# Unlocking Success: Lessons from John D. Rockefeller


All the way back in 2019, I received a message that changed the direction of this podcast forever. It was from Tristan, who is one of the co-founders of ReadWise. He said, hey, I love the podcast. And he told me about the ReadWise product. I responded, thanks, Tristan. Love the idea behind ReadWise. I will definitely check it out. I had no idea that I would become a super user of his product. And so over the years, I've added my highlights and notes for over 300 books. I have over 20,000 highlights and notes for the books that I've read for the podcast. And because I can search every single thing I've ever done, I use Readwise every day. I never close the browser tab. The tab on Readwise is always open because as I'm reading, as I'm thinking, as I'm researching, I'm constantly going in and rereading all my notes and highlights. And you might already know this because every other podcast I go on, I talk about Readwise. I tweet about it, I post about it constantly. I've been saying for years, it is the best app that I pay for. And because I go around shouting about how great it is from the mountaintops, I get a bunch of messages. Nearly every day, people have asked me, hey, is there a possibility that I can actually get access to your Readwise? And this happened so much for so long, and I thought it was like a superpower of mine. So I was like, no, no, no, no. And then I started thinking, well, why does everybody want this? Like, why do they keep asking for this? And I thought about it, it's like, well, if you think about this, it's like, has anybody else in the world read this many biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs, obsessively taken notes on it, obsessively highlighted it? And I was like, oh, they want access because it's the world's most valuable notebook for founders. And I think people understood that instinctively. In fact, there's a line in Poor Charlie's Almanac that said that there's answers worth billions of dollars in a $30 history book. And I think that's the case for my notebook as well. So a few months ago, I went to the founders of Readwise, Tristan and Daniel, and I asked, hey, is there a way we can build a product together that actually mirrors what I see? I want a way for people that want to subscribe to my notes and highlights to see exactly what I see. They can search by book, they can search by keyword, they can get access to the highlights feed, which is essentially what I call smart Twitter feed. It is a feed of short little highlights and notes from all different books on one page. And I also wanted people to see all the highlights that I've actually favorited. So, so far I've favorited 839 highlights. And so that's exactly what we built together. You can find it at foundersnotes.com. I will also leave the link down below in the show notes. And because this is brand new, it's actually half the price of what it's eventually going to be. There's not even a landing page. You just go to foundersnotes.com, sign up and subscribe, and then you get immediate access. And it's important to note that I made this for founders already running successful companies. I think that's who's going to get the most value out of it. Those are also usually the most committed people. There is no monthly option. You can only subscribe for a year. It is only made for the already committed. And these kind of founders, and I include myself in there, they just want the best way to reference the thoughts and ideas of history's greatest founders and then they'll figure out how to apply what they're learning directly to their company. So if this is you, I encourage you to test it out for a year. You'll have access to the world's most valuable notebook for founders. And I think the value you'll receive because the value I've gotten out of it has been incredible. And I think that'll be the same case for you. If you wind up subscribing, make sure you keep it, once you're in, make sure you just keep it in your browser. This is how I use it. The tab is always open on my computer. I'm referencing it dozens of times a day. It is a product I can get behind fully because I use it every day. You're literally seeing what I see. So if this sounds interesting to you, and you wanna get access, go to foundersnotes.com.


