The Resilient Mind - Make An Impact - Jim Rohn

Episode Date: May 29, 2024

Jim Rohn was a renowned motivational speaker who has been widely regarded as one of the best in his field during his time. He had an incredible ability to inspire and motivate people from all walks of life with his speeches and teachings. One of his most notable achievements was serving as a mentor to Tony Robbins, one of the most successful and well-known motivational speakers in the world today.Take action and strengthen your mind with The Resilient Mind Journal. Get your free digital copy today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Download Now⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Resilient Mind podcast. In this episode, you will be listening to Make an Impact with Jim Rohn. Get access to the Resilient Mind Journal by clicking the link in the show notes. Enjoy. One of the greatest experiences any of us can have is the experience of influence. To persuade somebody that we've got a good idea, to persuade somebody to buy a product or consider a service, to be able to influence somebody to a way of life,

a product, an idea, a company, a corporation, an enterprise. Influence is one of the greatest of life's experiences. And I would like to talk about that in this series of lectures. The chance to influence somebody else, their thinking, their future, maybe their lives, is a great experience. And all the way from being a manager to an executive to being a parent, we all have in some respects the chance and the opportunity to influence somebody else. Now the key is to develop the skills to do it. There's one thing in doing it casually, another thing in

doing it haphazardly, and the other is to do it on purpose by learning the skills. And that's what I'd like to cover in this series of lectures. Gathering the skills to help influence people to a way of thinking, to a product, to an idea, to an enterprise, or just to a better life. The skills of leadership. First of all, just in preliminary, let me just give you a list of what I hope you'll find in my series of lectures this time. Here's the list. Number one, sincerity. To accomplish something, especially in lecturing and listening, we have to start with sincerity. And I would assume you're sincere or you wouldn't be here. You wouldn't have made this effort and pushed

past whatever you had to push past to get here. And I can appreciate that. So we first of all start with sincerity and hopefully you'll find me sincere. I really have to be here. I really have to push past. have come by to bring value for your time and effort and consideration. But I've got a good note for you to make. Sincerity is not a test of truth. Sincerity is not a test of truth. We must not make the mistake of saying he must be right, he's so sincere. And the reason is it's possible to be sincerely wrong.

So we must not mistake sincerity for truth, because it is possible to be sincerely wrong. But hopefully you'll find me both sincerely wrong. both sincere and truthful because I wish to speak for you the truth. But you have to decide for yourself what is truth. But here's the key. We weigh sincerity on sincerity scales and weigh truth on truth scales. We don't weigh truth on sincerity scales. Next I hope you'll find in our series two major things. Ideas plus inspiration. If you want your life to change, here's the source of it all.

Ideas plus inspiration. Now ideas are not that far away. In fact, I've got a good phrase for you to consider. This will serve you well for the rest of your life. Everything you need is within reach. Everything you need is within reach. The ideas you need for life change or business change is within reading reach. It's within listening reach.

There's probably a library not too far from you. The problem is, right, there's a library there, but most people drive by. Very few drive in. Poor Andrew Carnegie, right? Set up all these libraries across the country thinking everybody would stop by, saying, no, everybody's going to drive by. He thought sure they were going to stop in. Do you know how many people own a library card in the United States? 3%. And guess how much they cost? Nothing. Wow. But see, it's within reach. Now, the key is

who's going to reach? There's a simple Bible phrase, and I'm an amateur on the Bible, but here's what it says. If you search, you will find. But it's very important to know that finding is reserved for the searchers. We don't find what we need. We find what we search for. Needing is not the prerequisite to getting value. You can't be a needer. You have to be a searcher. But if you'll search, if you'll try, if you'll go, if you'll listen, ideas are within reach. And ideas are life changing. There's nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come. A business idea, a socialized. an investment idea, good health idea.

