One of my favorite quotes comes from the Scottish explorer W.H. Murray (18 March 1913–19 March 1996). Though a part of the quote is commonly cited and attributed to Goethe, the entire passage is taken from Murray’s book The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951).

In proper context, we understand the power of commitment. Speaking of the beginning of his expedition he expressed that they hadn’t done anything yet, but then clarifies:

But when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter. We had definitely committed ourselves and were halfway out of our ruts. We had put down our passage money–booked a sailing to Bombay. This may sound too simple, but is great in consequence. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!’

(emphasis added)

What dreams do you have that are waiting for your commitment?

Advance confidently in the direction of your dreams and you will meet with a success unexpected.

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings.
In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

Henry David Thoreau, Walden (Chapter 18)

Rumi

The Guest House by Rumi

Darling, the body is like a guest house;
every morning someone new arrives.
Don’t say, “O, another weight around my neck!”
or your guest will fly back to nothingness.
Whatever enters your heart is a guest
from the invisible world: entertain it well.

Every day and every moment a thought comes
like an honored guest into your heart.
My soul, regard each thought as a person,
for every person’s true value
is in the quality of the thought they hold.

If a sorrowful thought stands in the way,
it is also preparing the way for joy.
It furiously sweeps your house clean,
in order that some new joy
may appear from the Source.
It scatters the withered leaves
from the bough of the heart,
in order that fresh green leaves might grow.
It uproots the old joy so that
a new joy may enter from Beyond.

Sorrow pulls up the rotten root
that was hidden from sight.
Whatever sorrow takes away
or causes the heart to sacrifice,
it puts something better in its place–
especially for one who is certain
that sorrow is the servant of the intuitive.

Without the frown of clouds and lightning,
the vines would be burned by the smiling sun.
Both good and bad luck
become guests in your heart:
like planets traveling from sign to sign.
When something transits your sign, adapt yourself,
and be as harmonious as its ruling sign,
so that when it rejoins the Moon,
it will speak kindly to the Lord of the Heart.

Whenever sorrows come again,
meet it with smiles and laughter,
saying, “O my Creator, save me from its harm;
and do not deprive me of its good.
Lord, remind me to be thankful,
let me feel no regret if its benefit passes away.”

And if the pearl is not in sorrow’s hand,
Let it go and still be pleased.
Increase your sweet practice.
Your practice will benefit you at another time;
someday your need will be suddenly fulfilled.”

Jim Rohn

The recent passing of Self-Improvement legend Jim Rohn has caused many to reflect and pay tribute to his life, and his teachings.  It is likely that you have recently seen his ideas in blog posts, Facebook notes or status updates and tweets on Twitter. We can’t imagine the impact of this trend since “ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.”

Some of my favorite ideas from Jim Rohn are on the subject of character. Here are a few that I have pondered:

• Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.
• Character isn’t something you were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you weren’t born with and must take responsibility for forming.
• Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.
• The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become.
• We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment.

Each of these insights has power to change the way we think, and the actions we take on a daily basis. And while it is  honorable ways to pay our respects by sharing these ideas, I am certain that if Mr. Rohn had one more lesson to teach us, it would be for us to take action.  To quote John Ruskin:

“Education does not mean teaching people to know what they do not know; it means teaching them to behave as they do not behave.”

May we all let his words sink down from our minds to deep into our hearts.

In what way can you take these ideas and put them into action?

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
~ Albert Einstein