Do you know what Tony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, and T. Harv Eker all have in common? If someone thought of the recently reviewed booklet As You Think, So You Become… well, they’d be partially right, but that’s not the main point now. I assume you know that behind these names are some of the most successful authors, motivational speakers, and entrepreneurs of the modern era. Well, all of them could credit their success to Mr. Jim Rohn… in fact, they’ve openly admitted it, especially Tony Robbins, for whom this man literally changed his life and helped him, at least somewhat, piece together the puzzle of life.
Who was Jim Rohn? A farm boy, born in 1930. He realized college wasn’t for him, so he started working at Sears, and although he made some progress in his career, he felt he was stuck. He lived a completely average life… until he met John Earl Shoaff, a successful businessman and motivational speaker who soon became Jim’s mentor. With his guidance and advice, Jim Rohn advanced drastically in his life, eventually becoming a successful business and motivational speaker himself. He became highly sought-after to speak at various events, lead seminars, and more. Obviously, he achieved something in life—at the time of his death (2009), he left behind a fortune worth 500 million dollars, and the men I mentioned above remain grateful for his wisdom.
Perhaps you’ve listened to Jim Rohn on YouTube (if not, highly recommended). That old-school smooth voice, charming audiences with his thoughts and humor, with a certain strength in his tone. But what’s interesting—and what you might notice—is that he wasn’t a typical motivational speaker or, as it’s called today, a life coach. He didn’t belong to (let me exaggerate a little here, though sometimes I truly think this way from my own experience) the group of people who constantly bombard others with: “you’re wonderful, you have limitless untapped potential, you can be whatever you want, you’re incredible divine beings.” This (very often) results in people feeling excited and enchanted (which they confuse with motivation and inspiration), but soon that enthusiasm fades and they take no action.
Nor did he belong to the other category that insists: “If you want success/love/happiness, you must follow these exact steps I wrote, because I’m successful and if you copy me you will succeed too.” This often confuses people who may not have the resources or circumstances to follow those steps, and it discourages them if the steps don’t give the expected results. (Note: I don’t intend to insult anyone who uses these approaches—they can bring results—but one must know how to apply them to genuinely help people.)
Jim Rohn’s approach was different. He somehow nudges you to put your finger on your forehead and really reflect on why you do what you do. And he explains it… in such a common-sense and logical way that you find yourself thinking, “he’s not saying anything revolutionary, but why don’t I actually live according to what I know deep down I am?” Watch a few clips and you’ll see what I mean.
This same approach is found in his book “The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle”, which is divided into five chapters (the pieces of the life puzzle):
- Philosophy
- Attitude
- Activity
- Results
- Lifestyle
Each of these puzzle pieces gently introduces you to the idea and makes you think. When he speaks of personal philosophy, he’s simply talking about our own (right or wrong) values that form our attitude toward the world and its challenges. And our attitude is nothing more than the sum of our (qualitative and quantitative) actions. In accordance with those actions, proportional results are created, and those results are exactly the lifestyle we lead.
Think about it—it’s really simple and logical, isn’t it? Puzzle pieces 4 and 5 are consequences, while 1, 2, and 3 are the causes.
If someone asked what Jim Rohn’s life philosophy was, it would probably be his saying:
“In order to have more, we must first become more.”
Meaning—you can have much more in life than you have now, because you can become more than you are now.
I’ll stop here with explanations, because otherwise I’ll drift off into another subject rather than a review, which is the purpose of this blog. I’ll just say this: in my opinion, this book gives you insight into why much of today’s “motivational speaking” and “life coaching” (quotation marks intentional) feels like a scam, “selling smoke.” Because in many cases it is—they offer instant solutions, skipping stages that shouldn’t be skipped. If you’re interested in more on this topic, you can contact me personally; for now, that’s enough. 🙂
Some things you may not like, such as: that people always curse the consequences while “nurturing” the causes, instead of changing them (deep down you know this is true); that the past should be a school and not a prison; that discipline lies at the root of everything (another painful truth); that it’s easy to take action to change your life for the better, but just as easy to do nothing and stay the same; that everyone must find their own balance of work and rest (depending on how much success they want); that a person must also work on themselves if they want more (books, courses, seminars, conversations with successful people)—and much of this can be found today for free or at very low cost (more true now than ever).
In fact, here I read perhaps the best definitions of (non)success:
FAILURE = nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day
SUCCESS = establishing a few simple disciplines practiced every day
It cuts right to the core, doesn’t it? Positive thinking, affirmations, faith, optimism (all of which are necessary, no doubt) are nice—but without taking action and practicing discipline, it’s just self-deception and a waste of time.
I think you’ll find the fifth piece of the puzzle (lifestyle) especially interesting. It explains that lifestyle doesn’t depend (as much as we think) on our wealth (“AHEM! You’d be surprised what I could do with a few million dollars that I can’t right now!” – note from subconscious), but rather on our attitude and values. While striving for wealth, we shouldn’t have the mindset, “I’ll be happy once I earn X amount.” No! Be happy now! The point of happiness is in the present moment! Sure, be happy when you become “something more,” but it’s crucial to discover happiness here and now, in accordance with your current possibilities.
The conclusion takes on a more serious tone: about the “comfort zone” and how we think we have all the time in the world to achieve our dreams. Yes, we have time—but those reserves are limited. Do we really have the luxury of postponing? I think these few pages will shake you a little.
As you can see, there’s no complicated philosophy or terminology here—just pure common sense (“…which humanity seems to have misplaced somewhere” – note from subconscious). Sometimes the answers to complex questions are much simpler than we think, right?
All in all, the idea is to strive toward what we want to become, and the results will follow as a consequence.
In about one hundred pages you’ll find all these wise and down-to-earth thoughts. The writing style is incredibly easy to read—you get the feeling you’re having a conversation with Jim Rohn. (If you’ve ever heard his voice, you can almost “insert” it into the book for the full effect.)
“The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle” definitely goes onto my famous “Shelf”—which is enough of a compliment from me (as you know, very, very few books from this field make it onto that shelf). I truly think it’s worth reading—and even underlining (if you do that with books). It won’t hype you up like many books in this genre, but it will make you reflect on your personal values and where you might need to change your approach.
By the way, Jim Rohn is credited with one of the best motivational quotes I’ve ever heard on the topic of how motivation alone is not enough—that a person must also change their way of thinking if they want real change:
“Motivation alone is not enough. If you have an idiot and you motivate him, now you have a motivated idiot.”
In my opinion—brilliantly explained! 😀
And you, dear reader—have you managed to piece together some parts of the puzzle of life? 🙂
