In the video, the speaker reflects on the value of both time and money for the attendees of the seminar he is conducting. The speaker stresses the importance of getting one's "money's worth" and "time's worth," with particular emphasis on the latter, as time is a limited resource. Drawing from his own experience growing up on a farm, leaving college early, and eventually meeting his mentor, Mr. Shoaff, the speaker illustrates the pivotal moments that shaped his life. He highlights how a mentor can guide someone through inspiration, knowledge, and example, ultimately changing one's life trajectory.

He shares a personal success story, starting from humble beginnings to becoming a successful businessperson and speaker. Emphasizing the role of inspiration and good fortune, he recounts how encountering Mr. Shoaff was instrumental to his development, encouraging the audience to be open to opportunity and learning. The speaker also illustrates the "American Dream," showing that anyone can transform their life regardless of their starting point, through setting goals and learning the right ideas and philosophies.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. obscurity [əbˈskjʊrəti] - (noun) - The state of being unknown, inconspicuous, or unimportant. - Synonyms: (anonymity, oblivion, insignificance)

Raised in obscurity in a little small farm community.

2. perplexed [pərˈplɛkst] - (adjective) - Completely baffled; very puzzled. - Synonyms: (confused, bewildered, confounded)

It said, some that heard this presentation were perplexed.

3. discouraged [dɪsˈkʌrɪdʒd] - (adjective) - Having lost confidence or enthusiasm; disheartened. - Synonyms: (disheartened, demoralized, crestfallen)

And I'm getting discouraged, wondering what to do.

4. inspiration [ˌɪnspəˈreɪʃən] - (noun) - The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative. - Synonyms: (motivation, encouragement, stimulation)

Here's what else I hope you'll find here today. And that is inspiration.

5. intrigued [ɪnˈtriɡd] - (adjective) - Very interested in something, often due to its mysterious or unusual nature. - Synonyms: (fascinated, captivated, curious)

I was so intrigued, within a few minutes I said to myself.

6. philosophy [fɪˈlɒsəfi] - (noun) - A theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behavior; the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. - Synonyms: (ideology, belief system, doctrine)

He's got a unique philosophy of life.

7. amateur [ˈæmətər] - (noun / adjective) - A person who is inexperienced or unskilled in a particular activity; participating in an activity for pleasure rather than professional purposes. - Synonyms: (novice, beginner, nonprofessional)

I'm an amateur on life, I guess, like most of us are, trying to figure it out.

8. transform [trænsˈfɔːrm] - (verb) - To make a thorough or dramatic change in form, appearance, or character. - Synonyms: (convert, alter, modify)

And have a chance to transform your life, change your life, set your goals and see what you can accomplish.

9. mocked [mɑːkt] - (verb) - To make fun of someone or something in a cruel way; deride. - Synonyms: (ridiculed, taunted, jeered)

It said some that heard this presentation, mocked and laughed, made fun of the presentation.

10. profound [prəˈfaʊnd] - (adjective) - Very great or intense; having or showing great knowledge or insight. - Synonyms: (deep, insightful, thoughtful)

Some people do and some people don't. I mean, that's about as profound as my philosophy is.

Time is More Valuable Than Money - Jim Rohn Motivational Speech

I'm delighted to be here. I feel to major responsibilities, and I'm sure you can guess what those are. Number one is to make sure you get your money's worth. Right. When you shell out your cash, especially these days, you want to make sure you get full value for the money you spent. And I know the tab for the seminar was not that much. Pretty modest fee to get in most of you, your tips for the week, right? So it wasn't that much, but I want you to be able to say when you walk out of here today, it was worth my money.

But my biggest responsibility is to make sure you get your time's worth. And the reason I say that is because time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but unfortunately you can't get more time. If somebody asked you to spend your money, that's pretty easy, right? We live in America, we're wealthy, so the money's not the problem. But what if somebody asked you to spend the day? You got to think that over carefully, and I know you did. I wouldn't waste one of my days, not for anybody, not for anything, not for once I understood how valuable they were. I don't waste any.

But to make an investment like today of your money and your time, I appreciate that today is going to be costly for me. It's going to cost me one of my days to be here, right. And some money, of course. But, you know, I don't need the money. I take the money, but I don't. I don't need the money. But guess what? I do need the time. So I'm here not to just joke with you. I'm here not to just tell some funny stories and give a performance, walk away. I'm here to give you some value and I want to make it worth your time. I'm going to invest today. You're going to invest today. Let's get the most out of it and see what we can walk away with today.

