Tribute to Jim Rohn

Only once in a while has a person like Jim Rohn come along who has had such a dramatic impact on my life.

Many years ago, I was a very new student in the personal development arena. I really did not know much about the field; many of the popular, well-known names were completely foreign to me. The only seminar I had attended was one where the person in front of the audience was pounding on his chest and doing all these “moves” that would be considered “rap” by today’s standards. That seminar was filled with promotion and hype, and it certainly was not what I would call a great introduction to the field of personal development.

Then I met Jim Rohn. I was persuaded by a friend to sit in the front row of the arena where Jim was speaking that day. He was humble — full of humility — and what he said made sense. Without the use of a flashy laptop (which weren’t available back then), an overhead projector, or even a Elmo projection machine, there was Jim with his ancient white board (I’m sure he must have started his career on a blackboard — remember those?) drawing words that looked like scribbles from the front row.

Let’s make this story short, everything he said made common sense take a back seat. It fit and, most importantly, it worked. He said things like, “You become the average sum of the five people with whom you associate…,” so I counted my five (now, please take this correctly, I love my friends, I just chose a different path) and this is what it looked like: $36,000 per year in income, two cases of beer each week, shots of tequila around a campfire, could always catch big bass and could only go to the lake on Friday night and come back on Sunday afternoon. The most important part of that math was not the income, nor the alcohol, it was going to the lake. Now think about it. “Could only go to the lake on Friday night and return on Sunday afternoon”!! Why couldn’t they go in the middle of the week??? Well, you’re either part of the challenge or part of the solution, and I wanted to fish during the week and whenever I wanted. With Jim’s teaching, I started to become a part of my own solution.

Jim said to become positive and help make a difference to all you come in contact with. I remember when a close relative, who was always negative, called my office and left a message that essentially stated “your phone message is too positive.” Coming from a negative person, I found this to be very uplifting. I knew I was on the right track. Know this, since that statement, I have always had a positive message on my recording.

A few years later, I was on a flight from Portland to Albuquerque. It wasn’t a great time for me, as money was low, and my business at that point was even lower. I was broke and feeling pretty depressed about it. I wasn’t sure what to do. I picked up Jim’s book, titled “The Seasons of Life” and began to read. Wow, talk about an eye-opener. I think Jim wrote this book for this very season of my life. Have you ever had the experience where every page seemed like it was speaking directly to you? Well, that’s how this book was. I finished it just as we landed in Salt Lake City to change planes. By mistake, I left the book in the seatback pocket in the airplane. I realized it too late and the airline wouldn’t allow me back on the plane to retrieve it. I was devastated…, it was like that book was my lifeline at that time. Flying from Salt Lake City to Albuquerque, I felt depressed. I didn’t have enough money in my pocket to buy another copy. After some consideration of my small (it seemed pretty big then) dilemma, it occurred to me that the bigger “picture” was in the application of the words, not in the owning of the book.

Let’s fast-forward about 10-15 years. I have studied under Jim for quite some time now. I have even opened for him, once in Phoenix in front of about 700 people and once in Dallas in front of about 350 people. What a charge that was!

So, Mr. Rohn, I owe you a great deal. Your words, your stories, your humility — all are areas that have impacted my life. I promise, Mr. Rohn, that I will be a good steward of your gifts. I promise to be part of that ripple effect that you talk about. I know you are always with me, you are a part of my heart, you are in my thoughts, and for that, I owe you a great deal.

Thanks Jim!

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