Napoleon Hill, a Great Depression-era author and former advisor to
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, decided more than 76 years ago to
figure out the key to wealth.
To do so, he interviewed more than
500 of the most successful men in the U.S. at the time, such as Henry
Ford, Andrew Carnegie, and Charles M. Schwab.
The result of his findings, "Think and Grow Rich
," became one of the best-selling books of all time and sealed Hill's reputation as a pioneer of self-help literature.
We've scoured its pages to come up with some of Hill's best insights
about wealth, power, and overcoming the mental barriers needed to
achieve them.
"TRULY, thoughts are things, and powerful things
at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence,
and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches, or other
material objects."
"Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of
irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success
is almost within reach."
"The major weakness of all educational systems
is that they neither teach nor encourage the habit of DEFINITE DECISION.
It would be beneficial if no college would permit the enrollment of any
student, unless and until the student declared his major purpose in
matriculating."
"One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the
average man’s familiarity with the word 'impossible.' He knows all the
rules which will NOT work. He knows all the things which CANNOT be done
... A great many years ago I purchased a fine dictionary. The first
thing I did with it was to turn to the word “impossible,” and neatly
clip it out of the book. That would not be an unwise thing for you to
do."
"To win the big stakes in this changed world,
you must catch the spirit of the great pioneers of the past, whose
dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value, the spirit
which serves as the life-blood of our own country your opportunity and
mine, to develop and market our talents."
"This idea of starting at the bottom and working
one’s way up may appear to be sound, but the major objection to it is
this — too many of those who begin at the bottom never manage to lift
their heads high enough to be seen by OPPORTUNITY, so they remain at the
bottom. It should be remembered, also, that the outlook from the bottom
is not so very bright or encouraging. It has a tendency to kill off
ambition."
"Some people foolishly believe that only MONEY
can make money. This is not true! DESIRE, transmuted into its monetary
equivalent, through the principles laid down here, is the agency through
which money is “made.” Money, of itself, is nothing but inert matter.
It cannot move, think, or talk, but it can “hear” when a man who DESIRES
it, calls it to come!"
"Many people mistake their WANTS for their JUST
DUES. Your financial requirements or wants have nothing whatever to do
with your WORTH. Your value is established entirely by your ability to
render useful service or your capacity to induce others to render such
service."
"Most great leaders began in the capacity of
followers. They became great leaders because they were INTELLIGENT
FOLLOWERS. With few exceptions, the man who cannot follow a leader
intelligently, cannot become an efficient leader."
"America provides all the freedom and all the
opportunity to accumulate riches that any honest person may require.
When one goes hunting for game, one selects hunting grounds where game
is plentiful. When seeking riches, the same rule would naturally
obtain."
"Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring
riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning
definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with
persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches."
"Analysis of several hundred people who had
accumulated fortunes well beyond the million dollar mark, disclosed the
fact that every one of them had the habit of REACHING DECISIONS
PROMPTLY, and of changing these decisions SLOWLY, if, and when they were
changed. People who fail to accumulate money, without exception, have
the habit of reaching decisions, IF AT ALL, very slowly, and of changing
these decisions quickly and often."
“Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth.
Everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who
will accept them. If you are influenced by opinions when you reach
DECISIONS, you will not succeed in any undertaking, much less in that of
transmuting YOUR OWN DESIRE into money."
"Those who talk too much do little else. If you
talk more than you listen, you not only deprive yourself of many
opportunities to accumulate useful knowledge, but you also disclose your
PLANS and PURPOSES to people who will take great delight in defeating
you, because they envy you."
"When riches take the place of poverty, the
change is usually brought about through well conceived and carefully
executed PLANS. Poverty needs no plan. It needs no one to aid it,
because it is bold and ruthless. Riches are shy and timid. They have to
be 'attracted."
Money is a mindset...
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