In our first post in a new series, Voices of Wisdom, I pay tribute to the men who changed my life: Jim Rohn, William James, and Jim Kerwin.

KEY LESSONS:

1.  Jim Rohn taught me that our decisions shape our destiny.

The quote in question comes right around the 1:15 mark. He states:

“We all must suffer one of two things: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is that discipline weighs ounces, but regret weighs tons.”

I can’t tell you the number of dreams I put on a shelf because I didn’t want to face the discipline and sacrifice it would take to actually bring them to life.

Of course, that’s hindsight talking. At the time the conversation in my head sounded more like, “I don’t have time,” or “I tried that before and it didn’t work.”

In time I came to see that the successful among us are not superhuman. They don’t have special powers or some rare genetic gift that enables them to do what others cannot.

They simply are willing to endure the hardships of the learning curve that others avoid – knowing that everything gets easier with practice.

They learned that it’s our decisions that shape our destiny.

I’m so glad I learned this lesson.

2.  William James taught me that we can change our lives by changing our thinking.

At the 3:10 mark I bring up another “Jim” that impacted my life, one of the founders of modern psychology. His early lesson on the power of the mind still brings me pause.

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter their life by altering their attitude.”

Now it’s important to understand that I wasn’t always the positive person I am today. I spent many years in a place of negativity, anger, and many of the stomach issues that go along with such emotions.

It wasn’t until I had reached a peak of frustration with the circumstances of my life (something we call “hitting your threshold” in our Illuminate™ course) that I was willing to hear this teaching.

But as you can imagine, when I started taking more responsibility for my attitude and inner state, it changed my life.

3. My dad, Jim Kerwin, taught me that waking up every day is a gift we should all be thankful for.

I get pretty personal on this one, and right around the 4:30 mark, I share the story of how my father died in my arms, and it changed my life.

You can watch the video to hear the full story, but the essence of it is this:

I call my dad after yet another round of chemotherapy, and I know he feels like garbage. Casually I asked him, “So Dad, how are you feeling today,” and he lays this gem on me:

“I woke up. I won.”

Many of us struggle with finding something to be grateful for each day. Due to social pressures and things we see on the internet, we’re convinced we don’t have enough or haven’t achieved enough to be thankful.

What my father’s life taught me echoes something another wise person taught me, “everything gets clear when you’re cornered.”

When you have a chance to have that level of clarity, that shows you what’s really important in life, you begin to understand and appreciate the rare gift that is given to you EVERY single morning you draw breath.

You’ve got another chance. You’ve got another day to make it right. To turn the tide and make an impact on this world.

You woke up. You won.

See you on the path,

-Patrick