Dear John,

I have bad news to tell you. Mr. Benson passed away last night. Mr. Benson is an old rival and one of my few admired opponents. I am deeply impressed by his outstanding talent and his tenacious will. To this day I still remember the joke that he made with me after our alliance. He said, Mr. Rockefeller, you are a brilliant predator who is not soft. Losing to those bad guys would have made me very sad because it was like a robbery. But playing against people like you, whether I win or lose, makes me happy. I told him, Mr. Benson, if you can replace the word predator with the word conqueror, I think I will gladly accept your compliment. He smiled. I admire the warriors who are still fighting bravely against their enemy. Mr. Benson is such a person. Before Benson became my enemy, I had just defeated the nation's largest railroad company, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and successfully subdued the nation's fourth and last railroad company, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Just like that, together with my most loyal allies, the Erie Railroad and the New York Central Railroad, the four major railway companies in the United States have all become tools for me to tame. I am 27 pages into the book at this point. And when I got to that sentence, the four major railway companies in the United States have all become tools for me to tame. I wrote a note to myself. If Napoleon or Alexander the Great had been in business, they would be like this. Back to this letter. At the same time, Standard Oil's pipelines extended bit by bit into the oil field, giving me absolute control over all major pipelines connecting oil wells and railroad track lines. Frankly speaking, at that time, my influence had been extended to all the 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. But some people did ignore my authority, such as Mr. Benson. Mr. Benson was an ambitious businessman who wanted to lay an oil pipeline to save the independent oil producers who were afraid of being crushed by me. The idea of making a fortune dominated him to bravely break into my territory. His oil pipeline was laid forward at an alarming rate from the beginning. This brought me to attention. John, any competition is not an easy game, but a game full of vitality requires close attention and constant decision making. Otherwise you will lose if you're not careful. Mr. Benson is creating trouble and I have to stop him.

Now, keep in mind, Rockefeller is writing this letter to his adult son. He did not think that this letter was ever going to be published. And so he's going to describe over the next few pages his attack on Mr. Benson. And when Rockefeller attacks you, it is always, always a multi-pronged attack. So he says, at first I brought a long and narrow land along the Pennsylvania state border from north to south at a high price in an attempt to prevent Benson from moving forward. But Benson took a detour approach and avoided my heavy punch. Then I used the power of my allies and asked the railway companies to never let any oil pipelines cross their railways. Benson did the same and successfully broke through again. Finally, I wanted to use the power of the government to stop Benson, but this was without success. By this time, I know that I have encountered a tough enemy to conquer, but he cannot shake my determination to compete, because the 110-mile pipeline is my biggest threat. If I let the crude oil flow there unimpeded, they will also acquire the supply line to New York. Then Benson will replace me as the owner of the New York oil refining industry. This is something I cannot allow. I can't let Benson come here and destroy the market that I built with my efforts. This is my life's effort. I propose to buy his stock. Unfortunately, he refused. I never thought I would lose. As far as my nature is concerned, I do not meet competition. I destroy competitors. I launched another series of offensives that made it difficult for him to parry. I sent someone to place a large amount of orders to the storage tank producers, asking them to ensure production and delivery on time so that they have no capacity to take other customers including Benson. At the same time I drastically reduced the price of pipeline transportation and I attracted a large amount of oil refiners who relied on Benson to transport crude oil and converted them from his customers to our customers. I then quickly acquired several refineries in New York to prevent them from becoming a customer of Benson's. An excellent commander will try his best to destroy the bunker that is strong enough to destroy the city. Every round of my attack hit places where Mr. Benson had no fuel, and I became the winner. In less than a year, Mr. Benson surrendered. He was well aware that if he continued to fight against me, he will only lose even more. John, every crucial competition is a battle that determines fate. Retreat means surrender. Retreat will turn you into a slave. The war is inevitable. Let it come. In this world, competition will not stop for a moment, and we have no time to rest. All we can do is bring a steel-like determination to face all kinds of challenges and competitions. To win the competition, it is more important that you stay alert. At this point in time, you need to know that kindness and tenderness may hurt you. You need to have strength. Crutches cannot replace strong and powerful feet. We must stand on our own feet and rely on ourselves. You should work hard to hone, strengthen, and develop your feet and let them exert their power. I think Mr. Benson, who is now in heaven, will agree with me. Love, your father.


