The Greatest Miracle in
the World
By Og Mandino
ISBN 0-553-34157-X
Published by Bantam Books, 1975
5 star
must reading.
[The following is what I
highlighted during my read of this excellent book -- I recommend it on my
Top-ten List of Peace resources. My purpose in providing them is to
interest you, the reader, and hope that you will obtain and read the complete
work. To properly understand the highlights, you need to read the book to
put them in the proper context.]
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
- “The
beginning of pride is in heaven. The continuance of pride is on earth. The
end of pride is in hell.”
- “…‘hand
of God’ books.”
- Most
humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. In one way or another they
have lost their dreams, their ambitions, their desire for a better life.
They have surrendered their fight for self-esteem and they have compromised
their great potential. They have settled for a life of mediocrity, days of
despair and nights of tears. They are no more than living deaths confined to
cemeteries of their choice. Yet they need not remain in that state. They can
be resurrected from their sorry condition. They can each perform the
greatest miracle in the world. They can each come back from the dead…and
in those books are the simple secrets, techniques, and methods which they
can still apply to their own lives to become anything they wish to be and to
attain all the true riches of life.”
- “I
search out waste materials of the human kind, people who have been discarded
by others, or even themselves, people who still have great potential but
have lost their self-esteem and their desire for a better life. When I find
them I try to change their lives for the better, give them a new sense of
hope and direction, and help them return from their living death…which to
me is the greatest miracle in the world.”
- “It
may be praiseworthy and noble to sacrifice your life to a cause or a
business or the happiness of others, but if you are miserable and
unfulfilled in that lifestyle, and know it, then to remain in it is a
hypocrisy…”
Chapter 3
- “…our
mind is the greatest creation on earth and it can generate the most sublime
happiness for its owner—or it can destroy him. Yet although we have been
given the secret of how to control it, for our happiness and benefit, we
still function completely ignorant of its potential…”
- “…whatever
we allow to enter our minds will always bear fruit.”
- “…by
the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the divine
perfection.”
- “…we
can program our mind.”
- “…we
can do it for ourselves or others will do if for us.”
- “…the
feeling that only comes when one has helped another with no thought of
personal gain.”
Chapter 4
- “…while
we are all different…our lack of self-esteem which produced our failure is
a universal sickness always originating from the complex of either anxiety,
guilt, or inferiority…the three standard emotional problems…”
- “…all
I want from them is twenty minutes of their time each day, to read their
messages from God…just before they go to sleep. And this is to continue
for one hundred consecutive evenings.”
- “They
will resurrect themselves from living deaths…absorbed day by day into
their deep subconscious mind…”
- “It
is a hand of hope.”
- “…to
those who have eyes to see and ears to hear…and the desire to help
themselves.”
Chapter 5
- …a
violent condemnation of the attitude of complacency, lack of pride, and
standard of mediocrity that he was convinced had become our world’s way of
life…
- “Never,
never, never, never give up!”
- “…all
of us know that we can be better than we are.”
- “…then
we do not think very much of this failure…Gradually we grow to hate that
person.”
- “We
are unhappy because we no longer have our self-esteem. We are unhappy
because we no longer believe we are a special miracle, a special creation of
God.”
- “…despite
all the forces arrayed against us we still want, very much, to be proud of
our lives. We still desire, with all our heart, to reach our full potential,
and it is only because this small flame of hope still burns inside all of us
that we weep in shame at our failures, at our gradual descent into the
common pit of mediocrity.”
- “…most
individuals are neither willing nor ready to accept help until they have hit
bottom.”
- “…you’re
talking about changing the world.”
- “…common
goal of making this world a better place…”
- “…why
not try to change the world? Why not teach others that they can perform a
miracle with their lives?”
- “Only
man, each in his own way, has the ultimate decision on how his life is
lived.”
Chapter 6
- “In
order for this planet to survive, each human must eventually become his own
ragpicker.”
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
- …the
most difficult tasks are consummated, not by a single explosive burst of
energy or effort, but by consistent daily application of the best you have
within you.
- ‘The
God Memorandum’ is only your ticket to a new life. It will do nothing for
you unless you open your mind and your heart to receive it.
Chapter 9
- You
are my greatest miracle
- …to
receive love it must be given with no thought of its return.
- Know
then the first secret of happiness and success—that you possess, even now,
every blessing necessary to achieve great glory.
- …count
your blessings and know that you are already my greatest creation. This is
the first law…
- …true
security lies not in the things one has but in the things one can do
without.
- …the
second law is like unto the first. Proclaim your rarity.
- Never,
until the end of time, will there be another such as you.
- This
then is the third law…Go another mile!
- Be
patient…
- Be
proud…
- You
were made with purpose.
- …the
fourth great law of happiness and success…Use wisely, your power of
choice.
- Choose
to love
- Choose
to laugh
- Choose
to create
- Choose
to persevere
- Choose
to praise
- Choose
to heal
- Choose
to give
- Choose
to act
- Choose
to grow
- Choose
to pray
- Choose
to live
- Remember,
then, the four laws of happiness and success.
- Count
your blessings
- Proclaim
your rarity
- Go
another mile
- Use
wisely your power of choice
- And
one more, to fulfill the other four. Do all things with love…love for
yourself, love for all others, and love for G.O.D. (“Grand Organizational Design/Designer”).
- You
Are the Greatest Miracle in The World
Chapter 10