A goal I made that will be never realized…
December 12, 2009 by fladlien
Filed under Uncategorized
I had just tasted my first bit of Internet marketing success.
I was ghostwriting, and had made enough to move out of my
dad’s two room apartment and into my own.
It wasn’t much mind you – about 350 square feet – a garage
converted into an efficiency apartment. But it was a start.
The first day I moved in there, I decided to sit down and
write my goals.
The first one was that I’d do $100,000 in the next 12 months.
I accomplished that.
The second one was that I’d own my home in the next 18 months.
I accomplished that.
Another was my “give back” goal to donate a certain amount
of my time/wealth to noble causes.
I accomplished that.
My last goal was my role model goal. At the time, there was
a guy I listened to that had a more positive impact on my
life than anyone else. His motivational trainings got me
through so many hard times…
And I listened to them so often… I could literally repeat
them word for word.
My goal was to meet and have a conversation with him in
the next 2 years. That man was Jim Rohn.
On December 5th Jim Rohn passed away.
I’d like to honor the man by sharing some of the wisdom and
experiences I had while listening to him.
The FIRST TIME
I remember when I first heard him speak. I had just got
bitten by the “self help” bug and someone loaned me a ton
of self help audio programs. I loaded them into my iPod.
At the time, I was running a music record label by night
and managing a retail flooring warehouse by day. In the
warehouse, I had my iPod on while I worked and listened
to those self help programs.
Most sucked. But then one popped on – a motivational speech
given to a group of network marketers.
Who the hell was this guy? I thought I knew who the greats were,
guys like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracey & Tony Robbins. Who was
this?
I looked at the iPod – it said Jim Rohn.
Even though I was broke at the time, on lunch break I went home
and ordered his “Take Charge Of Your Life” audio training course,
which I still listen to this day.
Teachings Of The Great Man
Jim is speaking, and is sharing a story from the Bible, which
he calls “a story from antiquity”. It’s about two nice guys…
one builds his house on a strong foundation, the other on sand.
The one on sand doesn’t last. Two nice guys. Both do-gooders. Both
have “good karma”. But the guy who built his house on the sand
lost it.
You have to do more than be nice and know that if you do good,
then good things will happen to you. To think otherwise – as Jim
Rohn put it – is naive.
The Story Of Cookie
On one of his programs, Jim talks about how – in order to be a
more effective communicator – he spends a day or two on the
“other side”.
He spends a day down in a seedy place in San Diego, CA called
the “Tenderloin”. There he talks to this bartender named Frank.
Frank says, “You see that woman over there? That’s Cookie. How
old do you think she is?”
Jim Rohn guesses 45… Frank tells her she’s 25… and that she
used to be a dancer back in the go-go days. Then she developed
some sort of bone disease and she can no longer dance and is crippled.
And she has a son who is 5 and is dying of leukemia. To try to
cheer herself up a few times a week she comes down to this bar
in the Tenderloin… plays a little music… usually drinks too
much… and Frank has to call a cab to take her home.
Jim concludes this story by saying “Why did her life turn out like
that, and mine turn out like it did? How is it that I get to travel
the world, yet Cookie has trouble even getting home?”
Affected By Two Things…
Jim Rohn says, “You’re affected by two things. What you know and
how you feel about what you know.” This really helped me both as
an information consumer and as an information producer.
See I could give you the best training in the world. But if you
felt nervous, unsure, scared or uncomfortable acting on it, then
that will affect the value of the information.
So the lesson is twofold. First create products that remove as much
of those “uncertainties” as possible, so your clients will get results
(that’s one of the big “secrets” of how I’ve created such high
value training programs…)
And the other is to learn how to FEEL really good about learning
new things. That’s why I made it a point to study and use NLP and self-hypnosis, so I could feel good about acting on new ideas.
Two Pains
Jim Rohn says we all experience one of two pains in life: the pain
of discipline and the pain of regret. The pain of discipline weighs
ounces, but the pain of regret weighs tons.
This is something I always think about when things get hard, and
I want to quit early, put something off until later, procrastinate,
or when I’m about to finish up a big project.
It’s easy to put things off. But if you make it a habit, what would
you life end up being? You’d regret so many things. That pain is
worse than the “pain of discipline” to finish up the task at hand
and give it your best, so you have no regrets.
