Friday is the 80th birthday of my mentor, the late Jim Rohn. It is cause for me to pause one more time to offer gratitude for the profound influence this man had on my life (and the lives of millions of others).

I met Jim when I walked into his seminar back in 1994. I wasn’t even there to meet or hear Jim. I was there to meet the promoters of the event. I needed to wait until the event was over so I sat down and listened to this willowy grey haired man with the most fascinating voice and intonations lecture about principles of success.

What he said riveted me. The simplicity and purity of his message grabbed my heart. And his teachings challenged and confronted my previous beliefs about obtaining success.

I just pulled off my library shelf the journal I had with me that day. In my notes are a few things Jim said that I wrote down, underlined and circled. Those few things forever changed my life.

In honor of Jim’s birthday I’d like to pass forward the gift of those words on to you…

Jim Rohn asked the audience, “How many people want more…?”

I thought, “Yes! I want more… success, money, a better body, more companionship, etc. (I was 23!)” and awaited the instructions of what to do…

I had experienced some moderate success already by that time, but I had done it through sheer brute force. I was aggressive and just outworked, out failed and out persisted everyone else to grab my achievements. I did it by doing… do, do, do. But what Jim said next would multiply my income, my goal achievement and my results… and it wasn’t by doing.

Jim continued, “If you want to have more… you have to BECOME more.” He said, “Success is not a doing process, it is a becoming process. What you do, what you pursue, will allude you—it can be like chasing butterflies. Success is something you attract by the person you become.”

“Wow,” I thought. This was the first time I had heard this twist of perspective, insight and wisdom.

Jim continued, read more »

My mentor Jim Rohn emphasized that one of the first things everyone should work on is their physical health. He said, “How terrible would it be if the mind said, ‘let’s go conquer the world’ and the body said, ‘I can’t even get out of bed’?” It takes your healthy body to carry around your head full of ideas and your heart’s desires.

There is nothing more pitiful than a ready and willing mind but an incapable body.

There is a well-known quote from the philosopher Virgil that says, “The greatest wealth is health.” I also believe that health is the beginning of wealth. In other words, your health will help you create wealth.

Times of great danger. The great efficiencies of technology have made us more inactive and sedentary than ever before. Food has become more abundant, more easily accessible, super-sized, bulk packaged and mass merchandised. Commercial marketing has proliferated into every space of attention with ingeniously creative and utterly tantalizing commercial marketing. It has never been more difficult to become and remain healthy.

If you are in the business of attracting, influencing, selling or leading others, how you show up, your physical appearance, speaks volumes about who you are, how you are and what you are or not capable of.

I know, people shouldn’t judge you, right? Well, here is a clue… they do!

Whether you like it or not, people make judgments and draw conclusions about you in the first 10-15 seconds they meet you, based solely on how you look. Like it or not, how you show up on the outside says a lot about you on the inside. Our body advertises our personal development. All the habits, behaviors, choices, disciplines (or lack there of) are made physical (literally) in your physique.

Here is a good question to consider: read more »

A VIDEO MESSAGE FROM DARREN HARDY:

Here’s a summary of week five in our journey towards Designing the Best 10 Years of Your Life where I answer your questions and give you a course update.

I’ve also selected some of your questions and observations left in the comments sections along with some of my responses. I hope you find it helpful to peruse through the common questions and insights shared by others experiencing the process along with you.

Please watch the video:

>>>You can listen to my private interview with the great Jim Rohn HERE<<<
This was included in the premier launch issue of SUCCESS magazine, April/May 2008

Questions and Answers with Darren Hardy:

From Renee: “I am really enjoying this program and look forward to working through this process, thank you! The worksheet on designing SMART goals is really helpful and I see that goals need to be measurable, attainable, and time sensitive. To me, my most relevant goal for myself for 2010 is to be more open with myself and others… I know this is what I need and what I want, but I am not sure how to make that into a SMART goal. How do you really measure that? Or should I rework my goal? Any suggestions?”

[DARREN HARDY] What does “open with yourself and others” look like? How would we know you are or aren’t? What are the visible and measurable effects of that description? Why do you want that? What will be the benefit and outcome of being that way? Maybe the ultimate outcome of being that way is what your goal really is. Keep asking yourself read more »

A VIDEO MESSAGE FROM DARREN HARDY:

Here’s a summary of week two in our journey towards Designing the Best 10 Years of Your Life where I answer your questions and give you a course update.

I’ve also selected some of your questions and observations left in the comments sections along with some of my responses. I hope you find it helpful to peruse through the common questions and insights shared by your peers (the comments are featured below this video). I know it’s deepened my own understanding and strengthened my resolve!

Please click the play button to watch the video:

Questions about when and where to get the worksheets:

From Shane Williams: “A lot of comments on here are always about missing out on past downloads. All you have to do is click on the blue links at the top of this page, ex: part 1, part 2. Once that opens, scroll down and you will see another link. There you go. No need to wait for an e-mail.”

[DARREN HARDY] GREAT point Shane! Hey everyone – read Shane’s comments above.

From Amir Baig: “Hi Darren: Thanks for sharing this great series!! I am learning a lot and each step is making me more eager. FYI… I am not able to get any of the docs/attachments that you referred in your video. Please let me know how can I get those. Thanks again.”

[DARREN HARDY] Amir, it sounds like you might be read more »

I do a lot of keynote presentations. My first company at 18 years old required me to speak publicly many times a week… I have done it thousands of times since. Most of the businesses I have built compelled me to champion the cause of the business through large group presentations. I am often asked for tips on preparing, packaging and delivering presentations.

Here are My 10 Tips for More Compelling Presentations:

1. Prepare. Nothing beats great preparation. I usually write out a presentation word for word, then I reduce it to a skeleton outline, then bullet points, then just key words on paper in case I need to quickly glance down at trigger words to guide me along, but I will rarely use the notes. Just going through the process is my process for learning the presentation.

2. Know your audience. Find out the demographic mix of the audience. Find out who the key players are so you can use their names during the presentation. Understand core aspects about their company, cause, products, ideals, etc. Understand the trends, competition and key issues that the audience faces. If they know you know who they are in the first few minutes, they will be your ally for the rest of the presentation.

3. Sell it. read more »