Okay, so let's go to letter 3. This is where once I got to letter 2, and this is, you're talking, you know, each letter is probably, you know, 5 pages, something like that. I immediately started ordering multiple copies of the book. I knew from the get-go I was going to give out this book. I knew I was going to like it. This is just incredible. Okay, starts off a couple years after the other letter and he says some people are destined to be kings, are great men because of their extraordinary talents. For example, Mr. McCormick. So he's talking about Cyrus McCormick, who is the inventor of the harvesting machines. They're called Reapers, they harvest wheat. But he's talking about his admiration for Mr. McCormick, and it says, who has a head of luck and knows how to turn a harvester into a sickle for harvesting banknotes. So he made something that made somebody else's life better, built a company around it, and then he has printed money. He's talking about this. He used harvesting machines to liberate American farmers, so he made their life better, and he also rose to the ranks to become one of the richest people in the United States. This business genius who was once just an ordinary farmhand once had an esoteric saying which went, luck is the remnant of design. Luck is the remnant of design. That is Cyrus McCormick on luck. It's going to sound a lot like Napoleon. If you have listened to episode 302, The Mind of Napoleon, Napoleon shares his view on luck a lot. So he says, in other words, we create our own luck and no action can eliminate it. So that is Rockefeller's interpretation of McCormick's quote, luck is the remnant of design. Rockefeller says, in other words, we create our own luck and no action can eliminate it. This is very important for what he's about to explain to his son. He is about to describe to his son what is known in history as the Cleveland Massacre, where I think at 25 years old, how Rockefeller became the largest oil refiner in the United States at 25. And he's going to lay out this plan. And this is where, right away, the note I left myself on the next page, which we're not there yet, it says, this paragraph is incredible. He knew what he was, a conqueror. It is one thing to read in between the lines of a biography written by somebody else. It is completely different for him to explain exactly who he is to his son in writing. This is what makes this book so powerful. Okay, so in this world of ours it is difficult to find people who are good at planning luck like Mr. McCormick And it is difficult to find people who do not believe in yet Understand luck in the eyes of ordinary people luck is always innate as long as they find someone They find that someone has attained success They will casually say with contempt that man's luck is so good it is luck that helped him this is where Rockefeller channels Napoleon such a person that says this stuff right clearly disagrees with it such a person can never have a peek into the truth that makes one successful everyone is a designer and architect of his own destiny that's what I believe in myself everyone is a designer and architect of his own destiny that's what I believe in myself everyone is a designer and architect of his own destiny that's what I believe in myself of course there's luck meaning chaos there's randomness in life of course but what I really think about when he says that he says luck is the remnant of design we create our own luck no action can eliminate it everyone is a designer and architect of his own destiny I want to go back to Napoleon from the mind of Napoleon episode 302 I know that book is very hard to get I just found somebody found it on a website and I think it was a Canadian version of Amazon they got it for like 26 bucks that's a steal I think in America the last time I looked it was like 800 bucks I've seen it for sale for a thousand dollars if you can get a copy of it because it's 300 pages of Napoleon speaking directly to you and so this is what my interpretation of Napoleon is if you do everything you will win and so this is what he says 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 that is the end of Napoleon back to Rockefeller if you want to make a difference you cannot wait for luck to patronize my credo is I do not live by God-given luck but I do so by planning luck I believe that a good plan will successfully affect luck my plan to turn competition into cooperation in the oil industry justified this.

Unlocking Success: Lessons from John D. Rockefeller

- The author received a message from a co-founder of ReadWise in 2019 and became a super user of the product, adding highlights and notes for over 300 books.
- The author realized that people were interested in accessing their ReadWise notes because it is a valuable notebook for founders.
- The author collaborated with ReadWise to create a product where people can subscribe to their notes and highlights, search by book or keyword, and access a highlights feed.
- The product, called Founders Notes, is currently available at a discounted price and is designed for committed founders.
- The author encourages founders to test it out and keep it open in their browser for daily use.
- The author shares a letter from John D. Rockefeller about competition and his tactics to defeat a rival.

- The piece discusses a book called "38 Letters from John D. Rockefeller to His Son" and the importance of reading it.
- The book contains unfiltered letters from Rockefeller to his son, revealing his mindset and motivations.
- Rockefeller emphasizes the importance of hard work and self-belief in achieving success.
- He acknowledges that parental status often determines the starting point in life, but also believes that destiny is determined by actions, not origins.
- The book explores Rockefeller's own journey from poverty to becoming the richest man in the world.
- Rockefeller's letters often reference his early life experiences and demonstrate his respect for excellence, even in defeated enemies.
- The book also mentions other influential figures of the time, such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, J.P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie.

