But the men who had come first and worked the longest expected something extra. When they were paid the same amount as the others, they got angry at their employer. They said, ‘Those fellows didn’t do nearly as much work as us and yet you gave them equal pay. That’s not fair. We sweated all day long in the blazing sun.’

  “The owner said to them, ‘I am not being unfair to you. You agreed on the wage for the day, didn’t you? So be satisfied. You got what you bargained for. I decided to pay the last man the same as you. Surely I am free to do what I like with my own money. Why be jealous because I’m kind?’

  “The moral of this tale?
Be a good worker in the vineyard and never begrudge anyone his good fortune. If, for example, you have a customer who has had great success, feel truly happy for him and express your happiness in his accomplishment. If you have a supplier or an employee who has received an honor, feel just as proud and happy as if you had received the honor.”

  The power of faith in action—across conference tables or lunch tables—is a revolution, a new way of thinking, feeling, and acting. It needs to be acquired and is worth every single moment of the effort involved.

  In summation, John Templeton has this thought: “What you give out comes back to you. If you are genuinely excited and joyful about someone else’s good fortune, you will have made a friend for life. People will admire you for your generous expanse of spirit. And in the end, admiration, success, and honor will come to the person who is truly joyful over the good fortune of others.”

  In Step 16 we learn that the power of faith is a crucial ingredient in the formula for success and happiness. Answer the following questions and score yourself on your current level of faith.

  Do you rejoice in the good fortune of others?

  Do you remain silent if you can’t find something good to say about someone?

  Are you quick to express empathy?

  Are you careful about expressing criticism?

  Do you make an effort to expunge all envy from your heart?

  Do you work at being a humble person?

  If you can answer yes to these questions, your faith is strong and your prospects for happiness and success are excellent.

  STEP 17

  RECEIVING STRENGTH THROUGH PRAYER

  WHEN ASKED the secret of his success, John Templeton gives prayer the top priority. Giving thanks to God, he feels, provides believers with a strength that can raise them to new heights of performance and insight.

  Templeton’s approach to prayer relates to his concept of God and God’s creative process. God is infinite. Everything that exists in the universe and beyond the universe is God. That means that the visible universe is only a small particle of God and is itself a manifestation of God. By the word manifest, Templeton means that which a human being can know. Thus one little particle of God has become known to us through gravity, light waves, pulsars, and other things that enable us to perceive a few features of the universe.

  Templeton believes that we ourselves are one of God’s more recent creations, and, again, we represent only the tiniest fraction of God. If we realize this truth and try to bring ourselves into oneness with God, if we become humble tools in his hands and clear channels for his purposes, we will be able to accomplish much more than if we fail to realize that oneness. And what we do accomplish will be more likely to endure.

  No matter what you do in life—enrolling in college, getting married, buying a stock, doing a tax return, extracting a tooth—you will do it better if you start with prayer. And the prayer should be that God will use you as a conduit for his love and wisdom. Your prayer should say that the words you speak and the actions you take will be in harmony with God’s purposes, for the benefit of his children, and never meant only for selfish goals.

  If this is your prayer, everything that follows is bound to be more successful and your life will radiate joy. With a mind no longer in conflict, you are far less likely to disagree with your associates or do something you’ll regret later, on cool reflection. So your decision making will be improved if you try to bring yourself into contact with God and into a oneness with his purposes. By making a profound effort to be one with God and God’s children through prayer, everything you do in life will turn out far better, including your business decisions. Success will seek you out.

  Templeton’s personal technique for getting into harmony with God—whether he is concerned with his children or his business or his many charities—is to pray simply, “Thy will be done.” This approach helps him to empty his mind of all preconceptions so that he can give himself over more completely to what he perceives as God’s guidance.

  He prays often during the day. And if there is an especially complex problem to solve, or decision to make, he’ll try to wait a day and spend extra time in prayer before he acts.

