If you’ve been in contact with self-help literature, then you might have already come across Jim Rohn.

Tony Robbins learned from him and a lot of others did, too. In this post I’m sharing the notes I took from the audibook with the title “Cultivating an unshakeable character” by Jim Rohn.

Let’s begin…

Character = Mark left by a chisel

Charisma = Ability to elicit favor in other people

Character is what’s left after charisma is gone

Cultivating an (unshakeable) character is a process of choice.

12 qualities of character

1. Integrity
2. Honesty
3. Perseverance
4. Wisdom
5. Personal responsibility
6. Humor
7. Flexibility
8. Patience
9. Confidence: to be able to inspire onself is the first step before being able to lead others
10. Health
11. Achievement
12. Courage

Adversity is nothing to fear. It is something to expect and to prepare for and something to overcome!

A courageous person fears not living up to his ideals, about not taking advantage of the opportunities that are always within reach.

A courageous person most fears getting caught like a deer by a car.

Honesty And Integrity

Doing what I say I will be doing

Cognitive Dissonance: If the difference of what I tell the world and what I’m really doing is big.

Perseverance

Talent or discipline?

Can perseverance be developed or learned? It can be.

Creating a person list of goals is a powertul technique.

Wimbledon winner vs. child batting with a racket.

Goals = Challenges in its most clearest form.

Having long term goals will make a big difference

1. What do I want to do?
2. What do I want to be?
3. What do I want to see?
4. What do I want to have?
5. Where do I want to go?
6. With whom do I want to share?
7. Who will benefit from me persevering?

>> Select 3-6 long term goals for each category of questions

I did the exercise myself, here is what I noted in my journal…

I am being totally transparent here, sharing my answers to the above questions, hoping to inspire you to do the same!

1. Build an organization, sell, help people, kitesurf
2. An Entrepreneur, happy, father
3. Hawaii, Japan, Alaska, Islands
4. A summer home when it is winter in Germany, a beautiful appartment or hous that I own.
5. See 3.

The list we come up with should inspire us!

Beside each item write the number of years that I think it will take (eg. 1, 3, 5, 10 years)

Make the list balanced, 1,3,5 and 10 years goals.

What’s really important?

Choose 4 goals per category. Then visualize it.

Write out a detailed description of each goal when it is achieved. See each goal with absolute clarity.

Why do I want to achieve these goals?

Write down the whys in teh exact same level of details as the goals themselves.

Develop 10 long term goals that inpire you!

Review those goals often!

Goal setting = life long process.

Create a lot of short-term objectives (12 months or less)

Confidence builders

Opposite of perseverance = procrastination.

Procrastination = fear of failure. Not doing anything means being stuck as well.

How to overcome procrastination?

1. Break it down (the task), concentrate on the moment
2. Writ it down, keep a diary of my daily activities

How do I keep persisting when the going gets tough?

I must find reasons OUTSIDE of me.

Who else will benefit or suffer as a result of my actions?

“What’s in it for me?” can take me only so far. Including others can take me whereever I want to go!

Wisdom

Wisdom is shared, not taken away from someone.

King Solomon was rich AND wise. He wished for “wisdom”. When someone asks for wisdom, then he will get all the other things, too.

We must look for wisdom within ourselves.

Socrates: wisdom was his profession. His own job title: “Philosopher”. Was was without money.

“Know thyself” (Socrates)

Part of wisdom is knowing what you lack and looking for it and asking for it.

A fulfilled life requires meaning as well as substance.

Wisdom comes from niticing patterns and connections.

Wisdom is about recognizing how we are all the same as people.

Foolish people are always coming back to conclusions while wise people continue to ask questions.

Acquiring widom is a process just like success.

If you’ve reached a point in your life where you think you have all the answers you better start asking different questions.

Even when wisdom is passed on to others, your own store of it grows.

Responsibility

Sometimes it’s good to accept responsibility for the mistakes of others, especially when being in a leadership position.

Churchill: “Responsibility is the price for greatness.”

1. Accept the consequences of my behavior.
2. I’m responsible for everything that happens to me.