Og Mandino

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Og Mandino (December 12, 1923 - September 3, 1996), once homeless, was a "sales guru" and author of the bestselling book The Greatest Salesman in the World. His works, based on fundamental Christian beliefs, were also heavily influenced by the likes of Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone, and Emmett Fox. Mandino remains one of the most inspirational best-selling authors today. His books have sold over 50 million copies and have been translated into over twenty-five different languages. He was the president of the magazine Success Unlimited until 1976 and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall Of Fame.

Contents

[edit] Philosophy

Mandino composed The Legend Of The Ten Scrolls. They are:

  • Scroll I - Commitment
  • Scroll II - Love
  • Scroll III - Persistence
  • Scroll IV - Miracle
  • Scroll V - Time
  • Scroll VI - Emotion
  • Scroll VII - Laughter
  • Scroll VIII - Value
  • Scroll IX - Action
  • Scroll X - Guidance

His primary message was to "do it now". In the marking of Scroll IX, "I will act now" is written 18 times. While his messages did have Christian undertones, it was still a message of repetitive actions to build good habits.

The Greatest Salesman in the World was in someways a precursor to the popular book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

[edit] History

Og's mother encouraged him to become a writer. He was the editor of his high school paper and was planning to attend the University of Missouri because of its journalism school. In the summer of 1940, just before Og was to go off to college, his mother died suddenly from a massive heart attack while in the kitchen fixing his lunch. Instead of going to college, Og opted to go work in a paper factory until 1942 when he joined the United States Army Air Corps. He became an officer and a bombadier. He flew 30 bombing missions over Germany in a B-24 Liberator during World War II [1]. It was during this time he flew with fellow pilot and movie star Jimmy Stewart. Og kept a personalized 8 X 10 photo of his friend on the wall of his home office where he wrote his many books.

After the military, Og discovered that companies weren’t hiring too many bomber pilots. He later got into selling insurance. Finding himself traveling on the road and sitting in bars at night, he soon became addicted to drinking. He was soon unable to hold a job. Finally, his wife had enough and took their only child and left him. He was homeless and jobless.

Then, one cold wintry morning in Cleveland during the month of November, Mandino was at the point of committing suicide. He soon found himself wandering into a public library to stay warm, he wandered among the thousands of books until he found himself standing in front of the shelves containing scores of volumes on self-help, success, and motivation books. Og selected several of them, went to a nearby table and commenced reading and searching for some answers.

That library visit was the first of many library visits he began making as he wandered across the country. Mandino read hundreds of books dealing with success and gradually his drinking subsided. Then, in a library in Concord, New Hampshire, he discovered W. Clement Stone's great classic, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. And his life has never been the same since then.

[edit] Twelve Greatest Books

The following books are what Mandino believed to be the twelve greatest self-help, self-knowledge, and self-inspirational books ever written, not in any preferential order[2]:

[edit] Other books of Interest

Og was truly an avid reader. According to his second wife Bette, he loved to read. [3].

His favorite author was Henry David Thoreau.

Other books Mandino enjoyed reading were science fiction, historical religious, and letters of authors.

[edit] Facts of Mandino

Birthday: December 12, 1923

Death: September 3, 1996

Married to Bette: December 9, 1957

Age when he wrote his first book: 45 years old (The Greatest Salesman in the World)

Retired: age of 52

Books: 19 written, 16 still in print

Height: 6'

Color of eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Favorite food: Any pasta in a marinara sauce, spicy and hot foods Bette used to carry a jar of red pepper at all times in her purse.

Favorite color: Green (always autographed his books in green)

Favorite travel destination: Bermuda

Hometown: Natick, MA

Mother: Margaret

Father: Silvio (immigrated with parents from Italy)

Family: Oldest of three children, younger brother and sister

Interests:

  • Golf nut
  • Loved field and track events
  • When he wasn't writing he was reading
  • Adored his family
  • Loved to play baseball and read to his kids
  • Every weekend they had HO automobile races in the basement with take home trophies.
  • Before Og left for a speaking engagement or book tour, Bette would write the color of each pair of pants on the zipper and number each necktie. She would then put a stack of cards in the suitcase, each identifying which pair of pants went with which tie. Og was color-blind. Things got very interesting when he was away for several days or decided to mix and match.


[edit] References

  1. ^ Og Mandino. The Og Mandino Story http://www.ogmandino.com/ogstory/ogstorywritten.htm.
  2. ^ Og Mandino (1972). The Greatest Secret in The World, p. 183-185.
  3. ^ Og Mandino. The Og Mandino Story http://www.ogmandino.com/ogstory/ogstory.htm.

[edit] Books Written by Mandino

  • The Greatest Salesman In The World
  • The Twelfth Angel
  • The Greatest Miracle In The World
  • The Greatest Secret In The World
  • The Gift Of Acabar
  • The Choice
  • A Better Way To Live
  • The Christ Commission
  • Spellbinder's Gift
  • Secrets For Success And Happiness
  • The Return Of The Ragpicker
  • Mission: Success!
  • The God Memorandum
  • The Greatest Salesman In The World Part II: The End Of The Story
  • The Greatest Mystery In The World
  • The Ten Ancient Scrolls For Success: From The Greatest Salesman In The World
  • He Is Tough

[edit] Website

Official website

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../o/g/_/Og_Mandino_b934.html"
In other languages