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Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Think and Grow Rich. Shoaff said to me, doesn't that book title intrigue you? Think and Grow Rich. Don't you have to read that book? Think and Grow Rich. I said, yes, sir, by Napoleon Hill. I went and found that book in a used bookstore. That's where I had to start, in a used bookstore. I paid less than 50 cents for it. I've still got it. It's one of the rare hardback covers. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Wow. Shoaff was right. Get a library started, It'll change your life. Any home over $200,000 has got a library. Why do you suppose that is? Wouldn't that make you curious? How come every home over $200,000 has got a library? Does that tell you something? Does that educate you at all? You say, well, I can't afford a $200,000 home. It doesn't matter what size home. Take your present apartment, clean out a closet, call it your library, and start acting intelligent and start this process like I did. Start developing a library. Here's what your library needs to show that you're a serious student of health and life. Spirituality, culture, uniqueness, sophistication, economics, prosperity, productivity, sales, management skills, values of all kind. Let your library show you're a serious student. Don't be casual in learning. Don't be lazy in learning. Information is the key, okay? Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of prosperity. Learning is the beginning of democracy, the beginning of freedom. All values, all virtues. Start with the learning process. So don't be lazy in learning. Don't be lazy in gathering the library that will teach you and instruct you. And I got that book, Think and Grow Rich. Some of the ideas in that book inspired me no end. Helped me to change my life. Now it's got some weird stuff in it. You know, it's got some weird stuff. Napoleon was weird. So you gotta separate out a little of this weird stuff. But you can do that. You can separate out the weird stuff, okay? Unless you're weird. Just do the weird stuff anyway. Remember, don't be a follower, be a student. That's the key to all books. Don't be a follower, be a student. Another book he recommended, help Me Become Financially Independent. We're going to cover that before we finish this afternoon. The book was entitled the Richest man in Babylon. The Richest man in Babylon by George Clayson. C L A S O N this little book, the Richest man in Babylon. I use it as a textbook teaching teenagers how to be rich by 40 living in America 35 if you're extra bright, much sooner if you find a unique opportunity. I got rich by the time I was 31. Didn't wait till 35 if you find a unique opportunity. So we'll get into that after we come back from our next break.
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Hey, before we continue, if you're loving this content, I've got something special for you. Jim often said discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. And if you're ready to build that bridge, grab the Self Discipline Hacks ebook created for listeners just like you. It's packed with practical, powerful tips to boost focus, build habits, and stay consistent even when life gets chaotic. Tap the link in the episode description and start upgrading your discipline today. Remember, the right habits change everything.
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Now back to Jim, richest man of Babylon. Get your library started. Here are some key sections to put in your library called Mental Food. In fact, we call it Food for Thought. So important to nourish the mind, not just the body, but nourish the mind. Key phrase now it needs to be well balanced. You can't live on mental candy. Somebody says, well, I just read this positive stuff. That's too second grade. You got to get out of second grade. You can't just be inspired, you've got to be taught. You can't just be inspired, you got to be educated. Key Here's a good book. It's called how to Read a Book. Good title. How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler. In this book, how to Read a Book, Mortimer, you know, is the chief editor of the new Encyclopedia Britannica. A good set of books, right to have in your library. Encyclopedia Britannica chief editor Mortimer Adler. He's still in, he's in his 80s. He's still active, still writing books. I've got several of his books, the Six Great Ideas, a lot of books. Mortimer Adler, but he wrote this book, how to Read a Book. Now in this book, how to Read a Book, not only does he give you some good suggestions on how to get the most out of a book, it's one thing to read it, another thing to get the best out of it. He'll give you some techniques on how to get the best out of a book. It's very good. But here's what's also in his book, how to Read a Book, a list of what he calls the best writings ever written. The best writings ever written. I've used it as a centerpiece for my library. So I'm just asking you take a look. If it suits you, fine. If it doesn't suit you, hey, keep looking till you find something to suit you. But well balanced. Let me give you some of that balance. Number one, history. We've all got to have a sense of history. American history, national history, international history, family history, political history. We all need a sense of history. Shortest history lesson. Opportunity mixed with difficulty. No matter how far back you go, a thousand years ago, 2,000 years ago, 3,000, 4,000 years ago, I'm telling you, it all reads the same. Once you understand the thread, that it isn't going to change, then what's going to change for my life? Answer. Looks like I'm gonna have to change. History helps us to understand how it is, what there is to work with. Seed, soil, sunshine, rain, and what human beings have done with it in the past. And how many of them have, like I did, by age 25, they have messed up. That's what history's for. Be a good student of history. Here's a good book. Lessons of History by Durant. Lessons of History by Durant. This little book is only 100 pages, but I'm telling you, it's so well written, you'll be intrigued. As I was. This little book, Lessons of History by Durant. Next is philosophy. Durant also wrote a good book on philosophy, the Story of Philosophy. It's