Profits Are Better Than Wages
Jim Rohn says wages make you a living but profits make a fortune.
Most people earn wages which is good enough to get a pair of shoes,
a piece of bread and a place to get out of the rain.
But those who wish to enjoy the higher pleasures of life, work for
profits, not wages. That means they create and utilize enterprises.
It means teaching your children to have two bicycles. One to ride
and one to rent out.
See it doesn’t take long to start making profits. A bit of ingenuity
and you’re on your way.
The Magic Of Part-Time
And you can start making profits part time. And best of all, you
can start today. You can begin telling people “I’m working full
time on my job to earn wages, but I’m working part time on my
profits to earn my fortune! And it won’t be long until I’ll be
working full time on my fortune…”
That’s how I started – working part time on my profits with
ghostwriting, and full time painting houses to earn my wages.
Within a short period of time, I no longer had to work for
wages to earn a living… but could work FULL TIME for profits
to earn a fortune!
Profits are better than wages. Wages make you a living but
profits make you a fortune! I teach kids to have two bicycles:
one to ride, one to rent. How long does it take to start making
a profit? A bit of ingenuity and you’re on your way.
Perfect. Jim Rohn said it best, “Work harder on yourself than
you do on your job.”
Wishing
Jim Rohn says, “Don’t wish it was easier; wish you were
better. Don’t wish for less problems; wish for more skills.”
The key takeaway Jim Rohn gave me was that you can’t “pursue”
success. That’s like trying to change the order of the seasons.
Instead, you must ATTRACT success, by becoming an attractive
person. People who “pursue” success wish things were easier.
People who attract success decide to get BETTER instead of
wasting their time wishing it was easier.
People who try to pursue success wish there were less problems
and challenges to obtain it. People who attract success wish
for more skill to handle those problems and challenges, more
wisdom to turn opportunity into wealth.
Or as Jim Rohn says, “To get more, you have to become more.”
FAILURE
Jim Rohn says failure is often not some single, cataclysmic event…
But a few small errors in judgment repeated every day.
This always has rung true for me. Some people make a small error
in judgment when they almost finish something but “put it off until tomorrow…” They make it a habit, and repeat it every day. No
wonder they can’t make progress!
Some people decide to spend their limited free time watching DVDs
and playing video games. And they do this every day. But what if
they spent some of that time reading more books? As Jim Rohn
said, “The book you miss can’t help!” And as he also said, “Formal
education will make you a living; self-education will make you a
fortune!” And he also said, “Miss a meal if you have to, but don’t
miss a book!”
What if these people instead spent some of that time improving
themselves and their skills? That could be the whole difference!
One of the things I did after listening to Jim Rohn say this is
write down a list of “small errors in judgment” I was repeating
every day. And then I worked on each one to improve it or reverse
it.
SUCCESS
Jim Rohn says, Success is doing seemingly “ordinary things” extraordinarily
well.” It’s not that I’m a naturally gifted and great writer. It’s that I
sit down and write EVERY SINGLE DAY. That’s the secret.
It’s not that I have some incredible, deep insights and some sort of genius
that makes me create great products for the marketplace. It’s just
that I create a lot of products, one after the other. I’m good at
creating ordinary products extraordinarily well.
I’m good at acting on good ideas immediately. I’m good at reducing complex
tasks down to simple systems. These are really just ordinary things that
I’ve learned to do – through discipline – extraordinarily well.
Or as Jim Rohn says another way, “Success is nothing more than a few
simple disciplines, practiced every day.”
Dedicated To Jim Rohn
I’d like to close this by expressing my thanks to the man who has had
one of the biggest impacts on my life – Jim Rohn. You have been a blessing
on this world and it has become a better place because of you.
And the way you’d close most of programs now rings truer in my heart
than ever.
You’d often finish a program by saying, “I go with you in all the experience
that we’ve had. But I promise you this as we leave here, I will not leave
you behind. I’ll take you with me in my thoughts and in my heart.”
You’re right Jim. Even in passing you are still here with all of us
you have positively helped.
Thank You.
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, that was beautiful!
Thanks a lot Jason for the time in sharing this. Jim was definitely a legend. One thing though is that even if you didn’t meet him physically, you did meet him in spirit and that’s the most important aspect.
