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A Library Saved His Life - Then He Went on to Sell 50,000,000 Books
Matt Karamazov
February 08, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes
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If Marcus Aurelius had been an insurance salesman, he could written something a lot like today’s book.
That’s a compliment, by the way :)
The story goes that a chance visit to the library saved the author’s life, and then he went on to sell more than 50,000,000 books.
Before I get into that, though…
I’d just like to mention that the 50-book giveaway winners have been chosen and I’ll be reaching out soon to everyone who won!
Just give me 3-4 days to get all that finished up.
I have to get mailing addresses from the winners, ship out books, set up their free memberships, etc. It’s a lot, but I’ll get it done!
Anyway, the author of today’s book, Og Mandino, was a bomber pilot during WWII who came home and found that he wasn’t able to find a job anywhere.
Eventually, he became an insurance salesman, but while traveling all the time for unpredictable, low commissions, he would sit in bars all night and eventually became an alcoholic.
His wife left him, taking their child with her, and he was thinking of committing suicide, until he stumbled into a library one day and discovered the books of W. Clement Stone, Napoleon Hill, and all the other personal development giants of that time.
They basically helped him pull his life out of a nosedive, after which he wrote The Greatest Salesman in the World, which now has millions of copies in print and is universally regarded as one of the greatest sales book of all time.
But it’s so much more than that, and we’re going to explore that today.
Below, I share a short summary of The Greatest Salesman in the World, as well as my best book notes, along with some additional recommended reading.
If you’re looking for a book that will teach you how to persist through anything, raise your standards, treat other people like a very good friend you wanted to see succeed, and greet each day with intensity, gratitude, and love, then you might want to read…
Og Mandino. What a name, eh? But listen, this guy went from being a depressed, divorced alcoholic on the verge of suicide to selling more than 50,000,000 books, and this is one of my absolute favorite books of all time.Â
Seriously, I had no idea that it would have this kind of impact on me, and even if you’re not technically in sales, it’s really a book about life.Â
The Greatest Salesman in the World takes the form of a parable (which I found kind of dry in the beginning, to be honest), about a camel boy named Hafid who achieves a life of wealth and success after learning and applying what he learns written on these ten ancient scrolls that are given to him to read.Â
The framing parable puts some people off, but then it launches into all these fantastic chapters (the ten scrolls) about mastering your emotions, cultivating persistence, greeting each day with love and gratitude, and treating people the way you would if you wanted the absolute best for them.
Themes of love and forgiveness, generosity, forbearance - in a sales book! The language itself is graceful, beautiful, and poetic as well. Yeah, I love this book.Â
The main message of the book is to “do it now.” Yesterday is past, tomorrow may never arrive, and if you waste today, you waste “the last page of your life.” “These hours are now my eternity,” Mandino says. Incredible.Â
If Marcus Aurelius was an insurance salesman, he’d probably write something like this!
The Greatest Salesman in the World came out in 1968 - nearly two thousand years after Meditations - but both are just timeless.Â
You can learn so much from both of them; about life, about kindness, about true success and abundance. It just so happens that Mandino’s book can help you make a hell of a lot of money too.
“Good habits are the key to all success. Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure.”
“If I must be a slave to habit let me be a slave to good habits.”
“Never will I allow my heart to become small and bitter, rather I will share it and it will grow and warm the earth.”
“If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone. Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills of the world. I will greet this day with love, and I will succeed.”
“Yet my love will melt all hearts liken to the sun whose rays soften the coldest clay. I will greet this day with love in my heart. And how will I do this?
Henceforth I will look on all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit.
I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars.
I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul.
I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge. I will greet this day with love in my heart.”
“And how will I act? I will love all manners of men for each has qualities to be admired even though they be hidden.
With love I will tear down the wall of suspicion and hate which they have built round their hearts and in its place will I build bridges so that my love may enter their souls.
I will love the ambitious for they can inspire me! I will love the failures for they can teach me.
I will love the kings for they are but human; I will love the meek for they are divine.
I will love the rich for they are yet lonely; I will love the poor for they are so many.
I will love the young for the faith they hold; I will love the old for the wisdom they share.
I will love the beautiful for their eyes of sadness; I will love the ugly for their souls of peace. I will greet this day with love in my heart.”
“I was not delivered unto this world in defeat.”
“Always will I take another step.”
“I am nature’s greatest miracle. And nature knows not defeat.”
“Forgetting yesterday neither will I think of tomorrow. Why should I throw now after maybe?Â
Can tomorrow’s sand flow through the glass before today’s?
Will the sun rise twice this morning?
Can I perform tomorrow’s deeds while standing in today’s path?
Can I place tomorrow’s gold in today’s purse?
Can tomorrow’s child be born today?
Can tomorrow’s death cast its shadow backward and darken today’s joy?
Should I concern myself over events which I may never witness?
Should I torment myself with problems that may never come to pass? No! Tomorrow lies buried with yesterday, and I will think of it no more.”
“This day is all I have and these hours are now my eternity.”
“I greet this sunrise with cries of joy as a prisoner who is reprieved from death. I lift mine arms in thanks for this priceless gift of a new day. So too, I will beat upon my heart with gratitude as I consider all who greeted yesterday’s sunrise who are no longer with the living today.”
“If I waste today, I waste the last page of my life.”
“Only action determines my value in the market place and to multiply my value I will multiply my actions.
I will walk where the failure fears to walk.
I will work when the failure seeks rest.
I will talk when the failure remains silent.
I will call on ten who can buy my goods while the failure makes grand plans to call on one.
I will say it is done before the failure says it is too late.
I will act now. For now is all I have.
Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy.
Tomorrow is the day when the evil become good. I am not evil.
Tomorrow is the day when the weak become strong. I am not weak.
Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now.”
Currently, I don’t have a complete breakdown of The Greatest Salesman in the World published on the Stairway to Wisdom (my library of expert book breakdowns), but below I’ve listed some similar breakdowns that you may enjoy instead.
When you become a member of the Stairway to Wisdom, you’ll gain access to more than 120+ book breakdowns like these ones here, as well as a premium weekly newsletter that will help you build the kind of life for yourself that you’ll love living.
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That’s it! I hope you found these book recommendations helpful, and I’ll be back with even more books for you very soon!
Mere “information” is everywhere today, but what’s going to separate you (and give you the life you desire) is consistent, meaningful action, backed up with the most powerful ideas from the greatest books ever written.
That’s what I always aim to provide you with.
With that said, I hope you enjoyed this edition of The Reading Life, and enjoy the rest of your day!
Until next time…happy reading!
All the best,
Matt Karamazov
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