Why is Napoleon Hill and his influential self-help books still studied today?
His books and are still relevant, 80 years after he wrote them, because they focus on mindset, believing and positive emotions. Factors more important to accomplishing your goal than anything else.
He researched and interviewed 500 self-made millionaires and summarized the most important principles.
His most famous book about achieving success, Think and Grow Rich, sold over 70 million copies and is one of the top 10 books ever read.
Napoleon Hill defined his Rules for Success as follows:
1-Have a Definite Purpose.
According to Hill, knowing your purpose is the starting point for success. Having a wish is not enough, you must have a burning desire. If you know what you want and you back it up with effort, planning, knowledge, initiative and a positive mindset, then you have a definite purpose.
2-Get Along Peacefully With Others.
Being petty and argumentative is a waste of time. Great people understand the value of others and having a network of people they can rely on. They know that the best way to have others like them is to like them first.
3-Believe.
Hill’s famous quote: “Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve” is about truly believing, not just in your conscience mind, but also in your subconscious mind. To do so you must change your limiting beliefs. Once you overcome them, you’re conscious and unconscious mind can work together to achieve what you believe.
4-Take Responsibility.
When you make a commitment, you must be accountable to follow through. A successful leader has to take responsibility for his mistakes and shortcomings, and the success or failure of his business.
Hill believes that if a follower makes a mistake or fails, the leader must assume that it is he who has failed and not shift responsibility to the other party.
5-Take Action.
Hill tells us that the key difference between the successful and the ordinary is the ability to keep moving forward, even in the face of failure.
You will not get results from your defined purpose (see #1) until you do something—take action and keep moving forward.
Are you looking to create success in both life and business? Napoleon Hill was a huge proponent of the Master Mind and wrote about it often. This is what he said about the Mastermind principle:
“Men take on the nature and the habits and the POWER OF THOUGHT of those with whom they associate in a spirit of sympathy and harmony.”
If you want to associate with like-minded people to attain your purpose, read about The Business Start-up Mastermind Group, and experience the benefits yourself.
In the next post, we will explain his next five rules.
I’d love to hear your experiences. Please share your comments below.
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