- The video discusses a letter written by John D. Rockefeller Sr. to his son, John Jr.
- Rockefeller Sr. emphasizes the importance of struggle and unique skills gained from overcoming challenges.
- He warns his son about the potential pitfalls of being a privileged rich child and advises him to develop his own skills and work ethic.
- Rockefeller Sr. believes that the success of the family does not guarantee the success of future generations and cites the "shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in 3 generations" phenomenon.
- He encourages his son to take pride in what he builds rather than what he consumes.
- Rockefeller Sr. discusses the role of luck in success and believes that individuals can create their own luck through planning and action.
- The video also mentions the admiration Rockefeller Sr. had for Cyrus McCormick, who created his own luck through invention and business acumen.
- Rockefeller Sr. shares his own experiences, including becoming the largest oil refiner at a young age, and emphasizes the importance of planning luck.
- The video highlights the similarity between Rockefeller Sr.'s beliefs and those of Napoleon, who believed in taking advantage of every opportunity to increase one's chances of success.

- The author discusses his plan to turn competition into cooperation in the oil industry.
- He describes the devastating competition between oil refiners and falling oil prices.
- The author emphasizes the need to control the industry and establish a new order.
- He forms a joint stock company to attract investors and acquire refineries.
- The author strategically targets and acquires the strongest opponents first.
- The author describes the Cleveland massacre and his conquest of the oil refining industry.
- He believes in planning luck and emphasizes the importance of work and enjoying what you do.

- The author reflects on his experience working at a company and the lessons he learned about self-belief and having a positive mindset.
- He shares a story about three stonemasons and their different perspectives on their work, highlighting the importance of finding meaning and pride in one's job.
- The author emphasizes the importance of taking action and not getting stuck in continuous planning and deliberation.
- He discusses the fear and excuses that prevent people from taking action and encourages embracing fear and acting anyway.
- The author emphasizes the value of learning from what works and repeating successful actions.
- He warns against waiting for perfect conditions and encourages taking opportunities in the present.
- The author acknowledges that doubt and lack of confidence are normal, but emphasizes the importance of perseverance and learning from failures.
- He emphasizes the importance of taking action and the impact of one's actions in determining their abilities.
- The author discusses the power of habits, both good and bad, and encourages cultivating the habit of taking action and avoiding distractions.
- He concludes by reminding his son that life is a battle and success requires continuous action.

- The speaker discusses the lack of narrative structure in the piece and the exploration of different themes.
- The letter focuses on the importance of borrowing money early in one's career and overcoming the fear of failure.
- The speaker highlights how Rockefeller Sr. pursued a different course of action compared to his son, emphasizing the need to view debt as a tool for seizing opportunities.
- Honesty is discussed as a strategy for building trust and gaining support from others.
- The letter also emphasizes the importance of learning from failure and turning setbacks into opportunities.
- The speaker references Abraham Lincoln as an example of perseverance and the power of self-belief in achieving success.

- The author emphasizes the importance of self-confidence and belief in achieving success.
- They discuss the negative impact of self-doubt and how it can lead to insignificance.
- The author advises his son to always believe in himself and not sell himself short.
- They also talk about the prevalence of personal interests and the need to protect oneself in a competitive world.
- The author shares personal experiences of being deceived and the lessons learned from them.
- They highlight the importance of self-reliance and the need to be cautious in dealing with others.
- The author describes their ruthless competitive drive and the satisfaction of defeating opponents.
- They discuss a specific rivalry with Mr. Potts and the measures taken to overcome him.
- The author concludes by emphasizing the importance of seizing opportunities and the joy of victory.

- The author collaborated with ReadWise to create a product called Founders Notes, where people can subscribe to their notes and highlights.
- The book "38 Letters from John D. Rockefeller to His Son" explores Rockefeller's journey to success and his mindset.
- Rockefeller emphasizes the importance of hard work, self-belief, and taking advantage of opportunities.
- The author discusses their plan to turn competition into cooperation in the oil industry and the importance of taking action.
- The letter from Rockefeller Sr. to his son emphasizes the importance of struggle, developing skills, and creating one's own luck.
- The author shares personal experiences and lessons learned about self-confidence, learning from failure, and protecting oneself in a competitive world.

