Biographies and thoughts of rich people. Biographies of the richest and most successful people in the world - success stories, photos, quotes and sayings

Pavel Valerievich Durov (born October 10, 1984, Leningrad) is a Russian programmer, one of the creators of the VKontakte social network (among other co-authors of the resource are his brother, Nikolai Durov).

Winner of scholarships of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, three-time winner of the Vladimir Potanin scholarship, winner of olympiads in linguistics, computer science and design.

In October 2011, Pavel Durov was noted by Forbes magazine as one of the 9 most unusual Russian businessmen - crazy people, eccentrics and eccentrics.

1. Do what you like. Learn. Learn. Develop. Change yourself from within. Golden Rule says - do what gives real pleasure, and then you will become much happier.

2. Give up the garbage you eat, drink and smoke every day.

3. Learn foreign languages. There are 60 million Russian-speaking Internet users. English speakers - a billion. Knowledge of English is no longer just a whim of intellectuals, but a vital necessity.

4. Read books. The golden rule is to read/listen to at least one book a week. That's 50 books a year that will change your life.

5. Make the most of every weekend.

6. Set goals, fix them on paper, in Word or blog. The main thing is that they be clear, understandable and measurable. If you set a goal, you can either achieve it or not. If you do not put, then there are no options for achieving at all.

7. Learn to type blindly. Time is one of the few treasures you have, and you should be able to type almost as fast as you can think. And you should not think about where the desired letter is, but about what you write.

8. Ride time. Learn to manage your affairs so that they work almost without your participation. For starters, read Allen (Getting Things Done) or Gleb Arkhangelsky. Make decisions quickly, act immediately, do not delay. All things either do or delegate to someone.

9. Give up computer games, aimlessly sitting on social networks and stupidly surfing the Internet. Minimize communication in social networks, leave one account. Destroy the TV antenna in the apartment.

11. Learn to get up early. The paradox is that in the early hours you always have more time than in the evening. A person needs 7 hours of sleep, subject to high-quality physical activity and normal nutrition.

12. Try to surround yourself with decent, honest, open, intelligent and successful people.

13. Go in for sports. Yoga, rock climbing, biking, horizontal bars, parallel bars, football, running, plyometrics, swimming, functional training are the best friends of a person who wants to restore tone to the body and get a surge of endorphins. And forget about the elevator.

14. Do unusual things. Go somewhere you've never been before, take a different route to work, sort out a problem you don't know anything about. Get out of your "comfort zone", expand your knowledge and horizons. Rearrange furniture at home, change appearance, hairstyle, image.

15. Get rid of junk.

16. Forget about what happened in the past. Take with you from there only experience, knowledge, good relations and positive impressions.

17. Do not be afraid. There are no insurmountable obstacles, and all doubts live only in your head. You don't have to be a warrior, you just need to see the goal, avoid obstacles and know that you will achieve it without a single chance to experience failure.

Warren Buffett is the most famous and richest investor in the world. According to Forbes, he ranks second in the list of world's billionaires - after Bill Gates. Warren Buffett's net worth is estimated at $46000000000. Bogush Time has published 10 Warren Buffett tips for investing.

1. Investing is to invest today and get tomorrow more money. Warren Buffett has always maintained a rather modest lifestyle. Instead of living in expensive cottages and eating in restaurants, he invested every free penny in stocks. For 35 years, he managed to increase the initial amount of $ 100,000 by 200,000%.

2. Buy shares of companies whose products you personally like. At one time, Warren Buffett significantly increased his fortune by buying a 9 percent stake in the company that produced his favorite Gillette razor.

3. Don't invest in areas you don't understand. It is much more profitable to invest in a business that you can understand.

4. Don't be "shy" with losing stocks. If your forecast did not come true and instead of profit the company makes losses - sell the shares and do not waste your nerves.

5. Behind every stock that goes up, there is successful business. If the company is doing well and the income is growing - and the shares will grow.

6. Invest in international business.

7. There are winning stocks on the market and you need to find them. As a rule, some companies grow faster than others. From which follows the next, the eighth rule of Warren Buffett.

8. If you use calculations, you will definitely reach the top. But at least protect yourself from the biggest risks. Use analysis to stand out from the general crowd of uneducated investors. This way you will increase your income.

9. The main thing is the history of the company. Investors often make the same mistake - they try to assess the situation by "looking in the rear-view mirror", i.e. paying attention to a short period of time. On the other hand, Warren Buffett is sure that you need to see the whole history of the development of the company, and not a short fragment of it.

10. Don't rush or get nervous. "When I buy stocks, I don't care what happens to them the next day," says Buffett. "The main thing is that it's easy for me to predict what will happen to the market in the long term."

Billionaire Donald John Trump, whose fortune is estimated at $ 3 billion, gave ten tips to those who want to get rich. In Trump. How to get rich” real estate mogul gives aspiring entrepreneurs tips on how to make their first billion.

1. Always dress appropriately for your cultural level. I used to take pride in buying cheap suits and other clothes. It didn't make sense to pay thousands of dollars when you could buy things for $100. Who will know? But over the years, I realized that I was wrong. Now I buy very high quality shoes, and they seem to last forever, while the cheap ones, I remember, quickly wore out and looked exactly as much as I paid for them. Clothing says a lot about us even before we open our mouths.

2. Deliberately damage your reputation. Throw out carefully selected bits of information, express thoughtful provocative opinions to see what the reaction will be. By saying something unexpected, you can get a revealing response. I would make an outrageous remark in a meeting to see if the other participants agreed or resisted. This good way evaluate those with whom you sit at the table.

3. Become your own financial advisor. A lot of people hire financial advisors, but I've seen advisors bring people to ruin. When choosing an adviser, rely on your own judgments based on what you read on the business pages of respected publications. By reading them, you begin to get a feel for what's going on in the market, including which advisors are the best. Hold on to the winners.

4. Let's change! If you are pressured, respond in kind. If you are insulted, attack with all possible force and energy. An eye for an eye. Be distrustful. I know that in this case you do not look too good, but even best friend may encroach on your spouse or your money.

5. Don't neglect hairdressing. I am often criticized for the way I comb my hair. The New York Times called my hair “a complex construction that is best left to the judgment of architectural critics.” I think she looks good, but I never claimed that the hairstyle is my strongest point. However, it surprises me how often I get asked if I wear a wig. Answer: categorically no. I don't wear a wig.

6. Try to avoid handshakes. Some administrators believe in a firm handshake. I believe in no handshakes. Often I have to deal with the fact that a person who clearly has a cold comes up to me and says: "Mr. Trump, I want to shake your hand." Microbes are known to be transmitted in this way. There was a case when a person came out of the toilet, shaking off water from his still wet hands. He came up to my table and said, "Mr. Trump, you great person. May I shake your hand?" IN this case I decided to shake hands because I was in a hurry and I knew that if I shook his hand, I would not be able to finish the meal.

7. Follow your instincts. Entrepreneurship is not a group activity. You must trust yourself. You may have solid academic degrees, but without instincts, it will be difficult for you to climb up and stay there. This is one of those gray areas that remains a mystery even to those with sophisticated business instincts. There are subtle signs that can signal whether or not it is necessary to conclude this or that deal, to enter into contacts with certain people.

8. Stay optimistic, but be prepared for failure. There are ups and downs, but you can survive them if you are ready for them. Anticipating problems has saved me from wasting energy and will save you from unpleasant surprises. Ups and downs are inevitable. I am a very cautious person, but this does not mean that I am a pessimist. call it positive thinking with an eye to reality.

9. Pay attention to details. If you don't know every aspect of what you're doing, you're setting yourself up for unpleasant surprises. I once read about a respected neurosurgeon who was fanatically obsessed with the details and organization of an operation. He prepared for the upcoming operation by taking a morning jog. He mentally imagined all the details, remembered all that he knew, all the difficulties and complications that he might face. But you don't have to be a neurosurgeon to pay attention to details.

10. Make marriage contracts. If I had not made a marriage contract, this book would be written by a man who has lost a lot. It took a bus to bring Yvonne's lawyers to court, but luckily I had a prenuptial agreement. A friend who was about to get married for the fifth time said to me: "I'm so in love that I don't need a marriage contract." A year later, his marriage fell apart and he had to go through hell. He looked like a frightened puppy. I didn't have the courage to say the words on my tongue: you're a loser!