All you need is just the refinement of an idea to make an impact on your life. Gather treasure, gather equity, gather wealth. Because it doesn't take much to make a significant difference as the time passes. You might draw a little circle. This is where you are. Ten years from now you could be here or ten years from now you could be here. And the difference in ten years between here and here could be significant in money, in money and lifestyle, treasures, equity. In 10 years, an incredible difference, but right here,

a small difference in the change of discipline, the change of thinking to start you on this journey versus this journey. Now it's also very important intellectually to know whether or not you're headed this way or this way. And once you decide, 10 years from now, I think that the gathering of my intellectual and personal and spiritual and more, moral and economic treasure may not be that great. The key is to start right now making these changes to walk this new road. But here's what's exciting to me. Just a few daily disciplines makes a great deal of difference in one year. Three years, five years, just a few daily disciplines. And that's what I'd like to talk about in this series.

Just these few daily disciplines that make the difference. Whether you wind up here or here. Good question. Ten years from now you will surely arrive. The question is, where? We don't want to kid ourselves about where. We don't want to kid ourselves about the road we're walking. I had a day shortly after I met Mr. Schof called, Do not kid myself any more day. I don't want to go disillusioned anymore. You know, I was using the cross-finger theory back when I was 25, 24, 23. I finally decided that the cross-finger theory was not going to get me what I wanted. That isn't where the treasure lies, that I'm going to have to make sure which of these ways I'm headed. But a few reading disciplines and a few disciplines of mind and a few disciplines of activity,

and you can make all the difference in the world whether you wind up here or whether you wind up here. But just a few changes. Sometimes we get the idea that we're doing about 10% and there's about 90% more that we need in order to make the difference for our fortune and probably the opposite. it is true, right? We're doing enough things to have arrived here today. We're doing enough things to have bought and shared in the good life so far. And maybe all you needs that extra 5% 10% of intellectual change, activity change, a refinement of discipline, a refinement of thought. And all we need is the idea is to make those simple changes and the equity starts gathering

in one year, three years, five years, 10 years. I have a good comment for your notes. Now's the time to fix the next 10 years. Now's the time to fix it. Now sometimes you have to come to grips with reality and with truth. That's what was good for me when I met Mr. Schof. I was 25 years old. He was 44 years old and he brought me a wealth of experience and he started asking me the tough questions. Big question. He said, are you reading the books that's going to take you where you want to go in the next five years? Excellent question. See, you want to make sure. I would assume for all of you to get where you want to be in the next five years, you're either reading the right books or you're not. That's kind of a brilliant statement, right? You're either engaged in the

disciplines or you're not, but here's what we don't want to engage in. Disillusion, right? Hoping without acting, you know, wishing without doing. So the key is to take a look and say, where am I? What could I do to make the changes, to make sure that I can take more certain daily steps toward the treasure I want, the mental treasure, the personal treasure, the spiritual treasure, the financial treasure. I don't want to make any errors. Now's the time to adjust my daily program to take me where I want to go. So hopefully I'll have some ideas to share with you that might help make just a few adjustments.

And in lecturing for especially the last 16, 18 years, I've got some letters and some personal testimonies of people that have done such remarkable things with just a few suggestions that it is worth taking the time. And that's what I'm here for, to do a little coaching. A good note for you to take. We could all use a little coaching. When you're playing the game, it's sometimes hard to see it all. And if you just take a breather, take a little time out is what we're doing here in this lecture series.

Take a little time out, listen to someone's experiences, which is what I want to share with you, my experiences, my ideas, and see if it might cause for you a little moment of correction so that you can make some changes that'll add up to some extra worth in the next one year, three years, five years. So ideas, I hope you'll find here during this series. All kinds of ideas, health ideas, enterprise ideas, living the better life, ideas, and primarily for this series, skills of leadership, ideas. The next key word is inspiration. Hopefully you'll find some inspiration from this series.

