Rohn: How to Start a New Discipline

Success starts by becoming the master over the small details of our lives.

Jim Rohn

 

Everyone has a mental list of “I should have’s”:

I should have written to my mother this weekend.
I should have told her how much I really care long before now.
I should have called that creditor and told the truth last month.
I should have started working out years ago.

Any day we choose we can go to work on the basics—on any one of a host of small activities that will start the process of self-discipline. The joy that comes from this small achievement will start the miracle process.

The early inspiration that comes from the practice of new and simple disciplines will start a process called “soaring self-worth.” It does not matter how small or how insignificant the activity is because it is within those obscure but important disciplines that the great opportunities exist.

This kind of simple progress will build a ladder leading out of the abyss of failure and neglect that once was our dwelling place. With each new discipline we will have constructed a new rung that will enable us to climb out of darkness where the failures, the complainers, and the confused and misguided gather to share their sad stories of how unfair life is.

Building the ladder is easy to do.

The smallest of disciplines, practiced every day, start an incredible process that can change our lives forever.

Until we have learned to take care of the little opportunities life brings our way, we will never master the disciplines for becoming happy and prosperous. The major accomplishments in life begin with the mastery of the small disciplines. The mental, emotional and philosophical “muscles” required to write a letter, clean the garage or pay our bills on time are the very same “muscles” involved in running a company or managing a department. As a wise prophet has written: “Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season you shall reap if you faint not.”

We cannot rule the city until we can rule our spirit. We cannot rule the nation until we can rule ourselves. We cannot design our future until we have redesigned our habits. We cannot increase our rewards until we increase our level of intelligent activity.

The place to start is within ourselves through the development of new disciplines. That is where success really starts, by becoming the master over the small details of our lives. All of the great rewards in life are available to each of us, if we will discipline ourselves to walk through those early stages of growth without neglecting any of the disciplines. We must not permit any small activity to rob us of our future health and wealth and friendship and lifestyle. We cannot allow any error in judgment to delude us into thinking that “letting the little thing slide” would not make a major difference. We cannot say to ourselves, “This is only area where I am letting down on my self-discipline.” It is this “only area” that will start the process of erosion on all of our other disciplines.

One of the great challenges facing us all is disciplined activity. We must discipline ourselves to maintain a proper attitude, for we are surrounded by sources that can quickly erode the attitude we have worked so hard to develop. And we must discipline ourselves to convert dreams into plans, and plans into goals, and goals into those small daily activities that will lead us, one sure step at a time, toward a better future.

Finally, we must use the power of our imagination. We must ponder all that is possible. We must remind ourselves that to do what is possible we must sometimes challenge ourselves with the impossible. As an ancient warrior once wrote, “It is better to aim the spear at the moon and strike the eagle, than to aim at the eagle and strike only a rock.”

Planning, imagination and intense activity are awesome forces that have the power to dramatically change the quality of our lives.

Activity is a major part of the life puzzle. It is the power that gives substance and meaning to our philosophy and our attitude. Intelligent, planned, intense and consistent activity creates new energy and keeps us moving toward the exciting future that our thoughts and desires have already designed for us.

Source: https://www.success.com/article/rohn-how-to-start-a-new-discipline

Rohn: You Don’t Have to Love What You Do...

...but you have to love the opportunity.

Jim Rohn

 

You have to love what you do, that’s what people say. But that's not necessarily true. What is true is that you have to love the opportunity—the opportunity to build life, future, health, success and fortune. Knocking on someone’s door may not be something you love to do, but you love the opportunity of what might be behind it.

A guy says, "I'm digging ditches. Should I love digging ditches?" The answer? No, you don't have to love digging ditches, but if it is your first entry onto the ladder of success, you should be thinking, I'm glad somebody gave me the opportunity to dig ditches, and I'm going to do it so well, I won't be here long.

You can be inspired by just having found something, even though you are making mistakes in the beginning and even though it is not ideal, taking on a new discipline that you haven't learned yet. You don't have to love it, you just have to learn to appreciate the opportunity—and the person who believed in you before you believed in yourself, the person who brought you the good news, who found you. 

If you will embrace the disciplines associated with the new opportunity, you will soon find that your self-confidence starts to grow, that you go from being a skeptic to being a believer. And, soon, when you start talking to people, you will find it to be the most thrilling opportunity in the world. Every person you meet, what could they be to you? It’s unlimited! Maybe a friend for life, an open door to retiring, a colleague for years to come. This is big, and sometimes, in the beginning when we are just getting started, we don't always see how big it really is.

So before you are tempted to give up or get discouraged, remember that all success is based on long-term commitment, faith, discipline, attitude and a few stepping stones along the way. You might not like the stone you are on right now, but it's sure to be one of the stones that leads to great opportunities in the future.

Source: http://www.success.com/article/rohn-you-dont-have-to-love-what-you-do

How to Create a Master Plan for Your Life

Everything you do is a link in the chain of events that will lead you to your final destination.

Jim Rohn

Wouldn’t you prefer a life of productivity rather than a life of endless tasks with little accomplishment? Of course! When you carefully set your goals and keep them at the forefront of your mind, you can work smarter instead of longer. You’ll know that a life worth living comes from a life of balance.

In order to maintain that balance, here’s a key technique you can use in your life to help keep you on the right track: “visual chain thinking.”

