Jim Rohn – How to Return to Profitability

Introduction: Jim Rohn – How to Return to Profitability

Jim Rohn’s words live on after his death! A few years ago, I had the privilege of interviewing Jim Rohn for my book  Tales of People Who Get It. What struck me about our conversation is how humble the multimillionaire was. This reminded me that successful people such as Jim Rohn is just like you and me – they make mistakes and things do not always work out for them.

Have you read?

Book Review: The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn
Book Review: Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle
Living an Authentic Life – Gabriel Draven, Summer Series Interviews
Leading Women toward Self-Sufficiency, Anthea Rossouw – Summer Interview Series
Pay Your Taxes – George Fraser, Summer Series Interviews
Building Relationships – Andrea Nierenberg, Summer Series Interviews
Samy Chong – Employees, Your Most Valuable Asset, Summer Series Interviews
Nanci Govinder – Downsizing Risks, Summer Series Interviews
Claire Hoy – Recovering from a Bankruptcy, Summer Series Interviews
Janice Lawrence-Clarke – Bringing a New Product to the Right Clients, Summer Series Interviews
Purdy Crawford – The Way to Do an Acquisition, Summer Series Interview

Jim Rohn Interview

~Challenge~

Jim Rohn: In the early 1980s I had 13 satellite offices, all filled with people working hard, but we were losing money. A number of advisors said that we should open more offices and the result would be that we would then make money. I disagreed. I figured that if we opened more offices, we would just be compounding the losses. At this point I was faced with a difficult decision, but difficult decisions are one of the skills necessary and often what leadership is about.

~Resolution~

Jim Rohn: Strong leadership is required, at times, to make hard decisions. So I pulled the plug. We were already doing all that we could, yet it wasn’t enough to make a profit using the strategy of satellite offices. We finally took our number of satellite offices down to only two – the groups that were the strongest and most profitable. Then we went back to the basics and worked to become profitable again. I still remember the pain of that hard decision, because it affected so many people. By some, it could be perceived as failure, but for us it was a strategic decision that had to be made to make our company viable and successful for the long-term. And here we are decades later, more profitable than ever. Challenges like those that I faced are hard, but when you face them head on with courage, integrity and faith, you will be ahead of the game in the long run.

~Lessons Learned~

Jim Rohn:

1. The only way to survive in business is to be profitable, unless you have an unlimited amount of money
2. Get through your difficulty and learn to do better next time

~How to Integrate Your Personal and Professional Life~

Jim Rohn: Integrating my personal life and professional life has always been a challenge. It’s difficult to keep family, friends, social and work all in balance. You have to recognize the challenges and develop a plan. Do not ignore them. Now that I am older, I do less work and have more time for charity. When I was younger, I constantly had to negotiate with family and friends. I paid attention to the challenges.

~Formula for Success~

Jim Rohn: You have to understand the philosophy of success. You have to be helpful to the marketplace and find a product or service that adds value. I like what Zig Ziglar says, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

To be successful there are two values that you bring to the table. They are:

1. The product or service
2. The value that you become

The more valuable you become, the more influence you have, the better communicator you are, you manage your time better, and you recognize people for their contributions. You also become more valuable as a spouse, parent and friend.

In addition, to be successful, you have to develop certain traits such as courage, dignity, charisma and integrity. You also have to recognize that you have to work harder on yourself than on your job. You attract success because of the person you are. Personal development is key. Find partners to work with because no one succeeds alone. For economic safety for the future, you must have multiple skills and languages. Success is basically being the best that you can be.

~Major Regret~

Jim Rohn: No regrets! I’ve been blessed with a unique life – from childhood up until now. If I did have any, they are all gone by now — they’ve disappeared from my memory.

~Favourite Quote~

Jim Rohn: I like “Nothing can resist a human will that will stake even its existence on the extent of its purpose” by Benjamin Disraeli because it challenges the human spirit to ultimate possibility – give it all you’ve got. Become all you were designed to become. It simply means do it or die. We all need challenges.

~Influential Book~

Jim Rohn: I always read The Holy Bible and it’s the one book that has had the biggest impact on me. It is filled with history, poetry and excellent love stories. It gives key advice to follow.

Jim Rohn Books

Seasons of LifeMy Philosophy For Successful Living7 Strategies for Wealth & HappinessTwelve PillarsFive Major Pieces to the Life PuzzleThe Jim Rohn Guides Complete SetThe Art of Exceptional LivingThe Treasury of QuotesHow To Be Successful In Life