The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to his son: Perspectives, Ideology, and Wisdom (English Version) 2nd Edition

The only truth is that as long as you work hard enough, you will succeed. I firmly believe that our destiny is determined by our actions, not by our origins.

Page 7

A truly happy person is one who is able to enjoy his creation.

Page 9

I believe that there is not one person in the world that does not long for a happy and luxurious life, yet not many people truly understand where it comes from. In my opinion, it does not come from wealthy blood, nor from a luxurious lifestyle, but from a luxurious character – the spirit of self-reliance.

Page 9

I do not live by God-given luck, but I do-so by planning luck.

Page 10

“Luck is the remnant of design.”

Page 11

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.

Page 11

Visionary businessmen are always good at finding opportunities in every disaster,

Page 12

The first condition is to know your goals, such as what you want to do, or even what kind of person you want to become; the second condition is knowing what resources you have, such as status, money, interpersonal relationships, and even abilities.

Page 14

You need to remember that my son, designing luck is designing life. So, while you wait for luck, you need to know how to guide your luck.

Page 14

If you view work as a pleasure, life is heaven; if you view work as a duty, life is hell.

Page 15

There is no work here for you.” The man was very frustrated and waved his hand angrily as he said, “This is really bad! Then I will just stay in hell!"  “Where do you think you’re at”, said the waiter gently.

Page 16

No matter how great a person's ambitions are, he must at least begin before he can reach the peak. Once started, it is not difficult to progress. The more difficult or unpleasant the work is, the more urgent it is to accomplish it. The longer he waits, the more difficult and scarier it becomes. This is a bit like shooting a gun. The longer you aim, the lower the chance of you pulling the trigger.

Page 17

Income is just a by-product of your work. Doing what you should do, accomplishing what you should do well, the ideal salary will come. And more importantly, the highest reward for our hard work is not what we get, but what we will become.

Page 17

Do it now Opportunity comes from opportunity.

Page 20

Successfully putting a good idea into practice is more valuable than thinking about a thousand good ideas at home.

Page 20

If you look at the ordinary people, you will find that they are all living passively, they always say much more than they do, or even do nothing. But almost all of them are good at finding excuses, they will find various excuse to procrastinate until they finally prove that this matter should not be, unable to or it is too late to be done.

Page 21

If we are lazy, retreating, and waiting for others to take the initiative to kickstart things, the result will be disappointing.

Page 22

The most frustrating thing in life is that there are too many things to do, but there is not enough time. As a result, just by thinking about the plans that are unable to be carried out will only intimidate ourselves, and we end up not accomplishing anything.

Page 22

We must admit that with limited time, no one can complete everything.

Page 22

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.

Page 23

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.

Page 24

As long as you don't throw it away, success will surely come.

Page 37

Too many people overestimate what they lack, but underestimate what they have. (Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.)

Page 39

The most practical wisdom for success has long been written in the “Bible”, that is, “Unshakable faith is enough to move mountains.” But why are there so many losers? I think that is because there are not many people who truly believe that they can move out. As a result, not many people really can. Most people regard that holy word as an absurd idea, thinking that it is simply impossible. I think these people who cannot be saved have made a common-sense mistake. They mistook faith for hope. It is true that we cannot use hope to move a mountain, cannot rely on hope to win victory or make progress, nor can we rely on hope to have wealth and status.

Page 43

Victory is a habit, and failure is also a habit.

Page 44

Believing that there will be great results is the driving force behind all great careers, books, scripts, and new scientific knowledge.

Page 45

Everyone is a product of his thoughts, 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.

Page 46

I do not like money, what I like is making money.

Page 58

However, you should be clear that knowledge is originally empty, and unless knowledge is put into action, nothing will happen.

Page 67

However, the more successful a person is, the less excuses he will find. The biggest difference between those who are prospering everywhere and those who do nothing is excuses.

Page 76

The outcome of things is often proportional to our enthusiasm.

Page 78

Because concentration and perseverance account for 95% of a person's ability.

Page 78

Knowledge is only a kind of potential power. Only when knowledge is applied constructively, then will it show its power.

Page 79

“From poverty, the road to prosperity is always unobstructed. The important thing is that you firmly believe that you are your greatest capital. You have to exercise your faith and keep exploring the reasons for your hesitation until faith replaces doubt. You have to know that you can’t achieve what you don’t believe in; faith is the force that drives you forward.”

Page 82

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. Since no one will deliberately steal from themselves, those who steal from themselves obviously did so unintentionally. However, this crime is still very serious, because the damage it causes is as great as deliberate theft.

Page 84

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.

