Where do you go for your intellectual feast? Pity the man who has a favorite restaurant but not a favorite author. He’s picked out a favorite place to feed his body, but he doesn’t have a favorite place to feed his mind!
One way to feed your mind and educate your philosophy is through the writings of influential people. Maybe you can’t meet the person, but you can read his or her books. Churchill is gone, but we still have his books. Aristotle is gone, but we still have his ideas. Search libraries for books and programs. Search magazines. Search documentaries. They are full of opportunities for intellectual feasting.
In addition to reading and listening, you also need a chance to do some talking and sharing. I (Jim Rohn) have some people in my life who help me with important life questions, who assist me in refining my own philosophy, weighing my values, and pondering questions about success and lifestyle.
If you want to develop an informed philosophy of life, it is important to understand the power of ratios. This power can be explained in a simple sentence: if you do something often enough, you’ll get a ratio of good results to bad results. The understanding of ratios is particularly essential in the leadership arena, because if you’re leading others, you’ve got to have some means to evaluate their performance… as well as your own.
What do I (Jim Rohn) mean by ratios? Let’s say you’re in sales, and you have just joined a new company as a representative of their products or services. You talk to ten prospects. Nine of them say, “No, I wouldn’t care for any.” One says, “Yes, I’ll take some.” This is your opening ratio: one out of ten.
Although you won’t find this discussed in many history books, one of the most important events of World War II actually took place right here in the United States a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. At that time, the U.S. Army held a series of massive military exercises in Louisiana. These exercises were designed to assess the preparedness of the American forces for participation in the war. As it happened, those war games revealed some glaring deficiencies. It quickly became obvious to our military commanders that if America were drawn into the war, as many believed it would be, there would have to be a long period of rebuilding and modernization. This would have to take place while American forces were fighting all over the world with inferior and outdated equipment… and that’s exactly what happened.
It took almost three years of patience and hard work and sacrifice before the U.S. war machine was brought up to modern standards. But President Franklin Roosevelt and generals such as Eisenhower and MacArthur knew that the wait would be well worthwhile and that, once the task was completed, victory would be assured.
A patient man is always richer than an impatient one, even if the patient man has less money.
What do I (Jim Rohn) mean by that statement? Well, riches and wealth can take other forms besides dollars and cents. In what sense is the patient man richer?
The answer is actually very simple. A patient man is always richer than the impatient one because the patient man can always afford to wait! The patient man is never desperate. The patient man has time to spare, while the man in a hurry is always on the verge of bankruptcy as far as time is concerned.
Let’s suppose that you have been hard at work on developing a strong philosophy. You know exactly what you want to accomplish in life. You know that you want to get a good education, have a successful career, make some profitable investments, raise a family, and have your children turn out well. You may even know how you want to go about achieving these objectives. You may have it all planned out in great detail.
All that is very important. All that is very good. But is it enough? I (Jim Rohn) am afraid not.
Let’s also suppose that there’s a vast, hugely powerful force that nobody can withstand, and this immense force is always active and in furious motion. It never rests. It’s like a slowly flowing river that can eventually carve the Grand Canyon out of solid rock. But that comparison doesn’t really do it justice. The force I’m talking about is much more formidable than any river, ocean, glacier, or other natural phenomenon.
One of the most crucial prerequisites for forming a life philosophy is knowing yourself, your weaknesses as well as your strengths. A real-world philosophy recognizes that in order to take full responsibility for yourself, you’ll probably need some help from others.
You may know the area where you can get by with little or no assistance, but what about those areas where help is truly needed? You can discover these areas by simply analyzing your habits.
Forming and refining your personal philosophy of life is a process that never ends. It started way back when you were a child. The schools you attended, your parents, your experiences–all of these factors have played a role in developing your philosophy. Your personal philosophy is the major factor of your destiny.
I (Jim Rohn) used to think that circumstances ordered my life. If someone would have remarked to me when I was twenty-five, “Mr. Rohn, you’re not doing well–you’ve got pennies in your pocket, creditors calling, nothing in the bank. You are behind on your promises to your family. You live in America and have every reason to do well, yet things are going badly for you. What is wrong here?” It would not have occurred to me to blame my philosophy.
The Bible tells us that King Solomon was the wisest man in the world, but he was also the richest man. Kings and queens came from all over the world to get Solomon’s advice and to admire his riches. In fact, legend has it that Solomon had wives from every nation on earth, and there’s no report of any martial disharmony. Not one divorce! Was this a wise man, or what?
The Bible also tells us that when Solomon was just a young man, living in the court of his father, King David, God told him he would grant him one wish. Do you know what he wished for? He didn’t wish for a kingdom. He didn’t wish for great power. He didn’t wish for good looks, unlimited pleasure, long life, love, fame, or security. That young man asked God to grant him wisdom. And because he only asked for wisdom, God gave him everything else too.
