How To Win Like The Richest Man in History (The Rockefeller Playbook)
Inside the 38 Letters John D. Rockefeller wrote to his son.
John, my prominence today, the huge wealth is only the result of me putting way more strength and creativity than others. I was originally an ordinary person, and I did not have a crown on my head, but with strong perseverance, tenacity, attitude, and diligence, I finally became successful. My reputation is not a false name, it is a crown cast in blood and sweat.
— John D. Rockefeller Sr. (to John D. Rockefeller Jr.)
Many of history’s greatest winner’s have biographies written about them. Some write autobiographies about themselves. Very few have a published series of private letters written to their children over the course of 56 years—laying out their EXACT formula for success in extreme detail. That’s what we have here. 38 letters, written from father to son, laying out everything. How to win, how to think, how to deal with failure, who to associate with, how to be a great leader, and so much more. It’s actually f*cking insane. I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted a book this much. This post is the best bits that I plucked out. Go into as much or as little detail as you want. Save it so you can come back to it later. I know I’ll be coming back to this over & over again, because there are so many gems.
Who is John D. Rockefeller?
John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) started life a poor boy from New York, and ended as the richest man in the world. To this day, he is considered the richest man who ever lived, with a net worth over $400 billion in today’s money.
His business was oil. At 24, he invested in his first oil refinery in Cleveland with a partner. At 26, he bought out his partner, taking full control of the company. At 31, he founded “Standard Oil Company”. At 33, he executed the "Cleveland Massacre," acquiring 22 of Cleveland's 26 competing refineries through aggressive negotiations, consolidating the industry. From that point on, he dominated—aggressively scaling into a huge monopoly, which was eventually broken up in 1911, at which point he was 72 years old and had already retired.
The key thing to remember is that Rockefeller was self-made. No inheritance. No family connections. No special treatment. His empire was built brick by brick, with his own two hands. “My reputation is not a false name, it is a crown cast in blood and sweat.”
What follows is a REAL formula for success, forged in the arena of business over a lifetime, from the richest man in history. There are ideas in this article worth millions of dollars in the right hands. Let’s dive in:
Top 15 Insights From The Letters:
Our destiny is determined by our actions, not by our origins.
Losing work means losing happiness. Work is the foundation of all businesses, the source of prosperity, and the shaper of genius.
Action solves everything.
Humans function like a bicycle, unless you move up and forward towards the target, you will stagger and fall (stagnation is death).
Failure is a learning experience. You can either turn it into a tombstone or a steppingstone.
Too many people overestimate what they lack, but underestimate what they have, and lose the chance to become a winner.
The level of confidence determines the level of achievement.
Those who can reach the pinnacle in business, mission, writing, acting, and other pursuits of achievement are all because they can steadily and persistently pursue a plan of self-development and growth.
Concentration and perseverance account for 95% of a person's ability.
Knowledge is only a kind of potential power. Only when knowledge is applied constructively, then will it show its power.
Do not make any small plans, because it cannot inspire the soul.
A great life is the process of conquering excellence.
Only by being able to endure what people cannot bear, can you do what people cannot do.
The best way to find the perfect idea is to have many ideas.
Purpose is like a diamond: if it is to be valuable, it must be real.
Favourite Quotes From The Letters:
On self-belief:
“I remind myself regularly: You are better than you think. Successful people are not supermen. Success does not require superhuman intelligence, it is not about luck, and there is no mystery. Successful people are just ordinary people who believe in themselves and affirm what they do. Never, never sell yourself cheaply.”
On having things vs. getting things:
“I do not like money. What I like is making money. What I like is the good feeling of victory.”
On what it takes:
“John, my prominence today, the huge wealth is only the result of me putting way more strength and creativity than others. I was originally an ordinary person, and I did not have a crown on my head, but with strong perseverance, tenacity attitude, and diligence, I finally became successful. My reputation is not a false name, it is a crown cast in blood and sweat.”
On self-belief (again):
“Everyone has a certain ideal, which determines the direction of his efforts and judgment. In this sense, I think that a person who does not believe in himself is like a thief, because anyone who does not believe in himself and does not fully exert his abilities can be said to be a person who steals from himself; and in the process, because he is running low on creativity, he is tantamount to stealing from society.”
