I was lying down in bed when it occurred to me to revisit Jim Rohn's book, The Seasons of Life. The book is the perfect antidote to what's going on in the world today. To come out stronger, professionals must plant the seeds of knowledge now, in the Spring. With this thought in mind, I updated the book review and summary.
What is the Seasons of Life About?
Jim Rohn describes The Seasons of Life
as a condensation of ideas and observations he gained over 40 years to help to place life, events, purpose, opportunities, and challenges into perspective. His purpose for writing this book is to awaken and unearth the answers that lie dormant deep within our hearts and minds.
The Seasons of Life is a book filled with a lot of common sense information. But it's a good reminder for us. For example, we are when we know that we have to change and try something new because what we have been doing no longer works. However, we have so much invested in old ideas, old friends, old ways of doing things, or even an old belief system that no longer serves us. We simply refuse to make the changes.
As Rohn explains,
“We tend to accumulate and cling to ideas that limit our progress. We cherish friendships even though the friendships impede our personal growth… We wander through life allowing people and their attitudes and ideas to mold our characters – people whose attitudes and ideas have brought themselves little in the way of progress, productivity, or happiness… If our attitudes, results, or happiness is to ever improve, we must exercise the painful discipline required for “weeding-out” the garden of our life.”
The seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter are used as an analogy for the different stages and occurrences in our lives. The book explains how we all go through the different seasons of life. From the harsh winter where things don't go our way to the fantastic summer where life is beautiful. Rohn shares how we can get through the tough times and enjoy the good ones even more.
The Seasons of Life
Winter – Learn how to survive:
“The arrival of winter finds us in one of two categories: Either we are prepared or we are unprepared… To those who are prepared, who have planted abundantly in the spring, guarded their crops carefully during the summer, and harvested massively during the fall, winter can be yet another season of opportunity.”
Winter always comes after the harvest of fall. Do the personal inner work to stay strong and positive and don't give up. Know that spring is always around the corner.
Application
Learn in-demand skills to thrive in the future. But before you learn the skills, you have to do some work. Decide which books to read and what order to read them in. Do you also want to take some free online courses to learn the skills? Reflect on the past. What obstacles prevented you from achieving your goals? How do you plan to overcome those obstacles should they arise while learning in-demand skills needed for future jobs?
Spring – Window of opportunity:
“Springtime is the fresh air of new opportunity, amid the dissipating clouds of winter… [It] is the time for entering the bleak, empty fields given to us as a new chance… Each day is given us as a new season of spring.”
This is your window, when you must take action and plant your seeds of opportunity. It's the season when your soil is most fertile. So you have to exercise the discipline to plant, even though there may be many obstacles in front of us. Rid your soil of weeds and rocks, which may appear as the opinions of those around us as worry, doubt, or pessimism.
The springtime of our lives manifests itself infrequently, so we have to seize the moment and plant massively and intelligently.
Application
You've decided which books you're going to read. And which order you're going to read them in to learn the 10 key skills? However, if you haven't done so yet in the winter, do it quickly. This is important during tough times. You've got to follow the process for the seasons of life, planting the seeds before reaping the benefits.
- Start reading career building books now.
- Take detailed notes while reading.
- When you have finished one book, review your notes. Analyze and synthesize the information.
- Make sure that you extract the five big ideas from each book that you read.
- Pat yourself on the back, then read the next.
- After you've finished reading five books, combine the ideas from the different books.
- Apply your breakthrough ideas to big problems.
You don't want to lose your momentum. Keep going.
Summer – Nourish and Protect:
“The summer of life is a time to protect; it is a time for constant daily effort to guard against the busy bugs and noxious weeds. The spring is a time for the creation of things of value, and those things require the season of summer for growing and gaining strength that they might yield their result in the coming fall.”
Fertilize your new habits so they continue to develop. Pull out your weeds of bad habits. Be patient, the results may not always show immediately.
Application
To get the most from the books you're reading to learn the 10 key skills, apply what you are learning. Find a project that allows you to use the skills. If you cannot find a project, teach what you've learned to your colleagues.
Fall – Harvest:
“For those who planted abundantly in the spring, and who fought against the bugs, weeds, and weather of summer, fall can bring rewards which give cause for rejoicing… The fall tells us if we have really done that which is required… Massive action in the spring of life still is the requirement for massive success in the fall.”
In all aspects of your life, the harvest will come in due time. Take a journey in your mind to where you see the harvest of your changes, having the life you want.
Application
You've learned the 10 key skills needed for future jobs. Now it's time to benefit from your hard work. Perhaps it's a promotion, perhaps it's a stretch assignment. Perhaps, if you've been combining ideas, your harvest is that one idea that can transform your life.
Five Great Ideas from The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn
- The formula for success for one will lead to the self-destruction of another.
- What happened even as recently as yesterday is no longer of any consequence, unless we choose to allow it to be. What is of great importance is who and what leaves its mark today and each day?
- There is little difference between one who has given up his life and one who has given up his hope.
- Be grateful for adversity, for it forces the human spirit to grow – for surely, the human character is formed not in the absence of difficulty but in response to difficulty.
- The teacher is always the greatest recipient of the lessons he seeks to teach others.
Seasons of Life: Actions to Take Now
Get the Do-it-Yourself Package to Learn the Skills.
The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle: A Guide to Personal Success by Jim Rohn – Book Review
Next Steps
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UPDATE: First Published May 2009. Note: This post contains affiliate links and The Invisible Mentor® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
