Og Mandino's The Greatest Salesman in the World

Running a small business is no joke. Melissa and I started Battle Born Grooming Co. back in 2016, and believe me, these last nine-plus years have been a wild ride. There are days filled with excitement and then there are the days that make you question everything. You deal with supplier headaches, shipment problems, and the constant pressure to just keep the lights on. It’s in those tough moments that you find out what you’re really made of.

Over the years, I’ve found a few things that help keep me grounded. One of them is a book that might surprise you. It was written way back in 1968, long before the internet, social media, or any of the stuff we deal with today. It’s called The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino.

Now, don’t let the title fool you. This isn’t some sleazy book about sales tactics. To be honest, it’s barely about “sales” in the way we think of it. It’s about mindset, perseverance, and how to build a life of purpose. It’s a short read, but its lessons have stuck with me more than any business school textbook ever could. The book tells the story of a poor camel boy named Hafid who gets his hands on ten ancient scrolls that change his life.

I wanted to share a little bit about what’s in those scrolls, because the wisdom in them is timeless and has helped me navigate the ups and downs of being a small business owner.

The Guts of the Book: The Ten Scrolls

The core of the book is built around ten scrolls, each with a core principle to live by. Here’s my take on what’s in those scrolls.

Scroll I: Today I Begin a New Life.

This one is huge. It’s about recognizing that yesterday’s failures don’t define today. Every single day, you get a clean slate.

This sounds a little fluffy, I know. But it’s really about your intention. For us, it means putting care into everything we do, from the stuff we choose for our products to how we answer an email. When you genuinely care about your work and the folks you’re serving, people can feel it. Success built on anything else feels hollow.

Scroll II: I Will Greet This Day with Love in My Heart.

Scroll III: I Will Persist Until I Succeed.

If there’s one scroll for entrepreneurs, this is it. Mandino is brutally honest about how hard any worthwhile career is. There’s a passage in this scroll that gives me chills every time I read it:

“The career I have chosen is laden with opportunity yet it is fraught with heartbreak and despair and the bodies of those who have failed, were they piled one atop another, would cast a shadow down upon all the pyramids of the earth. Yet I will not fail, as the others, for in my hands I now hold the charts which will guide me through perilous waters to shores which only yesterday seemed but a dream.”

Scroll IV: I Am Nature’s Greatest Miracle.

This one sounds a little out there, I get it. But the way I see it, this is the scroll that fights impostor syndrome. As a small business owner, it’s so easy to look at the big guys with their fancy marketing and huge teams and feel like you’re not enough. This scroll is a kick in the pants reminder that you are one of a kind. There’s never been anyone with your exact ideas, your story, or your way of doing things. Nobody else can connect with your folks the way you can. This scroll is about owning that uniqueness and knowing your value, because what you bring to the table is something no corporation can replicate.

Scroll V: I Will Live This Day as If It Is My Last.

This one isn’t about being morbid or reckless. It’s the ultimate cure for procrastination. In a small business, it’s so easy to say, “I’ll get to that tomorrow.” But “tomorrow” can quickly become “next week,” and then “never.” This scroll forces you to act with urgency. It makes you ask: If this was my last shot, would I be proud of what I did today? Did I give it my all? It pushes you to value every single day and make the most of the time you have, because the present moment is the only thing we truly own.

Scroll VI: Today I Will Be Master of My Emotions.

In a small business, your mood can affect everything. It’s easy to let one nasty email or a delayed shipment ruin your whole day. This scroll is a reminder that while you can’t control what happens, you can control how you react. Taking a deep breath and choosing not to let negativity take over is a skill you have to practice.

Scroll VII: I Will Laugh at the World.

This one is a survival tool. You have to be able to laugh at the absurdity of it all. When a shipment is late to Amazon, a mixer breaks and a customer is upset all before 9 AM, sometimes you just have to laugh or you’ll go crazy. It dissolves the tension and reminds you not to take everything so seriously that it crushes you.

Scroll VIII: Today I Will Multiply My Value a Hundredfold.

This isn’t about raising your prices 100 times. It’s about focusing on giving more. How can you make your product better? How can you offer better service? How can you share what you’ve learned to help someone else? When you focus on delivering more and more value, success tends to take care of itself.

Scroll IX: I Will Act Now.

Procrastination is the ultimate dream killer. We’ve all been there, staring at a to-do list, not knowing where to start, so we just… don’t. This scroll is the kick in the pants we all need.

Scroll X: I Will Pray for Guidance.

Okay, stick with me on this one. The word “prayer” can throw people off, but you don’t have to be religious to get the value here. For me, this scroll is about humility. It’s about admitting that you don’t have all the answers and that you can’t do this all on your own. As a small business owner, your ego can be your worst enemy. This scroll is the reminder to ask for help. For some folks, that’s prayer. For others, it’s talking with a mentor, leaning on your spouse, or just getting quiet for five minutes to check in with your gut and remember why you started this whole thing in the first place. It’s about connecting to a purpose that’s bigger than just the day-to-day grind. Without that north star, it’s way too easy to get lost.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel (It Takes Too Long)

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned, and one that Mandino hammers home, is the danger of relying only on your own experience. It takes a lifetime to learn everything the hard way, and by then, it’s often too late.

As Mandino puts it:

“In truth, experience teaches thoroughly, yet it consumes years. Thus, the value of its lessons diminishes with the time necessary to acquire this wisdom.”

I feel this in my bones. When we started, we made so many mistakes that could have been avoided if we’d just had a mentor or a guide. That’s why I’m passionate about sharing what we’ve learned now. You don’t have to make all the same mistakes I did. You can learn from the wisdom of others. Mandino distilled centuries of wisdom into this one small book.

This book is a roadmap. It won’t do the work for you, but it will show you the way. The principles are simple, but living them every day is the real challenge.

If you’re feeling stuck, or just need a reminder of what’s important, I can’t recommend this book enough. Take it one step at a time. As the man himself said, “In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.”

Take that first step.

All the best,
Michael