The 5 Major Pieces of the Life Puzzle

I have to give credit to Jim Rohn for much of this material, and the thoughts that spring from it...

I have been in the process of trying to 're-make' my mind, and as has often been in the past, I've found Jim Rohn's material to be extremely helpful. A few weeks ago, before I felt I had the capacity to read something that was beyond the easiest material to absorb, I read Dan Brown's latest book, The Lost Symbol. In it, part of the storyline has to do with studying the power of our minds, known as 'noetic science.' It's an interesting read. I guess I was drawn into the topic because of my need to find a solution to my ongoing malaise...according to the story, my mind truly is the key to changing my world.

I realize that none of this is new information, but it seems that I have to keep learning the same truths over and over again...

I read As a Man Thinketh this weekend, by James Allen. He posits the same theory about the power of our mind and our thinking, and this brings me to Jim Rohn and his book, The Five Major Pieces of the Life Puzzle. According to the book, the cornerstone of the puzzle is "philosophy." What is my life philosophy? The definition of philosophy is a "system of principles that guide your life affairs..."

One of the best metaphors for philosophy is that it is like the sail on a boat. All of us experience blowing winds of circumstance, and storming winds of disappointment, despair and heartbreak...why then, do some of us end up in a better place than others? If not the circumstances of our journey, what? Rohn suggests that the difference is in the set of our sail. If I end up shipwrecked on a rocky shore, it isn't because of the storm so much as it is because I failed to adjust the set of my sail.

When the winds change, we must change. I have no control of the wind, nor do any of us. I only have the ability to adjust my sail to the storms that come. What I think about and how I think, determines what I believe...about myself, about God, about others, and about life itself. What I believe about all of these things influences what I choose...and what I choose influences who I become.

What is your philosophy? Do you have one? Have you taken time to set a sail for your life....or do you need to re-adjust your sail because of a change in the wind?