- Rockefeller sets up the US Transportation Company to counter his opponent
- He strategically weakens Pennsylvania Railroad Company, his opponent's subsidiary
- Angry workers burn tankers and locomotives, causing financial problems for Pennsylvania Railroad Company
- Rockefeller admires his opponent's courage but ultimately defeats him
- Rockefeller believes excuses are for losers and emphasizes the importance of enthusiasm and self-belief
- He advises a young man to believe in himself as his greatest asset in pursuing success.

- Rockefeller writes a letter to his son about Henry Ford's visit and emphasizes the importance of ambition and self-belief in achieving great things.
- He explains that wealth is directly proportional to one's goals and recounts his own ambition to become the richest person in the world, which drove his success in the oil industry.
- Rockefeller reflects on a decisive moment in his life when he decided to break up with his partner, Mr. Clark, in order to pursue his own success.
- He describes the excitement and significance of an auction where he bid for his own company, ultimately winning and gaining freedom and a glorious future.
- Rockefeller emphasizes the importance of self-belief, cooperation, patience, and self-control in achieving success.

- The video discusses the traits and leadership style of John D. Rockefeller
- Rockefeller had self-control and discipline, which made him a successful leader
- He was ruthless in business but loved by his employees and family
- Rockefeller believed in continuous success and not letting success make one complacent
- He emphasized the importance of listening as a leader and creating an environment where people feel comfortable speaking up
- Rockefeller believed in matching people's enthusiasm with their work and valuing and respecting employees
- The video also mentions a story told to Rockefeller by Carl Jung about the importance of having a positive mindset.

- John's neighbor comments on the terrible water, but John remains optimistic
- John's chicken coop is washed away, but he is happy because he now raises ducks
- The neighbor mentions the ruined crops, but John sees it as a solution to his land needing more water
- The neighbor warns about rising water levels, but John sees it as an opportunity to clean his dirty windows
- The video also recommends buying a book and provides a list of episodes from the podcast.

- Rockefeller sets up the US Transportation Company to counter his opponent, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
- He strategically weakens the Pennsylvania Railroad Company by causing financial problems through angry workers burning tankers and locomotives.
- Rockefeller defeats his opponent and admires his courage.
- Rockefeller emphasizes the importance of enthusiasm and self-belief, advising a young man to believe in himself as his greatest asset in pursuing success.
- He writes a letter to his son about Henry Ford's visit, highlighting the importance of ambition and self-belief in achieving great things.
- Rockefeller reflects on his ambition to become the richest person in the world, which drove his success in the oil industry.
- He recounts a decisive moment in his life when he broke up with his partner to pursue his own success.
- Rockefeller describes the excitement and significance of an auction where he bid for his own company, ultimately gaining freedom and a glorious future.
- He emphasizes the importance of self-belief, cooperation, patience, and self-control in achieving success.
- The video discusses Rockefeller's traits and leadership style, including self-control, discipline, and the importance of listening and valuing employees.
- Rockefeller believed in continuous success and not becoming complacent.
- The video also mentions a story told to Rockefeller by Carl Jung about the importance of having a positive mindset.
- The video recommends buying a book and provides a list of podcast episodes.

What I learned from reading The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son by John D. Rockefeller. 

All the way back in 2019, I received a message that changed the direction of this podcast forever.

It was from Tristan, who is 1 of the co-founders of ReadWise.

And he told me about the ReadWise product.

I had no idea that I would become a super user of his product.

And so over the years, I've added my highlights and notes for over 300 books.

I have over 20,000 highlights and notes for the books that I've read for the podcast.

And because I can search every single thing I've ever done, I use Readwise every day.

The tab on Readwise is always open because as I'm reading, as I'm thinking, as I'm researching, I'm constantly going in and rereading all my notes and highlights.

And you might already know this because every other podcast I go on, I talk about Readwise.

I tweet about it, I post about it constantly.

I've been saying for years, it is the best app that I pay for.

And because I go around shouting about how great it is from the mountaintops, I get a bunch of messages.

Nearly every day, people have asked me, hey, is there a possibility that I can actually get access to your Readwise?

And this happened so much for so long, and I thought it was like a superpower of mine.

And then I started thinking, well, why does everybody want this?

And I thought about it, it's like, well, if you think about this, it's like, has anybody else in the world read this many biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs, obsessively taken notes on it, obsessively highlighted it?

And I was like, oh, they want access because it's the world's most valuable notebook for founders.