Now, I am also setting a goal to meet you because of your capacity to simplify concepts and ideas. I am half way through your 48 hour report and I believe I already have gotten 10 times worth of value. It’s true what they say – simplicity is genius. Long live Jason!
“Miss a meal if you have to, but don’t
miss a book!”
I am a one book per week guy. I started out reading so much when my office was moved to the suburbs and I had to spend time on the trains. As they are often very crowded, it is not possible to read a real paper book, so i switched over to audio books.
The other quote from RoHn “self-education will make you a fortune!” is something I fully subscribe to and recommend to everyone.
We joined an MLM business opportunity in the early 90′s which had a book list produced weekly where two or three books were highlighted as recommended reading.
The importance placed on this was higher than the products being marketed and we were all encouraged to buy, borrow or beg them and report back our results and observations once read.
A lot of the well known self improvement names of that time are still heard today and we learned a lot about ourselves and it made us stronger for having read them. Until that time were were not avid readers but that soon changed !
We remember Jim Rohn cropping up very frequently … your post was a brief but well laid out homage to a great man so well done to you !
Jim Rohn … gone but never forgotten by millions for sure
I do believe the amount of sites that make an effort to “grow their supporter base by communication” is actually on the rise. Many individuals jumped into creating web sites and posting without realizing the need for creating a connection with their audience. Like you’ve here, congrats.
I found your post really edifying. thank you very much!
Awesome post, Jason. I can trace some of my biggest life changes to one side of a cassette tape of Jim’s “The Art of Exceptional Living.” Simplicity + brilliance = life-changing.
Jason, this is a fantastic post. You’ve provided some fantastic, quick hitting nuggets of information that anyone can use to better themselves right now. Just like I’ve done! Thanks for posting this.
Thanks for a great post, Jason! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and to your family.
Thank you for sharing your connection with Jim Rohn, and his teachings. Very inspiring. I’m going to have to go find some of his information too.
Also thanks for the reminder that life is finite and if something is important we better act on it sooner rather than later.
Last year I was on my way back from Mexico, I had tickets for Jim Rohn Live near the airport in Texas. I took my entire family with me (out of our way to Texas) I am sure glad i did meet him in person. I listened to much of his stuff on tape and a few audios but in person was much better. Thanks Jim Rohn,
Jason, thanks for taking the time to highlight what made Jim special to you. One can never review his teachings too often (nor yours).
Great post Jason,
You pulled out a lot of the storys I remember listen to Jim telling….
All of which also impacted on my life and beliefs…
I always loved the fact that there were smiles to be had while learning from Jim
Thanks again for the reminder of some great info he shared!
Warm Regards
Randy Smith
P.S. Your staff replied to a ticket you posted on my support desk while you were away – I’m still awaiting a further reply when you get the chance
Hey Jason,
A very inspirational post. Yes we should work hard on ourselves so that we can make profits rather than wages.
THanks
John
Thank you for sharing, Jason. What a wonderful way to honor his memory. As long as you keep your memories of his influence in your heart, he will not leave you. Jim Rohn shared so much of himself and his wisdom with us. They are a ‘play’ button away.
Daviette
This is one of the blog posts I’ve ever read. Well done Jason. I was sure a couple of years before that you will rise to top star level!
Jim Rohn is alive. He has multiplied himself through his students.
i never met Jim Rohn but i will use his ideas to guide me.
God speaks to us through people like Jim Rohn and you.
I hope you will be there too when we need you. Thanks God for Jim Ron and for you. God bless.
Vde Alban
Jason,
Thank you for sharing this information from Jim Rohn and some of the things you learned from him. It’s too bad that he’s gone now and that you won’t be able to meet him.
Rodney
Jeason,
This article is great and inspiring to me, I am motivated to go ahead to build my own business.
Thanks for the great posting.
Dorairaj Kannan
I’ve heard his name mentioned and of his passing recently. I didn’t know much about him until reading this post. I know Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar and Tony Robbins, and have some of their works. For a self improvement junkie, I will definitely look up Jim Rohn now.
In reading this post, his teachings seem so personable and make sense- making the complex seemingly easy to understand and follow through on.
