JIM ROHN

31 Pages·2015·1.05 MB·English

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MONKEY MIND
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FOREWORD
Australian nurse Bronnie Ware knows a thing or
two about regrets.
Bronnie spent years in palliative care, working
with elderly patients who were often living out
their last days. Witnessing these ordinary people
face their own mortality was difficult, but what
was even more challenging was hearing, when
asked what they regretted most about their lives,
the same handful of woes time and time again.
And the number one regret? The one thing that
most of these people were still, after 40, 50, or
60 years, struggling to come to grips with?
Having the courage to live a life true to
themselves, and not the life others
expected of them.
This regret was expressed by dozens of Bronnie’s
patients. But the saddest part of all? The
difference between living a life true to yourself
and passing with a conscience free
FOREWORD
CONTINUED
from regret, and the person sitting on their
deathbed, crippled with anguish, is actually not
that big.
In fact, it typically comes down to just minor,
cumulative adjustments made over the course of
a lifetime. Sounds pretty easy, right? Right. But
in order to make these changes, you first need to
understand the barriers that stand in your way.
What follows are 9 of those barriers which we,
among many others, believe to be crucial to
obliterate if you want to realise your dreams. You
will find that many of history’s famous and elite
have broken through these very same barriers
in order to achieve great success in their lives.
If you can address them honestly, and take the
daily actions necessary to reduce the role they
play in your life, you will quickly and naturally
find yourself on the path to pursuing your truest
dreams.
And that’s no lie, gimmick, or marketing BS—its
pure tried and tested reality which can drastically
change your life for the better.
1. DREAMS ARE NOT
MEANT FOR REALITY
“
Until we lose ourselves there is no
hope of finding ourselves.
”
— HENRY MILLER
When asked to say our dreams out loud, many of us quickly
realise we don’t actually know what it is that we really want.
On the one hand, this could be because what we think we
want is actually what someone else wants for us. Or on the
other, it may be because desiring something is actually more
enjoyable than having or experiencing it.
Fantasy often trumps reality because well, let’s face it, there
are no strings attached in fantasy. And it’s for this reason
it’s usually better for such fantasies to stay inside your head,
where they can’t be tainted or deflated by the harsh reality of
the outside world.
What goes on in the mind can be hugely detrimental to
realising long term goals. But, if properly controlled, can
provide us with an easy route to actualising our desires.
What it all comes down to is an issue of clarity; many of us run
1. DREAMS ARE NOT MEANT
FOR REALITY (cont)
into trouble even when trying to define what our passions and
aspirations are.
Think about it. What has consumed your mind for the
past decade? What do you find yourself thinking about or
pondering over while daydreaming at work? For most people,
if you dig down deep enough, you will find the same common
themes.
For instance, take someone who has the life you think you
want, and look at them under a magnifying glass. What do
they have that you find so attractive? Is it their success?
Money? Women? Power? Whatever it is, it will be bringing
them problems in some shape of form.

If you can figure out what these problems are, and more
importantly how severe they are, then you can better
understand, in the cold light of day, if it truely is something
you want. If you are ready and willing to accept these
complications, then, and only then, you will be able to say
with honesty that you know what your true dreams are.
Action Step & Further Reading:
Read the article ‘Why Some Dreams Should Not Be Pursued’
& the book ‘The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes
Everything’ by Sir Ken Robinson.
2. BEING SURROUNDED BY
THE WRONG PEOPLE
“
You are the average of the five people
you spend the most time with.
”
— JIM ROHN
You may already be familiar with this quote, or the idea
behind it, but have you made a concerted effort to act on it?
It can be difficult to accept that the people in our lives, people
who we love and are care deeply about, may be a barrier
between us and our dreams. What if your partner is one such
person? Should you spend less time with them? Or even break
up? What if it’s a childhood friend you’ve known for as long as
you can remember?
The truth is, if you want to reach bold new heights, you need
to take action and make those hard decisions. And that means
picking and choosing who to surround yourself with. You
can live with one or two people who aren’t helping you move
towards you goals, but you’ll need the other three or four to
make up for it by being highly motivated and supportive. The
unfortunate reality is that if you don’t have any immediate
positive influences in your life, you will devolve, stagnate, or at
the very least move a lot slower than you would be otherwise.
2. BEING SURROUNDED BY
THE WRONG PEOPLE (cont)
We’re social creatures. Our brain takes how others behave
as a cue for how we should act ourselves. If the five people
closest to us aren’t chasing anything, then chasing our dreams
can feel like a lost cause. Conversely, if the people around us
are also making ground, then pursuing your goals can feel
natural and all-encompassing, with doors and opportunities
opening up everywhere around you.
Believe us, we know it’s tough, but try and find likeminded
people in your area. Go to meet ups and make an extra effort
to ensure you have those people in your life. If you’re in a
small town and there’s no one chasing the same goals as you,
look to the web to build relationships; Twitter and Reddit
are great places to find people interested in every niche
imaginable.
Action Step & Further Reading:
Find a subreddit you are interested in and start engaging in
the conversation. It only takes a few comments here and there
to make you feel part of something much larger, and much
more meaningful. Read: ‘Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets
to Success, One Relationship at a Time’ by Keith Ferrazzi.
3. LIVING/WORKING IN THE
WRONG ENVIRONMENT
“
Where one city will rise a certain individual to glory, it
will destroy another who is not suited to its personality.
Only through travel can we know where we belong or not,
where we are loved and where we are rejected.”
— ROMAN PAYNE
There is a reason that people from all over the world move to
places like New York, Tokyo, and San Francisco. This is largely
related to the previous point about being around the right
people–but it’s also about the ethos and culture of a place.
When the standards of a city are high, and the pace is quick,
you draw energy from that and adapt you behaviour to suit.
The right city will provide you with wider opportunities, a
more diverse group of people to network with, and many
lesser but just as important benefits such as better access to
public transport, libraries, good food, nightlive etc.
Think of success as an ecosystem. If you’re unhappy and
under-stimulated in your current environment, do you think
it’s going to make it easier for you to progress and grow, or
make it that little bit harder to get where you want to be?
Many people think that negative motivation—in this case the
way in which they don’t like their living situation—may inspire
3. LIVING/WORKING IN THE
WRONG ENVIRONMENT (cont)
them to hustle their way out. But the reality is, it’s much more
likely to suck energy from you and scatter your path with
unnecessary obstacles and hurdles that you have to waste
energy on.
Being healthy and happy is fundamental to your progress.
And as our willpower is limited, it only makes sense that we
should stockpile as much energy as possible to use in the
right areas. It might seem pretty straightforward, but actually
making the move is a huge decision for most people. You
may be leaving behind family and friends and other social
structures that make your life comfortable–this is why it’s vital
to know first that you are chasing your true dream, and not
some grandiose fantasy.
Action Step & Further Reading:
Write the name of your city at the top of a piece of paper and
make a list of all its pros and cons in relation to reaching to
your goals. A mountain of cons and very few pros? Maybe it’s
time to think about moving!
Read: ‘The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life
to the Next Level’ by Gay Hendricks PhD.