Tag Archives: Jim Rohn

Your Past is Not Your Future

September 6, 2011 8:44 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

When I was at school, I was pleased about being average. I was usually placed about 12th to 14th in a class of 30 students. It was comfortable because I didn’t need to try too hard to stay there and it also meant that I didn’t stick out too much which, in our school, was also a good thing.

At one of his personal development workshops, I remember Jack Black saying something that impacted me. He said that the problem with many people is that if they were average in school, then the chances are that they would also expect to be average in life. In other words their expectations might be set too low. Let me explain why expectations are important.

The classic study on this subject is known as the pygmalion study in which they studied a group of school kids. They told the kids that they had been specially selected because they were all above average intelligence and they were expected to do very well in their final exams that year.

They were all model students. They paid attention in class, they did their homework assignments and they all did very well in their final exams – as expected. Only then did they reveal that the kids were not specially selected on the basis of intelligence, they were a statistically normal sample. How about that? What the study showed is that if you can raise your expectations, the results will follow. This principle (the pygmalion effect) has become the cornerstone of modern sports psychology.

So, I will always be grateful to Jack for pointing out that the above logic is false i.e. average in school does not equate to average in life and furthermore, that anyone who thinks of themselves as average probably has their expectations set too low. Remember that, if you want to achieve outstanding success, you have to become something more than average – much more. You have to separate yourself from the remainder of the field.

It is said that 95% of people who start a web business are failing. I don’t know whether or not that figure is true, but the late Jim Rohn used to quote a similar statistic about outstandingly successful people, “95% of people”, he said “never achieve substantial success and satisfaction in life. This equates to billions and billions of people living far below their potential.”

A while back, I met a taxi driver who was concerned with how he felt about himself. He felt that he had never really managed to develop to his full potential. He felt as if, inside, he was really still a small child and he believed that other people did not feel this way. He was wondering when things would begin to change for him. The answer is that things will begin to change when he begins to see himself differently.

Your expectations constitute an important part of the inbuilt success mechanism. If you can’t see yourself succeeding, then the chances are that you will remain in that 95%, but if you can start to see yourself as that special person with the unique gift or talent that you most certainly have, then you are on the road to lifting your expectations.

So, remember that average in school does not equate to average in life and that your past, whatever it may have been, need not have any bearing on where you will go, and what you will achieve in the future.

Posted in: Life Lessons, Personal Development, Spiritual ⋅ Tagged: , , ,

What is Inspiration?

September 2, 2011 6:50 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

We we started the Inspiration Newsletter, in 2005 as a way of providing useful information, interesting articles and free inspirational ebooks to our members. At the time, I felt we should create a separate identity for the newsletter, but since then we have more closely aligned the branding of our main site with the newsletter. You may have noticed that big word right there at the top of the page. That is because White Dove Books is fundamentally about inspiration and in this post, I would like to address the question: what is inspiration?

Let’s first look at the root meaning of the word, inspire. It literally means to breathe (spir) in, and the action of being inspired results in accessing creative thoughts and ideas that seem to come from outside the conscious mind. This might be from the subconscious or possibly, as some would suggest, from some external agency such as God. Indeed, one particular usage of the word inspiration specifically relates to the concept of divine revelation.

Often when we solve a problem, it can seem as if the solution has come from somewhere beyond ourselves, so it is quite natural to think of this external source as God. Indeed many people over the years have attributed sudden bursts of insight that have moved them forward in some field as originating from God, though the idea that such thoughts might arise from the unconscious (subconscious) mind is also compelling.

Salvador Dali once famously said, “my moustache is my inspiration” possibly inferring that he believed his inspiration came from within. But many other brilliant individuals have certainly suggested that they believed that inspiration somehow comes from outside. Tchaikovsky said that “inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy,” a comment that reminds me of something Thomas Edison once said i.e. that “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.”

