Reading a Jim Rohn books is like hanging with your grandpa, sipping a cup of iced tea, and hearing him drop wisdom bombs about the good ol’ days in war and business.
I’m always blown away by the amount of wisdom in Jim’s books. Dude is awesome. So today, I wanted to show you how you can use Jim’s principles to be happier, make more money, and more.
In today’s episode, I break down Jim Rohn’s 7 strategies for wealth and happiness.
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Below is a preview of Jim’s seven nuggets of wisdom (I share LOTS more on on my podcast).
1. Use focused goals.
Your dreams are a projection of the life you wish to lead. When you have the clarity of a goal, living your dream life becomes so much easier. Without goals, it’s impossible to manage your time effectively and achieve your dream life. For example, at Sumo.com, we have one annual goal. Everything we do has to be aligned with this one goal (and this is how we grew Sumo to an 8-figure business).
2. Seek knowledge.
Success leaves clues. Go look at what successful people are doing. How did they get to be so successful? What are their habits? What tactics and strategies do they use? Find out, and use the same success strategies yourself. When seeking knowledge, be especially aware of the negatives — or stumbling blocks holding you back. Once you can identify your negative habits, you can begin to replace them with successful, positive habits.
3. Learn how to change.
You are what you read — all leaders are readers. If you’ve become too “busy” to read, stop making excuses and start reading again. In the morning, at bedtime, during your lunch break… be disciplined by starting small and fitting a few pages in wherever you can. One bonus hack for making positive change: Ask the most successful person you know who’s the most successful person they know. Then, take that person out to dinner and pick their brain to learn more success tips.
4. Control your money.
Jim had a great line which I thought was really powerful: “To have more than you’ve got, you have to become more than you are.” Are you becoming more than you are, so you can be more successful? To improve yourself (and make more money, be happier, and live your dream life), stop just wishing things were easier. Instead, work for more wisdom and greater strength.
5. Master time.
Time is your most important resource (we all have a limited amount of birthdays before our clock expires). Knowing you’re going to die someday can inspire you to stop wasting your time, eliminate anything stunting your growth, and follow your interests. Don’t be afraid to make yourself a little uncomfortable in order to break through your growth plateaus. Your time is ticking.
6. Surround yourself with winners.
You have to take responsibility for your positive and negative behavior, and the best way to level up your wealth and happiness is by hanging out with winners. Stop hanging out with the easy crowd. Spend more time with the right people where the expectations are high and you reach your full potential.
7. Learn how to live well.
You can be happier by becoming the person who gives a little more to the world. Plus, contribution makes some of us more motivated to make money. But success isn’t always just money. Even though the media and our friends love to talk about the importance of being a billionaire, don’t blindly chase other people’s version of success. Instead, spend the time to figure out what truly make you happy, and then invest in things really that give you joy.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. In the full podcast episode, I dive even deeper on Jim Rohn’s philosophies. You’ll learn…
- Why wishing it were easier is the wrong mindset — and what to do instead
- How to change your habits from negative to positive
- The importance of “being the ant” (what this means and how to get there
The Challenges: First, delete every social app on your phone except one. Two, commit to reading one new book this month. Here’s some inspiration.
Leave a comment and tell me how you’re doing on this week’s challenges for a chance to win a copy of my favorite book.
Links discussed in this episode:
7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness: Power Ideas from America’s Foremost Business Philosopher
61 responses to “Deep Dive on Jim Rohn’s 7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness”
Bit behind on my podcasts, but I’ll comment anyway.
I have been reading Seth Godin’s “Tribes” and a great biography about Thomas Jefferson called “The Art of Power.”
I am reading “The Way Of The Superior Man” by David Deida. It’s a challenging read for a woman…simultaneously enlightening, confronting, amusing, frustrating and bizarre.
I loved this episode! I’m going to set up a reminder to listen to this episode once a month (or more).
Hi Noah,
great episode!
I’ve been reading lots of books these last years, so my own challenge is to spend 30 days with one book, reading it, studying it, applying it, writing about it and my experiences with it on my blog etc. I realized, if I want to really learn the lessons I can’t move to the next book as soon as I’m finished with one. So, hopefully my 30-day book challenge is going to help with that.
I recently finished “The voice of your dreams” and one of the many things I engrained in my mind is the importance of finishing things. So I committed to finish the 3-4 books I have started and not finished (in case I still want to read them) before buying a new one.
“Influence” by Cialdini: Check!
Concerning removing social apps, I did that several weeks ago, when I changed my smartphone and took the chance to not install again most of the apps. I just installed the essential ones. As social app, I just left Whatsapp installed. The rest, removed.