And I think people understood that instinctively.

In fact, there's a line in Poor Charlie's Almanac that said that there's answers worth billions of dollars in a $30 history book.

And I think that's the case for my notebook as well.

So a few months ago, I went to the founders of Readwise, Tristan and Daniel, and I asked, hey, is there a way we can build a product together that actually mirrors what I see?

I want a way for people that want to subscribe to my notes and highlights to see exactly what I see.

They can search by book, they can search by keyword, they can get access to the highlights feed, which is essentially what I call smart Twitter feed.

It is a feed of short little highlights and notes from all different books on 1 page.

And I also wanted people to see all the highlights that I've actually favorited.

So, so far I've favorited 839 highlights.

And so that's exactly what we built together.

I will also leave the link down below in the show notes.

And because this is brand new, it's actually half the price of what it's eventually going to be.

You just go to foundersnotes.com, sign up and subscribe, and then you get immediate access.

And it's important to note that I made this for founders already running successful companies.

I think that's who's going to get the most value out of it.

Those are also usually the most committed people.

It is only made for the already committed.

And these kind of founders, and I include myself in there, they just want the best way to reference the thoughts and ideas of history's greatest founders and then they'll figure out how to apply what they're learning directly to their company.

So if this is you, I encourage you to test it out for a year.

You'll have access to the world's most valuable notebook for founders.

And I think the value you'll receive because the value I've gotten out of it has been incredible.

And I think that'll be the same case for you.

If you wind up subscribing, make sure you keep it, once you're in, make sure you just keep it in your browser.

I'm referencing it dozens of times a day.

It is a product I can get behind fully because I use it every day.

So if this sounds interesting to you, and you wanna get access, go to foundersnotes.com.

Benson is an old rival and 1 of my few admired opponents.

I am deeply impressed by his outstanding talent and his tenacious will.

To this day I still remember the joke that he made with me after our alliance.

Rockefeller, you are a brilliant predator who is not soft.

Losing to those bad guys would have made me very sad because it was like a robbery.

But playing against people like you, whether I win or lose, makes me happy.

Benson, if you can replace the word predator with the word conqueror, I think I will gladly accept your compliment.

I admire the warriors who are still fighting bravely against their enemy.

Before Benson became my enemy, I had just defeated the nation's largest railroad company, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and successfully subdued the nation's fourth and last railroad company, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

Just like that, together with my most loyal allies, the Erie Railroad and the New York Central Railroad, the 4 major railway companies in the United States have all become tools for me to tame.

I am 27 pages into the book at this point.

And when I got to that sentence, the 4 major railway companies in the United States have all become tools for me to tame.

And when I got to that sentence, the 4 major railway companies in the United States have all become tools for me to tame, I wrote a note to myself.

If Napoleon or Alexander the Great had been in business, they would be like this.

At the same time, Standard Oil's pipelines extended bit by bit into the oil field, giving me absolute control over all major pipelines connecting oil wells and railroad track lines.

Frankly speaking, at that time, my influence had been extended to all the 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.

But some people did ignore my authority, such as Mr.

Benson was an ambitious businessman who wanted to lay an oil pipeline to save the independent oil producers who were afraid of being crushed by me.

The idea of making a fortune dominated him to bravely break into my territory.

His oil pipeline was laid forward at an alarming rate from the beginning.

John, any competition is not an easy game, but a game full of vitality requires close attention and constant decision making.

Otherwise you will lose if you're not careful.

Benson is creating trouble and I have to stop him." Now, keep in mind, Rockefeller is writing this letter to his adult son.

He did not think that this letter was ever going to be published.

And so he's going to describe over the next few pages his attack on Mr.

And when Rockefeller attacks you, it is always, always a multi-pronged attack.

So he says, at first I brought a long and narrow land along the Pennsylvania state border from north to south at a high price in an attempt to prevent Benson from moving forward.

But Benson took a detour approach and avoided my heavy punch.

Then I used the power of my allies and asked the railway companies to never let any oil pipelines cross their railways.

Benson did the same and successfully broke through again.

Finally, I wanted to use the power of the government to stop Benson, but this was without success.

