At the behest of Andrew Carnegie–the businessman, industrialist, and philanthropist who was then the richest man on earth–, Napoleon Hill, an unknown journalist at the time, spent two decades conducting research in order to organize a Philosophy of Personal Achievement. Carnegie believed that the process of success could be articulated in a simple formula that could be duplicated by the average person. He commissioned Hill to interview successful people in order to discover this formula for success and share it with others.
Armed only with a letter of introduction from Carnegie, Hill set out to interview over 500 people of the caliber of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, John D. Rockefeller, George Eastman, William Wrigley Jr. and Charles M. Schwab.
Hill then revealed the priceless wisdom which he acquired through his research in various books and lectures. Most notably, he revealed the 13 steps to success in his incredibly successful book, “Think and Grow Rich”, which was first published in 1937. He also set forth 17 principles of success in courses and lectures he conducted. I found Hill’s 17 principles of success on YouTube videos, and these videos form the basis for this post and the rest of the series which I will be posting on the principles of success.
The main principle taught by Hill is that whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve, regardless of how many times you may have failed in the past, or how lofty your aims and hopes may be. You do this by learning to control and direct your mind.
The first three principles of success are discussed in this post.
The Two Envelopes
Andrew Carnegie explained to Hill that everyone is born with the equivalent of two sealed envelopes, each of which is labeled as follows:
- “The Riches You May Enjoy If You Take Possession of Your Own Mind and Direct It to Ends of Your Own Choice”
- “The Penalties You Must Pay If You Neglect to Take Possession of Your Mind and Direct It”
The envelope labeled “Riches” contains this list of blessings if you take possession of your mind and direct it toward achieving your goals:
- Sound health.
- Peace of mind.
- A labor of love of your own choice.
- Freedom from fear and worry.
- A positive mental attitude.
- Material riches of your own choice and quantity.
The envelope labeled “Penalties” contains this list of the prices one must pay for neglecting to take possession of one’s own mind:
- Ill health.
- Fear and worry.
- Indecision and doubt.
- Frustration and discouragement throughout life.
- Poverty and want.
- And a whole flock of evils consisting of envy, greed, jealousy, anger, hatred and superstition.
The 17 principles of success are meant to ensure that you open the right envelope and receive all of the benefits which it contains.
(Antique Floral Envelope” courtesy of pareeerica).
The First Principle of Success: Definiteness of Purpose
The first principle of success identified by Hill is definiteness of purpose; that is, you need to begin with a clear picture in your mind of precisely what you want from life. Here’s a quote by Hill:
- “Successful people are those who have a definite purpose and a plan for attaining it. To be successful, you must at this moment decide exactly what your goal is and lay out the steps by which you intend to reach it.”
Hill offers these simple instructions in order to put the first principle in action:
- Write down a clear description of your major desire in life. The one circumstance, position or thing which you will be willing to accept as your idea of success.
- Write down a clear statement of precisely what you intend to give in return for that which you desire from life. And then start right where you stand now to begin giving.
- Memorize both of your statements, what you desire and what you intend to give in return for it. And repeat them at least a dozen times daily. Always end with the expression of gratitude below:
“I ask not, oh divine providence, for more riches, but for more wisdom with which to accept and use wisely the riches I received at birth in the form of the power to control and direct my mind to whatever ends I desire.”
A modern example of someone who used this success principle was Bruce Lee. He wrote a letter to himself in 1969, while he was still a struggling actor, which stated the following:
“By 1980 I will be the best known oriental movie star in the United States and will have secured $10 million dollars. And in return I will give the very best acting I can possibly give every single time I am in front of the camera and I will live in peace and harmony.”
The Second Principle of Success – The Master Mind Principle
Hill explains that through the second principle of success you will be able to make use of the education, experience, influence, and perhaps the capital of others, in carrying out your life plans. The second principle is the Master Mind principle, and it consists of two or more people who work in perfect harmony for the attainment of a definite purpose. With this principle you can accomplish in a year more than you could accomplish in a lifetime if you depended entirely upon your own efforts for your success.
