Acres of Diamond - Russell Conwell

 “Acres of Diamonds” by Russell Conwell my first audio book, which says men and women need not look elsewhere for success and money. Russell shares his philosophy with multiple true-life stories from across the world. A content person is rich, and a person is poor when he is discontented. This was the 7th of 2021, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU00E-vwxsw

Thanks to Blesson for his Linked in post, that prompted me to listen to this again, a book that encourages us to looking closer and see the opportunities that are around us. A positive and thought provoking book which has stood the test of time as a classic for any bookshelf.

A farmer living near the Indus River named Ali Hafed gets to learn from a travelling monk that a small stone of diamond could make him the wealthiest man in the region. The farmer sits through the night learns everything about the diamond from the monk, sells his farm to his friend & leaves in search of the stone called the diamond. Wandering, hit my storm he pass away somewhere in Spain. 

Nobody heard from the farmer later, the friend who bought the property chanced upon rough black stones & didn’t bother about it, the monk visited again a year later & seeing the slight spark coming off one of the stones checked whether the farmer was back. The friend responded in the negative. 

The monk confirmed that the black stones are  rough diamonds, the farmer who sold his farm had sold the Golconda diamond mine without realizing it at that time. The Golconda mine has ever since produced some of the world's most famous diamonds, including the colourless Koh-i-Noor (United Kingdom), the Nassak Diamond, the blue Hope (United States), the pink Daria-i-Noor (Iran), the white Regent (France), the Dresden Green (Germany), and the colourless Orlov (Russia)

So, what is the point here, Blesson posted in LinkedIn about his learnings as below:

1) As an individual, our creator has put acres of diamonds right beneath our footsteps, we need to be diligent & patient enough to work it through. 

2) As a leader, never take the ground (people you work with) on which you stand for granted, it’s a diamond mine whether you realize & value it or not. 

3) A diamond in it's natural form is rough, dark & never gives the best first impressions to the common eyes like that of the farmer. So don’t be the farmer who gives away his farm of diamonds for instant sparky stones, none exists.

What you wish has been served right at your feet by your creator, look around you & find it.

Other learnings are:

1. Never leave your one job, before you have another. Value what you have and your possessions.
2. Be honest, have faith. 
3. There are things more valuable than Money, example Love, but if we have money, it would definitely be an added advantage. Bible don't say, 'Money is the root of all Evils'; it says 'Love of Money, is the root of all evil.'; what is that ? Its making an idolatry of money. 
4. Take interest in the affairs of those around you - on what they want. 
5. Rich man's son can never know all things in life. You need not be poor to be pious. 
6. Know the demand, know what people need, and invest your time in it. If you cannot be rich, where you are in the world right now, you cannot be rich anywhere. 
7. Put your whole mind into what you want to do, and do it. 
8. It is better to be happy than it is to be rich. It is even better to be rich and happy. 
9. Greatness consist not in the holding of some office but in doing great deeds with few resources, as well as in accomplishing large goals without having things handed to you. To be great at all, one must be great here, now. 

Who invented the Jacquard loom, the most popular machine used for manufacturing textiles? Marie Jacquard. Women invented the printer's roller and the printing press. Who invented the cotton gin on the South that enriched our country so much? Conventional wisdom says it was Eli Whitney, but Catherine Littlefield Greene came up with the idea and showed it to Whitney. He, like a man, seized it. Who invented the sewing machine? Most people think it was Elias Howe. He was in civil war, worked for 14 years to perfect it, his wife made up her mind one day, that they would starve to death if something was not invented pretty soon, and in two hours she invented the sewing machine. He took out the patent in his name. Who invented the mechanical crop harvester? According to the diary of Cyrus McCormic, who is usually given the credit, it was actually invented by a woman from West Virginia. when they gave up. Most important textile manufacturing tool, farm implements, clothing features, trolley switch, and iron squeezers were invented by women. 

You can be great, you are not going to be great by getting into an office. Be a good citizen while living and make lives better, then you are already a blessing,  whether working in a shop, sitting behind a counter, or caring for child at home. Whatever your life, if you wish to be great, be great where you are.

“Abraham Lincoln's principle for greatness can be adopted by nearly all. This was his rule: Whatsoever he had to do at all, he put his whole mind into it and held it all there until that was all done.”

― Russell H. Conwell, Acres of Diamonds