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What is the most inspiring biography of a successful man?
3 points by maxklein on June 27, 2008 | hide | past | favorite | 6 comments
I've been thinking a lot about the reasons I want to make a lot of money. It's not because I need money (I don't), but rather because I want to feel like I achieved something by the time I die.

Do you know of any book about a man who actually achieved a lot? Not books about lucky men or books about well connected men who were well off to start with, but books about men who used their intelligence and discipline to become successful.

I'd much rather prefer if the person was someone relatively obscure, and not the common biographies that everyone has read.



I particularly like Aristotle Onassis. Especially when he was in South America and was working two jobs in order to survive and learn. Note worthy accomplishments - tobacco fortune, shipping fortune, own airline, married JFK's widow. Lessons I learned from reading about him: 1. if throwing dinner party, eat before hand so you have more time to talk while other people are eating. 2. Don't be afraid to fail as long as you commit to it and fail big. 3. Learn how to harness the power of OPM (other people's money)


You have already got money and your goal to feel like you achieved something is to make more money? I think money is just a means to an end. Think about your day to day life. Get up, eat, work, drink, be merry. As long as you have enough money to handle that, I think you're cool on money - unless your passion requires more. What is the end result here?

If you want to look up people who have inspiring biographies... what about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Pasteur or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lister ? Vivien Thomas has one of the most inspiring biographies out there... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivien_Thomas he really came out of nothing to contribute to the world.

Yes, if I had more money I'd be a doctor (:


Ben Franklin's autobiography is the best. He was a world class genius, a reasonably-effective political animal (the American revolution happened when it did in part because the English pissed him off), and the old goat admits to having/liking sex.


Mr. Untouchable is great: it's an autobiography of a heroin dealer (he's a bit player in American Gangster). It's a very 'pure' business, in the sense that you can quantify product quality directly.

Founders at Work is also good.

Lowenstein's hagiography of Warren Buffett is a great bio of a famous guy, but you should keep in mind that he did have some connections (and almost certainly would have succeeded even if he didn't).


Not everyone likes GoDaddy, but its founder, Bob Parsons is a two-time startup success story who didn't attend an Ivy League school or Stanford. He built technical companies outside of Silicon Valley (the current one is in Arizona) with (from what I understand) no Angel or VC money.


Abe Lincoln? Not obscure, but certainly used his intelligence and discipline to become successful.




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