Lessons from the Acres of Diamonds

 “Acres of Diamonds” is a lecture by Russell H. Conwell, which he delivered no fewer than 6,000 times1. The theme of the lecture was that opportunity lurks in everyone’s backyard. Everyone, Conwell believed, can and ought to get rich and then use that money for the good of others. The lecture has been published as a book and is available on Project Gutenberg for free.

What they Didn't tell us about Entrepreneurship

 The only part they told us about entrepreneurship was that we would be our own bosses. 

They never told us that we would fail many times before we succeed. 

They never told us that we would work 5 times more than our employees and not get anything sometimes. 

Father to Son lesson on Asset vs Liability

This conversation ensued between a dad and his son:

Son:  Dad, may I speak with you?
Dad: Go ahead.
Son: Among all my classmates, I am the only one without a car. It is embarrassing.
Dad: What do you want me to do?
Son: I need a car. I don't want to feel odd.
Dad: Do you have a particular car in mind?
Son: Yes dad (smiling)
Dad: How much?
Son:$2000
Dad: I will give you the money on one condition.
Son: What is the condition?
Dad: You will not use the money to buy a car but invest it. If you make enough profit from the investment, you can go ahead and buy the car.
Son: Deal.

The Africa-Bata Shoe Story

One of the most famous motivational stories on the entrepreneurial circuit is that of the shoe salesmen from competing companies who are sent to a Africa to assess the market for shoes. Read about it:

At the end of the nineteenth century, just as colonial Africa was opening up as a market, two competing shoe manufacturers in Victorian England sent their representatives to Africa to see if there might be an opportunity there for their wares.

Salesman One scouts around for a few days and then heads for the telegraph office to contact company headquarters.  He writes:  "Research complete.  Unmitigated disaster.  Nobody here wears shoes."