On greatness:
“The difference between greatness and close to greatness is the realization that if you expect greatness, you must work toward your goals every day.”
On forward movement:
“Humans function like a bicycle, unless you move up and forward towards the target, you will stagger and fall.”
On thinking big:
“Success is not measured by a person’s height, weight, education, or family background, but by the size of his thoughts. The size of our thoughts determines the size of our achievements. The most important of all is that we must value ourselves, overcome the greatest weakness of mankind – self-deprecation, and never sell ourselves cheaply. You are greater than you think, so you should expand your thinking to the extent to your fullest potential, and never underestimate yourself.”
On living well:
“I have no reason to waste my life. Wasting my life is tantamount to ruining myself. There is no greater tragedy in the world than ruining myself. I do not regard ease and pleasure as the purpose of life, because I call them the ideal of a pigsty.”
On self-image:
“If you feel that you are a winner, you will behave like a winner; if you behave like a winner, you are likely to do more of what winners would do, thereby changing your “luck”.”
On self-improvement:
“It is impossible for various plans to achieve absolute perfection, which means that all things can be improved endlessly. I know this well, so I often look for better methods. I do not ask myself: Can I do better? I know I can do it, so I ask: How can I do better?”
On commitment:
“Look at those who fail, and you will find that most people fail not because they make mistakes, but because they are not fully committed.”
On social circles:
“I have always thought that a person’s personality and ambitions, current status and positions are related to who they associate themselves with. If he often associates with negative people, he himself will become negative. If he associates closely with insignificant people, he will have many petty habits. On the other hand, if he is constantly influenced by important people, it will improve his ideological level; frequent contact with successful people with ambitions will also enable him to develop the ambitions and actions needed to succeed.”
On curating inputs:
“Our minds act on the things that supply her. I believe that what I put in my heart is very important to my future.”
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The Rockefeller Playbook: How To Win At Life
This book is dense with insight. Below I’ve categorised all the best highlights into sections with my notes attached—read whatever most applies to you right now. Remember, this is all coming from the richest man in history, who died with a $400 billion net worth (in today’s money). The first section is his basic playbook for winning, then I dive into specific success principles that he talks about frequently.
“Son, remember the formula of success that I believe in: Dream + Failure + Challenge = Success.”
Core philosophy: Winning demands hard work. Failure is not fatal, but your response to it can be. Wealth is proportional to goals. The size of achievement is determined by the the level of confidence and the level of thinking. Obstacles are opportunities. Achieving greatness requires the ability to endure what most people cannot. Stagnation is death.
Okay, but what makes Rockefeller different? A lot of people work hard and have big ambitions. The answer: a collection of very simple principles executed religiously for years.
Think BIG
Rockefeller made a decision to become the richest man in the world at 11yrs old.
“I never seem to lack ambition. Since I was very young, to become the richest person has always been my impulsive ambition and dream. This seems a bit too big for a poor boy. But I think the goal must be great, because if you want to be successful, there must be stimulation. A great goal can enable you to exert all your strength, and there will be stimulation. Losing the excitement means that there is no strong force to push you forward. I often remind myself to not make any small plans, because it cannot inspire the soul.”
Over & over again he talks about the importance of setting big, ambitious goals.
“The achievements that Ford created proved one of my life credos: wealth is proportional to goals. If you have big ambitions and big goals, your mountain of wealth will rise to the sky.”
“Thinking about small goals will lead to small results. Thinking of great goals will win great success. And great ideas and big plans usually come easier than small ones; at least it will not be more difficult"
This is just the first step. Anyone can say “I’m going to be the richest man in the world” or “I’m going to play in the NBA”, but unless you really believe it, it’s just words. You need confidence:
Always Increase Your Confidence
"The level of confidence determines the level of achievement. Mediocre people who live their life day by day believing that they can't do anything will only get a small amount of remuneration. They believe that they cannot do great things, so they really could not."
And here’s why:
"Confidence produces the attitude of believing in 'I can do it,' and the attitude of believing in 'I can do it' can produce the abilities, skills, and energy. Whenever you believe that 'I can do it,' you will naturally come up with a 'how to solve' method, and success is born once you successfully solve the problem."
A lack of confidence breeds an attitude of “I can’t do it”, which hinders your ability to solve problems. Without solving problems, there can be no success.
