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Twelve Pillars

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Who would guess that when Michael Jones' car broke down on the side of the road that it would be the beginning of a life-changing relationship? Walking to the nearest house, Michael stumbles across a plantation style mansion on an estate named "Twelve Pillars." Charlie, the estate's caretaker, helps Michael get back on the road again and also strikes up a relationship with him - and along the way teaches Michael the secrets of success - the Twelve Pillars of Success - that have made the owner of the house, Mr. Davis, a wealthy and successful man.

This new novel by Jim Rohn and Chris Widener will inspire you to take your life to the next level and beyond. It will challenge and encourage you to become the best that you can be!

Twelve Pillars blends together the fundamental principles and teachings of Jim Rohn and The Jim Rohn One-Year Success Plan, and with the help of Chris Widener, those principles have been weaved into a unique tapestry of a fictional account of three characters Michael, Charlie and Mr. Davis.

Here are a few of the lessons you will discover in the Twelve Pillars of Success:

Live a Life of Three-Dimensional Health
The Gift of Relationships
Achieving Your Goals and the Proper Use of Time
Surrounding Yourself with the Best People
Becoming a Life-Long Learner
Income Seldom Exceeds Personal Development
Communication Brings the Common Ground of Understanding
The World Can Always Use One More Great Leader
Leaving a Legacy

126 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

326 people are currently reading
4132 people want to read

About the author

Jim Rohn

220 books1,521 followers
Emanuel James "Jim" Rohn was an American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. His rags to riches story played a large part in his work, which influenced others in the personal development industry.

Rohn was the recipient of the 1985 National Speakers Association CPAE Award for excellence in speaking.

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5 stars
1,749 (59%)
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758 (25%)
3 stars
314 (10%)
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37 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 243 reviews
Profile Image for kian.
198 reviews59 followers
June 22, 2020
یکی از فوق‌العاده‌ترین کتابای موفقیت و رشد شخصی که خوندم. حرفهای نابی که به صورت هوشمندانه در قالب داستان بیان شدند.


من کتاب صوتیش رو گوش دادم خیلی لذتبخش بود. بارها و بارها میشه گوشش داد و لذت برد
17 reviews1 follower
January 15, 2014
I chose to read this book next, honestly, because of it's brevity. I wanted to get a win under my belt early this year, since I've been dragging out how long it takes me to get through a book lately. The title caught my eye because I'd heard my parents mentioning it a while back. I was intrigued, but not super thrilled about the fact that it was written in "novel" form. I think personal growth books that are written as stories tend to be kind of cheesy. Not that they don't have good principles in them-they often do-but the way the story is written is often lame and unrealistic. But I read the book anyway for the information. And there were a lot of really good gems in it, so I'm glad I read it!

One of the main things that really struck me was this thought: "...the key to influencing others is to have others perceive you as a person of talent and virtue." - talent & virtue being equivalent to skill & character/integrity. To influence others, they have to view you as someone who has value that can be added to them, as well as be someone who honors their word and is who they say they are. In order for them to perceive you that way, you have to have those things. Skill & integrity. Combine those two things, and you can have influence over pretty much anyone. "Influence is so subtle; it's like a little nudge..."

I also liked what was said about the journey of success, as opposed to the destination: "...the major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than the goal you achieve." and "After you become a millionaire, you can give it all away because what's important is not the million dollars; what's important is the person you have to become in the process of becoming a millionaire." It's not about the actual success. It's about what going after that success does to you and who you are. It changes you. That's the important part. The part that people so often miss. It's easier to focus on the goal than to focus on the change. You need to do both.

They also talked about the concept of "three-dimensional health", being mind, body, & spirit. That's a good way to look at it. It covers all the bases. Health isn't just our physical bodies. And we need to have health in the other areas of our life beyond just our bodies. Healthy minds. Healthy spirits. They're just as important. And actually, like was said in the book, they build on each other from the inside out. Healthy spirit > healthy mind > healthy body. They're all connected and growth in one can't help but encourage growth in the others. But it all starts with the growth in the spirit.

"Live a life that will help others spiritually, intellectually, physically, financially, and relationally. Live a life that serves as an example of what an exceptional life can look like."
I think that's a pretty awesome vision/mission statement.
Profile Image for BAHAR.
136 reviews78 followers
May 16, 2022
امتیاز اصلی: 3/5


اتفاقی دیدمش و یادم اومد من خیلی وقت پیش، فکر می‌کنم دوران راهنمایی خوندمش(:
خیلی مفید بود برام. با توجه به این‌که من اون‌موقع تونستم یه سری دوستی های سمی رو کمتر کنم و بهم خیلی کمک کرد، برام ارزشمنده. نکات خوبی رو در قالب داستان و موقعیت های پیش فرض یادآوری می‌کنه که قشنگه...
چندجا حالت شعارگونه پیدا می‌کنه و خب از جذابیتش کمی کاسته می‌شه ولی در کل، چهارچوب خوبی داره.
و... من انتظار نداشتم آخرش این باشه🥺
برای اون تایم از زندگیم و دوره‌ی هیجانات وافر و تصمیمات حیاتی و مهم، ازش راضی بودم.
11 reviews
March 16, 2015
> Work harder on yourself than on your job
- Work as hard as you want, but if you don't work to increase your skill level, you won't go above your current pay/responsibility level

