A Jim Rohn Classic

Greetings,

 

Here is a Jim Rohn classic. This is the kind of message to read slowly and think so you get the full meaning. You also might want to save this and read it on a regular basis. It will take less than two minutes to read - and is worth it.

 

Gary Burke

Personal Philosophy is Like the Set of the Sail

by Jim Rohn

In the process of living, the winds of circumstances blow on us all in an unending flow that touches each of our lives. We have all experienced the blowing winds of disappointment, despair and heartbreak. Why, then, would each of us, in our own individual ship of life, all beginning at the same point, with the same intended destination in mind, arrive at such different places at the end of the journey? Have we not all been blown by the winds of circumstances and buffeted by the turbulent storms of discontent? What guides us to different destinations in life is determined by the way we have chosen to set our sail. The way that each of us thinks makes the major difference in where each of us arrive. The major difference is the set of the sail. The same circumstances happen to us all. We have disappointments and challenges. We all have reversals and those moments when, in spite of our best plans and efforts, things just seem to fall apart. Challenging circumstances are not events reserved for the poor, the uneducated or the destitute. The rich and the poor have the same challenges that can lead to financial ruin and personal despair. In the final analysis, it is not what happens that determines the quality of our lives—it is what we choose to do when we have struggled to set the sail and then discover, after all of our efforts, that the wind has changed directions. When the winds change, we must change. We must struggle to our feet once more and reset the sail in the manner that will steer us toward the destination of our own deliberate choosing. The set of the sail, how we think and how we respond, has a far greater capacity to destroy our lives than any challenges we face. How quickly and responsibly we react to adversity is far more important than the adversity itself. Once we discipline ourselves to understand this, we will finally and willingly conclude that the great challenge of life is to control the process of our thinking.