Go get it if you haven’t read it.
This book answers the fundamental question- What makes a Winner?
To illustrate his principles, Napoleon Hill draws on stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires of his generation. In recent times, Arthur R. Pell, Ph.D also deftly interweaves anecdotes of how contemporary millionaires and billionaires, such as Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, Dave Thomas, and Sir John Templeton, achieved their wealth.
10 Lessons I Learned plus excerpts
- The Starting Point of all progress is desire
“The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”
- How to handle Defeat
“When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.”
- Defeat is Inevitable on the path to success
“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”
- Opinions are Cheap
“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.”
- I have to think high, i have to be sure of myself
“If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will –
It’s all in the state of MIND.
If you think you’re outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles, don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man
But soon or later the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!” - I have to discipline myself
“If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.”
- I must reach my goal
“If you give up before your goal has been reached, you are a “quitter.” A QUITTER NEVER WINS AND A WINNER NEVER QUITS. Lift this sentence out, write it on a piece of paper in letters an inch high, and place it where you will see it every night before you go to sleep, and every morning before you go to work”
8. Never worry about what people think or say
“Put your foot upon the neck of the fear of criticism by reaching a decision not to worry about what other people think, do, or say.”
9. It is not too Late for me to Succeed
“Those who succeed in an outstanding way seldom do so before the age of 40. More often, they do not strike their real pace until they are well beyond the age of 50.”
10. Learn from Experience
“Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
