We’ve all heard the saying “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Do you know who said it first? The late Emanuel James Rohn called himself an Idaho farm boy who made it to Beverly Hills and it all started out working as a stock clerk for Sears. A public speaking opportunity for the Rotary Club changed the trajectory of his life and by the end of his career, he was known worldwide as a major motivational figure. We could attribute to him the credit of unofficial founder of the personal-development industry as we know it. Some of the most familiar self-help icons today have named Rohn as their inspiration, including life coach Tony Robbins and the author of the Chicken Soup book series, Jack Canfield.
For more than 40 years, Rohn conducted seminars and personal development workshops on the basic human behaviors that most affect personal and business performance. You may be surprised to find that some of the most familiar quotes you’ve heard about entrepreneurship or success and personal growth actually came from Rohn. Here are a few of the things he’s said that will inspire owners of startups and small businesses:
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”
“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”
“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”
“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.”
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
“Don’t join an easy crowd. You won’t grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform and achieve are high.”
“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”
“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.”
“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 greatest reward in becoming a millionaire is not the amount of money that you earn. It is the kind of person that you have to become to become a millionaire in the first place.”
“You must either modify your dreams or magnify your skills.”
“The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them.”
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the accumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgments that leads us to either fortune or failure.”
“You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”
“If you just communicate, you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles.”
—Jim Rohn, Author, Speaker, Personal Development Expert