Steve Jobs is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. His success story has become a legend. Adopted in early childhood, who dropped out of college 6 months after starting school, slept on the floor in his friends' rooms, rented 5-cent cola bottles to eat - this man created Apple and the animation studio Pixar.

1. Do what you love. Find your true passion. The only way to accomplish something truly great is to love what you do.

2. Be different. Think differently. "Better to be a pirate than a sailor."

3. Do the best you can. In any case, strive for the best of what you could. Do not sleep! Success brings more success. Crave success! Hire cool people who are passionate about perfection.

4. Conduct a SWOT analysis. As soon as you have your own company, write down on a piece of paper a list of strengths and weaknesses theirs and their company. Don't hesitate to throw rotten apples out of the company.

5. Be adventurous. Set a new big goal each time. Among the many ideas, find those that need to be implemented quickly and decisively and ... jump with them into the window of new opportunities. Sometimes, the first step is the hardest. Just do it! And have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition.

6. Start small, think big. Don't think about many things at once. Start with a few simple ideas, and then get to more complex ones. Think beyond tomorrow but also about the future. “I want to shout to the whole world,” Steve Jobs once said.

7. Strive to be the market leader. Own leading technologies, control them in all areas of your activity. If a better technology exists, use it, even if no one is using it. Be the first to set industry standards.

8. Focus on the result. People judge you by your actions, so focus on the result. Be the measure of quality. Not all people are accustomed to the environment of the highest quality. Let them know. If they don't know about the quality, they won't buy the product. Pay attention to design. "We've made buttons so beautiful you'll want to lick them." "Design is not about the look or feel, but how it works."

9. Ask for advice. Ask advice from people from different areas. Everyone will give you one useful thought. If you are the main link, sometimes they will not give you honest answers, because they will be afraid. Then disguise yourself or collect feedback from other sources. Focus on those who will use your products, listen to consumers first.

10. Change. Innovation distinguishes the leader from the followers. Delegate. Let other leaders do 50% of the work routine, keep the other 50% for innovation. Say "no" to a thousand things so that you have the confidence not to slip into the wrong path and not waste your strength on too much. Focus on really important ideas and radical innovations. Hire those people who want to create the best things in the world. Even in a tech company, you need to create a culture of product-oriented people. Many companies have a lot of great engineers and smart people but in the end it takes a unifying force to bring everyone together.

11. Learn from your mistakes. Sometimes, when creating something new, you make mistakes. It is best to quickly recognize and eliminate them, improving your other developments.

12. Learn all the time. You can always learn "something else". Share your thoughts with other people inside and outside your company. Learn from consumers, competitors, partners. If your partner is with people you don't love, learn to love them, praise them and take advantage of it all. Learn to openly but honestly criticize your enemies.

83 rules for success from rich people

John Rockefeller (1839-1937) was an American entrepreneur and multimillionaire, a man whose name has become a symbol of wealth. ""

Rules of Wealth from John D. Rockefeller:

1. Work less for someone (manager, director) you need to work only for yourself. The more time you work not for yourself, the naturally worse you live

2. Know how to save money. Find where you can buy goods cheaper and in bulk. Make a shopping list ahead of time and buy what's on your list

3. If now you have little money, you need to do business. If you have no money at all, you need to do business urgently, not to postpone, but right now.

4. The road to the greatest wealth lies through one path - passive income! Income that comes to you on its own, it works on autopilot. Create many sources of passive income, enjoy life to your heart's content.

5. Think about how to earn $50,000 (fifty thousand dollars) a month. Only more. Can't be less. This figure is recommended by John Rockefeller for a reason, but the fact is that the richest people in the world spend no more than $ 50,000 every month.

6. Communicate more. Money comes into your pocket through other people. People who are unsociable rarely become rich.

7. A poor environment constantly pulls you into poverty. Even the richest people always have relatives, friends, and other beggars who, if you don't shove them, will quickly empty your pockets, goals, and your dreams. If you are still poor, then surely in your environment they simply do not like, do not respect, many even hate the rich. Always communicate only with Winners and Optimists.

8. Responsibility for your life - 100%. Poverty manifests itself when one shirks responsibility. Don't come up with any excuses why you can't start moving towards your goal right now.

9. Learn from the best. Study the biographies, actions, thinking of the rich people of the world.

10. Dreams are the most important thing in your Life. The main thing is to dream and believe that dreams will come true. A person begins to die when he stops dreaming or does not dream at all.

11. Help people. Not for something and not for money, but from pure heart. It is for those people whom you yourself want to help. And this is not necessarily yours or someone else's relatives or friends. Give 10% of profits to charity.

12. Create business systems, enjoy life, enjoy your earned money.

1. Many problems come from the mind. They are not the result of any events, failures, or the actions of other people. They arise because of our bad mental habits. Get rid of these 10 behaviors, and immediately get rid of the many problems that each of them causes:

2. Don't jump to conclusions. This habit can make life difficult in two ways. First, we assume we know what is going to happen, so we turn our attention away and start acting on that assumption. People are useless soothsayers. Most of their assumptions are wrong, and hence their actions are wrong. The second side of this habit is that we imagine that we can read minds, and as if we know why other people do, what they do, or what they think. Again wrong, and fundamentally wrong. It is this stupidity that destroys relationships like no other.

3. Don't be dramatic. Many make up deadly catastrophes out of petty misfortunes, and react accordingly. The habit of making an elephant out of a fly creates an anxiety that either does not exist or is so small that there is nothing to worry about. Why do they do it? Who knows? Maybe to look and feel more important. Either way, it's as stupid as it is pernicious.

4. Don't make up rules. A huge part of all these "shoulds" and "shoulds" that you run around with are probably useless. All they give you is nervousness and guilt. For what? By following these imaginary rules, you fill your brain with unnecessary obstacles and childish routines. And when you try to transfer these rules to others, you turn into an intimidating tedious whiner or self-confident fanatic.

5. Avoid stereotypes and labels. The words you use can set you up. The language of negativity and criticism breeds the same mindset. By trying to cram things into certain categories, you stop seeing their real meaning, thereby limiting your thinking to absolute uselessness. Look - what's there. Don't label. You will be surprised by what you see.

6. Don't be a perfectionist. Life is not only “black or white”, or “all or nothing”. In most cases, “enough” means just enough. If you look for the perfect job, you will most likely never find it. At the same time, all other works will seem worse to you than they really are. You will look for the perfect relationship, and you will probably spend your whole life alone. Perfectionism is a mental disease that will not let you enjoy, but will send you every time in search of what is not.

7. Don't generalize. One or two failures is not a sign of permanent failure. And an accidental triumph does not make you a genius. A single event - good or bad - or even two or three events is not always a sign of a lingering trend. As a rule, things are what they are and nothing more.

8. Don't take it to heart. Most people, even your friends and colleagues, don't talk, think, or care about you 99% of the time. The people from your organization, or those living in the neighborhood, have probably never even heard of you. Yes, actually, and does not want to hear. The ups and downs of life, the warmth and indifference of other people have nothing to do with you personally. If they pretend, it will only make you feel more miserable than necessary.

9. Do not trust emotions. How you feel is not always a true indicator of what is really happening. Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's true. Sometimes the source of emotions can be fatigue, hunger, irritation, or just a runny nose. Whether you feel good or bad, the future will not change. Feelings may be true, but they are not truth.

10. Do not give in to apathy. Practice being an optimist. If you expect bad things in life and at work, you will find them. A negative attitude is the same as looking at the world through distorting, dirty glasses. You will notice only flaws, not paying attention, or not noticing everything else. It's amazing how you can see something that isn't there if you just start looking. And of course, if you start looking for positive things, you will find them too.

11. Don't live in the past. This tip is the most important of all: forget it and move on with your life. Most of the anger, frustration, unhappiness, and despair in this world comes from people holding on to past hurts and problems. The more you scroll through them in your mind, the larger they will seem to you, and the worse you will feel. Don't fight adversity. Forget and move on. Do this, and thereby deprive him of the power to hurt you.

To begin with, we simply must set ourselves a specific goal - how much money we want to receive from our site. I will not tell you a big secret if I say that in this life no one has achieved something by accident. Any success is solely the result of the goal that each particular person has set for himself, and therefore, the more significant your goal is, the more success you will achieve.

But remember that "big goal" and "impossible" are two huge differences!

