Teachings from The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle by Jim Rohn



Change comes from 2 sources:
1.) Desperation
2.) Inspiration


1st Piece to the Life Puzzle- Philosophy

Thoughts + Ideas + Information = Philosophy

- The way that each of us thinks makes the major difference in where each of us arrives.
- We are all artists, with but only one canvas to paint. That canvas is our lives. Some paint garbage, others masterpieces.
- What we think determines what we believe; what we believe influences what we choose; what we choose defines what we are; and what we are attracts what we have.
- Failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated everyday.
- Motivation is not how people change their lives. To change a life we must first change our thinking habits.
- If a person is a fool and becomes motivated, he is merely a motivated fool.
- Success is easy; however, things that are easy to do are also easy not to do.
- Everything we would ever need to become rich and powerful and sophisticated is within our reach. The major reason so few take advantage of all that we have is simply neglect.


2nd Piece to the Life Puzzle- Attitude

Our lives are greatly affected by what we know since what we know determines the decisions we will make.

Philosophy = Logic
Attitude = Emotion

The current moment is where our better future begins.

- Our goals and ambitions of the past are bringing to us present rewards. If our current rewards are small, then our past efforts were small. And if today’s effort is small the future reward will be small as well.
- What our future holds will simply be a mirror image of our current philosophy and life.
- What stops us from recognizing our inherent gifts and talents is a poor attitude about ourselves.
- Success moves toward those who search for progress not toward those who need or want its rewards.
- Attitude determines how much of the future we are allowed to see.


3rd Piece to the Life Puzzle- Activity

Life is not designed to give rewards in proportion to our level of needs; it gives them in proportion to our level of deservingness.

- Whether we actually achieve our goals is ultimately determines by our activity.
- We must find ways to demonstrate on the outside all of the value that we possess on the inside.
- We all say that we want to succeed, but sooner or later our level of activity must equal our level of intent.

We will all experience one pain or the other- the pain of discipline or the pain of regret- but the difference is that the pain of discipline weighs only ounces while the pain of regret weighs tons.

- It is not what we get that makes us valuable; it is what we become in the process of doing that brings value into our lives.
- … with diminished labor comes diminished rewards.
- The punishment for excessive rest is mediocrity.
- We must remember that discipline is a requirement for progress, and that affirmations without discipline is the beginning of delusion.
- It is so easy to mistake motion for progress and movement for achievement.
- We must become wise enough to use today to plan tomorrow.


4th Piece to the Life Puzzle- Results

Past efforts = Results

- Results are the harvest that comes from our past efforts. If the farmer has planted only a handful of seeds in the spring, he cannot expect to reap a very bountiful harvest in the fall. Likewise, if a person has engaged in only minimal activity in the past, he should not expect significant results in the present.
- Results are always in direct proportion to effort.
- If we are not happy with our current results, then the place to begin is with ourselves. The answer to the good life lies in becoming more than we currently are so that we can attract more than we currently have.
- We cannot have more without first - becoming more.
- We grow personally and then we advance materially. Unfortunately, the vast majority seems to have the plan reversed.

There is no shortage of opportunity in America. There is only a shortage of those who will apply themselves to the basics that success requires.

The great challenge of life is making measurable progress in a reasonable amount of time.

Results are the BEST measurement of human progress.


5th Piece to the Life Puzzle- Lifestyle

Life change doesn’t come from inspiration; life change comes from perspiration and preparation.

We don’t have to be rich to live richly.

Happiness is an art, not an accident.


The Fundamentals of Success:
- What we know.
- How we feel about what we know.
- What we do with, and about, all that we feel and know.

Today is yesterday’s tomorrow!

I'm currently reading "The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle" by Jim Rohn. This is an amazing book. Something that I read last night really caused me to think. Jim said, that we all have to endure some type of pain. We can either endure the pain of daily disciplining ourselves to become more successful or at the end of our lives we can endure the pain of regret. Regret of not living our lives to their full potential. Regret of not achieving more than we did. Regret of not leaving a legacy for our children and others to follow.

