I have to confess. I am probably one of the few people familiar with personal development who never read one thing that Jim Rohn wrote, I never listened to one of his talks or even searched out his website. Yes, I had heard his name but I never felt compelled to learn more about one of the founders of the personal development industry. Looking back, it´s a bit strange - kind of like wanting to become a minister and never reading a Bible. But that is the truth. Maybe you´ve never done any of Jim´s work either.

Ironically, it wasn’t until after his death in early December that I was sent a manuscript of a conversation with him. I decided it was time to get to know Jim Rohn. And am I ever glad I did.

He said several things that resonated with me but the one that changed my plans for 2010 was: “Set a goal to become a millionaire for what it makes of you to achieve it. All that you will have learned and all that you will have become to reach the status of millionaire is what´s valuable, not the million dollars.”

I thought about that and realized that it was a goal I wanted to achieve. Yes, I´ve talked about financial freedom and I´ve achieved a certain amount of that over the last few years but the goal of millionaire has felt somewhat elusive. Perhaps it´s because I haven´t hung around a lot of millionaires growing up nor is it something most of my friends aspire to. It hasn´t been a part of my daily conversation, that´s for sure.

However, in the pit of my stomach, I have always wondered if I could create a million dollar income. That niggling question has been there for a long time, buried under all the reasons why the timing isn´t right, it´s too much work and my most favorite, “I live the life of a millionaire in many ways without having the responsibility of being one.” That one has got me off the hook lots over the past couple of years as I have lived a most amazing life in some very beautiful places.

However, what Jim said intrigued me from a personal development point of view. What needs to change in my beliefs, personality, strategies, and thoughts to become a millionaire? What do I need to learn to become the millionaire that will forever change my life and my impact on the world? As easy as it is to become a millionaire today, there are obviously some things about it that make it sufficiently elusive that most people never achieve it. It is those things that intrigues me, scares me a little, but is brewing in the pit of my tummy.

Coincidentally, the same week that I read this manuscript of a conversation with Jim, I was sitting for the first time at what has become one of my most favorite restaurants here in Guatemala. Zoolas is a very cool Israeli restaurant that has a very neat atmosphere and downright amazing food at ridiculously low prices. As I was relishing the place for the first time, my heart felt sad that Greg wasn´t with me. Here I was creating memories that will forever make me smile, and the man that I love more than anything wasn´t there with me. For the first time, I felt the pang in my heart of not wanting to create such amazing memories without him at my side.

Become a millionaire and be with Greg. Wow – quite a shift from my gypsy lifestyle of living out of two suitcases, spending more time playing than making money and spending months away from Greg each year.

As I had just written my vision for 2010, it now needed some serious reworking. However, I have decided to stay in Guatemala until the end of April. I get that there is some amazing healing work that I need to continue to avail myself of during these four months. And my trip to Bali and Thailand this summer still feels very right and important for reasons that I don´t understand. It´s another case of I don´t even know the questions to ask, never mind the answers so I am trusting my intuition on this one. However, come this fall I will be giving up the suitcases to focus on my business once again and my amazing relationship with Greg.

What that will look like I don´t know. I´m sure there will be some definite guidance in that area. The instructions seem to show up when I need them.

However, as we begin 2010, I am going to ask that you ask yourself the same questions I asked myself. These aren´t necessarily easy questions but I believe they are important ones. And please don´t brush them off because you think that you don´t need all that money. Jim Rohn said, “Become the millionaire so you become the person that goal will make of you and then if you want, give the money away.” This is NOT about the money, this is about the personal growth you will need to do to reach that goal. Isn´t that an intriguing thought? It literally gives me goosebumps.

So here are the questions:

* What kind of person would you become if you were a millionaire?
* What projects would you be able to afford to accomplish if money was no longer an issue in your life?
* What dreams would you dare to dream if you knew you could afford to just do it?
* What is stopping you from creating that million dollar income?
* Are you willing to commit to become the person who can create the million dollar income?

Please let me know what comes up for you when you ask yourself these questions. I´d love to hear from you on this one. I think it´s that important for you and for this planet. If you´re following my blog this week, you´ll understand why.

Subscribe to the post comments feeds or Leave a trackback