Jim Rohn, noted leader and speaker in the personal development industry, recently celebrated his 70th birthday in international style - 21 birthday cakes in 15 different cities.
The worldwide birthday celebration began in Mexico City, complete with 2,000 people and a mariachi band. Rohn then traveled to Guadalajara and from there to India, including stops in Banglador, Delhi and Bombay. Portland, OR was next on the tour with a seminar squeezed into the festivities. Departing the US, Rohn arrived in Italy where he visited Naples, Cerrito and Rome before stopping in Tuscany for the actual birthday celebration. Rohn describes the memorable event, "I was in Tuscany at this fabulous villa, and the party lasted until 5:30 in the morning. It was incredible; the Italians know how to give a party! They start to sing a song - someone gets a guitar and accordion - and away they go singing all the operas and all the rest..."
After Italy it was on to Oslo, Norway and Bon, Germany. "I was there about 3 days... big celebration. We had almost 3,000 for that one. People came from all over Europe for training and the birthday revelries." Zurich, Switzerland, Cyprus and Tel Aviv followed completing the whirlwind tour. "All the countries and celebrations were so incredible," says Rohn. "I think it totaled about 21 cakes. Multiply that by all the candles on each cake... I'm all out of breath from blowing them out. I think it might be the longest birthday party ever, each country unique. It's a birthday I'll never forget."
Jim Rohn's 70th birthday marked 39 plus years of traveling and sharing his philosophies and principles for success to more than 5,000 audiences and 3 million people worldwide.
Rohn has been hailed over the years as a major influence to an entire generation of personal development trainers and speakers. Motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins, credits Rohn as his first mentor. Testimonials about Jim by other "greats" like Harvey Mackay, Les Brown, Mark Victor Hansen and Brian Tracy read like a "Who's Who" of the motivational world.
Rohn's beginnings were obscure at best, an only child raised in a small Idaho farming town. After a less than ambitious start, Jim, at age 25, met Earl Shoaff, a man that dramatically altered the course of his life. Shoaff is credited with introducing him to the concepts of personal development that helped him achieve personal and financial success. In addition, Rohn is quick to credit the teachings, wisdom and spiritual heritage learned from his parents as a major influence in his life.
Jim Rohn's own training centers around personal responsibility as well as personal growth. He encourages his audiences to not only work hard at their jobs but to also work hard on themselves. "You don't pursue success, you attract success by the person you become," he says. Rohn also adds, "The major key to your future is YOU, it's not the economy, not prices in the marketplace, not the government or even taxes."
Rohn is best known for his one-day seminar titled, "The Challenge to Succeed" and his two-day, weekend seminar, "Strategies for the 21st Century". Although both have evolved over the years, he maintains that the fundamentals principles, "the basics", never change. "21 years ago when a young Mark Hughes, founder of Herbalife, sat in my audience and 17 years ago when Anthony Robbins heard me speak, they heard the basic truths. There are no new fundamentals. Truth has not changed, our environment and how we function continually changes, but the basics do not. Summer always follows winter. It has been this way for the past 6,000 years of recorded history. So too are the fundamentals that govern success." says Rohn.
Although some on the "outside" might categorize Jim Rohn as a motivator or entertainer, he's quick to dispute this generalization. "My good friend, Zig Ziglar and I have had this running debate all these years. Zig says you must motivate people first, I say educate first. If you motivate an idiot, you now have a motivated idiot. Educate then motivate." Rohn credits Zig with being one of the all-time greats, not only as a speaker and motivator but also as a friend.
Jim Rohn, even at age 70, maintains a rigorous schedule traveling and speaking. This year includes 145 appearances combining both corporate clients and public seminars. In addition, he provides material for articles featured in his free weekly email newsletter. Rohn uses the Internet to reach thousands with his personal development message through both the website www.jimrohn.com and his email newsletter. His readership totals over 38,000 weekly subscribers in 100 countries. Although he receives thousands of requests for personal mentoring and advice from fans, he is not available for one-on-one coaching or counseling. Rohn instead uses seminars, audios and books as well as his newsletter to coach and counsel in large groups. "Now at age 70, I'm more aware than ever of the importance of time. I don't think in terms of 10, 20 or 30 years anymore but instead 10, 20 and 30 more summers or Christmas holidays with my family."
Although Jim looks forward to slowing his traveling pace in the future, he's not ready for that yet. "I feel like I'm 40 and am in incredible shape, which is a requirement when you travel internationally and work as much as I do." When we check back with Jim when he turns 80 to see if he's slowing down, we know we'll get the answer, "I'm booked." Like the late George Burns, Rohn has already booked himself to speak on his 100th birthday. Laughs Rohn, "That just might surpass my 70th birthday celebration..."
Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine. Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine, go to http://Jim-Rohn.InspiresYOU.com