Some Do And Some Don’t

One of my favorite oft spoken truisms by legendary motivator and sales trainer Jim Rohn goes like this. Some do and some don’t! On its own the phrase is quite ambiguous but in the context of Rohn’s talks the statement makes a lot of sense. Rohn often talked about those little things that make the difference between people who are successful and people who are not. Reading of books (or not) was a typical Rohn example of his some do and some don’t philosophy. Some people read the books that contain a wealth of knowledge about success…and some don’t! Jim used to talk about only 3% of people having a library card where the knowledge of the world was free for all to explore. That was 35-40 years ago of course but even with the internet the same thing goes. Some do and some don’t seek out knowledge.

So are you or aren’t you doing the things that will help you to attain success in the various areas of your life? Your mind. Your health. Your finances. I call these things the three Bs. Brain, body and bank! When Jim Rohn spoke about doing often he did so in terms of the simple things that most people ignore like reading a book (brain), eating an apple a day (body) or prioritizing profits over wages (bank). There are small things that you can do every single day that don’t require much effort that will push you forward in the three Bs and after not too long they will push you ahead of most people. Most people don’t do these things. Why not? For Jim Rohn the issue of why not was never really a concern. His point was always that you should because of the places that it will take you and how it will change you in a positive way. So if you’re not satisfied with the direction of your life I mere ask you to ask yourself the following question. What things can I do to change my situation?

The Jim Rohn philosophy of simplicity is a good one to apply when you are just starting to turn the ship that is your life in a new direction. In the past I’ve been one of those people who insisted on jumping right into complex situations to transform my life. These have included things like wanting to start a graduate degree program, wanting to start a company or wanting to train for a marathon as ways to get me out of different ruts in my life. I’m not saying that the aforementioned things aren’t legit ways to transform your life. What I am saying is that it’s probably not a good idea to have them represent the first moves that you make in the direction of positive change. Some people will instinctively declare that they are a “go big or go home” type of person and they will insist that they need major goals to get them motivated to pursue change in their lives. If that’s you then I also urge you to consider whether you really need to pursue change in that way or if perhaps you’re using the idea of large goals as a cover for something else. I know whereof I speak as I’ve wanted to do all three of the above things at given times but looking back I realize it was mostly frustration driving my desire to achieve those goals and impatience with a process that involves small steps.

Eventually I did pursue, and attain, the graduate degree but I ended up waiting till I felt more comfortable about it instead of pursuing it as a rash decision. I never started a company but I did begin working with some people who started a very small company that I was excited about, at first on a part-time and then later on a full-time basis. I never did commit to a marathon, but I did commit to improving my fitness which was what I really wanted to do. I do get how for some people time is of the essence with regard to attaining their goals. I addressed the importance of a sense of urgency in my previous post titled Watch Your Wait. I’ve also learned that insisting on achieving major goals in a short period of time is a function of impatience. Impatience when goal seeking is often associated with disappointed. There’s something to be said for slow, steady progress in the direction of your goals. If you’re doing things the right way major breakthroughs will occur in time and the will have a solid underpinning. If you seek quick breakthroughs in a short period of time you may end up with some flashy accomplishments but those accomplishments may not stand up to the test of time. There are too many examples of this to recount!

Some do and some don’t. Some people seek out the e-books, audio books or online videos with core knowledge regarding success, consume the content then start to apply what they’ve learned in their daily lives. Some don’t. Some pursue a healthier lifestyle by making small changes to their diet, their sleep routines and their daily activities. Some don’t. Some write out a monthly budget, think of ways to increase their income, and think of ways to save and invest more efficiently so that they may eventually live off profits instead of wages. Some don’t. Which group do you belong to? It’s something to think about! Then again, some people do take the time to consider such things. And some don’t!