#324 John D. Rockefeller (38 Letters Rockefeller Wrote to His Son)

What I learned from reading The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son by John D. Rockefeller.  ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders by investing in a subscription to Founders Notes ---- (5:00) My Influence had been extended to all corners of the oil industry.  If I say that I have the power of life and death over oil producers and oil refiners, that is not a lie. I can make them wealthy or I can make them worthless. (7:25) I never thought I would lose. As far as my nature is concerned, I do not meet competition. I destroy competitors. (8:30) Retreat means surrender. Retreat will turn you into a slave. The war is inevitable. Let it come. (9:00) Bring a steel like determination to face all kinds of challenges. (13:45) I firmly believe that our destiny is determined by our actions and not by our origins. (15:45) Alexander the Great: The Brief Life and Towering Exploits of History's Greatest Conqueror--As Told By His Original Biographers by Arrian, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius Rufus. (Founders #232) (21:00) The glory and success of the family cannot guarantee the future of a children and grandchildren. (22:30) People of poor backgrounds will actively develop their abilities while also seizing various opportunities because they urgently need to rescue themselves. (26:00) Luck is the remnant of design luck is the remnant of design. — Cyrus McCormick (27:30) Rockefeller explains to his son, in writing, exactly what he was: A conqueror. (28:00) Everyone is a designer and architect of his own destiny. (29:00) If you do everything you will win: All great events hang by a single thread. The clever man takes advantage of everything, neglects nothing that may give him some added opportunity; the less clever man, by neglecting one thing, sometimes misses everything. — The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words edited by J. Christopher Herold. (Founders #302) (32:00) Visionary businessmen are always good at finding opport