3. Preparation.

I have already said this more than once, but I will repeat it - any work on the site begins with the birth of an idea. And this is not just a desire that can be described with the words "I want a site, the same as that of ..." - here you substitute the desired option. best idea one that can be formulated as follows: "this has not happened yet, and I will be the first."

However, the originality of the idea is not yet a guarantee of a successful business. In addition to it, you should know the answer to one more question - "does your site need network users who have already seen everything that can be seen and who have billions of existing sites at their disposal."

I would advise any Internet project to start with approbation. There are two options here - you can immediately send it to the network to see the reaction of users to your product: is it visited, needed and interesting? Or, having launched its test version, invite independent experts to evaluate it. Not your friends and relatives, who will evaluate your site solely on how they treat you, but people who do not know you, and therefore will be able to evaluate your work objectively.

In any case, in 2-3 months you will receive results that will allow you to judge the commercial prospects of the entire future project.

5. Attachments.

Without money, alas, no serious Internet business is possible. Even if it seems to you that you are a good programmer or copywriter, or photographer, or master of promotion, you still cannot cover everything. Therefore, initially determine the amount that you can invest in your site. Moreover, the best attitude to this money will not be as an investment, but as funds that you will lose with a 99% probability.

Accept the loss in advance, because only this will allow you to remain free both in decision-making and in creativity.

7. Requirements for design and content.

8. "Who's around?"

9. The position of your site in the network.

When they enter the network, and, having typed in the name of their product (service), they see that your site is higher than the site of their company, they simply cannot help but pay attention to you. What is needed for this? Work hard and hard to make the site interesting for those who will become potential clients of your employers. That's why I want to say to all of you: if you do not feel the strength in yourself to create a site of the first magnitude, then initially give up trying to make money on it, as if you were wasting your time.

And besides, the site is your brainchild, the result of months of hard work and sleepless nights, and no manager will ever worry about it the way you do.

12. Or just know how to wait.

After all, in the end, the main thing in the success of any Internet project is not the actions that you take around it, but how you make the project itself. After all, it is he himself - his quality consisting of many components - that determines the profit he brings.

Rockefeller's name has become a symbol of wealth.

John Rockefeller was the second child of six children.

He recalled that from an early age his father told him about the enterprises in which he participated, explained the principles of doing business.

Rockefeller wrote of his father: “He often bargained with me and bought various services from me. He taught me how to buy and sell. My father just “trained” me to get rich!”

When John was seven years old, he began to raise turkeys for sale, worked part-time digging potatoes for neighbors.

All results commercial activities he recorded in his little book. He invested all the money he earned in a porcelain piggy bank, and already at the age of 13 he lent $ 50 to a farmer friend at the rate of 7.5% per annum.

His father's upbringing was continued by his mother, from whom he learned hard work and discipline. Since the family was large, and her father's enterprises did not always end well, she often had to save money.

At 13, John went to school in Richford. In his autobiography, he wrote that it was difficult for him to study and he had to study hard to complete the lessons.

Because John Rockefeller was one of the eldest children in the family, at the age of 16 he went to look for work.

This goes on six days a week for six weeks. Finding a job was difficult, but Rockefeller did not want to return to the farm. With great difficulty, he got the position of assistant accountant, and this was a turning point in his life, because he entered the world of business and became part of it.

He was quickly able to establish himself as a competent professional, and as soon as the company's accountant left his post, Rockefeller was immediately appointed in his place. At the same time, the salary was set at $ 600 dollars, while his predecessor received $ 2,000, because of this, Rockefeller left the company, and this was his only hired job in his biography.

Rockefeller was only 19 years old, but he already had some start-up capital earned over 3 years of work. In addition, he borrowed some money from his father. This was done in order to organize a small business selling flour, grain, pork and other products.

His business successfully developed and prospered, and at some point John Rockefeller thought about investing in the real sector of the economy. And then he faced the question of finding an effective investment object.

One late evening, he was walking down the street and noticed that lights were on in every house - people lit kerosene lamps. "So what?" Any other person would say.

After all, what was oil at that time? It was something new that was used to make industrial kerosene. Gasoline was not even mentioned.

But Rockefeller understood: the world does not stand still, cities are growing and the need for lighting is also, so the oil from which kerosene is produced will soon become the main commodity that will be valued no less than gold.

John Rockefeller became systematically invest into oil, and this tactic was successful: he caught a good macroeconomic trend, because "black gold" has become one of the most needed commodities.

His company Standard Oil was established in 1870.

At the beginning of his career, the future billionaire noticed that the entire oil business was some kind of chaotic machine. He understood that only by putting things in order in his work, it would be possible to think about some kind of commercial success.

The business began to generate income, and Rockefeller began to gradually buy up other oil firms one at a time, small enterprises that were not very expensive.

Already by 1880, thanks to numerous small and medium-sized mergers, 95% of America's oil production was in the hands of Rockefeller.

The Rockefeller children were to inherit a huge fortune and that was a big responsibility.

Rockefeller knew that God's gift should not be thrown to the wind, and he did his best to teach children to work, modesty and unpretentiousness.

John Rockefeller Jr. later said that as a child, money seemed to him a mysterious substance: “They were omnipresent and invisible. We knew that there was a lot of money, but we also knew that it was not available.” For someone who was dressed in girls' dresses until the age of eight (the Rockefellers wore old things one after another, and they did not have a second boy), the future billionaire put it extremely mildly.

John Rockefeller Sr. created a model of a market economy at home: he appointed his daughter Laura as "general manager" and told the children to keep detailed ledgers.

Each child received two cents for killing a fly, ten cents for sharpening one pencil, and five cents for an hour of music lessons.

A day of abstaining from sweets cost two cents, each subsequent day was estimated at ten cents. Each of the children had their own vegetable garden—ten weeds pulled out were worth one penny.

Rockefeller Jr. earned fifteen cents an hour for chopping wood, one of the daughters received money for going around the house in the evenings and turning out the lights.

Little Rockefellers were fined one cent for being late for breakfast, they got one piece of cheese a day, and on Sundays they were not allowed to read anything but the Bible.

The wife was in no way inferior to her husband: the generous Rockefeller was about to buy a bicycle for the children, but she said that extra bicycles were not needed in the house: “Having one bicycle for four, they will learn to share with each other ...”

The results of such upbringing were rather contradictory.

John Rockefeller was one of the greatest philanthropists in American history.

All his life he will pay the church tithe - 10% of his monthly income.

In addition, he will build the University of Chicago, Spelman College, Rockefeller University, Museum Contemporary Art, monasteries and Rockefeller Foundation, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.

In 1917, John Rockefeller will hand over all his affairs to his eldest son. And 20 years later, the oil tycoon will die.

And his charitable foundation still exists, bringing benefits to people.

Now listen to the story of one slave.

His name was Telyumzhin, he was an illiterate man.

There was nothing on his resource bowl. On the second bowl - huge, powerful states: China, India, Iran and many others, smaller.

By that time, China had not only an innumerable human resource, but paper, gunpowder had already been invented, the Great Wall of China had already been built.

On the side of Iraq, Iran - an army of 250 thousand people and the richest financial resources.

Imagine this historical scale: on the one hand, gigantic territories, advanced science, troops and wealth, on the other, one illiterate beggar.

Not even a state, not a principality, because the Mongols at that time lived in uluses, families, tribal communities, but only one person. His father headed the family, but the neighbors ruined his ulus, killed his father, and sold him into slavery.

The first thing he did was to escape from slavery and gain freedom.

Returning to his native land, he gathered in his own ulus relatives scattered throughout the steppe. The struggle between the uluses reached its climax by that time. The Mongols killed each other and therefore were easy prey for the invaders.

The former slave set a goal - to unite the uluses and stop the massacre.

As a result of a fierce struggle, Telyumzhin managed to unite Mongolian families. By the time he was proclaimed the head of all the uluses at the big Khural, he was already 51 years old.

From this moment begins the history of the great khan - Genghis Khan.

Over the next 35 years, he captured half the world.

Every country he went to fell. They could not oppose this man neither their troops, nor inventions, nor wealth.

An illiterate slave became the ruler of Eurasia. But what is even more amazing is that he created an empire that lasted for centuries.

He created one of the most perfect systems of tax collection, the most perfect system of roads for his time, an uninterrupted post office, a system of law and order - robbery and violence were stopped within this great empire.

In practice, he created a new economic space, which gave impetus to the rapid development of the conquered lands.

According to the code of laws created by Genghis Khan, his descendants ruled these endless territories for centuries.

