Jim Rohn passed away on December 5th, 2009. One of my favorite quotes he made is below as well as an article that I had saved. He has had a significant effect on my life and it will continue for as long as I live.
I pray that you find many leaders and mentors throughout your lifetime that touch your life the way he did mine.
“Get around people who have something of value to share with you. Their impact will continue to have a significant effect on your life long after they have departed”
Jim Rohn: Entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker
My Mother and I went to a Jim Rohn Conference in Dallas a few years before she died. While there they provided us with a handout that had a survey on it for us to fill out. We both filled it out and then I forgot about them.
After my Mother died I was going through some boxes of paperwork of hers and I found her survey. One of the questions asked "What was the Greatest Moment you have experienced in your life?" My Mother answered "Watching my little brother Michael be ordained as a minister." Wow! I knew my uncle would be honored to know that. He had even officiated at her funeral....probably one of the hardest things he has been asked to do.
Further down there was a question "If you could change anything about your life, what would you change?" My Mother answered "I would take better care of myself." My Mother could have made a conscious effort to make a change that day...but she didn't. She continued on the same path and in a few years was fighting cancer, not just once but twice. It was when they found the cancer had metastisized that she decided to make changes.
I got a call that day while at work. Mom said they had just discovered the breast cancer had spread to her bones and it was in 8 different places including her spine. They had given her a year to live and she wasn't ready to die and she asked for my help with her battle. I quit my job that day. Little did I know my life would change forever with that phone call. I was involved in Network Marketing part-time so I got busy and I built it to a full-time income over the next few months while learning all I could to help my Mom.
I worked with Mom for 3 1/2 years fighting cancer using the doctors standard protocol as well as diet and supplements. Some days she stuck to her diet. Some days she didn't. Every day there was stress. We had victories and we had defeats. It was the best and worst days for me. Best in that I was able to be there for my Mother and she lived for 3 1/2 years. Worst in the fact that I could not make choices for her. So when she ate wrong, got stressed, got bad reports....I could not change it. I had to learn to give it to God. I had to learn to support her choices and do all I could on those days that she would allow it. I learned each and every day I was with her. Those lessons have served thousands as I became a Health Coach after Mom died. I have volunteered my time to thousands of people fighting all different types of health challenges since then.
And after she died while reading that survey and remembering all the good times we were able to spend together, including that day with Jim Rohn, I read her answer and I made the answer my own. "I Choose to to Take Better Care of Myself.... Today, Tomorrow and each and every day in the future."
"If you could change anything about yourself...what would you change?"
The Best Gift to Give Yourself and Others by Jim Rohn
I’m often asked the question, “How can I best help my children, spouse, family member, staff member, friend, etc., improve/change?” In fact, that might be the most frequently asked question I receive, “How can I help change someone else?”
My answer often comes as a surprise and here it is. The key to helping others is to help yourself first. In other words, the best contribution I can make to someone else is my own personal development. If I become 10 times wiser, 10 times stronger, think of what that will do for my adventure as a father... as a grandfather... as a business colleague.
The best gift I can give to you, really, is my ongoing personal development. Getting better, getting stronger, becoming wiser. I think parents should pick this valuable philosophy up. If the parents are okay, the kids have an excellent chance of being okay. Work on your personal development as parents—that’s the best gift you can give to your children.
If you have ever ridden in an airplane, then you might have noticed the oxygen compartment located above every seat. There are explicit instructions that say, “In case of an emergency, first secure your own oxygen mask and then if you have children with you secure their masks.” Take care of yourself first... then assist your children. If we use that same philosophy throughout our whole parental life, it would be so valuable.
If I learn to create happiness for myself, my children now have an excellent chance to be happy. If I create a unique lifestyle for myself and my spouse, that will be a great example to serve my children.
Self-development enables you to serve, to be more valuable to those around you; for your child... your business... your colleague... your community... your church.
That’s why I teach development skills. If you keep refining all the parts of your character (yourself, your health, etc.) so that you become an attractive person to the marketplace, you’ll attract opportunity. Opportunity will then begin to seek you out. Your reputation will begin to precede you and people will want to do business with you. All of that possibility is created by working on the philosophy that success is something you attract by continually working on your own personal development.
To Your Success,
Jacki Smith
Be A Mentor With A Servant's Heart
askjacki@gmail.com
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