Imagine being a genius but having to work in a grain warehouse. That was Confucius in his 20s. He started out as a low-level civil servant, making sure the rice and millet didn’t get moldy. Later, he got promoted to managing herds of sheep and oxen. He wasn’t too proud for the “lowly skills”—he just made sure the animals were fat and healthy and moved on.
Book 15 feels like a wrap-up of some of the most practical advice in the whole series. It’s about how to stay consistent when things get tough and why you should stop worrying about what everyone else thinks of you.
Book: Real Estate Deal Maker: Winning Strategies to Find and Finance Successful Rental Properties in Any Market Author: Henry Washington
Book: Common Sense on Mutual Funds: Fully Updated 10th Anniversary Edition by John C. Bogle ISBN: 978-0-470-59748-4
Bogle opens Chapter 17 with a fable. And honestly, it hits different today than it probably did when he first wrote it.
Every superhero has an origin story, and Confucius is no different. But his isn’t about radioactive spiders—it’s about a 70-year-old retired soldier and a teenage girl.
Book 14 is a bit of a reality check. It asks the question: What does it actually mean to be successful? For Confucius, it wasn’t just about having a high-paying job or a fancy title.
Book: Real Estate Deal Maker: Winning Strategies to Find and Finance Successful Rental Properties in Any Market Author: Henry Washington
Book: Common Sense on Mutual Funds: Fully Updated 10th Anniversary Edition by John C. Bogle ISBN: 978-0-470-59748-4
Marshall McLuhan famously said “The Medium Is the Message.” Bogle flips that on its head for Chapter 16. In the mutual fund industry, the message is the medium. Marketing doesn’t just promote funds. Marketing shapes what funds actually become.
To understand Confucius, you have to understand that “China” wasn’t even a thing yet. It was more like a patchwork of states constantly beefing with each other over territory and power.
Book: Real Estate Deal Maker: Winning Strategies to Find and Finance Successful Rental Properties in Any Market Author: Henry Washington