Go from Average to Fortune: 5 Simple Steps That Changed My Life
My life started out rather modestly in the farm country of Idaho, where I was raised. I met a very beautiful young lady, persuaded her to marry me, and made all those grand promises that many of us make. Everything seemed to be going well, and it looked like she had made a wise decision.
However, two or three years after we got married, it no longer looked like my new bride had made a wise decision because I started to struggle. My dream of going from average to fortune became blurry.
I had far too much month left at the end of the money. I was behind on my bills. Working hard was never my problem. I started asking myself, Should I go back to school and get more education? I didn’t have the capital to start a business, and I wasn’t sure what my next step should be.
Later, I met a very remarkable man named Mr. Earle Shelf. He was a successful businessman who owned several businesses. He took a liking to me, hired me, and I spent the next five years working for him. Unfortunately, at the end of those five years, he passed away. Even so, I remain grateful because I had the opportunity to spend five years learning from such a remarkable man.
This gentleman gave me the answers. He shared the principles, ideas, and insights that completely turned my life around. Today, I’ve decided to share those same ideas with you. I’ve used them to change my life, and they have worked out remarkably well for me.
Five Simple Steps to Go from Average to Fortune
Get Serious About Setting Your Goals
You’ve really got to get serious. You don’t have to be grim, but you must be serious about where you want your life to go.
I know a guy who has half a dozen jokes keeping him from becoming wealthy. People don’t know him as a rich man. They know him as a joker, which is okay if that’s the kind of life he wants to live. But it really isn’t the best way to live if your goal is to go from average to fortune.
Designing the next five or even ten years of your life is vitally important. What do you want to accomplish financially? Where do you want to go? Who do you want to become? What would you like to have? What would you like to share? How much would you like to earn? How far would you like to go?
These are major questions worth asking. If you want the next five or ten years to turn out the way you envision, you must get serious about answering them and taking action.
Get Serious About Personal Development
Personal development means striving every day to become the kind of person you want to be. You won’t become that person by accident—you must work at it.
Ten years from now, you will surely become someone. The big question is: Who will that person be? What are you becoming today?
If you begin working on yourself now, you’ll soon discover that you can change your direction and become the person you’ve always wanted to be.
There’s another very important question to ask yourself: Ten years from now, you will surely arrive somewhere. The question is, where?
To answer where you want to arrive—and to become the kind of person capable of getting there—you’ve got to get serious about personal development. Your future depends on the person you choose to become today.
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Get Smart
Get smart if you want your life to be worthwhile. You need ideas, and you need information. In this decade, you must become much smarter than you were in the last decade.
Read the books. Search for knowledge. Learn from people who have already achieved what you want to accomplish. Whenever I have the opportunity to speak to high school students, that’s the central theme of my message: Get smart.
There’s nothing worse than remaining ignorant when knowledge is available. If you read good books, learn from your experiences, and do everything you possibly can to gather valuable information, you’ll become wiser this year than you were last year.
I’ve discovered several techniques that help you become smarter: keep a journal, attend lectures, participate in seminars, listen to inspiring sermons, and learn from the experiences and ideas of other people.
Never stop learning. Never end your quest for knowledge. Lifelong learning is one of the most important keys to going from average to fortune.
Get Going
Everything you’ve learned will have little value unless you put it into action. You’ve got to get going.
In my management and leadership seminars, we teach people how to create game plans that turn knowledge into action. We focus on economic , social, personal action, and practical strategies for making meaningful changes. Learning is valuable, but execution is what creates results.
Some people spend their entire lives learning without ever taking action. They’re like the man who keeps bringing building materials to a construction site but never builds the house. He brings the sand, gravel, windows, doors, and the roofing materials. He stacks everything neatly, yet he never builds anything.
If you do that long enough, life will pass you by.
You must do something with what you’ve learned. Take action. Learn how to design your days, your weeks, and your months so your daily actions produce the results you’re looking for—whether they’re financial, personal, or professional.
Get going. It’s one of the greatest keys to success.
Get Excited
Get excited—but not with false enthusiasm or empty positive thinking. Get excited about the things that truly matter.
First, get excited about your ability to make yourself do the necessary things. Self-discipline is the first major step toward personal progress. Whenever a person truly decides to change, they can make major improvements in their personal, social, and financial life.
Your life never has to remain the same after today. There’s no telling what you could accomplish if you genuinely decided to act.
A single action can completely change the direction of a person’s life. Unfortunately, some people choose actions that lead them in a negative direction. Instead, choose to commit a positive act—one that’s constructive and moves you toward the life you truly want.
Get excited about your potential. Human capacity is rarely the problem. Little children can learn several languages, and human beings are capable of accomplishing incredible things.
All we have to do is take the time to learn and grow.
Success isn’t just a matter of ability. It’s a matter of judgment, excitement, determination, discipline, and wanting something badly enough.
It’s exciting to realize that you can change your life any day you choose. You can make major changes starting today.
It never has to be the same again. Once you truly understand that you have the power to make meaningful changes, you’ll begin creating the life you’ve always wanted.
Get Away
Another important principle is maintaining life balance.
You must learn to get away and spend time alone. Get away to reflect. Get away to think. Get away to learn how to live as well as how to earn.
How sad it would be to learn how to earn a great living but never learn how to enjoy life. Success without balance isn’t true success.
This is what I call lifestyle—the way you choose to live your life.
Some people have money but don’t know how to enjoy it. Others have time but don’t know how to spend it wisely. Some people become successful but never learn how to enjoy their success. Instead of experiencing joy, they experience frustration and resentment.
Imagine a father who crumples a five-dollar bill, throws it at his son, and says, “If you need it that badly, take it.”
It’s still the same five dollars, but instead of giving it with love and joy, he gives it with anger and animosity. That’s the difference between simply having resources and knowing how to live.
Lifestyle is about enjoying the life you’ve worked so hard to build.
Take Time to Cultivate Good Friends
Take time for your family. Take time for the people who matter most.
Design your life so that relationships remain a priority. Get away when necessary. Reflect on your life. Recharge your batteries. Continue growing outside your business or career.
When you return to your work after taking time to restore balance, you’ll often find yourself more focused, more productive, and more fulfilled.
Success isn’t measured only by what you achieve. It’s also measured by the quality of your relationships and the life you build along the way.
As Jim Rohn wisely said:
“Do not walk in front of me; I may not follow. Do not walk behind me; I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.”
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Inspired by Jim Rohn’s Message
