"THE SCIENCE OF SUCCESS: NAPOLEON HILL'S PROVEN PROGRAM FOR PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS" by Napoleon Hill

• When asked how he had done it, Hill explained the 10-point success formula Carnegie had suggested as a starting point for his research: Definiteness of Purpose—the setting of a major goal or purpose. Master-Mind Alliance—contacting and working with people who have what you haven’t. Going the Extra Mile—doing more than you have to do is the only thing that justifies raises or promotions, and puts people under an obligation to you. Applied Faith—the kind of belief that has action behind it. Personal Initiative—do what you should do without being told to do it. Imagination—daring to do what you think is possible. Enthusiasm—the contagious quality that will attract correlative enthusiasm. Accurate Thinking—the ability to separate facts from fiction and to use those pertinent to your own concerns or problems. Concentration of Effort—not being diverted from any purpose. Profiting by Adversity—remembering that there is an equivalent benefit for every setback.
• Over the years it has expanded. In addition to the 10 basic principles he obtained from Carnegie, men like Ford, Edison, and almost 500 other leaders who collaborated in his search for the ingredients of individual success contributed 7 additional points. They are: The Golden Rule Applied—sowing the seeds one is willing to harvest. Cosmic Habit-Force—the controlling law of Nature through which all habits are formed, described abstractly in Emerson’s Law of Compensation. Concentration—sticking to a task until it has been completed or discarded for sufficient cause. Pleasing Personality—a trait that can be developed and constantly improved. Self-Control—mastery over thoughts, speech, and deeds. Habit of Health—temperance in eating, exercising, thinking, and drinking. Habit of Saving—budgeting time, income, and expenditures.
• One profound fact I discovered was that every adversity, every failure, every defeat, and every unpleasant circumstance of our lives brings with it the seed of an equivalent benefit.
• The best way, Dr. Jacobs believes, to teach any rule is by practicing it!
• ourtesy is perhaps the singlemost trait by which Man identifies himself as a civilized being. Indeed, it’s the everyday sign of his humanity.
• Courtesy is the outward sign of a person’s attitude toward other people.
• Tact requires thoughtfulness, good judgment and the ability to think your way to swift decisions “on your feet,” so to speak.
• Almost all of life is a matter of give and take.
• The truly great fortunes are amassed by men with the vision and courage to create a better service or product, which, in turn, creates jobs, investment opportunities, sales and wealth for large groups of people.
• Your attitude should be the same in victory or defeat. For the quitter never wins and the winner never quits.
• The mark of the true leader is not so much his greater courage, strength or intelligence. It shows in his concern for those less favorably endowed by nature or circumstance.
• Remember there’s always something to be grateful for.
• Every person who reaches the top receives substantial boosts along the way from others.
• Healthy competition is the mainspring of business in our country.
• Frequent critical self-analysis is necessary to insure that you are adhering to the principles that can carry you to the heights of success.
• You should learn to use your handshake to help sell your way through life.
• Fear is the greatest single obstacle to success. Too often, people let fear rule all their decisions and actions.
• The successful person is one who is willing to take risks when sound logic shows they are necessary to reach the desired goal.
• Fear is an emotion intended to help preserve our lives by warning us of danger.
• We must control fear rather than permit it to control us. Once it has served its emotional purpose as a warning signal, we must not permit it to enter into the logical reasoning by which we decide upon a course of action.
• Once you have completed your study, take action—immediately! Procrastination leads only to more doubt and fear.
• Truly, whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.
• Your imagination will help you achieve success if you give it a chance.
• Ask yourself now: “What am I afraid of?” The answer probably will be “Nothing.”
• Everyone agrees that the ability to speak frankly can help make a person a success.
• But there is a time also when studied silence is equally important. The secret here is in being a good listener.
• Induce the other fellow to talk freely and you will know what to say—and how to say it—when your turn comes to speak.
• Strange also is the fact that only one thing is permanent in this universe—eternal change. Nothing remains exactly the same for even a second.
• Remember that you cannot stand still. You must move upwards toward success—or downwards toward failure.
• One of the surest ways to achieve your own success in life is by helping others to attain theirs.
• Helping others solve their problems will help you solve your own.
• Your ability to inspire others is a blank check on the Bank of Life that you can fill in for whatever you desire.
