7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness
Jim Rohn
Description
You don’t have to choose between wealth and happiness – they spring from the same fountain of abundance. With this book, you will discover the seven essential strategies you need for success.
Key words: Wealth, Happiness, Success
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My Notes
Summary of the strategies
Strategy 1 – Unleash the power of goals
Strategy 2 – Seek Knowledge
Strategy 3 – Learn how to change – The miracle of personal development
Strategy 4 – Control your finances
Strategy 5 – Master time
Strategy 6 – Surround yourself with winners
Strategy 7 – Learn the art of living well
Five Key Words
Fundamentals
If you are looking for fundamental success the kind of success that lasts, that is built on a solid foundation, then you should avoid exotic answers.
Success is no more than the natural consequence of consistently applying the fundamentals of success to life.
The key is to stick to the fundamentals.
Wealth
Focus on the kind of wealth that brings it financial freedom. Wealth that comes from the conversion of effort and enterprise into currency and equity.
Our basic dream is the same: to be free of financial pressures, to have the freedom of choice, and to enjoy the opportunity to create and share.
Happiness
It’s both the joy of discovery and the joy of knowing. It often accompanies those who are fully aware of the colours, sounds, and harmonies of life.
Happiness is a way of interpreting the world and events.
Discipline
Repeating todays failures can easily turn your life into a major disaster.
Action v Self-delusion – The man who dreams of wealth and yet walks directly toward certain financial disaster and the woman who wishes for happiness and yet thinks thoughts or commits acts that lead her toward certain despair are both victims of false hope which affirmations tend to manufacture. Why? Because words sooth and, like a narcotic, they lull us into a state of complacency. To make progress you must actually get started.
Success
Success is:
A journey and a destination.
Both an accomplishment and a wisdom that comes to those who understand the potential power of life.
A process of turning away from something in order to turn toward something better.
Making your life what you want it to be.
What do you want from your life?
Strategy 1: Unleash the power of goals
You’ve seen this type – always worrying, worrying, and worrying. Why are individuals so apprehensive? Because they haven’t spent time designing their futures. In many cases, they live their lives by trying to win the approval of someone else. In the process, they end up ‘buying into’ someone else’s view of how life should be lived. Instead of designing their lives, these misguided people simply make a living.
Those who face the future with anticipation have planned a future worth getting excited about. They can ‘see’ the future in their minds eye, and it looks terrific. The future captures their imagination, and it exerts an enormous pull on them.
It seems life has a mysterious quirk of camouflaging the answers in such a way that they become apparent only to those who are inspired enough to look for them.
When you know what you want and you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way to get it.
Anger and embarrassment from failure, when properly channelled can act as powerful nitty-gritty motivators to achieve (adversity).
Have enough reasons to ‘want to do it’.
The only way to enjoy another meal is to get good and hungry.
We grow from two types of experiences: the joy of winning and the pain of losing.
Go where the expectations are high, where the pressure to perform is high.
Have a ‘why’.
First you need to understand, that once you set goals that really matter, you are no longer the same person. Real goals will affect almost everything you do all day long. And they will be with you wherever you go. Your handshake, your manner of dressing, the tone of your voice, the way you feel – all will change once you have goals. That’s because when your goals matter, everything you do becomes related to their accomplishment.
Give a million dollars to someone who does not possess the attitude of a millionaire, and he will likely lose it. But take the wealth from a true millionaire and in no time, he will have a new fortune. Why? Because those who earn their millionaire status develop the skills, knowledge and experience to duplicate the process again and again.
The most important thing is what the person becomes on the way to becoming a millionaire that’s important.
Describe what you want and define it. Well defined goals are like magnets.
Believe in and have faith in yourself and your goals. And get excited – just like a child. Childlike enthusiasm – there’s nothing more contagious.
Daydream. That’s good for you. But do it only at a time you designate as ‘daydreaming time’. At all other times, concentrate.
Strategy 2: Seek Knowledge
If you wish to be successful, study success. If you wish to be happy, study happiness. If you want to make money, study the acquisition of wealth. Those who achieve these things don’t do it by accident. It’s a matter of studying first and practicing second.
There are two ways to gather wisdom. One way is to learn from your own life. The second is to study the lives of others.
You see experience can become commodity, currency, and coin – an incredible source of value. But it can become all those things only if you take the time to record the experience, to ponder it, and then turn it into something of value. After all, it’s not what happens to a person that makes the difference in how his or her life turns out. Rather, it’s what he or she does with that happens that determines the outcome.
Never let it be said that you lived life without finding out about it.
Learning from others –
One list of stories is called ‘examples’. The message is: do what these people did.
The other list of stories is called ‘warnings’. The message is: do not do what these people did.
Books and tapes – it’s their curiosity that drives them to read. They simple have to know. They constantly seek new ways to become better. Here is a good phrase to remember: all leaders are readers.
Cost v Value – For the cost of a book at $50, you could get $50,000 of value.
You are what you read.
You’ve got to be a good listener.
In everything you do, be it self-observation, reading, or observing others, the intensity of your efforts will have a profound effect on the amount of knowledge you will gain.
Strategy 3: Learn how to change – The miracle of personal development
Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.
What you become directly influences what you get. Think of it this way: most of what you have today you have attracted by becoming the person you are today.
