It’s that time of year again. My inbox is full of Black Friday promotional emails. Everyone is offering discounts to get you to spend your hard-earned money with them in their final push to profitability for the 2024 fiscal year. And these great deals have many salivating like Pavlov’s poodles on a pile of bull pizzles.
But I have already picked up the best bargains available this week. And you can too.
Yesterday, I drove to my local Goodwill store with a load of donations. I dropped off 5 boxes of clothes, shoes, toys and other odds and ends that have outstayed their usefulness in The Albrecht Home. (You ever notice it is always the odds and ends that go, and never the evens and middles?)
After dropping my load in the drive-through, I parked my Expedition and walked into the store. I didn’t browse. I headed directly to my usual destination at the far back corner of the store. There, between the obsolete records and DVDs, I found my favorite treasure hunt honey hole: the Goodwill used bookshelves.
I scanned every shelf, looking for discount gold. I found 5 books, each for sale for between $1.99 and $2.99 that I had to have. I made my way back to the cashier counter and paid for my collection. But I felt like I stole them. Because I only paid $14. And that included rounding up for charity.
For that $14 I got:
Driven by Donald Driver: From this book, I will learn a lifetime of lessons from one of the greatest football players of all time. I expected to be entertained, educated and inspired by a man who went from homeless to Super Bowl and Dancing With The Stars champion. How much would you pay to hear him share his best life lessons? I bet it’s more than $2.99.
Ziglar On Selling by Zig Ziglar: Double Z is known as the greatest authority on selling ever. (In fact, he sold me on that designation.) And in case you didn’t realize, we humans are all selling all the time.) I expect I will pick up lessons from this book that will help translate to millions of dollars of revenue from my businesses, books and speaking engagements. All for $2.99.
Built to Last by James C. Collins and Jerry Porras. From this book, I know I will learn successful habits of visionary companies. Not only because it says so on the cover, but because I have already read this book. But that was before I owned The Weaponry. Now I will reread this great business book with a new perspective that will help my business thrive long into the future. Which is worth far more than the $1.99 I paid.
How To Read Literature Like A Professor, A lively and entertaining guide to reading between the lines by Thomas ‘Bananas’ Foster: This New York Times Bestseller is sure to help me get more out of my reading and understanding of the most important books ever written. And I expect that Foster will have more interesting insights to share with me than when kids used to hold up their 3 middle fingers and tell me to read between the lines. Understanding the deeper meanings of great literature seems like a steal for just $1.99.
John Adams by David McCullough This epic biography of one of America’s Founding Fathers is sure to deliver great inspiration and historical insights. I will learn more about the grit and determination of those charged with creating and fighting for this great nation. And I might finally learn what was up with those powdered wigs. Plus, buying a 750-page hardcover book for just $2.99 means I got more value in burnable paper than I paid for. And that’s before you factor in a full squid’s worth of ink.
Key Takeaway
As you look for bargains this week, don’t overlook books. Books at any price offer immense value. But on sale, or at second-hand-discounts they provide the best return on investment you will ever find.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.
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