Category: Jim Rohn - Coach to Expect Success

Things More Important Than Money

1/7/2019

Found a great article that I read over break and it was so great, that I wanted to have my students blog about it too! Having some time off over the recent Christmas Holiday Season always gives me time to slow down and do a few things that I normally can't do - read more, sleep in, relax, etc., and I am really blessed to be able to do that. You can check out the article HERE.

One of the nine factors the article talked about was actually #1 on the list - and that is TIME! Not sure why it's #1 from this author, but I would also put it at the most important spot too. It's the one thing that we all need to manage better. In other words how we spend our time. It's the one resource that once it's gone, we can't get it back. Contrary to some peoples thoughts - I do think we can manage time. We manage money - how we spend it, what we do with it. The same goes with time. I am constantly looking to improve how I manage the use of my time.

Determination is another big one for me. One of which I need to work on a lot more. I've been looking to improve this one for a long time and to me Courage fits right with this one. The whole confidence factor is one that is closely connected. I need to keep investing to improve all of these with myself. I can see that since I've been focused on these, my life has improved in many ways. Now the key is to ramp up the efforts needed to grow in these areas even more. Articles like this along with reading my students' blog posts are key!!

Final of the 3 points for me??? It has to be Heart and Soul. There are so many things that come into play here with this one. The passion and heart that we need in life for things that mean something to us - those are the things that we need to put more focus into. I just read one of my student's blog post about this same article. She mentioned that if she has passion and heart for something in her life - she will find a way to make it work and to ultimately make some $$ from doing it. Having heart and soul for life, for people, for things that we spend our time with, etc., it's one thing that as I get older I have found to be even more and more important. Important enough for me to keep working on them. :-)

Happiness - It's Something We All Look For

5/8/2017

“Happiness is not an accident. Nor is it something you wish for. Happiness is something you design.” — Jim Rohn

It’s one of the main things that all of us (at least most of us) are looking for in life. I know I want to be happy in my life and that I want to do things to bring more of it to me and those that I care for.

I think as we get older, what we know about happiness changes to more of a simple definition. I see it being about relationships, people, simple and quiet things. When we are young I think it’s more along the lines of looking for happiness in many different places and with many different things. Looking back on my life so far, I wish I would could have grasped this simpler definition on happiness and used it. One big key for me is that I have it now!

Robert Holden brings up a great point for us to always remember – We do not become happy because we are successful; we become successful because we are happy. Notice how it has nothing to do with money or things. While thinking about this topic, an equation popped into my head: Wanting to bring happiness to others = more of it for me.

Jim Rohn is right, which doesn’t come as a surprise, happiness is by design. It doesn’t just happen or fall into our lap. It has everything to do with the way we think, our choices in life and the circumstances we have around us – namely the people we have with us on our journey. There are so many decisions that we make every day that are connected to our happiness. So many little things that we can do and plenty of those things that are all under our control.

One of the major items that I think is directly connected to happiness is that of kindness. Shaunti Feldhahn says it well with kindness being about 3 things: withholding unkindess things, saying kind things and doing kind things. Again, things that we can control and I love things that come as a set of three. I can remember them.

Another major item on the list of happiness and it’s big everywhere, that is having an attitude of gratitude. I’ve been focusing on this for a couple of years now, especially in the morning as I get up with my first cup of coffee and it has been helping me tremendously. I know this and other things can help you too. You must admit, living a life with more happiness in it is far better than not having it. Right? Always looking for some feedback, conversation, comments, etc. :-)

Today Is Slipping By - Who Is Noticing?

2/21/2017

“We are so involved in yesterday and tomorrow that we never even notice that today is slipping by.” – Jim Rohn

I’ve heard this over and over again lately from so many different people – time is just flying by. People can’t believe how fast time is going by. I have the same opinion too. I am totally amazed that I have turned 51 last week. In many ways I feel older (arthritis, recent surgeries I’ve had, my eyesight is changing on my big time, etc.) Then in other ways I am amazed that I am this old since I still love what I do, I have energy for teaching and coaching basketball, enjoy getting up every morning, and I feel energized with new ideas and new things I’d like to accomplish and go after in my life.

