Cornelius Vanderbilt I had no illusions about his life. He didn’t start out with grand plans and ungodly greed. He merely stepped in this world one foot at a time, one boat at a time, one market at a time - one day at a time. He worked 16 hours a day, seven days a week. He worked hard and played hard. When all was said and done, though, he was a simple man who pushed the world of transportation to be all it could be - to be what it is today.

The times he lived through and contributed to is the history that forms the foundation of our present life. He teaches us through his actions how to hit the pavement of life every day relentlessly seeking to do better and to do it with pragmatism and realistic goals. He was tough as nails in body, mind, and spirit. He did what he wanted to and never hid it. Vanderbilt was never a hypocrite.

The greatest part of his life are the years when he bounced from shore to shore across all the islands in New York Harbor and then ventured farther inland, farther north, and even farther south until he became the first man to sail a steamboat up the San Juan River in Nicaragua in search of a path to cut from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Vanderbilt was a man of steel, and we can learn incredible things from him, so scroll up and click the "Buy Now" button to start learning about America’s first tycoon.