The following are some of my favorite excepts from O.G. Mandio’s “The Greatest Salesman in the World.” They are broken down by scroll number the quote comes from. It is a short book that is really more of a “guide for living” than a “guide for selling”.
Scroll Number I:
“Time teaches all things to him who lives forever but I have not the luxury of eternity.”
“Failure is man’s inability to reach his goals in life, whatever they may be.”
“…the only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits… I will form good habits and become their slave.”
Scroll Number II:
“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 great this day with love in my heart.”
Scroll Number III:
“So long as there is breath in me, that long will I persist. For now I know one of the greatest principles of success; if I persist long enough I will win.”
Scroll Number IV:
“I am nature’s greatest miracle. Vain attempts to imitate others no longer will I make… I will begin now to accent my differences; hide my similarities.”
Scroll Number V:
” I will live this day as if it is my last… I will waste not a moment mourning yesterday’s misfortunes, yesterdays defeats, yesterday’s aches of the heart, for why should I throw good after bad.”
” I will avoid with fury the killers of time. procrastination I will destroy with action; doubt I will bury under faith; fear I will dismember with confidence.”
“Henceforth I know that to court idleness is to steal food, clothing, and warmth from those I love. “
” This day I will make the best day of my life. This day I will drink every minute to its full. I will savor its taste and give thanks. I will maketh every hour count and each minute I will trade only for something of value. I will labor harder than ever before and push my muscles until they cry for relief, and then I will continue.”
Scroll Number VI:
“Today I will be master of my emotions… Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his actions; strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts.”
“If I feel all-powerful I will try to stop the wind. If I attain great wealth I will remember one unfed mouth. If I become overly proud I will remember a moment of weakness. If I feel my skill is unmatched I will look at the stars.”
Scroll Number VII:
“I will laugh at the world. No living creature can laugh except man.”
” For all worldly things shall indeed pass. When I am heavy with heartache I shall console myself that this too shall pass; when I am puffed with success I shall warn myself that this too shall pass. “
“Never will I allow myself to become so important, so wise, so dignified, so powerful, that I forget how to laugh at myself and my world.”
Scroll Number VIII:
“Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold… To surpass the deeds of others is unimportant; to surpass my own deeds is all.”
“I will commit not the terrible crime of aiming too low. I will do the work that a failure will not do. I will always let my reach exceed my grasp.”
Scroll Number IX:
“…dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible. All are of no value unless they are followed by action. I will act now.”
“Never has there been a map, however carefully executed to detail and scale, which carried its owner over even one inch of ground.”
“I will not avoid the tasks of today and charge them to tomorrow for I know that tomorrow never comes. Let me act now even though my actions may not bring happiness or success for it is better to act and fail than not act and flounder.”
“I will act now… When I awake I will say (these words) and leap from my cot while the failure sleeps yet another hour.”
“Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy.”
“This is the time. This is the place. I am the man. I will act now.”
Scroll Number X:
“Guide me, God.”
The book itself has got me thinking about writing down the outline for my own personal philosophy. I am not talking about a religious creed or a statement of beliefs but a guide to define the philosophy of life I would like to follow. In ancient Greece, and to a lesser extent in later Roman cultures, it was common for the upper classes to adopt a philosophy of life. In fact parents sent their sons to schools of philosophy, like Stoicism and Asceticism, partly to acquire such a philosophy.