> Live a life of health
- Body (physical)
- Soul (personality, emotions, preferences, intellect)
- Spirit (the breath of life)

> The gift of relationships
- Relationships need time and effort to grow
- Use your imagination to improve your relationships

> Achieve your goals
- Write down your goals
- The real point is to use the goal to become a better person
- You can't change where you are overnight, but you can change your direction overnight
- Decide what you want to do and get started

> The proper use of time
- A day is best spent when it's focused on goals most important to you
- Focus on the important, not the urgent
- Pain of discipline vs. pain of regret

> Surround yourself with the best people
- Who am I around?
- What affect do they have on me?
- What do they have me reading?
- What do they have me saying?
- What do they have me thinking?
- What do they have me becoming?
- Is that okay?
- Categorize people into: dissociation, limit association, expand association

> Be a life-long learner
- Formal education makes you a living, self-education makes you a fortune
- Read books, observe successful people, reflect on your life (what went right/wrong)
- The Magic of Thinking Big, by Schwartz

> All of life is sales
- Influence is the art of life
- The key to influence is to have others perceive you as someone with character (talent, aka. strong), and skill (virtue, aka. increasing)
- Skill of sales - know your stuff, talk to lots of people, be persistent, never take "no" for an answer

> Income seldom exceeds personal development
- Making a million dollars isn't about the money, it's about the person you become
- Profits are better than wages
- Work full-time on your job and part-time on your fortune

> Communication brings the common ground of understanding
- Human relationships are the foundation for success
- Communication is what you say, how you say it, when you say it, who you say it to, and their receptiveness (are they ready to hear it?), then the listening

> The world can always use one more great leader
- Leaders help people see what they can become (influence, inspire)
- Learn to help people in their lives, not just their job
- Challenge of leadership: Be strong but not rude, kind but not weak, bold but not a bully, thoughtful but not lazy, humble but not timid, proud but not arrogant, humorous but without folly

> Leave a legacy
- Live life the best you can and show others by doing
Profile Image for Leilux.
36 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2017
این کتاب چالش برانگیز، حاصل تجربه ها و آموزه‌های «جین ران» و «کریس وایدنر»، دو نفر از سخنوران و نویسندگان سرشناس آمریکا، در زمینه‌ی موفقیت، شکوفایی فردی، ارتقای کسب و کار و تحول است.
نوشته‌ها، کارگاه‌های آموزشی و سخنرانی‌های این دو نویسنده به مدت 40 سال، افراد بسیاری را در سراسر جهان تحت تأثیر قرار داده و باعث شکل‌دهی افکار و عقایدشان شده است.
با خواندن این کتاب، شما با 12 ستون موفقیت آشنا می شوید که براساس آن می توانید به رؤیاهایتان دست یابید، زندگی‌تان را از نو طراحی کنید و آن را به شاهکاری بی‌همتا تبدیل نمایید.
151 reviews2 followers
January 5, 2019
"Every form of life seems to strive for its maximum except human beings. How tall can a tree grow? As tall as it possibly can. Human beings, on the other hand, have been given the dignity of choice. They can choose to be all, or they can choose to be less."

If you're unfamiliar with Jim Rohn this would be the book to start with. Written as a short 100 page dialogue type story, it's filled with more practical knowledge than several larger books combined.

Entertaining, easy, beneficial. Pick one up for a couple bucks and you'll learn something. If you don't you're missing out.

"We must all suffer from one of 2 pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret...you cannot choose how long you live, but you can choose how well you will live."
Profile Image for Shima.
7 reviews9 followers
September 1, 2018
✅با تمام ظرفيتت زندگي كن

✅دنيا هميشه به رهبر نيازدارد مديران كمك ميكنند مردم خود را همانطوري كه هستند ببينندولي ورهبران كمك ميكنند مردم خود را بهتر از آنچه هستندببينند

