Tony's Reading List
er•u•dite adj. marked by deep, extensive learning; scholarly.
- 113. More Will Durant. 'If you think there is no greater one than you in the circle to which life narrows you, then make friends of genius in the past; for a penny you can buy their counsel, and listen familiarly to their speech, and mould yourself in the clear air which runs about them. It is an error to suppose that books have no influence; it is a slow influence, like flowing water carving out a canyon, but it tells more and more with every year; and no one can pass an hour a day in the society of sages and heroes without being lifted up a notch or two by the company he has kept. There is no excuse for being small when we can sit at table with Napoleon, or walk with Whitman, or have midnight suppers with Frederick and Voltaire.'
114. The Reading Program. You can learn by reading, hard to believe, I know, but trust me on this one. Talk to the giants of history. Talk to the experts. How? Just pick up their books – and read them. Read six significant books on any subject and you will be well armed for success. Try it.
Read six books on being a merchant and see what happens. As with any difficult subject, the first couple of books will be hard to comprehend, the next couple will make sense, and then the next few you will finally read with a critical eye.
- 115. These are the books that I feel will give you a broad perspective of business and life:
- The One Minute Manager – build loyal employees [we’re all managers]. 1 night.
- The One Minute Salesperson – build a sales strategy and loyal customers. 1 night.
- The Art of War – build a competitive strategy and win. 1 night.
- Built to Last – build a Core Ideology and a business that lasts. 1 week.
- One Page Management – how to communicate with each other. 1 night.
- Finance & Accounting for Non-Financial Managers – handling your finances. 2 months.
- Swim with the Sharks – a selling handbook by self-made Minnesota millionaire. 1 month.
- The Mansions of Philosophy – Will Durant’s nourishment for the mind. 1 year.
- An Incomplete Education – the basics for a well rounded education. 4 months.
- Siddhartha – Hermann Hesse's great little story for the soul. 1 night.
- 116. Don't stop short. There are no traffic jams when you go the extra mile.
- 117. Take advantage of all of our resources. If you don't ask, you don't get.
- 118. Guaranteed. Extra effort does not guarantee success, but a lack of effort guarantees failure.
- 119. True or False.
- People do what you inspect not what you expect.
- People born round don't die square.
- The future is uncertain and the end is always near.
- Keep it small and take it all.
- You either kick ass or kiss ass.
- Every choice has a consequence.
- Chance makes a plaything of a man's life.
- We stand between two world's – one dead, the other hardly born; and our fate is chaos for a generation.
- Evolution ceased to be physical, it became social, survival came not by individual power, but by group coherence and ability.
- It's not where you come from, but where you're going that counts.
- You don't sell what you like, you like what you sell.
- 120. In conclusion: Life is what you make of it.
If you are interested in reading any of the books listed above, please contact Pam Hartfield at (716) 626-3244.
