13 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

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13 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

February 16, 2016 • By Jim Rohn |

How dramatically we can change our results is largely a function of imagination.

In 1960, it was a technological impossibility for man to travel into outer space. However, within 10 years, we traveled into outer space. The miraculous process of converting that dream into reality began when one voice challenged the scientific community to do whatever was necessary to see to it that America “places a man in space by the end of this decade.” That challenge awakened the spirit of a nation by planting the seed of possible future achievement into the fertile soil of imagination.

Related: ‘What You Think, You Become’

With that one bold challenge, the impossible became a reality.

The same principle applies to every other area of our life.

Can a poor person become wealthy? Of course! The unique combination of desire, planning, effort and perseverance will always work its magic. The question is not whether the formula for success will work, but rather whether the person will work the formula. That is the unknown variable. That is the challenge that confronts us all.

We can all go from wherever we are to wherever we want to be. No dream is impossible provided we first have the courage to believe in it.

Here is how you can do that—13 ways to improve your life:

1. Face your fears.
That’s how you conquer them. Don’t dismiss them; face them. Say, Here’s what I’m afraid of. I wonder what I could do to change that. Face your fears today.

2. Exercise your willpower to change direction.
You don’t have to keep doing what you’ve been doing the last six years if it’s not yielding the benefits you want. Pick a new destination and go that way. Use your willpower to start the process. You don’t have to repeat last year. Clean up the errors. Invest it now in the next year. Watch it make the difference.

3. Admit your mistakes.
Sometimes you have to admit them to others. Here’s one of the best phrases in the English language: “I’m sorry.” Those words could start a whole new relationship. They could start two people going in a whole new direction. Admit your mistakes to yourself. You don’t have to babble about them to everyone in the neighborhood. But it doesn’t hurt you to sit down and have a conversation with yourself and say, There’s no use kidding myself. Here’s where I really am. I’ve got pennies in my pocket and I’ve got nothing in the bank. That’s what I said after a Girl Scout left my door. I had a conversation with myself and I said, I don’t want this to happen anymore.

Related: Ziglar: 3 Things to Do When You Make a Mistake

4. Refine your goals.
Start the process. Set some higher goals. Reach for some higher purpose. Go for something beyond what you thought you could do.

5. Believe in yourself.
You’ve got to believe in the possibilities. You’ve got to believe that tomorrow can be better than today. Believe in yourself. There isn’t a skill you can’t learn; there isn’t a discipline you can’t try; there isn’t a class you can’t take; there isn’t a book you couldn’t read.

6. Ask for wisdom.
Ask for wisdom that creates answers. Ask for wisdom to deal with the challenges for today and tomorrow. Don’t wish it was easier; wish you were better.

7. Conserve your time.
Sometimes we get faked out. Motivational speaker Bill Bailey says the average person says, “I’ve got 20 more years.” But Bill says you’ve got 20 more times. If you go fishing once a year, you’ve only got 20 more times to go fishing, not 20 years. That fakes you out.

8. Invest your profits.
Here’s one of the philosophies that my mentor, Earl Shoaff, gave me: Profits are better than wages. Wages make you a living, profits make you a fortune. Could we start earning profits while we make a living? The answer is yes.

9. Live with intensity
You might as well turn it up a notch or two. Invest more of you in whatever you do. Be a little stronger; be a little wiser. Step up your vitality contribution. Put everything you’ve got into everything you do and then ask for more vitality, more strength and more vigor, more heart and more soul.

10. Find your place.
If you just work at a job, find the best place you can serve well, and sure enough they’ll ask you to occupy a better place. Keep doing a job well; do the very best you can. That’s your best way out.

11. Demand integrity from yourself.
Integrity is like loyalty. You can’t demand it of someone else; you can only demand it of yourself. Be the best example of loyalty and you’ll get loyal followers. Be the best example of integrity and you’ll have people around you who have integrity. Lead the way.

12. Welcome the disciplines.
I can’t give you much better advice than that because disciplines create reality. Disciplines build cities. A well-disciplined activity creates abundance, uniqueness and productivity.

13. Fight for what’s right.
It’s extraordinary to be able to say: “I fought for my kids; I fought for what was right; I fought for good health; I fought to protect my company; I fought for a good career that would bless my family. I fought a good fight.” It’s good to fight the encroachment. Opposites are in conflict and you’re in the middle. If you want something valuable, you’ve got to fight for it.

