Building an Exceptional Library by Jim Rohn
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Below is an exclusive excerpt from the Sound Wisdom edition of The Art of Exceptional Living, available for purchase on August 16, 2022. Preorder it now from all major retailers.
Having a good library will change your life. I would venture to say that every home worth more than $500,000 has a library. Why do you suppose that is? Wouldn’t that make you curious? Why would every expensive home have a library? Makes a person wonder, right?
You may think, Well, I can’t afford a $500,000 home. It doesn’t matter what size home you have or what it’s worth. In your present home or apartment, clean out a closet and call it your library. Start the process, like I did. Start building a library that will increase your knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence.
The books in your library will reveal that you’re a serious student of health and life, spirituality, culture, uniqueness, sophistication, economics, prosperity, productivity, sales, management, skills—values and characteristics of all kinds.
My mentor Earl Shoaff helped me start my library. One of the first books he recommended was Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.
He said to me, “Think and Grow Rich, doesn’t that title intrigue you? Don’t you have to read that book?”
I said, “Yes, sir.” I found the book in a used bookstore; that’s where I had to start, in a used bookstore. I paid less than 50 cents for it and I still have it. It’s now one of the rare, hardback editions of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Wow! Shoaff was right.
There are several key categories to have in your library that will nourish you in the most exceptional ways. These are the different courses—your mental food or food for thought—comprising your total healthy reading plan. It is so very important to nourish the mind—not just the body, but also the mind. Key phrase. The books in your library need to be well balanced. You can’t live on mental candy. Some may say, “Well, I just read books with positive content.” That’s too second grade. You have to promote yourself out of second grade. You can’t just be inspired, you have to be taught, you have to be educated.
To read more, pick up a copy of Jim Rohn’s The Art of Exceptional Living, now available for preorder from Sound Wisdom. For more than 40 years, Rohn honed his craft like a skilled artist—helping people the world over sculpt life strategies that expanded their imagination of what is possible. Those who had the privilege of hearing him speak can attest to the elegance and common sense of his material. It is no coincidence, then, that he is still widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of our time, and thought of by many as a national treasure. He authored countless books and audio and video programs, and helped motivate and shape an entire generation of personal-development trainers and hundreds of executives from America's top corporations.