When you work with others and apply the Golden Rule, you will be rewarded beyond your imagination. It has been said that you can never exercise any great amount of influence over others until you first learn to exercise control over yourself...
It is necessary for you to believe in yourself if you are to make the most of your abilities. It is urgent that you believe in yourself in order to get others to cooperate with you in carrying out whatever tasks you are undertaking...
When you have selected your major purpose in life and made plans to reach your goal, you will be less likely to quit if a plan that you previously made fails. Once you have developed your major purpose in life, the passion it creates will lead you to achieve greater self-discipline, self-reliance, and enthusiasm. Once you begin to work on your plans, you will see personal initiative begin to assist you and recognize that those who have a purpose, a plan, and personal initiative are the true success stories...
Have you ever believed that you can never be a millionaire because people who become rich have talents or other characteristics that people like you who are “average” don’t have? Success is truly a mind game, as my good friend Joe Dudley, Jr. realized. The circumstances of his early life would have given him plenty of excuses to fail. In his book Walking by Faith, Joe lets the reader know that not only was he born into poverty in a large family, but he had a speech impediment and was labeled retarded. Also, being black was not exactly an asset when he was a child. Dudley told 500 students at the annual Napoleon Hill Day held at the University of Virginia-Wise that his mother had explained to him that he might be slow, but that when he got something, he got it.
Once you have a purpose in your mind and you have a passion for it - or, as Napoleon Hill said, you have a “burning desire” to accomplish it - you are well on your way...
Last week we concluded the series of articles from Napoleon Hill’s first magazine publications. This week we begin sharing excerpts from one of Napoleon Hill’s greatest publications – The Law of Success. Napoleon Hill's words have positively influenced millions of people worldwide. His books, lectures, magazine articles, and audio and video programs have shown them the way to personal and professional achievement...
A good friend and mentor of mine, James A. Brown, Jr. once told me the following story: I remember the seventh grade when I was encouraged to read books. It was the first time I had been tested as to what grade level I had reached—and guess what? Here I was in the seventh grade, and I tested at fifth-grade level. My teacher told the class she would make a record of the books we read by putting a star by each name every time we read a book and gave her a two-page report. By the end of the year, nobody in my class was even close to the number of books I had read...
Becoming a millionaire or multimillionaire may engender a good feeling, and reaching any other worthwhile goal may be very satisfying to you, but the important point you should plant in your subconscious is that what you become during the process is what should matter most. When he wrote, “Success is a journey, not a destination,” author Ben Sweetland probably said it best...
Just what are the factors that define what it takes to be a success? If you ask different people, you will receive many different answers. Some will suggest being highly educated; others will think it takes hard work. Others will remember President Calvin Coolidge’s statement on persistence. Walter Chrysler, the automobile genius, reminded us that nothing worthwhile was ever accomplished without enthusiasm. All of these traits are of great help, but by themselves they are not what it takes to make someone successful...