Living
the Dream
“Start
from wherever you are and with whatever you’ve got.”
Jim
Rohn
I just
discovered Jim Rohn, a motivational business speaker who died in 2009. I like the
pragmatic nature of his quotes. “If you really want to do something, you’ll
find a way. If you really don’t want to do something, you’ll find an excuse.”
“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” “For every promise
made, there is a price to pay.” Quick, snappy, easy to remember—he certainly
knew how to plant seeds in the zeitgeist without being intrusive.
It would
be nice to think success in life is that easy for everyone. He said, “If you
work hard, you have the right to play hard without guilt.” And that “Life
is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences and
their intensity.” I think perhaps all that is true, but I also know that financial
success is relative to one’s circumstances and one’s starting point—unless you
happen to be Abraham Lincoln, of course, but he was one of a kind.
The
danger in putting so much responsibility on the individual is that if we work
and work and still don’t move up the proverbial ladder, we feel ourselves to be
losers. I don’t believe anyone who works hard, and does their very best, is a loser.
That is a mistaken capitalistic value that we have set for ourselves. It comes straight
out of the Puritan work ethic which led us to believe there was an ever-ascending
track everyone should be riding, and if you missed it, shame on you. In my
world view, that simply is not valid.
People can be happy and
lead successful lives without climbing any ladder at all. Only when money is
the sole indicator of success is it necessary to ladder-climb, and some folks
are miserable at the top no matter how much wealth they accrue. Here’s my motto:
“Do what you love and live on what you make.” Chances are good that when we
pour love into whatever we do, we produce our best product. At least, we feel
happy while we’re doing it. That smells like success to me.
I
noticed that Jim Rohn was born and died in the same place—Yakima, WA. Whatever
ladder he climbed was apparently right there at home—which proves nothing
except that you do not have to be an international tycoon to succeed. If you live
the life you love, you will succeed wherever you are. That’s my theory and I’m
sticking to it.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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