Jim Rohn

Authored the foundational personal-development texts and named frameworks, including 7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness (1985) and The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle (1991), that codified success philosophy for a mass audience and seeded a generation of business writers.

Jim Rohn (born Emanuel James Rohn, 17 September 1930, died 5 December 2009) was an American entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker billed as America's foremost business philosopher. Broke at 25, he met his mentor John Earl Shoaff in 1955, joined Shoaff's direct-selling company, and became a millionaire by age 31. He gave his first public seminar at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1963 and spent more than 40 years on the seminar circuit, addressing roughly 6,000 audiences and over 4 million people worldwide. He pioneered the modern personal-development seminar and audio-program business and authored landmark works including 7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness and The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle. His proteges include Tony Robbins, who promoted Rohn's seminars from age 17, plus Herbalife founder Mark R. Hughes, Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield, and Mark Victor Hansen.