Saturday 7: John D. Rockefeller

I read “The 38 Letters From J.D. Rockefeller to His Son: Perspectives, Ideology, and Wisdom” written by John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller was born poor and died 96 years later as one of the richest men in to ever walk the earth; here are the 7 most important lessons from the book:

1. Believe In Yourself

Belief is THE most important thing. Everything in life originates with what you and I believe. John D. encourages us to only believe in things that give us power. Believe you can achieve great things. Believe you can positively impact your family and community. Believe you can solve challenging problems. Believe in yourself and in the power of God to work through you.

2. Action Solves Everything

All success begins with a plan, but there is absolutely NOTHING beneficial that comes from inaction. The answer is action; action gives you feedback that you can iterate on and gain forward momentum. Big deadline at work? Take action. Need to lose 50lbs? Take action. In a rut? Take a action. Feeling depressed? Take action. Challenge arises in a relationship? Take action.

Action solves everything.

3. It’s All a War

Life is a battlefield; we are all fighting a war. The war is between good and evil, God and satan, wealth and poverty, righteousness and sin, action and passivity. In war there is a winner and there is a loser, it IS a competition and there is only one victor. Someone must lose and someone must win; this is the nature of the universe. It is much better to be on the winning side of a war. Be the winner.

4. Happiness Comes Only From Giving

Rockefeller believed God put him on Earth to accumulate as much money as possible so that he could give away as much money as possible. He told his son that there is no other way to have real happiness than to give. Generosity feeds the soul of the giver and the recipient. Giving is the ultimate act of Faith.

5. Do What You Like To Do

Find out what you like to do, do it, and then find other people who like to do the other nbecessary things to do those things. Rockefeller strongly advised his son and employees to determine what interested them and to work in alignment with those interests. If you like what you’re doing, you’ll do it better for longer, and if you do something well for a long time, you will be rewarded tremendously.

6. God Given Purpose

If the why behind your goal is strong enough, you will walk through hell to achieve it and there is no more powerful why than being destined by God. Rockefeller believed the God of the universe specifically picked him to achieve his specific goal. If you believe that God has truly called you to a certain purpose, would you not do anything and everything in your power to fulfill this purpose? Of course you would.

Ask God to reveal your purpose and to give you belief and conviction in this calling.

7. Actions Determine Your Destiny

Your destiny is determined by your actions, not your origins or the actions of others. You control where you are headed in this life by the actions you take. If you believe you can achieve great things, you work hard to bring forth those great things, and have Faith, your destiny will be fulfilled. You will leave this Earth at peace. Act as if you are a man with a destiny that MUST be fulfilled because you are. Act accordingly.

Onward & Upward,

Nolan

Share this link with a friend who would find this newsletter valuable.

Listen to my podcast on John D. Rockefeller on Spotify, Apple, and watch on YouTube.