Jim Rohn: Your Philosophy

Now, I used to think of the circumstances that ordered my life. If someone would have asked me at age 25, Mr. Rohn! How come you are not doing well?  pennies in your pocket, creditors are calling, nothing in the bank, behind on your promises to your family, you live in America, 25 years old, got a beautiful family every reason to do well, and things are not going that well for you, what is wrong here? It would not have occurred to me to blame my philosophy. I mean it would not have occurred to me say I have got this lousy philosophy and that’s how come I have got pennies in my pocket, nothing in the bank, things aren’t working well. That would not have occurred to me. I found it much easier to blame the government; Much easier to blame the tax problem. I used to say taxes are too high. Top tax rate when I first started paying taxes: 91 percent. Back then, when your income reached a certain level, all your income over that, 91 percent. So I used to say that is too high. Now the tax, top tax rate is about 33 percent. But people are still saying what? Taxes are too high. See, but you can’t use that anymore, if it has gone from 91 to 33, how could it be too high? Come on!  I threw all that old excuse stuff away, some people found it though and they are using it these days. My old list, I used to blame the traffic, the weather, I used to blame the circumstances, right. People say I am too tall, I am too short, I’m too old, I was raised in obscurity, I was raised in a farm, parents of modest means; all the stuff. If you would have asked me how come you find yourself here Mr. Rohn, age 25 living in America, the land of abundance and opportunity, pennies, zero in the bank, not doing well, creditors calling, it would not have occurred to me to blame my philosophy. I found it easier to blame the company; Company policy. I used to say if this is all they pay, how do they expect you to do well? So I figured that my future was going to be tied to whatever everybody else was arranging, the economy, and right, interest rates, I used to say things cost too much. That was my whole explanation. Not my philosophy, until my teacher taught me that this is where the problem was, my old personal philosophy. Here is what’s exciting about each person’s personal philosophy. That is what makes us different than dogs and animals and birds and cats and spiders and alligators. That is what makes us different than all of the other life forms, the ability to think, the ability to use your mind, the ability to process ideas and not just operate by instinct. In the winter I am telling you the goose can only fly south. What if south doesn’t look too good? Tough luck! It can only fly south. But see human beings are not like a goose that can only fly south. I mean you can turn around go north you can go east you can go west you can order the entire process of your own life and we do that, by the way we thing we do that. By exercising our mind we do that. By processing ideas and come up with a better philosophy, a better strategy for our life; Goals for the future; Ok? Plans to achieve those goals; all this comes from developing our philosophy. Philosophy helps us to process what’s available. Well when we get here we have got seed and we have got soil and we have got some rain and we have got some what? Sunshine and we have got some seasons and what the miracle of life. Now the key is what do you do with all this stuff? How do you turn all this stuff that is available here into equity and promise and life style and dreams and future, possibilities, all the list that’s possible I mean how do you take all of this stuff and turn it into this equities and values ? Well, it starts with philosophy. What is the seed? What is the soil? What is the sunshine? What is the rain? Is it possible to take some of each of all the stuff that’s available and turn it into food and turn it into value and turn it into nourishment, turn it into something spectacular, unique that no other life form can do and the answer is yes. But you cannot deal with all this stuff and what to do with it unless you start refining your philosophy. Think use your mind, come up with ideas. And strengthen your philosophy. So the seed and the soil and the rain and the sunshine and this is called you know the economy and the banks and the money and the schools and everything that’s available out there, processing information what to do with all that and turn it into equity and value. That is the major challenge of life; my personal opinion. So each person’s personal philosophy now is going to determine what you are going to do with seed and soil and sunshine and rain the miracle the change of seasons. That is it; my personal opinion. Each person’s personal philosophy is like the set of the sail. That is what the seminar is for today. Help …

In Brief:
Each person’s personal philosophy is going to determine what you are going to do with what's available out there. Each person’s personal philosophy is like the set of the sail.

