Jim Rohn quotes

So many Jim Rohn quotes to choose from but here are a few I find myself going back to again and again.

These quotes might be particularly useful to Internet marketers and marketers of all kinds. I’ve added commentary to each one to help

Be original

“Don’t borrow someone else’s plan. Develop your own plan and it will lead you to unique places.”

My comment: This is why I don’t sell or promote so-called “businesses in a box.” Even if they work, and they rarely do, they practically guarantee mediocrity.

Be prepared to work

“Economic disaster comes from a philosophy of doing less and wanting more.”

My comment: The gurus who sell push-button, auto-pilot, lay-in-your-hammock plans are misguiding their students in a very profound way.

Think

“The best place to solve a problem is on paper.”

My comment: Money is not made with expensive tools. It’s made with the thinking behind the tools and for that, paper and pencil are the most sophisticated problem solving tools there are.

Truth matters

“It only takes one lie to taint your entire testimony.”

My comment: Too many of the “gurus” confuse lying with marketing. Don’t follow them. They’re all headed off a cliff. They just don’t know it yet.

How to sell

“To succeed in sales. simply talk to lots of people.”

My comment: This is what makes direct marketing and Internet marketing so miraculous. It leverages the number of people you can reach massively. The more you tell, the more you sell.

Success 101

“Learn to hide your need and show your skill.”

My comment: Too many beginners get this one completely backward. Developing skills and making your skill available is the best way to take care of your needs. Don’t be a beggar.

More Success 101

“Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom.”

My comment: I can’t add anything to add to the clarity of this advice.

Reality check

“You must get good at one of two things; sowing in the spring or begging in the fall.”

My comment: In the end, it’s all about what you do, or don’t do.

Wisdom in three words

“Plant, don’t chant.”

My comment: I love this one. Action is the ultimate prayer. It’s the ultimate affirmation.

More wisdom in ten

“Start with wherever you are and with whatever you’ve got.”

My comment: The seed of greatness lies in this simple advice.

Yes!

“Be a student, not a follower.”

My comment: The System Seminar has students, not followers. That’s why our students are exponentially more successful than the attendees of other programs.

Obvious

“Success is the study of the obvious. Everyone should take Obvious 101 and Obvious 201 in school.”

My comment: There are no secrets. There are just people who pay attention and people who don’t.

Time

“Time is the best kept secret of the rich.”

My comment: Time is the only raw material we have for building wealth. Waste it or fail to leverage it and you’re throwing away your fortune.

Too busy? Why?

“Don’t mistake movement for achievement. It’s easy to get faked out by being busy. The question is: Busy doing what?”

My comment: Every busy person would profit from reading this one daily. Every day.

It works

“There are no new fundamentals.”

My comment: In sports, in art, in business, a handful of deep principles do all the heavy lifting. They’re not necessarily sexy ideas – except to the wise.

Read!

“Miss a meal if you have to, but don’t miss a book.”

My comment: To fail to take advantage of the miraculous world of books is the most expensive failing imaginable.

Reality check

“Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.”

My comment: Talk less, do more. A scary number of people get this one wrong.

Econ 101

“Profits are better than wages. Wages make you a living; profits make you a fortune.”

My comment: The best explanation of how the world of money works I’ve ever heard.

Deep

“We all have two choices: We can make a living or we can design a life.”

My comment: What are we working for? To live. To live to work is a tragedy, a common tragedy.

I’m here to help. I’m with the government

“Beware of those who seek to take care of you lest your caretakers become your jailers.”

My comment: The less you have to do with “government programs,” the happier you’ll be.

Search

“If you wish to find, you must search. Rarely does a good idea interrupt you.”

My comment: Real learning and progress is an intensely active process.

Ignorance is not bliss for long

“What do don’t know will hurt you.”

My comment: The average person revels in being ignorant. Don’t join them.

How to be more

“Don’t join an easy crowd; you won’t grow.”

My comment: The System Seminar attracts a friendly crowd, but it’s not an “easy” one. Another reason why our students accumulate wealth while others accumulate closets full of books and tapes.

The power of a good idea

“If you share a good idea long enough, it will eventually fall on good people.”

My comment: It takes time to sell any idea no matter how good. Don’t give up too soon. You will find people who get it, but only if you stick with it.

Two kinds of learning

“Some people have learned to earn well but they haven’t learned to live well.”

My comment: You’ll be happiest when you learn both – and it is a learning. There’s nothing automatic about either.

Reality check

“Leaders must not be naive. I used to say, “Liars shouldn’t lie.” What a sad waste of words that is! I found out liars are supposed to lie. That’s why we call them liars — they lie! What else would you expect them to do?”

My comment: Give everyone the benefit of the doubt at first, but test people’s honesty in small ways before you put a big trust in them. Lying is common, but don’t tolerate it. People who lie about small things will surely lie about large ones too. Get them out of your life fast – and don’t wonder why.

Simple

“The twin killers of success are impatience and greed.”

My comment: When a guru tells you that you can make big money without time and effort, you can assume he’s lying. Focus on the value you create and success will take care of itself.

These quotes come from a wonderful book called “The Treasury of Quotes” by Jim Rohn.

– Ken McCarthy

P.S. For over 25 years I’ve been sharing the simple but powerful things that matter in business with my clients.

If you’d like direction for your business that will work today, tomorrow and twenty years from now, visit us at the System Club.