There's a lot of things that can wreck your chances to do well. We live in a rather dangerous world. So, you got to be not only wise, you got to be careful. And attitude diseases are deadly. I mean, they'll destroy all the good things you start. So, we'll go through those attitude diseases. How to spot them, how to look for them, what they are, and the cure. And I'm a pro on these because I've had them all. So, I can give you excellent advice on these.
Disease #1: Indifference
The shrug of the shoulder. The guy's not even concerned. He's just drifting. There's one problem with drift. You cannot drift to the top of the mountain.
The guy says, "Well, I can't see getting all that worked up." Well, to be any kind of winner, you got to get worked up. Here's the key to the good life: Learn to put everything you've got into everything you do.
Whatever you are doing, pour it on. It will quickly open up into opportunity or quickly disclose to you that you ought to be doing something else.
The delusion is if I had a better job, I'd really pour it on. See, that's delusion. Wherever you are, pour it on. See, that'll help change your life. Get rid of this disease.
Disease #2: Indecision
Mental paralysis. The guy can't make up his mind and it becomes a disease. Pretty soon he knows he's got it. The guy says, "Well, I know I'm on the fence."
But he says, "What if I get off on the wrong side?" Listen, after a while, it doesn't matter. Just get off. Any side will do. Here's the best way to live: One way or the other, that's best. Pick a direction and go with everything you got. Just pick one and go.
Somebody says, "Yeah, but what if it's the wrong direction?" You'll find out quicker.
A life full of adventure is a life full of many decisions. The ones that turn out to be wrong give you better experience to make better decisions. So don't see how many decisions you can get out of. See how many you can get into. That's where the adventure is. So shake off this disease, indecision.
Disease #3: Doubt
Doubt's like a plague. And one of the worst is self-doubt. There are many, but that's one of the worst. The guy doubts himself. Doubts if it'll last that long for him. Doubts if he can do that well. Doubts if he can make that much. Doubts if he can accomplish all that. A chronic excellent self-doubter.
You can imagine what damage that does to your future. So, here's the key: Turn this coin over and become a believer. And there's many things to believe in. One of the majors is yourself. The understanding of self-worth is the beginning of progress.
Disease #4: Worry
Now, if those three don't get you, this one will. Worry, that's a devastating disease. Worry causes health problems, social problems, personal problems, family problems. It's devastating. Worry long enough, it'll drop you to your knees. It could reduce you to begging.
I know how bad this one is. I used to have it bad. I used to be known as a super worrier. Not a super warrior. No, super worrier. My family wished I'd have been a warrior. I got those years to make up for.
But I tell you what, my advice to you is do what I finally did on worry: Give it up. Who needs it? I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying it's worth it.
It took me almost one year to kick the worry habit. And it was not an easy year. It was one of the toughest years I ever spent. But I finally got that monkey off my back. And I discovered you could live the most incredible life free of worry. Not free of challenge, not free of difficulty, free of worry. I learned how to do it. And you can too.
Disease #5: Overcaution
Some people never will have much. They're too cautious. Now you can also be too reckless, but you can also be too cautious. This is called the timid approach to life.
And my caution was always the risk. Risk used to drive me right up the wall. I used to say, "What if this happens?" It's called the language of the poor. "What if this happens? And on top of that, if this was to happen, look at the fix I'd be in. I better not try." I could always ace myself out.
Then I'll tell you what changed my whole life when I finally discovered: It's all risky.
The minute you were born it got risky. If you think trying is risky, wait till they hand you the bill for not trying. If you think investing is risky, wait till you get the tab for not investing. See, it's all risky. Getting married is risky. Having children is risky. Going into business is risky. Investing your money is risky. It's all risky.
I'll tell you how risky life is: You're not going to get out alive. That's risky.
The Englishman says, "Well, if that's the way it's going to work out, let's give it a go." Right? That's what it's for. Give it a go.
Somebody says, "Yeah, but I'm looking for safety and security." Fine, then huddle in a corner. We'll cover you with a sheet, bring you three meals a day, and we'll protect you, feed you, look after you, care for you, we won't let anything happen to you, and you'll probably live to be 100.
The guy said, "Well, yeah, I'd live to be 100, but what a way to live, right? What a way to live safe and secure. Don't ask for security. Ask for adventure. Better to live 30 years full of adventure than 100 years safe in the corner."
