4 out of 4 stars
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And Then I Met Margaret is a non fiction book by Rob White. It is a part autobiographical and part motivational collection of stories that chronicle Rob White's journey from his humble beginnings in a small mill town to his extremely successful career as a real estate entrepreneur and motivational speaker.
Rob White was born in a poor, small town where most kids aspired to a job in one of the two local factories once they finished school. Rob aspired to go to college and then start teaching. Seventeen years later he gave up a secure teaching job and went on to become a wealthy and successful businessman. However, as his wealth grew, Rob began experiencing a spiritual disquiet and inner emptiness which led him to travel far and wide in the quest for wisdom, meaning and purpose in life. He met many famous gurus, wise men, thinkers and motivational speakers and learnt a lot from them. But he realized that life also places in your path seemingly ordinary, everyday people who without knowing it, might have an important lesson to impart toward enriching your life.
In this book, Rob White writes about twenty one incidences in his life, where the challenges he faced, and ordinary, everyday people he met inspired him to become a better person and achieve bigger and better things.
He writes about how life is continually pointing you towards the right path, towards doing the right thing and how unexpected people in your life- it could be a gardener, a peanut vendor, a student or even a second grade kid like the eponymous Margaret- who could have a powerful lesson to impart. Not only does he recognize and embrace the wisdom that comes his way, he also generously passes them along later to anyone who could benefit from the lessons he learnt.
He begins each story by stating a myth that he believed in and most people believe in, like- "'What happens in my world determines how I feel".
Through the story he explains how reality is often very different from that myth, like- " How I respond to what happens in my world determines how I feel".
Each story is told in a warm, relatable, humorous manner and makes for an easy and inspirational read.
I do not normally read self help or motivational books. More often than not I find them preachy. I am glad I read this one because the stories are light hearted, funny and anything but preachy. The author talks about events from his life, some of which could easily have happened to you or me. This book inspires you to keep an open mind, be observant, learn from every mistake you make. You never know who may be placed in your path to assist you on your journey. I really enjoyed reading this book and have very little to offer in way of criticism of this book. For all these reasons I give And Then I Met Margaret 4 out of 4 stars and recommend it to anyone looking for a happy, inspirational read.
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And Then I Met Margaret
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