Brian Buffini, whose podcast I really enjoy listening to, has said that the days are long and the years are short. Meaning past years always are hard to remember the details of them, I think since they are full of 365 days in each one. While it sometimes seems that the day we are in the middle of, is really long at times while we are in the middle of it. I can’t tell you how often I have thought about this line along with sharing it with others and they totally agree with the fact that he is right on target with this statement.

This idea from Brian ties in to this thought from Jim Rohn too. We are scattered in our thoughts every day and we are not focused on the present; which is really the only thing we can actually do anything about. If you are like me it seems at times that we have so much going on to where it is difficult to focus on one thing at a time to put some good effort into it and accomplishing it and then moving onto something else.

I have recently found another article about Bill Gates and Warren Buffet agreeing that the most important word that contributed towards their success is FOCUS! It really does tie into this statement and it ties into me personally to zero in on this even more and implement it into my life more. My wife has often reminded me (nicely of course) that I have some areas to improve on with Focus. Being the smart guy that I am, I agree with her. (it’s taken many years to agree with her, but I do). Now I see myself actually doing things to try and improve this skill of mine as I do need to notice that today is all I have to do things, to be with the people I want to be with, etc. How about you? What do these thoughts mean to you? I tell my students all the time – the sooner you can connect to ideas like this, the better your life will be.

Responsibility - A Key Word In Success. One We All Need To Look At Taking

12/20/2016

"Accepting responsibility is one of the highest forms of human maturity. A willingness to be accountable, to put yourself on the line, is really the defining characteristic of adulthood." — Jim Rohn

As we all get older – it is something we all have to face at some point and time and it really comes down to the fact that the sooner we start looking to be responsible, the better off we are. It’s one of the best skills we can have in life. In today’s world at times it seems that it is truly lacking and it causes a lot of problems.

You see, when we don’t take responsibility for ourselves that means that we put the responsibilities on others. Whether that’s other people, the government, our place of work, etc., this will always lead to more troubles. When we think others are responsible for us and our well-being, we will always be let down. Nobody else knows what we have inside of ourselves. Our dreams, hopes, goals, aspirations, etc., are not part of anyone else’s plan. They are only part of our plan. The sooner we realize that we have to take that plan on instead of someone else doing it, the better off we will be.

We must also remember that there are other people depending on us to take responsibility for ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have influence on others. That’s what Leadership is all about, having influence over others. Not being a boss over them, telling them what to do. True Leadership is leading by example to help others.

Whether it’s our family, friends, coworkers, players on a team, neighbors, etc., by us doing things we have to do to take responsibility we are setting the example for others to follow. When others see us sacrificing and putting in hours and hours of work to accomplish things, that’s a powerful message that many people pick up on – even if we don’t see them picking up the examples we leave. Remember that success always leaves clues. Leave clues for others to follow. It’s all part of being a difference maker, which I think is we all can do, no matter what career we find ourselves in.

There Is A Reason We Need To Look Out Through The Windshield And Not The Rear View Mirror

10/19/2016

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." — C.S. Lewis

I often find myself looking back more than looking forward and it's apparent to me now on why at those times, it seems like I'm driving around in circles. I have recently made more of an effort to try and look forward since really that is the only direction that I (and all of us) can go. I can't go back to the past. I can only move forward.

This also brings to mind a quote from the great Jim Rohn where he said "Your life does not get better by chance, it get's better by change." We have the power to change and choose new directions, new ways of doing things, learning from mistakes, and making changes in how we spend our time. He also talks about how we are not a tree - we can move, we can change. That is something that I think we all need to be reminded about more and more, or maybe it's just me?