What did the illiterate slave manage to create?

An empire that lasted for centuries after his death.

Luck, on closer inspection, is the result of hard work and careful preparation.
Bodo Schaefer

- this is a man who made many brilliant discoveries, the most famous of which is an electric light bulb.

In addition, he created the General Electric Company, a business empire worth several hundred billion dollars.

When this outstanding scientist and businessman was a little boy, he, like all of us, went to school, but studied there for only 2.5 months.

After that, the principal of the school called his mother and said: “Your son is mediocre! He is a dumbass and can't study with normal kids! Get him out of school!"

To which this great woman replied: “My son is the most brilliant child in the world! Idiots and stupid - it's you!"

Little Thomas really lagged behind his peers, and school program he was not given, but his mother, with her attitude, in her own words, gave him such a powerful impetus in development that she changed his future. She made his future Great!

Today, without electric light, we simply cannot imagine our life.

But, habitually pressing the switch, few people think about the history of this invention.

To create an electric light bulb, Thomas Edison did more than ten thousand (!) Experiments.

All his colleagues have long lost faith in the possibility of creating a working model.

Edison said, "Yes. Every failure we endure is the only path to truth. Every failure brings us closer to the right decision. Each time we learn that this path will not lead to success, but immediately choose new way and do a new experiment.

Only for the 1016th time thomas edison light bulb caught fire and changed the course of our civilization.

An everlasting monument to perseverance and the right attitude to failure.

As that first electric light flickered on his lab bench, Edison was already seeing “huge cities illuminated by substations, a complex system of machines and wires carrying light to city streets, shops, offices, and homes.”

It seemed to many a wild dream, but he lived to see the day when his dream came true.

Two young guys organized a small pizzeria near the University of Michigan.

They didn't have the money to set up a restaurant with seating, so they used an old Volkswagen to deliver pizza to the dorms.

They came up with a brilliant idea: a pizza delivery business.

But at the start, the business did not flourish, so the partners sat down to discuss the current situation. It seemed that the business could never feed two.

Therefore, one of the partners said: “I am leaving and leaving you my half of the enterprise. But I want to get a Volkswagen.”

(Tom Monaghan), second partner, agreed to the deal. He didn't want to quit the business he started.

Thus the company was born Domino's Pizza».

Continuing to develop the enterprise, he created a network, which now costs about 1 billion dollars.

The second partner received a heavily used Volkswagen.

Monaghan created the world's largest pizza delivery firm based on the principles of simplicity and efficiency.

His strategy worked, and statistics from 1989 showed that Domino's made more than half of all pizza in America.

It was the absolute guarantee of delivery within thirty minutes that brought him to the market leaders.

In the early 80s, Monagen had five hundred stores, and by the end of the decade there were already more than five thousand.

His pioneering spirit has made him the ‘King of Pizza’ for home delivery.

“Traditional education encourages you to learn the facts and then emotionally trains you to be afraid of making mistakes. And it's holding you back physically.

To live and be afraid is bad for health, mind, emotions, physical and financial situation.

As stated earlier, I have a lot of money, not because I am stronger in academic knowledge, but because I made more mistakes, recognized the right to mistakes and learned from them.

I was on my way to make more mistakes... and look forward to more... while most people work hard to avoid making mistakes in the future... that's why we have different futures.

You cannot improve your future if you are not willing to try new things, take risks, make mistakes and learn from them.”

Robert Kiyosaki

Honda brand

Soichiro Honda was the firstborn of a very poor family, the son of a poor blacksmith who repaired bicycles.

His family was so poor that five of the children starved to death in infancy.

An illiterate locksmith from a small Japanese village dreamed of starting his own business.

Having collected all the money, even selling his wife's jewelry, he set up the production of piston rings for the Toyota automobile company.

His fellow villagers were puzzled and surprised - how could an illiterate person open a business?

In addition to making piston rings, Honda was constantly working on his technical inventions. For a long time he didn't get anything.

Colleagues laughed at him, they believed that we should just continue to produce these rings and not invent anything new, otherwise he would soon go bankrupt.

They mocked him, and it always happens, because little people who are afraid to take risks, afraid to take a step, in general, to do something themselves, enthusiastically accept any of your defeats.

They are glad that you didn't succeed either. This is an excuse for their gray, boring, beggarly life. This is an internal guarantee that they live correctly, do not stick out, do not take risks and do not suffer.

Imagine how you felt Soichiro Honda, when I heard those jokes.

But it was at this moment that a miracle happened. Soichiro figured out how to ride a bike without expending effort. He attached a small motor to his wife's bicycle and made his first moped.

If at that moment he had listened to the “well-wishers” and refused to continue inventing, maybe all his life he would have been just one of the thousands of Toyota suppliers. Nobody knows, but quite wealthy person.

Born out of failure great empire Honda, which is now one of the five largest automotive giants and produces 75% of all motorcycles in the world and a huge amount of necessary household appliances.

Here Soichiro Honda's formula for success:“Success comes only through repeated failure and introspection. In fact, success is only 1% of your work, and the other 99% is failure.”

Honda did for motorcycles what Henry Ford did for cars. He took a dormant stagnant market and made it active and dynamic.

His relentless drive to realize his dream of a superb car has translated into elegant cars.

Honda was a constant trendsetter in motorcycle design throughout the world from the mid-fifties to the early nineties.

Honda's Acura became the world's best-selling car in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992, according to Car and Track magazine ('Car and Road').

In 1991 they also created the hugely popular sports car, the NSX.

In 1993, they again won accolades from J.D. Power - 'Acura' was again named the most popular model in the United States.

'Honda' holds the status of the largest company formed after the Second World War in Japan.

This recognition and success is the merit of a man who came out of a beggarly environment of a small Japanese town with a modern mindset and a willingness to take risks in search of a new one that appealed to the Americans.

In Japan, a country where public loyalty is at the forefront, Honda was a real non-conformist. His nickname, 'Mr. Thunder’ seemed so out of proportion to the small stature and incomprehensible demeanor of a typical Japanese executive.

He is an example of perseverance, humility, pleasant manners and the ability to perceive mistakes as a valuable asset.

Stallone dreamed of acting in films.

He went to screen tests, participated in extras, but no one took him.

A couple of times he was filmed in extras, where in the background someone punched him in the face - this was all that he achieved in several years of knocking on the thresholds of studios, directors and film producers.

At twenty-five, he was still unknown to anyone. He didn't even have acting experience!

Who needed him in Hollywood, where from morning till night 250,000 talented, already established actors are waiting for invitations and ready to fly like a bullet to any meeting that provides a chance?

The likelihood that Stallone would be invited to the main role was not just zero, it was negative.

Only in delirium can a person imagine that he will develop a career with such competition, insignificant personal data and lack of track record in cinema!

With his dream to act in films, he annoyed absolutely everyone. He ran out of money. His wife told him many times, “Listen, get on with the real thing. Stop delusional, stop living in illusions! We don't have anything to live on anymore."

Indeed, by that time they had to sell all the worthwhile things from the house. Soon the wife herself slammed the door and left this "crazy man".

Stallone has only one dog left and an empty apartment without heating and electricity, because in America they quickly turn off gas, electricity, and water for debts.

He turned into a beggar, he was terribly poor - there was no money even for food. But this dreamer really wanted to act in films. All his friends and relatives told him: “What are you doing? Stop! You don't stand a chance!"

Sylvester Stallone still lived his dream. When it became cold and it was impossible to be in the house, he went to warm himself in public libraries leafing through magazines and reading books.

And then one day he said to himself: “I will write a script, I will achieve the main role through this script, and my dream of becoming an actor will come true!”

He began to write one script after another, but no one accepted these scripts, he received rejection after rejection.

When it got really bad and there was nothing to eat, he was forced to sell his only friend - his dog. When he was selling it, he told the buyer: “I will definitely find you. I don't sell friends, I don't sell my dog ​​- I just don't have anything to feed it. When I have money, I will definitely find you, and I will definitely ransom you.”

But there was no money, and no chance either.

Complete dead end, complete loneliness, complete poverty.

What to do? Maybe refuse? Oh no! I will play in the movies! I will achieve my goal.

And then one day, when he saw the fight of Muhammad Ali on TV, it dawned on him!

He felt such inspiration, such a tremor in his body, he was literally “sausaged”. He took a pen and paper and wrote the script for the movie Rocky.

