$3.46 million…
That’s what the winner paid this year for one lunch with the legendary investor Warren Buffett (all proceeds go to charity).
Why would anyone pay that kind of money?
Sure, it’s for a good cause but the main reason is someone felt it was worth it.
Unfortunately, very few of us have that kind of money just lying around.
Thankfully, we don’t need to.
All you need is $20 and some time.
I’m of course talking about books but not just any books. Many successful people have taken the time to share their ideas to mastery on pretty much every subject available.
Heck, you don’t even need the $20 if you have a decent library nearby.
Just the other day I watched a video about students protesting the price increases for British universities. I feel for them but one sign caught my eye – “Education is a right, not a privilege.” I wholeheartedly agree with the statement but not in the manner in which it was used.
We all have a right to a good education, but not one at university if you don’t have the money.
Colleges are universities aren’t charities, they’re businesses.
If anyone wants a quality education I doubt people could find a better one than at a public library.
At college kids drink, party, mess around and somehow manage to squeeze time in to do some studying…4 years later and a sizable amount of money and time invested, they graduate.
But is it really worth it?
Personally, I believe that the college system worked when the Internet wasn’t around, when information was a premium.
Today anyone with an iPhone has access to more information than my entire high school did.
Any decent-size library has more books than you would ever need to learn anything. The only question is whether you’ll read them..and then, more important, whether you’ll apply what you learn.
You may recall one of my parents’ friends doing just that, in case you forgot the story you can read it here.
The point is you don’t need to be rich to learn the secrets of the rich. And you don’t need to spend a fortune to learn everything you need to succeed in any business venture.
Everything’s already out there just waiting to be found, the only question is, “Are you going to look for it?” which brings me to what I believe was Henry Ford’s #1 success secret.
Many years ago, Henry Ford was involved in a libel suit with the Chicago Tribune.
The Tribune had called Ford a fool, and Ford took exception to this and said in effect, “Prove it.”
The Tribune asked him scores of simple questions such as “Who was Benedict Arnold?” and “When was the Revolutionary War fought?” Ford, who had little formal education, got question after question wrong and became quite exasperated with the whole thing. Finally he said, “I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I could find a man in five minutes who does.”
And there lies the secret: finding the right person.
You don’t need to have all the answers. Henry Ford didn’t…but he knew who to ask.
Now we all know who to ask: Google.
But I get it, when you go to the library or bookstore (I go with Amazon), it’s hard to know where to start. There are just so many books to choose from and picking the wrong one can be quite frustrating.
So here a short list of books to pick up if you’re serious about success:
- Small Business Marketing: Guerrilla Marketing
- Inspiration: Talent Is Never Enough
- Business Management: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- Financial Literacy: Rich Dad, Poor Dad
- Success: Unlimited Power
- Business Systems: The Ultimate Sales Machine
- Business Relationships: How to Win Friends and Influence People
- Persuasion: Influence
- Negotiation: Start with No
- Sales: How to Master the Art of Selling
- Self-Esteem: The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem
- Pricing: How to Sell at Margins Higher Than Your Competitors
- Business Creation: Keys to the Vault
- Marriage: Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
For those who learn better via audio or video, and are willing to invest a little bit more money, there are programs with substantial more material available.
Rather than tell you which programs I recommend let me just throw out some people and then let you do your own research.
- Marketing: Frank Kern, Dan Kennedy
- Business Systems: Brian Tracy
- Time Management: David Allen
- Small Business Marketing: Joe Polish
- Motivation: Brendon Burchard, Wayne Dyer
- Success: Tony Robbins
- JV Partnerships: Sohail Khan
- Mindset: Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn
If you’d like to hear my comments on their materials just PM on FB.
Education is a right. And that right is staring us in our face every time we stand in front of a library.
Untapped knowledge at its finest.
The only question is whether we will use Henry Ford’s secret or keep on walking.
The choice is ours.
Adrian Shepherd