Important: If your goal is to be a millionaire, you don’t need confidence in that specific outcome. It’s much easier to say “I’m 100% confident that becoming a millionaire is nothing more than a series of problems that need solving, and I’m 100% confident that I have the ability to solve hard problems.” It’s a small reframe, but it completely demystifies the goal. Winning is nothing more than solving a series of hard problems. You don’t know what they are or how many you’ll have to solve, but you’ve solved hard problems before, and you know you’ll never quit, so winning is inevitable.
In Rockefeller’s eyes, confidence isn’t just useful, it’s indispensable for achieving big goals. He says:
"Believing that there will be great results is the driving force behind all great careers, books, scripts, and new scientific knowledge. Believing in success is a basic and absolutely necessary element possessed by successful people. But the loser has graciously discarded these."
This is also why you should read biographies. The more you absorb yourself in successful lives, the more “real” success becomes to you, and the more you understand it. It’s a cheat code for increasing your belief in success.
So the first step to increasing your confidence is focusing on your ability to solve problems vs. achieve the end result. The second step is about controlling your thoughts.
"At any time, I never forget to increase my confidence. I replace the thought of failure with the belief of success. When I face a difficult situation, I think of 'I will win' instead of 'I might lose.' When opportunities arise, I think of 'I can do it' instead of 'I can't do it.'"
For me, this is proof of 2 things:
Increasing his confidence is a product of CONSCIOUS effort. It’s not just something he has, it’s something he develops and constantly re-affirms.
“I remind myself regularly: You are better than you think. Successful people are not supermen. Success does not require superhuman intelligence, it is not about luck, and there is no mystery. Successful people are just ordinary people who believe in themselves and affirm what they do. Never, never sell yourself cheaply.”
Your level of confidence is largely a product of your thoughts.
“Everyone is a product of his thoughts.”
There is a big difference between having thoughts and thinking. One is automatic, the other is conscious and intentional. Everyone has automatic thoughts of failure and self doubt at times. The difference is winners understand not all thoughts are true, so they focus on objective reality instead.
Don’t take this as meaning “if I think the right thoughts I will win without effort”. People are a product of their thoughts because your level of thinking dictates your problem-solving ability. Your problem solving ability + the speed at which you solve problems dictates your success.
Take Diligent Action Daily
“The achievement of each goal comes from diligent thinking and diligent action, and the same is true for realizing the dream of wealth.”
This stood out to me because I’d just been reading about Chung Ju-yung—the founder of Hyundai who grew up so poor his family ate tree bark to survive, and became the richest man in Korea. His words on diligence:
"Luck Favors the Diligent"
"Being diligent forces you to move a lot, think a lot, and work a lot. Diligence mirrors your sincerity about living a full life."
“If you are diligent for a day, you will sleep comfortably for a night. If you are diligent for a month, the quality of your life will noticeably improve. If you are diligent for a year, two years, 10 years, your whole life—your accomplishments will be recognised by all. The diligent lead lives 100 times more productive than the lazy.”
If you’re like me, and you’re not 100% sure what “diligent” means exactly, here’s the definition:
Diligence is the consistent and careful application of effort and attention to a task or goal, often over an extended period of time. It involves working persistently, paying close attention to detail, and maintaining focus despite challenges, distractions, or fatigue. It’s the combination of consistency, focus, thoroughness, and persistence.
In my view, diligent thinking + diligent action = how you increase your confidence. The more you think & act in alignment with your goals, the more conviction you’ll have in your ability to achieve them. Often, this is about knowing what NOT to think and do. When you remove all negative thoughts and distractions, what’s left? Winning thoughts & action.
In terms of how often you should work, Rockefeller says this:
“The difference between greatness and close to greatness is the realization that if you expect greatness, you must work toward your goals every day.”
Does this sound like a chore? If so, consider how authentic your goals are and check in with your level of confidence.
When you’re chasing goals you genuinely care about and believe you have the ability to achieve them, you WANT to work on them every day. Oftentimes, it’s the only thing you want to do.
(There’s a whole section below on taking action, if you want to go deeper on this scroll down)
Learn How To Deal With Failure
"Everyone hates failure. However, once avoiding failure becomes your motivation for doing things, you embark on a path of laziness and powerlessness."
