Book Review
Review of The Seasons of Life, Jim Rohn
Jim Rohn describes The Seasons of Life as a condensation
of ideas and observations he gained over 40 years to help to place
life, events, purpose, opportunities and challenges into perspective.
His purpose for writing this book is to awaken and unearth the
answers that lie dormant deep within our hearts and minds.
The Seasons of Life is a book filled with a lot of common
sense information, but it's a good reminder for us. For example,
we are in a situation where we know that we have to change and
try something new because what we have been doing no longer works,
but we have so much invested in old ideas, old friends, old ways
of doing things or even an old belief system that no longer serves
us, that we simply refuse to make the necessary changes. As Rohn
explains, "We tend to accumulate and cling to ideas that
limit our progress. We cherish friendships even though the friendships
impede our personal growth… We wander through life allowing
people and their attitudes and ideas to mold our characters -
people whose attitudes and ideas have brought themselves little
in the way of progress, productivity, or happiness… If our
attitudes, results, or happiness is to ever improve, we must exercise
the painful discipline required for "weeding-out" the
garden of our life."
The seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter are used as an analogy
for the different stages and occurrences in our lives. The book
explains how we all go through the different seasons of life from
the harsh winter where things don't go our way to the fantastic
summer where life is beautiful. Rohn shares how we can get through
the tough times and enjoy the good ones even more.
Winter - Learn how to survive: "The arrival of winter
finds us in one of two categories: Either we are prepared or we
are unprepared… To those who are prepared, who have planted
abundantly in the spring, guarded their crops carefully during
the summer, and harvested massively during the fall, winter can
be yet another season of opportunity." Winter always comes
after the harvest of fall. Do the personal inner work to stay
strong and positive and don't give up. Know that spring is always
around the corner.
Spring - Window of opportunity: "Springtime is the
fresh air of new opportunity, amid the dissipating clouds of winter…
[It] is the time for entering the bleak, empty fields given to
us as a new chance… Each day is given us as a new season
of spring." This is your window when you must take action
and plant your seeds of opportunity. It's the season when your
soil is most fertile so you have to exercise the discipline to
plant even though there may be many obstacles in front of us.
Rid your soil of weeds and rocks, which may appear as the opinions
of those around us in the form of worry, doubt, or pessimism.
The springtime of our lives manifests itself infrequently so we
have to seize the moment and plant massively and intelligently.
Summer - Nourish and Protect: "The summer of life
is a time to protect; it is a time for constant daily effort to
guard against the busy bugs and noxious weeds. The spring is a
time for the creation of things of value, and those things require
the season of summer for growing and gaining strength that they
might yield their result in the coming fall" Fertilize your
new habits so they continue to develop. Pull out your weeds of
bad habits. Be patient, the results may not always show immediately.
Fall - Harvest: "For those who planted abundantly
in the spring, and who fought against the bugs, weeds, and weather
of summer, fall can bring rewards which give cause for rejoicing...
The fall tells us if we have really done that which is required…
Massive action in the spring of life still is the requirement
for massive success in the fall." In all aspects of your
life, the harvest will come in due time. Take a journey in your
mind to where you see the harvest of your changes, having the
life you want.
Five Great Ideas
- The formula for success for one will lead to the self-destruction
of another
- What happened even as recently as yesterday is no longer of
any consequence, unless we choose to allow it to be. What is
of great importance is who and what it is that leaves its mark
today and each day hereafter
- There is little difference between one who has given up his
life and one who has given up his hope
- Be grateful for adversity, for it forces the human spirit
to grow - for surely, the human character is formed not in the
absence of difficulty but in response to difficulty
- The teacher is always the greatest recipient of the lessons
he seeks to teach others
August's Book List
The Seasons of Life, Jim Rohn
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