What a difference!
Adios
Carlos
Hi Carlos ,
Hmmm great it is a great habit, what are your favourite books of all time s
Hi Noah,
I first heard you tell us to take successful people out for dinner 3 years back. At the time I thought, “Noah, you’re crazy, you can’t just email someone and say, “hey can I take you out for dinner?””
However, building relationships with more successful people and with people who inspire you is so important.
I want to share how I did this in case it helps anyone.
1. Firstly, understand that most people really do want to help you. They want to share their knowledge.
2. I made a list of 20 people I wanted to reach out to. It just so happened all these people lived in a different city and they were cold contacts (very few mutual connections).
3. I put them on an excel and noted things like their twitter handle, their email, podcasts they were on etc.
4. Then I began emailing them. I didn’t expect to get 20/20 responses. Getting even 1 coffee meeting would be great.
5. I set a date to be in my target city and tried to get coffee dates set up. I managed 4.
6. I wanted them to know that I really appreciated their time, so apart from being on time and suggesting places to meet for coffee, I spent hours crafting good questions. And I got these questions reviewed from my friends. This because I believe there’s a big difference between dumb questions and well-thought out ones.
7. This was hugely beneficial. I got to make new friends, and one of them decided to become a mentor and he was keen to introduce to his friends.
8. Sidenote: I think that trying to get coffee with someone like Noah, Tim Ferriss or the likes is setting yourself up for failure because they’re so busy. Target someone who isn’t as popular.
Hope this helps.
My favorite book is easy Elon Musk’s biography by Ashlee Vance
I will read Flow by Steven Kottler and listen to some podcasts with him. I’m a podcast addict though I only listen to just few podcats, Tim Ferriss’es show as one of them and that’s how I discovered your podcast and added it to my list of indulgence :).
Love it, keep it up and I love the challenges.
I am waking up at 6 AM most days now.
I had to pull over to jot down a few tweetables lol. Great episode! Just finished Happy Pockets Full of Money (for the second time) and next up is Influence which is on your list as well. I added a few of yours to my Amazon wish list. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hey Noah, really great episode, timeless but profound insights! The book I’m reading this month is Josh Kaufmans Personal MBA to help me get a business overview before I start my own Private Label Brand
Last month I read “The End of Average” by Todd Rose – a great read.
Now reading, “Benjamin Franklin – An American Life” by Walter Isaacson. Loving it so far, about halfway through.
Noah, you friggin’ rock man. Inspiring.
I’m reading Grant Cardone’s The 10X Rule. Absolutely loving it! It’s helped me to realize that I can’t stay stagnant – I have to 10X my goals and work even harder to get them.
I am reading two books right now: “The Untethered Soul” by Michael Singer about that voice that you hear in your head. “Zorba the Greek” by Kikos Kazantzakis I just started this but it seems to be about living life to the fullest. Both are really good.
Hi, Noah, I have kept Twitter and am reading Tools for Titans, also I am following the majority of those showcased by Tim Ferriss….I am striving to be the best I can be. It is time! Thanks for the podcast.
First thing first by Stephen Covey read his 7 habits book and wanted to get deeper into time managment.
This past mont I read Tim Ferriss’s Tools of Titans, it was a wild ride!
I also did How to Get Filthy Rich in Raising Asia – A Novel by Mohsin Hamid, beautiful language, specially the last page.
And Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, fits like a glove every time!
Sidenote, I always get a bad look from my mom when books arrive home, she says I spend all my money on books! 🙁
Thanks Noah, great digest.
Deep work. One of the most important skills, specially for a software developer.
Great episode matey! I’m pretty sure we would all love to hear about more about your thoughts, insights, experiences and tips on writing good sales copy.
Cheers
I’m halfway through “Born Standing Up” by Steve Martin. Phenomenal autobiography by an all-time great actor, comedian, writer and playwright. He’s like a real life Forrest Gump who just keeps stumbling into wild circumstances, but at the same time he’s supremely motivated and dedicated to his craft.
P.S. Love Jim Rohn too
Great call on Steve Martin book. Heard solid things. Adding to my list. You won one of my favorite books. I’ll email you =)
As always, another great episode. I just finished Designing your life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans which I really enjoyed which talks about prototyping, reframing and other great concepts. Going to dig further into Antifragile now! Keep up the awesome content!
Hi Noah, Great job on the podcast. This episode hit me especially at the right time as I am currently working on making discipline a mastery in my life right now (I just finished my 1st week of the 5am challenge!). I am currently reading two excellent books:
1) No Excuses! The Power of Self-Discipline by Brain Tracy
2) Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Keep up the great work!