The first step towards dealing with failure is never trying to avoid it. It’s the difference between playing to win and playing not to lose. The difference between those 2 scenarios is what you think about. Are you thinking about winning? Or avoiding losing? Check in with yourself regularly.
"Failure is a learning experience. You can either turn it into a tombstone or a steppingstone."
The way I would summarise this: ‘failure is not fatal, but how you respond to failure can be’. When you sign up to accomplish big goals, you also sign up for failure. A lot of failure. It’s inevitable and unavoidable. The only thing you have control over is how you react to it.
In Rockefeller’s view, there are 2 things you must do immediately after a failure:
Learn from it
"Failure is the beginning of the journey to a higher position. I can say that what I have achieved today was from climbing the spiral ladder of failure and then rose from there. I am a clever 'loser.' I know to learn from failures, draw success factors from my experience thru failure, and use innovative methods that I have never thought of before to start a new career. So, I want to say that failure is a good thing as long as it does not become a habit."
Don’t internalise it
"I hate it when my business fails and lose money, but what really concerns me is that I am afraid that in future business, I will be too cautious and become a coward. If that is the case, then my loss will be even greater."
"There is no lucky person who does not fail. It is important not to become a coward because of failure. If we do our best and still fail to achieve the goal, all we should do is to learn our lesson and strive to perform better next time."
“Failure has its lethal power, it can make people depressed, decadent, lose their fighting spirit and willpower. What matters is what you see failure as.”
“A failure does not show anything, and will not put the label of incompetency on your forehead."
Internalising failure = allowing setbacks to lower your confidence, seeing them as proof of your incompetence, rather than a learning opportunity.
These 2 things go hand in hand. If you learn from every failure you experience and continue moving forward with the same determination, you will inevitably elevate yourself to a higher position. If every failure launches you to a higher position, you don’t internalise it to mean something about your ability, nor do you allow it to make you a coward in the future.
Ask yourself: What was my last failure, and what did I learn from it?
Never give up
"Look at those who fail, and you will find that most people fail not because they make mistakes, but because they are not fully committed."
The final ingredient in Rockefeller’s playbook for success is never giving up. In other words, giving yourself no other choice but to succeed. Persistence and perseverance are natural by-products of this unwavering commitment.
“There is nothing in the world that can replace perseverance. Talent is not acceptable. Unprecedented talents abound, and geniuses who accomplish nothing is common; education is also not acceptable. The world is full of people who are useless in learning. Only perseverance and determination will never be disadvantageous.”
“Success is a series of struggles. Almost all those great figures have suffered a series of merciless blows. Each of them almost surrendered, but they finally achieved brilliant results because of their persistence.”
“Be willing to try various possible ways to achieve your goals, and have the patience to act in the face of difficulties, courage and resourcefulness, as well as the perseverance of never letting go without reaching the goal.”
“Concentration and perseverance account for 95% of a person's ability.”
That last line is one of my favourites from the entire book. ‘Ability’ is nothing more than your capacity to solve problems. So he’s saying that 95% of your capacity to solve problems—and therefore achieve your goals—comes from your level of concentration and perseverance. Think on that.
Now that we’ve covered Rockefeller’s basic playbook for success, I want to dive deeper into some of the things he talks at length about throughout the book.
Action Solves Everything (Do Not Skip!)
“To conquer you have need to do, to do again, ever to do! And your safety is insured.”
“I do not deny that planning is very important. It is the first step to achieving favourable results, but planning is not, and cannot replace action. Just like playing golf, if you have not completed the first hole, you cannot progress to the second hole. Action solves everything. Without action, nothing will happen. We cannot buy foolproof insurance, but what we can do is make up our minds to fulfil our plan”
Everything Rockefeller talks about always comes back to action.
When he talks about confidence, he’s talking about how confidence affects action. When he talks about failure, he’s talking about how failure affects future action. When he talks about surrounding yourself with the right people, he’s talking about how it affects what you do. It ALL comes back to action, and for good reason. Without action, there is no success.
The Importance of Action
“I have always believed that an opportunity comes from another opportunity as even the best ideas have flaws. Even if it is a very ordinary plan, if it is actually implemented and developed, it will be much better than a good plan that is abandoned halfway, because the former will be carried out consistently, but the latter has already been given up. So, I said that there is no secret to success. To achieve positive results in life, it is of course good to have extraordinary wisdom and special talents. There is nothing wrong with it. As long as you are willing to take active actions, you will be closer to success.”
