Jim Rohn
Success is easy, but so is neglect
People often ask me how I became successful in the six-year period of time, while many of the people I knew did not. The answer is simple: the things that are easy for me to do were difficult for them to do. I found it easy to set the goals that would change my life. They did not. I found it easy to read the books that could affect my thinking and my ideas. They did not. I found it easy to attend classes and seminars, and to associate with successful people. They said it probably wouldn't matter at all. If I had to sum it up, I would say that what I found easy to do, was not easy for them. Six years later, I'm a millionaire and they are all still blaming the economy, the government and company policies, yet they neglect to do the basic, easy things. In fact, the primary reason most people are not doing what they should and could, can be summed up in a single word: neglect.
As one of the most inspirational speakers, Jim Rohn has changed the lives of numerous business people, such as Brian Tracy and Anthony Robbins. Jim’s wise thoughts are shared at all personal development seminars throughout the world, even today. By learning and diligently applying advice of his coaches, he has earned a lot of money, and, through the pages of his books, he shares his life philosophy and fundamental principles of success, that is, instructions on how to achieve wealth and happiness.
It is the inherent nature of success to be both puzzling and elusive, and to withhold its rewards from all but a handful of those who pursue it. It is by an intricate design of nature that success is a condition that must be attracted, and not captured. We achieve rewards and make progress not by our intense pursuit, but by what we are and what we have become, for this is what finally determines the results we attract. To have more, we must first become more - this is the essence of the philosophy of personal development, success and happiness. It is our personal philosophy that establishes our attitude. It is our attitude that determines both the quantity and quality of our level of activity. That activity produces a final and proportionate result, and the result provides the lifestyle that we live. The results and the lifestyle are the effects, and our personal philosophy, attitude and activity are the main causes of these effects. To change the effect, we must also alter the cause. Yet most people curse the effect and nourish the cause. Jim Rohn brings ideas and insights providing a unique voice of hope, inspiration and answers for those in search of a better and more meaningful life.
You don't have to choose between wealth and happiness - they spring from the same fountain of abundance.
Success is easy, but so is neglect
It is not the lack of money; banks are full of it. It is not the lack of opportunity; America, and most of the free world, continues to offer unique and abundant opportunities as it has over the last six thousand years of recorded history. It is not the lack of books; libraries are full of books and they are almost free! It is not the schools; classrooms are full of good teachers. We have plenty of ministers, leaders and advisors.
Everything we would ever need to become rich, powerful and sophisticated is within our reach. The major reason that so few take advantage of all that we have is simply - neglect.
Neglect is like an infection. Unless we do something about it, it will spread throughout our entire system and eventually lead to a complete breakdown of a potentially joyful and prosperous human life.
Not doing the things we know we should do causes us to feel guilty, and guilt leads to an erosion of self-confidence. As our self-confidence diminishes, so does the level of our activity. And as the level of our activity diminishes, our results inevitably decline. And as our results suffer, our attitude begins to weaken. And as our attitude begins the slow shift from positive to negative, our self-confidence diminishes even more, and on and on it goes.
My suggestion is that when given the choice of "easy" and "not so easy", don't neglect to do the simple, the basic and the "easy", potentially life changing activities.
To see what the results are from your activities, your attitude and your philosophy, there are three key words to remember: weigh, count and measure. If you find that the results you have are not to your liking, there are only three places to look.
1.Your philosophy needs to be fine-tuned.
2.Your attitude needs to be strengthened, and
3.Your discipline needs an extra skill. And that’s it. Activity, attitude and philosophy create results.
Results
On results, he teaches that life expects you to make measurable progress in reasonable time. But, you can’t ask someone for results every 5 minutes. That's too soon to measure. And you can’t wait for 5 years either, that’s too long. So too may things go wrong in such a long time.
Vision: from nothing into something
When I was building my first home for my family in Idaho many years ago, before I started construction, I took my friends and associates out to the vacant property and gave them a tour of my new house. Is that possible? Is it possible to take someone on a tour through an imaginary house? And the answer is:“Yes, of course.” “Here is the 3-car garage," I used to say, and my friends would look and say: “Yes, this garage will hold 3 cars.” I could really make it come “alive". I would take them on a tour throughout the house… "Here is the fireplace, and look, this side is brick and the other side is stone." I could make it real. "Follow me through the rest of the house. Take a look at the scene through the window here in the kitchen, isn't the view great?" One day, I made the house so real that one of my friends bumped his elbow on the fireplace. So, the first step of turning nothing into something is to imagine the possibilities. Imagine ALL of the possibilities. One of the reasons for attending seminars, lectures, listening to lyrics from songs or testimonials of others is to give us an idea of the possibilities; to help us imagine and to see the potential.
Believe
Now here is the second step for turning nothing into something: you must BELIEVE that what you imagine IS possible for you. Testimonials like: "If I can do it, you can do it" often become a support to our belief. And we start believing. First we imagine it’s possible. Then, we start to believe that what's generally possible, is possible for us.
