By Doren Aldana
On December 5th, 2009, Jim Rohn passed away. Apparently he had been battling Pulmonary Fibrosis for the past eighteen months. I just had no idea his health had deteriorated so rapidly. The news came as a complete shock! I still have a hard believing that he’s actually gone. Hailed by many as America’s foremost business philosopher, Jim will be deeply missed by millions of his students around the world – me included. I never got a chance to thank him personally for the profound impact he had on my life… so I’ll share my gratitude with you here, as we enter into the New Year.
I first discovered Jim Rohn at age 23, back in my “Network Marketing” days. This was a season in my life when I was totally sold out on network marketing as the B-Line Express to financial freedom. It all started with Amway at age 19. After seeing all those circles being drawn and the unlimited income potential those circles represented I set a goal to become a millionaire by age 25. Sounded great in theory but there was only one problem: a dream without discipline is delusion. Instead of just digging my heels in and going to work, I would just hop from one opportunity to the next, always chasing the next shiny object. I was going nowhere FAST. In fact, in just four short years I managed to accrue over $30,000 in debts!
Now at this point, you’d think I’d have enough brains to figure out that my strategy wasn’t working and that I needed to try something else. Well, apparently I wasn’t that smart. I had this idea that if I could just find that “right opportunity” I’ll be able to create the financial freedom I’ve been seeking all these years. As you can see, I wasn’t the sharpest tool in the toolbox. So, there I was at age 23, forking out more dough for the umpteenth independent distributorship. This time it was a health products company called, Life Force International. This was certain to be yet another complete waste of time, energy and money had my sponsor not given me some personal development tapes to listen to – one of which was a tape by Jim Rohn. Little did I know that this was the beginning of a personal development journey that would change my life forever!
Jim Rohn’s simple, yet profound success philosophies began to awaken me out of my deluded stupor and smacked me upside the head with theempowering truth that things won’t get better until I get better; for things to change I need to change. As simple as that might sound, I had somehow deceived myself into thinking that the key to my success was without rather than within. Then Jim Rohn turned all of this on its head when he said, “Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become; success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.” Of course, none of this is anything “new”, but it’s these simple truths that set me free.
All of a sudden, I had a newfound thirst for learning and improving myself. I began filling my mind with empowering books, audios and seminars. I became a bit of personal development junkie. Before long my results started to turn around for the better. Within one year I had met my beautiful wife, Michaela, at a Harv Eker seminar, built a six-figure income and launched my coaching company, Power of Choice Coaching Inc. I never did make my millions in network marketing but I found my path. I can’t imagine what my life would be like had I not been touched by the remarkable life, message and wisdom of my great mentor, Jim Rohn. I will be forever grateful.
While Jim may have left this physical plane, the power of his words continues to illuminate the hearts and minds of people all over the world. In his wake, his empowering legacy lives on. That is a life well lived, worthy of emulation by all.
In closing, let me leave you with a few of my favorite Jim Rohn quotes:
“Failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.”
“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”
“If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.”
“It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”
“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better.”
“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.”
What do you think of this post? Please submit your feedback below. Happy New Year!
