Jim Rohn was a successful entrepreneur, author and internationally renowned motivational speaker. His was very much a rags-to-riches story, and that story is a large part of his work which has influenced countless others in the personal development industry.

Rohn was once asked, “If you could live your life over, what would you do differently?” Always insightful and to the point, Rohn responded with this list of four things he wished he could do-over:

1. Give up the blame list sooner.

During his first few years as an adult in the workforce, Jim Rohn was not successful in many areas of his life. He had lots of people he wanted to blame. He blamed his employer for not paying him enough money, the government for taking too much in taxes, the economy for failed opportunities, the bank for not approving him to gain more debt, and his negative relatives for convincing him he would never amount to much.

Then at the age of 25, Rohn had a realization. Where he was mentally, financially, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and in his relationships was not the fault of others. He was responsible for his circumstances--not the government, not his employer and not other people. He began to take responsibility for his past and his future. As he told audiences around the world, his personal success journey started the day he gave up his blame list.

I like what Andy Andrews wrote in his book, The Seven Decisions. “The bad news is the past was in your hands. But, the good news is that the future is also in your hands.”

2. Take a self-inventory sooner.

Rohn told many audiences that it wasn’t until he was broke and at a dead-end in his career that he took responsibility for his life. Once he realized he was at a dead-end, he stopped pushing forward blindly. Instead, he took a careful personal inventory of where he was right then and there.

This is something we may all want to do. Start by rating your current state on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very unsatisfied and 10 being very satisfied. Apply this scale in each of the following categories:

Jim Rohn completed his personal inventory. Then he set out goals and a plan of action to move him to a 10 in each of these areas of his life. By the time he was 31, he'd achieved success in all of these areas.

3. Listen to the voices of experience sooner.

Many of us who are over fifty can relate to Rohn's experience of this do-over. For many of us, there was a time in our lives when we thought parental advice was like castor oil: easy to give, but hard to take. As we grow older, like Rohn we come to see the value in the advice our parents shared, and that value comes from experience.

4. Commit to life-long learning sooner.

Jim Rohn’s fourth “do-over sooner in life” relates to a desire for constant learning and personal development. Like many of us, Rohn recognized that, “Education gets you a job; self-education makes you a fortune.”

When he had his awakening at 25, he began to dedicate himself to life-long learning. He attended seminars and workshops. He listened to audio books, hired coaches, and worked with mentors--all as part of his strategy to become an outstanding success in all areas of his life.

By taking personal responsibility for his past and future, working his plan of self-improvement, and applying life’s lessons into his future, six year later Rohn had achieved success in all areas of his life. At 31, he was very satisfied with his life. What is more, he was able share that success and his journey with international audiences for many years to come.

Call to action:

1. If you could live life over, what would you do differently?
2. Set some goals and come up with an action plan for making those changes.
3. Don't forget to include learning and personal development.

Your Friends,
The UpCloseTeam