The Greatest Salesman in the World
by Og Mandino
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Book Reviews of The Greatest Salesman in the World
Book Review: Smart salesman for worthy principles
Summary: 4 Stars
I just finished reading this interesting book. Its Chinese translation was marketed in the name "Scrolls of Wealth" and is very popular in China.
I didn't realize it was published just 40 years ago in 1968, a best-seller since then, until I read some critics about the book. The story of the book was set in biblical time in Arabic world. It's about a poor camel boy, Hafid, who eventually became the greatest salesman in his time with unmatchable wealth. However, I can see the story is just a "make-up", like all the stories in the TV advertisements. Essentially, the author would like to sell his "manuals for salesman", which he developed for his insurance company while working in rural New Hampshire, as he disclosed in the preface of the book.
The author is indeed a very good salesman for his ideas. The story is catching, persuasive, full of drama, even having a mysterious link to the Bible. Obviously, he followed his own advices to sell, capturing people's interests, making connections through familiarity (Bible story), demonstrating success stories happened with other ordinary people, and making the items for sale seems scarce and rare thus valuable. Another interesting way he did his selling is to command the reader to read each principle (a chapter or scroll in the book) three times a day for a month. That's almost like a religious practice. I have to agree it's the best way to build the principles into habits.
Setting aside the sales pitches, I feel the principles promoted by the author are indeed valuable. It reminded me of two books I love, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, published in 1936 and "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" by Steven Covey, published in 1989. It focuses more on principles for living as The Seven Habits than the social techniques as Win Friends. Its ideas of achieving success through building good habits based on good principles make the Seven Habits book not as innovative as I thought.
However, I felt the book has two problems. First, some of the 10 principles for success, elaborated as 10 secret ancient scrolls, are vague. They cover a group of ideas instead of one. For example, "I will live this day as if it is my last". This idea is powerful but not concise. To describe the principle, the author mentioned other ideas like "appreciation", "don't waste time to regret", "get things done today" and more. Those can hardly be described as one principle. Instead, The Seven Habits are much more precise and fundamental.
Secondly, the author keeps luring the readers to follow the principles by the promises of getting rich and abundant. He keeps appeals to the greedy for material wealth and fame. But, in many places in the book, even the author himself contradicts his own idea of material-oriented life goals. People who don't value wealth and fame probably will feel as frustrated as I did. Again, the Seven Habits did a better job. It didn't set the goals for you. You can pick your own life goals and it just helps you to achieve that goal. It doesn't alienate or exclude any groups of readers.
But, after all, I still feel this is a good book with a lot of thought-provoking ideas. Its way of story-telling and its poem-like writings are enjoyable. Despite the name, the principles it promotes can be used not only to salesman but to all of us who would like to live a rich and successful life, regardless the meaning of success. After all, success in modern world requires us to interact with other people. And in many occasions, that demands selling either tangible things like products or intangible things like ideas, services, or our experience and skill sets.
Book Review: Good Stuff To Remember
Summary: 4 Stars
This book says the secret to learning is forming good habits. In other words, one only learns by repeating the same good things over and over again. Simple idea that I think we can all agree on.
Unfortunately, the world of public education seems to be trying its best to move away from this idea. The new educational training institutions hate memorization and the repetition necessary to get there. That may be one of many reasons why the state of public schools is more dire now than it has been in the past. Promoting books like this could easily rectify the problem. Through this book, one can learn to embrace failure as a necessary path to success and avoid the trap of attempting to hide failure in a ridiculous attempt to protect self-esteem. (Can we say giving kids who can't speak English passing grades in English?)
That unrelated issue aside, this book is full of many great traditional and common sense ideas. Some of the following paraphrased points I particularly liked:
-I will greet each day with love for everything, light and dark.
-I will persist until I succeed; always will I take another step.
-I must fail many times to succeed only once
-My differences are what will make me successful
-I am grateful for the undeserved gift of a priceless new day
-I will bury doubt with faith
-My last must be my best
-My moods may change without reason, but so do the moods of others.
-I won't labor to be happy. Instead I'll remain too busy to be sad.
-I will raise my goals as soon as they are attained.
-This is the time. This is the place. I am the man. I will act now. I will multiply my value today.
-I will pray for God to guide me.
This book is a reminder that there's no magic formula. You've got to work every day and fail every day to reach any goal you'll ever have. That's the way it is, that's the way it has always been, and that's the way it will always be. The sooner we realize that the lack of a magic formula is a good thing, the happier we'll be.
I don't know why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. Maybe I thought the build-up to the scrolls could have been a little bit shorter. Maybe I've read enough books to recall seeing a lot of the above paraphrased ideas before, but not enough books to see how this one stands out above the others. I'm just not sure.
In any case, it was indeed a brilliant idea to include the first chapter of Part II at the end of the book. I may end up purchasing the sequel to see what happens.
Book Review: Enjoyable, Easy Read, Motivational
Summary: 5 Stars
The first book I have read by Og Mandino, THE GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD, is a delightful little book on self-improvement. It is a classic, and many self-help authors will borrow the wisdom, principles, and themes in the book.
