Twelve Pillars

by Jim Rohn

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

“Just my luck,” he said out loud. “They can put a man on the moon and clone a sheep, but they can’t put a cell site up where I need it.”

the first Pillar of Success is to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”

The idea is that most people quit. Maybe you have given up, Michael. That is my impression anyway. With all due respect, it sounds as though you have worked hard, found that you are stuck, and perhaps have given up. Maybe it is time to stretch and to grow again.”

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

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

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.”

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

Just remember that once a flower blooms, it still needs water and sun to keep it from wilting. The work isn’t over when the color comes out.”

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.”

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.

‘Make a million dollars, not for the million dollars, but for what you will have to become to make a million dollars.’

‘You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.’

“Every day has many opportunities, but only one best opportunity.”

‘We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.’

“Michael, if you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you will fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you?” “What?” “Not much,” Charlie said with a broad grin on his face.

“Don’t join an easy crowd; you won’t grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform are high.”

you must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What effect are they having on me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And, most importantly, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay?”

“But they have been my friends for decades!” Michael argued. “Are they friends of convenience?” Charlie asked. “Friends of convenience? I don’t get it.” “I wonder if they aren’t your friends because it was easier to continue the relationship with them than it was to pursue new relationships.”

Successful people look for relationships with other successful people who will push them, challenge them, and encourage them to become better.”

‘To attract attractive people you must be attractive. To attract powerful people, you must be powerful. To attract committed people, you must be committed. Instead of going to work on them, go to work on yourself. If you become, you can attract.’

“Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune.”

‘If someone is going down the wrong path, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. He needs education to turn him around.

“There are a few mainstays to learning that anyone can use to improve their lives. The first is to read books. The second is to learn from successful people by observation. And the third is to constantly reflect on your own experiences and learn what went right and what went wrong.”

You see, when we read books, we open ourselves to vast new worlds to explore and understand. Have you ever wanted to sit down and have dinner with great leaders or famous thinkers? You can when you read their books. You open yourself to new ideas, and new ideas are the seeds that grow in our hearts and minds, and when applied, become our achievements and successes.

“One key to having influence with others is to have others perceive you as a person of talent and virtue.”

And do you know the best way to have people perceive you as a person of talent and virtue?” “No, what?” “Be a person of talent and virtue.” Charlie chuckled out loud at his own joke.

If you are going to sell a product, you have to know it, believe in it, and feel it. And the same is true if you are selling yourself.

“What you become directly influences what you get.”

‘Work full time on your job and part time on your fortune.’

“Communication is two or more people working together to find the common ground of understanding. And when they find that common ground, they are positioned to have tremendous power together.”

‘Communication isn’t just what you say. It is also how you say it, when you say it, and the receptiveness of who you say it to. And that’s just the half of it. The other half is making sure you really listen.’

“To lead others is to help them change their thoughts, beliefs and actions for the better.”

‘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.’

‘Learn to help people with more than just their jobs: help them with their lives.’ Great leaders are interested in people in general, not just for what they can get from them.”

‘Great leaders have optimistic vision,’ he says. A leader knows where they are, that’s realism. But they also know how to get to a better destination. That is an optimistic vision.”

“Live a life that will help others spiritually, intellectually, physically, financially, and relationally. Live a life that serves as an example of what an exceptional life can look like.”

we all have two choices as we live: We can make a living or we can design a life. There are many who spend their lives making a living. They go off to work each day with no vision for what their lives could become. And before they know it, their lives are over. And some are so fearful that the dreams they do have will forever go unfulfilled because they never have the courage to take a risk that would enable them to reach their goals and live their dreams.