Acres of Diamonds

Think Big Things and Then Do Them

This week’s book review is Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell.


Conwell was a war hero, lawyer, businessman, educator, orator, minister, and visionary who is probably most famous for founding Temple University and for his trademark lecture “Acres of Diamonds.” This book is a transcript of the lecture along with a biography of his life and a commentary of the impact he has made on the world before his death in 1925.

The central point of the Acres of Diamonds lecture is that we do not need to look in exotic places to find business opportunity. Business opportunities are all around us. All we need to do is change our focus to looking at the needs of society and the people around us . . . If we strive to serve their needs, business opportunity will present itself!

My takeaway from this book are these three statements from Conwell’s lecture:

  1. “There is wealth right within the sound of your voice”
  2. “You must first know what people need, and then invest yourself where you are most needed”
  3. “Whatsoever he had to do at all, he put his whole mind into it and held it all there until that was all done”

If we apply these three simple principles to our lives and businesses, we will make a huge impact in this world!

 

Note that I have previously reviewed the following books in 2017:

  1. Les McKeown’s Predictable Success
  2. Exponential Organzations by Salim Ismail, Michael S. Malone and  Yuri van Geest
  3. Smart Thinking by Art Markman
  4. Arianna Huffington’s The Sleep Revolution
  5. RG LeTourneau’s Mover of Men and Mountains
  6. Kevin Kelly’s The Inevitable
  7. Ram Charan’s The Attacker’s Advantage
  8. Jeff Goins’s The Art of Work
  9. Ron Karr’s Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way
  10. Timothy Ferriss’s Tools of Titans
  11. Dr. David Perlmutter’s Grain Brain
  12. Howard Schultz’z Onward
  13. Nicholas Eberstadt’s Men Without Work
  14. Jason Fried’s and David Heinemeier Hansson’s Remote
  15. VALVE Employee Handbook
  16. Dr. Mark Hyman’s The Ultramind Solution
  17. Jeff Goin’s Real Artists Don’t Starve
  18. The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Business Law
  19. Dr. David Perlmutter’s Brain Maker
  20. Jesse Tevelow’s The Connection Algorithm
  21. Jesse Tevelow’s Hustle
  22. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s Extreme Ownership
  23. Shep Hyken’s Be Amazing or Go Home

 

Download a free copy of my new Ebook: 12 Steps to Business Transformation. If you would like a business assessment to help kick off your business transformation, contact me at info@thinkingbusinessblog.com or at 587-227-5179.

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