Life is Worthwhile if ~

Four “Ifs” That Make Life Worthwhile
by Jim Rohn

I first heard of the four ifs from Jim Rohn. Jim Rohn is one my favorite motivational speakers, everything he says truly makes so much sense to me and motivates me. Here is a passage from one of his audio cds that I wanted to share.They are ideas, principles and strategies that enable me to face life’s everyday challenges, and they make living worthwhile.

First, life is worthwhile if you LEARN. What you don’t know WILL hurt you. You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. Life is worthwhile if you learn from your own experiences—negative or positive. We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong. We call that a positive negative. We also learn from other people’s experiences, both positive and negative. I’ve always said that it is too bad failures don’t give seminars. Obviously, we don’t want to pay them so they aren’t usually touring around giving seminars. But that information would be very valuable—we would learn how someone who had it all then messed it up. Learning from other people’s experiences and mistakes is valuable information because we can learn what not to do without the pain of having tried and failed ourselves.

We learn by what we see, so pay attention. We learn by what we hear, so be a good listener. Now I do suggest that you should be a selective listener; don’t just let anybody dump into your mental factory. We learn from what we read, so learn from every source; learn from lectures; learn from songs; learn from sermons; learn from conversations with people who care. Always keep learning.

Second, life is worthwhile if you TRY. You can’t just learn; now you have to try something to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference, try to make some progress, try to learn a new skill, try to learn a new sport. It doesn’t mean you can do everything, but there are a lot of things you can do, if you just try. Try your best. Give it every effort. Why not go all out?

Third, life is worthwhile if you STAY. You have to stay from spring until harvest. If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the project, see it through. Sometimes calamity comes and then it is worth wrapping it up. And that’s the end, but just don’t end in the middle. Maybe on the next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, see it through.

And lastly, life is worthwhile if you CARE. If you care at all you will get some results, if you care enough you can get incredible results. Care enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to change it all. Care enough to be the highest producer. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to win.

Four powerful little words: learn, try, stay and care. What difference can you make in your life today by putting these words to work?

—Jim Rohn

 

Lessons from the Excerpt 1, 2, and 3 : “THE QUESTION”

Before you begin reading about “the question,” i recommend first reading excerpt 1, 2, and 3 because this is a summary of all the three posts. Now, ‘the question’: Two boys. Two frogs. Two powerful choices. Riches or poverty. Life or death.

We are making these same choices, every day, every hour, and the choices we make are spreading out through our life, just like the water hyacinth.This is where we all go wrong with the choices because You may not see the results today, or tomorrow, or even next year. They do not happen in an instant.
In fact, by the time you do finally see the results, the process will probably be so far away that the surface of the pond will be completely covered.
Now the question is, covered with what?

When the wealthy man spoke to his sons, the second boy thought he was offering them a choice of which money to take. But the first boy listened more carefully. He remembered that money was only the second gift. He understood that the choice was not whether to take the penny or the sheaf of bills… the choice was whether or not to take the third gift.

Wisdom.

The lesson was not about money: it was about wisdom. It was a lesson about compound interest, leverage, geometric progression and growth. It was a lesson about the Slight Edge.

The choice the wealthy man offered his two sons is the same choice the world offers, every day, every hour: sickness or health; sinking poverty or abundant wealth; deepening loneliness and alienation or a rich and growing circle of friends.

The Slight Edge is the guide to the wealthy man’s third gift; it will help in learning habits of thought and action that will allow you to choose the penny doubled, every time. It will keep you paddling until your cream becomes butter. It gives you the power to choose what to plant in your life, so that you will end up completely blanketing the surface of the pond with the blossoms of your choice.
Use the slight edge to your advantage.

In my next post, i will clearly discuss what the slight edge is.