Twelve Pillars

by Jim Rohn

My answer is simply this: to leave a legacy.

In that moment, when a light dawns, miracles happen! That is my “why.”

Michael, Charlie, and Mr. Davis.

As you master these Pillars of Success, take them and create your own legacy as you then in turn teach and train others in the same way, so that you, too, may have the exploding satisfaction that you’ve used your gifts wisely, that you’ve blessed yourself, your family, community, and your business along this journey that life sets before us all. To

“The only way things are going to change for you is when you change.”

“Crud!”

His hand hit the dashboard as he said it. “I can’t stand this car!” That about sums up Michael Jones’s lif...

Forty years old, a wife of fifteen years he doesn’t know how to connect with, and two kids he barely knows. Add to that a boring job that doesn’t challenge him...

Out of college, he and his wife, Amy, had been so fi...

But now they were nowhere near where they had hoped to be.

They had grown apart through the years, and he had no idea how to fix it. The kids are great but, again, there was just no connection with them like he thought “normal” families should have.

He was on his way to a sales call and he had never taken this road before.

He flipped the phone open and saw the worst—no cell coverage there!

Frustrated, alone, and stuck. That’s how he felt right now. About this situation and life in general.

wrought-iron fence

It was a white plantation-style that had twelve two-story pillars across the front—which made sense since the sign at the side of the gate said, “Twelve Pillars.”

snapped back to reality

When he got about 25 feet from the gate, the old man spoke, “Can I help you, young man?”

He was obviously the caretaker for the mansion.

“Wow,” Michael replied. “He must have a lot of money.”

“Yep, it’s something alright. But Mr. Davis isn’t just about money. He prides himself on being successful in everything in life. Life is more than just money.”

“I can see that, but Mr. Davis was successful before he got his money. In fact, do you see those pillars along the front of the house? Each one represents a different area of success that Mr. Davis says is important for life. He built the house that way to represent his philosophy on life.”

“I am sure you could be if you wanted to,”

“Well, I have given it my best shot the last 18 years, and it doesn’t seem to have done much.”

“You’ve worked hard, have you?” Charlie asked. “I have worked very hard—harder than most. I work long hours, work overtime, everything.” “That may be your problem,” Charlie suggested. “Working ...

“No, working hard isn’t a problem in and of itself, but Mr. Davis always says that the first Pillar of Success is to work harder ...

The first one he talks about is Personal Development.

Success comes when you develop yourself beyond where you currently are. So you have to work harder on yourself—improving yourself—than you do on your job.”

keep your nose to the grindstone,

So you can work as hard as you want, long hours and everything, but as long as you stay at the same skill level, you will never go beyond that level of pay and promotion.”

“So how do I get ahead?” “You start working on yourself.”

The key is to become a better salesman

The way to do that is not to put in five more hours of work on your job. It is to start putting more work into yourself, Michael. Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”

“Read books, attend seminars, study the best salespeople. And then apply the information. Implement what you learn. Work on integrating the ideas into your everyday work. That way, when you make the same ten sales calls each day, you get more sales because you are a better salesman.”

“I’m just telling you what Mr. Davis says. Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. Develop yourself.”

Human beings, on the other hand, have been given the dignity of choice. They can choose to be all, or they can choose to be less. Why not stretch up to the full measure of the challenge and see all you can do?’

Maybe it is time to stretch and to grow again.”

What do I owe you for the gas?”

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Consider it a gift from Mr. Davis.”

“Mr. Davis says that the only way things are going to change for you is when you change. What are you going to change that will in turn change your life? If you keep on living like the way you are now, you will continue to produce the same life that you already have. That’s the way it works.”

He handed Michael a business card that simply said “Charlie” on it, with a number.

“Get that gas gauge fixed,” Charlie said with a grin.

pull away.

Charlie stood and watched Michael drive away. Nice boy, he thought. I hope he does come again. He has potential, but he also has some troubles and he needs the help.

“You should make sure that the outside of you is a good reflection of the inside of you.”

Certainly life hadn’t changed overnight, but he had been thinking about Charlie’s words about changing himself and making himself better ever since that day Charlie challenged him.

complacent.

He was blaming circumstances rather than taking responsibility for hims...

But he was determined to change ...

Michael had written down a list of ten things about his life that he knew he could cha...