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<\/a><\/p>\nBy MJ Plaster<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n A-thousand-and-one lessons? At least! Successful people distill knowledge acquired through self-education and life experiences into wisdom. As Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel remind us, <\/a>we don\u2019t learn much of anything important in school. Those who pursue relentless self-education and act on knowledge learned are destined for great things. Think and Grow Rich<\/strong><\/span> Carnegie shared his secret with Hill, who in turn shares it with his readers. The secret is tucked into each chapter, but it\u2019s up to each reader to detect it for himself. Some who claim to have found the secret believe it may be different for each reader.<\/p>\n Once Hill fully grasped Carnegie\u2019s secret, he spent 20 years interviewing more than 500 of America\u2019s great industrialists and businessmen of the early 20th century. He shares their stories and the steps along their journeys to success as each step unfolds.<\/p>\n Each man Hill interviewed had started with nothing and had applied the secret on the way to achieving phenomenal success. You know their names: Thomas Edison, Henry Ford,<\/a> George Eastman, Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, Clarence Darrow, etc. Think and Grow Rich summarizes wisdom gleaned from these interviews and implores the reader to act on it.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve read any self-help books, you\u2019ll find the material strikes a familiar chord. Where do you think these ideas originated\u2014at least in modern times? Think and Grow Rich is the contemporary source. For example, the mastermind group originated with the men Hill interviewed. Today, many self-help business programs charge a premium to join a mastermind group under their umbrellas.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve read The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, it\u2019s just an introduction to the fully developed concepts in Think and Grow Rich. Hill\u2019s book is the consolidated Ph.D. curriculum that lays out a comprehensive, proven plan of action.<\/p>\n Ideas without action are merely dreams. Action is not only a key to success, it\u2019s the key that unlocks the door to the secret buried in the book. If this book doesn\u2019t propel you into action, nothing will.<\/p>\n Download the original, public-domain version of Think and Grow Rich in PDF format.<\/a> There is a new version in which the co-author has supplemented the original manuscript with what reviewers claim is contradictory information.<\/p>\n How to Win Friends and Influence People<\/strong><\/span> If you\u2019re well-grounded in common sense and common courtesy, you might skim the book as a reminder of the finer points. If you feel people don\u2019t exhibit the most basic common courtesies toward you, you might discover that you are the problem, and it\u2019s always easier to fix ourselves than to fix others.<\/p>\n When you attend a networking event, do you say, \u201cOh, hi,\u201d instead of using the person\u2019s name? Are you so focused on the outcome of an interaction that you fail to put the other person at ease? Do you have trouble admitting when you\u2019re wrong? Do you fail to express appreciation to team members for a job well done? All of these behaviors and attitudes can work against you, but they\u2019re easy to remedy once you recognize them. You can\u2019t possibly read the book without finding at least one of your faults in it, perhaps a fault you didn\u2019t recognize. Woody Allen was right: Sometimes it really is a matter of just showing up; in this case, just read the book.<\/p>\n Carnegie is big on storytelling, as you\u2019ll gather from all the anecdotes in the book. In a world dominated by texting and tweeting, it\u2019s fast becoming a lost art. If you can weave facts and figures into a story, you\u2019ll mesmerize.<\/p>\n You probably won\u2019t learn anything new from How to Win Friends and Influence People, but you will be reminded of much you have forgotten.<\/p>\n The 4-Hour Workweek<\/strong><\/span> As I read the book, I discovered how many ways I was working stupidly\u2014it was a lesson in humility. It finally made me understand what Stephen Covey attempted to convey decades ago: Attend to the important rather than to the urgent. A big piece of the puzzle I was missing was delegation\u2014which, for me, takes the form of outsourcing. Others can do some of the jobs as well as or better than I can.<\/p>\n
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\nLearn from the best and brightest. When you absorb their lessons, you compress the learning curve and avoid recreating the wheel. You steer clear of common pitfalls and dare to try new approaches to old challenges. Some of our killer book selections are \u201coldies but goodies.\u201d Their sage advice is just as relevant today as it was early in the 20th century. Some things never go out of style. The two book series at the end teach new tricks for a new millennium. So, let\u2019s dig in.<\/p>\n
\nThe name gives away one of the core concepts of the book. Napoleon Hill\u2019s seminal work presents a 13-point program to achieve \u201criches,\u201d although not necessarily financial wealth. The book summarizes Andrew Carnegie\u2019s blueprint for personal achievement\u2014his magic formula.<\/p>\n
\nLike Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie interviewed many of the movers and shakers of the early 20th century\u2014from actors and a president to business titans. Carnegie wrote to an audience of salespeople. The techniques don\u2019t quite hit the bull\u2019s-eye for use in personal relationships, but if your business interactions fall flat, this is a must-read book. His lecture-turned-book is not a book of etiquette, but it covers many common courtesies required to excel in the worlds of sales and business.<\/p>\n
\nI hate to burst your burst your bubble, but there is no such thing as a four-hour workweek for most of us. No doubt many people bought Tim Ferris\u2019 flagship book for the same reason I did\u2014curiosity. The more you read his 4-Hour books, the more you realize he works at something every waking hour. He writes about techniques he\u2019s tested rigorously.<\/p>\n