Loading summary
A
So if I had a word with you tonight, one on one, just you and me, I think my personal advice to you would be this year, reach down inside of you and come up with some more of those remarkable human gifts. They're there waiting to be utilized. And then change. Anything for you. You want to change, and I challenge you to do that, because you can change. If you don't like how it is for you, change it. If. If it doesn't suit you, change it. If it doesn't please you, change it. If it isn't enough, change it. And I challenge you to do that, because you can change. See, you don't ever have to be the same again after tonight. Only by choice. If you don't like your present address, change it. You're not a tree. Now, let me give you three steps to personal development. Let's get down to the nitty gritty. What does it take to really make the changes starting tomorrow? It takes more than philosophical pronouncement. I know that. It also takes more than enthusiasm. I know we're hearing a lot about enthusiasm these days, but see, that just won't do the job. We're still here on the old cliches of the 30s, right? To be enthusiastic, you must act enthusiastic. But see, that's not going to help after you have leaped about. There are some things you got to do or it isn't going to change. See, you can get all excited about lifting £200 till you get to the gym. And then you need a new excitement. And the new excitement is called discipline. Major step to human progress. Discipline. If there's one thing to get excited over, that's it. Get excited over your ability to make yourself do the necessary things. What could you make yourself do starting tomorrow that would change at all? No telling. Now, see, that's exciting. On any given day, you can massively change the direction of your life. Murder is a clear example that any one person on any given day can forever alter the course of their life. It just happens to be a negative act. But just as sure as you can commit a negative act, you can also commit a positive act and forever alter your life whenever you wish. Now that's exciting. And whatever that act might be that changes your life. The guy finally takes a shotgun to his car and blows out every window, destroys every tire, puts a hundred rounds in this shabby old thing. And he says, I have driven this embarrassing thing for the last time, and not only will I never drive it again, nobody else will ever drive it again. And he lets that shuddering Thing stand there for a while as a monument to the day. He said, today my life changes. Now, who can do that? Anybody? When can you do it? Whatever day you pick. Now, here's the key to discipline. Start with the little disciplines. Get excited over the little disciplines and get right on those because those will lead to the big ones. You can't handle the big challenges in life unless you take on the little ones. Make a list of all the things you can do. Get right on those. Discipline yourself for those. Those both for the results and for the muscle and for the practice. So that when life hands you some big challenges, you'll be ready. You'll have the muscle. But see, if you don't handle the small ones, you can't take care of the big ones. Okay, here's what else it takes for life change. Self motivation. Key phrase self motivation. I don't know why we call it self motivation. It's really the only kind there is. You got to motivate yourself. Because I found out you can't change people. They can change themselves, but you can't change them. Lord knows some I've tried, but see, it won't work. People have to change themselves. I learned some of those lessons early. I built a little sales organization way back in those early days. I'm 25 and I had some nice people. I said, I'm going to make these people successful if it kills me. I almost died. I mean, you can't do that. See, I've discovered this. Good people are not trained, they're found. You find good people, you don't make them good, you find them good. Training really is for the purpose of finding good people. You don't need much instruction for a good person. Too much training probably means you got the wrong people. So you got to find the right people. That's the key to getting a good job done. One of the major things we learn in management. Lesson one, don't send your ducks to eagle school. Because it won't help. I mean, I'm telling you, it won't help. No matter how good your school is and the little eagle badge and little eagle hat. I'm telling you, it won't help. It won't help. You can tell whether your school's done any good, right? Is when it's over, right? The duck goes for his first rabbit and makes him a friend. You say, no, no, no. Anyway, so it takes self motivation to really alter your life. And you don't want to give self motivation away to somebody else and make it somebody else. Motivating you. The guy says, boy, if somebody just come by and turn me on, what if they don't show up? See, you got to have a better plan for your life, okay? Now, if you're excited, you're ready to change. Let me give you three steps to start life. Change that can change your life. Your personality, your lifestyle, everything can change. Here's the steps. Number one, find out how things work. The first key to doing better is find out. To change your life, really, you need ideas. There isn't anything an idea can't change. And Shoaff taught me the major problem is lack of an idea. Not a problem. At first, I didn't have any money. I said to Mr. Shoaff, I don't have any money. He said, that's not a problem. Now, see, up until then, I always thought it was, right? I was confused. He said, no, no. The problem is lack of an idea on how to create money and wealth. It isn't lack of money, it's lack of ideas. So if you get the idea, see, you can change anything. Now, to get ideas, you need a constant study of finding out. Now, Shof also said, when you find out something that works, put the information in your journal. Don't use your head for a filing cabinet. Put it in your journal so that you can do the next best thing. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Go over it, and if you repeat it, go over it. Sure enough, someday, some mysterious day, the idea takes root, starts to grow, and shows up in your bank account and your dress and your personality and your lifestyle. But capture the ideas in your journal. Find out how things work. Shoaff gave me this word for my life. Change. He said, study. Great word. If you wish to be successful, study success. If you wish to be happy, study happiness. If you wish to be wealthy, study wealth. Don't leave it to chance. Make it a study. Some people just go through the day with their fingers crossed. See, that won't do it. You've got to study the things that can change your economic, social, spiritual, personal life. Now, here's a qualifying phrase. And we'll have several of these qualifying phrases throughout the seminar. Here's the first one. You may not be able to do all you find out. I understand that you may not be able to do all you find out, but you should find out all you can do. See, you don't want to wind up at the end of your life and discover that you've lived only one tenth of it and the other nine, ten went down the drain. Not for lack of opportunity. For lack of information. So that's number one. Find out how things work. Now here's the best human virtue for finding out. Curiosity. Make a note of that curiosity. Be curious. You might add a word to it. That'll help. Childish curiosity. What will kids do if they want to know something bad enough? Bug you? That's the phrase. They can ask a thousand questions. You think they're through, they got another thousand. They'll drive you to the brink. It's a virtue when you got to know. Be like a child. In fact, Jesus, the Master teacher said, unless you can become like little children, you might as well forget it. You don't have a prayer. Excellent advice. You got to be like children. Four ways, in my opinion, to be like a child. Number one's curiosity. Number two is excitement. Get excited like a child over your ability to make yourself do anything for change. Third is faith. Have faith like a child. Adults are too skeptical. And fourth is trust. Trust is a childish virtue, but the rewards are incredible. So be like a child. Now, if you're curious, let me give you three ways to find out how to change anything. Any life direction, any dimension. Here's three ways to find out how to change anything. Number one is to read. Become a good reader. All of the successful people I know and work with around the world, they're all good readers. Curiosity drives them to read. They got to know. They just read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read. Become a good reader. Now, that's my opinion. Listen to the other lecturers and listen to me and make up your own mind. Don't be a follower. Be a student. Okay? I say, really, for life change, you got to read. One way to learn is from your own experiences. But another way to learn is from other people's experiences. See, one book might save you five years if you read it. Did you know there's books on how to be stronger, more decisive, Be a speaker, be a leader, have a better effect on other people? Develop your personality. Did you know there's books on that and people don't read them? How would you explain that? And they can read. Did you know that hundreds of successful people have written their stories in books and they wrote down how they did it and people don't read it. How would you explain that? The guy's busy, I guess. You know, you get tied up. The guy says, well, yeah, you work where I work. By the time you struggle home, it's late, you got to eat a bite of supper, watch a little tv, get to bed. You can't sit up half the night reading, reading, reading, reading. And the guy's behind on his car payment. Good worker, hard worker, sincere. But you got to be better than sincere and work hard. Otherwise, at the end of your life, you'll wind up cold, stony broke. You got to be better than a good worker. You got to be a good reader. My opinion?
Podcast: JIM ROHN TALKS
Host: Jim Rohn
Date: August 24, 2021
In this episode, Jim Rohn delivers a deeply personal and motivating message focused on the power of change, self-discipline, and personal development. Speaking directly to listeners, Rohn offers timeless guidance on how to unlock human potential and take actionable steps toward a better life. The episode is rich with practical steps, memorable anecdotes, and Rohn's signature wit and wisdom on personal growth.
Rohn identifies four childlike traits essential for growth:
"Unless you can become like little children, you might as well forget it. You don't have a prayer." (12:58)
— Attributing this wisdom to both himself and referencing Jesus as a 'Master teacher'.
True to Jim Rohn’s style, the episode is conversational, warm, and relatable. Rohn speaks directly and candidly, using everyday metaphors, humor, and memorable analogies to break down complex concepts into actionable guidance.