Again, action is everything. Wisdom and special talents are great additions, but they are nothing without the foundation of consistent action.
“Yes, everyone will be worried and scared when deciding on a huge event and will be faced with a dilemma. But the “action group” will use the determination to ignite the sparks in their soul, come up with various ways to fulfil their wishes, and gain the courage to overcome all kinds of difficulties.”
Your relationship to action bleeds into everything you do—especially decision-making and responding to failure.
How To Take Action
There’s nothing in the letters about “developing work ethic” because the letters were written to his son, and he’d taught his son to have a strong work ethic since he was born. If you don’t have the ability to work hard, develop it. It’s as simple as doing it. The more you do, the better you get.
“People who lack action have a bad habit: they like to maintain the status quo and refuse to change. I think this is a bad habit that is deceptive and self-destructive because everything is changing, just as people will live and die, there is nothing constant. But because of one’s inner fear – the fear of the unknown, many people resist change. Even if the status quo does not satisfy him, he dares not take a step forward.”
Being “good at action” requires the ability and willingness to change. If you keep doing the same things over & over again, you’re going to get the same results.
“Smart people know that not all actions will produce good results, and only wise actions can bring meaningful results, so smart people will only learn from the work that has a positive effect in the future, and only concentrate on the work related that gives the greatest results. Hence, smart people always make the most valuable contribution and reap a lot of benefits.”
“Smart people only concentrate on the work that gives the greatest results” — this reminds me of Charlie Munger’s quote “The fundamental algorithm of life: repeat what works”. Write this down. Remind yourself of it all the time because it’s literally the key to making rapid progress.
The more action you take, the more you figure out about what works (and what doesn’t via failing). When you know what works, do it again! It’s so obvious, yet so few people do it.
When To Take Action
The answer is always the same: right now. Avoid passivity at all costs.
“We pursue perfection, but there is no absolute perfection in life, only near perfection. If you wait until all conditions are perfect, you can only wait forever, and the opportunity will be given to others. Those who must wait until everything has been prepared will never leave home. To become the kind of person who “will do it now”, you must stop daydreaming, and to always think of the present and start doing it now. Sentences such as “tomorrow”, “next week”, and “future” have the same meaning as “can never be done”.”
“Many people make themselves into a passive person. They want to wait until all conditions are perfect, that is, when the time is right, before taking action. Life is an opportunity at any time, but there is almost nothing perfect. Those passive people have a mediocre life, precisely because they must wait for everything to be 100% profitable and perfectly safe before doing something. This is a fool’s approach. We must compromise in life and believe that what is in hand is the opportunity we need now, so that we can keep ourselves out of the quagmire of waiting forever before falling into action.”
How to become the kind of person who will “do it now”:
“To have the habit of doing now, the most important thing is to have a proactive spirit, get rid of the habit of being distracted, be determined to be a person of initiatives, be courageous in doing things, don’t wait until everything is ready, there will never be absolute perfection. Cultivating the habit of action does not require special wisdom or special skills. You only need to work hard to let good habits bloom in life.”
Proactive means taking initiative and acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes rather than merely reacting to events after they occur. A proactive person plans ahead, seeks to prevent issues before they arise, and actively works towards goals with foresight and determination.
How To Balance Learning With Taking Action:
"You need to know that learning itself is not very good. Learning must be used to make it work. To become a person who can use what you have learned, you must first become a person with practical ability."
Knowledge is only useful when it’s used. He says:
"Knowledge is only a kind of potential power. Only when knowledge is applied constructively, then will it show its power."
In other words, knowledge is powerful, but only when applied. Knowledge you consume but don’t apply is entertainment.
“There is never a shortage of people with ideas in our world, but there are very few people who know how to successfully implement a good idea, which is more valuable than thinking about a thousand of good ideas at home.”
Ideas are easy. Execution is hard. Seek to become a person of practical ability.
Always Move Forward
“There is no free lunch in the world, and it is even more impossible to maintain the status quo. If you stay still, you will regress, but to move forward you must be willing to make decisions and take risks.”