The story begins with Hafid, who overseas the largest multinational trade empire in the civilized world. He possesses scrolls that contain principles that he applied in his life to become the "greatest salesman in the world." The story is uplifting, interesting and moving and briefly shows Hafid's rise from a camel boy to the "greatest salesman in the world." The idea is that we, as Hafid, can become the "greatest salesman in the world" if we diligently, consistently, and rigorously apply the principles contained in the scrolls. You want to remind yourself of these principles, apply them until they become habits.
The principle of persistence:
"I was not delivered in this world in defeat, nor does failure course in my veins. I am not a sheep waiting to be prodded by my shephard. I am a lion and refuse to talk, to walk, to sleep with the sheep. I will hear not those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious. Let them join the sheep. The slaughterhouse of failure is not my destiny." Moreover, "nor will I allow yesterday's success to lull me into today's complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure."
The idea we are "nature's greatest miracle," and I quote:
"Within me burns a flame which has been passed from generations uncounted and its heat is a constant irritation to my spirit to become better than I am, and I will. I will fan this flame of dissatisfaction and proclaim my uniqueness to the world." The idea is that you are unique, and you must utilize your own uniqueness to achieve success. Copying others' uniqueness can only get you so far. You, your uniqueness as a person, is an advantage you must use.
Other principles and ideas include but are not limited to controlling one's emotions, enjoying each day as if it were your last, remembering to laugh at yourself, and being a person of action.
THE GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD is a small, easy-to-read book but is vast in its simple wisdom. It is definitely worthwhile reading, especially if you are in the grind of your career, educational program, small business, and so forth and need something small, easy-to-read but also inspiring.
Book Review: This book will teach you how to succeed at anything
Summary: 5 Stars
If you read this book as it was intended, you will increase your self-esteem exponentially. This book will convince you that you can't help but succeed at whatever you decide to do. It is impossible to fail. This book will install productive habits and positive programming into you through repeated affirmations. It will teach you to be positive and self-confident. On top of this, the book is only about 100 pages long! Such a small book, but such a big promise.
"The Greatest Salesman in the World"? I know you salespeople are convinced. The rest of you are thinking "I don't care about sales!! so this book is not for me." Thinking this would be making a very big mistake. I think that the title of the book is a bit misleading and people assume that it is a sales book. It is not. It is a book on how to go about your daily life to get the most out of it.
The first part of the book is a story set in ancient times about a young man and his desire to become a great salesman. He is given a box containing ten old and worn scrolls. The second part of this book is the text of these scrolls. Each "scroll" is essentially a collection of affirmations to be read twice a day for 30 days each. Reading this book as it was intended will take almost a year.
The subjects covered in the scrolls are:
1. beginning a new life each day, and not dwelling on the past
2. greeting the day with love in your heart
3. the value of persisting until you succeed
4. recognizing your life as a miracle
5. living this day as if it is your last
6. being the master of your emotions
7. laughing at the world
8. multiplying your value
9. the importance of taking action
10. acknowledging a higher power and asking for guidance
If you want to increase your confidence, increase your sense of well-being, increase your self-esteem and increase your income, you need to read this book. I am always talking about avoiding negativity and thinking thoughts that will focus you on positive things and on what you want. This book will help you to do just that. Everyone I know who has read this book agrees with me that it had a profoundly positive impact on their life.
If you persist, keep changing your approach and do not give up, you will succeed. This book will help you "keep the faith" and persist through all obstacles.
Book Review: A very Powerful Book!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Greatest Salesman in The World is a classic case of not judging the quality of a book by it's size. This slim little book initially doesn't appear to be much or have much information. But once applied, it is powerful.
I first came across this incredible book nearly 30 years ago. I am ashamed to admit that initially, I never read it Og Mandino intended. I read it like a regular book and tossed it aside.
Several years later, presented with a great opportunity I met an incredibly gifted saleperson. This man was the best salesman I had ever met or seen in action. And I had seen some very good salesmen. I asked him his secret.
He told me to read two books. One was How To Master The Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins and the other was, you guessed it, The Greatest Saleman in The World.
When I told him that I had The Greatest Salesman in The World and indicated by my facial expression that I was not too impressed, he immediately told me that he figured that I didn't read the book properly and he was right.
You have to read this book as Og Mandino indicated, one chapter at a time, three times per day and one time out loud. Then move on to the next chapter and proceed for the duration which lasts nine months.
When I followed the instructions as advised, I saw a major difference. My habits and attitude changed. I started winning sales contests and actually started making some real money.
I also bought Tom Hopkins book and many by Brian Tracy and others. While they all helped, I feel as though Og Mandino's The Greatest Saleman in The World had the greatest impact on me. All of the techniques in the World won't and don't make a
difference without the right attitude. Interesting that both Tom Hopkins and Brian Tracy both highly recommend this book as well as every great salesperson that I have ever met.
Highly recommended. Must reading for all serious salespeople.
Like the reviewer ahead of me, I usually only give 5 star ratings, not because I am a soft reviewer, but only because I choose to review only the best quality books. The Greatest Salesman In The World ranks right up there with the best in sales books.