Jason learned well from him – transferring a bit of that wisdom into his writings and most especially in this post.
Thanks for introducing Jim Rohn for those of us who do not know him.
Blessings and safe journey to the other side of good – Jim Rohn.
Amazing summary with good clear take aways. This makes a new beginning for me. Thank you Jason
A sad passing in deed…great job Jason.
Jim was a joy to listen to and learn from. I spent many fantastic hours in the audience, introducing my friends to his philosophies.
I watched them roar with laughter as they “learned their lessons with humour” and catch their breath when his profound pithy statements hit a raw nerve.
You never forget what he opens your mind into becoming aware of for the first time in your life…. his most profound lessons always revolved around taking self responsibility and taking personal action – with love, grace, and consideration of all around you.
The phones rang hot the day of his death… including my caring friends gently sharing the news, but not mourning his passing as much as celebrating his long life that was lived well and his incredible life’s work, which has touched each of us indelibly.
Anyone reading this who does not own at least a few of Jim Rohn’s life changing self help tools should do a search right now and get your hands on some. You won’t be able to borrow any from now on, you’re going to have to go out there and claim a stake on some of your own self help development tools by Jim.
It will become a treasured part of your ‘personal library’, that Jim always reminded us would be our most valuable possession ….and legacy.
I’m sitting in my personal library right now, with wrap around walls of books, audiotapes, videos, DVDs of amazing resources – and around 100,000 ebooks as well. Lesson learned – and life is good!
Thank you Jim for changing so many lives for the better, including mine.
Thank you Jason for posting this tribute to a great and very loved man.
Jason, you said:
“My goal was to meet and have a conversation with him in
the next 2 years. That man was Jim Rohn.”
Even though you didn’t physically meet and have a conversation with Mr. Rohn, I have a feeling that via your spirituality you’ve had some of the most wonderful conversations with him, and it seems as if you’ve definitely learned his lessons well.
Thank you for the excellence you’ve placed in your posts, your products and brought into our lives.
And Mr. Rohn, I know it’s a little late to say this now, but thank you for living your life in such a fashion that would allow improvement in all the lives you touched. Now it’s up to each and every one of us absorb the message.
Roger
I clicked on your email. I opened it. I even clicked on the link inside… see? it pays to pay attention. I wonder if Jim Rohn would say that… Thanks for the very thoughtful post. Thanks for taking the time to share with us some really significant lessons.
Great post – thanks. I’ve got some Jim Rohn tapes that I haven’t listened to for ages, but that’s about to change! Thanks for inpsiring me to go back to them.
Cheers,
Ray
Very nice, Jason. I used to listen to Jim’s tapes myself (long before iPods). I have to admit I listened more often to Zig Ziglar and Brian Tracy and Earl Nightingale, but Jim was in the top tier of my favorites.
Thanks for reminding me of his best sayings, they bring back memories.
Dennis.
Jason,
I knew there was a reason that I resonated with you so much…JR was one of my chief mentors. I had the good fortune to meet him a couple times and have lunch with him as part of a group. He was the Real McCoy as they say. Please review my squidoo lens tribute to the man the legend the my hero, Jim Rohn http://www.squidoo.com/jimrohnbooks
Jason,
Thanks for this wonderful tribute. Jim Rohn’s work will live on in books, cds, and most importantly in the people whose lives he touched.
Betty
I am sending the link to this page to everyone in my family. It is that powerful.
Thanks.
Jan
Even though I know all of the information above – reading it over again, really helps to ensure the wisdom sinks in.
Jim was great at motivating – his humor is what attracted me. I loved his suggestion of making “revenge” goals – I laughed so hard I had to pause the recording when he told how he wanted a new car so that he could drive it up on the lawns of the people who said he’d never amount to anything and then offer to write a check to cover the damages! Totally priceless and completely helpful since I had been thinking that all my revenge goals were “wrong.”
I am glad I have some of his speeches to listen to as often as necessary.
Thanks for this post – helped to remind me of what I know, but had set off to the side in my brain.
All the best to you, Jason.
HI Fladlien,
This article is great and inspiring to me, I am motivated to go ahead to build up my real online business. Thank you! Have a good day!
Evan
Jason, you’ve written a fine tribute to Jim Rohn.
Better yet, you’ve become Jim Rohn’s tribute.
