Chapter 73 Chapter 24: How to live 45 more years

The doctor asked me to choose between money and life, and I chose... John Rockefeller earned his first $1 million at the age of 33; at the age of 43, he established the world's largest oil company-Standard Oil Company.So what has he accomplished at 53?His monopoly business is indeed thriving, but the highly tense life has also brought infinite troubles, which has had a very bad impact on his health. At 53, he "looked like a mummy," as his biographer John Winkler described him. At the age of 53, Rockefeller suffered from a mysterious digestive system disease. All his hair fell out, and even his eyelashes began to fall off, leaving only a light layer of fluff.

"It was very serious," Winkler said. "For a long time, he was forced to survive on human milk." The doctor diagnosed him with "hair loss syndrome", which is usually caused by excessive stress. .The baldness was so odd that he had to wear a hat.Later, he ordered some wigs, which he wore until his death. Rockefeller's body was originally very strong. He grew up on a farm. Physical labor made his shoulders broad and strong, his waist straight, and his steps steady and powerful.Yet at 53—the prime of life for a man—his shoulders began to sag, and his walk wobbled.

Another biographer, Flynn, described him this way: "When he looked in the mirror, he saw an old man. Endless work, endless worries, insomnia caused by long-term bad habits, and lack of exercise and rest. , has taken away his health." The doctor only allowed him to eat some yogurt and biscuits.His skin was tarnished and looked like old sheepskin over his bones.Money is of no use at this point either, except to provide him with enough medical care to keep him from dying at the prime of his life at 53. What the hell does this happen?Troubled, frightened, and highly tense life, he "pushed" himself to the brink of death.

As early as 23 years old, Rockefeller began to pursue his goals wholeheartedly.His friend said: "Nothing can make him smile except good business news. Whenever he makes a deal and makes a lot of money, he will throw his hat on the ground with excitement. Dancing as fast as he can. But if he fails, he will fall ill with it." On one occasion, he consigned $40,000 worth of grain via the Great Lakes, excluding marine insurance to save on insurance premiums.That night, a violent storm hit Lake Erie, and Rockefeller was very worried that something might happen to his cargo.Early the next morning, when partner George Galle came to the office, he found that Rockefeller had already been there, wandering anxiously around the room.

Upon seeing Galle, he said in a trembling voice, "Quick, see if you're still insured now... Maybe it's too late." Galle rushed into the city to get insurance.But when he returned to his office, he found Rockefeller more depressed.It turned out that the owner sent a telegram: "The cargo has been unloaded and has not been hit by the storm." The waste of 150 dollars made him even more sad, so that he had to go home to rest. How inconceivable that the owner of a $500,000 a year business should be so overwhelmed by $150 that he has to go to bed. For business, he almost gave up all his play and rest time, and he has almost no other hobbies besides making money.When his partner, Galle, and three other friends bought a second-hand yacht for $2,000, Rockefeller was so horrified that he refused to set sail on the yacht.

One Saturday afternoon, Galle found that he was still working in the office, so he said to him: "Come on, Locke, let's go out on a boat to have fun, forget about work for a while, and relax." Rockefeller glared at him, and warned in a serious manner: "George Galle, you are the world's most wasteful person, you should understand that you are destroying your own credit with the bank, which is mine. You will Destroyed our business. No, I will never ride on your yacht, and I would never want to see it." "Lack of humor and security" was the most important characteristic of Rockefeller's life.He once said: "Every night, I have to tell myself that my success is only temporary, and then I lie down and go to sleep."

With millions of dollars at his disposal, he still fears losing it all.He had no time for games and amusements, never went to the theater, never played cards, never attended parties.As Mark Hannah said, he is crazy about money, "normal in other things, only crazy about money". In Cleveland, Ohio, Rockefeller once confided to a neighbor that deep down he too "wanted to be loved," but too much aloofness and paranoia tended to keep people at arm's length.The famous banker Morgan once complained: "I don't like that kind of person, and I don't want to have any dealings with him."

Rockefeller's own brother also hated him deeply, and even removed his child's coffin from the family cemetery.He said: "My own blood will not allow any man to rest in the land controlled by John Rockefeller." Rockefeller's staff and colleagues were in awe of him, and it is ridiculous that he feared them too-for fear that they would talk nonsense outside the office and "spill the company's secrets."He had no faith in human nature, and once when he signed a 10-year contract with an independent manufacturer, he asked the businessman to promise not to tell anyone, including his wife. "Keep your mouth shut and work hard" is his motto.

Just when his career was at its peak—and riches poured into his vaults like golden lava from Mount Vesuvius—his personal world began to unravel.Many books and articles denounced Standard Oil's unscrupulous plutocratic practices—secret kickbacks, unfair competition with the railroads. In Pennsylvania, the most hated man was Rockefeller.His vanquished competitors hung his head from a tree to vent their hatred, and many longed to put their own hands on the rope around his shriveled neck.Gunpowder-smelling letters poured into his office, threatening to kill him, so much so that he had to hire so many bodyguards to prevent them from being plotted by others.He tried to ignore the hostility, saying with a sarcasm: "Kick me and call me out, but I'll do it my way."