Inspired by his work, he went for the thousandth time in an endless circle from producers to directors, from directors to producers.

But no one wanted to take his script. Everyone refused to even pay attention to him.

This went on for several weeks until two young producers read the script. They told him, “Great, man. Good script. Here's $15,000 for you. We buy it, and be happy!”

To which they received an unexpected answer: “No! I'm not giving away the script just like that. I have to play the lead role." They were amazed at his impudence and sent Sylvester Stallone to hell.

But after a while they called him again and offered him $100,000. He again disagreed.

The producers popularly explained to him, “Look at you. You are small, unattractive, you have no talent, you are unprofessional. What the hell the main role. Take the money! We'll hire a good actor and make even more money, and we'll give you a percentage of the box office."

Being in the most distressful situation, experiencing a terrible need, Sylvester Stallone answered: “No! I disagree. I have to play the lead role!”

Again he was sent to hell, again time passed, and again the conversation took place: “250 thousand dollars, a very good, profitable percentage of the box office - and all your problems will end. Well, why do you need this main role? Why are you missing out on maybe your only chance in life?”

"No! Stallone said. “I will sign the documents only on the condition that I play the lead role.”

More time has passed. Since these producers really liked the script, they spat and agreed.

Naturally, they only gave him $15,000 and a percentage of the box office gross. By the way, he gave these 15 thousand in order to return his dog, because. the buyer, who heard about his luck, agreed to return the dog, bought for only $ 50, to him only after Stallone laid out his entire fee - $ 15 thousand.

Today Sylvester Stallone is a cult actor.

His scripts, his films, his roles have become classics of world cinema.

He achieved his dream, he achieved his goal.

Judge for yourself how true he was to his dream, and through how many trials he had to carry his dream of becoming an actor!

Nothing is easier than being busy and nothing is harder than being Productive.”
Alan Mackenzie

How did Napoleon work?

Listen to the story.

A young man comes from the city of Kryzhopol without any connections, only with his own mind and efforts, at the age of thirty he becomes the president of Russia (and how old are you now?), And after only ten years, through his efforts, Russia lying in ruins becomes one of the strongest European powers …

Fantastic? Guess what: it was.

One young man, just like you, only in France, really did it. He was originally from the province of Corsica, and his name was Napoleon.

So, once again: he was no different from you. Well, maybe just your ability to work.

This is a short excerpt from the book Ben Vader "Brilliant Bonaparte".

He seeks to foresee everything that should happen, since one cannot rely on chance, one should always be ready for anything, act without delay.

Such superhuman activity amazes even the least enthusiastic of all people, the pessimistic philosopher Schopenhauer, who exclaims in rapture: "Bonaparte is the most excellent embodiment of the human will."

There is nothing of an ideologue in him, for his spirit is eminently characterized by the three great qualities of a statesman: realism, common sense and imagination.

A realist, he directs his boundless genius to solve the most banal issues.

- Every day has its own dirty work, each circumstance has its own law, each creature has its own nature.

A realist, he knows how to get the most out of the people he evaluates with one glance.

“Come to me,” he suggests to the young royalist leaders who are fighting against him in the Vendée, “my government will be the government of youth and intelligence.

He engages his employees, both civilian and military, in a whirlwind of work.

After eight hours of deliberations, as night falls, the ministers collapse from fatigue; he passes behind the chairs, shaking them by the shoulders:

- Well, well, citizens ... It's only two o'clock in the morning ... We must properly work off the money that France pays us.

He often says, as if convincing his entourage:

- Day - what a century!

A realist, he puts the interest of the state first, both out of necessity and out of inner conviction, exercising power not only with undiminished energy, but also with unflagging meticulousness. The technical organization of the emperor's working days is clear evidence of his diligence in this area.

Rising at dawn, in a dressing gown, he looks through personal correspondence and newspapers, receiving a doctor, architects or his librarian during the morning toilet; while he lies in the bath, urgent dispatches are read to him.

He dresses, leaves his apartment at 9 o'clock, receives officers, members of his family or dignitaries. This protocol rise is at the same time part of the working day, since it summons to itself those civilians and military persons whom I would like to ask certain questions or from whom I intend to demand explanations.

This is followed by short audiences, since, like Goethe, he knows the secret of time, and often blue eyes darken to black when some talkative visitor tries his patience too long.

He has breakfast at 9.30, but not always, as protracted audiences often allow him to come to the table only by 11 o'clock.

It is a pity for him to waste time on food, and he gets rid of this unpleasant duty in 7-8 minutes. But he uses this short pause to receive artists or scientists and ask them a lot of questions.

After a short rest in the apartments of the Empress, he goes to his office and plunges into work, that is, into the management of an empire that occupies half of Europe and has 83 million inhabitants.

Maps, plans, diagrams and statistical tables They are always at hand in case of need.

He throws his hat and sword on a chair and, pacing back and forth, dictates to the secretary. His texts bear the imprint of this nervous walk: the phrase is beautifully constructed, but simple, as only ideas occupy his attention.

Occasionally he stops to leaf through a report or a letter: all the topics of his dictations fit - interspersed - in the pantries of his memory. While the secretary cleanly rewrites this verbal stream to turn it into the text of dispatches, Napoleon opens the ministerial dossiers sent to him and reads them without missing a single detail, constantly demanding comments, dotting almost all documents with notes.

Then follows the signing of orders, diplomas, dispatches, which will inform the whole of Europe of the will of the emperor or express his displeasure.

What other monarch studied so many details with such care! Nothing escapes him.

He is scrupulous in regard to the imperial… “Received 44,800, expended 39,800, balance 5,000, plus 15,000 receipts in March, which ends, a total of 20,000. March 30th. N."

He finds time to write articles for the official newspaper The Monitor, preside over the Council of State, and write with his own hand to kings or members of his family.

The wall clock in his office strikes six times - it's dinner time, and the empress, charming, with a natural hairdo, dizzyingly coquettish, calms the guests.

It happens that the clock strikes seven, eight, nine strikes, sometimes eleven ... The emperor, who had gone headlong into work, forgot about dinner. When he finally sits down at the table for a short quarter of an hour, he has time to give instructions to the marshal, read urgent dispatches or listen to excerpts from the press.

After coffee, he returns to the study, leaving Josephine to take care of the guests, and resumes his dictation or reading.

Having settled down at 10 o’clock, he rises in the middle of the night, reads reports, and, most importantly, studies army affairs in detail, putting aside in his memory the movement of regiments, the stages of a difficult march, the number of batteries, monitors the daily state of the treasury and finances.

Often wakes up the secretary, and dictations resume.

The same activity during military campaigns, between two battles, at any bivouac. After Eylau, residing in Fimkenstein Castle thousands of kilometers from his ministers, he continues to rule with the same confidence, calmness and punctuality as from his office in the Tuileries: 310 letters will go into his "Correspondence" in these five weeks.

If you took part in the work of one of the companies and were disappointed by not earning the money that the leaders of these companies earned, if you lost faith in opening your site and not getting the profit you expected, listen to the stories of people who were not disappointed in business due to initial failures.

Perhaps you will benefit from their experience.

"Too many people break down without even realizing
how close to success they were at the moment when they lost heart"

Today, few people remember how they shaved a few decades ago.

For daily shaving, men used the so-called "straight razor", similar to a sharp-sharp penknife. The razor had to be sharpened periodically using a special leather strap.

In 1900 King Gillette was a traveling salesman.

One morning, on a Midwestern highway, King dropped his straight razor. She split in half.

If you are on the road and cannot shave in the morning, this is a big problem.

However, the shattered blade gave King an idea. He glued two pieces, as a result of which his razor had two cutting edges. He sent a telegram to his wife. It said: “Wow! We are rich!

When King returned to Boston a month later, he found a company that could make him a prototype of this reversible razor.

Then he started selling it.

He sold three in his first year. Seven next year. Razors with two blades became his fixed idea.

A year later, King Gillette sold eleven razors.

This went on for several years.

His obsession hasn't waned. His friends poked fun at him: “Hey King, how are you with razors? Hehehehe."

But King didn't give up.

He believed and continued to sell razors - ten, then two or three dozen a year.

First World War interrupted his work.

Gillette took the train and went to Washington.

He offered his invention to the army for free.

The army loved free stuff. The razor was portable and no longer needed a strap to sharpen it.

When the blade became dull, you just had to insert a new blade into the razor.