✅آيا تا به حال خواستي بنشيني و با بزرگترين معروف ترين مشهورترين أفراد غذا بخوري ولي وقتي كتاب هايشان را ميخواين ميتواني
Profile Image for Jesse.
510 reviews643 followers
January 27, 2009
Full disclosure: I was given this as a gift, and it was such an unexpected, gracious gesture that I was compelled to read it simply to let the person know I had in fact taken the time to read it. But, um, it's basically someone's self-help philosophy presented not in bullet points but in a(n almost insultingly thin) narrative form. I suppose this is good stuff and the its heart is certainly in the right place, but it's no deeper or complex than Oprah or Dr. Phil spoon-fed platitudes dished out for mass feel-good consumption. I did quite like that one of the areas it specifically emphasizes is the value of reading, though the list of "required reading" it presents rather deflated my enthusiasm. I don't know, I guess this just reinforces my feeling that people who want this kind of thing should take up something like Little Women--more or less the same points are hit upon, but it's so much more richly and eloquently conveyed.
Profile Image for Nkem Paul.
Author 3 books2 followers
April 16, 2013
A must read for everyone. Easy to read and understand. Full of simple strategies to get to desired destinations expressed in story format. Highly recommended.
15 reviews
June 9, 2021
فوق العادس !
حتما دوباره خونده میشه 👌🏻
Profile Image for Relleasy Harrison.
26 reviews15 followers
March 5, 2015
Jim Rohn is great. Darren Hardden speaks highly of him in the compound effect. i recently watched some videos of him on you tube and they were very motivating. I am not that good at remembering the Author of certain books. when i went through my book collection the other day, I said wow, Jim Rohn is the author of this book.. interesting. The book is amazing though, its a short story about an old man who gives a life lesson to this young man. check it out for yourself. my boy quarter told me about this book and said some of the things i tell him the old man tells the young man. i felt like i had to read it LOL....
Profile Image for Tyler Collins.
237 reviews17 followers
May 20, 2020
I found myself pleasantly surprised by this book. The author, Jim Rohn, takes his twelve key principles of success and imports them into a simple narrative, into the relationship between an older man who had lived a full and successful life and a man in his forties who wanted more from life than what he was living. A very short and easy read, and if time is given to reflection on Rohn's conclusions and action is taken where it is called for in your own life, this book could very well change one's life. But as Rohn makes clear, beware, because change can be uncomfortable and is often hard, but it will likely be the best thing that you choose to do.
Profile Image for Tote Cabana.
399 reviews49 followers
May 28, 2020
Doce pilares es un libro esencial para cualquier emprendedor, escrito por nuestro querido y admirado Jim Rohn con toda la sabiduría que tan generosamente siempre nos transmitió en todos los eventos, audios y libros. No importa en qué momento de tu vida lo leas, no importa cuantas veces lo hagas siempre aprenderás algo y te servirá de guía.
13 reviews
December 23, 2015
Very inspirational book. I'm going to read it a second time now and take notes! I can't wait to learn more from Jim Rohn so I'm going to research some other titles of his and possibly You tube videos!!:)
Profile Image for Alyson.
87 reviews
July 22, 2010
This one was a lot like Go-Giver and The Ultimate Gift which are also very good. My 12 yr. old son liked it too.
Profile Image for Cats.
4 reviews
November 21, 2012
It takes you through the balance that you need in life.
Excelent read to keep yourself in the very best.
Profile Image for Verena.
99 reviews
January 9, 2020
Good points. Not much new. In the One Minute Manager style. Pretty cheesy.
Profile Image for Silvia Nora.
11 reviews1 follower
June 11, 2021
This book gave me so much, broke my heart and so much more! Totally recommend this read!
8 reviews
August 3, 2022
Only has about 10 pages of actual substance. You're better off just looking up the list. You're welcome.
Profile Image for Ramesh Naidu.
312 reviews4 followers
November 5, 2022
A engrossing quick and very useful read .
My synopsis

The twelve pillars
1 - work on yourself harder than on your job
2 - health is 3 dimensional - physical , mental and spiritual. Maintain health in all three dimensions
3 - cherish and work on your relationships
4 - set goals and work on them
5 - use time properly
6 - surround yourself with the best people ( no negativity, no stalkers , nobody who makes you feel bad )
7 - be a life long learner
8 - be a great sales person
9 - your income will rarely exceed your personal development
10 - all communication is based on the common ground of understanding ( listen more )
11 - the world can use one more leader . People will follow if they can trust you so be a man ( woman) of talent and virtue and show them a better place to go to than where they are at now
12 - leave a legacy
Profile Image for Muhammad Ajmal Khan.
1 review
June 25, 2021
One of my best ever read books, a thought provoking and practical doable tips. Worth reading!
Profile Image for Kiet Huynh.
10 reviews18 followers
December 27, 2019
I'm a big fan of teacher Jim Rohn - Jusr remember when 2 years ago, that's my really first time I accidentally watched his video via youtube. I don't know what's the key that I in love and respect to his message and philosophy in life - With him, life just be very ease with him.

In this book, I nearly finished it within 3 days - cause of:

Firstly, The message of it is very concise but meaninglessness.

Secondly, it is written based on American style, simple and easy to follow.

Thirdly, it's very much like a self help book, just like the story sharing // Also, in the end of book it's very emotional.

I definitely recommend it you for reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 243 reviews

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