Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

Not sure if this is helpful, but a friend fed this conversation through ChatGPT and had it summarize for easier reading: -The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy -Bigger by Marc Levinson -The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production-- Toyota's Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That Is Now Revolutionizing World Industry by James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, and Daniel Roos -Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men's Epic Duel to Rule the World by Erik Larson -Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America by Richard -White -The Arms of Krupp: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Dynasty that Armed Germany at War by William Manchester -Edison by Edmund Morris -Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow -The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century by Steven Watts -Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler -The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage -The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood by James Gleick -Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Computer Age by Michael S. Malone…

Here are some histories of specific industries I've read recently and supremely enjoyed: - The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger - The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production-- Toyota's Secret Weapon in the Global Car Wars That Is Now Revolutionizing World Industry - Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men's Epic Duel to Rule the World - Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America (of all of these not the most amazing but still interesting) - The Arms of Krupp: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Dynasty that Armed Germany at War And then you can learn a lot by reading about the people who built the industries too. Here are a few I've been reading about recently that I recommend: - Edison by Edmund Morris (Just read it backwards, you'll see.) - Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow - The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century by Steven Watts - Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler I also got some interesting suggestions asking a similar question on Twitter a bit ago.…

I'm a good way through Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. So far it has given a lot of insight into his upbringing and general history that would be the bedrock of his philosophy. Hopefully it gets into how he identified and executed on his business strategies.

Reality Tansurfing 1: The Space of Variations "Choosing" your own reality, positive mind frames, philosophy and actionable steps for goal attainment (no "Secret" wish fulfillment). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1846941229/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1846941229/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=xlracom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=1846941229) " Some of Zeeland's techniques are very simple and practical; e.g. his methods of combining rational thinking with intuition for making practical decisions. Other "tools" require a high degree of control over one's thoughts and/or emotions. Zeeland also advocates reducing the amount of mental self-talk in favour of listening to one's intuition, which has some similarity with the teachings of Eckhart Tolle [[2]]." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vadim_Zeeland The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062508342/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062508342/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=xlracom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0062508342)…

Biographies of the very rich and successful who started with nothing are usually very good. I look for common themes and key points in their lives. A few of my favorites: Carnegie by Peter Krass, http://www.amazon.com/Carnegie-Peter-Krass/dp/0471468835/ref... (http://www.amazon.com/Carnegie-Peter-Krass/dp/0471468835/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246715621&sr=8-7) "Titan, The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr." by Ron Chernow, http://www.amazon.com/Titan-Life-John-Rockefeller-Sr/dp/1400... (http://www.amazon.com/Titan-Life-John-Rockefeller-Sr/dp/1400077303/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246715706&sr=1-1) "iWoz", by Steve Wozniak, http://www.amazon.com/iWoz-Computer-Invented-Personal-Co-Fou... (http://www.amazon.com/iWoz-Computer-Invented-Personal-Co-Founded/dp/0393061434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246715846&sr=1-1)

I must have read close to 50 biographies. I love "Titan" about John D. Rockefeller (in many ways a hero of mine). and Losing my Virginity - Richard Branson (so honest and realistic).

Founders at Work Hackers and Painters (Disclaimer - I am moonlighting on my startup idea, but have these books to be a huge source of inspiration. Also, Joel's list is highly recommended. Another book, and it may seem off-topic is Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. It helps to study the lives of those who have managed to pull off very successful businesses)