“Humans function like a bicycle, unless you move up and forward towards the target, you will stagger and fall.”
““The end is just the beginning.” In my opinion, this blacksmith is trying to show that success is a process of continuous reproduction, just like a prolific cow. When it gives birth to a calf, it immediately becomes pregnant with another. Back and forth, endlessly. The end is the last stop of a journey and the beginning of a new dream. Every great successful person builds himself up with small successes. They celebrate the realization of their dreams with the ending and at the same time, mark the beginning of their new dreams. This is the quality of every person who has accomplished great achievements.”
That last quote is hilarious because the “blacksmith” he’s referring to is Andrew Carnegie with his steel empire. The point he’s making in all of these is that stagnation is death. Maintaining the status quo is impossible. If you’re not moving forwards, you’re moving backwards by default.
The last quote goes a step further, reflecting his attitude on achieving greatness vs. mere success. His core belief is that people who achieve greatness never stop.
“As we continue to reach the peak, we must remember: each step of the ladder allows us enough time to step on, and then set foot to a higher level, it is not for us to rest.”
They have no finish line, because they don’t want one. “Success is a process of continuous production, just like a prolific cow”. Every finish line is also a new starting line. Behind the mountains there are more mountains.
Some people see this constant pursuit of “more” as unhealthy—a guaranteed road to unhappiness. But they’re seeing the world through their lens, where work is a chore and progress is non-existent. Rockefeller and Carnegie’s views on constant progress reflect their fundamental philosophies about life and work.
The Work Is The Goal
“A great life is the process of conquering excellence.”
If progress is the natural consequence of pursuing excellence, and pursuing excellence is the fundamental principle for living a great life, then a great life would be one of constant progression. It’s not the enemy of happiness, it’s the source. This also reflects how Rockefeller views work:
“When I first entered the business world, I often heard that a person who wants to climb to the peak needs to make a lot of sacrifices. However, as the years passed, I began to understand that many people who were climbing to the peak were not “paying the price.” They work hard because they really like work. People who climb up in any industry are fully committed to what they are doing and are dedicated. Sincerely love the work you do; you will naturally succeed.”
A lot of people think you have to “grind” your way to success, but Rockefeller’s saying this isn’t true. Some people work hard because they really like work. They love what they do. They like solving problems. They enjoy the feeling of progress. Work isn’t a burden, it’s a blessing.
“If you view work as a pleasure, life is heaven; if you view work as a duty, life is hell. Reflect on your work attitude, it will make everyone happy.”
“Losing work means losing happiness. It is regrettable that some people only realize this after being unemployed, which is very unfortunate!”
“I think that work is a privilege, as it brings more than just sustaining life. Work is the foundation of all businesses, the source of prosperity, and the shaper of genius. But people must love work before it can return the biggest favours and achieve the greatest results.”
It reminds me of a quote from Paul Graham—the founder of Y combinator, "The way to do really great work is to find something you love to do. When you’re working on something you love, you don’t have to force yourself to work; the work itself becomes the reward."
Two of his best essays are How To Do What You Love, and How To Do Great Work. I highly recommend reading both.
Also, do what Rockefeller recommends. Reflect on your work attitude. The wrong work attitude destroy your chances of winning.
How To Think Like A Winner:
"If you feel that you are a winner, you will behave like a winner; if you behave like a winner, you are likely to do more of what winners would do, thereby changing your 'luck.'"
You become what you think about, because your thoughts determine what you do and how you do it. Remember, it ALL comes back to action. Action solves everything. You win by solving problems. And it all starts with how you think.
"Our minds act on the things that supply them. I believe that what I put in my heart is very important to my future."
In other words, your actions are largely determined by what information & content you allow into your mind. This is more important now than ever before. There was no social media in Rockefeller’s day, there wasn’t even the internet. To guard your mind against inputs that will lower your thinking requires a whole other level of discipline in today’s world, but it’s worth it, because most people will never do it. You gain an instant advantage over the competition when you only consume information & content that elevates your thinking. Anyone who lives this way can attest.
"The educational level of innate talent is not the reason behind good performance, but the management of one’s thoughts"
High performance is a product of managing your thoughts well. Eliminating negative thoughts, replacing them with winning thoughts. Again, this is so much easier when you only consume positive, uplifting, inspirational information/content.
