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Motivational speakers come from a variety of backgrounds and offer a variety of visions. None, though, is more renowned than Jim Rohn, who began working as a stock clerk in Sears and rose to become one of America’s foremost business philosophers. While he was recognized for mentoring young and upcoming speakers — one of his proteges, Tony Robbins, went on to a pretty successful career of his own — Jim really stood out for his simple wisdom. His quotes were succinct and memorable: “Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.”
Rohn was a regular contributor to Success magazine, and his article, “The Qualities of Enterprising People,” is a perfect example of his straightforward style of writing in which every sentence is packed with meaning. In describing an enterprising person, he says, “An enterprising person is one who comes across a pile of scrap metal and sees the making of a wonderful sculpture. An enterprising person is one who drives through an old decrepit part of town and sees a new housing development.”
Rohn understands that what sets the enterprising person apart is largely a matter of character. “Enterprising people always find a way to take advantage of a situation,” he says, “not be burdened by it. And enterprising people aren’t lazy. They don’t wait for opportunities to come to them — they go after the opportunities. Enterprise means always finding a way to keep yourself actively working toward your ambition.”
With his ability to cut to the heart of the matter, Rohn distills what is takes to be enterprising to two essential traits: “Creativity” and “Courage.” Creativity is absolutely necessary, “to see what’s out there and to shape it to your advantage.” But creativity can take you only so far without the other essential: “You need courage… to go against the crowd… to stand alone if you have to.”
See Rohn’s complete article here, which contains links to related articles by Rohn.