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Inspiration | Personal Development

4 Words That Change Everything

A simple four-word question that transforms your life

Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash

Imagine finding a four-word question that can change your life. When asked and answered, it can put you on a better path to achieving what you want! How will this four-word question change your life? Read on to find out!

The four words that changed everything for me

The effect of the four-word question you are about to read changed my life so radically I feel compelled to share it. If it makes a tiny impact on you, you will not regret reading further.

Some years ago, I had one of those defining moments, a true epiphany. It happened in the mid-80s when I was covering several states as a technical sales rep for a chemical company.

I will never forget driving on the highway, listening to a cassette tape (before CDs became popular.) A well-known personal development guru asked a simple question containing only four words. Before hearing them, the thought had never crossed my mind.

My life was about to change forever. The four-word question applies to anyone at any age. There is one caveat, however. To get results, you must ask it to yourself in earnest and then take action. By doing so, you, too, can permanently alter your course.

This simple, four-word question on YouTube can be found at the following link: “What are you becoming?”

So I ask you, “What are you becoming?”

“The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become.” Jim Rohn (1930–2009)

The question set me on a new course for which I am forever grateful, and it can do the same for you.

The man who uttered these words is known as America’s foremost business philosopher, Jim Rohn. He influenced many great leaders in the personal development field, such as Tony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, and T. Harv Eker.

How has Rohn’s question affected me since I first heard it four decades ago? It would take too long to list everything, so let’s focus on three significant impacts.

The question built my confidence

When I first heard Rohn’s question, I had just started my first full-time sales job. I landed the position because of my technical skills and had only recently started learning about industrial sales. I had stuck my neck out and greatly lacked confidence.

Discovering the power of seeking an answer to “What am I becoming?” put me on a lifelong learning journey that would forever change my life. I started reading and listening to everything I could on sales. My confidence soared as I began to put what I was learning into action!

My sales numbers rose sharply within six months, and people started noticing. I quickly rose and became the company’s top sales rep within a year.

Not long after, I was offered the job of Sales Manager and had to relocate to the organization’s Atlanta headquarters. That started my rise to what I considered the ultimate job of running companies.

Within another year, one of our competitors saw what I was doing in the marketplace and made me an offer I could not refuse. Before long, I was climbing the corporate ladder in a big way. This time, instead of my technical skills landing the better job, it was because of my marketing and sales management skills.

The question gave me something to shoot for

Before hearing Rohn’s question, I had not given much thought as to what my future may hold. Everything I did was about my immediate needs and what to do next. It was the only way I knew since leaving the military and finding a job to provide for my small family.

Thinking about what I was becoming gave me a whole new perspective on what I was doing and how I was living. I began wondering how my actions would affect my future and what I might accomplish in my career. It also made me question how well I could provide for my family in the long run. Around this time, I first thought, “What is stopping me from reaching the top?”

My attitude changed as I started dreaming about what I could accomplish. I shifted from thinking about the next day to imagining what I could achieve in the next five or ten years, which helped me aim higher.

Along the journey, I made some mistakes and had some victories. I went from being afraid of failing because of how others might see me to learning it was because of my willingness to take risks and fail that the victories came into being! As I took more chances and raised my aim, I continued to advance until I finally reached the top.

For example, I rose from technical sales rep to sales manager to VP of sales for North America in one organization, then risked moving to run a startup for a German company. As the operation’s Managing Director and General Manager, we built the first factory of its kind in the United States at an initial cost of $25m and invested another $10m in the next couple of years. From there, I took more chances and ran several other companies during my career.

It wasn’t long before I realized another use of the four-word question was to look beyond work. It made me consider what I was becoming as a husband, father, and man while strengthening my spiritual walk as a Christian. It affected every area of my life and continues to do so!

The question is now helping me build a legacy

Rohn’s question eventually led me to discover the most essential thing in the world and the foundation of all intelligent life. Without it, life ceases to exist. If you have read much of what I write, you know what it is. It is the one word that makes everything in life work. Relationship!

Life is relationship. We come to know who we are and understand ourselves in our relationships. We were created for relationship, dating back to the Garden of Eden. Relationships give us purpose, something to live for, and inspire us to do more and become all we can be.

Because of Rohn’s words, I write and publish almost daily despite being retired. Why? To help others discover their path so they can become more in their lives. My dream is to help as many people as possible to live fuller, happier, and more successful lives now and after I am gone. By the way, I define success as what it means to the individual, not success as defined in the traditional business sense.

So far, my legacy comprises a book and more than 1000 articles on multiple platforms. I plan to start a YouTube channel, publish another book, and continue writing and publishing online as often as time permits. The sole reason to do any of this is to help others do more, achieve more, and become more in their lives. It is not about personal gain. It is about giving back for the incredible blessings I have received.

It took many years to discover my legacy. Sure, we can leave money, homes, and other possessions, but they will be sold, lost, destroyed, or otherwise disappear. There’s not much of a legacy in them, is there?

I no longer want to take. I only want to give. My desire to give drives me to write and pursue new ways to help people. It is where I get the greatest fulfillment. It is my legacy.

Final thoughts

“To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.” Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)

What is it that drives and motivates you?

Perhaps by asking yourself, “What am I becoming?” you too can discover more about who you are and what you want from life.

I shudder to imagine how differently things would have turned out had I not discovered Rohn’s life-changing question. Those four words genuinely changed me, my life, and everything in it!

Why not ask yourself, “What am I becoming?” and think about it deep within your being? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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