Dear Penguin,
I didn’t go looking for this book. It found me.
I was rearranging my shelf, trying to make space for more notebooks and fewer unread ‘someday’ books. When I spotted The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino. Slim. Beige. Almost hiding. I remember buying it, I remember that version of me who might have needed it.
So, I gave it a shot. Again. Reread it.
Despite the title, this isn’t a book about selling things. It’s a fable. A story about Hafid, a humble camel boy who becomes a great salesman. Not through flashy strategies or clever tactics, but by following ten ancient scrolls that teach him to be patient, kind, consistent, and resilient.
As a marketer, it reminded me that selling isn’t about shouting louder. It’s about showing up every day with clarity, love, and trust. And honestly? That’s true for parenting, too.
One scroll talked about greeting each day with love. That made me think of how I greet you in the morning. Even on rushed school days when your shoelaces are tangled, the milk is too hot, and we’re already late, I try to offer a smile before the checklist. That scroll reminded me to mean it.
At work, there was a day last week when a reel I spent hours crafting tanked. The insights were low, the likes even lower. I sulked. Then I remembered scroll three, I will persist until I succeed.
So I rewrote the caption, re-uploaded it with a silly meme twist and Penguin, it did better. But more importantly, I didn’t quit on it. Or myself.
There were bits, though, where I caught myself smiling politely, like I do when someone’s trying too hard to sound wise at a dinner party.
Some scrolls felt like they were written for a world without deadlines, homework meltdowns, or glitchy internet. Lovely, but far from the chaos we know.
And it all wraps up a little too neatly. Follow these scrolls and you shall prosper. No mention of mental health, of needing help, or of rest days. No room for mess-ups or middle-of-the-night self-doubt. Life just isn’t always that well-behaved.
So, should you read it?
Maybe someday. Maybe not now, when you’re figuring out decimals and doodling dragons. Of course!
But maybe when you’re building something of your own, or when the world feels too loud and you need a quiet, old-fashioned whisper to remind you to be kind. To persist. To show up.
Even if you never read “The Greatest Salesman In The World”, I hope you’ll remember this…
What makes someone great, in sales, in school, in life, isn’t how loudly they pitch, but how gently they live. One small good habit at a time.
With love,
Maa
