The Books You Read and The People You Meet

Charlie Tremendous Jones said, "The difference in where you are now and where you will be in five years is the books you read and the people you meet."

When I look at my life, I am very thankful for the books I have read and the people I have met. As just a boy, my late grandfather, I.D. Thompson took me into another room in his home and in his secretive way whispered, "I want to show you something that has been my secret to success." PawPaw had worked his way up and retired from Hughes Tool Co., buying scores of rental properties along the way, and we all considered him to be rich. I remember being very interested in this secret to success.

My grandfather handed me the classic "Think and Grow Rich," by Napoleon Hill when I was somewhere around 13 years old. From that time to the present, I have known the value of reading good books. Of course, the best of the best is the Bible which contains not only secrets for success in this life, but also the one to come.

Through our years of travel in ministry, Donna and I were blessed to personally meet and know some of the most powerful ministers of our day. I will never forget as a boy, having the late Andrew Urshan lay his hands on me and pray. It was only a few days before his death and his legacy in the Pentecostal movement was legendary ... receiving the gospel in Persia, coming to America, and taking the gospel throughout Russia just before it fell in the grip of communism. After the wall came down, our missionaries found many in Russia who had survived the reign of communism and called themselves "Urshanites."

I will post again about powerful books. Right now, I have been praying for God to give me favor with the right people, because the books you read and the people you meet make a huge difference in your life.