Anyway, for you that have not seen me before, just very briefly, let me just tell you my story. I grew up in Idaho farm country, southwest corner of Idaho. In fact, my father still lives on the old homestead where I grew up. He'll be 89 his next birthday. Still hasn't retired. I'm proud of my dad. He's never been ill. He's really something. I'm trying to get him to retire this year, 88. I'm telling my father, what a good year to retire when you're 88. And he says, hey, talk to me in ten years. I might be ready.

But anyway, I went to high school. I graduated, I went to college. One year, halfway through my second year of college, I decided I was smart enough, so I quit. One of my major mistakes. I should have stayed in school, but I thought, you know, I'm smart enough to get a job. That's what life's all about, right? Get a job, pay your bills, work hard, stay out of trouble, keep your fingers crossed, hope for the best. And I figured I was at least prepared to do that.

So I quit college and went to work a little while later, got married, got my little family going, and I'm out there doing what I thought was the best I could. But about age 25, I'm starting to struggle. I've purchased a little more than I can conveniently pay for on time, and the creditors are starting to call saying, hey, you told us the check was in the mail. What's the deal? And I'm getting embarrassed by that. I'm also embarrassed. Big mouth me, with all the fancy promises I made to get married, I'm way behind on those promises. And I'm getting discouraged, wondering what to do.

And I thought, well, maybe I should go back to school, right? One year of college, pretty short on an application, but, you know, tough to go back to school, right? Especially when you got your family, go on time to stay is when you're there. So I just counted that. I thought, well, if I had my own business, that would be the way to go. But, you know, I'm short on money. Too much. Month at the end of the money, if you've ever been there, that's where I was at age 25. So I had to discount that. And I'm discouraged wondering where do I go from here?

And then the miracle happened for me. Good fortune came my way. And who can explain good fortune? I don't know. Remarkable things that happen to you at a particular time sometimes. It's just unexplainable how those things happen. One of my friends says, well, hey, things don't just happen, things happen. Just another good note for your notes. Things don't just happen. Things happen. And maybe that's it. I don't know. I'm an amateur on life, I guess, like most of us are, trying to figure it out, how to make it valuable.

But I was ready. And my good fortune was. At age 25, I met a very wealthy man. His name was Mister Shoaff, Mister Earl Shoaf. A friend of mine had gone to work for him and he started telling me about this man. He said, you got to meet this man I've gone to work for. He's wealthy, but he's easy to talk to. And he's got a unique philosophy of life. And the more he kept talking about this man, I thought, well, I've got to meet this man. So sure enough, shortly after that I had a chance to meet this remarkable, wealthy Mandev.

And I was impressed. He was wealthy. Sure enough, he was easy to talk to. I was so intrigued, within a few minutes I said to myself. If I could be like him. A farm boy from Idaho. If I could be like him, I'd give anything. And then I thought if I could just get around somebody like him. And if he would teach me what to do. I would be willing to learn. I'm coachable. And that was my good fortune.

A few months later, this wealthy man that I met, Mister Shoaf, took a liking to me. Hired me, gave me a job. I went to work for him. And I spent the next five years in his employ. And then unfortunately, he died at the end of that period. At age 49. His last five years. That the first five years of my new life I got to spend with this remarkable man. And my dream came true.

He coached me. He taught me. He taught me the books to read. He taught me the discipline. He taught me the changes to make in my language and personality. And the things he shared with me during that five years. Literally changed my life. Turned my life around. Changed my income. Changed my bank account. Changed my future. Changed everything. I've never been the same since that unique experience.

And I wish he was still alive today. Mister Shawff. I'm sure if he was alive today, especially after this seminar, Idaho farm boy makes it to Dallas, Fort Worth. Full house, standing room only. Pretty awesome. I'm sure if he was alive, I'd be calling him today saying, you won't believe what's happening to me. I've had a chance now to share with other people what you shared with me.

But anyway, how I got here 30 plus years ago, I was living in Beverly Hills, California. And one day a friend of mine, businessman friend, said, jim, would you. I'd like to have you come and share your story with my service club that I belong to. The Rotary Club. He said, I know your story. Idaho farm boy makes it to Beverly Hills. But he said, I think my club members would love to hear your story. Said, if I arranged one of our breakfast meetings, would you come and tell your story? Just share a few thoughts? I said, okay.