• GO OUT OF YOUR WAY How? By adopting and following these rules: 1. Go out of your way, at least once daily, to speak a kind word or render some useful service where it is not expected. 2. Modify your voice to convey a feeling of warmth and friendship to those you address. 3. Direct your conversation to subjects of the greatest interest to your listeners. Talk “with” them rather than “to” them. Consider the person with whom you’re conversing as the most interesting in the world, at least at that moment. 4. Soften your expression frequently with a smile as you speak. 5. Never, under any circumstances, use profanity or obscenity. 6. Keep your religious and political views to yourself. BE WARY OF ASKING 7. Never ask a favor of anyone you haven’t yourself helped at some time previous. 8. Be a good listener. Inspire others to speak freely on subjects that interest them. 9. Never speak disparagingly of other people. Don’t “talk poor mouth.” Remember that an ounce of optimism is worth a ton of pessimism. 10. Close each day with this prayer: “I ask not for more blessings, but more wisdom with which to make better use of the blessings I now possess. And give me, please, more understanding that I may occupy more space in the hearts of my fellow men by rendering more service tomorrow than I have rendered today.”
• Success is achieved by those who are thoroughly imbued with belief that they can attain it. They are convinced of one fact: “Whatever my mind can conceive and believe, my mind can achieve!”
• A pleasing personality is the greatest single asset you can possess. It is a key that will unlock doors to the friendship of others. It can disarm enemies and bring them to your side.
• The number one trait of a pleasing personality is flexibility.
• Few people appreciate a “yes man.”
• Flexibility can perhaps best be described as the ability to survey and assess a given situation swiftly and react to it on the basis of logic and reason with a minimum of emotion.
• A sense of humor is an important ingredient in connection with flexibility.
• Remember that in almost every contact with others you are trying, in a sense, to sell them something.
• Your voice and manner of speaking can help you win success in life.
• Remember that the people you meet along the road to success gain their first impression about you from your voice and your personal appearance.
• Nothing succeeds like success—and success usually is attracted to the person who looks and acts successful.
• Rightly or wrongly human nature is such that first impressions usually are the ones that endure.
• But remember that you can make no better investment toward success than in buying good clothing, accessories and haberdashery.
• Nothing is more revealing than the ill-at-ease man who gives himself away by fidgeting with an unfamiliar cufflink or runs his finger around an unaccustomed collar.
• Success comes more rapidly to those persons who can lead and supervise others. Despite popular misconception, leaders are made—not born. But they are self-made.
• The most outstanding quality of leadership is willingness to make decisions.
• Make little decisions as rapidly as possible. Give yourself more time on the big ones, to make sure you have all facts in hand and have related them carefully from the standpoint of logic.
• An open mind is a free mind. The person who closes his mind to new ideas, concepts and people is locking a door that enslaves his own mentality.
• To achieve success, you must have a definite major goal in life.
• Without humility you will never gain wisdom; for one of the most important traits of a wise man is the ability to acknowledge “I was wrong.”
• Your sense of humor is a tremendous asset that can smooth the bumps on the road to success.
• Dare to dream big dreams.
• Every new person you meet is a judge.
• You must make the best impression possible in every instance.
• Your manner of speaking and choice of words will carry far more weight for or against you than any other factor.
• Simple, conversational English will carry far more force and meaning.
• As of this moment, erase completely from your vocabulary all profanity, blasphemy, obscenity or irreverence.
• The moral of the story is: If you don’t know the right word for the occasion, keep your mouth shut and you’ll stay clear of trouble.
• Optimism is a matter of mental habit.
• Your success is unlimited except by your own ambition and desires!
• There is a formula for success—just as there is a formula for failure.
• Don’t let anyone discourage you by suggesting that opportunities are a thing of the past. The rapid pace at which the world is moving today has created thousands of needs which did not even exist fifty years ago.
• If you know exactly what you want, and have absolute faith in your ability to get it, you can achieve success. If you are not sure what you want from life, start now to find out.
• Remember—nothing ever “just happens!” You have to make things happen, including individual success. Success in every calling is the result of definite action, carefully planned, and persistently carried out.
• One of man’s strangest traits lies in the fact that it often takes tragedy, failure, or some form of misfortune to make him realize the power of a positive mental attitude.
• “Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, your mind can achieve.”
• Going the extra mile means rendering more and better service than customary or necessary—and doing it in a positive, pleasing mental attitude. It is the only just reason for anyone to request an increase in pay, a promotion, or any favor whatsoever.
• The benefits one receives from the habit of going the extra mile do not always come from the persons or the source to which the service is rendered.
• Your power of thought is the only thing over which you have absolute control. To use this power effectively, you must think accurately.
• Accurate thinkers permit no one to do their thinking for them. Successful people have a definite system by which they reach decisions with accuracy.
• The accurate thinker always takes two important steps. First, he separates facts from fiction or hearsay evidence which cannot be verified. Second, he separates facts into two classes—important and unimportant.