I've tried looking just at the rear view mirror while driving - it's scary! Now, this was in an open parking lot one time with nobody else around, and it was still scary for the few seconds I did it. It's also the same concept if we look at a bug on our windshield or a crack in it (representing negative things in our lives that we focus on) and that too is terrifying when you are trying to drive a car and your only focus is that one spot on your windshield. You lose focus on where you are going. Yes, I tried that too one time and it was the same, scary feeling.

Our past is there for a reason. It is by far one of our best mentors that we could ever have in our lives. We need to use it as such in order to help ourselves be successful in the future. It's there to help us remember and to get better for our futures. I feel that the stakes are higher for us to figure this point out for two reasons. First is that we don't have all the time in the world to get things done and accomplished. Maybe the second reason is even more important and that is as time goes on we have more and more people in our lives. The relationships with those people are deeper and deeper as time goes on. Things that we do or don't do affect others more as time goes by for those reasons.

One recent example comes from a former student of mine (like so many things that help me just about everyday). I saw a post that Lauren, my former student from a few years ago. She got a letter from a customer where she works that was thanking her for brightening her day every time she came to this business. There were a few visits that she did not see Lauren there and she noticed the difference so much so that she stopped going there for some time. She came back and Lauren was working that same shift again and she made such a difference with this customer again. She wrote this letter to Lauren's bosses to let them know how valuable she was to them.

Lauren's always looking ahead. She did that in school too. She worked so hard knowing that wherever she was going, the good habits she had would pay off. She brings tremendous value wherever she goes. That is something I try and get all my students to realize that's what life is along with being a difference maker to others.

Now to be fair, Lauren had these tools in her tool belt way before she met me. They key lesson to understand we all can do this wherever we are at today. Even if it's at a place that maybe we are not so happy to be at. Until we find a happier place to be, we can still offer great value to others along with making a difference for people too - no matter were we are at. Especially knowing that we are going in a great direction and someday we will be doing even better things, with more people and more places. Thanks to Lauren reminding me about how I need to always do more and get better in this area, she has made another huge difference with me even years later. That is powerful. I hope you see and understand you can do the same thing.

Success Is Always Ongoing

10/3/2016

"Success is the continual unfolding of the design of our life and pulling it off. That’s what success is." - Jim Rohn

This quote struck me as being very accurate and right on target for me and plenty of other people that I know. We are all on our own journey of life and the decisions and choices we make help to create the path that we are all on.

Part of that path is obviously the success that we have or don't have throughout our lives. Since we are the major players in our own life journey, our successes are continuing to unfold or disappear based on our choices. There is another saying that I use in my classes, especially my Principles of Leadership class in the spring with my seniors and it says - Every choice we make either takes us closer to our dreams and goals or it takes us further away from them.

As we get older we change. Heck, we change everyday even if it's just hearing and seeing new things. Those things get us thinking, feeling, responding, etc., so that each and everyday there are subtle little things that influence our choices and decisions. I'm reminded about another saying that things that happen to us in life are 10% of the actual thing happening to us and 90% how we respond. The key item is that we get to choose how we respond to these items. We get to let them have control over us or not. This includes the people that come in and out of our lives too. We have to decide on how much control we give to them about how successful or unsuccessful we will be in our lives.

This is why our road to success is always under construction. There are so many factors that come into play each and every day of our lives. The key is to be able to filter through all the distractions and keep moving forward in the direction we want to go in. Of course it's not easy. But it is worth it.

Changing Ourselves Usually Comes Down To Two Reasons

9/13/2015

"We generally change ourselves for one of two reasons: inspiration or desperation." -- Jim Rohn

When I saw this quote I knew it was speaking to me, and hopefully you feel the same now that you have read it. Change is happening all around us, all the time. Sometimes we need to make changes too, it just all depends for what reasons and when we do it.

I’ve been working harder to have me change some things more so to inspiration along with things being under my control rather than having it due to desperation and things being out of my control. I must say though, at times when it’s desperation that is driving me, that’s when things seem to have a stronger impulse to help me change, even though it’s usually a lot more painful.