So I'm asking you, what type of pain do you want to endure?

More book reviews and free resources

Shake it off !

Here is a great story that talks about how to deal with adversity.


The story goes that there was an old farmer in south Louisiana who had a mule that was older than the farmer. The mule had was so old that the farmer didn't have much use for him anymore. One day the farmer decided that he was going to put the old mule out of his misery, so he dug a grave for the mule. The problem was that the farmer had the mule so long that it was like a friend to him, he couldn'
t muster the courage to kill him. So the farmer decided to lower the mule in the grave and then just begin shoveling dirt on top of him.

However, the mule had a different plan...see every time the farm through a shovel full of dirt in the grave it would hit the mule's back and instead of just standing there the mule would just shake the dirt off his back and then step up on the new dirt that was thrown in the grave. Much to the farmers surprise after a few minutes of shoveling dirt the mule just walked right out of the hole that was intended to be his grave.


We can all learn a lesson from this old mule. See every time that he was hit with opposition he would just shake it off and then step up. If we could just learn to be thick skinned like the mule and not let opposition and criticism get us down, each of our lives would end up drastically differnt.

Download your free copy of Think and Grow Rich

Jim Rohn Quotes


I'm currently reading "The Five Major Pieces of the Life Puzzle", it's an amazing book. I can't read more than a couple of sentences without stopping to think about what I just read. Here are a few quotes from Jim Rohn.



"Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness - great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy."


"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune."


"The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have materialized - never knowing."


"The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get."


"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishmnet."


"The book you don't read can't help."


"Success is neither magical or mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently apply the basic fundamentals."


"We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment."


"Effective communication is 20% what you know and 80% how you feel about what you know."


"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live."


"Every life form seems to strive to its maximum except human beings. How tall will a tree grow? As tall as it possibly can. Human beings, on the other hand, have been given the dignity of choice. You can choose to be all or you can choose to be less. Why not stretch up to the full measure of the challenge and see what all you can do?"


"Indecision is the thief of opportunity."


"You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight."

Conquering the Volcano

I once heard of two friends (one very athletic, the other was definitely lacking in the area of physical ability) who decided to take a hike to the top of volcano. They were enjoying the beautiful clear blue skies and each others company. Once they had spent an hour on top enjoying the view they decided it was time to head back down.

On the way down things began to get exciting, the volcano actually ruptured. As they weaved their way down through the glowing red lava, they reached a stream of lava about 15 feet wide. This stream of lava was all that stood between these two friends and their safe escape. In his state of panic the athletic friend said that he was going to run and jump to his safety. After all he was on the track team in college, and even competed in the long jump.

Even after much pleading from his not so athletic friend, the athletic friend got a running start and jumped as far as he possibly could and he jumped further than he had ever jumped before. He probably set a world record that will never be broken and landed safely on the other side. He told his not so athletic friend that he would go get help and come back.

Finally, after waiting as long as he possibly could, the not so athletic friend jumped as far as he could and he fell short by ten feet, and was instantly killed.

So which of the two are you? Are you the athletic one or are you the not so athletic one? Or does it even matter which one you are?

Both men were faced with the exact same challenge, both men had the exact same conditions surrounding them, yet one man was successful and the other failed. Neither man knew that beautiful morning the challenge that they would have to face. However, one man was prepared and the other man wasn’t.

Will you be prepared when life presents you with a challenge? Will you be prepared when life presents you with an opportunity? So how can you prepare for something when you have no idea exactly what opportunity or challenge you will have to face? The answer is that you can’t….you can only live you life to the fullest each and every day. You should live each day as if it were going to be your last.

Prepare to the fullest.

I once heard it said that if an oak tree had a human’s ambitions it would
only grow ten feet tall. We so easily sell ourselves short. Surround yourself
with people who push you to grow and push you out of your comfort zone.

Dennis Waitley Quotes






I hope these great Dennis Waitley Quotes will help motivate you and inspire you.

"Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience."


"Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success."


"Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer."


"Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised."


"You must learn from your past mistakes, but not lean on your past successes."


"Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on your own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon."


"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing."


"Luck happens when opportunity encounters the prepared mind."


"We have got to have a dream if we are going to make a dream come true."


"Winners take time to relish their work, knowing that scaling the mountain is what makes the view from the top so exhilarating."

The Aladdin Factor - Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen



The Aladdin Factor revolves around the principle that you can not receive unless you ask. Jack and Mark begin the book by uncovering the five main reasons that people do not ask.

1. Ignorance – people just don’t know what to ask for and how to ask for it.
2. Limiting and Inaccurate Beliefs – negative beliefs that have been sub-consciously programmed into our minds.
3. Fear – being afraid of rejection.
4. Low Self-Esteem – most people don’t feel worthy of the finer things in life.
5. Pride – many people feel that by asking for help they are admitting a weakness.


In the process of learning to ask Mark and Jack give several ideas to help you determine what exactly it is that you should ask for. A couple of the ones that I put into practice are: make a list of 101 wishes and write out your perfect day fantasy.

Make a list of 101 wishes. This process is great for helping you identify exactly what it is that you want. Just start writing down exactly what it is that you want, even if it seems impossible. This is a great way to begin your goals program.

Write out your perfect day. This process is simply to write down in detail how you would spend you day if you could do anything that you wanted to do. When would you wake up? What would you do next? Who would you spend time with?


Next, The Aladdin Factor teaches people to overcome their fears. “Comfort zones are plush lined coffins. When you stay in your plush lined coffins, you die.” Stan Dale You have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone in order to learn to ask others to help you reach you dreams.

Jack and Mark also point out the importance of giving. Here is a power story from The Aladdin Factor on page 149.

On a certain street in a Chinese city there was a poor beggar who held out his cup all day begging for rice or whatever the passers-by chose to give him.
One day the beggar saw a great parade coming down his street headed by Emperor riding in his stately rickshaw and freely handling out gifts to his subjects. The poor beggar was filled with delight.
“Now,” thought Woo, “my great opportunity has come. For once I shall receive a worthy gift,” and he danced with joy.
When the Emperor reached him, Woo held out his cup with great earnestness, but instead of the expected gift from the Emperor his Majesty asked Woo for a gift.
Poor Woo was greatly disappointed and vexed, so he reached in his cup and with much grumbling handed the Emperor two of the smallest grains of rice he could find. The Emperor passed on.
All that day Woo fumed and grumbled. He denounced the Emperor, he berated Buddha, he was cross to those who spoke to him and few people even stopped to speak to him or drop grains of rice in his cup.
That night when Woo reached his poor hut and poured out his scant supply of rice, he found in his cup two nuggets of gold just the size of the grains of rice he had given to the Emperor.


The Aladdin Factor is a great read with many great stories and illustrations. The book taught me the importance of asking for those things that I want and to not be afraid to ask others for help. If you are on the path towards reaching your dreams and goals then this book will definitely help you reach them quicker.

Lessons from Better than Good by Zig Ziglar





3 Most Important Resources: Time
Talent
Treasure

The more of your time, talent, and treasure you invest in your passion, the more you will fight for it, defend it, and protect it from everyone and everything that would attempt to steal it from you.

Time, Talent and Treasure are the only resources that we have.

Inspiration is caught better than it is taught.


Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny!

Joe Sabah: “You don’t have to be great to start. But you do have to start to be great.”

Thomas Edison: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”


Keep a picture of the goal in sight.

Motivation gets you going, but habit gets you there.

Many people never find their true calling in life because they don’t measure opportunities against purpose.

Your career is what you are paid for; your calling is what you are made for.


Recommended books from Better than Good:

The Travel’s Gift: Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success.

