"Change Your Life With the Wisdom of 10 Ancient Scrolls!"

This is a great little old book I came across through Matthew McConaughey. He was on a podcast with Tim Ferriss and mentioned this book and its impact on him. I since read his book, Greenlights, and this was attributed to a lot of his success.

McConaughey took it to heart and followed the instructions diligently, and he speaks highly of the principles, that if applied may just make you a great salesperson or generally better at anything you do. Mastering these will also have an impact on your mindset so will affect all your dealings; work, personal, wherever.

It was first published in 1968 and tells the story of a poor camel boy who achieves a life of abundance. So rather than out-and-out just blurting success principles at you, the wisdom is contained within the protagonist's quest. This is a great way of delivering messages and digesting information.

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Top Takes From the Book, Followed by My Thoughts…

“Wealth, my son, should never be your goal in life. Your words are eloquent but they are mere words. True wealth is of the heart, not of the purse.”

There's a lot more than wealth, and a lot more to wealth in this world. Money isn't the be all and end all and shouldn't be pursued for its own sake.

there is only one difference between myself and the lowliest beggar outside Herod’s palace. The beggar thinks only of his next meal and I think only of the meal that will be my last.

Could be summed up as delayed gratification. 'Rich' people are working towards something far down the line and perhaps forgoing earlier rewards. The beggar in particular (and wider society more generally), is looking to take what they can get as soon as they get it.

This means wealth doesn't have the opportunity to grow and you end up on the same constant merry-go-round.

Never feel shame for trying and failing for he who has never failed is he who has never tried.

Yeah, you need to keep trying and you will inevitably 'fail', there's no way around that. The alternative is to do nothing, not 'look bad' but never achieve anything thus failing in a sense by default.

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“Failure will never overtake you if your determination to succeed is strong enough.”

Persistence. If you keep pushing through, something has to give. Eventually there will be some fruits from your labour.

I will form good habits and become their slave.

Not one of the scrolls but as important… a kind of 'pre-scroll' that everything is based on. We discuss habits in Atomic Habits in depth plus it's always a central point of these articles and anything we do.

This sentence is powerful as you're not only forming them, but becoming their slave… getting them done no matter what and almost forced to do so (in a good way, we're talking good habits rather than bad after all).

I will read each scroll for thirty days in this prescribed manner, before I proceed to the next scroll.

This is the key of the book and how it differs from others. An ongoing practical workbook if you like. This was something McConaughey did to the letter to the point of leaving friends mid-beer to get back and do that reading.

The idea is to read each scroll chapter 3 times a day for 30 days - morning, lunchtime and night - with the evening reading being read out loud. This really helps cement and live the principles, and get each set internally before moving on to the next.

There is more detail in the book of course. I must admit I deviated somewhat but that is part of the issue at play here; none of us can commit to something for any period of time. I may well go back and try and do it properly!

I will greet this day with love in my heart.

Scroll 2. Being loving and generally coming from that place. Mandino believes with it you can conquer anything and persuade another person to buy your product or service. Without it you are bound to lose.

So this isn't in a cheesy 'love is all' sense, but having a true good heart and others feeling that and warming to it.

If I have no other qualities I can succeed with love alone. Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills of the world.

This expands on the previous point, hammering home the requirement in all human relations, which after all, is what sales boils down to.

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I will persist until I succeed.

Scroll 3. Keeping on, and on… and on. Whatever is thrown at you, you just keep going back for one more. This is one key difference between those who make it and those who don't.

I am nature’s greatest miracle.

Scroll 4. The miracle of each individual human coming to be for a start. Then add in all your unique traits that make you different to everyone else there is, has been, and ever will be makes your offer one-of-a-kind and unable to be replicated.

This needs to be tapped into for any sales - and life - endeavours.

I will live this day as if it is my last.

Scroll 5. Make the most of today as you may not even have tomorrow, and we need to make the most of it even if we do. I would also add to live it as your first, so you don't carry any of the previous baggage and treat each day as a fresh start.

Today I will be master of my emotions.

Scroll 6. Not letting your emotions get carried away and being in control. Obviously, again, this is required in all human relations and you'll struggle in sales if you can't do this. Keeping your head whilst all around you are losing theirs is a superpower.

I will laugh at the world.

Scroll 7. Seeing the funny side of life. Not taking it all too seriously. Most of what's out there is ridiculous, so treat it as such. Be professional and do what you need to do, but let you hair down a little. It's also infectious, so people may want to be around you and/or buy from you.

This too shall pass

A great short phrase that pops up a lot. Whatever's happening right now (be it good or bad) will pass. This helps get a sense of perspective when you need to get through a tough time, but also keeps you humble as the good times will go too. Everything is in a state of flux, and it's just a case of remembering that, enjoying what we can, and moving on where necessary.

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Today I will multiply my value a hundredfold.

Scroll 8. Giving far more than is asked and building on where you were previously. Always improving and giving your best, and at scale.

I will act now

Scroll 9. Don't put it off. The only time is now, so if something needs to be done… then get it done. Not only does it get that action complete, it also frees your mind so you can concentrate on other things and not have it fester.

Og Man's Scrolls at a Glance…

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Thanks Og! Anything Else?

A timeless philosophy of salesmanship much in the vain of The Richest Man in Babylon. It's a short and succinct book, worth reading and coming back to again and again.

It's easily readable and good as a reference/bible of sorts. Perhaps don't read the whole book repeatedly (you can if you want) but do repeat the chapters with the scrolls. I've had a few reads but not followed the format laid out, so you do with them what you will!

Yes, you can see the scrolls here and get them intellectually, but reading the book goes deeper into the explanations and becomes less about the theoretical and more about how you genuinely apply these.

All good stuff, and these ideas will never go out of style.

First image my own, others linked to source

Check out the others in the series…

BookBabble #45: "The Greatest Salesman in the World" by Og Mandino

Top Takes From the Book, Followed by My Thoughts…

Og Man's Scrolls at a Glance…

Thanks Og! Anything Else?