We can also believe in our own testimonials. Here is what your testimonials might say: "I did it once, I can do it again.” If it happened for me before, it could very well happen again." So we believe not only the testimonials of others who say: "If I can do it, you can do it. If I can change, you can change. If I can start from scratch, you can start from scratch. If I can turn it all around, you can turn it all around." We can also have the support of our own testimonials and beliefs, if we've accomplished anything before. "If we did it once, we can do it again. If we did it last year, we can do it this year." Those two things together are very powerful. Now, we do not have actual substance yet, although it is very close.
What is the substance?
Again, step one is to imagine the possibilities. Step two is to imagine that what is possible, is possible for you. Here is what we call step two - faith. In fact, one writer said this: "Faith is substance." An interesting word: "substance", the powerful ability to believe that the possibilities are possible for you. If you have the ability to believe that faith is substance, then substance means "a piece of reality." Now, it's not "the real", but it is so powerful that it is very close to becoming real, and so the writer said: "Faith is a piece of something, the substance of something". He then goes on to call it evidence, substance and evidence. It is difficult to call substance and evidence "nothing". It is nothing in the sense that it cannot be seen except with the inner eye. You can't get a hold of it because it isn't tangible YET. But it is possible to turn nothing - especially ideas and imagination - into something if you believe that it is now possible for you. That substance and evidence become so powerful that they can now be turned into reality.
It took me a long time, but I finally discovered that I can’t change people. God knows I’d tried.
Once I moderated a group of uninspired salespeople.
Feeling the challenge, I said to myself: “I will turn them into successful people, even if it kills me.”
Guess what happened?
I almost died.
Good people are found, not made good. They can surely change themselves, but you can’t do anything about it.
People ask me: “How do you create good people,” and I say: “You have to find them.” That’s the best answer I can give you.
The first rule of successful management is this: Don’t send your ducklings to eagle school.
Why?
Because it won’t work. The only thing you’ll get will be clumsy ducklings. They will not fly like eagles. You will only hear “ quack, quack, quack.” And then they’ll poop on your head. Trust me... I’ve tried.
I picked up a magazine not long ago that had a full-page ad in it for a hotel chain.
The title read: “We do not teach our people to be nice.” That got my attention. The second line said in small letters: “We hire only nice people.” Holy hell! What a clever time-saver!
Motivation is the secret.
Why does one salesperson land his first prospect at 7 in the morning while the other gets up at 11 in the morning? I wouldn’t know. It is another one of life’s mysteries.
I’ve given lectures to thousands of people. Someone would say at the end: “I’m going to change my life.” Another would walk out with a yawn and grumble, “I’ve heard all this stuff before.” What’s the deal? Why didn’t the lectures have the same effect on everyone? Another mystery.
A millionaire said to thousands of people: “I read this book, and it put me on the road to wealth.” Guess how many of them went out and bought the book? You’re guessing, of course... only few. Isn’t that incredible? Why didn’t all of them do that?... Life really is a mystery.
Jim Rohn Biography
For more than 40 years, Jim Rohn honed his craft like a skilled artist-helping people the world over sculpt life strategies that have expanded their imagination of what is possible. Those who had the privilege of hearing him speak can attest to the elegance and common sense of his material. It is no coincidence, then, that he is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of our time, and thought of by many as a national treasure. Jim authored countless books and audio and video programs, and helped motivate and shape an entire generation of personal-development trainers and hundreds of executives from America's top corporations.
Born to an Idaho farming family in the mid-1900s, Jim was ingrained with a work ethic that has served him well throughout his life. At 25, he met his mentor Earl Shoaff. And over the next six years he made his first fortune, yet didn't get into speaking until he moved to Beverly Hills, California, when a friend at the Rotary Club asked him to tell his success story, which Rohn titled "Idaho Farm Boy Makes It to Beverly Hills."
His speech went over so well that he received more invitations to share it, and better yet, they started paying him for it. In the beginning, he spoke in front of college and high-school classes and at service clubs, before moving on to seminars in 1963, which launched him into the personal-development business. From then on, Jim Rohn became a trailblazer in the self help and personal development industry, impacting the lives of millions through his life-changing material.
Jim Rohn focused on the fundamentals of human behavior that most affect personal and business performance. His is the standard to which those who seek to teach and inspire others are compared. He possessed the unique ability to bring extraordinary insights to ordinary principles and events, and the combination of his substance and style captures the imagination of those who hear or read his words.
Jim is known as one of the great wordsmiths of our time. Here is a sampling from Jim's Treasury of Quotes that reflect on his philosophy on life and business:
Skills:Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom.
Growth:Don't join an easy crowd. You won't grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform and achieve are high.
Change:We generally change ourselves for one of two reasons: inspiration or desperation.
Activity:The few who do are the envy of the many who watch.
Success:Success is what you attract by the person you become.
Jim shared his message with more than 6,000 audiences and over 5 million people all over the world. He received numerous industry awards including the coveted National Speakers Association CPAE Award and the Master of Influence Award. Jim's philosophies and influence continue to have worldwide impact. To connect with thousands of people Jim has inspired and influenced,
Source:www.jimrohn.com
“When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you'll find a way to get it.”
“Time is more valuable than money.You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.”
“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.”
“Formal education will make you a normal living. Self-education will make you a fortune.”
“Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one good idea.”
