Not long ago I did a seminar in Honolulu for a group of oil company executives. We were sitting around a huge corporate table flanked with top executives from all over the world when one of them said, “Mr. Rohn, you know some important people around the world. What do you think the next ten years will bring?”
I said, “Gentleman, I do know the right people. I can tell you exactly what’s going to happen.” When I said that the room became very quiet. I continued, “Based on the people I know, and based on my life’s experience, I’ve concluded that in the coming ten years it’s going to be like it’s always been.” (Now aren’t you glad I’m sharing this with you? It’s not everyone who get’s to hear this.)
I must admit that I said this to take some of the air out of this pompous group of big shots. But I also said it because it’s absolutely true!
The tide comes in, and then what? That’s right … it goes out. It’s been that way for at least six thousand years of recorded history, and probably for much longer than that. It gets light and then what? It turns dark … That’s the way it’s been for at least six thousand years. We are not to be startled by this anymore.
If, when the sun goes down, a man says, “What happened, what happened?” we’d surely know that he just got here, right? The next season after fall is … right again. And pray tell, how often does winter follow fall? Every time, without fail … for at least six thousand years.
True, some winters are long and some are short; some are difficult and some are easy. But no matter what, they always come after fall. It isn’t going to change.
Sometimes you can figure it out, sometimes it’s a puzzle. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it’s a disaster. Sometimes it sails along, sometimes it gets all tied up in knots. You see, it’s not going to change. After six thousand years of recorded history, life is a mixture of opportunity and difficulty. That’s the way it is.
The “guy” says, “Well then, how will my life change?” And the answer is, “Your life will change only when you change.”
Whenever I speak, whether I address business executives or high school kids, my message is always the same: “The only way it gets better for you is when you get better.” BETTER IS NOT SOMETHING YOU WISH; IT’S SOMETHING YOU BECOME.
[#rohn1996sevenstrategies]: Jim Rohn (1996): Seven strategies for wealth and happiness: power ideas from America’s foremost business philosopher, Three Rivers Press.