When Warren Buffett Was 7 Years Old, He Read This 1 Book. It Inspired His Whole Career

It's 83 years old, but I found it and read it. (Plus 5 more things worth reading today.)

When Warren Buffett was 7, he read a book called One Thousand Ways to Make $1,000. Read it to pieces, in fact. He became obsessed.

Decades ago, Fortune ran a profile that described him as having "virtually memorized" it.

First published in 1936, One Thousand Ways has been out of print for decades. But last year, I found it and read it.

I’m Bill Murphy Jr. Welcome to Understandably. Have you signed up for the daily email?

Of course, the book is dated, and some of the language will make you cringe. But if you can get past that, it's also very inspiring.

Here are five big takeaways.

1. Get started right now

The core of the book, and what inspired Buffett to begin with, is one example after another of people making money. The cumulative effect leaves an impression.

There’s the guy who started the Hires Root Beer company. Then the story of J.C. Penney. Then a New York City widow who turned her last $38 into a million-dollar coffee empire.

Then a woman who built a tomato juice empire, and a man …