7 Life Lessons From John Davison Rockefeller

John Davison Rockefeller was born on July 8, 1839, he was raised in a poor Cleveland household. As a young man, he started small busing selling sweets to local children, supporting his family because he couldn't reply on his father. His beginning however did not define him, Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. He ran it until 1897 and remained its largest shareholder, he eventually controlled 90% of all oil in the United States. He builds an empire unlink any the world has ever seen. Today he considered the wealthiest American of all time. It is estimated that in today’s money (August 2020) he would be worth around $350 billion. Here are some life lessons that John D. Rockefeller pass onto the next generation.

Lesson 1: I lived within my means and my advice to you young men is to do just the same

Separating your wants from your needs is a good start. If you are looking to buy something ask yourself if you truly want or need it? If you want it to just have it, maybe stop yourself for a few days. And see if you feel the same in the coming day.

Lesson 2: Now let me leave this little word of counsel for you. Keep a little ledger, as I did. Write down in it what you receive, and do not be ashamed to write down what you pay away. See that you pay it away in such a manner that your father or mother may look over your book and see just what you did with your money. It will help you to save money, and that you ought to do.

The oil tycoon kept a handwritten log for his company finances and recorded every single expense, down to the decimal. This is a common expression that goes “Garbage in, garbage out”. Having a finance worksheet gives you an accurate number on where the money was spent, if the result was not what you expected, get it off your list.

Lesson 3: It is very important to remember what other people tell you, not so much what you yourself already know. The ability to deal with people is a purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee, and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.

Communication is important, and if you could join a club to improve your communication do so. The people in a company will ultimately determine the success or failure of a business. People in and around your company are your most important asset. You see Rockefeller was extremely hard working. He traveled extensively, he would also go to the banks and borrow large sums of money to handle the shipments. He would deal with people and communicate his thoughts with them, convincing them to invest in him.

Lesson 4: Success comes from keeping the ears open and the mouth closed.

The reason for this is so that the person who’s doing the talking will feel understood and cared about. Most people go through life wishing to be listened for. So by listening rather than talking, you are giving something valuable to the person who’s speaking. Not only that but you are also gaining inside information about others, which you can use to make their life better. Once you make their life better, yours will as well

Lesson 5: I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature. I admire persistence. It is commendable , especially in young men, and it will win in the end.

They say it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill. Perseverance is a very important character trait for you to be successful in life. It would be awesome if you succeed on the first try but that rarely happens. Most success comes from doing, and then learning from what you did or didn’t do. Every attempt is still a shot at success. However, when you fail, you must understand why and improve the next time.

Lesson 6: A man so busy cannot be always right, we are all bound to make mistakes at times.

Everyone makes mistakes — people from all walks of life, all professions, and all age groups. Don’t let your mistakes define you. Let your mistakes be your teacher so you can learn and grow from them. However unpleasant these mistakes may seem, it’s a part of life that we need to learn to accept and eventually get over. The past is in the past, and no amount of thinking and worrying can change that. By acknowledging that our past mistakes are outside of our control, we can more easily let go of those mistakes and stop beating ourselves over them.

Lesson 7: I believe it is a religious duty to get all the money you can, fairly and honestly, to keep all you can, and to give away all you can.

Estimates are that Rockefeller’s benefactions during his lifetime totaled more than $500 million. Giving back makes an impact for the good. It strengthens the communities. It opens up our minds and hearts to humanity and a bigger purpose of making this world better. When you share your expertise with others it could help bring in better resources at places where you were, providing opportunities for the younger generations.

So there you go, 7 lessons that Rockefeller passed on to the next generation. These lessons are from a book written by John D. Rockefeller Jr. called John D. Rockefeller on making money.