Inspiration is a mystery why some people are inspired and some are not. Who knows what that mystery is? Emotional vitality. Some people have this incredible zest for life and an appetite for living well and doing well and others seem to take the ho-hum attitude, let it slide, and hopefully it'll work out anyway. I don't know what the difference of that is. But it is exciting to watch people who are inspired.

But I think the key to it all is self-motivation. Self-motivation. The guy says, boy, if somebody just come by and turn me on, hey, what if they don't show up? You've got to have a better plan for your life. Personal inspiration, drawing emotional vitality from life and the challenge, going for it. We all admire that.

Hopefully you'll find some of that as we study together. And here's what I hope you'll find also during this series. Guidelines for translating response into results. I just want to share with you some of my insights, some of my experiences. I belong to a group that does business around the world. We've discovered a lot of ways and means, methods, ideas. I just want to share that with you from my own experiences and hope that it will serve as guidelines. But I'd like for the guidelines to translate response into results.

Now, just to personal work. Now, just a personal word, I don't know where I've caught you in this particular lecture series. Maybe this is springtime for you. You've got a new opportunity going and no telling what you're going to make of it and you're all excited. I congratulate you for that. Maybe some of you've caught you in harvest time. If we knew your story, we'd let you give this lecture. I'd be happy to sit down and let you translate to us your story and your experiences and your success.

Maybe you're celebrating. And maybe this series of lectures I've come along has caught you celebrating. Maybe this is summertime for you when sometimes the going is tough and the weeds are attacking your garden and the bugs are after your values. Summertime is an interesting time. It's not that easy to last from spring till fall. Summer's a test and especially when the creditors are calling. We have a tendency to walk out in the field and say grow crop grow. They are on me. So I don't know, maybe we've caught you in a testing time. Maybe this is challenging time for you, the summertime.

Maybe I've caught you in winter. And I'm sure we've all had some of those winter times, sort of desperate times, decision-making times. Maybe I've caught you in this series at the fork of the road and some of the decisions you make in the immediate future are going to have everything to do with your next five years, ten years. And I've been to a few of those called Forks in the Road. I mean, which way do you go? What do you select now is your next path of opportunity? And maybe these are trying times for you. Winter can be a source of trial when the push is on and the press is on.

So I don't know where I've caught you, but whatever season I've caught you in, I want to bring you value. That's my intent. And to get the most from this series, let me give you just a Quick list. Here's number one, be thankful. I think first of all, to get more, we need to just be thankful for what we already have, especially living in this unbelievable country. In America, we call somebody poor that makes $10,000 a year. I'm sure the rest of the world would find that hard to imagine. See, why would you call somebody poor that makes 10,000? I don't know, or such a rich, fabulous country. It's unbelievable. In Bangladesh, the average income is $95 a year. So I'm sure they would find it strange that people would

would attend lectures on how to do better when probably were doing better than almost anybody else in the world. I gave a lecture one weekend at our ranch in Clear Lake California. Nice group of people. I get there a little bit before the Friday evening session and I can't believe the parking area. Eldoradoes and Continentals and Mercedes and one rolls Royce. Unbelievable. And I walk in and here's this good looking crowd and my opening remarks were ladies and gentlemen I think the rest of the world would find it strange that we have all come here this weekend to try to figure out how to do better. Surely the rest of the world would say, I don't understand. The man in his Rolls Roy saying,

I got to get to the seminar. Find out how to get another one of these. Incredible. But here we are, right? Probably doing well. But let's be thankful for where we are because that's how good ideas start to flow. Thanksgiving for what you've already got. Here's what blocks the flow of all good information, cynicism. It's not that difficult to be a practiced cynic, feeling cynical about circumstances, cynical about place, cynical about opportunities, cynical about people. But if we turn that around, turn cynicism into Thanksgiving, now the ideas can flow, information can flow, refinement of ideas can flow. So that's number one, be thankful. Here's number two, be eager to learn. No matter what you know, there's always