However, in the end he found that he was a mortal after all, and could not bear the erosion of people's hatred and worries towards him.His body is getting weaker and weaker.Disease—the new enemy—was attacking him from within, catching him off guard. Initially, "he tried to keep his occasional discomfort a secret".However, many physical symptoms such as insomnia, indigestion, and hair loss cannot be concealed.The doctor told him frankly that there were only two options before him—death and rest. He chooses to rest, but before retirement, worries, greed, and fear have completely destroyed his health.The famous American biographer Ida Tabe was shocked when she saw him for the first time. She wrote in the book: "His face shows terrible aging. I have never seen such an old person."

What is going on?Rockefeller was a few years younger than General MacArthur who returned to the Philippines at that time.Yet his body was so old, Tarbe was deeply saddened.She was writing a book at the time, trying to expose the "evil" of Standard Oil Company, and naturally she would not like the people who built this huge institution.But when she saw Rockefeller teaching in Sunday school, looking around with anxious eyes, she said: "I have a feeling of sadness that I never had before, and this feeling is growing. What a horrible thing." Doctors worked hard to save Rockefeller's life. They gave him three rules, which became his unswerving three rules: (1) Avoid worry.Never, under any circumstances, worry about anything. (2) Relax and do more outdoor activities. (3) Pay attention to diet.Stay semi-starved at all times. Rockefeller obeyed these three rules and thus saved his life.He stepped back from his thriving business and learned to golf, garden, play cards, sing and chat with neighbors.Beyond that, he began to reflect on himself.Winkler said: "During those miserable days and sleepless nights, Rockefeller finally had time for self-reflection." Happiness, start thinking about donating millions of money.Sending money is not an easy task for someone who has such an experience like him.When he made a donation to a church, preachers across the country uttered a chorus of protest: "Corrupt money." But he was not deterred by it, but continued to carry out his philanthropic work.When he learned that a university on the shores of Lake Michigan was forced to close due to mortgages, he immediately donated millions of dollars to aid. This university is today the world-famous University of Chicago. He tried his best to help black people.He did not hesitate to donate a huge sum of money to the Tuskegee Black University to help them complete the volunteer of the black educator Washington Carvin.When the famous duodenal worm expert Dr. Steyer said: "It takes only 50 cents worth of medicine to cure a man of this disease-who will give the 50 cents?" Rockefeller donated it, He donated millions of dollars to eradicate duodenal worms, a disease that once plagued the American South.He has since pursued an even greater initiative, forming a vast international foundation - the Rockefeller Foundation - dedicated to eradicating disease, poverty and illiteracy throughout the world. Here, I would like to express my sincere respect to this great man, because the Rockefeller Foundation once saved my life.I still remember very clearly that in 1932, when I was visiting mainland China, cholera spread throughout Beiping, and poor farmers died like flies.In a panic of terror, we came to the Rockefeller School of Medicine to be vaccinated against infection.From then on, I really understood the contribution of Rockefeller's money to the world. A feat like the Rockefeller Foundation has never been seen before in history and is unparalleled in the world.Rockefeller knew that many meaningful activities were being carried out by many intelligent people all over the world-the research work in obscurity, the founding of a school, the selfless dedication of doctors.However, efforts are often stalled due to lack of funding.He tried to give them some help, not to "take them in", but to give them a certain amount of money to support them in completing their work. Today, you and I should be grateful to Rockefeller, because under his funding, scientists have made many important discoveries. These discoveries have saved you and your children from dying of spinal meningitis and no longer suffering from malaria. , Tuberculosis, Influenza, Diphtheria and other various diseases that harm mankind. What about Rockefeller himself?Did he get peace of mind after donating the money?Yes, he finally felt satisfied. "If people still think that he's been crippled by society's attacks on Standard Oil since 1900, they're dead wrong," says Aaron Nivens. Rockefeller was completely changed, and he was no longer troubled.He didn't even want to lose a night's sleep when he was forced to accept the biggest failure of his life. The thing is, according to the opinion of the U.S. government, Standard Oil is a monopoly company that violated the "Antitrust Act" and was fined "the heaviest fine in history" by the government.The lawsuit lasted for five years, and almost the best lawyers in the United States were involved in this seemingly never-ending lawsuit. In the end, Standard Oil lost the case. When Judge Nandis delivered his sentence, defense lawyers worried that Rockefeller was overwhelmed—they didn't understand that he had changed completely. That night, a lawyer called Rockefeller, told him the verdict as tactfully as possible, and comforted him: "Mr. Rockefeller, I hope this verdict will not trouble you, and I hope you can sleep well." How do you guess the old Rockefeller answered?He replied with a relaxed mood: "Don't worry, Mr. Johnson, I planned to sleep on it. I hope you won't be upset by this matter. Good night." Those are the words of a man who has lost $150 and is devastated?Yes.It took John Rockefeller a long time to get over his problems.He "died" at the age of 53, but lived to be 98.