A Book Review of the Five Pieces to the Life Puzzle - A Guide to Personal Success by Jim Rohn

The Five Pieces to the Life Puzzle by Jim Rohn is about how to live a more successful, fulfilling and happier life. This book contains some unique ways of looking at life and it's an easy read. So, What are the five major pieces of the puzzle?

* Philosophy - what we know
* Attitude - what we feel
* Activity - what we do
* Results - what we achieve
* Lifestyle - how we choose to live and design our lives

According to the author, our personal philosophy establishes our attitude, which determines the quantity and quality of our activity, which produces a final and proportionate result, which provides the lifestyle that we live. Rohn suggests that to become successful, we have to practice a few simple disciplines every day.

To look more closely at personal philosophy, "A major factor in determining how our lives turn out is the way we choose to think. Everything that goes on inside the human mind in the form of thoughts, ideas and information forms our personal philosophy." The beliefs that form our personal philosophy also determine our value system. We are encouraged to learn from other people's experience with success and failure, surround ourselves with positive influence, become good listeners and observers, read all the books and keep a journal. For example, to become a good observer and excel, ask yourself the following questions:

* What is going on in my industry?
* What challenges are currently facing our community?
* What are the new breakthroughs, the new opportunities, the new tools and techniques that have recently come to light?
* What are the new personalities that are influencing the world and local opinions?

Rohn explains that all the books that we will ever need to make us as rich, as healthy, as sophisticated and so on, have already been written. He further adds, "The habit of reading is a major stepping stone in the development of a sound philosophical foundation."

It's also very important for us to study our results so that we can make adjustments along the way. "If we are not satisfied with what we have achieved at this point in our lives, then now is the time to fix the future... If we are not making measurable progress in a reasonable amount of time, then something is clearly wrong with either our objectives or the execution of our plans... Ten years from now we will all be somewhere, the question is where? Now is the time to fix the next ten years."

Five Great Ideas

1. To have more, we must first become more
2. In the end, our lives will be judged not by the things that we began, but by the things that our effort and resolve brought to a successful conclusion
3. Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event - it is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated everyday
4. For things to change, we must change
5. The only thing that is necessary for triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing. It is our lack of intense, disciplined activity that has allowed evil to flourish and good men to flounder

I recommend The Five Pieces to the Life Puzzle. It's very easy to read and has information that causes you to pause and reflect.

Avil Beckford, Chief Invisible Mentor, writer and researcher with over 15 years of experience is the published author of Tales of People Who Get It and its companion workbook Journey to Getting It.