Jim Rohn: Tribute to an 800-Pound Gorilla of Wisdom
It was almost 20 years ago when Jim Rohn opened my eyes.
I was the Sales Manager of a Joliet, IL radio station, blessed with a talented group of sales reps and a need to train them. A touring troupe of nationally-known sales “gurus” was passing through Chicago, which was a chance to see many of the best-known speakers and authors of the selling field. I arranged to have my entire staff and I make the trek to the big city to see them speak.
I was personally most interested in the nuts-and-bolts speakers, and was turned off by everyone else. One young sales rep of mine, however, was intrigued by an older fellow from the platform who spoke more in parables than in ‘useable’ information, in my opinion. He spoke in generalities, not in the ‘real world’, or so I thought. He wasn’t the charismatic type like everyone else that had been on the stage. His words just didn’t connect with me, and so as the ‘boss’, I wrongly assumed that he wouldn’t connect with any of my staff.
Not wanting to be caught in Chicago rush-hour traffic, I took the opportunity at the break to muster everyone together to leave a little bit early.
“But Jim Rohn’s not done yet!” Eric said emphatically. A young, enthusiastic rep with loads of natural talent, Eric was obviously enjoying Rohn’s segment of the day, but I had my own agenda.
“It’s all right. He’s not any good anyway,” I said rather callously. “He’s old, he’s boring, and he talks in the clouds. We’ve already heard the best speakers today. Let’s get out of here while we can.”
And so I packed everyone up in the radio station’s minivan and headed back to the suburbs, not thinking twice about what I denied a young sales rep hungry for additional information from someone with whom he had forged a strong connection.
Not long afterward, Eric was hired as an account rep at the local cable company as an ad sales rep, and made a substantial jump in income by making the move. Several years later, Eric and I saw each other at another similar sales-guru event, and as we talked, he brought up the event several years earlier.
“Do you remember leaving early from that Jim Rohn event?” he asked.
“Sure, I remember it,” I said. “I thought he was as dry as dust, and I spared everyone the boredom.”
“I was so upset that you didn’t let us stay for the rest of that session, but I couldn’t tell you that because you were my boss, and you were so hell-bent on leaving that nothing I would’ve said would’ve changed your mind. Jim Rohn changed my life and my attitude toward selling. He spoke to me like no one else ever had. He’s one of the reasons I’m doing so well at the company I’m at today.”
I felt two inches tall.
What I learned in that instant was that my initial judgment on what resonates with people may or may not be on line with everyone else. I learned that Jim Rohn was successful at what he did BECAUSE he could reach millions of people with his message and make it stick. Just because he didn’t connect with me didn’t mean that his message didn’t have value for someone else. I selfishly believed that my own assessment that day was the only one that mattered.
I now know better. In fact, I revisited Jim Rohn’s material, and can say that today it’s some of my favorite reading.
Jim Rohn, known by millions as America’s Foremost Business Philosopher, passed away on Saturday (12/5/09) after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis, positive and upbeat right up to the end. He challenged many people to stand up and live their dreams. Some of the many Jim Rohn quotes are these:
“Economic disaster begins with a philosophy of doing less and wanting more.”
“Don’t say, ‘If I could, I would.’ Say, ‘If I can, I will.’”
“The goal of effective communication is for the listener to respond, “Me Too!”, and not “So what?”
Modest, unasuming Jim Rohn affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in his 46 years on the platform… including this eventual fan.
May your spirit rest in peace, you 800-Pound Gorilla of motivation.
– Bill Guertin is CEO (Chief Enthusiasm Officer) of The 800-Pound Gorilla, a dynamic sales training and consulting company whose list of clients includes the ticket sales departments of professional sports teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, and Major League Soccer. He is the author of the Gold Medal-award-winning book Reality Sells, and his brand-new second book, The 800-Pound Gorilla of Sales: How To Dominate Your Market, is now available from John Wiley & Sons. Find more articles and valuable information at www.The800PoundGorilla.com, or follow Bill on Twitter at www.twitter.com/800poundgorilla.
I have to say this touched my heart…great story Bill. You were lucky to understand this 20 years ago. I myself just heard of Jim 5 years ago… “I got it now”