By this time, I know that I have encountered a tough enemy to conquer, but he cannot shake my determination to compete, because the 110-mile pipeline is my biggest threat.

If I let the crude oil flow there unimpeded, they will also acquire the supply line to New York.

Then Benson will replace me as the owner of the New York oil refining industry.

I can't let Benson come here and destroy the market that I built with my efforts.

As far as my nature is concerned, I do not meet competition.

I launched another series of offensives that made it difficult for him to parry.

I sent someone to place a large amount of orders to the storage tank producers, asking them to ensure production and delivery on time so that they have no capacity to take other customers including Benson.

At the same time I drastically reduced the price of pipeline transportation and I attracted a large amount of oil refiners who relied on Benson to transport crude oil and converted them from his customers to our customers.

I then quickly acquired several refineries in New York to prevent them from becoming a customer of Benson's.

An excellent commander will try his best to destroy the bunker that is strong enough to destroy the city.

Every round of my attack hit places where Mr.

Benson had no fuel, and I became the winner.

He was well aware that if he continued to fight against me, he will only lose even more.

John, every crucial competition is a battle that determines fate.

In this world, competition will not stop for a moment, and we have no time to rest.

All we can do is bring a steel-like determination to face all kinds of challenges and competitions.

To win the competition, it is more important that you stay alert.

At this point in time, you need to know that kindness and tenderness may hurt you.

Crutches cannot replace strong and powerful feet.

We must stand on our own feet and rely on ourselves.

You should work hard to hone, strengthen, and develop your feet and let them exert their power.

Benson, who is now in heaven, will agree with me.

Love, your father." Okay, so that excerpt was from letter number 5.

The book I'm going to talk to you about today is the 38 letters from John D.

Before I jump right into this book, because we have a lot to talk about, I'm going to highly encourage you to buy the book.

I've already bought 4 copies of the book.

This is the first book ever where I read it.

I spent an entire week reading it and then decided to take another week rereading it.

And the reason I think this book is so important is because I even when you read Rockefeller's autobiography, right, he knew that book was going to be published.

He is in this book, he is writing 38 letters to his son over 30 years.

He did not, he's not writing this for publication.

And so as you see his unfiltered words that he's writing to his adult son, it becomes immediately apparent, oh my God, he knew what he was, a conqueror through and through, 1 that will not rest until he is completely unopposed.

This is the interesting thing about the book.

The letters are not actually in order by the year they're written.

And so in some cases, Rockefeller is maybe 58 years old and his son is 23.

In 1 case, Rockefeller writes a letter when he's 96 years old.

And so keep in mind in this letter he's 58 years old, he's writing to his 23 year old son.

And he starts the letter, Dear John, you hope that I can sail with you forever, and This sounds great, but I am not your eternal captain.

God created feet for us to let us walk on our own.

The founding belief of the United States of America is that all human beings are created equal, but this equality is only present in the context of rights and laws.

It has nothing to do with economic and cultural advantages.

When your parents live on the peak of the mountain, you are destined to not live at the foot of the mountain.

Likewise, when your parents live at the foot of the mountain, you are destined to not live on the peak of the mountain.

In most cases, the status of parents will determine the starting point of their child's life.

So I want to take, there's 2 things to think about in that sentence, right?

I think that's why you and I are working unbelievably hard, why we're constantly learning, why we're constantly trying to build businesses and add value to other people's lives to make our own children's lives better, right?

But this is another kind of crazy thing that he's saying because he's talking about how the world is, right?

And yet that last line was not true for his own life.

His huge driver, which he'll talk about a lot in these letters, is the fact that he was a poor boy, the fact that his father was a bigamist, he won't ever say that word.

The fact that there was a lot of insecurity around, like his dad would drop them off.

And so you have like an 8 and 9 year old Rockefeller running around, right?

This guy's got unbelievable self-confidence.

And I need to tell you that right up front.

If you want to say, hey, what does he repeat the most over these 38 letters?

It is for his son to have relentless self-belief, to believe that he can achieve great things.

That is the thing that Rockefeller repeats the most.

I don't know if I'll get to it, but there's a story that he actually gets to go to school and he's in like tattered clothes and they're having a picture taking.

And at the time, like that's a very expensive endeavor.

