the scrolls...

Og Mandino composed The Legend Of The Ten Scrolls in his

book The Greatest Salesman in the World.... 

They are:

Scroll I - The Power of Good Habits
Scroll II - Greet Each Day With Love In Your Heart
Scroll III - Persist Until You Succeed
Scroll IV - You Are Natures Greatest Miracle
Scroll V - Live Each Day as if it Were Your Last
Scroll VI - Master Your Emotions
Scroll VII - The Power of Laughter
Scroll VIII - Multiply Your Value Every Day
Scroll IX - All is Worthless Without Action
Scroll X - Pray to God for Guidance

His primary message was to NOT procrastinate. 

In the marking of Scroll IX, "I will act now" is written 18 times. 

Even some of the texts did have Christian undertones 

(by referring to St.Paul as the greatest salesman in the world), 

it was still a message of repetitive actions to build good habits.

The Greatest Salesman in the World was (first) published in 1968 

(and re-issued in 1983 by Bantam). The 128-page book has become a guide 

to a philosophy of salesmanship, and success, telling the story of Hafid--- 

a poor camel boy who achieves a life of  goodness and abundance.

Then there is this sequel to this bestselling book (The End of Story), 

published in 1988 and set back forty years later the first part; 

the main character Hafid  is in a sad state, mourning the loss of his wife, Lisha. 

The story starts years into Hafid’s seclusion, when a dream convinces him 

to see a stranger that turns up on his doorstep and pulls Hafid 

out of retirement to embarke on a new adventure: (a speaking tour) 

to enlighten others about the principles enclosed in The Ten Scrolls.

My dear boyman Wowa loved the books. He dreams of becoming a

great salesman too. Oh well, we can always dream and work for our

dreams right?

good byes are necessary for us to meet again

they are my friends, i talk and listen (read: read) to them almost every night, topics range from believing in myself to journeys of a confused to learning a thing or two about other culture...i depend on them when my mind is tired...when my heart is aching...when my body can not seem to take the pressures my mind and heart are subjecting themselves into. in short, they are my savior- my bedside books.

but there came a time that i used them as an escape, they send me far from where i am, and there i go hoping and wishing that i'd never go back to what i should be doing (reading-scholarly journals, writing-scholarly articles)... they are good friends, they shield me from hurts, they take me as far as i want them to, they hide me from my monsters and make me feel alright for a time. soon, i was seeing more of them than what is needed, i had to re-think and rethinking i did. hurting as it may seem, i tied them (all 25 of them- see list below) using my favorite red ribbon, placed them in  a good bag and had them sent to my old study area 2-hour plane ride away from where i am now.

i had to say goodbye to them...and yes, as the old savior's manual would say--- goodbyes are necessary for friends to meet again. i know i'd see them again. i'd be able to talk to them again. i'd have them beside me again, just ever-near when i need them. but for now, i had to let go of them so they won't be used as an escape- 'coz it's becoming unfair to them to be treated that way. goodbye dear friends.

jonathan livingston seagull - running from safety - illusions, the adventures of the reluctant messiah - a gift of wings - biplane - nothing by chance - one - bridge across forever - hypnotizing maria - the prophet - punchlines - loving each other - humor for a women's heart - the 12th angel - sula - eat pray love - stainless longganisa - silas marner - mr. blue - songs of solomon - oliver twist -  trivia of the silver screen - to kill a mockingbird - memoirs  of a geisha - best of a lady - robinson crusoe (audio)

The Scroll Marked VII

I will laugh at the world. No living creature can laugh except humans.  Trees may bleed when they are wounded, and beasts in the field will cry in pain and hunger, yet only I have the gift of laughter and it is mine to use whenever I choose.  Henceforth I will cultivate the habit of laughter.


I will smile and my digestion will improve; 
I will chuckle and my burdens will be lightened; 
I will laugh and my life will be lengthened 
for this is the great secret of long life 
and now it is mine.


I will laugh at the world. And most of all, I will laugh at myself for humans are most comical when we take ourselves too seriously.  Never will I fall into this trap of the mind.  For though I be nature's greatest miracle am I not still a mere grain tossed about by the winds of time?  Do I truly know whence I came or whither I am bound?  Will my concern for this day not seem foolish ten years hence?  Why should I permit the petty happenings of today to disturb me?  What can take place before this sun sets which will not seem insignificant in the river of centuries?


I will laugh at the world. And how can I laugh when confronted with person or deed which offends me so as to bring forth my tears or my curses?  Four words I will train myself to say until they become a habit so strong that immediately they will appear in my mind whenever good humor threatens to depart from me.  These words, passed down from the ancients, will carry me through every adversity and maintain my life in balance.  These four words are:  This too shall pass.


I will laugh at the world. For all worldly things shall indeed pass. When I am heavy with heartache I shall console myself that this too shall pass; when I am puffed with success I shall warn myself that this too shall pass.  When I am strangled in poverty I shall tell myself that this too shall pass; when I am burdened with wealth I shall tell myself that this too shall pass.  Yea, verily, where is he who built the pyramid?  Is he not buried within its stone?  And will the pyramid, one day, not also be buried under sand?  If all things shall pass why should I be of concern for today?

I will laugh at the world.
                                               I will paint this day with laughter; 

I will frame this night in song.  

Never will I labor to be happy; 

rather I will remain too busy to be sad.  

I will enjoy today's happiness today.  

It is not grain to be stored in a box.  

It is not wine to be saved in a jar.  

It cannot be saved for the morrow.  

It must be sown and reaped on the same day 

and this will I do, henceforth.

I will laugh at the world. And with my laughter all things will be reduced to their proper size.  I will laugh at my failures and they will vanish in clouds of new dreams.  I will laugh at my successes and they will shrink to their true value.  I will laugh at evil and it will die untasted; I will laugh at goodness and it will thrive and abound.  Each day will be triumphant only when my smiles bring forth smiles from others and this I do in selfishness, for those on whom I frown are those who purchase not my goods.
I will laugh at the world.

Henceforth will I shed only tears of sweat, for those of sadness or remorse or frustration are of no value in the marketplace whilst each smile can be exchanged for gold and each kind word, spoken from my heart, can build a castle.


Never will I allow myself to become so important, 
so wise, so dignified, so powerful, 
that I forget how to laugh at myself and my world.  
In this matter I will always remain as a child, 
for only as a child am I given the ability 
to look up to others; and so long as I look up to another 
I will never grow too long for my cot.


I will laugh at the world. And so long as I can laugh never will I be poor.  This then, is one of nature's greatest gifts, and I will waste it no more.  Only with laughter and happiness can I truly become a success.  Only with laughter and happiness can I enjoy the fruits of my labor.  Were it not so, far better would it be to fail, for happiness is the wine that sharpens the taste of the meal.  To enjoy success I must have happiness, and laughter will be the maiden who serves me.


I will be happy.
I will be successful.
I will be the greatest salesman the world has ever known.

from The Greatest Salesman in the World

by Og Mandino

I will act now.

“I will act now. 

I will act now. 
I will act now. 

Henceforth, I will repeat these words 

each hour, each day, everyday, 

until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, 

and the action which follows becomes as instinctive 

as the blinking of my eyelids. 

With these words I can condition my mind 

to perform every action necessary for my success. 

I will act now. 

I will repeat these words again and again and again. 

I will walk where failures fear to walk. 

I will work when failures seek rest. 

I will act now for now is all I have. 

Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. 

I am not lazy. 

Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. 

I am not a failure. 

I will act now. 

Success will not wait. 

If I delay, success will become wed to another 

and lost to me forever. 

This is the time. This is the place. 

I am the person. ” 

― Og Mandino