Twelve Pillars

by Jim Rohn

They were small steps, but they were steps in the right direction.

He looked toward the house, wondering if he would ever see any of the Davis family, perhaps even Mr. Davis himself. This day, however, he saw no one.

“Pillar number two is Total Well-Being. Mr. Davis believes in what he calls ‘three-dimensional health.’

He thinks that a person is made up of three parts: the body, the soul, and the spirit. Three dimensions.”

interdependent.”

“You have some people who work on their physical health.

neglect.

Have you ever noticed that some people take better care of their pets than they do themselves? Their animals can run like the wind, but they can barely make it up a flight of stairs.

Mr. Davis believes that you function best when you live in balance. Are you in balance, Michael?”

Not bad, he thought. “Well, I am in pretty good shape. I could work out a bit more.”

“Cat got your tongue?”

Mr. Davis says that it is like a three-layered onion. You peel each layer back until you get to the core. The spiritual is at the core, and it is the most important. Then the second layer is the soul, and the outer layer is the physical—the body.

“Yes, sure did. Went to church every week.” “There you go. Start there. Read good material that will help you reflect on your spiritual life. That’s a good place to start. What about the physical?” “I don’t get much time to exercise.”

“You need to start. Even if it is just a half-hour a day. You’re married, right?”

Mr. Davis always says that we should take good care of our body because it is the only place we have to live.”

“Yes, Michael, you should make sure that the outside of you is a good reflection of the inside of you. If you focus on improving all of these three areas—the body, soul, and spirit—you will see that each one will get stronger, and the stronger they get, the stronger they will make the others. It all ties together. That’s Pillar Two.”

“Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.”

The third Pillar of Success is to make the most of the Gift of Relationships.”

“Mr. Davis likes to say that the greatest gift the Grand Designer gives is the gift of other people. Yes, relationships can be hard, but they are also what the joy of life is made of.”

relationships represent the most beautiful highs of life as well as some of the most tormented lows of life.

‘Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing and growing.’ ”

“You mean, like my whole family, or my family as in my wife and kids?” “Tell me about them all.” “Well, let’s see. My mom and dad are both dead. My dad was a normal guy. Worked hard. Didn’t make much money. Kind of a boring life. Mom was great, but simple. She didn’t want for much or push dad much. It was basically a simple life growing up. No excitement or drama either way. I always kind of hoped I would grow up and get much more out of life.”

“And is the relationship great?” “You ask too many questions,” Michael deadpanned. “No, the relationship isn’t great. It used to be. Amy and I were so in love. We had dreams. We were excited to set out on our own. And then we just fell into life. Work was hard, we had kids, we let things slip, and we woke up one day wondering who the other person was.”

“Yes, like a garden. The weeds crept in. Michael, this is why it is good to be here, in the garden. You see, relationships are the backbone of our existence. We need to cultivate them as best we can. When you are on your deathbed, you want your family there with you, sending you on your journey. That is the sign of an excellent life. You can gain every possession in the world, but if you lose your relationships, what good has your life been? No, instead, you must tend to your relationships. Like this garden.”

This plot of ground we are standing on could be one of two things: the beautiful thing that it is or a collection of weeds.

Maybe three, if you count completely barren.

Left to itself, it would be weeds. But with some care and work, with a little imagination thrown in for good measure, it has become something bea...

“Of course, it’s hard, Michael. Life is hard. Success is hard. If you want easy, you can have it, but you won’t get much of anything else, especially not anything of value. That which is valuable is hard to get. That is why so few go for it. Do you think that tending to these gardens is easy? No. But they sure look great when you get them done. And they provide enjoyment. And the neat thing is that once you get them up and running, then the maintenance is easier to keep them going. If you let them get bad, boy, watch out. Lots of work then.”

“Don’t despair, Michael, you can still pull it out. Let’s give you a plan for tending to that garden you have at home. Remember that I said that it takes time, effort, and imagination?”

Time, effort, and imagination.”

“Let’s start with time. Spend more time with Amy. Spend more time with the kids. Spend more time with your friends. Remember, life is always about the relationships, and the way to build relationships is by giving them time.”

“I always thought it was quality time, not quantity time,”

“It is both, Michael. You need to spend time with someone if you want a relationship with them. And the time you spend must be quality. The more and the better the time, the better the relationship. If you are like most young people today, you are running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off, never spending time with that wife of yours—or the kids. They need you to be there, Michael.”

When I read this paragraph I miss my babe so much <3 I love you <3

“But it is hard with work and other responsibilities,”

hermit.”

plain-old

What about imagination?” “Imagination just means that you have to see with your imagination what the relationship could be. Use your imagination to take Amy out for a date like you used to. Use your imagination to plan a fantastic vacation for your family. Use the creativity that you use on the job to be successful in your family.”

When you have imagination - You will see your life brighter.

“And you have the weeds to show for it. Now, you have to go. But here is your assignment: The next time you come back here, I want to hear about this garden you are growing through time, effort, and imagination.”

Michael stuck his hand out, and Charlie took it. They shook hands firmly as Michael looked Charlie in

“The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it.”

gravel parking

A true hole-in-the-wall diner.

“Goals? That may be my problem. I guess I don’t have any goals.” “That may be why you are achieving what you are achieving then.”

“Here it goes: Write it down.” “I don’t have a pen.” Charlie laughed. “No, that’s the advice: Write it down. Write your goal down.”

“Think about it, Michael. It does two things. First, in order to write it down, it means you have to have a goal in the first place, which, at this point, would be a great start for you. Secondly, there is a power in writing your goal down. It brings it into reality. One of the best things you can do is to write down one hundred things you want to accomplish before you die. Just the process of deciding what they are is powerful, but when you get them written down, watch out, because now you are likely to achieve them.”

“Because now your mind is cognitively aware of them. Your mind then gets to work achieving them. That should be your first goal: to write down your one hundred goals.”

“Here is something else Mr. Davis teaches that is important, Michael. He says that 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 the goal you achieve. Mr. Davis always says, ‘Make a million dollars, not for the million dollars, but for what you will have to become to make a million dollars.’ That’s pretty good advice.”

“So the real goal is to let the goal make me a better person?” “That’s exactly it, Michael.”

“Well, as Mr. Davis also says frequently, ‘You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.’

“Start by changing your direction. You are where you are, but you don’t have to stay there. Choose where you want to go, and then build out your plan for getting there.”