Disease #6: Pessimism
Pessimism. The deadly disease of always looking on the bad side, the problem side, the difficult side, checking all the reasons why it can't be done. The poor pessimist leads an ugly life.
He doesn't try to figure out what's right. He tries to figure out what's wrong. He doesn't look for virtue. He looks for faults. And when he finds them, he's delighted. How ugly.
This is the poor guy who looks through the window, doesn't see the sunset. He sees the specks on the window.
And this is the poor guy who rushes up and he says, "I've got five good reasons why it won't work." He's so dumb. He doesn't know all he needs is one. He's got five.
To the pessimist, the glass is always half empty. To the optimist, the glass is half full. Why would the same measure affect people two different ways? Answer: It all depends on how you look at it. Our lives are mostly affected by the way we think things are, not the way they are. The way we think they are affects us most.
The Power of Thinking
There's a subject we don't have time to get into tonight called better thinking habits. One of the major things Mr. Shoaf taught me when I met him, he said poor thinking habits keeps most people poor. Not poor working habits. Most people work hard but they don't think hard.
And Shoaf taught me that the mind is like a factory, a mental factory. And whatever you think about all day long pours ingredients into this mental factory. And that's what builds the economic, social, financial fabric of your life. As you think, so you become. How awesome.
When he talked about poor thinking habits, he had me. I used to start the day reading the morning newspaper. I mean, you can believe that or not. I'd get a cup of coffee and read the paper. I'd load up on wars and riots and murders and stabbings and killings and bank robberies and muggings and car wrecks and tragedies. I'd even read the back pages. I seem to like that stuff for some weird reason. I'd load up on all that and then I'd start the day. You can imagine the kind of days I used to have. You walk around on your financial knees. They call you economic pee-wee.
The guy says, "I want to be a great leader." Wonderful. The first thing we do is follow him to his house. When we get there, we walk in and check his library. Number one, somebody says, "Well, why check his library?" The reason is because what a man reads pours massive ingredients into his mental factory and the fabric of his life is built from those ingredients.
You would not believe what some people have got in their house to read. You would not believe. One of the best dressed up words I know for a lot of it is trash. Can you imagine dumping a barrel of trash into this mental factory every day and coming out with a rich, dynamic, positive life? It can't be done. You might as well try making a cake with cement.
Building the Good Life
The kids back in Danbury, Connecticut high school, they're asking me questions one day. I'm talking to the kids. Kids got good questions these days. One of them said to me, "Mr. Rohn, how do you build the good life?"
I said, "It's simple. It's not easy, but it's simple. Here's how you build anything: Select the right ingredients. Keep out the wrong ingredients. And it starts with thought.
Everything starts with thought. So, you must be wise and careful what you think about because that starts everything."
I asked the kids, "What would happen if somebody dropped sugar in my coffee?" They said, "Well, you'd be okay." I said, "What if somebody dropped strychnine in my coffee?" They said, "Well, you'd be dead." I said, "Correct. Lesson one: Life is both sugar and strychnine. You got to be careful."
I said, "What if my worst enemy drops in the sugar?" They said, "You'll be okay?" I said, "What if my best friend, even by accident, drops in the strychnine?" They said, "Well, you'd be dead." I said, "Correct. Lesson two: Watch your coffee."
You got to be careful. See, it doesn't matter who hands you the bad stuff. It doesn't matter where you get the bad stuff. It'll still do its damage on your bank account wherever you get it.
Mr. Shoaf gave me one of the greatest phrases when I first met him when he said, "Jim, every day, stand guard at the door of your mind." How important. Stand guard at the door of your mind and you decide what goes into your mental factory. Don't let anybody just dump anything they want to in your mental factory because you've got to live with the results.
Disease #7: Complaining
Okay, here's the last disease and we're through with this list. The last subject is very brief. The last disease, but this one is deadly. Engage in this or indulge in it even slightly and you might as well forget the future because it's going to forget you.
Complaining, crying, whining, griping—a Bible word called murmuring. See, that'll ace your future.
Spend five minutes complaining and you have wasted five. And you may have begun what's known as economic cancer of the bone. Surely they will soon haul you off into a financial desert and there let you choke on the dust of your own regret.
I hope I said that well so you won't forget. It's a deadly disease.
Just be on the lookout for the things that can destroy all the good you start. The war is on. And this evening, tomorrow, mentally, personally, socially, economically, you got to make sure you're winning the war. And this is part of it.
Published
October 24, 2025