• An important fact is one which can be used to advantage in attaining your objective. All others are worthless.
• Prompt and accurate decisions are the two most important foundation stones of success in all walks of life. They are not attainable without courageous and honest discipline of one’s self.
• The number one cause of individual failures is inability to get along harmoniously with people. In most instances this results from failure to discipline one’s self.
• Self-discipline makes it possible to turn on more will power and keep on instead of quitting when the going is hard and failure seems just around the corner.
• All human achievements above the level of mediocrity are the results of working together in a spirit of harmony—the Master Mind principle.
• By allying yourself with at least one other person in a spirit of perfect harmony to achieve a common goal, you can attain heights difficult to reach alone.
• To generate power, the machine must be set into motion.
• Do the thing and you shall have the power,” said Emerson.
• Personal initiative is the only cure for procrastination.
• Successful people in all walks of life are individuals who think and move on their own personal initiative. There are two forms of action: (1) that in which one engages from choice and (2) that in which one indulges only by force of necessity.
• “Young man, there are two kinds of people who never get ahead or amount to anything. One is the fellow who will not do what he is told, and the other is the fellow who will not do anything more than he is told.”
• That overworked alibi of the procrastinator—“I haven’t had time”—probably has caused more failures than all other alibis combined.
• Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm,” said Emerson.
• How does one become enthusiastic? By acting enthusiastically in thoughts, words and deeds.
• Perhaps the one human trait which stands out above all others as an aid to success is the fixed habit of turning on more will power instead of quitting when the going becomes hard and defeat seems imminent.
• The most successful people in all callings are those with a so-called one-track mind: that is, a mind that is controlled and concentrated upon one thing at a time.
• Determine what you want most from life. Adopt that as your definite major purpose. Make the start toward your goal right where you stand. When you come to those uphill pulls where the going is hard, back it with all the enthusiasm at your command, and lo! You will find yourself in the right path.
• There are two kinds of cooperation. One is based on the motive of fear or need. The other is based upon voluntary willingness.
• Cooperation is indispensable in your home, in your job, in your social life. It is an absolute necessity in our form of government and system of free enterprise.
• Success on the upper levels of achievement is attained only by teamwork. This means giving cooperation as well as receiving it.
• Work well with your team—and your team will carry you to success.
• Every adversity, every failure and every unpleasant experience carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit which may prove a blessing in disguise.
• Two important facts of life stand out boldly! One is that defeat in some form inevitably overtakes each of us, at one time or another. The other is that every adversity brings the seed of an equivalent benefit, often in some hidden form.
• Adversity and defeat cause man to develop his wits and go forward.
• A very effective method of making use of the sixth sense is to write out a clear, concise description of the problem you wish solved, or the objective you desire to attain.
• The master-key to success lies in your capacity to believe that you will succeed. Remember, whatever your mind can conceive and believe, your mind can achieve.
• Your time is one of your greatest assets! It is the one asset you can change into any form of riches you choose. Or you spend your entire lifetime without plan or purpose beyond that of procuring food and shelter.
• The average person’s time can be divided into three parts—one for sleep, one for work and one for recreation.
• The person who uses his free time solely for personal pleasure and play will never be a success at anything.
• “Show me a man’s closest associates,” said Thomas A. Edison, “and I will tell you what sort of character the man has and where he is going in life.”
• The successful man budgets his money as carefully as he budgets his time.
• A single man should save a much larger percentage of his income than it is possible for a married man to save, since generally he has fewer dependents. But every person, man or woman, should save a definite percentage, even if it is not more than five percent.
• In times of emergency even a modest bank account can give you courage and security.
• Worry over money matters can kill your ambition . . . and you!
• Your brain is the unchallengeable boss of your body. One of the most important requirements in developing good health is to maintain a positive mental attitude.
• Exercise temperance in all things, especially in eating and in the use of intoxicants.
• Your mental attitude affects every function of your body.
• All of your successes and your failures are the results of the habits you have formed. There are two types of habits—those which we form deliberately and voluntarily for definite purposes, and those which we permit to be formed by the chance circumstances of life through lack of an organized philosophy or work-plan by which to provide an ordered life.
• We are ruled by habits, all of us! Our habits are fastened upon us by repetition of our thoughts and acts. Therefore we can control our earthly destinies and our way of living only to the extent that we control our thoughts.
• Good habits which lead to success can be ordered and used by any individual. Bad habits can be broken and replaced by good ones at will by anyone.
• When you begin reorganizing your habits and building new ones, start with the success habit. Put yourself on the “success beam” by concentrating your daily thoughts on whatever you desire.