Emanuel James Rohn (September 17, 1930 – December 5, 2009) was an American entrepreneur, author, and

motivational speaker A motivational speaker (or inspirational speaker) is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep ta ...

. He wrote numerous books including ''How to obtain wealth and happiness''.

Early life

Emanuel James Rohn was born at

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

, to Emmanuel and Clara Rohn. His parents owned and worked a farm in

Caldwell, Idaho Caldwell (locally CALL-dwel) is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho, United States. The population was 68,336 at the time of th2023 United States census making it the List of cities in Idaho, 5th most populous city in Idaho. C ...

, where Rohn grew up as an

only child An only child is a person with no siblings, by birth or adoption. Overview Throughout history, only-children were relatively uncommon. From around the middle of the 20th century, birth rates and average family sizes fell sharply for a number of ...

. He was born to a poor family, became a millionaire at age 30, and went broke when he was 33. He later became a millionaire again. Rohn left college after one year.

Career

He started his professional life as a human resource manager for

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

. Around this time, a friend invited him to a lecture given by entrepreneur John Earl Shoaff. In 1955, Rohn joined Shoaff's

direct selling Direct selling is a business model that involves a party of people buying products from a parent organization and selling them directly to customers. It can take the form of either single-level marketing (in which a direct seller makes money pu ...

business, AbundaVita, as a distributor. In 1957, Rohn resigned his distributorship with AbundaVita and joined Nutri-Bio, another direct selling company. The company's founders, including Shoaff, started to mentor him. After this

mentorship Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

, Rohn built one of the largest organizations in the company. In 1960, when Nutri-Bio expanded into

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Shoaff and the other founders put Rohn in charge of the organization. After Nutri-Bio went out of business in the early 1960s, Rohn was invited to speak at his

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

. He accepted, and soon, others began asking him to speak at various luncheons and other events. In 1963, at the

Beverly Hills Hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars, and ...

, he gave his first public seminar. He then began presenting seminars across the country, telling his story and teaching his

personal development Personal development or self-improvement consists of activities that develops a person's capabilities and potential, enhance quality of life, and facilitate the realization of dreams and aspirations. Personal development may take place over the ...

philosophy. Throughout the 1970s, Rohn conducted seminars for

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

. At the same time, he participated in a personal development business called Adventures in Achievement, which featured live seminars and personal development workshops. Rohn mentored

Mark R. Hughes Mark R. Hughes (January 1, 1956 – May 21, 2000) was an American Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur who was the founder, chairman, and CEO of Herbalife, a multi-level marketing company. Early life Hughes was born in La Mirada, California on Ja ...

(the founder of Herbalife International) and life strategist

Tony Robbins Anthony Jay Robbins ( Mahavoric, born February 29, 1960) is an American author, coach and motivational speaker. He is known for his seminars, and self-help books including the books '' Unlimited Power'' and ''Awaken the Giant Within''. Early ...

in the late 1970s. Others who credit Rohn for influencing their careers include authors/lecturers Mark Victor Hansen and

Jack Canfield Jack Canfield (born August 19, 1944) is an American author and motivational speaker. He is the co-author of the '' Chicken Soup for the Soul'' series, which has more than 250 titles and 500 million copies in print in over 40 languages. In 2005 ...

(

Chicken Soup Chicken soup is a soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common additions are pasta, noodles, ...

book series), Everton Edwards (Hallmark Innovators Conglomerate),

Brian Tracy Brian Tracy is a Canadian-American motivational public speaker and self-development author. He is the author of over eighty books that have been translated into dozens of languages. His popular books are ''Earn What You're Really Worth'', ''Eat ...

Darren Hardy Darren Hardy is an American author, keynote speaker, advisor, and former publisher of '' SUCCESS magazine''. Hardy is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author, who wrote ''The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster, Living Your Best Year Ever'' and ''The C ...

, Todd Smith, Kevin Garver, Sir-lim Kush from Nairobi Kenya isamtec solutions, T. Harv Eker. Rohn coauthored the novel ''Twelve Pillars'' with

Chris Widener Christopher Widener (born August 22, 1963) was the President pro Tempore of the Ohio Senate, and represented the 10th Senate District, which includes Madison County, Ohio, Madison, Clark County, Ohio, Clark and Greene County, Ohio, Greene count ...

. Rohn was the recipient of the 1985

National Speakers Association The National Speakers Association (NSA) is a US based association that supports motivational speaking, motivational and other public speakers. It is the oldest and largest of 13 international associations comprising the Global Speakers Federation ...

CPAE Award for excellence in speaking. He was the author of 17 written, audio, and video media, including ''The Power of Ambition'', ''Take Charge of Your Life'', and ''The Day That Turns Your Life Around''. Many of his speeches are available for free on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

platforms like

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

, Spotify, and

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

Death

Rohn died of

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory ...

on December 5, 2009. He is buried at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Forest Lawn may refer to: Cemeteries California * Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of cemeteries in southern California * Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), California * Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), California * Fore ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Works

* ''7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness: Power Ideas from America's Foremost Business Philosopher'' * ''My Philosophy For Successful Livings'' * ''The Power of Ambition'' * ''The Seasons of Life'' * ''12 Pillars of Success'' * ''How to obtain wealth and happiness''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rohn, Jim 1930 births 2009 deaths People from Yakima, Washington Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis American motivational writers American motivational speakers American people of German descent People associated with direct selling Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)