Series 40Four — Post 5: 44 Inspirational Quotes from Jim Rohn
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” – Prov 4:7
December is my birth month. This year, 2018, marks the 44th year of my existence on this planet.
To commemorate this milestone, I will share 44 things about 30 subjects that have helped me in my life’s journey to this point. So, for the rest of the year, I will share on one subject each day.
These post will be part of a series I call “Series 40Four”.
My previous post in the series — 44 People who have supported, inspired and motivated me was a note of special thanks to those people who have directly impacted my life positively. The first on that list will always be my mother. The list also included some of the contemporary thought leaders who have influenced me through their books, videos and profound words.
You can read this article here.
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So in today’s post: I feature one of such thought leaders — Emanuel James Rohn. 44 Inspirational Quotes from Jim Rohn
Jim Rohn, as he is popularly known, was an American author, entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Born in September 1930, he was the only child to his parents who immigrated from Odessa, Russia to eventually settle in Caldwell, Idaho in the USA. Hence, Jim Rohn famously referred to himself as the farm boy from Idaho. Mr Rohn died in December of 2009.
It is well documented that when he was about 25 years old, Jim Rohn attended a seminar of the then famous entrepreneur, James Shoaff. Jim took an interest in the teachings and ideas of Mr Shoaff and later became his mentee. Jim Rohn unequivocally attributes his personal development, philosophy and success to the coaching he received from Earl Shoaff. Building on what he learnt from Earl Shoaff, Jim Rohn went on to become very influential in his field. One website referred to Jim Rohn as a national treasure due to the impact he had on the lives of people and corporations all over the world.
It was fascinating but no surprise to me when I learnt that Jim Rohn was the mentor of Tony Robbins who himself is a renowned coach, personal development trainer and influential thinker of our time. Some of his other mentees included Brian Tracy (author) and Mark R Hughes (founder of Herbalife).
Jim Rohn’s legacy lives on through his many books, audio and video materials which has become an invaluable source of motivation, inspiration and coaching for leadership, self-development and success to people everywhere.
Although I discovered Jim Rohn much later than the other thought leaders that I know, his coaching has had a profound impact on me. He presents a unique perspective to fundamental topics like personal development, leadership and learning.
Before we delve into this list of quotes, I would like to ask you about one experience that somehow typifies how we respond to the things we seek out.
The question is this.
If you own and/or drive a car, which of the following parking lots is it easier for you to choose a spot in:
a) a parking lot that is practically empty; or
b) one that has a limited number of empty spots?
For me, it is easier to choose a spot in an almost full parking lot because I know any delays will cost me a valuable parking space. On the other hand, I get very indecisive in an empty parking lot. I get confused by the unlimited options available.
The latter has been my experience in deciding the 44 most impactful quotes from Jim Rohn that I should select for this post. His books, the Internet and Youtube are littered with great quotes that each one I read is a worthy candidate to make my list.
So, here are 44 of my favourite Jim Rohn’s quotes that have had a positive influence on me. I do hope that you find value in my small selection and that you are able to take at least one of them as inspiration to make a positive change in any area of your life.
Please check out the link at the end of this list to read more about Jim Rohn’s life, work and legacy.
On Personal-development
1) “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
2) “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.”
3) “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”
4) “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”
5) “Those who will not read are no better off than those who cannot read.”
6) “Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom.”
7) “It isn’t what the book costs. It’s what it will cost you if you don’t read it.”
8) “If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.”
9) “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”
10) “The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”
11) “Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.”
12) “The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”
13) “Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge. Let your learning lead to action.”
14) “What you become is far more important than what you get.”
On Leadership
15) “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”
16) “If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself.”
17) “Effective communication is 20 percent what you know and 80 percent how you feel about what you know.”
18) “A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.”
19) “Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.”
20) “All leaders are readers.”
On Life
21) “You have two choices: You can make a living, or you can design a life.”
22) “There are two types of pain you will go through in life, the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tonnes.”
23) “There are only three colours, 10 digits, and 7 notes; its what we do with them that’s important.”
24) “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.”
25) “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
26) “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
27) “Motivation alone is not enough. If you have an idiot and you motivate him, now you have a motivated idiot.”
28) “When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.
29) “You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”
30) “Days are expensive. When you spend a day you have one less day to spend. So make sure you spend each one wisely.”
31) “Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.”
32) “Take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to draw from your experience and invest them in the future.”
33) “Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.”
34) “Life is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences and their intensity.”
On Success
35) “Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
36) “Profits are better than wages. Wages make you a living; profits make you a fortune.”
37) “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.”
38) “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.”
39) “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”
40) “To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?”
41) “The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch.”
42) “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.”
43) “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
44) “Poor people spend their money and save what’s left, rich people save their money and spend what’s left.”
Kindly note that I am not promoting/marketing any of these sources and get any form of reward or compensation from them.