got a good rundown of the key philosophers of the last several hundred years, what they taught and some of the lives they lived. You might find it a little difficult, but hey, you can't just read the easy stuff. Key phrase to add here in parentheses. Don't just read the easy stuff. You won't grow, you won't change, you won't develop. Tackle the more difficult stuff. Next, novels. Novels are good. Sometimes an intriguing story keeps our attention so that the author can weave in the philosophy he or she is trying to get across. Ayn Rand was probably better at that than anybody else I could possibly think of. Atlas Shrugged, some of those towering novels. The novel kept us intrigued, but guess what she was doing all the time? Feeding us her philosophy. Feeding us her philosophy. Now, whether you agreed with her philosophy or not, you had to admit she was really good at getting it out there, weaving it through the story, in the dialogue and in the speeches and in the text. Fabulous novels. Novels are good. Now, here's a little personal advice. Skip the trash. When you don't, someone says, well, sometimes you can find something valuable in a trashy novel. I wouldn't go through it to find it. You can Find a crust of bread in a garbage can. But I wouldn't go through it. Number one, you don't need the reputation. So not enough time to read the brilliant stuff, the good stuff, skip the trash, really. My personal advice on personal development becoming more valuable than you are. Next is Biographies and Autobiographies. The story of stories of successful people, unsuccessful people. There's some dramatic stuff, right? Over the last hundred years, it's been written, biographies and autobiographies. Here's one of the best, the Bible. The Bible is a unique book because it's got a list of human stories on one side of the ledger, another list of human stories on the other side of the ledger. One's called examples and the other is called warnings. And here's what we've got to have on biographies and autobiographies. Both warnings and examples in the Bible. The examples. Bible says, look at these people's lives. Follow them, follow their philosophy, follow their advice. Then we got the warnings. Don't do what these people did. They messed up their life and threw their life away. Vitally important, both sides of the scenario. Now, if your life story ever gets in one of those books, make sure they use it as an example, not a warning. Also, we need balance, both sides. Balance good and evil. Biographies, autobiographies. You need a book on Gandhi, you need a book on Hitler. One to illustrate how high a human being can go and the other one to illustrate what how low and despicable a human being can become. We need both sides of the scenario. Next, accounting. Gotta have a little, at least primary view of accounting. Kids have got to start learning the difference between a debit and a credit. Next is law we all need, right? A little bit. You don't have to be a lawyer, but you got to know contracts, what to sign, what not to sign. Backups. Good advice. How to be safe rather than sorry. All of us need a little law. Not a lawyer, but a little law. Especially these complicated days. Everything's in court these days. I learned this the hard way. Company wanted to borrow money long time ago up in Canada. Company wanted to borrow some money. The bank said, well, yes, we will loan the company the money if Mr. Rohn will sign personally. And I wanted to play hero. And I knew the company could pay it back quarter of a million dollars. So I signed, no problem. Sure enough, within less than a year, they paid it all back quarter of a million dollars. I am now a hero. Well, about a year later, this company gets in financial trouble. They go back to the bank and Borrow this quarter of a million dollars again. I said, I hope my phone doesn't ring because I won't sign the note this time. Because I knew they were in trouble. I knew they were probably going to go bankrupt. My phone never rang. I'm off the hook. Sure enough, within less than a year, the company goes bankrupt. Can't pay. But I get this letter from the bank saying, Dear Mr. Rohn, since the company cannot perform its obligation and pay this quarter of a million dollars, and since we have here your. Your personal guarantee, would you please send us your check for a quarter of a million dollars. I said, hey, hold it, hold it. There must be some mistake here. I signed that first note and they paid it all back. I wouldn't have signed the second note. I didn't sign the second note. Well, what I didn't know I had originally signed was a continuing guarantee. So now I know what the word continuing means. I'm asking you to study a little law. Know what to sign. Know how to defend yourself, Right? Say, hey, we'll get back. Don't sign too quickly. I mean, there's all kinds of things here. Be a student. Don't be lazy in learning how to defend as well as nourish, how to grow as well as take care of your enemies. You got to learn. Let your library indicate that you're a serious student about personal relationships with your family, gifts and skills, economics and all the rest. Here's the next one. Economics. We're going to study that when we come back from our break. Economics. We're going to cover, especially for the kids today, how to become financially independent. We're going to let the adults listen. I've been teaching kids for the last 18, 19 years how to be rich by 40, 35 if you're extra bright. Most kids think they're extra bright. They go for 35 or much sooner if you find a unique opportunity. We're going to get into that. Be a student of economics. Next. Culture, Sophistication. Don't leave that out of your life. Culture, sophistication. Culture is part of the fabric of the nation. Culture is what makes us different than dogs and animals. Culture is what makes us different from the barbarians. Culture, Sophistication. Be a student of the dance and the art and the music and all the rest of those extraordinary human values that are possible for us all to participate in as well as to enjoy. Be a student of culture. And the last one is spirituality. Study it from the Bible and all the related books about spirituality. If you're a believer. Study and practice. Let your library show you're a serious student.