“Success requires no apologies. Failure permits no alibis.” Napoleon Hill
When I think of Napoleon Hill, I consider the profound impact he had on my life with his book, Think and Grow Rich. I’ve always believed that because he was given the opportunity to interview 500 of the world’s wealthiest men, his life’s journey was filled with “wine and roses.”
However, after reading his newest book, Outwitting the Devil, I discovered that in the course of his research, he interviewed thousands of failures as well. He found that he learned much more from people who failed than he did from successful men and women. By seeing what people were doing wrong, he was able to capitalize on the best kind of experience – other people’s experience. This allowed him to bring a balanced view to his readers, and point out what causes us to be led astray.
One of the things that Napoleon Hill focused on throughout this book was having a chief aim and definite purpose in life. He revealed that when people are single-mindedly determined to reach a goal, they are much more likely to achieve it. It’s not always easy. Oftentimes, just when it seems we’re on the right path, life throws us a curve-ball. I believe this is a way of “testing” us to see how committed we really are to achieving success with our life’s goals. Are we going to give up or move on?
I have found that when I am very specific in my goal-setting, magic happens. Many years ago, I wanted to find my soul mate – someone to share the rest of my life with me. When creating my list, I wrote down general things, like I wanted him to be likeable and my “best friend.” I also got very explicit, in that I wanted him to be over six feet tall, have a full head of hair, have a degree, have a professional job, and love cats. My description of this mystery “Mr. Wonderful” went on for a full page and a half. I wrote this list in 1993. I met Scott in 1994, less than a year later. As I reviewed the list, I realized that Scott met each and every one of my criteria.
By being specific, I was able to give my subconscious mind the information it needed to bring my dream to fruition. I could “see” Scott in my mind’s eye, and I firmly believe that it was because of that list that I “created” him to come into my life. Writing down your goals is good; being very specific in your wording and your intention is better.
If you’re not where you want to be right now, it’s OK. If you’re thinking that the grass is greener in someone else’s backyard, think again. Success usually comes after some kind of mess. The bigger the mess, the greater the success. When you fall down, pick yourself up, brush yourself off, learn from your mistakes and “try, try again.”
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PS – Read the biographies of the people you admire, and you’ll see how much “muck” they had to go through until they found their ultimate “luck.”