Related: John C. Maxwell: It Only Takes 6 Steps to Change Your Life

4 Powerful Little Words That Make Life Worthwhile

August 16, 2021 • By Jim Rohn |

1. Life is worthwhile if you learn. You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. What you don’t know will hurt you. So you have to learn from your own experiences—negative or positive. We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong—we call that a positive negative. We also learn from other people’s experiences, both positive and negative, too. I’ve always said that it is too bad failures don’t give seminars. Obviously, we don’t want to pay them so they aren’t usually touring around giving seminars. But that information would be very valuable—we would learn how someone who had it all messed it up. Learning from other people’s adventures and mistakes is valuable information because we can learn what not to do without the pain of having tried and failed ourselves. We learn by what we see, so pay attention. We learn by what we hear, so be a good listener. (Now, I do suggest that you should be a selective listener; don’t just let anybody dump into your mental factory.) We learn from what we read, so open a book (or two or three). Learn from lectures. Learn from songs. Learn from sermons. Learn from conversations with people who care. Always keep learning. Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins. 2. Life is worthwhile if you try. You can’t just learn. Now you have to try something to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference. Try to make some progress. Try to learn a new skill, or a new sport. It doesn’t mean you can do everything, but there are a lot of things you can do, if you just try. Why not go all out? Try your best. Give it every effort. How long should you try? Until. 3. Life is worthwhile if you stay. You have to stay from spring until harvest. What does that mean? If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the project, see it through. Sometimes calamity comes and then it is worth wrapping it up—and that’s the end. But just don’t end in the middle. Maybe on the next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, stay until it’s finished—and always leave it better than you found it. Some people plant in the spring and leave in the summer. If you’ve signed up for a season, see it through. You don’t have to stay forever, but at least stay until you see it through. 4. Life is worthwhile if you CARE. If you care at all, you will get some results. If you care enough, you can get incredible results. Care enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to change it all. Care enough to be the highest producer. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to win. The more you care, the stronger you can be.

This Is How You Leave a Legacy

February 17, 2017 • By Jim Rohn |

Jim Rohn, the philosopher who has left an indelible legacy of time-proven principles and wisdom, shares his secret for making an impact. “You know me, I am a philosopher. I love principles. Yes, actions are great and I talk about them regularly, but the important stuff is what lies underneath—the principles,” Rohn says. Related: Where Do You See Yourself in 10 Years? Here are the principles he says we must commit to in order to leave the legacy we desire: 1. Life is best lived in service to others. This doesn’t mean that we do not strive for the best for ourselves. It does mean that in all things we serve other people, including our family, co-workers and friends. 2. Consider others’ interests as important as your own. Much of the world suffers simply because people consider only their own interests. People are looking out for number one, but the way to leave a legacy is to also look out for others. 3. Love your neighbor even if you don’t like him. It is interesting that Jesus told us to love others. But he never tells us to like them. Liking people has to do with emotions. Loving people has to do with actions. And what you will find is that when you love them and do good by them, you will more often than not begin to like them. 4. Maintain integrity at all costs. There are very few things you take to the grave with you. The number one thing is your reputation and good name. When people remember you, you want them to think, “She was the most honest person I knew. What integrity.” There are always going to be temptations to cut corners and break your integrity. Do not do it. Do what is right all of the time, no matter what the cost. 5. You must risk in order to gain. In just about every area of life you must risk in order to gain the reward. In love, you must risk rejection in order to ask that person out for the first time. In investing you must place your capital at risk in the market in order to receive the prize of a growing bank account. When we risk, we gain. And when we gain, we have more to leave for others. 6. You reap what you sow. In fact, you always reap more than you sow—you plant a seed and reap a bushel. What you give you get. What you put into the ground then grows out of the ground. If you give love you will receive love. If you give time, you will gain time. It is one of the truest laws of the universe. Decide what you want out of life and then begin to sow it. 7. Hard work is never a waste. No one will say, “It is too bad he was such a good, hard worker.” But if you aren’t they will surely say, “It’s too bad he was so lazy—he could have been so much more!” Hard work will leave a grand legacy. Give it your all on your trip around the earth. You will do a lot of good and leave a terrific legacy. 8. Don’t give up when you fail. Imagine what legacies would have never existed if someone had given up. How many thriving businesses would have been shut down if they quit at their first failure? Everyone fails. It is a fact of life. But those who succeed are those who do not give up when they fail. They keep going and build a successful life—and a legacy. 9. Don’t ever stop in your pursuit of a legacy. Many people have accomplished tremendous things later on in life. There is never a time to stop in your pursuit of a legacy. Sometimes older people will say, “I am 65. I’ll never change.” That won’t build a great life! No, there is always time to do more and achieve more, to help more and serve more, to teach more and to learn more. Keep going and growing that legacy! These are core principles to live by if you want to become the kind of person who leaves a lasting legacy. This post originally appeared on http://success.com. Photo by Nathan McBride / Unsplash