When you form a true Master Mind with others, and you work together in a spirit of harmony, the results are incredible. As an example, Hill indicates that when he was putting together the principles of success he collaborated with practically every successful man the United States had produced during the prior 50 years. In addition, the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were a Master Mind alliance; they knew that they were either signing a license of freedom for all mankind, or their own death warrants.
As an additional illustration, Hill refers to Kate Smith; she was a great singer, but at the start of her career she was making very little money and wasn’t getting the jobs that she wanted. It wasn’t until she partnered up with Ted Collins–who became her manager–that her career really took off and she started making lots of money. There are many more examples of people who have succeeded once they formed a Master Mind, including Henry Ford who formed a Master Mind with his wife.
The action steps recommended by Hill for this principle are the following:
- Decide where you wish to be and what you wish to be doing during the next three years.
- Decide how much money you desire to be making, and what you’re going to do to earn it.
- Form a Master Mind alliance with at least one person in your family, and at least one more person among those to whom you’re selling your services.
The Third Principle of Success: Going the Extra Mile
Going the Extra Mile can best be defined as “the habit of rendering more service, and better quality service than one is expected to render, and doing it with a positive mental attitude”. Hill explains that if you expect to write your own price tag, you must follow the rule of going the extra mile. There is a formula which Hill calls “the QQMA formula”:
The Quality of service you render, plus the Quantity of service you render, plus the Mental Attitude in which you render service, determines the space you occupy in your chosen calling and the compensation you get for your services.
If you go the extra mile, Hill argues that this will provide you with many benefits, some of which are the following:
- It will bring you to the favorable attention of those who can and will provide you with opportunities to promote yourself into a better circumstance.
- Following this habit will make you indispensable in your chosen occupation.
- This habit will help you to excel in your line of work because each time you render service you endeavor to do a better job than you did previously. Therefore, you’re continually improving.
- Going the extra mile will help you to develop a keen, alert imagination, because you’ll be constantly looking for new and better ways to render useful service.
- It will inspire you to move on your own initiative, instead of waiting to be told what to do. You will develop greater self-reliance and the courage to move ahead without the fear of criticism from others.
- If you’re doing no more than what you’re being paid to do, then you’re receiving all of the pay to which you’re entitled. Therefore, you don’t have a reasonable basis to ask for a better position or more pay. If you want to ask for a promotion, you have to do more than what you’re currently being paid to do.
The three action steps which Hill recommends in order to put this principle into practice are the following:
- Start tomorrow, in whatever occupation you are engaged, to render some form of useful service to someone near you which you are not expected to render, and for which you neither expect nor ask for compensation
- Render this service in a pleasing mental attitude which will show clearly that you enjoy doing it.
- Follow this practice seven days in succession and then notice what a changed atmosphere you will enjoy in your association with those nearest to you.
Conclusion
This post explains the first three principles of Napoleon Hill’s 17 principles of success. As stated in the introduction, these principles were derived from interviews conducted with some of the richest and most successful and influential people of the time. Begin applying these principles and notice what results you create in your life. The other 14 principles will be discussed in future posts.
Are you currently applying these principles in your life? If not, are you getting ideas on how you could begin to apply these principles? Please share in the comments section.
Here are the links if you would like to watch the YouTube videos:
Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe for free by RSS or e-mail and you’ll always know when I publish something new. (What’s RSS?). Also, please share it on the social media site of your choice. 
Related Posts:
- As a Man Thinketh – The Power of Right Thought
- Lessons from “The Science of Getting Rich” – Part 1
- Lessons from “The Science of Getting Rich” (Part 2)
- Lessons from “The Science of Getting Rich” (Part 3)
- Lessons from “The Science of Getting Rich” (Part 4)
- Six Steps to Creating the Life You Really Want
I Recommend:
Imagine waking up each morning to a life that’s centered around your life goals, instead of trying to fit what’s most important to you into the nooks and crannies. “How To Live Your Best Life- The Essential Guide for Creating and Achieving Your Life List” will show you how. Make your life extraordinary…begin living your dreams in just 30 days.
“How to Be More Creative – A Handbook for Alchemists” explains that creativity is not the sole domain of the arts but is important in any field. Whatever you do, creativity helps you do it better. Discover practical advice on how to be more creative in every life endeavor by reading my ebook.
RSS
Twitter