Prosperity Project, Phase 2: Napoleon Hill's Law of Success

Welcome back, prosperous friends!

We have been exploring together the question, "How do we get from where we are to where we want to be?"  We have decided that it's not what you do so much as how you do it that matters.  Each of us will ultimately pick a different What, but the How will be the same for all of us.   In his book The Law of Success, Napoleon Hill breaks down the fifteen qualities of a successful person.  Let's count down to number one together.

Quality #15:  The Golden Rule.  Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  If you are to be successful, you must have a code of ethics which guides your actions.   Karmic law treats everyone equally:  what goes around comes around.  If you consistently treat others honestly, fairly, generously, sincerely, then that is how the world will treat you in turn.

Quality #14:  Tolerance.  Live and let live.  We are all different, and it is our differences that make this world such a beautifully rich tapestry.  Intolerance, ignorance and superstition have been the cause of all wars, conflicts, and strife.  We must learn to question our most deep-seated assumptions about what we believe to be right, and must learn to make room in our minds and hearts for points of view that differ from our own.

Quality #13:  Failure.  Interesting that failure would be a quality of success, isn't it?  According to Hill we learn more from our failures than from any other lesson.  He prefers to call them "Temporary Defeats," because it's only a failure if you quit.  Hill lost his fortune more than once.  Every time, just before the big fall, he felt like he was on top of the world.  They say that "pride goeth before the fall," and Hill found that to be true in his case.  He eventually, after about the sixth time, started learning that every time he got cocky it was a sign that he was taking himself too seriously, and that if he weren't careful everything would soon fall apart.  Don't be afraid of failure, but don't rule it out either.  It's just a thing.  Learn from it and move on.  Hill writes, "You have failed many times?  How fortunate!  You ought to know, by now, some of the things NOT do do." 

Quality #12:  Co-operation.  Hill describes two forms of co-operation that are essential to success:  "First, the Co-operation between people who group themselves together or form alliances for the purpose of attaining a given end, under the principles known as the Law of the Master Mind.  Second, the Co-operation between the conscious and the sub-conscious minds, which forms a reasonable hypothesis of man's ability to contact, communicate with and draw upon infinite intelligence."  We cannot attract that which we desire unless our mind and our heart are of one accord.  We cannot make progress in the physical world if we are at cross-purposes with our team.  The key is focused effort, all working toward the same end.  We cannot be successful in a vacuum, so learning to cooperate with others is an essential quality to cultivate.

Quality #11:  Concentration.  "Concentration is the act of focusing the mind upon a given desire until ways and means for its realization have been worked out and successfully put into operation."  In addition to consistently focusing our mind on our desired goal, we must also form consistent habits that move us toward that goal.  (We will find that focus is a recurring theme in many of these qualities.)

Quality #10:  Accurate Thought.  "Accurate thought involves two fundamentals which all who indulge in it must observe. First, to think accurately you must separate facts from mere information.  There is much "information" available to you that is not based upon facts.  Second, you must separate facts into two classes; namely, the important and the unimportant, or, the relevant and the irrelevant. This reminds me of one of my favorite sayings:  "Don't believe everything you think."  Learn to cultivate a discerning mind.  It will be well worth the considerable effort.

Quality #9:  Pleasing Personality.  An attractive personality is a personality that attracts.  If we are wanting to learn to attract abundance, being attractive is an important quality to develop.  Quality #15 dealt with our character.  Here, we are focusing on the externals:  body language, clothing, facial expression, handshake.  But even if you are, as Hill so colorfully puts it, "as homely as the circus fat woman," there is one key that will always cause others to see your personality as a pleasing one, and that is by "taking a keen heart-interest in the other fellow's 'game' in life."    When building your business network, don't aggressively sell your wares to your colleagues.  That is a sure way to annoy people, which is definitely not attractive.  Instead, learn to approach each business relationship with the question, What are the biggest challenges you face in your business, and how can I help you to resolve them? 

Quality #8:  Habit of Doing More Than Paid For.  This is easier to do when you are able to do the kind of work that you LOVE.  "A (wo)man is most efficient and will more quickly and easily succeed when engaged in work that he loves, or work that he performs in behalf of some person whom he loves."  We talked about this quality in an earlier post.  If you think you should be earning $100 an hour instead of $10 an hour, then work as if you already being paid the larger amount.  If you truly hate your job and cannot find anything about it to love, then this might be hard for you.  So here's my advice:  Quit.  Even if the new job is still not the job of your dreams, using a different set of skills might be more appealing to you.  Life is too short to do work that you hate.

Quality  #7:  Self-Control.  Discipline.  There really is no way around this one.  Every morning I have to wake up two hours early to write this blog before work.  Some days I really don't want to get out of bed.  It takes a lot of self-control to make ourselves do unpleasant things, or even do pleasant things consistently.

Quality #6:  Enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm is "the vital moving force that impels action.  The greatest leaders of men are those who know how to inspire enthusasm in their followers ....  Mix enthusiasm with your work and it will not seem hard or monotonous.  Enthusiasm will so energize your entire body that you can get along with less than half the usual amount of sleep and at the same time it will enable you to perform from two to three times as much work as you usually perform in a given period, without fatigue."  Find a way to do your work with enthusiasm.

Quality #5:  Imagination.  "The imagination is both interpretive and creative in nature."  Let your mind be free to wander.  Dream big dreams.  If you can see it in your mind, you can make it happen in your world.