“Actions are driven by attitudes. The attitude we choose determines what behaviour we want to take. As for the results, it will soon be apparent to us. People can change their lives by changing their attitudes. If you believe that you can change your attitude you can change it."
Attitude is essentially your habitual way of thinking, feeling, and reacting to the world around you—which is all just a product of your thinking. He’s saying who you are & how you see the world is malleable, and like everything else, it starts with the believe that you can change.
"The outcome of things is often proportional to our enthusiasm. Enthusiasm can make things a hundred times or a thousand times better. Many people do not know what enthusiasm is. The so-called enthusiasm refers to 'this is amazing!' – this level of enthusiasm and drive."
Remember that he says, “At any time, I never forget to increase my confidence”. You can replace confidence with enthusiasm and it’s just as important.
“Enthusiasm can make things a hundred times or a thousand times better”—ask yourself, “how can I increase my enthusiasm for doing X?” then do that thing. More often than not, you don’t need to change WHAT you’re doing, you need to change HOW you’re doing it. Make it into a game, compete with yourself, have more fun with it, etc. There is always a way to increase your enthusiasm.
How To Get Lucky:
"In the eyes of ordinary people, luck is always innate. As long as they find out someone has attained success or have been promoted, they will say casually, with contempt: 'This man's luck is so good, it is luck that helped him!' Such a person can never have a peek into the truth that makes one successful: everyone is a designer and architect of his own destiny."
Rockefeller isn’t interested in luck. He doesn’t want it, and refuses to rely on it for his success. The following quotes summarise his attitude towards luck:
"I never succumb to luck; I believe in the law of cause and effect. Look at the people who seem to be lucky, and you will find that it is not luck, but preparation, planning and positive thinking that bring them beauty. If you look at those people with 'bad luck,' you will find that there are clear reasons behind them. Successful people can face setbacks, learn from failures, and create new opportunities. The mediocre people are often discouraged."
Reminded me of the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect."
"Is it because of luck that the lucky ones show confidence and boldness, or is their 'luck' the result of self-confidence and boldness? My answer is the latter."
"'The god of luck favours the brave,' is a motto that I have respected throughout my life. Victory does not necessarily belong to the strong, people who are highly vigilant, energetic, brave, and fearless will also win."
"Opportunities do not come without preparation. People who seize opportunities and appear 'lucky' are often the ones who worked harder and prepared more than anyone else."
Essentially, the harder you work and the more you prepare, the “luckier” you get. Cause & effect.
Who To Surround Yourself With
Rockefeller was ruthless in his associations. He believed that who you associate with determines who you become, and therefore your outcomes.
"I have always thought that a person’s personality and ambitions, current status and positions are related to who they associate themselves with. If he often associates with negative people, he himself will become negative. If he associates closely with insignificant people, he will have many petty habits."
"We cannot prevent others from becoming boring negative people, but we cannot be influenced by them and lower our level of thinking. You will want them to slip past naturally, just like the water behind a mallard. People who always follow their thoughts and move forward actively will grow and progress with them. You can indeed do this, as long as your mind is sane, you can do it, and you’d better do it."
"You have to pay attention to your environment. Just as food supplies the body, mental activity will also nourish your mental health. Make your environment serve your work, not drag you down. Do not let those resistance, that is, people who pull you on your hind legs, make you sluggish. The way to let the environment help you succeed is to get closer to the positive and successful people and to interact less with the negative people."
That last quote is the most important of all. Your environment can either lift you up or drag you down, and the difference is who you surround yourself with. If you don’t know any successful people to surround yourself with, start by decreasing the amount of time spent with negative people, and increase the amount of time spent with successful people via biographies and podcasts. In one week, I guarantee you’ll notice a marked difference in your drive and level of thinking.
The next section is quite long, but I think it’s important. He’s talking about the 2 types of people he refuses to associate with. Reading passages like this, it becomes clear why he won as big as he did.
