Traits of John D Rockefeller

[drmctcher]

Hi All
I found this document that I thought I would share with the group. It is one man's opinion after reading John D Rockefeller's 832 page bio. Very good read highlighting the character traits that helped Mr.Rockefeller become the Billionaire he was. Enjoy !!

http://zannee-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/rockefeller-summary.pdf

RussH, had you already seen this or read the bio ????

 

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[darkjediii]

Awesome read..

Aside from the great summary, here is a section where he talks about the difference in the classes, which I thought hit the nail right on the head! (sorry for formatting, got messed up cut/paste)

Difference between Poor, Middle-Class, Upper-Middle, Millionaire and Billionaire:

The Poor believe in being dependent and taken care of by a 3rd party. Welfare for example.

Children can sometimes never break this mindset and are dependent on parents for life.Poor believe that getting wealthy is a matter of luck, and often play the lottery as a result.

The Middle class believe in working and being self sufficient. They believe in financial

security. The majority believe in exchanging time for money. And to make money without

spending time is a foreign concept. Typically they believe their job is the sole source of

prosperity and usually have 1 source of income. Maximizing the amount of money made per

hour is usually the goal of the middle-class. You see massage therapists or dental assistants

as a good example here, being lured in by the higher average dollars per hour. Many of the

Middle Class tend to think of purchases in terms of monthly payments. Each new raise is

an opportunity to expand their spending, and get that more expensive car (on a monthly

payment).

You won't find the typical middle class person keeping a balance sheet or financial

statement, or measuring net worth or cash flow growth each year. In response to hearing

this, you might hear a middle class say “Life isn’t about money, why would I place such

importance on money and keep track of these things?” When in reality, their entire lifestyle

is controlled by their lack of control with money. They typically don't believe in outsourcing,

and like to do things like remodeling or yard work themselves.

Many self employed entrepreneurs such as Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, Therapists, or

Doctors are usually in the middle class mindset, because they only make money if they

spend their time. You’ll also hear Middle Class people say things like “Of course he’s rich,

he’s a doctor.” Which further cements the belief that a job is the sole source of income.

If a middle class wants to gain more income, they will often go and get a second job,

exchanging more time for money. (Further cementing their belief that you must spend time

to earn money).

To some of the middle class, becoming wealthy can seem to be a matter of circumstance,

and at times you'll find middle class folks buying lottery tickets too.

Millionaires believe in being self sufficient as well but the key difference is that millionaires

believe in having multiple streams of income, not 1. While the middle class believes

in financial security, millionaires believe in financial freedom. Millionaires believe that

getting wealthy is a matter of science and predictability. They will typically focus on being

incredible in one area, and outsourcing every other area. A millionaire will sometimes

have yard maintenance, laundry, and grocery shopping outsourced, and the middle class

will often look amused or confused at this act. But because a millionaires time has been

made valuable by his skills, his time is best invested in his core areas. A small business,

a real estate rental, or investments in other businesses are common items you'll find on a

millionaires balance sheet. Millionaires have strict investment, savings, and spending habits.

Millionaires make money to invest first, spend second. Millionaires do not seek to maximize

their own time per hour, but to maximize passive income, and aim to make money without

spending time. Or if they do spend time to earn money, it’s because they do what they love,

and they do it by choice, not because they have to. All while focusing on having multiple

streams of income in addition to what they do. Millionaires typically own a small business.

Billionaires typically believe in having multiple streams of revenue in one focused industry.

Where as a millionaire will have multiple streams of income in different industries,

billionaires will usually focus their streams of revenue in one. Think Bill gates with Microsoft

Office (1 stream) and Windows (another stream). Or McDonalds with adding a new high

selling item to their menu, another stream of revenue. Or Google, starting with search

based advertising (1 stream) and expanding into content ads (another stream). Billionaires

often have armies of smart people who do the heavy lifting. Billionaires believe in leveraging

the efforts of talented people to an incredible degree. Where the middle class will spend

their life trying to be the smartest and most credentialed they can be, the billionaire focuses

on building a team of people much smarter than themselves. Billionaires train themselves

in understanding and leading people. And you'll rarely find a Billionaire who's a genius, they

usually hire them instead. You'll likely not find a billionaire doing manual labor, but rather

using their mind or army of workers for heavy lifting.

