“Either you run the day or the day runs you.”Jim Rohn
American - Entrepreneur & Motivational Speaker|September 17, 1930 - December 5, 2009

50 FAMOUS QUOTES · ENTREPRENEUR & MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
Jim Rohn Quotes
Read 50 of the best Jim Rohn quotes on discipline, success, personal development, goals and self-education from America's foremost business philosopher.
“If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”Jim Rohn
“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”Jim Rohn
“We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.”Jim Rohn
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”Jim Rohn
“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practised every day.”Jim Rohn
“Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgement, repeated every day.”Jim Rohn
“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.”Jim Rohn
“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.”Jim Rohn
“The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become.”Jim Rohn
“The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”Jim Rohn
“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.”Jim Rohn
“Work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”Jim Rohn
“Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better.”Jim Rohn
“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”Jim Rohn
“If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree.”Jim Rohn
“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.”Jim Rohn
“Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming.”Jim Rohn
“It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions.”Jim Rohn
“Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.”Jim Rohn
“When you know what you want, and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.”Jim Rohn
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”Jim Rohn
“Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”Jim Rohn
“For every disciplined effort there is a multiple reward.”Jim Rohn
“Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.”Jim Rohn
Related Authors
About Jim Rohn
American - Entrepreneur & Motivational Speaker | September 17, 1930 - December 5, 2009
Jim Rohn (September 17, 1930 – December 5, 2009) was an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker, born in Yakima, Washington, and raised on a farm in Idaho. He left college after one year and was struggling financially at 25 when he met his mentor, businessman Earl Shoaff, whose lessons on personal responsibility and self-improvement changed his life. Within a few years he had become a millionaire.
Rohn spent more than four decades sharing his "business philosophy" in thousands of seminars around the world, inspiring millions of people and mentoring speakers such as Tony Robbins. His books include *7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness*, *The Art of Exceptional Living* and *The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle*. Known for simple, memorable wisdom about discipline, goals and becoming a better person, he remains one of the most quoted motivational speakers in the world. Here are 50 of the best Jim Rohn quotes.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about Jim Rohn and these famous quotes.
Who was Jim Rohn?
Jim Rohn was an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker known as "America's foremost business philosopher." For over 40 years he taught personal development and success principles to millions of people around the world.
Who was Jim Rohn's mentor?
Rohn's mentor was businessman Earl Shoaff, whom he met in 1955 at age 25. Shoaff taught him that success comes from personal responsibility and self-improvement rather than outside circumstances, a lesson that shaped his entire philosophy.
Did Jim Rohn mentor Tony Robbins?
Yes. Tony Robbins attended Rohn's seminars as a teenager and worked for him promoting his events. Robbins has often credited Rohn as an important early influence on his career.
What books did Jim Rohn write?
His best-known books include *7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness*, *The Art of Exceptional Living*, *The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle* and *The Seasons of Life*. Many of his seminars are also available as audio programmes.
Did Jim Rohn say "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with"?
This line is widely credited to Rohn and reflects his teaching about the influence of the people around you, but its exact wording is hard to trace to a recording or book, so we haven't included it in the list above.
Did Jim Rohn say "It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind"?
Rohn often used this idea in his talks, but it comes from the poem "The Winds of Fate" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, which begins "One ship drives east and another drives west."