1930–2009 · American entrepreneur, author & motivational speaker
Emanuel James Rohn grew up an only child on an Idaho farm, left college after a year, and went into direct selling — making a fortune by 31, losing it by 33, and making another. After his company collapsed in the early 1960s he was asked to speak at his Rotary Club, and that invitation turned into a career of more than four decades: his first public seminar was at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1963, and he spent the decades after it on stages across the country. He mentored Tony Robbins and Herbalife’s Mark Hughes early on, and Mark Victor Hansen, Jack Canfield and Brian Tracy all credit him as an influence. His work was delivered aloud first and printed second, which is why so many sayings carry his name and so few carry a citation.