The more inspiration that I have in my life and not just sit there and read it, memorize it, or put it on a wall; but really take action because of it, that’s when powerful changes can happen. I really want to do more of that throughout all parts of my life instead of just doing things out of desperation. If it’s out of desperation, then it seems there are others that feel the pain, not just me.

I will be starting a new endeavor of re-reading my all-time favorite book again, but this time I will be reading it slower, underlining more of the key point that stand out to me and then I’ll be doing something with the information that I pull out of it. Something for the use in helping share it with others so they too can find some success from the points in the Magic Of Thinking Big!

What are you changing from the most? Is it out of inspiration? Or is it from desperation? That’s a great question to ask yourself as we start the week out and the key is to keep asking yourself as I need to do for me. Then depending on the answers that you get, that will help you decide to seek more inspiration or to start to work on getting rid of the desperation causes going on in your life. Either way, share some of your thoughts, ideas, questions, etc., with me so that I can learn from you too along with maybe helping you too.

We Just Have To Give Ourselves A Chance!

8/25/2015

"You can make startling changes you can’t even conceive of right now, if you just give yourself half a chance." -- Jim Rohn

As I was looking through some quote ideas another one from the great Jim Rohn jumped out at me. I think so many times in our lives, if we give ourselves a chance to do great things, we will indeed do just that.

You know, before we are able to do really do anything in life we have to tell ourselves to do it. Just getting up on time in the morning, making breakfast, filling the car up with gas, taking a shower, etc. Now with other things, it’s a lot more difficult than simply telling ourselves to do it. We have to convince ourselves for the really important and life changing things that we need to do. Those items such as going after your dreams and goals, stepping up to push yourself to get rid of bad habits and replace them with good ones, to reach out to help others that maybe not too many others are willing to help out, along with looking to make a difference with others throughout your lifetime.

It’s about being continually inspired throughout life. We need to have those inspirational reminders just about on a daily basis I think. Those stories that we can relate to that helps us believe that we too can do great things. To get us to understand that we don’t have to settle. We simply need to give ourselves a chance, an opportunity to do them. Jim Rohn went onto say “The real value in setting goals is not in their achievement. The acquisition of the things you want is strictly secondary. The major reason for setting goals is to compel you to become the person it takes to achieve them.”

When we look back on the great moments in our lives, they usually come from overcoming difficulties, maybe a long time in working hard and then something wonderful happens along with the fact that we can look back at all the great people that came into our lives along with the new things we learned during that time period. It’s also a time to see the people that aren’t in our lives anymore. Our journey throughout life takes us into different directions that others won’t follow us through. They have their own journeys to go on and even though it’s sad to lose friends, it’s necessary for us to become who we want to and need to become.

Part of this equation is to figure it out sooner than later as some of our many journeys through life take time. The sooner we realize this, the more things we can go through to get us to become the person we want to be. Another key, maybe even a more important one is to realize that it’s never too late to start on any of these possible journeys. You know, I’ve been learning a lot lately and much of it is dealing with the person that I know I need to become in order for things to happen. Much of it are things that I’d rather not face, not talk about, and not have to go through. I know I need to go through them and face them in order for things to get better for me but more importantly for those that are around me. My wife and kids, my other family members, my students, my basketball players, fellow teachers, coaches, friends and neighbors along with the countless people that I haven’t even met yet. I’ve been playing small most of my life. That time has to end, and end now. What are some of the things you need to give yourself permission to do? Just give yourself a chance, something little, just one thing. Then just look for those little things each and every day that can help you. When you find them, please let me know and others too, since I know that we are all looking for those little things to help us in our journeys through life.

