Zale Tabakman

Great Success Writers From History

The older stuff is interesting as it provides a whole different challenge for the modern reader. First question someone should ask is “Why is it even relevant?” Once we have answered that question, the next challenge is the text itself. The style is so different, the structure of the material, and thirdly the examples mean little to the modern reader.

I happen to love reading about modern American history. I read John Jakes novels, I read Rex Stout murder mystery’s from the 1930’s to 1970’s. I read Agatha Christie. I read biographies of people like Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie.

One of my favourite books in my bathroom comes from “The Book Of” series by Peter Krass. For example “The Book Of Business Wisdom” In the series he combines articles by the greatest American businessmen of all time.

This is great for me – but I am part of a small minority.

All this reading of mine means that I can put context to the content written by these great people. It means I understand the examples and understand why the examples are important.

The challenge is equivalent to placing ourselves twenty years from now, reading examples of Brittany Spears and her breakdown. Ms. Spears will be a middle aged woman with some type of notorious past on the pages of “Where is she now?”.

Let me address the first and most important question “Why Is It Relevant?”

Its relevant if after 50 to 100 years if its still as accurate as it was when it was written.

Its relevant because we learn from writers who were living during the last time of great change. There are few times in history when day-to-day life changes drastically in 15 years. The 1880 until the early 1920’s was such a time. Every 10 years there was an invention that changed the world in major substantial ways. The Steam Engine, the telegraph, the radio, the automobile, the phonograph, electric light, to name just a few.

In our times, we have the personal computer, VHS, the Internet, the cell phone and the Walkman. These inventions changed how we run our lives. [The change from radio to a Walkman was huge, the change from the Walkman to a Nano (even Product Red Nano) was progressive, not substantive.]

Is it relevant to everybody, obviously not. Is it relevant to you? That is for you to decide, I am only a guide along the way. However, for me it is relevant. By reading and understanding all the different authors helps me internalize it and find multiple ways to teach it to others.

To be accepted as a giant means that the author’s content was good and was continued to be considered good throughout the generations. This means people year after year have read the material and said “This material has meaning to me. It is helping me make my life better”.

While there are always many reasons why Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie’s books are still in print and Wallace D. Wattles and Charles F. Haanel’s are not, most of it has to do with the fact is that its dense contains too much background and is long.

For example, let’s discuss Napoleon Hill. Hill wrote the “Laws Of Success” in 1927 which is over 1,000 pages and has all the stuff that makes these kinds of books difficult to read. He became famous for his “Think and Grow Rich” – a book of a few hundred pages with minimal detail. His “How To Raise Your Own Salary” was much better, more complete, more organized and a book you have (probably never) heard about.

Its not just you, I Googled the two titles in quotes with “Napoleon Hill” – “Think and Grow Rich” had 322,000 results vs. and “How To Raise Your Own Salary” received 67.

As I have mentioned it elsewhere, it is my goal to become an expert in success literature so that I can write my own book. This is not unusual, Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey, Warren Bennis, and Brian Tracy are just a few who have started this way.

But, I do not believe in study for the sake of study, rather I believe in study to allow me to teach and share with others. The trail of my studies is found here at www.ZaleTabakman.ca.

As I said above, on this page you will find the links to pages of content from other authors. Whenever time and necessity have required it. I have added commentary and background information to make the content accessible to all.

As we read this literature, a dawning comes to our minds. Each author builds upon the ideas of a previous author. In one way, its good, he adds his own thoughts and interpretations of the previous author, on the other side its bad. When summarizing the thoughts of another author, some of the nuances of the previous author is lost. And the some of the nuances may be vital to helping a particular person. A study of the success skill “Harmony” can attest to this. proof comes from Haanel as an example of this. Haanel speaks strongly of the need for Harmony in all things. You see Harmony mentioned by Hill in describing The Mastermind in “Law of Success”, but you don’t see him mention it again

Please enjoy, only authors with a valuable contribution have been posted.

Let’s start in the 1880’s:

P.T Barnum – Did you know that P.T. Barnum beside creating the circus was considered one of the greatest marketing geniuses of the late 18th century. He spent time with Thomas Alva Edison, who was the greatest marketing genius of the late 1800’s. Yes, I said marketing. He was known as an inventor, but Edison’s true genius was his ability to make money from his patents. I have summarized P.T. Barnum and his Rules Here. P.T Barnum wrote the Art of Money Getting or The Golden Rules Of Money Making which you can read here. There are a number of notes added to make the reading a little easier.

In the early 1900’s:

Elbert Hubbard is most famous for “A Message To Garcia”. In it, Hubbard describes the behaviour of how one should act. He was a prolific writer and thinker. “Send A Message To Garcia” has entered the common lexicon. Read about Hubbard here and read a Message To Garcia”. He is also famous for his Little Journeys series, which short biography’s of famous people. Click here to read the biography’s of famous Great Businessmen

Orsen Swett Marden was most famous for his Success magazine. He also published a number of books. I have included Push To The Front which is in the style of Napoleon Hill’s Law Of Success and How To Succeed which written in a manner similar to Haamel’s Master Key System.

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote of number of stories on character building which you can find here.

Let’s jump to 1910:

Wallace D. Wattles - One of the preeminent New Thought writers who nobody has ever heard of. He has recently become famous because he is one of the sources for The Secret. His writing is somewhat difficult to read, so I have annotated his seminal work “The Science Of Getting Rich” which you can find here. My stuff is in quotes proceeded with “ZT”.

How about 1913

Theron Q. Dumont wrote about personal strengths and you can find some of his writing here.

This next article spanned from the late 1880’s to sometime in 1925:

Acres Of Diamonds By Russell Conwell was incredibly well known at the turn of the century. At that time there was no radio, no television, and no Internet. The only way you could here a speech of importance was to go and here the speaker him self. Russell Conwell gave this speech over 6,000 times. Imagine what that meant. If he it once a day, he would be doing it for 16 years. In Internet time, 6,000 downloads a day would put us in the top 10,000 of Alexa. Anyway, this speech is well worth the read. You will learn that your success is sitting in front of you today.

Here is the master key System book from 1917

The Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel was one of the first “courses” offered to teach people how to become successful. While it is long and it is dense it has set the standard. One of the rumours claimed by the students of “The Master Key System” is that it was one of the influences in the early life of Bill Gates. While I have no knowledge of any of that truth, it would seem to me that any person as successful as Bill Gates would certainly in his life have read or have heard of Charles F. Haanel. A quote from the introduction explains why its included:

Why should some men realize their ambitions easily, others with difficulty, and still others not at all? The cause cannot be physical, else the most perfect men, physically, would be the most successful. The difference, therefore, must be mental – must be in the mind; hence mind must be the creative force, must constitute the sole difference between men. It is mind, therefore, which overcomes environment and every other obstacle in the path of men.

And a book from 1927

George S. Clason famous for The Richest Man In Babylon

And of course here is the Master Of Success Himself

Napoleon Hill is considered the greatest success writer of all time. Only a few of his books and writings are not under copyright. Click here to read Napoleon Hill’s  great books.

This article is part of the skills taught in Success Through Balance. You can read more about becoming successful through a balanced life here.

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