Page 91

I have always regarded “working hard to get rich” as a lie, and never regarded working for others as a good way to accumulate considerable wealth. On the contrary, I am very convinced that working for myself can make me rich. All the actions I take are aligned to my great dream and the various goals that I continue to achieve in order to reach my goal.

Page 92

Humans function like a bicycle, unless you move up and forward towards the target, you will stagger and fall. Three years later, I left the Hewitt-Tuttle company with abilities and self-confidence beyond ordinary people, and co-founded Clark – Rockefeller with Mr. Clark, and started the history of working for myself.

Page 93

Stupidly hard work may still get nothing after all the hard work, but if you think of working hard for your boss as a ladder to serve yourself one day, it is undoubtedly the beginning of wealth creation. The feeling of being your own boss is so great, it is beyond words. Of course, I cannot always be immersed in the pride of being amongst the trade agents at the age of 18. I warned myself: “Your future depends on the days that pass by. Your end goal in life is to be the richest man in the United States. Where are you? It is still far, far away. You must continue to work hard for yourself.” Being the richest person is the basis for my efforts and the strength to spur myself. In the past few decades, I have always been a believer in the pursuit of excellence. The one sentence I most often motivates myself with is: For me, second place is no different from last place. If you understand it, you will think that it is not surprising that I ruled the oil industry as the indisputable king.

Page 93

Only by curiosity can you discover opportunities, and by taking risks can you make use of them.

Page 95

What I bet with is money, but what I gamble with is my life.

Page 98

People who are good at thinking and good at action know that arrogance and prejudice must be eliminated, and they all know that they can never let their own personal prejudices hinder their success.

Page 101

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.

Page 114

Yes, no matter how much a person accumulates wise words and proverbs, and no matter how high his insights are, if he cannot use every right opportunity to act, his character will not be well influenced in the end. If you lose your good intentions, you will get nothing. Almost everyone knows that whether you can build a happy life and achieve success is related to how you use your time. However, for many people, time is their enemy. They kill it and obliterate it; but if anyone steals their time, they will be furious, because time is money after all, and the most important time is life. Unfortunately, they just do not know how to use their time.

Page 120

Patience is not blind tolerance. You need to calmly consider the situation and know whether your decision will deviate from or harm your goals. It is not only disgraceful if I were to be angry with Clark, but more importantly, it will create rifts in our cooperation, cause me to be kicked out, and make me start all over again. Instead, unity can form a joint force, allowing our career to grow bigger, and at the same time, it will also allow my personal strength and interests to grow.

Page 124

In my eyes, patience does not mean swallowing anger, neither is it humbling. Patience is a strategy, and it also trains your character. What it nurtures is a competitive heart.

Page 125

Impulse is our worst enemy at any time. If patience can resolve conflicts that shouldn't occur, such patience will always be worthwhile; but if you stubbornly go your own way, not only will it fail to resolve the crisis, it will also bring even greater disasters.

Page 125

The best way to find the perfect idea is to have many ideas. I will continue to set higher standards for myself and others, and constantly seek various ways to improve efficiency, get more rewards at a lower cost, and do more things with less energy. Because I know that the greatest success is those who have the attitude that I can do things better. To develop an attitude that I can do better, we need to cultivate, and to reflect every day: How can I do better today? How can I motivate employees today? What special services can I provide for the company? How can I make my work more efficient? This exercise is simple, but very useful. You can try it; I believe you will find countless creative ways to win greater success.

Page 134

Most people fail, not because they make mistakes, but because they are not fully committed.

Page 136

In a competition, the person who first discovers the opponent’s weakness and strikes hard is often the winner.

Page 139

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.

Page 141

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. Smart people always choose the attitude that is best for them. People who know the art of leadership will always ask themselves: What kind of attitude can help them achieve the results they really want? Is it an inspiring attitude? Or is it sympathetic? They will never choose a cold or hostile attitude.

Page 147

If you are unable to actively establish your own goals, you will passively or unconsciously choose other goals. As a result, you may lose control of the overall situation. At the same time, you will be subjected to people or events that might distract you or disturb you. It is like loosening a yacht from the dock and forgetting to start the motor. You will follow the currents, and sea breeze, currents or other ships that might collide into you and cause you to sink to the bottom of the sea at any time. Maybe something good is waiting for you on the other side, but unless a miracle occurs, you will not be able to reach the other side smoothly. Establishing a purpose is like turning on the engine of a yacht, which can propel you towards the path you choose. Purpose can add direction and strength to human efforts.

Page 148

When I know that the real problem is not what they should do, but what I should do, I will not complain about myself, which will only make yourself stronger. The stronger you are, the smaller the influence of others will be.

Page 153