The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to his son: Perspectives, Ideology, and Wisdom (English Version) 2nd Edition by G. Ng

Author:G. Ng [Ng, G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-09-06T05:00:00+00:00

LETTER

20

Take risks to make use of opportunities

The higher the risk, the greater the return.

The more things you have, the greater your power.

To win, you must understand the value of risk, and you must have your own vision of creating luck.

(Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.)

November 2, 1936

Dear John:

Tomorrow, or perhaps before tomorrow, there will be a person who will live a rich life. It was reported in the newspaper that his name is David Morris, who has the same last name as Mr. Robert Morris. David Morris was the financial director during the American Revolution and the Prince of Commerce in Philadelphia, and recently had a streak of good luck at the casino and won a lot of money. He also said that he was a master at the casino. At the same time, he posted a life motto of a gambler: Only by curiosity can you discover opportunities, and by taking risks can you make use of them.

You know, I always disagree with people who are addicted to gambling, but I cannot help but admire this gentleman. I even believe that with his philosophical wisdom and mind, he might become a very successful businessmen – an excellent gambler, if he joins the business world.

I make such an appreciative assumption, not to say that good gamblers will become good businessmen. In fact, I hate those who treat the industry as casinos, but I do not disagree with the adventurous spirit because I know a rule: “The higher the risk, the greater the return.” For everyone, sailing in the business sea is the greatest adventure that life can provide him.

The trajectory of my life is a rich adventure. If I were to find out which adventure was most decisive and the most relevant to my future, it would be entering the oil industry.

Before investing in the oil industry, our own bank, agricultural product agency sales, was doing a good job, and I was fully expected to become a big middleman if we were to continue. But all this were changed by Mr. Andrews, an expert in lighting. He told me: “John, when kerosene burns, the light is brighter than any lighting oil. It will definitely replace other lighting oils. Think about it. Well, John, how big of a market will that be. If we can step foot into it, what will it be like!”

The more things I have, the greater the power. The opportunity is here, letting it go is not just about money, but it also weakens your power in the arena of getting rich. I told Andrews: “I do!” We invested 4,000 dollars, which was a lot of money for us, and started an oil refining business. When the money is invested, I did not think about failure, although at that time, while oil made many millionaires, it also turned more people into paupers.

I plunged into the oil refining industry and worked hard. In less than a year, oil refining earned us more profits than agricultural products and became the company's largest business.

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