Ambitious people know that each step toward their goals is not a singular step. Each discipline is not a singular discipline. Each project is not a singular project. They see everything they do—and every discipline they adhere to—as a link in the chain of events and actions that will lead them to their final destination. Every action and every discipline achieved today is a link in the chain. Every action and every discipline achieved tomorrow is a link. And every action and every discipline achieved in the more distant future is also a link.

Your direction, activities and disciplines all make up crucial links in your chain of success. When you can see that one thing affects everything else, when you come to realize that every discipline affects every discipline, when you look at your future as a chain that needs strong links all along the way… then you’ll build a reservoir of strength and courage that will serve you will during the down times.

When you can see that every link in the chain will eventually lead you to the things you want most out of life and to the person you want to become, then you won’t grow discouraged, fearful or impatient with today. When you can see where you’re going through visual chain thinking, even on the toughest days, you’ll keep moving toward your goals because you know where you’re going.

Building your visual chain of thought begins when you have well-defined plans for your career, your family activities, your investments and your health. Your plans and goals are your visual chain. You know where you’re going before you get there.

It’s ironic how we all understand the importance of mapping out a strategy for a football game or a basketball game. Not one professional team in the world begins a game without a game plan. But few of us take the time to map out such a strategy for our lives.

It’s so important to make this sort of plan. Here’s the first rule for your game plan of life: Don’t begin the activities of your day until you know exactly what you plan to accomplish. Don’t start your day until you have it planned. Do this every day. I know all this writing takes time and a disciplined effort. Remember, however, that reaching your goals is the fruitful result of discipline, not merely hope.

Once you’ve mastered the art of planning your day, you’re ready for the next level. Don’t begin the activities of your week until you know exactly what you plan to accomplish. Don’t start your week until you have it planned.

Just imagine what life would be like if you took time out every Sunday to plan your week. Come Friday, you wouldn’t be saying, “Boy, did this week fly by. Where did it go? What did I do?” No, if you plan your week before you start it, you’ll know exactly what you want to do, what you want to accomplish and what you need to work on. If you learn to plan your days as part of your overall game plan for the week, the parts will fit much better. Your days will be better. You will be more effective. You’ll be working smarter, not harder.

And when you’ve learned to plan your week, guess what? You’ve got to plan your month! Don’t start your month until you’ve mapped out your game plan.

By developing and following your game plan, your days, weeks and months all become part of a larger plan, a bigger design you develop, a long-term view of your life, a visual chain. You’ll start gaining a greater perspective of it all… because you are planning.

If visually seeing your future is new to you, if you’ve never developed a game plan before, let me offer a few tips. There are two things you need to understand before you create a game plan.

1. A game plan, a visual chain of your future, is like a spreadsheet. Instead of listing numbers, list activities. It’s like a to-do list.
2. The technique of developing a game plan can be used for a single day, a single project or a variety of projects that are happening simultaneously.

Here’s how you do it. Game plans work best on graph paper. Take a sheet of graph paper and make vertical columns corresponding to the number of days this plan is to cover. Then on the left-hand side of the paper, write the heading “Activities.” Under this heading, list all the activities to be accomplished within your time frame.

For example, you’ve got one week to finalize a marketing plan. It’s an overwhelming amount of work to complete, but it’s got to be done. So break it down piece by piece. The best way to start is by listing all of the individual components on the left-hand side of the page. Some of these things will need to be completed before others can be started. You need to obtain your market research results before you can determine your target market. You need to know your target market before you can develop your marketing strategy. You need to have your marketing strategy before you can create a budget for collateral materials, and so on.

When you break down the project piece by piece and deadline by deadline, you can be more effective in putting together the appropriate parts of the puzzle—and in doing your own work while delegating the rest.

The final result of developing your game plan is a clear visual presentation of the tasks before you. This method is used quite often in business to coordinate and develop projects of any length. It’s the only way to see the entire project on paper and manage its progress.

Admittedly, game plans are frustrating to create. They’re frustrating because it’s difficult to completely prioritize your life and all your projects. You might go through several sheets of graph paper before you produce the perfect format. But as soon as you develop your first one, you’ll see the value in this discipline.

Keep your game plan in plain sight. Put it up in your office where you can easily look at it. Have a copy of it at home and tape it to the bathroom mirror. Keep a copy in your journal for quick reference. Your game plan will serve as a constant reminder of all you need to do to get where you want to go.

If you’re doing all you’re scheduled to do, game plans are very rewarding. Day by day, week by week, month by month, you’ll see the magic of your dreams and plans turning into reality. You will have an incredible feeling of being in charge of your life, your surroundings and your future. It’s like creating a work of art on the biggest canvas imaginable. It’s creative. It’s beautiful.

This is powerful stuff. To dream a dream, plan for the dream, and then watch your dream turn into reality. Here’s what’s really powerful about creating game plans: You can see your future right before your eyes. So on those days when your energy isn’t up to par, your enthusiasm is a little low, your ambition isn’t pushing you forward and your attitude isn’t on the positive side, use your game plan to see how far you’ve come. Take the time to visualize exactly where you’re headed. On those days, it’s your discipline and visual chain of the future that will push you ahead. People and circumstances might try to set you back, but your visual chain will propel you toward your goals.

Source: http://www.success.com/article/rohn-how-to-create-a-master-plan-for-your-life