Jim Rohn is a man I wish I had met in person. He was one of the most inspiring speakers I have ever heard on the subject of personal development.
Sadly, Jim passed away in 2009, but he left behind a wonderful legacy of his philosophy around the principles of self-improvement. Of all the people I have heard speak on this subject over the years, Jim provided the clearest statement of the importance of personal development as a path to success.
It was Jim’s own experience, primarily from the period when he was between the ages of 25 and 31, that he learned his lessons about life and what it takes to be successful. At age 25, Jim was earning $57 a week working as a warehouse clerk; At 31, just six years later, he was a millionaire and his core message was always that anyone could do the exact same thing.
He started out as a motivational speaker giving a talk titled “Idaho Farm Boy Comes to Beverly Hills.” It was a talk that he was invited to give, again and again, throughout his long and successful career, the essence of which can be summed up in his 4 questions to ponder which we will see briefly here:
The first question is: why? Why should you be prepared to spend all the time and effort necessary to work on becoming a person that the market values? Jim says that’s a good question. To achieve transformation, you will need to begin a serious study program and engage in the process of lifelong learning. It’s a lot more effort than most people will be willing to put in. Jim also says that the best answer to this question is the second question from him.
The second question is: why not? Why not see how far you can go? Why not see how many books you can read? why not see what you can achieve; Why not see how much you can earn? Jim’s core philosophy is there, embedded in those questions. If you live in the developed world, you have a golden opportunity to make your dreams come true, so why not?
The third question is: why not you? Why shouldn’t you be the leader of your own company; Why wouldn’t you be the one living a life full of enjoyment and fulfillment? Why wouldn’t you be the ones setting the world on fire with joy and enthusiasm? Why shouldn’t you be the one reaching a level you’ve never dared to dream of before?
Your final pondering question is: why not now? It took Jim only six years to become a millionaire once he started the process he recommended. Those six years will pass anyway, whether or not you decide to personally improve during that same period. The choice you have is to stay where you are or be a different person in six years.
By the way, Jim did not advocate the business of seeking riches. In fact, understanding that is a real key to success, which is to say that if you try to chase the riches, they will probably continually elude you. Jim’s philosophy is that riches come as a by-product of working on oneself. It’s just the way things work. If you don’t want to worry about money again, you must essentially transform yourself into a person that the market values.
Here is Jim speaking, in one of his seminars, on the subject of how to begin the process of changing your life: the best year of your life.