Success is something you attract, not something you pursue. Success is looking for a good place to stay. So, instead of going after it, you work on yourself.
Personal development. See, the major question to ask on the job is not what are you getting. The major question to ask on the job is what are you becoming?
So, the big question is not what am I getting paid here. The big question is what am I becoming here. Because true happiness is not contained in what you get.
Happiness is contained in what you become. There's a lot of things that can wreck your chances to do well. We live in a rather dangerous world, so you got to be not only wise, you got to be careful.
Take full responsibility for what happens to you. It's one of the highest forms of human maturity, accepting full responsibility. It's the day you know you've passed from childhood to adulthood, the day you accept full responsibility.
And another note, learn to reap in the fall without apology. Without apology if you do well and without complaint if you don't. I used to blame taxes.
Look what you got left after they take everything. And they expect you to do well. I used to blame the weather.
I blamed the traffic. I used to blame my car. I blamed the manufacturers.
I used to blame the company. I blamed company policy. I used to blame the training program.
I used to blame the economy. I blamed the community. That's a pretty good list for not doing well, isn't it?
I thought it was good. See, I used to blame everything outside. And then let me give you a little philosophy that helped turn my life around.
For your notes, here it is. It's not what happens, but rather it's what you do that changes everything. But it's not the happenings, it's what you do about it.
Somebody says, "Yeah, but you don't understand the disappointments I've had. " Come on. Everybody's had their share.
Disappointments are not special gifts reserved for the poor. Everybody has them. The difference is what you do about it.
It's not the weather. I used to blame the weather and I discovered it rains on the rich. The major key to your better future is you.
I used to wonder why two people could work for the same company, one make twice as much money. Now, see that used to puzzle me. And maybe they were the same age, graduated from the same school, live in the same community, work for the same company with the same products and the same services.
They've got the same traffic, the same problems, and one makes a thousand a month, the other one makes two thousand a month. Now, that was my puzzling question. Why would this long list be the same and the money twice as much?
I asked, "What's the difference between a thousand a month and two thousand a month? But what what makes the difference? Why would one person do twice as well, three times as well?
" Speaking economically, now I know there's more than one way to do well. I understand that. But in this little narrow area called compensation, what's the difference?
Now, if you can't get more time, which you can't, what could you get more of that would make a difference in economic results? And here's the keyword. Make it a part of your notes.
We're going to consider it tonight. The word is value. You can't get more time, but you can create more value.
Now, here's the first lesson of economics. Everybody should learn it from the time they're old enough to understand what a dollar means, how to earn one, how to get one, how to keep one, what to do with it. First lesson of economics, we primarily get paid for value.
That's lesson one. Bringing value to the marketplace, that's how you get paid. You don't get paid for the time.
I know it takes time to bring value to the marketplace, but you get paid for the value, not the time. Is it possible to become twice as valuable at the marketplace and make twice as much money in the same time? Could you become three times as valuable?
Make three times as much money in the same time. Is that possible? The answer is yes, if and it's always if, right?
Life is known as the big if. It's possible to do much better at the marketplace if you go to work primarily on yourself. People have asked me for the last 24 years, "How do you develop an above average income?
" And the answer is, become an above average person. Develop an above average handshake. Some people want to be successful, they don't even work on their handshake as easy as that would be to start on.
They let it slide, they don't understand. Develop an above average smile. Develop an above average excitement.
Develop an above average interest in other people. Develop an above average intensity to win. See, that'll change everything.
Probably one of the most frustrating experiences in life is looking for an above average job with above average pay without becoming an above average person. It's called frustration. Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.
If anybody would have asked me, age 25, "Mr Rohn, are you a hard worker? " I'd have said, "Yes, I'm a hard worker. Check my record.
I work as hard as anybody. " And that was true. I was a hard worker.
I really was. But see, that was my problem. I was working hard on my job, but I wasn't working hard on myself.
And that was my reason for lack of progress. If somebody hands you a million dollars, best you become a millionaire quickly. So, you get to keep the money.
Otherwise, sure enough, it'll disappear. Somebody once said, "If you took all the money in the world, divided it up equally among everybody, it would soon all be back in the same pockets. " Incredible.
Some people look for more money, but they look for it in the wrong direction. The guy says, "I need more money. I'm going to go work on my boss.