BOOK REVIEW

Automatic Wealth: The 6 Steps to Financial Independence
Michael Masterson



According to Michael Masterson the six steps to Automatic Wealth are:

1. Recognizing Reality
2. Plan to Become Wealthy
3. Develop Wealthy Habits
4. Radically Increase Your Personal Income
5. Get Richer While You Sleep
6. Retire Early

1. Recognizing Reality - Michael begins by helping the reader understand the importance of income and having a financial plan. Michael identifies four basic income levels:

1. If you have a family income of less than $50,000, it is tough to make ends meets.
2. If you earn between $50,000 and $150,000, you are getting by. Your bills are paid and you can afford some small luxuries, but you have to be careful.
3. When your family income exceeds $150,000, you are living well and want for nothing (unless you have 10 children).
4. When your family income exceeds $1 million, you can spend money without much thinking. You donÂ’t need a budget. You can be extravagant.

Michael says that one of the critical habits needed to become successful is to learn to act quickly. Ready….Fire…..Aim. “Because the right decision made too late is sometimes worse than no decision at all.” Michael explains that many people never make a decision because they fear that they will make the wrong decision. This fear is what prevents most people from ever making the necessary decisions to become successful.

2. Plan To Become Wealthy – Michael explains in this chapter that if you want to be successful then you must learn to live like successful people. Here are a few steps that he recommends:
Wake up earlier- and get to work earlier.
Set monthly, Weekly and Daily Objectives - “Once a month, you’ll sit down for two or three hours to map out your goals for the next four weeks. Once a week, you’ll spend one hour establishing your goals for the next seven days. And you’ll spend about 10 or 15 minutes each morning organizing your day.”

In order to plan to become wealthy you must learn to first plan your day.

3. Develop Wealthy Habits – The most important principle in this chapter is:

It is how you act, not what you think, that will determine your success.
It is how you think, not what you do, that will determine your happiness.

Here are the eight characteristics of people who build wealth:

1. They work hard.
2. They are good at what they do.
3. They have multiple streams of income.
4. They live in (relatively) inexpensive homes.
5. They are moderate in their spending.
6. They are extraordinary in their saving.
7. They pay themselves first.
8. They count their money.

Michael points out that the habit that is most important to becoming wealthy is learning to pay yourself first. Your First Saving Goal: Every year, I will save more than I saved last year.
Your Second Saving Goal: Every year, I will increase the amount I save in terms of a percentage of my income.

4. Radically Increase Your Personal Income - Michael gives some great advice on how to increase your personal income. Five Habits of Successful Employees:
1. Work longer hours.
2. Understanding your responsibilities.
3. Working harder.
4. Working smarter.
5. Helping your boss do better.

Michael explains the importance of making sure that your job is directly related to making the company more profitable. He advises that you should stake your success and income in the companyÂ’s success and profit.

In this chapter Michael also discusses the importance of developing additional lines and streams of income. The more streams of income that you have coming in the more likely those streams will turn into a river.

5. Get Richer While You Sleep – This chapter Michael lays out several different investment options that make you money while you sleep.

1. Investing in stock for equity appreciation.
a. Invest in what you know.
b. Be suspicious of stock stories.
c. Be conservative with each investment.
d. Have a Plan B

2. Three Characteristics of Great Start-Up Ventures
a. Efficiency of customer acquisition.
b. Gross profit margin.
c. Back-end potential.

3. The Potential of Real Estate
a. Buying and Managing Local Rental Properties: An Overview
1. Buy properties in your local area.
2. Invest in good or up-and-coming properties.
3. Whenever possible, buy newer, solid structures.
4. Develop a network of reliable contractors.

These are the three main investment vehicles that Michael recommends. His favorite is real estate. Michael points out the benefits of not only equity in properties but also the monthly rental income. Michael gives numerous formulas to determine if the investment properties are a good buy. His years of real estate investing insight are great to read out. He tells several personal stories from his real estate investing. These stories are not only inspiring but provide the opportunity to learn from other peopleÂ’s mistakes.

6. Retire Early - In this final step Michael gives an overview of everything that he has taught in his book. He gives different model portfolios based on where you are in terms of building your personal wealth.

Overview: Automatic Wealth is a great book with practical advice from someone who has amassed great personal wealth. Michael lays out a plan to achieve personal wealth within a 7 – 15 year time frame. Not only do I feel his plan is practical but I also feel that is plan will work if followed.