 

[Russ H]

http://zannee-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/rockefeller-summary.pdf

RussH, had you already seen this or read the bio ????

No, thanks for this.

Very much looking forward to reading this on one of my breaks tonight!

-Russ H.

 

[AJ.]

Reading it now...
Thanks for sharing!!
-- AJ
.

 

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[drmctcher]

No problem.. it's all about getting the Fastlane message out there !!!

 

[Rafal]

thank you for this. I'm about to read Titan - his biography

Rafal

 

[kurtyordy]

one of my favorite biographies of all time- Amazon.com: Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (9781400077304): Ron Chernow: Books

 

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[Rafal]

that's what I'm talking about. Also recommended by Charlie Munger

 

[458]

I read the first line that shell was owned by rockefeller and stopped reading, get your facts straight.

 

[ZDS]

I love the difference between Millionaire and Billionaire he highlights. I never even thought of/acknowledged that.

 

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[wallstreet]

I was pretty blown away, great read. Thanks drmctcher.

 

[Rain]

Thanks + Speed

 

[valuegiver]

I read the first line that shell was owned by rockefeller and stopped reading, get your facts straight.

It was owned by Rockefeller. The previous name is Standard Oil.

Royal Dutch Shell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Get your facts right, bro!

 

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[Mr.Marnier]

It was owned by Rockefeller. The previous name is Standard Oil.

Royal Dutch Shell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Get your facts right, bro!

Um, you might want to actually read that article you posted!?

Shell was created by a merger of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and Shell Transport and Trading Ltd, a move designed to compete with Rockefeller's Standard Oil, as explained in the wiki article you quoted and others including Shells own history page, it had nothing to do with Standard Oil, which was killed in 1911 by the Supreme Court who forced it to break up it's massive operations into many smaller companies.

The Shell history - the beginnings - About Shell

 

[H. Palmer]

I find it interesting that Rockefeller died in 1937 while the reviewer is talking about McDonald's, Bill Gates and Google.
Also, concepts such as core areas, multiple streams of income, passive income and such were not around during the time John D. Rockefeller lived.

Excellent read, by the way.

 

[H. Palmer]

Btw, Standard Oil evolved into various companies, among which ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips.

 

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[lleone]

Awesome read...thanks.

 

[drmctcher]

Well you's can continue to argue about the small details, while the rest of US take the amazing traits that John Dpossessed, learn from and apply them !!

 

[DeletedUser394]

Finally got around to reading 'Titan'. Bumping this thread for awesomeness. The link to that 35 page article is gold.

 

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[puckman]

he is from my home town, I like to think that somehow that gives me a leg up in life

 

[PatrickP]

hmmmm I am one of those classes described above and the definition nor traits are even close to the way I think plan or act.

Guess it doesn't apply to everyone

 

[DeletedUser394]

hmmmm I am one of those classes described above and the definition nor traits are even close to the way I think plan or act.

Guess it doesn't apply to everyone

Well, aren't you special then. I'm jealous.

 

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[Likwid24]

Just finished reading the article and got tons of great info from it. Lots to learn from one of the richest men to ever walk the earth. One problem that I had with it is that he seemed like he lived to work. He didn't have much of a life outside of work. Always counting and worrying about every penny (kinda like Scrooge). I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like the life I'd want to live. Sticking to an extremely rigid schedule and daily routine. Never enjoying yourself or showing emotion. I'd rather be poor and enjoy my life than insanely rich and let life pass me by. In reality, I'd like to be somewhere in the middle.