Blade purchased from a young company Gillette Safety Razor Company.

Its sales exceeded one million pieces that year.

She spent a typical childhood of a girl from a small town without any troubles and upheavals. Years later, she gave the date of her birth to her favorite hero, Harry Potter.

As a child, Rowling, in her own words, was an insecure, chubby girl with horn-rimmed glasses, a nerd and a nerd.

Few parents paid attention to this, but indeed, before Harry Potter, in most schools in Russia, Europe, and the whole world, strong, hooligan, cocky, bright children were heroes, but not "nerds" at all.

This amazing writer, with the help of her books, introduced a fashion for knowledge.

After graduating from school, Joan enters the University of Exeter, where she chooses the specialization "Philology", studying in depth French, Latin and ancient Greek.

Joan began writing her first Harry Potter book back in 1990, when she was twenty-five years old and worked as a secretary in a London publishing house.

She did not have a computer, she wrote her bestseller on pieces of paper and put them in a shoe box.

Soon, in 1990, her beloved mother dies of multiple sclerosis at the age of 45, and Joan and her sister are left alone.

At the age of 26, Joan goes to Portugal to teach English language and soon meets Jorge Arantes, a journalist and playboy, and marries him a year later.

The ambitious husband could not find a job for a long time, and therefore Joan, in order to support her family, had to teach English almost until the birth of her daughter Jessica. And already in October, Joan, whose family life did not work out, with a three-month-old Jessica in her arms, went to the only relative and close person - to her sister in Edinburgh.

She became a semi-poor single mother and lived on state benefits on the outskirts of the city in a gloomy slum. Rowling received only 70 pounds a week, which was completely spent on food and some clothes for Jessie. She was very ashamed of her plight, literally words turned into a beggar.

When Joan first went to the post office to receive cash assistance, she felt “as if there was a neon arrow burning over my head, pointing everyone to me. I quickly stuffed my deposit book into my pocket so that no one in line could see what it was.

Another episode that Rowling recalls with pain and sadness is the distribution of old toys in the form of humanitarian aid. Jessica got such a dirty teddy bear that Joan refused to take it: "I felt that my previous humiliation was nothing compared to what I felt when I saw this teddy bear."

The death of her beloved mother, the constant lack of money, the difficult separation from her husband, who literally pushed her out of the house with a small child in her arms, contributed to the development of severe depression.

Sometimes on rainy evenings, when her daughter was sleeping, it seemed to Joan that this black streak of life would never end. From the terrible reality, Joan escaped only at the desk.

Joan wrote her first book for almost five years. Joan sent the manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone retyped on an old typewriter to various publishers, from where the standard replies came: “Too difficult for children. The kids won't be interested."

But in 1995, the streak of terrible failures finally ended - the manuscript ended up in the Bloombury publishing house, which specialized in the production of children's books.

The first professional to take notice of her books was literary agent Christopher Litel. He saw something unusual in the young writer and recommended that the publisher give the manuscript of the book to a special children's expert council, consisting of boys and girls of different ages, so that they could evaluate the manuscript. The children were delighted with the book, and " Philosopher's Stone It was decided to publish.

Then the literary agent of the writer Christopher Litel took the "Philosopher's Stone" to the largest book fair in Europe in Frankfurt.

And soon the Bloombury publishing house paid JK Rowling an advance of $ 2,250 - a fantastic amount for her.

For the first time in her life, Joan went to a jewelry store and chose an aquamarine ring to match the color of her eyes.

From this moment in fate Joanne Rowling an amazing twist takes place. ugly duck turns into a beautiful swan.

The first book was published in July 1997, the same year Joan received a grant of 12 thousand dollars and finally bought a computer.

Further more. The Americans bought the rights to The Philosopher's Stone from her for $110,000, and by the summer of 2000, the first three books had sold thirty-five million copies and were translated into 36 languages.

Rowling was finally able to leave her job - she taught French - and fully focus on creativity.

Harry Potter books literally conquered the whole world. And Rowling herself has become a superstar, a cult writer of our time.

The woman writer who made over a billion dollars!

Only in the USA in the two months since the publication of the sixth volume Harry Potter, eleven million copies of the book have been sold.

The sales level of the sixth volume reached seven million copies already within the first day from the date of publication.

And this means that on average more than 250 thousand copies were sold per hour, which broke the record of the fifth book "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", when five million books were sold in the first day.

At the same time, it is worth noting that, now already famous and outstanding, the writer remained a sympathetic, modest, noble person.

• The idea was simple. In the morning, for a few minutes, famous people had to tell the whole country how they had achieved success.

  Especially for this program, an amazing scenery was invented - I talked to people in a huge beautiful elevator that endlessly rises into the sky, like the epitome of climbing to the top.

  Due to our busy schedule, we were only able to film 64 programs, but it was a very interesting experience in my life - I had the opportunity to directly ask sixty-four famous people Russia about their formula for success.

  And then my friend and teacher Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov came to one of the programs.

  His answer then surprised me, because I was young and did not think at all about many things that I understand and know today.

  When I asked Vladimir Yakovlevich: “What is your formula for success?”, he answered unexpectedly: “This is a disaster. This is defeat."

  I was in a hurry. I was even speechless for a split second.

  Then I didn't understand deep meaning said by the master. When you endure blow after blow for maybe decades, it is almost impossible to believe in it.

  Defeat is the only way to start your life over.

  Only a few years later I understood the great meaning of Voroshilov's words. When I myself experienced a disaster and managed to get out of it.

  I will briefly describe a few episodes from his life.

  The first defeat, the first blow of fate, he received even when he was just starting to work on television and was small fry, in my opinion, a sound engineer.

  It is difficult for young people to understand this today, but earlier in the Soviet Union people were forbidden to criticize our system. And during the program about the bards in live this criticism, of course, in Aesopian language, but sounded. The secretary of the Novosibirsk Regional Party Committee calls the Central Committee and says: “Are you stunned? We put such people in jail, and you let them on TV?”

  broke out terrible scandal who needs to be punished. Voroshilov is punished. They simply explain: “You are still non-party, you are still a Jew, so you will be a switchman.” He is kicked out of television. Resentment, pain, disappointment, he is deprived of his favorite job.

  The next blow of fate. He creates a wonderful transmission of "Come on, guys!" Older generation She remembers it, as do I.

  On the set, a guy accidentally, ridiculously dies. Again they close the program, again they are kicked out of television. Hard times are coming, Voroshilov has no money even for food. His friends feed him under various pretexts.

  Injustice, resentment, pain. He invents and hosts the famous program “What? Where? When?".

  Most people of the older generation remember that no one has seen the face of the mysterious presenter for many, many years. Why? This was not the artistic intent of the transmission.

  It's just that when the party leaders looked at the script for the program, they said, “Well, okay. Let this program go on the air, but only on one condition - that this Jewish face is not on the screen. Again humiliation, again pain.

  I have told only a few episodes of his difficult journey.

  And now, having passed this path, he really became a great master, he really made one of the most interesting programs on our television, which has been living for the third decade.

  
  

There are a lot of billionaires in the modern world, and there is nothing surprising here, but it is precisely how they achieved their financial perfection that really delights. Not all of them are flashy spenders, as we see them in Hollywood reports. In fact, many of them surround themselves with the humble trappings of life. We have collected best advice about the attitude to money from the richest people on the planet.

1. Michael Bloomberg

Personal net worth: 34.3 billion

Know what is good for you and follow it.

Michael Bloomberg is well known as one of the most controversial mayors. New York, and the majority shareholder of Bloomberg L.P., a global information company for financial market participants. One of the things no one knows about is that in the last 10 years Michael has only bought two pairs of shoes. These are two pairs of black loafers that go perfectly with all the suits that the billionaire feels most comfortable in.

He realized what was good for him and invested what could be spent on an unnecessary pair of shoes in really useful things.

2. Bill Gates

Personal net worth: 79 billion

Making financial mistakes is a common occurrence in life. We all do it, with the difference that those who reach financial heights in life not only make mistakes, but also learn from them. Bill Gates, well known as one of the richest men in the world once said.

It's good to enjoy your success, but it's more important to remember your mistakes..

3. Ingvar Kamprad

Personal net worth: 53 billion

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, believes that many expenses are absolutely useless, even if money burns your pocket. Like many other super wealthy people, he chooses to fly economy class instead of a private jet. In his memoirs, Kamprad writes:

We don't need flashy cars that inspire titles, uniforms or other status symbols. We truly rely on our own strength and will.