some more. Another point I'd like to make is argue later with all the stuff I'm going to share with you in this series. I wish we had time to argue it all out here, but we just don't have the time. I do like that format. There's nothing like a good powerful discussion to refine an idea. What we want is ideas that pass the test of the tough questions. And it's good to be around people who can ask the tough questions. Debate has a unique way of refining ideas that can become of value. And if we had time, to argue and debate all this stuff I'm going to share with you. I would find that beneficial, but unfortunately we don't. But here's what I ask you to do. Argue with all this stuff later. Go back over your notes and

relive the experience and think about what we've shared with you here. The key is to stimulate the mind to think thoughts and to think ideas to open up channels of information. Refinement of intellect is where the future fortune lies. But be eager to learn and the last comment is be a good listener, which isn't easy these days. Everybody wants our attention. Radio voices and television voices and advertising voices and political voices and social voices and religious voices and community voices and family voices and how do you sort through all the voices and give extra time to a voice of substance? It isn't easy. But if you'll practice the art of good listening, no telling what you can find in the way of ideas that can help change your life. All right, that's enough in preliminary.

Let me just give you the five major pieces to the life puzzle. Somebody asked me not too long ago if somebody needed help, could you categorize where they may need help into some simple steps? And I said, I think I can. And here's what I came up with, the five major pieces to the life puzzle. If we all need some help, here's probably where it's going to fall in one of these five pieces. And I'm sure you can guess what they are.

Number one's philosophy. Philosophy is simply what you know. Now to correct a couple of old cliches, What you don't know will hurt you. And to correct another one, ignorance is not bliss. Boy, it's so important to have the correct philosophy. It's so important to know. Philosophy sets the course of your life.

It is the major piece in the five major pieces of the life puzzle. This is called major. Now, some things are minor. Some things don't affect your life that much. But here are five areas that affect our life immensely. Philosophy is simply what you know. So it's important to know. I'm telling the kids these days, make sure you get the information while you're here.

I'm talking to the Newport Harbor high school kids in some lectures last year and this year. And my encouragement is make sure you get all the information while you're here. I know it's laborious. I know it isn't easy to read the books and take the classes and try to get good grades. but hey, while you're here, gather it all up. Because there's nothing worse than being stupid, right? Being broke is bad, but being stupid is what's awful. And what's really bad is being broken stupid, right?

There's nothing much worse than that. Unless you're sick, sick, broken, stupid, right? We would call that the ultimate low. I don't know anything much worse than that. Well, maybe one more. Ugly, sick, broke, and stupid. So to correct all that, here's number one. You've just got to know because what you don't know will affect your economic future the next three years, five years.

The book you miss will make a difference, right? The information you don't get will make a difference in the legacy of your equities over the next few months, the next few years. So philosophy, this is where it all begins. Now I've divided philosophy into three parts. One is basic starting out philosophy. The baby starts processing information right. away. Cold is bad, warm is good, hungry is awful, food is terrific. The baby starts reacting and processing information and having certain reactions to it. So our philosophy

starts early gathering information and reacting to it. Next is expanded philosophy. At least enough philosophy to be gainfully employed and offer a value to society and find your place in the marketplace. You know, be a reasonable, decent human being. Expanded philosophy. But now how do you become wealthy and powerful and sophisticated, influential, and unique? Simple word, refined philosophy. The refinement of philosophy. The extra studies and the extra books and the extra classes and the extra thinking, the extra pondering, the extra give and take of testing ideas and debate and discussion, that's where the extra life comes from is in the dimensions of

refined philosophy, the extra thinking. And these are the steps of intellectual discovery that a lot of people just don't want to take. Or they're too busy to take it. Or it presents itself in too strong and tough a manner, these extra skills. But I'm telling you, once you start engaging in these extra skills, you won't ever want to go back. This new intellectual discovery is where the wealth is. It's where the happiness is, the good life, influence, power. Thank you for tuning in. Continue strengthening your mind by listening to our other episodes.