Work hard on yourself to make a fortune

Million Dollar Round Table members’ careers — and sometimes their lives — change because of friends they meet through the organization or speakers they see at events such as the MDRT Annual Meeting. One life-changing speaker was the late Jim Rohn, who went from being broke to a millionaire in a few years and went on to mentor people such as life coach Tony Robbins.

Following is some of the timeless advice Rohn shared with MDRT members at the 1997 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

You earn money for your value, not your time

“You earn money by bringing value to the marketplace, not for your time,” Rohn said. Therefore, you can “become twice or three times more valuable to the marketplace and make two or three times the amount of money in the same amount of time.”

One way to become more valuable is by learning from others — both by those who failed and those who succeeded. Notice what people do who are not successful, how they talk and who they blame — and do not do those.

Then observe successful people and ask them questions, he said. “Don’t miss anything. Don’t live a casual life. Casualness leads to casualties.

“Success is something you attract by the person you become. Success is not something you pursue… If you work hard on your job, you’ll make a living. If you work hard on yourself, you can make a fortune,” Rohn said.

You are what you read

One way to work on yourself is by reading books that shift how you think. Two of his favorites were

• “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill
• “The Richest Man in Babylon” by George Samuel Clason

Keys to success

Success takes more than thinking and reading about it. It takes doing. Rohn offered these four keys to success.

1. Your personal philosophy. Write it down; it’s your internal guidance system.

2. Attitude. It determines how you see life, and it’s made up of four parts:

• How you treat the past. It’s a school. Don’t beat yourself up for past mistakes.
• How we feel about the future. Write down your goals.
• How you feel about everybody.
• How you feel about yourself.

3. Activity. We’re affected by what we do. Do the deal. Take action.

4. Results. See how you did and adjust as needed.

A fulfilling life isn’t all work, though. Rohn also recommended spending time with and caring for your friends and family as well as seeing the world and experiencing cultural richness.

Never think you can’t have success, he said. Why not see everything, earn as much as you can, go as far as you can, make as many friends as you can? Why not you? And why not now?