That Something by William W Woodbridge – Book Review

Title and author: that something by William W. Woodbridge

Content Synopsis:

This is a short story, only 34 pages, of a man who is down on his luck, needs a job and a place to live, but most of all he needs some dignity and some clue on how to succeed. He is desperate and has no idea where to start. He meets a man and asks him for something to eat, because he is exhausted and hungry. The man replies that it would be useless to feed him. Instead, the man says that he will give her something much more valuable. He will give you “that something”. The hungry man doesn’t understand and wants something special delivered to him right now. The other man explains that he must find it himself.

The rest of the book describes man’s process of recognizing that he needs that special something, finding out what it is, and putting it into practice. The man succeeds in the business world and discovers very clearly what That Something is. He has a hard time describing it, but he knows he’s using it.

This book is similar to many other successful books and pamphlets from the early 20th century. Today it is easy to dismiss the relatively simplistic approach to success typified by Woodbridge’s work. That would be a mistake. While not terribly complex, it does contain grains of wisdom and truths that are just as true today as they were a century ago. By using a short fictional story, the author also makes the message more personal than a dry lesson on success principles.

The fact is that hard work, diligence, persistence, acceptance of personal responsibility for one’s destiny, creative thinking, and all the other fundamentals in this book are still as essential to success as they were then.

You can sit down and read this little book in an hour. It will entertain and inform you. It will remind you of the truths about success that you may already know, but it is a reminder that we all benefit from.

Paul J. Meyer, well-known and highly successful self-improvement teacher and writer, attributes part of his success to this book, which he read many times and was inspired by. Given everything Meyer has taught us about success, that’s the only reason to read this little book.

Readability/Writing Quality:

For a book from the first decade of the 20th century it is very entertaining. In fact, all of Woodbridge’s writing is well done. It’s simple enough for an elementary school kid to read, and yet inspiring enough to move an adult.

Notes on the author:

William Witherspoon Woodbridge was the author of several classic self-improvement short books in the early 20th century. He also wrote That Something, Something More, and Scooting Skyward. His writings were endorsed by Thomas Edison, among others. These little books and others like them were popular in the pre-World War I era as they appealed to the common man and were simply written.

Paul J. Meyer is a renowned author and pioneer in the modern self-improvement industry.

Three great ideas you can use:

1. The secret of success is not found in other people nor can anyone give it to you. You must discover the secret of success for yourself with your own effort and thought.

2. There is something that successful people have about their attitude and their action that separates them from the rest of humanity. Identify that something different and learn to apply it in your own life and you too will see success. That something is a synergistic combination of a positive attitude, a positive expectation of success, a willingness to go out and do whatever it takes to achieve your goals, have a goal or objective to achieve, and continually improve yourself and your contacts with others to achieve them. goals. While this is not an exhaustive list, it is an important part of that something.

3. A story, told correctly, can convey a level of truth and understanding that cannot be communicated through more traditional lectures. Look behind the events that led to the success of someone you know or a famous person whose biography you can read, and you’ll find that something at work.

Release information:

that something by William W. Woodbridge.

Copyright: 2005 by Executive Books

General rating: Very good