So I agreed to go give this breakfast talk and guess what? They liked it. And my telephone rang. I got another call, got another call saying, we heard you've given your story and shared some ideas. Would you come talk to our club? Talk to our club. First thing I know, I'm starting to devote a piece of my business time to giving these talks.

And then one day, businessmen who had heard my talk, I think, two or three times approached me and said, would you come and share that story and some thoughts with my management and salespeople? So I got this little company going, and he said, if you'd come tell your story to my organization, he said, I'd be happy to pay you. And I thought, wow, wouldn't that be something? So I agreed to go do it, and I got paid.

Little did I know another fortune was waiting for me to translate my ideas into talks and speeches and seminars. Now, I've written some books. It's on cassette tape. Now I get to travel around the world. Last year I was in Japan and Israel, Spain, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Canada, and now Dallas Fort Worth. So Idaho. Farm boy gets to travel around the world and share his story. And here I am today.

Anyway, it's almost too much for me to comprehend from where I started. Raised in obscurity in a little small farm community. Now to be here today is pretty awesome for me. So anyway, that's just a little bit about my story. My story is probably more intriguing for me than it is for you, but I wanted to hear it again, so I thought I would just go bore you with it.

Anyway, I don't ask you to be impressed today. I'm the one that's impressed from where I came from, to have a chance. But that's the american dream, right? Come true. Chance to start from scratch. Start from obscurity. Start with pennies. Start with nothing. And have a chance to transform your life, change your life, set your goals and see what you can accomplish. So anyway, that's how I got here. And I'm just delighted that this day has arrived. And I truly want to make it valuable for you.

Let's go to work. Here's what I hope you'll find. Number one, sincerity above all else today. I hope you'll find me sincere. Best place for people to start to communicate is sincerity on both sides. I'm sure you're sincere or you wouldn't be here today, right? To spend this kind of money, to spend this kind of time. Roll up your sleeves today, go to work like I am and get this message. You've got to be sincere.

So I assume you're sincere. Now I want you to see me sincere. But I've got a good note for you to make sincere. It is not a test of truth. Important note to make. Sincerity is not a test of truth. We must not make the mistake of saying he must be right. He's so sincere. That would be a mistake. And here's why. It's possible to be sincerely wrong. So we don't mistake sincerity for truth, right? Sincerity is only a test of sincerity. Truth has to yet be tested by truth.

Okay. But hopefully you will find me sincere and truthful. Next, a combination of things. Ideas plus inspiration. Ideas plus inspiration. Ideas. Business ideas and social ideas and personal ideas. We all need ideas, right? How to have a good day. Ideas. How to have a good year. Ideas, how to have your best year ever. Ideas. Good health ideas. Personal relationship ideas. How to deal with your family ideas. Sales management ideas. Financial freedom for the future ideas. We all need good ideas.

So today I hope you gather up my notes and buy what you can remember a lot of ideas. I want to share as many with you as I possibly can. In the time constraints we have, today is going to go very rapidly. I used to think a day like this was a long day. Found out it's a pretty short day. But I'm going to go as fast as I can, share with you as many ideas as I possibly can. And here's why. Ideas can be life changing. And sometimes all you need is just one more in a series of good ideas. It's like dialing the numbers into the lock, right? You got five or six numbers dialed into the lock. The lock still won't come open, but you don't need five or six more numbers. Maybe you just need one more. And maybe a seminar like this could do it.

Sermon could do it. The lyrics from a song could do it. The dialogue from the movie could do it. Conversation with a friend might do it. That one last piece, you need number dial it into the lock. That's it. The lock comes open. There's the door for you to walk through. And maybe this seminar today could furnish that for you. One more idea. I know you've come with a lot already. Sometimes we get the impression I used to have that. That I only had this much going for me and I needed this much. Usually not true, and I'm sure not true of this audience where I find you today as well dressed as you look today. Ding. It isn't that, you know, you've got this much going for you and you need this much. I would assume you've got this much going for you.

And maybe all you need is just a few more thoughts, ideas to furnish you some ways and means to turn your life into the dream you want it to be. So, ideas. The seminar is going to be loaded with ideas. I want you to take good notes. But here's what else I hope you'll find here today. And that is inspiration. And who knows the mystery of inspiration? Why some people are inspired and some are not. You were inspired to get here, some were nothing. Who knows the mystery of that? I don't know. How come you made it, the rest of them didn't make it. We don't know what that mystery is.

