Your Life Is Your Own Project

Let me tell you about a conversation I had with a young man who came to see me after a seminar. He was frustrated. He said, "Mr. Rohn, I've been trying to get ahead for three years now, and nothing's working. The economy's bad, my boss doesn't appreciate me, and I just can't catch a break."

I said, "Let me ask you something. In those three years, how many books have you read?"

He looked at me like I'd asked him to solve a math problem in a foreign language.

I said, "How many seminars have you attended? How many new skills have you developed? How many hours have you invested in becoming more valuable?"

He got quiet. And I knew what that silence meant.

The Liberating Truth

Here's what I've discovered, my friend. Most people spend their whole lives working on the wrong things. They work hard on their job but not on themselves. They polish the outside and neglect the inside. And then they wonder why nothing changes.

Somebody says, "Well, Jim, isn't that a little harsh? Blaming people for their circumstances?"

And I say, "No, no, no. You've got it backwards."

See, personal responsibility isn't blame. We call that confusion a great error in understanding. Personal responsibility is liberation. It's the key that unlocks every door that seems closed to you right now.

Think about it this way. If your problems are entirely caused by other people — the government, the economy, your boss, your upbringing — then you're trapped. You have to wait for them to change before your life can change. You're a passenger in your own existence.

But if you're responsible? If your life is your own project? Now you've got something to work with. Now you can start today.

The January Test

We're past the first of the year now. The resolutions have been made. And here's what I've noticed over forty years of watching human behavior — this is right about the time the excuses start creeping back in.

"I tried eating better, but my schedule is so crazy."

"I was going to read more, but I just don't have the time."

"I wanted to start that side business, but the kids need me and the house needs work and the car needed fixing and..."

Good phrase to know: Excuses are the nails that build the house of failure.

A man told me once, "Jim, you don't understand my situation. You don't know what I'm dealing with."

I said, "You're right. I don't know your situation. But I know this — I was broke once too. I was making excuses too. And the excuses felt very reasonable at the time. They felt like explanations, not excuses."

He said, "So what changed?"

I said, "I met a man named Earl Shoaff who asked me a simple question. He said, 'Mr. Rohn, if you keep doing what you're doing, where will you be in five years?'"

And I had to admit — if I kept blaming the company, blaming the economy, blaming the government, blaming my lack of education — I'd be in the exact same spot. Or worse.

Working Harder on Yourself

Here's the philosophy that turned my life around: Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.

At your job, you make a living. When you work on yourself, you make a fortune.

Now, somebody says, "But Jim, I work fifty hours a week already. When am I supposed to work on myself?"

And I say, "How many hours a week do you watch television?"

They get quiet. Same silence as that young man.

I'm not here to beat you up, my friend. I'm here to tell you the truth. And the truth is that you probably have more time than you think. You just haven't decided what to do with it yet.

The average American will watch television for years of their life. Years! Not hours, not days — years. What if you took just one of those hours each day and invested it in yourself? Read a book. Listen to something that teaches you. Develop a skill. Study someone who's already achieved what you want to achieve.

In one year, you'd have over three hundred hours of self-investment. In five years, fifteen hundred hours. We call that a personal university.

The Architect's Responsibility

A fellow asked me once, "Jim, what if I try all this and it still doesn't work?"

I said, "Then you'll have learned something. You'll be wiser. You'll have developed discipline. You'll have built character. And you'll try again with better information."

He said, "But what if I fail?"

I said, "What if you don't try? Which failure would you rather live with — the failure of attempt or the failure of neglect?"

See, the architect doesn't blame the materials when the building doesn't turn out right. The architect goes back to the drawing board. Studies more. Learns from the mistake. Designs better next time.

Your life is your building. Your choices are your blueprints. Your daily disciplines are your materials.

And here's what's beautiful about that — you can start a new design any day you choose. Not just January first. Any day. Today, if you want.

The Assignment

So here's what I'd suggest, my friend. This week, before February arrives, before the excuses have fully settled back in, ask yourself Mr. Shoaff's question: If I keep doing what I'm doing, where will I be in five years?

Write the answer down. Look at it. Sit with it.

And then ask the better question: Who would I need to become to live the life I actually want?

Not what would you need to get. Not what would need to happen to you. Who would you need to become?

Because here's what I finally learned, after all those years of chasing success: Success is not something you pursue. Success is something you attract by the person you become.

Work on yourself. Read the books. Develop the skills. Guard your attitude like it's the most valuable thing you own — because it is.

Your life is your own project. And that's not a burden, my friend.

That's the best news you'll hear all year.