This week I’m reading/listening to “The Fred Factor” by Mark Sanborn. It’s a quick read about the power of being excellent in throughout your life even in jobs you might view as insignificant or boring. It’s a great reminder to be different in life – make you daily interactions with people standout and focus on serving others.
Rabbi Can’t Lose,
I’m reading Joe Sugarman’s Copywriting Handbook thanks to your boy, Neville.
Cheers,
Cap’n Matt
Just started The Inner Game of Tennis–recommended by many of my mentors!
Last month, I read Paddle Your Canoe by Nick Offerman and Listen, Liberal by Thomas Frank. This month, I’m reading Fates and Furies (novel) by Lauren Goff and The Circle by Dave Eggers.
I am about to start seriously with Tools of Titans that I just skimmed through until now. I always make sure to have some fiction books available as well (point 7 of your podcast: “give yourself a break”), like Norse Mythology (Neil Gaiman) and the classic The Trial (Kafka).
I am really having fun with your short but in-depth format – my go-to audio when doing non-intellectual activity or walking.
Hey Noah,
I have deleted all of my apps except for Facebook. It honestly feels so good! So good I also want to delete Facebook… it made me realize how much precious time I was wasting look at pictures or comments that were not making me any better. As soon as you delete them, you also realize what we’re the reasons for actually having them in the first place and let me tell you, none of these reasons were worth it. I’ve now created a list of goals for myself and never downloading these apps back is definitely one of them.
Thanks for the podcast, very inspiring!
Cheers,
Gui.
Starting Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss
I listen to all your episodes Noah, and appreciate that you’re always improving and looking for new ideas and places to explore. Here’s what I like about this episode:
1) Jim Rohn was so powerful because of his organization being in the form of storytelling, very visual. You really captured his spirit in this one.
2) You didn’t swear this time (…that I remember).
I feel that your experience and authority are often compromised when you throw out gratuitous F-bombs or locker-room comments in your shows or interviews.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no choir-boy, but those “winceable” comments or choices of language often cause a taint where no taint should be…
In this episode, I felt like it was impressively mature and authoritative material, done in your own natural style… like someone running a company I’d trust to follow, instead of a taco-eating b-boy out for a bike ride.
I look forward to even more great stuff 😉
ps. – go to the bathroom already so you can move your piece on chess.com, I’ve been waiting forever…
I found this podcast and other similar podcasts from other rich online business owners verrry interesting for a specific reason…
They kind of just read any self-help book that’s popular. This is not a diss, but more so a self-reflection.
I’ve read hundreds of the top books and have gotten really skeptical about who I listen to. I went through all of Jim, Ziglar, Robbins, etc.’s stuff. But now, I ask, for example, “Why listen to Jim? He made most of his money giving self-help advice. He doesn’t have any credibility outside of it.”
But then again, I see Noah and Jeremy/Jason Frandsen reading these books. Maybe I’m too skeptical … or these people are just successful without worrying too much about this stuff.
P.S. I love Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Whoa! I just finished listening to this podcast and LOVED IT! I was taking notes the whole time, I didn’t realize you had all the bullet points here on the blog, super helpful!
Anyways, I’ve already read 2 books this month: The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday, and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, holy sh*t Meditations was TOUGH to get through the audio version, but DEF worth it!
Just finished Reinvent Yourself by James Altucher, fantastic read!
Reading “The Magic of a Thinking Big.” Although this Jim Rohn stuff is good.
As of today no more dishes in the sink.
Matt
Thanks, Noah. This podcast rocked and had so many super helpful tips.
I’m reading “The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life” as inspiration for how to write a killer biography. I’m about to start writing a book about my father and his investing strategy and this book has so much great insight into Mr. Buffett and what makes him tick.
At your suggestion, I’ll finally go ahead and delete Facebook from my phone. But how else am I going to find such incredible information like “Now You Can Get Married at Taco Bell for $600?” By the way, what are your thoughts on the new fried chicken taco shell they just introduced? Brilliant or taco heresy?
-Karl @ AmericanDreamInvesting.com
I’m currently reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I’m half way through and it’s one of those books I know I’ll pick up once a year for a refresher. Truly understanding and internalizing the difference between leading and managing is an invaluable lesson I know will be a huge factor in my success.
One of my favorite books of all time.
Hey Noah, your blog posts (along with Neville Madhora’s) have defnitely helped improve my work output these past two weeks. Here are some of the things I’ve been doing that I learned from you two for the past two weeks:
– waking up early (~5:30AM) each day and working on my side business first thing
– using a paper to-do- list (works wonders, so much better than a digital one)
I’ve been reading the Boron letters too. You guys are great for giving so much valuable advice for free.