Some people turned it down. Some people said cost too much, some people say it's going to take too much time, some people are too busy. Right? A lot of different excuses why. Some are inspired to take advantage of something that comes to town, others pass it up. We don't know the mystery to that. Here's what I call it, mysteries of the mind. And I just leave it at that. Some things I don't try to figure out. I take the simple approach now, right? Some people do and some people don't. I mean, that's about as profound as my philosophy is.

Some buy and some don't buy, some go forward and some don't. Some change and some don't. And if you've been around for a while, you can usually work out the numbers right out of ten, you know, three do, seven don't. Whatever business you're involved in, pretty soon you got this ratio going, the ones that do, the ones that don't. And you say, well, why don't. The ones that don't. How come they don't? We don't know. I just leave it as a mystery. I used to try to understand all that. I just take the simple approach. Now the guy says, this happens to me, this happened to me. This goes wrong for me and all this stuff goes wrong for me. How come all this stuff happens to me? I say, I don't know.

Beats me. The best I've been able to figure out is those kind of things always happen to people like you. I mean, that's the best I got. I don't know. I'm an amateur on this stuff. What do I know? So just take the simple approach, right? That's how it is. Who knows? Interesting story. Says the day the christian church was started. Now I'm an amateur on the Bible. But best account I can remember, the day the christian church was started. A magnificent sermon was preached, great presentation. And if you're a student of all at all of good communication, it was one of the classic presentations of all times.

The sermon, first day christian church was started and it said the sermon, that presentation was given to a multitude, meaning a lot of people. But it was interesting, as the account gives us the record. It says when the sermon was finished, there was a variety of reaction to the same sermon. Isn't that fascinating? I find it fascinating. It said, some that heard this presentation were perplexed. And I read the presentation sounded pretty straightforward to me. Why would somebody be perplexed with a good, sincere, straightforward presentation? Best answer I've got, they are the perplexed.

I mean, you know, what other explanation isn't? It doesn't matter who is preaching. It said some that heard this presentation, mocked and laughed, made fun of the presentation. I thought, hey, this looks pretty sincere to me. If you give a sincere, honest presentation, why would somebody mock and laugh? Easy explanation. They are the mockers. And the laugh was, what else would you expect them to do, right? I used to try to straighten all that out, say, well, they shouldn't do that.

I don't do that anymore. I've got peace of mind now. Like a baby. I try to straighten all this stuff out. I used to be so naive. I used to say, well, liars shouldn't lie. Say, how naive can you be? Of course they're supposed to lie. That's why we call them liars. They lie, lie. Why don't straighten this stuff out anymore? Anyway, it said some that heard this magnificent presentation didn't know what was going on. And they're usually easy to spot. They're usually saying what's going on, right? I mean, they don't know what's going on, but interesting, right? A variety of reaction to the same sincere, honest presentation.

Now, it also says in wrapping it up, some that heard the presentation believed, and I think that through the speaker was looking for the believers. Interesting. Now it said the number of believers was about 3000. So pretty good. First day, 3000. I've had some first days, I never had 3000. But anyway, 3000 were believers. And that's, the speaker was looking for the believers out of this multitude. And that's about as close as we can come to understanding the mystery. Some believe and some mock and some laugh, and some are perplexed and some don't know what's going on. And you just have to leave it that way.

Why? Because that's the way it's going to be. The way to be brilliant is to find out how it's going to be and then say, here's how it should be. I mean, that's how you become brilliant. So anyway, who knows the mystery. I call it mysteries of the mind. We don't understand. But I don't try to change it anymore on this particular story. As far as we know, they didn't have classes after the presentation to try to perplex the perplexed. I mean, as far as we know, they left them perplexed. They left the mockers mocking. They let the laughter laugh. I mean, they didn't come back and try to straighten all this out.

You say, well, how can you build a church? Well, make another presentation. You'll get some believers and some monsters and some lappers and some who don't know what's going on. So that's about the best we can do. So. But I'm glad I've got the believers here today. You believed enough to shell out your cash and part with your time and some of your effort and energy, and I appreciate that. So hopefully you'll find some inspiration here today.

Inspiration, Motivation, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Personal Growth, Public Speaking, Daily Wisdom