Are you familiar with the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill? It’s among the best books ever written on success. As the story goes, the late Andrew Carnegie made a young journalist, Napoleon Hill, an offer. He promised Hill
he’d help him interview 500 successful people among which would be industrialists and entrepreneurs. You see, It was Carnegie‘s belief that success is based on a set of principles
that anyone can study and learn. He believed Hill could find them. Hill did the interviews, and based on the information he gleaned from the interviews he wrote Think and Grow Rich. What happened next became history.
The fundamental truth
Billionaires like Richard Branson and Mark Cuban highly recommend Hill’s book, and consider it essential reading. However, there is an element to the story they would rather you not know. In the years following the publishing of his book Napoleon Hill was broke. He was so destitute he tried to sell his typewriter. How did he go off course?
Is the foundation of the book worthless? The fundamental truth is sound. But, somehow Hill overlooked a key element to be financially successful. Being curious you might ask, what is it? Obviously, not just reading the principles is enough, you have to apply them to obtain results.
Thinking is not enough
Think and Grow Rich may implant the idea that merely thinking is sufficient to earn a lot of money. This was Hill’s problem, and to a large extent is common among today’s new entrepreneurs. Eager to learn, these neophytes get misled by people who advocate that something akin to mere thinking can lead to success. Mix in claims of easiness in setting up or being able to do quickly, and you may have the makings of a possible scam.
We can’t help everyone because there are those who look the other way when they are lied to. They associate any suggestion as a call to action to achieve their goals. Because of this they are easy prey to bad opportunities, and ignore the advice of others and wind up deeply in debt with nothing tangible to show for it.
Be an action taker
I don’t believe most of you are like that. You don’t get tied in knots over taking action. You know that to succeed it’s necessary to take action, but be aware of the downside.
A person named Clement Stone had read Think and Grow Rich. Applying the principals he learned he was able to build a large company making millions of dollars. Feeling sorry upon learning that the man who wrote the book that altered his life was now destitute, he let Hill teach one of his courses to his followers.
That’s an example of the difference between someone who takes action and someone who doesn’t. Action takers go on to make millions. Those who don’t get charity if they are lucky.
If you are not an action taker, you may very well wind up like Hill, and you probably will not be fortunate enough for a Clement Stone to lend you support. It’s time to take action and become self-reliant.
