50 remarkable Jim Rohn quotes to elevate your game

Jim Rohn was an incredible force in the personal development world. Through his work, he nudged everyone to ignite their dormant potential and expand their horizons, both in personal and professional realms. When he passed away 15 years back in 2009, he left a priceless gift for all of us: his encouraging, uplifting messages and inspiring, thought-provoking quotes, beloved by millions and shared worldwide to this day. 

Today, on Jim Rohn’s birthday, let’s celebrate his life, his philosophy and his legacy with 50 of his most life-changing and insightful quotes. (And of course, eat an apple if you’re a true fan! 😄 )

On Leadership

• “Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.”
• “Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we will do with our lives. The first choice we can make is to be less than we have the capacity to be. To earn less. To have less. To read less and think less. To try less and discipline ourselves less. These are the choices that lead to an empty life. These are the choices that, once made, lead to a life of constant apprehension instead of a life of wondrous anticipation. And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we can possibly be. To read every book that we possibly can. To earn as much as we possibly can. To give and share as much as we possibly can. To strive and produce and accomplish as much as we possibly can.”
• “Invest in yourself, invest in your own self-education and then take that knowledge and use it to help others get what they want and need out of life. In the process, you will acquire power and financial freedom.”
• “Some people plant in the spring and leave in the summer. If you’re signed up for a season, see it through. You don’t have to stay forever, but at least stay until you see it through.”
• “Don’t say, ‘If I could, I would.’ Say, ‘If I can, I will.’”
• “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”
• “Miss a meal if you have to, but don’t miss a book.”
• “Don’t join an easy crowd; you won’t grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform are high.”
• “Don’t bring your need to the marketplace, bring your skill. If you don’t feel well, tell your doctor, but not the marketplace. If you need money, go to the bank, but not the marketplace.”
• “Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.”
• “Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.”
• “Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.”

On Goal-Setting

• “The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them.”
• “The difference between a goal-directed individual and someone without goals is like the difference between a Wimbledon champion and a kid batting a tennis ball around on a court with no net, no opponent to bring out the best in him, and no way of keeping score.”
• “Goals are like a magnet. They pull, and the stronger they are, the more purposeful they are, the bigger they are, the more unique they are, the stronger they pull.”
• “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”
• “Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. And there’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them.”
• “If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.”
• “When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you’ll find a way to get it.”
• “If you don’t sow, you don’t reap. You don’t even have a chance.”
• “Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”
• “How long should you try? Until.”
• “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”

On Personal Change

• “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.”
• “I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.”
• “Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you’ve got.”
• “It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”
• “Character is a quality that embodies many important traits such as integrity, courage, perseverance, confidence and wisdom. Unlike your fingerprints that you are born with and can’t change, character is something that you create within yourself and must take responsibility for changing.”
• “If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.”
• “Your philosophy determines whether you will go for the disciplines or continue the errors.”
• “You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”
• “You have two choices: You can make a living or you can design a life.”
• “We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.”

On Success

• “Whether we are working to improve our health, wealth, personal achievement, or professional enterprise, the difference between triumphant success or bitter failure lies in the degree of our commitment to seek out, study and apply those half-dozen things.”
• “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.”
• “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.”
• “Success is the continual unfolding of the design of our life and pulling it off. That’s what success is.”
• “The major key to your better future is you.”
• “The problem with waiting until tomorrow is that when it finally arrives, it is called today.”
• “Discipline has within it the potential for creating future miracles.”
• “Days are expensive. When you spend a day you have one less day to spend. So make sure you spend each one wisely.”
• “Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do.”
• “If there is one critical ingredient for your successful quest for both wealth and happiness, it is discipline.”
• “Start reading, and especially read the kinds of books that will help you unleash your inner potential.”
• “Your income rarely exceeds your level of personal development. Sometimes we get lucky, but it takes a person of character and discipline to be successful for a long time.”
• “Successful people have libraries. The rest have big screen TVs.”
• “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they may have planned for you? Not much.”
• “You cannot succeed by yourself. It’s hard to find a rich hermit.“
• “Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out.”
• “Happiness is not something you postpone for the future, it is something you design for the present.”