The Father of Positive Thinking
If there was ever the need for a paternity test for the positive thinking movement, guess who the daddy would be? My money would be on Napoleon Hill; and for good reason.
If you have ever heard me say that you can be anything you set your mind to, I learned that from Napoleon Hill. He would often say “What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve“. Millions of people around the world have learned the success philosophy from Napoleon Hill. His book “Think and Grow Rich” has sold over 30 million copies.
A Young Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill had the misfortune of losing his mother at the tender age of eight. He grew up in financial difficulties and even dropped out of college due to lack of school fees.
He started writing for small-town newspapers in the area of Wise County, Virginia. His employer commissioned him to write a series on successful men. His first interview became a life changer. He was to interview Andrew Carnegie, the richest man in America at the time.
A three hour interview turned out to be a three day talk with the great Andrew Carnegie. It then went on to become a twenty year research project.
Andrew Carnegie could sense potential in people. Within three hours of meeting Napoleon Hill, he knew that he had the right man for the job of researching and putting together a new success philosophy.
Imagine going to interview the richest man in the world and after the interview, he asks you if you would be willing to work for him for 20 years without pay. That was the decision Napoleon Hill had to make on his feet that day. Saying yes proved to be his best decision yet.
The Formula for Success
Andrew Carnegie paved the way for Napoleon Hill by giving him letters of introduction to the rich and famous men. He did not pay Napoleon throughout the twenty year project apart from some expenses in the early years of their relationship.
Napoleon Hill’s first task was to listen to and analyze over 500 powerful men and women to learn the secrets of their success. Andrew Carnegie believed that any man or woman could be successful by following a simple formula and it was Hill’s job to find that formula. When I tell you that I am standing on the shoulders of giants, these are the giants.
As part of his research, Hill interviewed and drew out the best from success giants such as Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, George Eastman, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt and Jennings Randolph.
Napoleon Hill later became an adviser to two presidents of the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
What can we learn from Napoleon Hill?
Thoughts are things. Thoughts are physical.
Whatever your mind thinks about becomes your reality. Success or failure is all in the mind. You are the architect of your life.
“There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it”, said Napoleon Hill.
Napoleon Hill believed that action is the true measure of intelligence. The scales of success are tipped on the side of action takers.
Learn More about Napoleon Hill
Many people have written about Napoleon Hill and his philosophy of achievement. I will not repeat it all in this blog post.
In this series of articles on inspiring legends, I will be introducing each legend and giving the motivated readers links to find out more about the legend.
To read his book “Think and Grow Rich” for free, please visit http://www.sacred-texts.com/nth/tgr/index.htm
To watch a TV interview of Napoleon Hill talking about his first meeting with Andrew Carnegie, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GCaEZscfvA
To download (free) his monumental success masterpiece “The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons (1928)”, please visit http://www.archive.org/details/Law_Of_Success_in_16_Lessons
Summary
Napoleon Hill is the father of positive thinking. This blog is based on his teachings as seen through my eyes, experiences and thinking. I will be exposing more of my sources of inspiration in this series. Take time to follow the links and to learn from these masters. Even you know about Napoleon Hill and his teachings, going back to them again will lift your spirit and expose you to new ideas.
Stay tuned for the next inspiring legend, coming soon.
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