4. Warren Buffett

Personal net worth: 66.1 billion

Buy a house that suits your needs.

Warren Buffett is a classic example of the golden rule. He still lives in Omaha, Nebraska, in a house he bought in 1958 for $31,500. Despite a billion-dollar fortune in his account, Buffett sees no point in living in an incredible mansion. He feels happy in his modest 5-room home located in the heart of America.

5. Oprah Winfrey

Personal Capital: 2.9 billion

This simple advice played an important role in Oprah's life. Now this advice has become an aphorism

You become what you believe in. Where you are in your life right now is based on what you used to believe..

Realizing what really brings you joy and then helps you achieve the highest results.

6. Richard Branson

Personal net worth: 5.1 billion

Set goals and do everything to achieve them.

British billionaire and founder of the VirginGroup, Richard Branson started his journey with a list of goals. The goals on this list were not even realistic, but he set them and did everything to achieve them. He knew that goal setting is the key to success.

7. Carlos Slim Elu

Personal net worth: 78.5 billion

Put off your youth.

Carlos Slim, a Mexican businessman who, like Bill Gates, was recognized as the richest man on the planet, shares the most important tips for financial success. Start saving money as early as possible! The sooner you start saving money and manage it wisely, the better it will be for you in the future, regardless of the position you hold and will hold.

8. John Codewell

Personal net worth: 2.6 billion

Don't neglect public transport.

A businessman from England has achieved his success in the mobile industry, but this does not mean at all that he uses an expensive car and flaunts his fortune. In fact, he enjoys walking, riding his bike and using public transport.

9. David Cheriton

Personal net worth: 1.7 billion

Learn to do things on your own.

David Cheriton was an early investor in Google and is enjoying the results of his $100,000 investment in 1998. However, he rejects the barber and cuts his own hair. Even such a seemingly insignificant amount can be useful in other areas of life. Just think how much money you give to other people when you can do the same things yourself.

10. Mark Zuckerberg

Personal net worth: 30 billion

Be humble.

Even the founder of Facebook lives frugally in many aspects of life. One example is his car, a $30,000 Acura sedan. He can afford absolutely any car or even a whole ship, but instead he chooses a modest and practical car.

11. John Donald MacArthur

Personal Capital: 3.7 billion

Make a budget and stick to it.

MacArthur was the sole shareholder of the Bankers Life and Casualty Company. Despite living in an era of Hollywood glitz and glamour, MacArthur eschewed expensive purchases and lived very modestly. He never owned luxury goods, had no press agents, and had an annual budget of $25,000.

12. Rose Kennedy

Financial condition at the time of death is unknown.

Be creative and look for cost alternatives.

Rose Kennedy is better known as the matriarch of the infamous family. But her money-saving tactics were amazing. Especially when you consider the wealth amassed by the family. Instead of buying stacks of recycled paper, she preferred to wait until the end of the year and buy old desk calendars that were losing their relevance. As a rule, it cost less than waste paper. This good example saving even in small things.

13. Thomas Boone Pickens

Personal Capital: 1 billion

Make a shopping list and don't take more cash than you need.

Oil magnate and billionaire Pickens always practices one sure way to save money. He never carries more money in his wallet than he needs. He makes a shopping list before heading to the store. And buys only what is on this list. And the amount of money in his wallet will not allow him to break this rule. You can't spend money you don't have, can you?

14. Jim Walton

Personal net worth: 34.7 billion

You don't need all the latest and greatest.

Jim Walton, the youngest son of WalMart founder Sam Walton, leads a modest lifestyle. That's what his father always taught him. Despite financial success, he still drives a pickup truck that is over 15 years old. He understands that you need to get everything from your vehicle and without a trace. Not driving around in the most luxurious and expensive car you can buy.

15. Donald Trump

Personal Capital: 3.9 billion

Donald Trump has earned his success with his hard work. Many losers think that Trump is just lucky in the world of finance. But Trump says luck comes from hard work.

If your work brings you results, then most likely people will say that you are just lucky. Maybe it is because you are lucky to have brains to work with.!

16. Robert Kuok

Personal Capital: 11.5 billion

Use all the possibilities that you have.

Robert Kuok, Malaysia's richest man, lives by the rules he learned from his mother. Never be greedy, don't take advantage of others, and always have high morals when it comes to dealing with money. Robert says that in order to be successful financially, you must be brave and always take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Even when others doubt your abilities.

17. Li Ka-shing

Personal Capital: 31 billion

Live modestly.

Li is the richest person in Asia and one of the ten richest people in the world. Li owns an empire that spans 52 countries with 270,000 employees. He believes that his incredible success lies in a simple and modest life. When you first begin your journey, you must train yourself to live modestly and not boast of your wealth.

18. Jack Ma

Personal Capital: 10 billion

The client always comes first.

Jack Ma, billionaire founder of Alibaba Group, believes that customers should always be the number one priority. They are followed by employees, and the last in this chain should be shareholders. Ma believes that a person's attitude to how he lives his life is more important than his abilities.

19. Howard Schultz

Personal Capital: 2.2 billion

I never wanted to be one of the billionaire list. I have never defined myself by my wealth. I always try to define myself and my values.

Howard Schultz, chairman of the board of directors of Starbucks, said that a person's values ​​are much more important than their capital.

Do you want to become a coach in your field, earn big money and influence society? You can learn this on a live "". Come!

The story of Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs, as retold by Walter Isaacson, is one of the most popular modern biographies, often mentioned in various collections. "Steve Jobs" tells the life and career of one of the most influential entrepreneurs of the 21st century, his great failure and how it helped him succeed and conquer the world.

The Microsoft co-founder talks in his autobiography about the years of the company's inception and growth, his difficult and close relationship with Gates. In this book, you will find a couple of ideas on how to start your own business, interact with partners, earn money and, most importantly, how to spend it.

book by david kirkpatrick true story creating the No. 1 social network with over half a billion users. Main character Mark Zuckerberg himself provided the journalist with unlimited access to information about himself and Facebook, so the facts presented in the book can be considered as reliable as possible.

Tony Shay is an Internet entrepreneur and CEO of Zappos online retailer. The autobiography tells about the life and development of a businessman, from opening a worm farm at the age of nine to the creation of Zappos and LinkExchange, which were subsequently bought by Amazon and Microsoft. This cheerful story will help young entrepreneurs make their business even more useful and profitable.

Blake Mykosky is an American entrepreneur, writer, and philanthropist best known as the founder of the Toms Shoes Company. She is famous not only for her espadrilles, but also for the fact that when you buy a pair of shoes, the same one is sent to poor children with foot diseases. In his book, Mykosky talks not only about how to make a profit, but also about how to start a business that will benefit people.

Shoe Salesman is another success story, this time by Nike creator Phil Knight, who couldn't afford to buy Adidas sneakers as a kid. This book tells the story of how an entrepreneur founded a company that became a serious competitor to the company with three stripes. In addition, Shoe Sales will reveal what happened to the waitress who painted the $30 Nike logo and how the NASA aeronautical engineer came up with the famous Air Max.

The business autobiography of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is not an ordinary success story, but a cautionary tale that proves that a company can earn high profits and not give up on its principles. Howard Schultz says that treating employees and customers with love and respect, producing the highest quality product and providing appropriate service are the foundations that cannot be sacrificed even in the most difficult periods for the company.

The autobiography of multi-billionaire Richard Branson will appeal to those who want to become an entrepreneur, build a successful business, or simply learn how the Virgin empire was built. This book tells about what an exciting path and grandiose results can await those who have an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to embody it. Branson began his career by selling defective Virgin records. At the moment, the Virgin Group includes more than 400 companies of various profiles, and the number of employees of the corporation exceeds 50 thousand people.

The book of an outstanding American industrialist is not a collection of abstract general recommendations for starting and running a business, but a reference book with applied information. Henry Ford in simple words teaches wisdom Everyday life, the same - explains the most complex production relations, reinforcing what was said with examples - models that are efficient even after a hundred years.

The autobiography of former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will appeal not only to football fans. This book is the story of an unusually strong man who knows very well that there are no great victories without heavy disappointments.

A Life in Cast is the most honest story of a career full of ups and downs, the autobiography of a man who has come a long way to become a movie star. Bryan Cranston talks about his past, treating his every life status like a movie role, whether it's a house painter or a murder suspect. The book will appeal to all lovers of fascinating non-fiction literature and fans of Cranston in particular.

