Life art and math

Famous motivational speaker and business philosopher Jim Rohn talks about math and art. This was when those who were called “motivational speakers“ were true intellectual giants, high caliber, and highly educated experts in the truest sense. Jim Rohn belongs to that unique genre of speakers and trainers, along with Zig Ziglar and Dr. Denis Waitley, who have greatly influenced me.

Jim Rohn says: “In my years teaching people to be successful, I have seen people break their lives down into two major parts: Wealth-building and the rest of their lives. Having done a lot of reflection on these two topics – wealth and life – I am coming to some new conclusions about how to perceive the two.”

Until recently, there was a significant difference in tackling the two areas. The two topics should be addressed in almost opposite fashions.

You see, wealth-building is just math. While life – life is art. Think back with me to high school. Most of us were required to take math, and most of us took art as well. Now, think about your final exams in the two areas.

Your math paper was graded on hard facts: Ten times 10 is always 100.

Thirty divided by three is always 10. Seven plus seven is always 14. Fifty minus 25 is always 25. There is always just one answer in math. The answers are hard facts set in stone.

Math is a science. It is formulaic. You can know the outcome before it happens every time. But what about your final art project? Art is much more subjective. “Beauty,“ they say, “is in the eyes of the beholder.“ There is no one right answer. Think of the different styles of famous artists: Renoir. Monet. Picasso. Rockwell. Warhol. Different people find different styles beautiful, and that is what makes art, art.

So how does this fit with wealth-building and life? Wealth-building is like math: If you add $1,000 to your retirement account each month and gain seven percent interest over 20 years, you can know how much you will have then. It is math. If you buy a rental property for $200,000 now and it increases in value by three percent a year, you know exactly how much you can sell it for in 10 years. The beauty of math is in knowing. You can work the system, set it on autopilot, and math does the work for you, and you know the outcome.

But life? Life is art. And that is the beauty of life. You are still determining how it is going to turn out. Life, like art, is constantly changing. Different people provide different colors. When you make a mistake, you can go back, erase it or even paint right over it. You can change the scenery. Life, like art, is ever evolving, and what looks good to one person is of no interest to another. And that is what makes life beautiful.

Another lesson we can draw is that we should do our math, of course, but life isn‘t made up of just wealth-building. Wealth-building should serve our ability to live our lives. Jesus, the master teacher, said that our lives are not made up of the abundance of our possessions. He didn‘t mean that possessions aren‘t good, just that wealth isn‘t what life is all about. “So let me ask you,“ Jim continues to say. “Are you spending more time on your math or your art?“

Do your math. Everybody should do their best in their wealth-building plan to care for themselves and their families. But life is about art. What does your canvas look like? What kind of picture are you painting? What kind of pot are you creating? What kind of statue are you sculpting? Take your time, make bold strokes, use brilliant colors, and make your life the most beautiful masterpiece possible. In other words, do your math so you can focus on your art.

End of article.

Jim Rohn is brilliant. When young, serious professionals ask me to recommend materials for personal growth, I still refer to Rohn‘s work because they are classic and influential. Thinking to myself, I concluded that some people may not have mastered mathematics. Many are not good with math. But help is always available for the asking. But you and I should be determined to focus on the art of living and live it to the full. The best is knowing how to do math with the mindset of living life and producing beautiful art pieces.

What I do is to direct myself and my family to stay focused on God, and the years have proven that He has taken care of our art and math with no attachment of pain and despair. Maybe you would like to take this approach too? Nothing to lose.

(Francis Kong’s podcast Inspiring Excellence is now available on Spotify, Apple, Google, or other podcast streaming platforms).