As someone who has worked in marketing almost all my adult life, I am a keen student of human behaviour. You know what? After 23 years in the business, I am still often amazed at what I see.
Take yesterday for instance
Following the sad death of Jim Rohn at the weekend, I wrote a brief tribute. After it was published, I was stunned by the number of direct messages I received via Twitter and Friendfeed, from intelligent people, telling me they had never heard of him.
The reason I find this so interesting, is that Jim spoke at over 6,000 events and reached over 4 MILLION people. He was a true thought leader, who focused exclusively on delivering tangible results. But what about value? I recall how Jim was once paid a million dollars by a soft drinks company, for a little of his time and some of his ideas.
By way of contrast, you can hire many of today’s Internet famous thought leaders for relative peanuts.
Here’s my point: We all need to be super-selective regarding the voices we allow to influence us. That’s why I believe it’s important to check from time to time, that we are listening to the right people for what we want to achieve.
Photo credit: Jessica FM
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Jim, you make a very valid point. These days, we are surrounded by so many competing voices, it’s often hard to distinguish the best ones initially.
I believe the trick is to listen out for consistent quality. After a while they stand out. Hey, that’s why I look out for your blog posts!
I think you nailed it Ash, consistent quality is the “real time” filter of the future. We tune in to folks that speak out language and share their expertise in a way that benefits readers.
Solid post Jim, I’ll have to read up Jim Rohn.
A teriffic post. What I like about you and people like Jay Abraham is that you give real lfe advice that people can actually use.
The gurus just peddle stories. They are entertaining but they add nothing to my business.
Jim, I read your tweets yesterday about Jim Rohn and your tribute to him. Though I knew who he was and had heard him quoted in many places, I learned more from your blog post yesterday than I knew before. You are right, we need to be careful how we choose our experts, our mentors, and those we listen to. I have followed you since I found you last fall and I keep coming back to see what you have to say. Because I can feel the sincerity in your words and the consistency in your message. You bring me value! blessings on your day!
Jim, I had the pleasure of being with a group of about 20 with both Jim Rohn and Tony Robbins talking about their view of life in a room for half of a day. To hear the human side of both of their struggles starting out in their careers made one realize that success is “caused” by believing in yourself and applying principles that have been proven to work. Two final ingredients creativity and persistence.
This morning I got up and read an industry magazine–Jim would have been proud of me for he believed as Tony does, that we have to keep reading.
http://www.kathycondons.blogspot.com
Simple answer:-
@jimconnolly
@briansolis
@ChrisBrogan
@NotGodinReposts (SethGodin)
that way I get the facts, the trends & the future!
Keep em coming Jim!
Thanks for the mention Howard. Much appreciated sir.
Time has past, nearly 30yrs since Jim and I broke bread together in Southern California. We chatted for hours about life, goals and why some people succeeded where others failed. Jim called the ‘mystery’ of life. He spoke with simple elegence and plain language. I think that is what attracted me to his teachings. Iam forever grateful to experiencec his presence and will cherish all the words of wisdom him gave so freely. I shall miss this spcial human being. May the peace of the Lord be with him. God Bless You Jim Rohn.