There was a man, Al Hafed, who lived on the banks of the River Indus who had a nice farm with orchards and gardens, excess cash, a beautiful wife and children. He was 'wealthy because he was contented'. Then an old priest visited him and one night related how the world was made, including the formation of all the rocks, the earth, the precious metals and stones. He told the farmer that if he had a few diamonds he could have not just one farm, but many. The farmer listened. Suddenly, he wasn't that happy with what he had thus far acquired in life.

He sold up and went travelling in search of diamonds, across Persia, Palestine and into Europe. A couple of years later, what money he had was gone, and he was wandering around in rags. When a large wave came in from the sea, he was happily swept under by it.

The man who had bought the farmer's land was another story. One day, watering his animals in the stream that ran through the property, he noticed a glint in the watery sands. It was a diamond. In fact, it was one of the richest diamond finds in history; the mines of Golconda would yield not just one or two but acres of diamonds.

Open your mind

In this tiny book, which is actually a transcript of a hugely popular lecture that he gave, Conwell relates similar true life stories about the folly of going off to find your fortune when it is in your own backyard or just staring you in the face. He suggests that most people are 'pygmies of their possible selves', because they are not willing to accept, or it did not occur to them, that they have great untouched powers: "Families do not credit their own folks with abilities they attribute to other persons. Towns and cities are cursed because their own people talk them down", he says.

Conwell's message is that we shouldn't fall for the trap of thinking that all the great people and the great businesses are somewhere else. Consider that Henry Ford started designing and building his car on his own farm and built the famous Ford production line factories in the same area where he had grown up. There was nothing special about Dearborn, Michigan - he made it special, without ever leaving his own backyard. Warren Buffett, the great investor, decided against moving his family to Wall Street. He stayed in Omaha, Nebraska and made his billions there.

The discovery of true service

Conwell's other theme is that great service is basic to prosperity.

He tells of the financier John Jacob Astor the elder, who had to suddenly go into partnership in a millinery store because the owners could not keep up mortgage payments. What did he do to get this business on its feet? He would go into the park and quietly watch the women strolling along, particularly the most confident and elegant, and take careful note of the hats they were sporting. Back in the store, he had these hats copied exactly. The result was that the store never made a hat or bonnet that a lady didn't like, and it boomed. Left behind was the idea that 'we make hats and try to sell them', to be replaced by 'what women want, we sell'.

From such basic service erupts great success, in this case a store that even in the 19th century made seventeen million dollars. You may think you have already considered it, but ask again: what do people want?

Final word

Acres of Diamonds might seem from another era, but Conwell was one of the original American motivational speakers and his talk can still inspire. It costs next to nothing to buy, can be read in about half an hour, and every so often you may like to be reminded of its two lessons:

• There's no need to look beyond yourself and your immediate circumstances to find the seeds of your fortune.
• Service is the key to success. Don't just sell things. Find out what people really want. This requires greater than normal thought and observation.

So simple, but so useful to remember.