And that’s how the great ones live on.
All the best,
Mary
Hi Jason, I’ve never heard of Jim but thanks to your e-mail, now I have. I’m also very sad to hear of his passing. However, thank you for sharing a bit of what you’ve learned from him. Life’s twists and turns can unfortunately, make some things impossible (like you completing that one goal). Completely out of your control.
May the “Force” be with you in all that you do.
Rufus.
The mark of a life well lived:
- Did you achieve what you set out to do?
- Were others glad that you lived?
I think Jim’s was a life well lived.
Thanks Jason for the wake up call. I got sidetracked on my mission to earn from internet marketing and this inspires me to get back on track.
Jason, This is a fantastic gift, from John via Jason. I thank you both with a wish that someday I can pay it forward. I’ve printed this out and will read it everyday in the morning. And I may even write it out and commit it to memory. Thank you both so much.
m(_ _)m
Jason, one of your best. Proof that we are all self made, just the successful admit to it.
Very sad when someone you respect and have high regard for passes away as it feels like there are not enough of the good ones left around. Look at it as “devine intervention” and somebody beyond what we know brought him into your life to help you become a better man and to be able to help others as he helped you, and so unto you he passes the torch. Unlike anything I know, other than being a doctor or a teacher, we are in a career field where you can have a profound affect on people’s lives for the better, and that in itself may make everything in your’s and my life worthwhile.
Truly a sad loss have been listening and learning from Jims Cds and books for the past 16 years He was a legend a Great Role Model
Obviously a very wise man full of good advice and humanity. A great
gift to the human race.
Jason -
This is inspiration beyond measure. I now find myself rummaging through the materials I’ve acquired from you in the past; all of those things that I’m guilty of not acting upon when I first got them, and I’ll be re-reading with the intent of actually applying the many lessons therein. (My foundation seems to have been on sand thus far.)
Thank you for the honoring of a great man in such a great way, and for reminding me his lessons are embedded in yours.
Keep up the highly inspirational work!
This is sad news but I, too, take solace in the fact the Jim used his time here on Earth so well and had such a positive affect on so many people in his time here.
Meeting Jim may be one goal you didn’t accomplish, but there are so many that you already have with — hopefully — many more to come.
I’m one of your newest customers, Jason, and you were already a big help to me before I ever bought anything from you.
I can tell that you have a good heart and that you’ll also help many people in your lifetime.
I look forward to learning from you.
Thanks for inspiring me with this wisdom, both yours and his.
I forwarded your link to a client, asking him which section was most meaningful to him. For me it was “Wishing”, the point about being a successful person to attract success, rather than striving for it or chasing it.
Thanks much!
Warmly,
Dan
Hey Jason,
I’ve been listening to Jim Rohn ever since you recommended it in your internet marketing time management product…
I have to admit it’s the best self help program I’ve heard, I’m glad to see you share your experiences and some of what you got out of the program… more importantly what you used to improve your life – powerful!
thanks for sharing,
Jeff Bode
a sad loss indeed… Jim Rohn does have wisdom we can all learn from, and apply in our lives.
Hey Jason,
What a great post. I never comment on blogs or bother
reading most IM garbage these days (I’ve had some serious “crap filters” installed…
But the information you share is incredibly valuable.
Thanks for the awesome post mate, I’ve had to swipe this one
for my Gold Member Coaching Folder
Which Rocks BTW,
Keep pumping out the High Quality Info!
Thanks again dude,
- aj wilson
Thank you Jason and “Merry Christmas”!
Highly inspirational.
More people should see this, and refer to it daily.
Thank you.
I first heard of Jim a very short while ago. Shame on me ? No ! where I leave only a few people ever heard of him. I am part of the priviledged ones who can benefit from his work, even though I shall never have the chance to meet him. Now, I appreciate your sharing right now. It motivates me to go further on my own path as a ghost writer for therapists (in French only).
Thank you also for the quality of your work which has no equivalent (or very rarely) on the French market. As a matter of fact, I can afford to follow your model and be pretty sure I could pretend to be THE precursor of a very original way of doing business and marketing.
Be ware, many are going to copy you soon over here.
Hope I’ll have the chance to meet with you soon.
Thanks again for this post
Aswad