A Message to Garcia

By: Elbert Hubbard

Narrated by: Kent McKamy

Length: 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A Message to Garcia, written by legendary author Elbert Hubbard, is widely considered to be one of the top 100 greatest books of all time. This great classic will surely attract a whole new generation of listeners. For many, A Message to Garcia is required reading (or listening) for various courses and curriculums. And for others who simply enjoy timeless pieces of classic literature, this gem by Elbert Hubbard is highly recommended. A Message to Garcia should be a part of everyone's personal library.

Public Domain (P)2005 Gildan

The beginning of Excellence

A very short but to the point message to anyone who wants to know what Excellence looks like. There is some who make excuses to not be excellent and you will see them or rather hear them rant and cry "it is impossible" or "there is no point to Excellence" but the proof is that no such person you will find at the top, at the command of anything, neither in charge or trusted upon to do what is necessary.

just do it

awesome message really drove the point home. i highly recommend. best short story keep it classy

Seldom spoken truths ...

Quoting from "The Richest Man in Babylon":

"Work was my grandfather's secret key to the golden shekels? "

"It was the only key he had when I first knew him. Thy grandfather enjoyed working, and the Gods appreciated his efforts and rewarded him liberally."

If you appreciate that logic, you'll appreciate "A Letter to Garcia"

One Important Character Quality for Success

This is a very inspiring message. Even though it is only several minutes long, it is profound. I heard that this message was reprinted by several companies and even governments around America and the world. This is and inspiring message.

An incredible read!

A Message To Garcia.
It starts out explaining the importance of Independent Action and blind faith. Which is so rare in the current day. If only this Author could see how much worse it’s gotten he’d turn in his grave. This is a must read, it’s super motivating and aspiring to accomplish the mission with not only faith but with independent thought and action to get the job done. “If men will not act for themselves what will they do when the benefit of their action is for all.” A similar read is a book by the title of “ The Butterfly Effect” I highly recommend it. As this book explains the unmotivated and unwillingness in people, the next one I recommended explains the Effect on doing or accomplishing something and what it lead to in the future.

A great message...

..of taking initiative and pride in what you do, no matter what line of work. Something we see a little less of with each passing day in the United States. We're seeing a more greedy, narcissistic and nasty culture starting to rear it's ugly head. "A Message to Garcia" re-minds us of the "can do" spirit that made, and can continue to make, this country the greatest the world has ever known. It's worth 10 minutes of your life.

listen to this everyday

loving it over and over again. I've owned the hard back for fifteen years and now this gift to myself has changed my life.

My Favorite Motivation Title

It's very short, concise and has inspired millions.
The surface story is an extremely brief tale about a man who was trusted to get a job done.
The real message is to know what you're doing & work to get it done.
Show initiative, find a way, accomplish the mission.
There will always be a job for a man (or woman) who gets things done.

Long time staple of the Marine Corps reading list

but recently taken off (as I understand it). Probably time to put it back on and help some millennia junior leaders think about its message. I had never heard of this short missive until a few years ago, long after I retired from the Army. But I came across it when I was looking for something short and sweet for my nephew who had joined the Marine Corps reserves. Turns out to be an excellent thinking piece, for young leaders, on a variety of issues, but probably on three important ones. First, the important of taking on any task and doing it to the best of your ability. Even simple tasks like delivering a message are important. Second, sometimes, doing something is hard work and not easy. So, in the common day vernacular of the military, it means, "buckle-up buttercup;" this is going to be hard! Something all leaders need to learn. Third, and lastly, finding the right person to do a job is important. As noted in the writing, someone can be a good accountant but not a good courier. Getting the job done right depends on the right person, even at mundane tasks. Good read and delivery by Kent McKamy, but might not be everyone's favorite voice. Also, its a book that you can and should read more than once. Overall, a good addition to a reading list on leadership, management, or business in general.

Timeless Lesson on Followership

A Message to Garcia reminds us that personal and professional success requires a commitment to action and excellence. When Hubbard urges the reader to take hold and "do the thing," Nike's "Just Do It!" campaign swooshed through my head.

The prose shows its age, as does its reference to the Spanish-American War, dinner pails, and offices filled with armies of clerks. Dont give up, dear reader. The anachronisms underscore1 the timelessness of the message, as does the grandfatherly voice of the narrator.

Conscientiousness. Independent action. An ethos of service. These are the characteristics that our bosses, investors, society wants: they all want the person who can be entrusted to carry a message to Garcia.

Along with the soft skills of leadership and self-improvement preached by current day writers, there is still room for embracing the harder realities of the professional world. There is still a need for more Rowans.