And the story sounds almost fake when you hear about it.

Maybe he's making it up to provide motivation for himself.

But he talks about the fact that he was asked, because he was in tattered clothes and mostly the kids were dressed well, he was asked by the photographer to get out of the picture, as to not ruin it to other people, and saying, hey, that motivated me.

But this idea is running around 8, 9 years old, saying I'm gonna be the richest man in the world 1 day.

And that part, he's definitely not making up, because there's a bunch of people that are interviewed in other biographies that grew up with Rockefeller that report him saying that to them over and over again.

Most cases, the status of parents will determine the starting point of their child's life.

I think for most people, I think they understand that it's true, that's why we're again pushing and we're trying to create a better life for our kids.

The only truth is that as long as you work hard enough, you will succeed.

He's got a lot of great lines in the book.

I firmly believe that our destiny is determined by our actions and not by our origins.

So it's almost like he's contradicting himself too.

The paragraph above, he says, hey, in most cases, the status of parents will determine the starting point of their child's life.

The end of the next paragraph is, well, our destiny is actually determined by our actions, not by our origins.

And so throughout this entire book he's going to—this is what makes it so fascinating, because he's already on the other side of, you know, he's the richest person in the world.

Yet his letters are constantly peppered with stories of his young life, whether he was a little boy or the first job he gets, his first business, the first time he starts working in the oil industry.

This really is a remarkable, remarkable book.

So he says, as you know, when I was young, my family was very poor.

I remember that the books I read when I was in high school were brought to us by our kind neighbors.

In the beginning of my career as a bookkeeper, I was only earning a weekly salary of $5, but it was through unremitting efforts, unremitting efforts that have enabled me to establish an enviable oil kingdom, okay?

Conqueror, kingdom, everybody's under my control.

He was in commerce, but is undoubtedly the same personality type.

And he's going to mention these people over and over again.

This is my reward for my perseverance and hard work from the gods of destiny.

Another thing to point out too, he uses present tense.

The events, the war that happened a long time ago happened a long time ago.

And he's talking about it in present tense.

I don't know if it's just because he's not good at grammar, I don't know if there's something going on there, but I will make a point to you, though, that it was fascinating.

I remember reading back on episode 232, I read this biography of Alexander the Great, and something that Rockefeller had in common with Alexander the Great is they would, when they would come across a formidable enemy, right, even after they defeated the enemy, if they thought that enemy was formidable and had talents, they would utilize them inside their organization.

And so there is, there's a story that happens in Alexander the Great's biography that's fantastic.

And there's this guy named Porus, and he was an Indian, an ancient Indian king.

He was alive around like 320 BC, something like that, right?

And so after he loses, Alexander goes into a battle.

Alexander's already world famous at this point, and they go into war, but Porus survives.

And so Alexander is actually talking to Porus.

I'm gonna read you this interaction with them from Alexander the Great's biography.

And I remember thinking, like, this is remarkable.

Like, look how Alexander treats and respects genuine excellence, even in a defeated enemy.

And this is something that Rockefeller has in common.

So Alexander asked Porus, he's like, what folly forced you, knowing as you did the fame of my achievements, meaning that I'm conquering everybody around you.

And this is what Porus said, and this goes back to, I think, the relentless self-belief that a lot of entrepreneurs, or really anybody that does something great, has.

And he says, since you asked, I shall answer you with the frankness, I did not think there was anyone stronger than I.

Though I knew my own strength, I had not yet tested yours.

And now the outcome of this war has shown you to be the stronger.

And so then Alexander is continuing this conversation, he asks him, like, what should I do with you?

Now that, like, I am the victor, you are the defeated person, what would you do if you were in my shoes?

The day on which you have discovered how transitory good fortune is, meaning before this battle I stood in a very similar position that you were in.

And yet in a day that is all gone, my good fortune is gone.

And what Alexander noticed, it says his greatness of spirit was not cowed or broken even in adversity, and he felt obliged to treat him not only with mercy, but with respect.

And so Alexander not only did not kill him, but he actually put him to work.

He reinstated him and granted him dominion over the lands that they just fought over as just subordinate to Alexander.

That's exactly what, Rockefeller does that over and over.

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