If the biographies of successful entrepreneurs don't inspire you, you might like Stephen King's memoirs. If you have to write for work, and textbooks on journalism and philology are already tired, then "How to write books" - great way usefully take a break from boring manuals. If you are just starting to write, then King's biography is also suitable: the author talks to the reader without arrogance, on an equal footing, motivating him to work.

A biography of Christopher McCandless, an American downshifter who ventured into the wilderness of Alaska with a small supply of food and equipment in the hope of living in seclusion for some time. "IN wild environment"- an example of the dedication and willingness of a person to abandon the benefits of civilization in search of peace of mind. The end of this story is sad, but the philosophy of McCandless is close to many.

The story of Benjamin Franklin has inspired many: from Dale Carnegie to. In his autobiography, a politician, scientist and journalist shares his advice with those who are just starting their careers, looking for new ideas or just interested in history.

The autobiography of Solomon Northup, a free-born African American who, by coincidence, fell into slavery. This book teaches that even in the most seemingly hopeless situations, one should not give up and lose hope. The adaptation of this story won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2013.

Many people dream of fame, wealth and happiness. However, not everyone succeeds in achieving something in life. From the article you will learn about how successful people became successful, how to find the main secrets and principles of luck.

Age-old mystery

Thousands of thinkers, scientists and ordinary people are trying to create a universal path to victory. Some people believe that the only way to achieve your goals in life is through hard work. Others are sure that people receive a "ticket" from fortune from birth. Still others are convinced that a person becomes great only because of mystical coincidences. But people who have actually succeeded know that only all of the named points together will help to catch the "firebird".

Absolutely everyone is sure that everything depends on specific person and his ability to recognize and use the chances that fate offers. Of course, it is impossible to reach heights in one hour or several lessons on the topic “How to become a successful person” from a famous lucky person. But if you strive for this and read the relevant literature, communicate with interesting people, that is, every chance to change your life for the better.

In any case, there are rules that unite all rich and beautiful men and women among themselves. The first secret is to set goals and priorities correctly. Immediately think about who you want to be, for example, in 10-20 years, what you need to do to achieve what you want. Start with small tasks. If they are successful, then continue to work in the same spirit.

The second secret: when you go to the goal, do not waste time on things that make you vulnerable and insecure. Try to avoid people who do not share your intentions. The ability to deal with difficulties, criticism and temptations are the main qualities successful person. Remember that no matter how hard you try, there will be people who will not appreciate your work.

The third secret: do not put things off until later. Enthusiasm and ideas often lose to laziness and lack of initiative, so try to cultivate punctuality and patience in yourself. After all, men and women with such traits are valued in the world.

Computer genius

The idol of many dreamers is Bill Gates. The story of this man is fascinating and instructive. He was born into a wealthy family. My father worked as a successful lawyer, and my mother was actively involved in charity work. The boy lived in a good area and attended an excellent school. From childhood, parents tried to instill in their son the spirit of competition. Relatives made sure that the boy aspired to science. Little Bill liked to play various games, in which he was often the winner.

Already at the age of 10, the boy decided that he would enter the circle in which there are successful people. His father was a role model. Therefore, instead of sports games and fun with friends the boy read a lot and spent time studying.

Ironically, the school had one of the very first computers. Even then, he was interested in a unique car. Intuitively, he felt that the world will change the program, not the devices on which they are installed. It was at this time that Bill created the first projects. The director encouraged the students with bonuses. For his work, the boy received the first 500 dollars at the age of 15. After graduating from school, the guy set himself the goal of making money on programming. It should be noted that not all the people around him believed in Bill's powers.

Target and means

Parents who knew nothing about computers were against such a desire. They believed that successful people could not do such a thing, and saw their son as a lawyer. The young man entered Harvard. On the machines of the university, he continued to write programs. The money that I got for my ideas I invested in the business. In 1975, Bill and his friend opened their own company, which they called Microsoft. Often a genius worked so hard and diligently that he fell asleep right in the office. The guy dropped out of Harvard. Parents did not share his choice, but the computer genius did not give up.

Bill Gates knew how to become a successful person. The secret of the man was hard work and fabulous ambitions.

In 1978, there were already 11 people in the Microsoft office. Today, the program that his company created has 90% of computer users.

There were ups and downs in the history of this genius, but he confidently walked towards his goal. Several times Bill Gates topped the list of the richest people in the world. Now the multibillionaire gives significant funds to charity. He donates millions to the poor and disadvantaged. His new goal in life to save the world.

Grief as an incentive

The most successful people work in different directions. If Bill Gates got the fame of a computer genius, then in the world of the book, J.K. Rowling is the leader.

The future writer was born in a simple family. Her homeland was the county of Gloucestershire, which is located in England. She had a younger sister. It was to her that the author read her first stories. At the age of 5-6 Joan wrote a fairy tale. Childhood can not be called sweet. The family often lacked money. The girl was afraid of her father because complex nature. And her mother, whom she loved very much, died when Joan was 25 years old. She took the tragedy very hard. But it was this death that pushed her to work. It should be noted that before cardinal changes, almost all successful people in the world experience something terrible, unusual.

A few months before the disaster, she, racing on a train, imagined a dark-haired boy who had just found out that he was a magician. At that moment, the novelist did not have a pen with her, so more and more new and vivid images surfaced in her head.

Creativity is a pill for depression

She wrote the book very slowly. In a short time, Rowling survived the death of her mother, a divorce from her husband who beat her, and moving back to England. A woman with a small child, whom she gave birth to in 1993, lived very poorly. For some time she suffered from severe depression. Therefore, many dark and evil characters appeared in the draft of the Harry Potter book.

The life of successful people is not always easy. But this writer did not give up and continued to create. She was given strength by the dream that her novel would be published. The story that the world admires today was originally Joan's diary. In it, she solved her problems with the help of fantastic situations. The work saved her from pain and suffering. A woman wrote when the child was sleeping after walking.

In 1995, Rowling completed her first book. However, none of the publishers she applied to agreed to publish the story. Once "Harry Potter" fell into the hands of the daughter of one of the editors. It was the interest of this girl that contributed to the fact that the novel saw the light of day. Over 400 million copies have now been sold. The writer is on the list of the richest women in the UK.

Charity

For some time, many friends and even strangers asked the famous author for money. Almost all successful people in the world face this situation. Many women helped. But Joan is of the opinion that big money spoils the personality. The writer herself lives quite modestly and very rarely, even despite her financial situation, allows herself expensive things.

Every week, thousands of letters arrive in the writer's mailbox. Some of them are from fans. Others from various organizations who are asking for help. At first, Rowling gave funds to everyone. But then I realized that it would not be able to help anyone in particular. Later, she decided to create her own charitable foundation. Almost all successful people turn to this practice. Her organization fights against multiple sclerosis, from which her mother died.

No age limits

Everyone has long known that the realization of a dream into reality and a small triumph make a person not only happy, but also improve his health. There is a great example that success can be achieved regardless of age and background. This is a unique person named Grandma Moses.

This American was born in the distant 1860. Since childhood, she loved to draw. All her life she worked hard on the farm. She became an exemplary mother of five children and a good person. She didn't have time for her favorite hobby.

The woman retired and started painting. Grandma was in her 70s when a collector from New York liked her work. Simple, soulful landscapes immediately conquered the world. Exhibitions of paintings by the artist were held around the world. The woman created about 1600 paintings and died at the age of 101.

It should be noted that in 2004 her work "The Old Colorful House, 1862" sold at auction for $60,000. The story of Grandma Moses proves that the activity of a successful person does not depend on age.

Characteristics of goals

Everyone's secret to success is unique. Someone needs a good chance and useful connections to fulfill their dream. Others - a lot of time and a lot of opportunities. But in any case, without colossal work, expenditure of energy and ambition, it is impossible to wake up and become famous in one day.

For many people, happiness and success are not measured in the amount of money in the bank account, not in the army of fans who are on duty at the door. There are people for whom luck is to fulfill their dream, no matter how strange it may seem to others. The first want simple family comfort, the second - career growth, the third - the opportunity to travel the world without hindrance. For each individual person, triumph has its own characteristics.

Stories about how successful people became successful are a step that can bring you closer to your goal. It doesn't matter what a person puts in front of him. If his aspirations are pure and bright, sincere work and circumstances will contribute to their realization.