Part 2: Twelve Pillars by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener

Part 2: Twelve Pillars by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener
with Michael Horton

This is part two of the discussion of Rohn and Widener’s “12 Pillars” book.  Here’s a link to part one of the blog.  Here’s the description of the book that I gave in that first part, “It is the story of Michael Jones whose car breaks down near the mansion of a successful businessman, Mr. Davis.  The groundskeeper, Charlie, then shares Mr. Jones’ 12 Pillars of Success with Michael and encourages him to practice each pillar between visits.  There are some twists in the plot to make this book an enjoyable, easy read with many quotable lines in it (in fact, I posted many of them to Twitter @rimsavid).”

Without any more fanfare, here are the last 6 pillars:

7) Be a Life-Long Learner

8) Life is Sales

9) Income Seldom Exceeds Personal Development

10) All Communication Brings the Common Ground of Understanding

11) The World Can Always Use One More Great Leader

12) Leave a Legacy

Albert Einstein said, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.”  I wouldn’t be that dramatic about it, but I could agree that “Once you stop learning, you . . . “

Stop improving

Stop growing

Let the competition catch up

Regress to the mean

When I hear a principal say, “I don’t know how to involve parents in the school” or teachers say, “I don’t know how to motivate students,” I think to myself, “There are dozens of books written on each of those subjects.  Go read one of them!”  In my position, I realized that I didn’t have any formal knowledge of leadership, influence, or motivation.  I went on a reading rampage and this blog was born.

Everything you do throughout the day is trying to sell an idea to someone else.  When you try to convince the custodian that it’s time to high pressure wash the gum from the quad, convince the parent that this IEP is exactly what her child needs, or convert a department to using performance task assessments, you have made a sale.  I know that sounds sleazy because of our impression of sales people, but it is true.  Everything you do is about sales, sales is about influence, and influence is about relationships.  Going back to pillar 7, there are hundreds of books about sales, influence, and relationships, go read one of them!

Your income is highly correlated with your knowledge and skills.  You can lose your job, your money, your car, your home, you can be transferred to a new school . . . but your knowledge and skills are permanent and they can help you to become successful again.  Our concern shouldn’t be, “How do I make more money?” but instead, “How do I become so good that regardless of what happens to my money, I can start all over again and regain my success.”

Relationships are one of the most important factors in leadership and success.  Communication is the backbone of relationships.  Therefore, listening and speaking are two of the keys to success in any field.  A school administrator communicates with students, teachers, parents, cabinet, board, district office, county office, state officials, fire marshals, custodians, secretaries, etc.  Each one of these experiences is a chance to make or break a relationship, so proceed carefully.

Every movement in history has been guided by a great leader, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Bill Gates who have a cadre of “tribe leaders” below them.  Nothing happens without great leaders.  Be one of these great leaders and make a difference in the world.

Almost everyone wants to leave a legacy.  But how many have determined what legacy it is that they want to leave?  What’s important to you?  How do you want to be remembered?  What do you want to change in the world?  Go do it!  But first, you have to decide what “it” is.

How did you learn to communicate and build relationships?  Share your ideas in the comments section.