The Little Red Book Has Competition

The more I thought about the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, the more this thought freaked me out: When was the last time a book, written by a mere man, got so much distribution? I could only think of one other instance and that happened in China. Chairman Mao wrote a little red book filled with with his teachings. That actual title is "The Red Treasured Book" from a term that was popular during the Cultural Revolution.

The estimated number of copies in print exceeds 900 million, second only to the Bible. It was required for Chinese citizens to own, read and carry it at all times during the Cultural Revolution. It was taught that understanding Mao's quotes would bring about 'enlightenment' to work resulting in production efficiencies and improvement. But Mao lacked vision. His book was only for China.

There is another book, written by a 'mere man' that is being distributed all over the world. For the proletariat, it is free, just like the Little Red Book. It is called A Purpose Driven Life. It is the teachings of Rick Warren. In this book, Rick Warren promises 'purpose' for your life in 40 days! This book has sold more than 20 million copies and is printed in 56 languages. Mr. Warren has a long way to go to catch up with Chairman Mao's 900 Million. But we have no doubt with his new PEACE plan he will not be far behind! Soon, Mr. Warren will take his purposeful big purple book to millions more around the world so that they, too, can find enlightenment.

Scary, huh?