Time Is The Most Valuable Item We Have

8/21/2015

"Time properly invested is worth a fortune; time wasted can be devastation." Jim Rohn

As I sit here at the car dealership on a Monday morning waiting for service to be done on my car, this was the first quote that I saw. Of course, as usual, I sure needed to see it. Truth be told, I have struggled with this concept for most of my life. Without seeing this quote, I know that I have to deal with this. After seeing this quote, I know I have to ramp it up as I know I've not been making this the priority that it needs to be.

Too many examples about how fast time is going by that make this point even more powerful and necessary for me to take on. Another key is that I know you also have too many examples, some that you have already thought of as you saw this quote. The question is what are we going to do about it?

For me the pain of staying the same is hurting more than the pain of me changing, and that fact is not only pushing me to tears at times, but it is becoming more necessary than ever before. The examples in my life about how fast time is flying by, these have a huge part to do with it. I'm sure it is the same with yours too. Another factor in the pain meter for me is how many people in my life that are also hurting that I could maybe help out a little if I start making the changes I need to make. Between my wife and kids, to other family members, my students, my fellow teachers, my basketball players and coaches I work with, other friends, the list goes on and on and on.

This also hammers home the point about how time seems to become more valuable as you get older. Really time should be viewed as being very valuable at any age. It’s the one factor of life that is truly the most valuable commodity that we have. Some say it’s money, but we can always make more money, cut expenses, etc., but we can’t manufacture more time. Our 24 hour days are the same for each of us, even for the richest person in the world, it’s just they use their time a little bit differently than the rest of us.

As I finish this up late this week, this is one of many focus points that I need to take more time to work on… get it?? There have been a few distractions that went on this week where I was unable to even sit down to finish up my blog, but it’s all good as those things that came up were things that matter to me as they dealt with my wife and kids and the things we had to get done. So to me, that was time well spent. So, take a few minutes to think about what you are spending your time on?

Change Is Mandatory In Life - Change Happens No Matter What.

6/1/2015

“Unless you change how you are, you'll always have what you've got.” – Jim Rohn

Lot’s happening these past few days. We had graduation at Lake Shore High School for the Class of 2015 and I was blessed enough to be asked to deliver the commencement address. It was such a humbling and fabulous experience. I want to make sure the Class of 2015 knows how much I appreciate them having me share their special day with them.

This thought by the great Jim Rohn above is one of the things I am focusing on in my life right now and that is I’m looking to change for the better. I need to continue on this journey of getting out of my comfort zone. I need to keep working hard to learn new skills and to play bigger in my life. Getting out in front of over 2000 people to give that speech on Saturday at gradation was a big step for me. I am totally comfortable in a classroom in front of 30 teenagers, but Saturday was such a rush! It was a great feeling to look around and see all of those people. I practiced that speech many times with the vision of being at that podium, on that stage, in the gym along with all of those people in the crowd. I had to change and expand my comfort zone in my mind before I did it for real.

I think about this quote and I know if I stay where I’m at and not change, not only will I not go any farther in my life, but also I will begin to lose things that I currently have. I would not meet new people along with not learning new skills. The people that I currently know would be slowly start going places and I would be staying behind. The skills that I would possess already would slowly get rusty by me not improving them. My current relationships with those that I love and care about would also suffer and slowly start disappearing with me staying the same, not wanting to do new things, invest in the relationships any more, all of those would really suffer. This game of life is constant in change. From the weather, to economics, to the stock market, to the sports teams, to us simply getting older, and the list goes on and on.

I’ve used this example with all my students over the years. I have yet to find a student who comes into my classes letting me and everyone know they want to get worse in life. They have all wanted to at least get by and get through high school. Plus, we all have to realize that it takes time to realize we need to change along with it taking up our entire lives to keep working at changing for the better. Change is definitely an inside job that takes a lifetime to work on and do.

There is also an old saying about when we look at all the things we want to change, the list looks overwhelming. But if we can just focus a little at a time, just 1% improvement a day, in any of the areas we need to work on – the difference after a month will be incredible. How about 6 months? How about after a year of just improving 1% a day? Just let that one sink in there a little bit. Any thoughts?