  Before going to sleep that night, he says, “God, I have done the best I can. Now guide me in this decision.” Very often, the next morning he has a solution that is better than anything he had considered the day before. Putting yourself in God’s hands through prayer and then working as hard and honestly as you can is the mark of a successful person.

  Templeton also encourages his associates to participate in prayer, even when they are somewhat reluctant to get involved. In public meetings, he has found that it is more effective to give people very little advance warning; sometimes, an hour before a meeting is to start, he’ll say casually to an associate, “I’m going to ask you to open with prayer.” That gives the person a little time to prepare, though not so much that he becomes overly nervous or self-conscious.

  Templeton feels that it is a good policy to rotate prayer at regular meetings among a number of people, because then the practice is less likely to harden into a ritual. The person praying benefits, and those listening benefit as their friends pray. The ceremony takes on a family, intimate quality, and Templeton’s principle of success through prayer is spread among many.

  A marked emphasis on prayer was not a part of Templeton’s early investment years. His career as an investment counselor can be divided into two equal parts. For the first twenty years (“when I was a worse backslider than at any other time in my life,” he says), there was no prayer at investment meetings. But, for the past twenty years, all meetings have opened and closed with prayer. And it’s a fact that his stress on prayer has coincided with the most successful performance period of the Templeton Growth Fund.

  Skeptics may downgrade the importance of prayer in Templeton’s investment selections. They may say that he was successful even before he began to pray regularly or inject prayer so openly into his business sessions. And they may further argue that he would have reached the same high level of success as an investor even if he had neglected prayer altogether.

  Templeton disagrees. Prayer has given him, he’s convinced, a clarity of mind and depth of insight that have been key factors in his success. Through the power of prayer, he sees much more deeply into himself and into others. He is certain that without prayer he would never have become the outstanding success that he is.

  He says: “Everyone who hopes to be a successful person should start each day with prayer. Like Solomon, do not offer self-centered prayers, but pray for wisdom and understanding. Try to end each prayer with the words, ‘Thy will be done, O Lord, not mine.’ The Lord’s purposes are much wiser than our purposes.

  “Pray that you are overwhelmingly grateful for your blessings. If you are healthy, thank the Lord for that. If your children are happy, thank him for that. Thank him for the things you have instead of asking for what you don’t have.

  “Begin each day by thinking of five blessings, or ten blessings. If you make a practice of doing that, your whole day will go more usefully and constructively.

  “You will be far along the road to success.”

  One of Templeton’s favorite prayers is from Romans (12:9–18). He feels that there exists nowhere in the Bible a better prescription for success and happiness: “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.

  “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceabl
y with all.”

  Step 17 teaches us that God is infinite and that just as the visible universe is only a small particle of God, we are only an infinitesimal part of the visible universe. No matter what we accomplish, we have done it under God. If we are humble, if we can bring ourselves to realize that we are one of God’s more recent creations, perhaps not even his most important one, we stand a better chance to be balanced people who will lead happy and successful lives.

  Try these exercises to enhance the strength of your prayer:

  Pray frequently.

  Pray that God will use you as a channel for his love and wisdom.

  Pray that you will be in harmony with God’s purposes.

  Pray that what you say and do will be for the benefit of everyone.

  Put yourself in God’s hands.

  Be overwhelmingly grateful for all your blessings.

  Pray simply, “Thy will be done.”

  STEP 18

  GIVING AS A WAY OF LIFE

  WHEN HE WAS in his late thirties, John Templeton began the practice of tithing (and sometimes double-tithing), giving to churches and charities 10 percent or more of his earnings. That was about the time his mother and first wife died, a time when he began to be increasingly in touch with his religious sensibilities.

  In later years, he contributed to various religious and educational causes, including the Templeton Prize. After his death, the Templeton Foundation and Templeton Religious Trust will have more than enough capital to carry on this program permanently.

  There are many interpretations of the meaning of this kind of generous giving. Some might refer to the biblical principle that “the more you give, the more you’ll receive.” The particular references that support this idea would include the following: