I have been searching for updates of Jim Rohn’s health and there are not many information available online. I’m glad to received the news that Jim is doing much better now and gaining weights! There is a short 12 minutes edited tribute version online they have made for Jim, which you can find the link below.
Cheers!
Over the past few months, we had the opportunity to gather together many of Jim Rohn’s closest friends, business associates and speaking colleagues to share with Jim on video their stories and testimonials of how Jim has had an impact on them. The outcome was amazing and powerful - The Jim Rohn Tribute video.
I was honored to personally deliver and watch a 12-minute edited version of the Tribute with Jim last Tuesday and he was, to say the least, overwhelmed and blessed by all the emotion, gratitude and remarkable things that each of the contributors shared with him! He has since watched the entire three hours of full-length testimonials and stories that were shared and again, in his words, he was overwhelmed and so appreciative to all!
We also showed the edited version of the Tribute on Saturday, March 28, to the more than 2,000 achievers gathered at the SUCCESS Symposium in Dallas. The viewing was followed by Jim being greeted over the phone by SUCCESS magazine publisher Darren Hardy and by a standing ovation from the crowd. It was a very special and powerful moment!
Jim shared with the audience that he is doing much better and he feels that it’s a result in large part to all the prayers and thoughts from all of you! He is greatly appreciative. He also referenced the story of David in the bible, saying that he felt like he had been in the shadow of death for a period of time, but is now doing much better. He has gained 30 pounds and continues to gain strength every day. His hope and goal is to be able to start making some appearances in the fall (if not sooner).
Again, thank you all for your love, support, thoughts and prayers for Jim! It is making a difference. To watch the Tribute, share it with your friends or submit your own thoughts and tribute to Jim, go to http://www.jimrohn.com/tribute.
Yours in Success,
Kyle Wilson and the JRI Team
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Below is the story of the Daffodil Principle by Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards. I first read this story from Bob Proctor’s Insight of the Day and I think it is a principle all of us should at least know about! Enjoy!
~~~~
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, “Mother, you must come and see the daffodils before they are over.” I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. Going and coming took most of a day - and I honestly did not have a free day until the following week.
“I will come next Tuesday,” I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove the length of Route 91, continued on I-215, and finally turned onto Route 18 and began to drive up the mountain highway. The tops of the mountains were sheathed in clouds, and I had gone only a few miles when the road was completely covered with a wet, gray blanket of fog. I slowed to a crawl, my heart pounding. The road becomes narrow and winding toward the top of the mountain.
As I executed the hazardous turns at a snail’s pace, I was praying to reach the turnoff at Blue Jay that would signify I had arrived. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren I said, “Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these darling children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!”
My daughter smiled calmly, “We drive in this all the time, Mother.”
“Well, you won’t get me back on the road until it clears - and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her.
“I was hoping you’d take me over to the garage to pick up my car. The mechanic just called, and they’ve finished repairing the engine,” she answered.
“How far will we have to drive?” I asked cautiously.
“Just a few blocks,”Carolyn said cheerfully.
So we buckled up the children and went out to my car. “I’ll drive,” Carolyn offered. “I’m used to this.” We got into the car, and she began driving.
In a few minutes I was aware that we were back on the Rim-of-the-World Road heading over the top of the mountain. “Where are we going?” I exclaimed, distressed to be back on the mountain road in the fog. “This isn’t the way to the garage!”
“We’re going to my garage the long way,” Carolyn smiled, “by way of the daffodils.”
“Carolyn, I said sternly, trying to sound as if I was still the mother and in charge of the situation, “please turn around. There is nothing in the world that I want to see enough to drive on this road in this weather.”
“It’s all right, Mother,” She replied with a knowing grin. “I know what I’m doing. I promise, you will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.”
And so my sweet, darling daughter who had never given me a minute of difficulty in her whole life was suddenly in charge - and she was kidnapping me! I couldn’t believe it. Like it or not, I was on the way to see some ridiculous daffodils - driving through the thick, gray silence of the mist-wrapped mountaintop at what I thought was risk to life and limb.
I muttered all the way. After about twenty minutes we turned onto a small gravel road that branched down into an oak-filled hollow on the side of the mountain. The fog had lifted a little, but the sky was lowering, gray and heavy with clouds.
We parked in a small parking lot adjoining a little stone church. From our vantage point at the top of the mountain we could see beyond us, in the mist, the crests of the San Bernardino range like the dark, humped backs of a herd of elephants. Far below us the fog-shrouded valleys, hills, and flatlands stretched away to the desert.
On the far side of the church I saw a pine-needle-covered path, with towering evergreens and manzanita bushes and an inconspicuous, lettered sign “Daffodil Garden.”
We each took a child’s hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path as it wound through the trees. The mountain sloped away from the side of the path in irregular dips, folds, and valleys, like a deeply creased skirt.
Daffodil Garden
Live oaks, mountain laurel, shrubs, and bushes clustered in the folds, and in the gray, drizzling air, the green foliage looked dark and monochromatic. I shivered. Then we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight, unexpectedly and completely splendid. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes where it had run into every crevice and over every rise. Even in the mist-filled air, the mountainside was radiant, clothed in massive drifts and waterfalls of daffodils. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow.
Each different-colored variety (I learned later that there were more than thirty-five varieties of daffodils in the vast display) was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue.
In the center of this incredible and dazzling display of gold, a great cascade of purple grape hyacinth flowed down like a waterfall of blossoms framed in its own rock-lined basin, weaving through the brilliant daffodils. A charming path wound throughout the garden. There were several resting stations, paved with stone and furnished with Victorian wooden benches and great tubs of coral and carmine tulips. As though this were not magnificent enough, Mother Nature had to add her own grace note - above the daffodils, a bevy of western bluebirds flitted and darted, flashing their brilliance. These charming little birds are the color of sapphires with breasts of magenta red. As they dance in the air, their colors are truly like jewels above the blowing, glowing daffodils. The effect was spectacular.
It did not matter that the sun was not shining. The brilliance of the daffodils was like the glow of the brightest sunlit day. Words, wonderful as they are, simply cannot describe the incredible beauty of that flower-bedecked mountain top.
Five acres of flowers! (This too I discovered later when some of my questions were answered.) “But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn. I was overflowing with gratitude that she brought me - even against my will. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“Who?” I asked again, almost speechless with wonder, “And how, and why, and when?”
“It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “She lives on the property. That’s her home.” Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory.
We walked up to the house, my mind buzzing with questions. On the patio we saw a poster. “Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking” was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. “50,000 bulbs,” it read. The second answer was, “One at a time, by one woman, two hands, two feet, and very little brain.” The third answer was, “Began in 1958.”
There it was. The Daffodil Principle.
For me that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than thirty-five years before, had begun - one bulb at a time - to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. One bulb at a time.
There was no other way to do it. One bulb at a time. No shortcuts - simply loving the slow process of planting. Loving the work as it unfolded.
Loving an achievement that grew so slowly and that bloomed for only three weeks of each year. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world.
This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principle of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time - often just one baby-step at a time - learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.
When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world.
“Carolyn,” I said that morning on the top of the mountain as we left the haven of daffodils, our minds and hearts still bathed and bemused by the splendors we had seen, “it’s as though that remarkable woman has needle-pointed the earth! Decorated it. Just think of it, she planted every single bulb for more than thirty years. One bulb at a time! And that’s the only way this garden could be created. Every individual bulb had to be planted. There was no way of short-circuiting that process. Five acres of blooms. That magnificent cascade of hyacinth! All, just one bulb at a time.”
The thought of it filled my mind. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the implications of what I had seen. “It makes me sad in a way,” I admitted to Carolyn. “What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five years ago and had worked away at it ‘one bulb at a time’ through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!”
My wise daughter put the car into gear and summed up the message of the day in her direct way. “Start tomorrow,” she said with the same knowing smile she had worn for most of the morning. Oh, profound wisdom!
It is pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson a celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, “How can I put this to use tomorrow?”
Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards
~~~~
Pursue Your Dreams,
Albert Lee
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Every year, we have a mandatory IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test) which includes 4 static stations and a 2.4km run. For the past 7 years, I could clear the 4 static stations with ease, but when it came to the 2.4km run, I always failed miserably…
Well.. for us who failed IPPT, we must attend a compulsory Remedial Training (RT) for 2 months.
I have been attending RT for the past 2 weeks (I failed my IPPT last year, clocking 18 minutes for my 2.4km run where I needed 13 minutes and below to pass).
Surprise Test
Today I went for my Remedial Training without realizing that we were having our IPPT. I thought the test was 2 weeks later! I was training very hard for my 2.4km run. I wanted to clock below 15 minutes for the first month, and pass my IPPT during my 2nd month of RT! So imagine my shock when I was told we are having our test today!! I was totally not prepared!
My 15 minutes Target
I was really in a state of panic.. as I know I was not ready for the test yet! I do not want to fail this test.. or at least I was targeting to clock below 15 minutes for it.. abeit not this early! After calming myself down, I decided to go for 15 minutes .. and I promised myself to complete the run without stopping! (For the past 7 years, 3 years I did not even complete the 2.4km)
My heart was pumping so fast when i was on the track, I thought I heard the sound of my heartbeats!
The Run Started
So it started.. and I started my run with the pace that I have been practicing for the past 2 weeks, the pace that I knew very well that if i can keep up with for the full 6 rounds, I can clock below my target of 15 minutes.
The first round was still ok.. although my legs felt unusually heavy, i still managed to keep up the pace. When it came to the 2nd round, I was grasping for air as though all the oxygen in the stadium has suddenly vanished.. and my stomach was twitching from earlier sit up test, and my lung was burning.. my legs were shouting for rest.. my shoulders started to feel sharp pains… and numbness started to creep down from my right shoulder to my hand… and then it started…
The Voice Within
The ever familiar voice started talking to me again.. At first.. it kept asking me questions.. questions like.. Why torture yourself like that? Are you sure you want to do this? You cannot pass anyway! .. Then it started telling me.. Stop and walk a bit.. it doesn’t affect anything.. You are very tired, you need to rest.. Why don’t you try next time, this test you are not prepared.. the voice.. it just kept talking and talking… and so many times in the past… i listened to it.. and gave up… but not this time!
Before the run.. I told myself no matter what I MUST run below 15 minutes.. this is my target.. and I MUST meet it.. and I also promised myself that I will complete the run without stopping.. no matter what!
I did not know why I was so determined.. but the voice just kept persuading me.. and the only thing I can do was kept repeating to myself, “Don’t give up, keep running… 15 minutes.. Don’t give up… keep running..”
Come to think of it.. the voice is just like fear.. you cannot make it disappear.. you cannot pretend it doesn’t exist.. the only way to overcome it is to face it and control it…
Perseverance
So throughout the 6 rounds… my voice was fighting the inner voice.. I just kept focusing on my target.. and that is to finish the run in 15 minutes and without stopping.
When I finished my 5th round.. I was left with exactly 2 and a half minutes to complete the last round. But I was completely exhausted, leg muscles on the verge of cramps… and basically every step was a struggle.. and the inner voice was at its loudest! It basically screaming at me to stop torturing myself.. threatening me that I can drop dead if I continue running…
Half way through the last round.. I looked at my watch and I knew I was about 20 seconds behind time.. with my current pace.. I will not be able to finish within 15 minutes… And I knew that the only way to hit my target now.. was to start sprinting.. and I hesitated for a moment.. my muscles going to cramp any moment.. It was a tough decision.. especially when my inner voice was correct.. this is not life and death.. why torture myself… but that was about the time I can afford to hesitate.. and I started to open up my strides.. then I increase my speed… faster and faster until I was sprinting… I was desperately grasping for air.. but at that moment.. I have decided nothing can stop me! Nothing! .. and then… I crossed the finishing line… and collapsed at the side… but I managed to steal a glance first.. 14:59 minutes!
Failed With Pride
I failed my IPPT.. my timing was 14:59 minutes.. but I was very very happy with myself! I have reached my target of running below 15 minutes (1 second different! Imagine if i hesitated for another second before sprinting!!), and I kept to my promise of not stopping even once throughout the run!
Somehow.. this experience has given me a tremendous boost in my self esteem and confident.. I have defeated the inner voice, and I knew for sure that if I focus on doing something, I will be able to do it!
So I like to declare that.. I have failed my IPPT today.. with PRIDE!
Cheers!
Pursue your dreams!
Albert Lee
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“PUUUSH.PUUUSH,” I called out to my friend, but it appeared that there was no use in trying anymore. My car was stuck in the mud and I was on a double date. Being a 16 year old boy, I wanted to make a good impression on my pretty and intelligent date. However, hearing the motor rev with the car still stuck in the mud did not earn “brownie points” for my friend or me in the eyes of our dates.
We continued to push and push, but there was no getting my car “unstuck” from the mud. Sharon, my date, was revving the car’s engine while Jeff and I were pushing and pushing. Finally, I said, “Enough!” Embarrassed, I approached Sharon as she sat behind the wheel of my mother’s red station wagon. Before I could speak I noticed the gear on the car: IT WAS SET ON “NEUTRAL!”
I set the gear to “drive,” instructed Sharon to wait until I gave her the signal to press down on the accelerator, and then went back to help Jeff push the car out of the mud.
That was our first date. Even though it resulted in my getting mud on my slacks, Sharon caused me to have love in my heart. I was “stung” by the Love Bug.
University of Texas - Austin
Sharon and I dated seriously throughout high school. I went away to college as Sharon was finishing her senior year in high school. Our love, which was blooming, was only matched in size by our long-distance telephone bills.
The next year, Sharon joined me at the University of Texas. We were so happy. We thought we were at the top of the world. We thought our lives were set. That was true until that eventful evening when in a split second our lives changed forever.
On February 18, 1981, we were studying at the library of the University. It was late and Sharon told me that she had to return to her dormitory to go to sleep. We slid into my car and headed toward her dorm, but, unfortunately, my gas gauge was registering “empty.” I pulled into a nearby convenience store, borrowed $2 from Sharon, and walked into the store to pay for the gas.
Things do not always work out as one plans them. Unfortunately, the store was in the midst of a robbery, and one of the thieves forced me into the cooler. He followed me, pushed me to the floor, and calmly shot me in the back of the head — execution style!
The story does not end there. Yes, the criminal thought I was dead; thus eliminating any witness to the crime. However, when the thieves left the store, I still had a faint pulse.
Very few people believed I would remain alive much longer. That is why the police transferred my case to the Homicide division. That is also why the neurosurgeon when he was awakened at his home to see me at the hospital came quickly but returned home as he believed an operation would be futile.
However, when the doctor returned to the hospital in the morning, he was shocked to see that I was still alive. He told my parents that an operation was necessary, but he added that he would be surprised if I survived the surgery.
I fooled all of the medical experts and survived the surgery. However, the surgeon warned my parents that even though I was still breathing I would probably never be able to communicate with anyone or understand anyone who was attempting to communicate with me. Basically, the surgeon stated, I would be “a vegetable.”
Hearing those words, my father told Sharon, “Get on with your life.”
Sharon quickly replied, “Mike is my life.”
Even though we were not yet married, Sharon believed in the vows, “in sickness and in health.” She dropped out of college for one semester to be with me at the Rehabilitation Hospital in Houston where I was eventually transferred. Sharon was spending her time with her “drooling boyfriend in the hospital” while other college freshmen were spending their time at parties.
Loving couple
Eventually, Sharon returned to Austin to continue her college education. Once again we had enormous phone bills.
My goal was to also return to Austin, to the University of Texas, to be with Sharon. Eighteen months after no one thought I would survive, I accomplished that goal. One of the primary reasons was . Sharon; my love, who refused to give up or give in.
Four years after returning to college I graduated. For me, that meant I could finally propose to Sharon, my light at the end of the dark tunnel. She was the one who would always encourage me to look forward and not to focus on the past.
On a beautiful day in May, Sharon and I exchanged vows and were married. We were meant to be together. We had dated for nine long and eventful years, but I realized at the wedding that it was worth everything. Sharon was truly my soulmate.
We have been married for many years and we have a beautiful daughter, Shawn. We have experienced so much — some bad, but more, much more, good.
This is not merely a “love letter” to my wife. Rather, it is the story of a girl’s overcoming everyone’s “rational” thoughts to stay behind with her critically injured boyfriend. To me that shows what kind of woman Sharon is–a beauty both inside and out. Further, it shows the lesson of never giving up on one’s dreams. I give Sharon all the credit for my recovery–not me. I don’t know where I would be without her–definitely not where I am today.
Sharon, I love you so very much.
Michael Segal
Michael Jordan Segal is now a social worker at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, an author and an inspirational speaker. He has just released a CD of some of his most popular short stories, entitled POSSIBLE. To get a copy of the CD or to send Michael a message please go to: www.InspirationByMike.com He is definitely someone you will want to learn more about.
This story is just so beautiful that I have to share it with all my readers! Cheers!
Happy Valentine’s Day! ^_^
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Some years ago, I attended a self-improvement seminar and the speaker was Jim Rohn. He said, “Everything matters in life, some things a little and some things a lot, we just don’t know which is which.” Moreover, I believed him.
Everything in life matters (picture taken from New South Wales Department of Health website)
Now if I may, I would like to relate a personal experience, which occurred when I was a motorcycle officer that strengthened this belief and taught a young man that everything in life does indeed matter.
I was a motorcycle officer with the Los Angeles Police Department and I was working speed complaints out of West Traffic Division. On 6 January 1986, I was working a speed complaint on one of the streets in the hills of Bel Air. It was around 9:30 in the morning. I had stopped at the base of a hill and had placed my radar on the handlebar of my motorcycle to monitor traffic coming down the hill.
This was a residential area and the road was narrow with numerous curves and was posted at 25 miles per hour. I had just finished writing a couple of tickets when I heard the audio on the radar, looked up the road and saw a small sports car coming down the hill. I glanced at the digital readout on the radar unit and saw that the car was traveling close to 50 miles per hour. I stepped out into the street and waved the driver over to the curb.
The driver was a young man in his early 20’s on his way to UCLA for a morning class. I told him why I had stopped him and started to write him a ticket. He, of course, did not want the ticket and tried to talk me out of it. His name was Christopher and he was a good kid. Nevertheless, he was trying his best to stop me from writing him a ticket. Never rude, always polite, but determined to convince me to let him go.
We bantered back and forth, he would raise his voice in support of his position, but I calmly explained why he should get the ticket. When he saw I was still going to write him the ticket, he asked me, “What If I had not stopped; you were not on your motorcycle, would you have chased me?” I replied, “Most likely not”.
About this time, I heard the audio on the radar and noticed that the digital readout registered 52 miles per hour. I looked up and saw a young man coming down the hill on a motorcycle. I stepped out in front of him and waved him into the curb. He was going too fast and passed us, but he was slowing down. I walked towards the motorcycle rider and my back was to Christopher.
The motorcyclist had turned around and was coming back to me. The he suddenly made a quick U-turn and sped down the hill. I turned around and walked back to Christopher and said, “Well, one got away.”
He said, “I waved him on”.
I said, “What?”
He said, “I waved him on.”
I replied, “Oh, no! You should not have done that.”
He had a puzzled look on his face and asked, “Why not, it won’t matter?”
I told him everything in life matters, some things a little and some things a lot. We just do not know which is which. The look on Christopher’s face clearly indicated to me that he did not believe me. I finished the ticket and we talked a little more about life and philosophy, then Christopher went to class and I went to court.
Three days later, I was back working that same area and had three cars stopped. While I was writing the tickets, I noticed that a car coming up the hill had stopped across from me. There were three or four people in the car. It was obvious to me that they were waiting to talk to me.
I finished the last ticket and the driver of the car got out and walked over to me. He had a very sad look about him. I could tell something was bothering him. As he approached me, he asked, “Do you remember me?”
“Yes,” I replied, “you are Christopher.”
He then said, “You taught me a valuable lesson the other day when you told me that everything in life matters. I didn’t believe you then, but now I do.”
“How do you mean?” I asked.
“Do you remember the boy on the motorcycle?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied, “I do remember him.”
“Well,” he said, “he was my roommate and that is why I waved him on. I thought I was helping him. After he turned around, he made a wrong turn and went down a street, which ended in a cul-de-sac and hit a large planter in the center of the cul-de-sac. He died instantly. You were right when you said everything in life matters.”
I was shocked and found it hard to believe, even though I had been with LAPD for 18 ½ years. We talked for a few more minutes. I expressed my sorrow, we shook hands and then we both left.
I rode to the station in Venice and looked up the traffic reports for 6 January and sure enough, there it was. I still could not believe it. I mentioned what had happened to another officer whose was in the station at the time. His response was that the kid deserved to die for fleeing the scene; I thought this could not be happening; I do not want to be like him.
As police officers and especially motor officers we are suppose to be saving lives, not pleased because some kid made a bad decision and died. Over the next several days, I gave a lot of thought to this situation and my life in general. I decided I did not want to be a police officer anymore and I needed a change. So I resigned in February 1986 after 18 ½ years with LAPD to pursue my passion, network marketing.
I thought that I should listen to my own advice about how everything matters and look at this situation as an opportunity to make some serious changes in my life. I have never regretted leaving LAPD even though my business plans did not quite work the way I had hoped back in 1986. However, over the years, they have and I have had a successful network marketing business since 1995.
Could now be the time for you to make a life change? If it is, I would encourage you to do so. Based on my experience you will not be sorry. I turned 65 in September 2008; I am in great health and could not be happier.
Duane Spears
Duane Spears is an Insight of the Day subscriber. He was born and raised in Osawatomie, Kansas. He graduated from high school in 1961 and joined the US Army. After 3 years with the Army, he went to Los Angeles in 1966 and joined the Los Angeles Police Department. Duane quit LAPD after 18½ years to work a network marketing business. That company went bankrupt after 6 months. Duane then learned the mortgage business opened his own office on Hollywood Beach in Oxnard, CA in 1989. Later in 1995, he joined another network marketing company, left the mortgage business and has been with them for the past 13 years. In 2000, Duane moved back to Osawatomie to be near his son. You can reach Duane at duane@duanespears.com
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Be willing to say to yourself, “I´m on the right road. I´m doing OK. I´m succeeding.’ We too frequently become adept at pointing out our flaws and identifying failures. Become equally adept at citing your achievements. Identify things you are doing now that you weren´t doing one month ago… six months ago… a year ago. What habits have changed? Chart your progress.
Doing well once or twice is relatively easy. Continuously moving ahead is tough, in part, because we so easily revert to old habits and former lifestyles. Over the long run, you need to give yourself regular feedback to monitor your performance and reinforce yourself positively. Don´t wait for an award ceremony, promotion, friend or mentor to show appreciation for your work. Take pride in your own efforts on a daily basis.
Keep the end result in sight. Always see the big picture of the ultimate goal you´re working for and the benefits that come with it. During World War II, parachutes were being constructed by the thousands. From the workers point of view, the job was tedious and repetitive. (Like making “cold calls’ on the phone or in person.) It involved crouching over a sewing machine eight to ten hours a day, stitching endless lengths of colorless fabric. The result was a seamless heap of cloth. But every morning the workers were reminded that each stitch was part of a life-saving operation. As they sewed, they were asked to think that this might be the parachute worn by their husband, brother or son. Although the work was hard and the hours long, the women and men on the assembly line understood their contribution to the larger picture. The same should be true with your work. Each thing you do benefits the health and well being of adults and children throughout the world, not just generally, but specifically. These are the visions that drive us through tedious details to the top.
Set up a dynamic daily routine. Getting into a positive routine or groove, instead of a negative rut, will help you become more effective. Why is the subway the most energy efficient means of transportation? Because it runs on a track.
Think of the order in your day, instead of the routine. Order is not sameness, neatness or everything exactly in its place. Order is not taking on more than you can manage, without still being able to do what you really choose. Order is the opposite of complication; it´s simplification. Order is not wasting a lot of time trying to find things. Order is avoiding a lot of recriminations because you didn´t do something you promised. Order is setting an effective agenda with others, so neither of you is disappointed. Order is doing in a day what you set out to do.
Order frees you up. Get into the swing of a healthy, daily routine and discover how much more control you´ll gain in your life.
– Denis Waitley
Denis Waitley has studied, counseled and trained leaders in virtually every field including Apollo astronauts, Olympic gold medalists, Super Bowl champions, returning POW’s, heads of state and Fortune 500 top executives.
Denis is recognized as a world class speaker and author and has traveled the globe sharing success ideas and strategies to thousands of companies the past 25 years. To book Dr. Waitley to speak for your company or to be part of your upcoming Regional or National Convention send an email to speaker@deniswaitley.com or call 877-929-0439.
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Hi guys, its the beginning of the new year 2009, have you set your goals for the year yet? Have you reviewed your goals that you set last year? How many of them have you achieved?
Many of us have set goals for ourselves last year, but not many have achieved them! Why your goals setting doesn’t work?
If you are a long time reader of my blog, you would have remembered i have written articles on how to set a SMART goal, and why it is very important to link as many reasons for achieving the goals as possible. Because reasons are the fuels for you to persevere on the plans you set to achieve them.
Then why do so many people, after setting the SMART goals, and writing down all the reasons for them, still did not follow through their action plans? You know you need to take actions, you know you should do something, but you still don’t do it.. you feel frustrated, overwhelmed and even angry with yourself.. but still procrastinate.. why??
This have been happening to me many years … until I read the book “Awaken the Giant Within” by Anthony Robbins and it gave me the “Ah Haa” moment!
Anthony was explaining about a single driving force behind all human behavior that is controlling us now and will continue to do so for the rest of our life.
PAIN and PLEASURE!
Everything you and I do, we do either out of our need to avoid pain or our desire to gain pleasure. - Anthony Robbins
This is huge! All these while we are teaching people to find the reasons why they wanted to achieve their goals… and most of the reasons listed are the desire to gain pleasure!
For example, you set a goal to own a Ferrari sport car. You picture yourself driving it, seeing all the vivid details of the design… the color, the steering wheel, the engine and all other details.. you are visualizing the pleasure of owning the car. You set other reasons like, the car giving you the status that people envied, it gives you the sense of achievement, it is a chick magnet, etc… all these are the pleasure of owning the car!
But avoiding pain is a greater force than the desire to gain pleasure! People always choose to avoid pain than to gain pleasure!
Therefore, even though you are linking a lot of pleasures to your goals, the pain of following through your plans, sacrificing your favorite soccer matches and tv shows, the pain of working extra few hours every night after coming back from office when you can simply rest on your sofa.. you are feeling more painful at this moment, and all the pleasures of the goals seems to become so distant… and it doesn’t hurt so much as to put the work off to perhaps next day?
The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you.
Therefore, when setting our goals, we need to add one more step. I call this step
The Pain and Pleasure of Continuous Actions!
After we have set our goals and come out with the action plans, we need to link pleasure to our actions, like rewarding ourselves for completing every action.. but more importantly, we need to link massive pain to non-action.. pain like humiliation or punishment if you fail to follow through an action plan.. example of humiliation can be publicly announcing your action plans and completion dates to your friends and loved ones, so that you will feel compel to action or face their disappointment.
When the pains of non-action are far greater than the pains of action, it will be much easier for you to start working on your plans and follow through.
It is equally important to write down your goals and the reasons for them, and read them everyday! This will keep you in focus of the pleasures of achieving the goals. Never keep your goals in your drawer!
Constantly reminds yourself of the reasons why you wanted to achieve the goals, and constantly reminds yourself the pains of not achieving them. With the help of both the pains and pleasures, it will definitely increases your rate of success!
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When starting any enterprise or business, whether it is full-time or part-time, we all know the value of having plenty of capital (money). But I bet we both know or at least have heard of people who started with no capital who went on to make fortunes. How? You may ask.
Well, I believe there are actually some things that are more valuable than capital that can lead to your entrepreneurial success. Let me give you the list.
Capital time
1. Time
Time is more valuable than capital. The time you set aside not to be wasted, not to be given away. Time you set aside to be invested in an enterprise that brings value to the marketplace with the hope of making a profit. Now we have capital time.
How valuable is time? Time properly invested is worth a fortune. Time wasted can be devastation. Time invested can perform miracles, so you invest your time.
2. Desperation
I have a friend Lydia, whose first major investment in her new enterprise was desperation. She said, “My kids are hungry, I gotta make this work. If this doesn’t work, what will I do?” So she invested $1 in her enterprise selling a product she believed in. The $1 was to buy a few fliers so she could make a sale at retail, collect the money and then buy the product wholesale to deliver back to the customer.
My friend Bill Bailey went to Chicago as a teenager after he got out of high school. And the first job he got was as a night janitor. Someone said, “Bill, why would you settle for night janitor?” He said, “Malnutrition.” You work at whatever you can possibly get when you get hungry. You go to work somewhere — night janitor, it doesn’t matter where it is. Years later, now Bill is a recipient of the Horatio Alger award, rich and powerful and one of the great examples of lifestyle that I know. But, his first job — night janitor. Desperation can be a powerful incentive. When you say - I must.
3. Determination
Determination says I will. First Lydia said, “I must find a customer.” Desperation. Second, she said, “I will find someone before this first day is over.” Sure enough, she found someone. She said, “If it works once, it will work again.” But then the next person said, “No.” Now what must you invest?
Courage
4. Courage
Courage is more valuable than capital. If you’ve only got $1 and a lot of courage, I’m telling you, you’ve got a good future ahead of you. Courage in spite of the circumstances. Humans can do the most incredible things no matter what happens. Haven’t we heard the stories? There are some recent ones from Kosovo that are some of the most classic, unbelievable stories of being in the depths of hell and finally making it out. It’s humans. You can’t sell humans short. Courage in spite of, not because of, but in spite of. Now once Lydia has made 3 or 4 sales and gotten going, here’s what now takes over.
5. Ambition
“Wow! If I can sell 3, I can sell 33. If I can sell 33, I can sell 103.” Wow. Lydia is now dazzled by her own dreams of the future.
6. Faith
Now she begins to believe she’s got a good product. This is probably a good company. And she then starts to believe in herself. Lydia, single mother, 2 kids, no job. “My gosh, I’m going to pull it off!” Her self-esteem starts to soar. These are investments that are unmatched. Money can’t touch it. What if you had a million dollars and no faith? You’d be poor. You wouldn’t be rich. Now here is the next one, the reason why she’s a millionaire today.
7. Ingenuity
Putting your brains to work. Probably up until now, you’ve put about 1/10 of your brainpower to work. What if you employed the other 9/10? You can’t believe what can happen. Humans can come up with the most intriguing things to do. Ingenuity. What’s ingenuity worth? A fortune. It is more valuable than money. All you need is a $1 and plenty of ingenuity. Figuring out a way to make it work, make it work, make it work.
8. Heart and Soul
What is a substitute for heart and soul? It’s not money. Money can’t buy heart and soul. Heart and soul is more valuable than a million dollars. A million dollars without heart and soul, you have no life. You are ineffective. But, heart and soul is like the unseen magic that moves people, moves people to buy, moves people to make decisions, moves people to act, moves people to respond.
Heart and Soul Works
9. Personality
You’ve just got to spruce up and sharpen up your own personality. You’ve got plenty of personality. Just get it developed to where it is effective every day, it’s effective no matter who you talk to - whether it is a child or whether it is a business person - whether it is a rich person or a poor person. A unique personality that is at home anywhere. One of my mentors, Bill Bailey, taught me, “You’ve got to learn to be just as comfortable, Mr. Rohn, whether it is in a little shack in Kentucky having a beer and watching the fights with Winfred, my old friend or in a Georgian mansion in Washington, DC as the Senator’s guest.” Move with ease whether it is with the rich or whether it is with the poor. And it makes no difference to you who is rich or who is poor. A chance to have a unique relationship with whomever. The kind of personality that’s comfortable. The kind of personality that’s not bent out of shape.
And lastly, let’s not forget charisma and sophistication. Charisma with a touch of humility. This entire list is more valuable than money. With one dollar and the list I just gave you, the world is yours. It belongs to you, whatever piece of it you desire whatever development you wish for your life. I’ve given you the secret. Capital. The kind of capital that is more valuable than money and that can secure your future and fortune. Remember that you lack not the resources.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Article excerpt from Jim Rohn’s Weekly E-zine. You can visit Jim Rohn’s official website for more Jim Rohn’s products and articles.
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If you like my blog, please subscribe to my rss, Digg this post, Stumble it, Twitter or simply add this blog to your favorites! And don’t forget to leave your comments too ya!
This is a video of Tony Robbins talking about the Invisible Forces that determine why we do what we do! This is the 3rd time I watched it, and it is a great lesson that I like to share with all my readers.
In summary, there are 2 primary patterns of invisible forces:
1. In the moment:
Our state, Physical / emotional
2. Long-terms:
Our model of the world
And there are 6 Needs that all of us have:
Need of personality
a. Certainty
b. Uncertainty
c. Significant
d. Connection
Need of spirituality
e. Grow
f. Contribute beyond ourselves
Enjoy and looking forward to your comments! Cheers!!
If you like my blog, please subscribe to my rss, Digg this post, Stumble it, Twitter or simply add this blog to your favorites! And don’t forget to leave your comments too ya!