" Well, number one, bosses are notorious. They do not play fast and loose with the company till. I've never seen a boss get excited and triple somebody's wages, right?
I mean, they don't behave in such an irrational manner. So, see, that's not what you work on. Some people say, "Well, I'll go on strike for more.
" Well, big deal. The problem with that game is once you start it, it's never over. You'll always have to strike.
And I'll tell you what you get by demand, little bitty pieces. Barely enough. And now inflation beats that game.
Right? The guy demands 10%. Inflation's 12.
He's behind two. I mean, it never ends. So, see, that's not the key to success, maybe survival, but not success.
See, it's not what you get by tricks. It's not what you get by demand. It's what you get by performance that counts.
For things to change for you, you've got to change. Life and business is like the changing seasons. One of the best ways to describe life, it's like the seasons.
You cannot change the seasons, but you can change yourself. That's the four major lessons in life to learn. Here they are.
Number one, learn how to handle the winters. That's lesson one. They come right after falls with regularity.
Some are long and some are short and some are hard and some are You must learn to handle the nights. They come right after days. You must learn to handle difficulty.
It comes right after opportunity. You must learn to handle recessions. They always follow progressions.
For the last 6,000, see, it isn't going to change. The lesson you must learn is how to handle it. And there's all kinds of winters, right?
The winter when you can't figure it out. The winter when it all goes smash. The winter when it turns belly up.
The winter when it won't work, when you've run out of money and you've got a broken heart. See, those are winter times. There's all kinds, economic winters, social winters, personal winters.
When your heart is smashed in a thousand pieces. And the nights are unusually long. Your prayers seem to go no higher than your head.
It's winter time. A song of winter. But see, the disappointments come.
Those are normal. That's part of life. But the question is, how do you handle it?
How do you handle the coming winters and the disappointments and the down times? Well, you can't get rid of January by tearing it off the calendar. But here's what you can do.
You can get stronger, you can get wiser, and you can get better. The winters won't change, but you can. And that's how life changes for you.
Don't wish for less problems. Wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge.
Wish for more wisdom. That's the key. So, that's lesson one, learn how to handle the winters.
Here's lesson two. Learn how to take advantage of the spring. That's the second one.
Spring is called opportunity. And spring follows winter. What a great place for it.
If you were going to put it somewhere, that'd be the place to put it, right after winter. And pray tell how often does spring follow winter? Every year with regularity, 6,000.
You can almost count on it. See, opportunity always comes. Days follow nights.
Isn't that terrific? Opportunity follows difficulty. But here's what you must learn to do.
Underline these two words in that key phrase. Take advantage. You must learn to take advantage of the spring.
See, just because spring rolls around is no sign you're going to look good come fall. You got to do something with it. In fact, you have to get good at one of two things in life.
Planting in the spring or begging in the fall. Or get somebody to do it for you. See, those are about the only alternatives.
Now, here's what else you must do. Take advantage of the springs quickly because there's only a few. Just a handful of springs have been handed to each of us.
They don't come forever. Life is fairly brief. So, you got to read every book you can get your hands on and what to do with your springs while they're here and take advantage.
They soon run out. Learn how to protect your crops all summer. You got to take care of what you start.
Sure enough, as soon as you've planted your garden in the spring, the busy bugs and the noxious weeds are out to take it. They will take it. You've got to learn to prevent the intruder from taking all the good you start.
It's one of the challenges. All values must be defended. Political values, social values, community values, family values, marriage values, friendship values, business values.
Every garden must be tended all summer. Fourth major lesson in life to learn. Learn how to reap in the fall without complaint.
See, that's the difference in how your life works out. It's not what happens, it's what you do. So, here's one of the key questions of the evening.
Starting tomorrow, what are you going to do that'll make a change in your life's direction? Good question. What are you going to do starting tomorrow that'll make a difference?
Now, see, if you don't do something starting tomorrow that'll make a difference, guess what? It's going to be the same. And see, that way you can guess what the next 5 years are going to be like.
Look at the last five. Cuz the next five are going to be like the last five unless you, major key, tomorrow change it all. Or change a little, or change something, or don't change.
It's choice time. You can do whatever you want. But it's nice to know any day you wish you can change your whole life.
What can you do starting tomorrow that'll make a difference? Good question.
