Secrets for Success and Happiness

It was just before 11 Sep 2001, in fact Friday the 7th. It was also the beginning of the end for my job (they cut what was left of our benefits) and I was in the library looking for anything I could get in the 158s and there was this book on the shelf. I'd read Mandino's works for years, even sent him fan mail that he very graciously acknowledged (and I wish I still had eight years and as many moves later), but I'd never seen this book before.So I checked it out - it was the lift I needed. I'd had no idea of his background, and I realized that at 28, my own lofty goals just might be attainable. It also gave me some insights into his writing process and the philosophy of life that permeates all his writing.I'm giving it four stars because you have to already be a fan to really appreciate this book, and there is a good bit of overlap between it and some of his other later works (like Return of the Ragpicker). I am very glad he took the time to write it down while he was still with us - and didn't give up on it when his health problems started.BTW, that job ended in February. In April I moved in with my parents, still looking for work. In July when I was down at the beach with them I found this book on sale so I picked it up. In November I did find a new permanent job and moved into a new apartment Christmas Eve. I'm still (1/29/2003) unpacking but as soon as I find this book again I'm going to scour it again. I could not have made it through the past seventeen months without it, and I have the rest of my life ahead of me.

I have so enjoyed listening to these tapes as I drive to school each week. Og's attention to the little things in life--the things that makes life worth living--are an example to us all. Money is NOT the ends and even not necessarily the means. It is also interesting from a writer's point of view as Og gives a bit of the behind the scenes world of publishing and touring. I highly recommend this book/tape set to anyone who wants to remember what we're here for.

Augustine Mandino is different. From personal failure he evolved into a lighthouse for the depressed and disenchanted. Did he know that his eager followers would be the poor, only? Get ready, Og, because of you, no matter what our financial statuses, you have helped us change the world! I discovered Og in 1996. "I've never heard of him," said a public school teacher at our local nationally-acclaimed school. I was educated locally also; my life has changed, thanks to Og, but it would have changed sooner had my school offered Mandino IA,IB & IC. I am currently reading five of Og's books concurrently because I believe I have already wasted too much time not getting to know the master of (true-life) story telling. One of these books is "Secrets for Success and Happiness." By reading Og's other books, I have experienced his mastery. While reading this new book, I know I have finally met the master creator of life's maps, personally. I thank God that og wrote this book. Without it, those who have never meet him personally can finally embrace -- if only in spirit -- one of God's spellbinding gift givers . . .