FOREWORD
It is the inherent nature of success to be both puzzling and elusive, and to withhold its rewards from all but a handful of those who pursue it. It is by an intricate design of nature that success is a condition that must be attracted and not pursued. We achieve rewards and we make progress not by our intense pursuits, but by what we become, for it is what we are that finally determines the results we attract. “To have more we must first become more” is the very essence of the philosophy of personal development, success and happiness addressed by Jim Rohn in The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle. It is our personal philosophy that establishes our individual attitude. It is our attitude that determines both the quantity and the quality of our level of activity. That activity produces a final and proportionate result, and the result provides the lifestyle that we live. The results and the lifestyle are the effects – the conditions we inherit – but it is our personal philosophy.
There are always just a few important principles that account for most of the progress we make in our lives. It is these “basics” that have the greatest effect on our health, our happiness and our bank accounts. This is not to suggest that there are only a few life- changing ideas that will affect us, for surely there are many. What I am suggesting, however, is that you begin your search by focusing on the five fundamentals we will examine in this book. It is these few among the many that will account for the biggest share of the results you will achieve. You will never be able to master every aspect of life.
To try to become the master over every detail of your life will only lead to frustration. Instead, why not go after the few among the many; the few that will make the most difference; the fundamental subjects that will have the greatest impact in determining the quality of your existence? As you look around your world for answers to the good life, always be in search of those few things that make the most difference. If you master these basics, I can promise that you will not be disappointed with the results. It is the basics – the fundamentals in life – that we all need to master. These are the same keys for success and happiness that have existed for the last six thousand years of recorded history. There are no new fundamentals for human achievement. Basics are basics, and anything else is merely an activity designed to refine or
expand upon those same principles. In any attempt to improve your current circumstances, never
allow yourself to drift from those time-proven principles that have flowed from generation to generation in a steady stream to serve as the fundamentals for finding, developing and living the good life.
It is important to understand that the list I will be sharing with you in this book does not mean that my five are the only five to the exclusion of all others. I am neither so wise nor so presumptuous as to suggest that I have all of the answers and that my answers are the only answers. The principles we will cover in this book are five important concepts that are as fundamental to your success now as they were for preceding generations. Through all my years of study and experience, through all my encounters with both success and failure, through all the conversations and associations I have had the privilege to share, it is these five principles that have remained unchallenged in their capacity to produce life-changing results. Endurance is often the best indicator of validity and value. That is why I have invited you to take a closer look at these five enduring principles – the “basics” that seem to always be there, guiding the lives of those who have done well with life’s challenges and opportunities.
I do not have the final and unchallenged answers for finding the good life. I know that there are a lot of people who claim to know the truth, and who suggest that they have discovered the ultimate answer to life’s puzzle. But there can never be a single, ultimate answer simply because there will never be a single, ultimate question. That is why my best advice has always been to stick to the basics. And if you will give each of the basics we are about to share both time and careful attention, you are certain to be happy with the results, for they are — The Five Major Pieces To The Life Puzzle.