Maturity has nothing to do with age; but with experience. ~ Wisdom - 100 Years of Life

Many people like to think that they’ll find balance AFTER they find success. But in reality, achieving balance IS success. ~ Brian Koslow

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically—to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good.’ ~ Stephen Covey

It is Up to You by Jim Rohn

One of the first things successful people realize is the old adage, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” That is, for you, the fact that your success and your course is up to you. This doesn’t mean that you do it all alone. It simply means that you take responsibility for your life and your career.

Too many people today look at opportunity and figure it is up to someone else to make sure they get it. They look at financial security and hope that the government will make sure they live safely in retirement or in case of disability. They wait and wait, figuring that it is up to someone else. And then the wait is over, and it is too late to do anything. Their life is over and they are filled with regret.

This isn’t true for you however. You know that you must take responsibility for your life. It is up to you.

The fact is that nobody else is going to do it for you—you must do it yourself.

Now, some people may say, “Jim, that’s a lot of responsibility.” Friends, that is the best news you can ever hear. You get to choose your life. Hundreds of millions of people all around this world would give anything to live in the situation you do—just for the chance to have the opportunity to take control of their destiny. “It is up to you” is a great blessing!

Here’s why:

1. You get to chart your own destiny. Maybe you want to start a small business and stay there. That’s great because you can choose that. Maybe you want to create a small chain of stores. Maybe you want to have a net worth of $100 million. That’s okay too. The idea is that you get to choose. You can do whatever you like. Different people have different dreams and they should live them accordingly.

2. You can reap what you sow. Sleep in and go to work late and reap the return. Or get up early and outwork the others and earn a greater return. Place your capital at risk and earn a return—or place it at greater risk and perhaps reap a greater return. You decide what you will sow and thus what you will reap.

3. No one else can stop you from getting your dream. Yes, there will always be things that come up and people who may not like what you are doing, but you can just move on and chart your own course. There is great freedom in that.

4. You experience the joy of self-determination. There is no greater pride than knowing you set your mind on something and accomplished it. Those who live with a victim mentality never get to experience the joy of accomplishment because they are always waiting for someone else to come to the rescue. Those who take responsibility get to live the joy of seeing a job well done.

Let me ask you a question: Where will you be in five years? Ten years? Or 25 years? Do you know? Do you have an idea? Have you ever dreamed about it or set a goal for it? Are you willing to take responsibility and recognize that, “It is up to you?”

You will be wherever you decide to be in those timeframes. You decide. It is up to you.

And that is very exciting!

Through the years I have found it wonderful to acquire, but it is also wonderful to divest. It’s rather like exhaling. ~ Helen Hayes

The seasons do not push one another; neither do clouds race the wind across the sky. All things happen in their own good time. ~ Dan Millman

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. ~ Anne Bradstreet

Be prepared to ride the cycles and trends of life; success is never permanent and failure is never final. ~ Brian Tracy

Life is not fair...deal with it! ~ Wisdom - 100 Years of Life

Use your body right: warm it up before you put it under strain. Use your mind right: psyche it up before you put it under strain. ~ Tom Hopkins

You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you. ~ James Allen

All improvement in your life begins with an improvement in your mental pictures. ~ Brian Tracy

Profits are better than wages. Wages will make you a living. Profits can make you a fortune. ~ Jim Rohn

Have and nurture friendships. ~ Wisdom - 100 Years of Life

A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault. ~ Cardinal Newman

Everything that happens to us comes from in here, not out here. ~ Earl Shoaff

Who dares nothing, need hope for nothing. ~ Friedrich von Schiller

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. ~ William James

It seems to me that it’s actually harder to invent excuses than it is to get the sale. ~ Jeffrey Gitomer

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~ Anne Frank

Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can. ~ Mary Frances Berry

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. ~ Don Marquis

You may delay, but time will not. ~ Benjamin Franklin

Some people procrastinate so much that all they can do is run around like firefighters all day—putting out fires that should not have gotten started in the first place. ~ Nido Qubein

Think Different ~ Change the World

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."
A great montage of all the "crazy" people who made a huge difference in the world.

Choose a job that you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. ~ Confucius.