JIM ROHN: FOUR WHYS

I want you to ponder these four questions:

Here is the first one and that’s “why”.  Why pay the price? Why work this hard? Why go this far? Why try to learn this much? Why try to do it all? Why try to see it all? Why try to have it all? Why do it? Why learn it? Why study? Why put yourself out? Why try to take on this much responsibility? Why develop yourself to the full? Why try to become all that you can possibly become? Why try to earn as much as you can earn? Share as much as you can share? Develop every skill you possibly can? See every human you possibly can? Go to every class you possibly can? Touch everybody you possibly can? Why do that much? Why go that far? Why share that much? Why give that much away? Why try to see everything? Why try to do everything? Why try to become everything? That’s a good question “why”. And you are the only one, personally who can answer that question for yourself. You have got to have your own list of whys. Here’s what I want you to do when you go home after you have left this extravaganza. Work on your list of whys. One of the big thrust for success is to come up with a strong enough why. In leadership training here’s is what we learn. If the why is powerful, the how is easy. But if the why isn’t strong, if your goals aren’t powerful, if the vision isn’t clear, the old prophet said without a vision we die, without a vision we perish, without a dream we are nothing. From the movie “the professionals”, I listened to Bill Harry giving his testimony yesterday, from the movie “the professionals” that has said we joined because we believed, we stayed because we were committed, we left because we were disillusioned, but we came back because we were lost. Without a dream we are nothing.

I am asking you to sit down with your family and develop a dream strategy. I am asking you to make a list of what you want. What kind of health do you want? What kind of skills do you want? Herbalife has got the ability to make all that come true. But you have got to decide what you want. What kind of income do you want? What kind of gifts do you wish to bestow? What kind of power would you like to have? What kind of influence would you like to have? I am asking you to go home and work on the “why”. Spend some time as you fly over the clouds and over the ocean, back to where you came from. I am asking you to have a vision by the time you have reached home of why you want Herbalife to work for you. Why you want this kind of income. Why you want this kind of recognition and these kinds of skills. I am asking you to develop your own list of why, because if you can come up with a strong enough list of “why”, Herbalife can furnish the “how”.

Now here is number two. The first question to ponder when you go home is “why”. Here is another good answer to “why”, is the second question.” Why not”? Why not see how much you can earn? Why not see how much you can learn? Why not see how many skills you can develop? Why not see what kind of person you can become? Why not see what kind of influence you can have? Why not see how many people you can rescue from oblivion? Why not see how many people you can reach? I shared one of my goals with a group just last night. Here it is. One of my goals: to reach the peak of my skills by the year 2000. So I have got some work to do by the year 2000. Turn of the century. Turn of the millennium. I want to reach the peak of my skills by the year 2000. And then come the next century, I want to utilize those skills in touching every human I can possibly touch for the rest of my life. Those are some of my goals. I want you to establish some of your goals. I want you to give thoughtful consideration to your goals and why not? If a farm boy can wonder out of Idaho and finally arrive at this extravaganza, why not you, If Mark Hughes can walk away from the tough side of town and find a few people and make a dream come true, why not you, If we have got good health for many, why not the rest, If it has happened for you why not others? And why not you, I want you to take that personal. Why not? Why not? You have got to stay here till you go. I mean what else you are going to do? Why not see how much you can do, how far you can go?

Here is number three. Why not you? I wish I could say that to each of you individually. But it would take a couple of lifetimes to sit down and talk with each of you individually. But I would rather do that. I would rather sit down with you and your family with the fire burning in the living room than to be standing on this platform. That is my true desire. I would love to talk to you and your children face to face. That is what I’d really like to do. I’d like to spend a couple of days with each of you personally and pour out my heart, my soul, what’s going on in my head, what is going on with me. See if we could connect and find something valuable. But time doesn’t permit for us to have those intimate conversations and get to know each other that well. So I have got to do it from up here. But I want you to take it personal. And my personal question to you is why not you. You have got the brains, you can make decisions, you can study the plan, you can change your life, you can grow immensely in the next few years; you can make your dreams come true; you can build a financial wall around your family nothing can get through. You can become healthy you can become powerful. Why not you? And I am here to say that I am ready to pledge my support to board to make your personal dreams come true. I ask the question why not you? But I am not going to ask it and just walk away. I am going to ask it and walk with you in this journey as we take Herbalife around the world.

And now here is my last question. My very last question on the questions to ponder is why not now? There never was a better time. Mark has brought Herbalife to an incredible mountain top. He has brought Herbalife with the help of others who have brought it here; it has been brought to a special moment. Barcelona was special. And Orlando was outrageous. But I am telling you this Extravaganza has been the most awesome thing I have ever seen; all of your cooperation; the way you have learned and listened and worked hard to get it all, I congratulate you for that. But Mark brought us here. And what a time now for us to take this dream and not let it die. Take this dream and give it life. Take this dream and breathe into it your own personal spirit until finally it becomes a flame that burns around the whole world. Let’s go do it now.

In Brief:

Why?

Why Not?

Why Not You?

Why Not Now?