The Greatest Salesman In The World by Og Mandingo

Wow!

That’s all I can say about this classic written by the uniquely named Og Mandingo.

What a writer. What valuable lessons. What a read.

No wonder 14,000,000 copies have been sold.

Okay, here come some quotes from the book I found meaningful:

“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.”

“I would suggest you withhold thy thanks for the present. Whatever aid I give thee will be as a grain of sand compared to the mountains you must move for yourself.”

“…the rewards are great if one succeeds but the rewards are great only because so few succeed. Many succumb to despair and fail without realizing that they already possess all the tools needed to acquire great wealth. Many others face each obstacle in their path with fear and doubt and consider them as enemies when, in truth, these obstructions are friends and helpers. Obstacles are necessary for success because in selling, as in all careers of importance, victory comes only after many struggles and countless defeats. Yet each struggle, each defeat, sharpens your skills and strengths, your courage and your endurance, your ability and your confidence and thus each obstacle is a comrade-in-arms forcing you to become better… or quit. Each rebuff is an opportunity to move forward; turn away from them, avoid them, and you throw away your future.”

“You stand before me a green fig. Until the fig is ripe it cannot be called a fig and until you have been exposed to knowledge and experience you cannot be called a salesman.”

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

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

“I could bestow on you great wealth but this would do you a terrible disservice. Far better is it that you become the world’s wealthiest and greatest salesman on your own.”

The Scroll Marked III

“…small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.”

“I will ignore the obstacles at my feet and keep mine eyes on the goals above my head, for I know that where dry desert ends, green grass grows.”

“I will remember the ancient law of averages and I will bend it to my good. I will persist with knowledge that each failure to sell will increase my chance for success at the next attempt. Each nay I hear will bring me closer to the sound of yea. Each frown I meet only prepares me for the smile to come. Each misfortune I encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow’s good luck. I must have the night to appreciate the day. I must fail often to succeed only once.”

“Nor will I allow yesterday’s success to lull me into today’s complacency, for this is the great foundation of failure. I will forget the happenings of the day that is gone, whether they were good or bad, and greet the new sun with confidence that this will be the best day of my life.”

The Scroll Marked IV

“I will practice, and improve, and polish the words I utter to sell my goods, for this is the foundation on which I will build my career and never will I forget that many have attained great wealth and success with only one sales talk, delivered with excellence. Also will I seek constantly to improve my manners and graces, for they are the sugar to which all are attracted.

I am nature’s greatest miracle.

I will concentrate my energy on the challenge of the moment and my actions will help me forget all else. The problems of my home will be left in my home. I will think naught of my family when I am in the market place for this will cloud my thoughts. So too will the problems of the market place be left in the market place and I will think naught of my profession when I am in my home for this will dampen my love.

There is no room in the market place for my family, nor is there room in my home for the market. Each I will divorce from the other and this will I remain wedded to both. Separate must they remain or my career will die. This is a paradox of the ages.

I am nature’s greatest miracle.

I have been given eyes to see and a mind to think and now I know a great secret of life for I perceive, at last, that all my problems, discouragements, and heartaches are, in truth, great opportunities in disguise. I will no longer be fooled by the garments they wear for mine eyes are open. I will look beyond the cloth and I will not be deceived.”

The Scroll Marked V

“Can sand flow upward in the hourglass? Will the sun rise where it sets and set where it rises?”

“Yesterday is buried forever and I will think of it no more.

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

And what then shall I do? Forgetting yesterday neither will I think of tomorrow. Why should I throw now after maybe? Can tomorrow’s sand flow through the glass before today’s? Will the sun rise twice this morning? Can I perform tomorrow’s deeds while standing in today’s path? Can I place tomorrow’s gold in today’s purse? Can tomorrow’s child be born today? Can tomorrow’s death cast its shadow backward and darken today’s joy? Should I concern myself over events which I may never witness? Should I torment myself with problems that may never come to pass? No! Tomorrow lies buried with yesterday, and I will think of it no more.”

“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. Where there are idle mouths I will listen not; where there are idle hands I will linger not; where there are idle bodies I will visit not.”

The Scroll Marked VI

“If I bring joy and enthusiasm and brightness and laughter to my customers they will react with joy and enthusiasm and brightness and laughter and my weather will produce a harvest of sales and a granary of gold for me.”

“There will be days when I must constantly struggle against forces which would tear me down. Those such as despair and sadness are simple to recognize but there are others which approach with a smile and the hand of friendship and they can also destroy me.”

“If I feel my skills are unmatched, I will look at the stars.”

“I will also understand and recognize the moods of he on whom I call. I will make allowances for his anger and irritation of today for he knows not the secret of controlling his mind.”

“I will master my moods through positive action and when I master my moods I will control my destiny.”

The Scroll Marked VIII

“…set goals for the day, the week, the month, the year, and my life.”

“In setting my goals I will consider my best performance of the past and multiply it a hundredfold. Never will I be of concern that my goals are too high for is it not better to aim my spear at the moon and strike only an eagle than to aim my spear at the eagle and strike only a rock?”

“Only a worm is free from the worry of stumbling. I am not a worm. I am not an onion plant. I am not a sheep. I am a man. Let others build a cave with their clay. I will build a castle with mine.”

“…never will I proclaim my accomplishments. Let the world, instead, approach me with praise and may I have the wisdom to receive it in humility.”

“And when it is done I will do it again, and again, and there will be astonishment and wonder at my greatness…”

The Scroll Marked IX

“My 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.”

“…to conquer fear I must always act without hesitation and the flutters in my heart will vanish.”

“I will act now.

For now is all I have.”

“This is the time. This is the place. I am the man.”

Some real words of wisdom, right?

Got to love The Greatest Salesman In The World by Og Mandingo.

Be sure to grab yourself a copy.

Regards,

Sam