The hidden treasures in classic books
Classic books can teach us lessons that can benefit us. The experience of those before us can teach us a few things that may benefit us all
Hidden treasures
One of the most influential books that I have read is ‘secret of the ages’ by Robert Collier. I have always believed that great secrets are buried in books. Some of the books are hundreds of years old. The older, the better.
Why do we need to read these books? Spending a few hours tapping into the knowledge and wisdom of the great geniuses of the past mean that we can avoid some of the mistakes of others. Knowledge is indeed power when you have the advice of great people.
Yes, some of these books may need updating for modern day applications, but they contain many great ideas. History has lessons for us as events sometimes repeat themselves.
Some great books
In this list of great books, I will include the Bible, Koran and the Torah (Jewish bible). They contain great ideas and knowledge that have survived centuries. Imagine the wisdom and knowledge that existed thousand of years ago and are still relevant today?. The pace of change over the last few years means that some modern books are obsolete even before publication. It is a miracle that some of these books are still relevant after hundreds or even thousands of years.
Distilled knowledge
The wise people of old having accumulated a lot of knowledge tried to leave a lesson for others to follow. This is why I am constantly in search of old and new books for the nuggets that are hidden in them. One can learn about the lives of such men as Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Sam Walton, Mandela, Ghandi and hundreds more who lived extra-ordinary lives, but started with nothing.
How can we emulate those people and make the world a better place in our own little way?
The book ‘The art of war’ by Sun Tzu is thousands of years old and today, many great leaders still refer to the strategies contained in the book. That is true living. The same can be said about others whose books have now been translated into several languages.
Hundreds of books at our finger tips
If you are interested in some of the great free books to read, then the Gutenberg project on https://www.gutenberg.org is your first call. Thanks to hundreds of volunteers, there are over 60,000 free books of different genre. If your preference is audio, then https://librivox.org is your place for endless free audio.
Why do I believe in the old books? I believe in reading books period. Most people don’t like to read, it is boring and people prefer things that are interesting and dramatic, even epic. The most knowledgeable people may not always produce works that are interesting and challenging, the more reason this is worth doing.
My philosophy
I am not trying to convince anyone, I am just stating a philosophy that I hope you will learn from. The most difficult and challenging things provide the best results. How many of us dream of going to the Olympics, but only a handful will make it. This is because it is tough to be an Olympian never mind the few who win medals. Those are the special breeds of people, but their rewards can also be as big as their achievements.
The stories
Another book not to be missed is the ‘The Empire of Business’ by Andrew Carnegie. He was the richest man in the world at that time and is one of the richest people who had ever lived. Carnegie was a Scottish migrant to the USA who represented the American dream. He started as a messenger and became one of the most influential men that ever lived. The same with Henry Ford. These men had less education than most of us today.
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