Acres of Diamonds

Acres of Diamonds

Lessons in Acres of Diamonds

Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell offers many lessons for achieving one's dreams. Conwell was a Baptist minister who traveled the country in the late 1800s sharing his motivational messages to inspire others. The story is that of a greed driven, wealthy land owner in India who abandoned his already impressive farm to search for diamonds in Africa and become rich and famous. Pursuing this road did not produce the wealth he hoped for. Instead it led to his financial ruin, depression and eventual suicide. Meanwhile, the new land owner discovered beautiful diamonds right in the garden brook of the Indian property. It would later become the diamond mine of Golconda, a world recognized mine known for its high quality gems. The moral of the story is that life presents many opportunities for us to realize our dreams, and that it is our duty to maximize those opportunities. We must develop the resourcefulness and vision necessary to identify and work with the gifts within our reach if only we open our eyes.

The dominant lesson of Acres of Diamonds is that opportunities to prosper are already within our reach and evident in the relationships, circumstances, work, and communities that are a part of our lives. The blessings and tools we need to prosper are often in our own backyard and often overlooked. As Conwell states on page 10, "I say to you that you have 'acres of diamonds' in Philadelphia right where you now live." The author offers that the reason that most people don't see the wonderful potential in everyday living, events and situations is because they are too focused on the problems. "But you go through the world saying, 'No opportunity to get rich,' and there is the fault right at your own door (Acres of Diamonds 17). In other words, we would do well to not talk ourselves out of what might be and discount our chances for success before we even begin. We often give up too quickly.

Conwell goes on further in Acres of Diamonds preaching a message of the importance of being wealthy; owning one's own home, providing for one's family and preparing for the future. While he does not speak with contempt about the poor, he makes it clear that he believes that wealth and prosperity should be one's goal in life. On page 11, he states, "I say that you ought to get rich, and it is your duty to get rich. He continues on page 12 by stating, "Money is power, and you ought to be reasonably ambitions to have it. You ought because you can do more good with it than you could do without it."