To have more than you’ve got, become more than you are.
If you took all the money in the world and divided it equally among everybody, it would soon be back in the pockets as it was before.
Value makes the difference. You can never create more time, but you can become more valuable in that time.
Is it possible to become twice as valuable and make twice as much money per hour? Is there a way for me to become three times or even four times more valuable within the same hour? – Of course.
It’s what you get from productive performance that counts.
Your life will change, only when you change.
It’s not what happens that determines the outcome; two brothers have an abusive alcoholic father. One becomes a criminal, the other a judge. The same event – different results. How can that be? It’s because it’s not what happens but rather what you and I do about it that matters.
Disappointments are not special gifts reserved for you. The question is; what are you going to do about them?
Why do we point fingers instead of looking within? The ego strives to defend itself.
It’s not that it costs too much. The problem is that you can’t afford it.
Accept the fact that you are remarkable. Thrive on your own uniqueness. Reach down inside yourself and bring out more of your remarkably human gifts. They are there waiting to be discovered and used.
We call this kind of excitement discipline. Discipline is the only thing that will do it. It is the only vehicle for real progress. If there is one thing to get excited about, its discipline. Get excited about doing the necessary things for growth.
We just keep nudging ourselves in the right direction, forming one or two better habits here and there, until finally we realise we have turned around a major area of our life.
Maybe you think people shouldn’t judge you for your personal appearance. Well let me tell you, they do! And because they do, you should make a point of looking your best.
It took me a while, but I finally realised that you can’t change others. Lord knows, I’ve tried.
Sure, they can change themselves, but you and I can’t change them.
Don’t send your ducks to eagle school. Why? Because it won’t work. All you’ll get are unhappy ducks. They won’t soar like eagles. They’ll just quack, quack, quack. And then they’ll poop on you. I know, I’ve tried.
Strategy 4: Control your finances
Sophisticated people know that it isn’t the amount that matters; it’s doing all that we can with our god given abilities that counts.
Our actions and acquisitions say a great deal about us. They reveal our philosophy of life, our attitude, knowledge and thoughts – even our character. Because the outer always reflects the inner.
Rich or poor – the difference is not so much in how much you make as it is in how you use what you make. The choice is yours.
Take interest and even delight in doing the small things well. It will help you become a sophisticated person – one who knows the fundamental strategies for wealth and happiness.
Strategy 5: Master time
The most effective time management word. Do you know what it is? The word is ‘no’. Learn to say ‘no’.
I finally learned to say ‘no’ nicely. ‘No, I don’t think I can, but if that changes, I’ll give you a call’.
Just as you have the ability to reach others in seconds, so do others have the ability to reach you instantly. This reality can play havoc with any daily plan or routine. Therefore, make sure the telephone is there primarily for ‘your’ convenience. Gain control over who can reach you and when.
Your family and friends are too important to have the ever-insistent ringing of the telephone monopolise the time you’ve reserved for them.
In addition to controlling your incoming phone calls, there is a simple way to manage your outgoing calls. Have an agenda. All of us waste time and money on inefficient phone calls. Solution? Before every phone call write down the key points you want to cover. It will make each conversation more effective, shorter and more professional. It will also give you a record of each call. If you need to recall the conversation you could say ‘John, how are you doing on those four things we talked about last Tuesday?’.
Ask the right questions!!
The real causes to important problems are usually buried several layers deep. By becoming good at asking the right questions you can save yourself enormous time by getting to the root of problems a lot faster.
One of the greatest tools for successful time management is having the ability to think on paper. Visualise the ideas, put them on paper, and execute them. ‘Operate from document not from thought’.
Strategy 6 – Surround yourself with winners
If you have someone who finds a great deal of pleasure in trying to peck away at your dreams, goals, or beliefs, get rid of his or her influence.
It’s easy to remain mediocre. All you need to do is spend major time on minor things with minor people.
Spend more time with the right people. Find people who spend time reflecting on the meaning of life and who accomplish great things through discipline and perseverance. If you truly want success, you’ve got to get around the right people. You’ll have to plot and scheme to do that.
Pity the person who has a favourite restaurant but not a favourite thinker.
Keep the weeds of negative influence from your life. Instead ‘farm’ the seeds of constructive influence.
Strategy 7 – Learn the art of living well
Be happy with what you have while pursuing that you want. Better a few treasures than a house full of junk.
TIP comes from the word ‘To Insure Promptness’. Sophisticated people don’t take a chance on good service. They ensure good service by giving the money up front.
You must act to make things happen. Only applied knowledge counts.
Emotions are the fuel and the mind is the pilot which together propel the ship towards civilised progress.
I have given up the idea of getting rid of the butterflies in my stomach. But at least now I can make them fly in formation most of the time.
Promise yourself you’ll never give up.
Knowledge fuelled by emotion = action. Action is the last part of the formula.
Action. The whole world loves to watch those who make things happen, and it rewards them for causing waves of productive enterprise.
“The best answer to the ‘Why should you try question’ is another question ‘why not’. What else are you going to do with your life? Why not see how far you can go? Why not see how much you can learn, read, share or earn? Why not see what you can become or how much you can grow? After all, you’ll be here until you go. Why not stay here in style? Why not you? And why not now?”