"Since I was young, I have refused to associate with two kinds of people. The first type of people is those who completely surrender and are contented with the status quo. They are convinced that they are inadequate and believe that creative achievements are only the patent that belongs to the lucky ones. They do not have this blessing. This kind of person is willing to guard a very secure but ordinary position, year after year in a muddle-headed manner. They also know that they need a more challenging job in order to continue to develop and grow, but because of countless resistances, they are convinced that they are not suitable for doing big things. A wise man will never sit down and mourn over fate. But this kind of people will only lament over their bad destiny, but they will never appreciate themselves and regard themselves as important and valuable people. They have already lost the feeling of putting in their utmost effort and the ability to self-encourage, and instead let negativity occupy their heart. The second type of people are those who cannot complete challenges. They used to yearn for accomplishments and they also made great preparations and plans for their work. But after a few years or even decades, as work resistance gradually increase, when hard work is required to attain higher levels, they will feel that it is not worth continuing so they give up on their efforts and themselves. They will ridicule themselves: 'We earn more than ordinary people, and our lives are better than ordinary people. Why are we still dissatisfied and want to take risks?' In fact, such people already have a sense of fear. They are afraid of failure, afraid that everyone will disagree with them, afraid of an accident, and afraid of losing what they already have. They are not satisfied, but they have surrendered. Some people of this kind are very talented, but because they dare not take risks again, they are willing to spend their life in peace. These two kinds of people share a common, yet toxic thought and it is highly infectious. This thought is also known as negativity."
He operates with a zero tolerance policy for negative people or people who allow themselves to become afraid of failure after initial success. As you can imagine, that doesn’t leave many people left to associate with, but that was a price he was willing to pay.
How To Be A Great Leader:
Core philosophy: Leverage purpose to inspire and encourage employees, but make sure it’s real. If you blame employees, you will lose their respect. The mission of a leader is to discover problems. Don’t punish mistakes, but don’t tolerate irresponsible behaviour. Pay attention to the strengths of your employees, and help develop them. Give admiration & praise generously.
Key quotes:
"The mission of a leader is to discover problems and solving problems depends on subordinates.”
"The habit of blaming is like a swamp. Once you stumble and fall into it, you will lose your footing and direction, you will become unable to move and then fall into the predicament of hatred and frustration. There is only one result: losing the respect and support of your subordinates."
"There is no blame or excuses at Standard Oil! This is the philosophy I insist on, everyone knows that. I will not punish them for making mistakes, but I will never tolerate irresponsible behaviour. Our belief is to be thoroughly implemented in the company’s culture. Our motto is that support, encouragement, and respect will be wholeheartedly accepted and double praised. Only making excuses without providing solutions is intolerable in Standard Oil."
"The biggest challenge for leaders is how to create an environment in which people feel that being open is more comfortable than hiding the truth. Proactively invite others to state their thoughts and encourage them to speak out with words such as 'Say a little more' or 'I really want to hear your opinion.' Contrary to what most people believe, in a dialogue, the listener is the one who has the power, not the declarant."
"My purpose is to find the value that I value in every subordinate, not the shortcomings that I do not like. I find out what each employee is worthy of attention and strengths, and I am committed to turning the strengths of the employees into outstanding talents without trying to correct their shortcomings. Therefore, I always have subordinates who are capable and willing to contribute."
"I love my employees. I never scold or insult them loudly, nor do I become domineering and indomitable in front of them like some rich folks do. What I provide my employees is warmth, equality, and tolerance. All these combined into one word is called respect. Respect for others is a need to satisfy our sense of morality, but I find that it is also an effective tool to motivate employees to work hard. The fact that every employee of Standard Oil does their best to work for the company makes me believe that: Give people the respect they deserve, and they can fully realize their potential."
"Managers, leaders or people who are good at driving others have always been magnanimous and they know the art of admiring others and praising others. This means they have to give emotionally. Leaders who give their deep feelings will eventually win and gain more respect from subordinates."
"I always try to understand what employees need, and then try to meet their needs. I keep asking them two questions: 'What do you need?' and 'How can I help?' I am always there to care for them. For me, one of the greatest joys of this position is that I can lend employees a hand."
Not at all what I expected to hear from the richest man in history. Very gentle style of leadership.
We’ll leave it there. If you enjoyed this, you should buy the book. I obviously couldn’t include everything here, and it’s only 187 pages. Also, if you’re new here and want to subscribe, you can do so by clicking below:
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Please include the link to buy the book!! I thoroughly enjoyed the post. Can’t wait to tell you what thoughts AND ACTIONS it has inspired.
Love it man fantastic 👍
Really eye opening.