Rohn - 7 strategies for wealth & happiness: power ideas from Americas foremost business philosopher

As one of todays most respected speakers, Jim Rohn appears annually in front of dozens of audiences ranging from civic and church groups to sales organizations and Fortune 500 companies.

If you, too, would like to have your organization experience Jim Rohn, write to: Jim Rohn International; 2835 Exchange Boulevard, Suite 200; South Lake, TX 76092. (800) 929-0434 FAX (817) 442-1390 www.jimrohn.com

Jim Rohns presentation to our dealers and company people was outstanding. Every single person attending was motivated to action.

Standard Oil Ltd., Australia

I wish to extend my deep gratitude to the editorial staff at Prima for preparing my Manuscript and turning it into the book it is today.

Shortly after I turned twenty-five I met a man by the name of Earl Shoaff. Little did I know how this encounter would change my life

Up until then my life had been embarrassingly typical of the vast majority of people who lead gray lives of little achievement and even less happiness. I did have a wonderful start, growing up in the loving environment of a small farming community in southwestern Idaho, just a short walk from the shores of the Snake River. When I left home I was filled with the hope of carving for myself a good-sized chunk of the American dream.

However, things did not turn out quite as Id expected. After graduating from high school I promptly went to college. But at the end of one year I decided I was smart enough, so I quit. This turned out to be a major mistake one of many major mistakes I would make during those early days. But I was impatient to work and to earn, figuring I wouldnt have any trouble getting a job, which turned out to be accurate. Getting a job wasnt hard. (I was yet to understand the difference between merely making a living and making a life.)

Shortly afterward, I got married. And like the typical husband, I made my wife lots of promises about the wonderful future which I knew was just around the corner. After all, I was ambitious, I was very sincere about my desire to succeed, and I did work hard. Success was assured!

Or so I thought

When I turned twenty-five, I had been working for six years, so I decided to take stock of my progress. I had a nagging suspicion that things werent going quite right. My weekly paycheck amounted to a grand total of fifty-seven dollars. I was far behind in my promises and even further behind with the growing pile of bills strewn across our rickety kitchen table.

By now I was a father saddled with ever-growing responsibilities for my expanding family. But most of all I realized that gradually I had settled into quietly accepting my meager lot.

In a moment of honesty I began to see that rather than making progress I was falling further behind financially with each passing day. Something clearly had to change but what?

Maybe hard work alone doesnt do it, I thought to myself. This, for me, was a shocking realization, raised as I was to believe that reward comes to those who earn their living by the sweat of their brow.

But it was plain as day that although I was sweatin plenty, I was on my way to ending up at age sixty like so many people I saw around me: broke and in need of assistance.

This terrified me. I couldnt face that kind of future. Not in this, the richest country in the world!

Still, I had more questions than answers. What should I do? How could I change the direction of my life?

I thought about going back to school. Only one year of college doesnt look good on a job application. But with a family to look after, going back to school seemed impractical.

Then I thought about starting a business. Now that was an exciting option! But, of course, I didnt have the needed capital. After all, money was one of my biggest problems; I always had far too much month left over at the end of the money. (Have you ever been in that position?)

One day, I lost ten dollars. It upset me so much that I felt physically ill for two weeks over a ten-dollar bill!

One of my friends tried to cheer me up. Look, Jim, he said, maybe some poor soul who needed it found it.

But believe me, that did not cheer me up. As far as I was concerned I was the person who needed to find ten dollars, not lose it. (I must admit that at that time in my life benevolence had not yet seized me.)

So thats where I was at age twenty-five behind on my dreams without a clue as to how to change my life for the better.

Then one day good fortune came my way. Why did it appear at this point in my life? Why do good things happen when they do? I really dont know. For me, this is part of the mystery of life

Anyway, my good fortune came when I met a man a very special person by the name of Earl Shoaff. I first saw him at a sales conference where he was conducting a seminar. I cannot tell you what he said that evening that captivated me so, but I can still remember thinking to myself that I would give anything to be like him.

At the end of the seminar it took all the courage I could muster to just walk up to him and introduce myself. But in spite of my fumbling, he must have seen my desire to succeed. He was kind and generous and eventually took a liking to me. A few months later he hired me to join his sales organization.

For the next five years I learned many of lifes lessons from Mr. Shoaff. He treated me like a son, spending hours teaching me his personal philosophy, which I now call the Seven Strategies for Wealth and Happiness.

Then one day, at age forty-nine, and without any warning, Mr. Shoaff died.

After mourning the loss of my mentor, I took some time to assess the impact hed had on my life. I realized that the best thing Id received from him was not a job or even the opportunity to grow from a sales trainee to executive vice-president of his company. Rather, it was what Id learned from the wisdom of his philosophy of life and his fundamentals for successful living: how to be wealthy, how to be happy.

During the next few years I incorporated his ideas into my life and I prospered. In fact, I made a great deal of money. But the most gratifying experience was sharing those ideas with my business associates and employees. The response was enthusiastic and the results immediate and measurable.