The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn (1930 to 2009), is one of my favorite short books about motivation, action, the power of positive attitude and what it really takes to succeed in life. I’ve read this book multiple times and gifted copies to many friends. Rohn was an American speaker, writer, and businessman who spoke to millions of people on the motivational seminar circuit. He was also known as the mentor to Tony Robbins.
The book is intended to be read by people who are pursuing success in any area of life who want to know what it really takes to get there. It takes a philosophical look at the how the laws of cause and effect lead to good results, bad results or no results in human life. As the title implies, the changing seasons are used as analogies for how life and business ebb and flow and we must respond the right way at the right time to succeed.
Rohn became very wealthy during his career and taught others to do the same in his seminars. His book touches on simple fundamental laws that lead to financial success and how many of the same principles influence our success in every other area of life.
Some major themes include the influence of choosing the right friends and associates while avoiding the negatives, the importance of effort and massive action, the power of mental attitude, how defeat and adversity are a part of success, and the concept that there is a season for everything – to sow, to work, to reap, to rest – and how one must rightly respond to the seasons because they are opportunities that pass if you fail to act when you must act.
There is some tough love in the book. Harsh truths are shared about the impact of neglect, laziness, and wrong associations. It’s possible the tone might be off-putting to some, but I find it motivating and exactly what you’d expect from a successful entrepreneur motivational speaker. People who don’t like motivational speakers might not enjoy this read. (Though missing Rohn’s work would be a loss).
The way Seasons of Life refers to the relationship between cause and effect, including attitudes and thoughts as causes, the book is in parts slightly reminiscent of the classic As A Man Thinketh By James Allen.
Not much over 100 pages, the book is short and many pages feature drawings in the edition I own. With some pages containing only a single paragraph, it might be equal to only 60 or 80 pages of full text. I didn’t mind. Books like this are easy to read. You could finish it in one or two short sittings.
If you’re looking for something more substantial, check out Leading An Inspired Life, a 460-page tome put out by Nightingale Conant. That one is like a compendium of Rohn’s entire career’s best ideas (on the pricey side).
I recommend a lot of reading, so did Rohn, But here’s another tip: There are hours of classic Jim Rohn Videos available for free on You Tube.
Almost every page of The Seasons Of Life has something quotable (tweetable or instagrammable in today’s day we could say). That includes some of the most famous personal development lines ever shared, such as:
“There are two kinds of pain in life, the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. The difference is that discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”
That’s Jim’s line.
My 20-year old copy is full of highlights, underlines, and notes in the margins, with page corners folded in as bookmarks.
I gave a copy to a friend years ago who came back and said, “It’s just common sense.” I replied, “I get why you might say that, but I’d call it more like uncommon sense, because even if this wisdom is commonly known, it’s not commonly practiced. If it were, more people would be successful.”
With that in mind, the ideal reader would be someone wanting more life success in any domain, who enjoys classic personal development books and appreciates messages that may be simple enough for a child to understand, but are undeniably powerful and true.
Jim Rohn is no longer with us, but his book is still in print and available in paperback and kindle ebook format This is our Amazon affiliate link for the book: https://amzn.to/31LPW7T
Tom Venuto,
Author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle
Founder of Burn the Fat Inner Circle
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