The process of receiving inspiration is one that I have commented on in a number of previous posts. Since the answer you require will come from somewhere outside of the conscious mind, whether that is from God or simply from your subconscious, the process involves consciously letting go of the matter and allowing inspiration to arrive in its own time:

1. Formulate your question
2. Get yourself into the right frame of mind
3. Ask yourself the question directly
4. Mentally, completely let the subject go
5. Wait for your answer

For a more complete discussion of this process, see here see here.

It is a wonderful thing when you discover that, no matter how this process works and whether inspiration comes from within or otherwise, the fact remains that the process itself does actually work. When you need inspiration, I commend you to try it.

Sometimes, people might comment that some particular person has been an inspiration to them. What is generally meant by such an expression is that their imagination has been primed with possibilities that they had previously discounted. In situations like this, inspiration has certainly come from outside of the individual. Even Salvador Dali, despite his comments about his moustache, was inspired by other painters including, for example, the Dutch master, Vermeer.

When I think back to the sources of my own inspiration, I can say that I was definitely inspired by Jack Black, Zig Ziglar and Jim Rohn. In the process of writing for the White Dove Books site, my desire is that I might also be able to inspire some people to elevate their understanding of what is possible for them within this life. Surely that is what inspiration is all about.

Personally, I believe that you can be an inspiration or, if you prefer, a source of inspiration to others. There is probably no greater service you can render to humanity than to help someone else to see the myriad possibilities that might presently elude their current level of understanding of what is achievable for them.

Posted in: Inspiration ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

Jim Rohn’s 4 Questions to Ponder

July 12, 2011 2:27 pm ⋅ 1 Comment ⋅

Jim Rohn is a man I wish I had known personally. He was one of the most inspirational speakers I have ever heard speak on the subject of personal development.

Sadly, Jim died in 2009, but he left a wonderful legacy of his philosophy around the principles of self improvement. Of all the people I have heard speak on this subject over the years, Jim provided the clearest statement of the importance of personal development as the route to success.

It was Jim’s own experience, mainly from the period when he was between the ages of 25 and 31, that he drew his lessons about life and what it takes to succeed. At age 25, Jim was earning $57 per week working as a stock clerk; at age 31 – just six years later – he was a millionaire and his central message was always that anyone could do exactly the same.

He began as a motivational speaker by giving a talk that he entitled, “Idaho Farm Boy Makes it to Beverly Hills.” It was a talk that he was invited to give, time and again, over his long and highly successful career, the essence of which can be summed up in his 4 Questions to Ponder which we’ll take a brief look at here:

The first question is: why? Why should you be prepared to put in all the necessary the time and effort to work on transforming yourself into a person the market values? Jim says it is a good question. To accomplish the transformation, you would need to begin a serious study program and dedicate yourself to the process of life-long learning. It is far more effort than the majority of people will ever be prepared to put in. Jim also says the best answer to this question is his second question.

The second question is: why not? Why not see how far you can go; why not see how many books you can read; why not see what you can accomplish; why not see how much you can earn? Jim’s core philosophy is right there, embedded within those questions. If you live in the developed world, you have a golden opportunity to make your dreams into your reality so, quite simply, why not?

The third question is: why not you? Why should it not be you who is the leader of your own enterprise; why should it not be you who is living a life full of enjoyment and fulfilment; why should it not be you that is setting the world alight with joy and enthusiasm; why should it not be you who is achieving at a level you have never before dared to dream?

His final question to ponder is: why not now? It took Jim just six years to become a millionaire once he had begun the process he recommends. Those six years will pass anyway, whether or not you personally decide to improve yourself during that same period. The choice you have is either to stay where you are or to be a different person six years hence.

By the way, Jim did not advocate the business of pursuing riches. In fact, understanding that is a real key to success i.e. that if you attempt to pursue riches, they will probably continually elude you. Jim’s philosophy is that riches come as a by-product of working on yourself. It is simply the way things work. If you want to never have to worry about money again, you need to essentially transform yourself into a person that the market values.

Here’s Jim speaking, at one of his seminars, on the subject of how to begin the process of turning your life around: How to Have Your Best Year Ever.

Posted in: Personal Development, Self Improvement, Success ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,