Og Mandino’s The Greatest Salesman in the World is a two part book designed to teach success skills to teach perseverance, courage, good habits, keys to productivity, and simplification thru repetitive reinforcement of the 10 ancient scrolls of Egypt.
“The Greatest Salesman in the World” by Og Mandino was written in 1968. The story is as fresh and meaningful now as the day it was written. The book is a two part read. One part is told as a story serving as a parable and the second half is the 10 Ancient Scrolls of Egypt.
Part One: The Parable Lesson
Part One is a parable about a young man looking to become successful as a salesman in the times of Christ in the Middle East. The second part of the book explores the relationship between the boy, Hafid and the successful leader of the merchant caravan, Pathros. Hafid’s recounts how he became successful because of the Ancient Scrolls and the journey to find enlightenment is told is the final days of his life to a trusted confidant and the new guardian of the Scrolls.
Part Two: The Ancient Scrolls of Egypt
Each scroll is an independent idea teaching success through frugality, good habits, productivity, simplification, empathy, perseverance, courage, truth and modesty. Each scroll has to be read three times per day with the last time being said aloud I is advised that doing this with the each accompanying daily meal time. Each scroll should be read for a 30 day period before advancing to the next, so to cycle the entire ten scrolls, it will take ten months. Each scroll builds upon the last adding another level to the layer of enlightenment.
What about the aspect of salesmanship in the title
I read many reviews of this book and I laugh quite hard when I read the synopsis on Wikipedia, “The Greatest Salesman in the World” is a book, written by Og Mandino, that serves as a guide to a philosophy of salesmanship.” That little snippet summarizing the page on Google is such nonsense. It is written obviously by someone that didn’t spend ten months or ten minutes reading the book. The term, “Salesman” is a metaphor. It is not to be taken literally and has nothing to do with salesmanship or being the greatest Salesman except for Hafid trying to sell his merchant goods.
It’s a self-help book
The book is meant to try and change a person’s idea of themselves through repetition and reinforcement. I would love to brag that I spent the full ten months reading the book as the author says to do it. But that would be untrue. I did read the book twice in fact and I did attempt once to do the “read 3x a day” but life gets in the way and to be honest, I am not by nature a true three meals a day guy. But I will guarantee you this, try and follow Og Mandino’s steps and you will not forget about the difference between having a mindset of an olive tree as opposed to an onion. Your thoughts regarding yourself and your environment will change, therefore your actions naturally will evolve with your thinking. So, this is a great way to try and change your mindset. It is a great gift for yourself, co-worker or a loved one. It is an extremely short read so there isn’t a lot of investment in time if you decide to read straight thru it. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I have.
Sources: The Greatest Salesman in the World, Good Reads, Zen Habits, NZ Wealth Mentor
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