Years ago, when I (Jim Rohn) made the decision to turn my economic life around, I had to develop a new attitude as well as new concepts. Here’s what I used to say: “I hate to pay my taxes.” Mr. Shoaff said, “Well, that’s one way to live.” I countered, “Doesn’t everybody hate to pay their taxes?” He said, “No! No! A few of us have gotten way past that once we understood what taxes are. Here’s the purpose of taxes in our democratic society. Taxes are how you care for and feed the goose that lays the golden eggs. Wouldn’t you want to feed the goose that lays the golden eggs?”
How do you feel about feeding the goose? You may think the goose eats too much. That’s probably true! But better a fat goose than no goose at all. And the truth is, we all eat too much. Don’t let one appetite accuse another. Of course the government needs to go on a diet. So do most of us. But you still have to care for and feed the goose that lays the golden eggs.
The whole world benefits if we all leave more profit, touch something and leave it better than you found it.
I (Jim Rohn) talked to a man who rents a lot of apartments. He said, “Mr. Rohn, you wouldn’t believe it. When most people leave the apartment, it’s trashed.” What a reputation to leave, that everything you touch gets dirty. You’ve got to turn that around. Train yourself to leave a profit instead.
A friend of mine has made money on every car he’s bought. Why? Because when he sells them, they’re in better condition than when he acquires them.
Your economic future is not going to be determined by the economy, but rather your own philosophy. I (Jom Rohn) had one woman chastise me severely. She said, “Mr. Rohn, you can’t promise young people they can become wealthy and financially independent. It’s just not in the cards these days. It takes everything a person makes just to keep his or her head above water and the wolf away from the door.”
I said, “No, that’s not true.” She said, “It is true. You can’t offer hope to all the people who listen to you, telling them they can become financially independent… especially children. They’ll be sadly disillusioned. It’s not in the cards these days.” I said, “Gosh, I wish I could persuade you otherwise.”
Wealth is a word that conjures a wide variety of mental images, and that is part of my (Jim Rohn) purpose in this book–to provoke that wide variety of mental images. For that is where the dreams are, where inspiration comes from, where true incentive is born.
To one person, wealth means having enough financial substance to be able to do whatever you wish with your life. To another, it may mean freedom from debt, freedom from the constant claim of obligation. To yet another, it means opportunity. And to many, wealth means a million dollars. Millionaire is a unique word. It rings of success, freedom, power, influence, pleasure, possibility, benevolence, and excitement. Not a bad mental image.
Effective leadership is a skill that must be consistently developed and nurtured. It is a craft requiring constant study. And there are five areas of this discipline in particular that deserve special attention.
Number one is the area of possibility. It’s so important for leaders to play the “what-if” game. What if we had enough people? What if we had people with special talents? What if we had leaders? What if we had a good team? What if we accomplished our goal–what could we achieve? The what-if game is crucial, because possibilities are all around us. We must all be students of possibility. Dr. Robert Schuller calls it “possibility thinking.” This is the first area of focus for leaders.
Number two is the study of opportunity. Leaders must always be conscious and aware of the expanded potential for opportunity. And sometimes opportunity is closer than you might think.
There is undoubtedly a strong relationship between responsibility and leadership. Bear Bryant once said something about this issue. He was the coach of many great football teams at the University of Alabama, and until his record was broken recently, he had the greatest number of victories of any coach in the history of the game.
Bryant said that it was impossible for any of his players to make a mistake during a football game. Any and all mistakes were his, because as coach, he was solely and completely responsible for preparing his athletes to play error-free football.
The skills of leadership are required at work, yes. But they’re also required at home, with our families, in the community, in education. I (Jim Rohn) call leadership the challenge to be something more than mediocre–a step up to a new challenge, a new opportunity.
What are some of the skills involved in raising a good, solid family? Communication is number one. Every member of the family has to know that he or she has a voice and that his or her voice is respected. Every person in the family has to know that his or her opinion counts, that the family is a democracy. If there’s an issue, they can put it on the table. And that’s what’s so important about the dinner table. It’s not just a place for the evening meal, it’s a place to bring forth all the issues, to talk about the day, to share experiences, to ask questions and hope for answers. You can accomplish all that and more around the dinner table.
All good leaders must understand the story of the frog and the scorpion. It’s one of the most important stories for a leader to keep in mind.
According to this story, the frog and the scorpion appear on the bank of a river at about the same time. The frog is about to jump in the river and swim to the other side. When the scorpion sees what’s about to happen, he engages the frog in conversation. He says to him, “Mr. Frog, I see that you’re about to jump into the river and swim to the other side.” The frog responds, “That is correct.”
So the scorpion asks for a favor. “Well, you know, I would also like to get to the other side. Unfortunately, I’m a scorpion, and I can’t swim. Would you be so kind as to let me hop on your back as you swim across the river? If you could deposit me on the other side, I would be grateful.”
