Jim Rohn: The Law of Association

 

Jim-Rohn-Quotes-If-You-Really-Want-To-Do-Something-9Who You Associate with Matters

I never thought about it too much when I was younger. The people around you influence you, whether you know it or not. They can have a positive effect on you or a negative effect on you. It is our responsibility to decide who we let influence us, and how much we let them influence us because it matters. About six years ago, I was searching for the reasons why life had turned out the way it had. I was not in a desirable place, and I was sick of it. The people who I allowed in my life did not have my best interests at heart. It had led me to take on some habits that were also not in my best interests. My life was not going the direction I had imagined for myself when I attended private school.

Introducing Jim Rohn

The work of Jim Rohn has played a critical role in how my life is turning out and his work can do the same for you. I began to ask the big questions about my life, and the direction I was heading. I remembered a sales job I had years before, and one day the sales manager popped in a cassette tape by a man named Jim Rohn. I was too busy making excuses then to pay much attention. About the same time I started asking the serious questions about my life (ten years later), I heard the name again. This time, I remembered Jim Rohn’s name and was determined to learn all I could about the teachings of this remarkable man.

Later, I learned that speakers like Anthony Robbins, Les Brown, and more people than I have time to count credit Jim Rohn and his ideas for helping them get where they are today. He has helped millions of people change their lives.

I bought Jim Rohn’s The Art of Exceptional Living in August 2008. I downloaded it and immediately pressed play. I was terrified by what I heard. I saw myself as a smart business-oriented guy, and here I was doing none of what one of the legendary personal development and leadership gurus was saying to do. I listened to the  the MP3 titled The Principle of Association.” This is one track I still listen to today.

The introduction begins “Often, unconsciously, our decisions, attitudes and actions are influenced by the decisions, attitudes and actions of those people with whom we spend the greatest amount of time.”

“Never underestimate the power of influence.” -Earl Shoaff, Jim Rohn’s mentor

In this session, Jim says, “If you are around people who spend all they make, chances are excellent that you will spend all you make. If you are around people who go to more ball games than concerts, chances are excellent that you will go to more ball games than concerts. If you are around people who don’t read many books, chances are excellent that you will not read many books. People around us can keep nudging us off course until, finally ten years from now, we find ourselves asking ‘How did I get here?'”

Here are three key questions that Jim Rohn suggested that we ask ourselves regarding our associations:

Who am I around?
What are they doing to me?
Is that ok?
These three questions keep me evaluating who I am. It is all my responsibility how my life turns out and how I play the cards life handed to me.

The final question Jim poses in this segment is “Are we letting ourselves become who we wish to become?”

Jim Rohn was one of the early influences when I started evaluating how my life is turning out. I never met him, and although he is gone, his work influences me today. I highly recommend buying The Art of Exceptional Living, not because I might make a couple of dollars, but because I still listen to it today to make sure my life is on track. It is a little “old school,” but it is a great starting point to learning how to take control of your life.

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Michael Neely

My name is Michael Neely and I am an entrepreneur, blogger, FOREX trader, coin collector and businessman. I have also been known as a waiter, bartender, Series Three (Commodities and Currencies Options and Futures). I currently live in New England with my beautiful fiancée, Patsy and Pip, our Jack Russell terrier.

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