My top 10 highlights from the book:

1.  It pays to be where the money is being spent.

2.  Hill on how to build a railroad: Work, hard work, intelligent work, and then more work.

3.  A rich imagination and a driving ambition were fundamental parts of his nature.

4.  He came to believe in the strength of will, the power of one dynamic individual to change the world, the conquering hero.

5.  He held people’s attention as he engaged them in characteristic rapid-fire, highly animated conversation, gesturing expansively and driving home his point with jabbing motions of his hands—the embodiment of high energy.

6.  Hill had an entirely pragmatic business personality. When competition suited him in a market, he competed fiercely. But when competition became wasteful to him, he did not hesitate to end it, even if this meant joining with old enemies and creating a monopoly.

7.  He permitted himself few diversions in his relentless drive to achieve wealth and status.

8.  He read incessantly.

9.  He worked incredibly hard, sometimes laboring late into the night, falling asleep at the desk, then getting up for a swim in the river and a cup of black coffee, then going back to work.

10.  Hill was building carefully and checking his costs minutely. He cared most about freight, never frills.

Listen to #371 James J. Hill: The Empire Builder on Apple, Spotify, or the web.