The 38 Letters from J. D. Rockefeller to his son Book Review
This book is a collection of the 38 letters written by Rockefeller to his son, and we get a glimpse of his ideologies, life ethics, and grounded wisdom in these correspondences. There may be controversy regarding Rockefeller’s business practices, such as monopoly in the oil industry and predatory pricing to rule out competitors. Yet, in this book, we get a glimpse of his values, conduct, and counsels that shed a different light to the hard facts and controversies. Reading this book and Rockefeller’s biography (Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller) provides readers a chance to develop a different perspective of the enigmatic capitalist who dominated the oil industry back in the 20th century.
Rockefeller’s personality stood out to me when I read his essays — his ambition, risk seeking inclination, hardworking ethics, and personal discipline are pillars that have staged his business empire. (Rockefeller himself said that his mother implanted virtues of frugality, independence, diligence, trustworthiness and unremitting entrepreneurial spirit when he was a child) Although I don’t agree with some of his extreme ideologies, I find many encouraging counsels and righteous values that are shared together with his business endeavors.
Failure and hardships have a special place in Rockefeller’s heart. He believed that failures are fertile training grounds for success. “Success is a series of struggles. I take failure as a glass of spirits. It is bitter when you drink it, yet it gives you plenty of vitality.” In a fast moving, capital intensive, and at times volatile industry due to geopolitical risk and domestic demands, Rockefeller endured challenges and pushback along the way. But he took lessons from failures, and drew success factors from which he pioneered into new realms of business. Such are the life wisdom that can only be shared after one has survived the thunderstorms and navigated a way out. Personally, I think these short letters are like chicken soup for the soul, as the inspirational and motivational values shared in the book are timeless. Below are a list of values shared in the book that spoke most loudly to me:
1. Starting points do not determine our end points: Our destiny is determined by our actions, not by our origins.
- When you and your sisters were young, I deliberately concealed the fact that I was well off. I instilled many values of frugality and personal struggle in you, because I know that quickest way to harm someone is money. It can make people corrupt, depraved, arrogant, and cause them to lose happiness in life.
- A happy life does not from luxurious lifestyles, it comes from luxurious character — the spirit of self-reliance. Factors such as ability, attitude, character, ambition, method, experience, and luck play important roles in life and the business world.
2. Luck depends on planning: Everyone is a designer and architect of his own destiny
We must carefully plan our own luck. The first condition is to know your goals — what person you want to become, what you want to do. The second condition is knowing what resources you have — status, money, relationships, abilities. You can adjust your goals to your resources and get a foundation — fill it with means and time, and wait for luck to come.
3. If you view work as pleasure, life is heaven; if you view work as a duty, life is hell.
I think work is a privilege, as it brings more than just a sustaining life. The highest reward for work is not what we get, but what we will become. Those who are mentally active do not just work for money, the real reason behind is that they are engaged in a fascinating career. Income is just a by-product of work.
4. Do it now — opportunity comes from opportunity.
We cannot fall into the trap of continuous deliberation and planning, as no matter how detailed the plan is, we still cannot accurately predict the final outcome. Cultivate the habit of action — be proactive, focused, determined, courageous, and don’t wait until everything is ready — there will never be absolute perfection.
5. The most horrifying thing is spiritual bankruptcy — Failure and successes
Success is a series of struggles. An optimist sees opportunity in every calamity, a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity. To endure hardships deliberately is one of my beliefs of success.
6. Interpersonal relationships
- Friendship built on business is far better than a business built on friendship. Be nice to others when you climb up, because you will run into them when you go downhill.
- In my eyes, patience does not mean swallowing anger, neither is it humbling. Patience is a strategy, and it also trains your character. What it nurtures is a competitive heart. Therefore, you have to cultivate your ability to manage your emotions and control your emotions, and make decisions not based on emotions but based on your needs and always know what you want.
- Proactively invite others to state their thoughts and encourage them to speak out with words such as “Say a little more” or “I really want to hear your opinion.” In a dialogue, the listener is the one who has the power, not the declarant. Think about it, the tone, focus, and the content of the speaker actually depends on the way you listen. Listening attentively is like an attitude.