Great podcast and keep up the good work! You bring a lot of value in a way that’s easily and pleasantly consumable. The simple action steps are helpful, too.
I’ve committed to reading 52 books this year (physical, kindle, or audiobook) and am on track so far. Most recently, I read “Thank You for Arguing” by Jay Heinrichs. It was really helpful in dealing with some work challenges and picking apart some arguments/discussions I wasn’t happy with.
Great episode. Jim Rohn seriously is the man. True story, when I first heard the quote, “You’re the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”, I thought people were attributing it to Jim ROME, the sports radio guy because I had never heard of Jim Rohn (I’m 32). It seemed weird to me that sports radio Jim Rome would be throwing that kind of wisdom out there, but hey, good stuff, is good stuff right?
Anyway…right now I’m reading Joseph Sugarman’s, “Adweek Copywriting Handbook” because it’s one of those books I keep seeing mentioned as a life-changer / pantheon book.
That’s usually my cue for reading. If one successful person / person I admire mentions a book I’ll think about it. But, if I hear multiple people, from multiple spaces/ages/whatever talk about a book…then it becomes a must read.
And I especially like Copywriting books because even if you’re never writing an ad, no matter what you do you’re selling something to somebody. The number of times I’ve successfully changed an internal process AND gotten buy-in because of my copywriting / sales skills is well…basically every time.
That’s a lesson I was fortunate to learn two weeks into my career when my first company happened to be employing a management consultant (retired at 45, multiple successful businesses) who told me, “everyone should spend time in sales, if you can learn to sell, you’ll be successful in ANYTHING you do.”
After listening every possible Jim Rohn’s seminar few years ago, this [for sure] was a great recap to hear today. TY, Noah
Btw, ironically enough, this month I’m partly reading, partly doing the TRACTION book as I’m onto my first web & app projects.
Nice Ansis. Good luck with your project.
Hi Noah,
I’ve already read a few books this month (audible):
E-myth revisited
4-Hr work week
The lean start up (in progress)
Your podcast is great! Wish for new episodes and challenges more often!
Thanks
Boris Rapoport
Noah, I really enjoyed this podcast – I was especially interested in the parts from learning how to change, and your brief reference to “The Power of Full Engagement”. I’ve started reading books with my kids (it usually takes a bit longer than a month) but I just finished reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” and I am just starting “Tools of Titans”
I’m reading Elon Musk’s biography by Ashlee Vance. The dude’s clarity of vision and belief in himself are incredible and honestly bordering on insane. Does it require a bit of insanity to disrupt the status quo?
Thanks Noah,
I would say Organize Tomorrow Today is one of my favorite recent reads. (OTT)
Thanks for the insight and for sharing your thoughts on your new podcast. Much appreciated
I’m finally reading Timothy Ferriss’ “The 4-Hour Workweek.” I’d recently seen “Tools For Titans” in an airport book store and saw a friend carrying the book when I arrived at my destination. He and I got to talking about it and when I came home from that trip, I went into the local bookseller and picked up “The 4-Hour Workweek.” I’m 150 pages in and finding it very readable and filled with actionable ideas, some of which have already crept into my psyche and helped me monitor how I’m spending my time day to day.
Wow man. Tons of wisdom in one short podcast. Great stuff.
I’ve been wasting a lot of time with social media this month. Already removed the apps from my phone, which helped, but I think I’ll go further and ask my wife to change my password until I kill that “let’s check Facebook for a moment” habit.
Oh yeah – I’m listening to Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Really good biography so far.
I’m currently reading Deep Work by Cal Newport. Focused output has always been something I struggle with achieving. This book, combined with deleting my social apps, should hopefully help shed some light on strategies to get more focused.
Currently reading Influence by Robert Cialdini. I read the first three chapters a few years ago and it’s amazing how much the lessons in those have stuck with me. I have no idea why I didn’t finish it at the time, but I definitely will now.
Also, @Tyson Gaylord – I finished Shoe Dog last week and totally agree – such a good book!
I got Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes. Already implemented first chapter and it’s definitely paying off. That book is going to be consumed by the end of the week.
Shoe dog by Phil Knight amazing book
The book I’m reading right now is 6 Months to 6 Figures by Peter Voogd. Actually re-reading it.
Oh and amazing episode, all of them were very and tactical tips. I’m a new listener and I’m learning a lot from you already!
My favorite book is Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson. As a business student I learned more about business from that book than any class I’ve taken. It also taught me the power of having a vision. Enjoyed the episode and I’d love to help you get to 100,000 subscribers. Will be doing a lot of research this week.
Such a great read Ben. Thanks for sharing 🙂