If I Knew Then What I Know Now

by Richard Edler

Pat Riley, Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, and other prominent executives and thinkers boil down their hard-won experiences and wisdom into short, accessible pieces of advice for success in business and other pursuits. Reprint.

Genres: Self Help

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Choonghwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good compendium of wisdom earned by many successful business men over the course of their careers.

There are many, but here I just picked my favorite one:



What a man knows at fifty that he did not at twenty is, for the most part, incommunicable.
A man at twenty has been told them all, has read them all, but he has not live them all.

- Adalai E. Stevenson -

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to understand why anyone would rate this book less than five stars. The wisdom in this book is timeless.

[Mat Rueter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take initiative with your career and make things happen rather than waiting around for something to happen.

[Teronie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel this is a book I will come back to over the next few years. A lot of wisdom that is valuable though not all applicable at the moment still extremely useful.

Here were the ones that resonated with me on this read:

What would you do if you had only 6 months to live? This is the real you.

The exponential factor of time. Time flies 2x as much after 40s and 10x after 50s

Make a list of things you want to do and keep it handy - so you can take advantage of moments.

Solving problems is the most important part of business - if you don’t like to solve problems, don’t go into business.

We are unhappy when we have an image of ourselves we can’t live up to. Ex: millionaire by 40. You feel down if you are 40 and don’t have it. The best bet is to modify your image of yourself or your reality.

The appearance of confidence is almost as good as the confidence itself.

—————-
Such a great book on second read it provided even more value. This is a book I will reread often throughout the years.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with this book after the glowing review that a close friend of mine gave it. Frankly, I found the advice from these business leaders to be (1) contradictory at times and (2) very "Los-Angeles" focused as the leaders quoted came predominately from the entertainment, advertising and public relations industry in and around southern California. So all in all, I can not say that I would recommend this book of quotes to others looking to be inspired by it.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of quotes and thoughts that you can pick up anytime for a quick read.