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Keep Track of Your Results
by Jim Rohn
Three key words to remember: weigh, count and
measure. Now why weigh, count and measure? To
see what your results are from your activity,
your attitude and your philosophy. If you find
that the results are not to your liking, there
are only three places to look. Your philosophy
needs to be fine-tuned, your attitude needs to
be strengthened or your disciplines need extra
skill. But that's it. Activity, attitude and philosophy
create results.
Now on results, here is what I teach the kids.
Life expects you to make measurable progress in
reasonable time. You must be reasonable with time.
You can't say to someone every five minutes, how
are you doing now? That's too soon to ask for
a count. Guy says "I haven't left the building
yet, give me a break!" Now you can't wait
five years - that's too long. Too many things
can go wrong waiting too long for a count to see
how you're doing.
Here are some good time frames:
Number one - at the end of the day. You can't
let more than a day go by without looking at some
things and making progress. Old Testament says
- if you are angry, try to solve it before the
sun goes down. Don't carry anger for another day.
It may be too heavy to carry. If you try to carry
it for a week, it may drop you to your knees.
So some things you must get done in a day.
Here's the next one - a week. We ask for an accounting
of the week so we can issue the pay. And whatever
you've got coming, that's what you get when the
week is over. Now in business, there are two things
to check in the course of the week. Your activity
count and your productivity count. Because activity
leads to productivity, we need to count both to
see how we're doing.
My mentor taught me that success is a numbers
game and very early he started asking me my numbers.
He asked, "How many books have you read in
the last ninety days?" I said, "Zero";
he said, "Not a good number." He said,
"How many classes have you attended in the
last six months to improve your skills?"
And I said, "Zero." He said, "Not
a good number." Then he said, "In the
last six years that you've been working, how much
money have you saved and invested?" I said,
"Zero" and he said, "Not a good
number." Then here's what he said, "Mr.
Rohn, if these numbers don't change your life
won't change, but," he said, "if you'll
start improving these numbers, then perhaps you'll
start to see everything change for you."
Success and results are a numbers game. John
joins this little sales company. He's supposed
to make 10 calls the first week just to get acquainted
with the territory. So on Friday we call him in
and say what? "How many calls?" He says,
"Well." You say, "John, 'well'
won't fit in the little box here. I need a number."
Now he starts with a story. And you say, "John,
the reason I made this little box so small is
so a story won't fit. All I need is a number because,
if you give us the number, we're so brilliant
around here we could guess the story." It's
the numbers that count. Making measurable progress
in reasonable time.
Here's the best accounting. The accounting you
make of yourself. Don't wait for the government
to do it, don't wait for the company to do it.
But you've got to add up some of your own numbers
and ask, "Am I making the progress I want
and will it take me where I want to go now and
in the future?" You be the judge!
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