Quality #4:  Initiative and Leadership.  Do what needs to be done without being asked.  If you have ever had employees, you will agree that initiative is a rare quality.  "One of the peculiarities of Leadership is the fact that it is never found in those who have not acquired the habit of taking the initiative.  Leadership is something that you must invite yourself into; it will never thrust itself upon you."  Even if you are currently doing a job that you dislike, you can begin to practice the habit of taking initiative.

Quality #3:  The Habit of Saving.  No matter how little money you make, even if you are making less money than you need to get by, make it a habit to always save a certain percentage of every dollar that you bring in.  People are not wealthy who have not amassed a sum of capital.  Capital is just a fancy name for a big pile of money.  Start saving yours now. 

Quality #2:  Self-Confidence.  We talked about this quality in great detail a few days ago in an earlier post.  I have a colleague who, when introducing himself at networking functions, describes himself as "quite possibly the best carpet cleaner on the entire planet."  That's self-confidence, and if I were to ever have a carpet, he would be the guy I hire.  Be that guy. 

Quality #1:  A Definite Chief Aim.  I have saved this quality for last, because this is exactly the question we are trying to answer here in Phase 2 of the Prosperity Project.  What work should I be doing that will earn me the kind of money I would like to be making?  In order to be successful, we must FOCUS our energies and activities toward one specific goal.  We cannot work two or more businesses at the same time and be successful at either one of them.  This is a challenge for people like me who must work one job to pay the bills while building my dream business in my spare time.  If you find yourself in that position, it is important to compartmentalize your time.  While at your job, do your work with enthusiasm, take initiative, and always do more than you are paid to do.  When the time clock rings, it's time to leave the job behind and to focus on your true life's work, whatever that may be.  If you do not have the luxury of already working in your dream job, then you will need to be extremely disciplined to carve out sufficient hours during your day to make progress toward your Definite Chief Aim.  It is why I wake up hours before the sun to write before I go to work.  If I am serious about being a writer, then I must do whatever it takes to find the time to write.

***
We'll look more at this topic tomorrow; but for now, here is today's cluster of study questions:

Is there some activity that you've always wanted to do, but haven't?  Does your practical side get in the way of living your dream?  Is there something that you wanted to be as a child but which seemed impractical when you got older?  What is it that you are doing in your wildest dreams, when no one is looking? 

CLUE: How to Make Your Dreams a Reality; Notes from John Maxwell

Last night I heard a lecture by John Maxwell entitled, "How to Make Your Dream a Reality." He gave us 10 questions we can ask ourselves to find out if we are on the right path. Here are my notes from the lecture:

You have greater odds of success if you have many valid reasons for achieving your dream. The dream journey is long, difficult, and filled with challenges. If you only have one reason to get there, you'll most likely lose heart.

Put your dream to the test; here are ten questions:

1. OWNERSHIP: Is my dream really MY dream? Most people are living someone else's dream. You can tell if it is really your dream because you won't make any excuses for not achieving it. You BUY it; you have pride of ownership. You bet on yourself, and invest your own money, reputation, and time. There is a difference between believing in your dream and buying into your drea. You can have a really big dream planted right where you are; don't use your current circumstances as an excuse.

2. CLARITY: Do I clearly see my dream? If I don't know what it looks like, I won't know if I have it. You won't be able to see the whole journey laid before you, but can you clearly see what the end looks like? It's kind of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle; you need to keep your eye on the box so you know how the pieces fit together. As you move closer to your dream, the picture becomes clearer. Once you have a clear picture you can prioritize correctly.

3. REALITY: Am I depending on things within my control to achieve my dream? Reality is the foundation upon which you build your dream. It must be solid. The following statement is not true: "If you can believe it, you can achieve it." It's not true because it doesn't factor in reality. If I really believe I can be a ballerina but I'm built like a linebacker, it's never gonna happen. You see it every year on American Idol. People really believe that they can win, but they have absolutely no talent for singing. You cannot achieve a dream if it depends on talents that you have not been gifted with. The things within my control are CHOICES (attitude, discipline, kindness), ABILITIES, and NATURAL GIFTEDNESS. The things not within my control are outside circumstances and abilities that I do not have and cannot learn.

4. PASSION: Do I love the dream journey? I have to love the journey, not just the end result. Passion is the source of the energy necessary to persevere. Passion will get you to do things you shouldn't be able to do, like a 27-year old conductor successfully performing a difficult piece that seasoned professionals are too afraid to tackle, using young musicians and limited resources. Passion will keep you from getting discouraged when the going gets hard, and the going WILL get hard.

5. PATHWAY: Do I have a strategy to reach my dream? Again, you won't see the entire path, but do you have some idea of how to begin, and which path to take to get to your dream?

6. PEOPLE: Who do I need to include to achieve my dream? If your dream is a big dream, you can't get there by yourself. A nightmare = big dream + bad team. If you have a 10 dream but a 2 team, you'll get a 2 result. Who will you need to include on your team?

7. COST: Am I willing to pay the price for my dream? At the beginning, dreams are free. Things will come easy as the universe conspires to help you get started. The moment you begin to actively pursue your dream, you start to pay the price. The price will come SOONER than you think, it will be HIGHER than you think (way higher), and you will have to pay it MORE THAN ONCE. The dream journey is a toll road. Know how much you are willing to pay. It is possible to pay too high a price for your dream; if you are not careful you can lose your health, your values, and your family.

8. TENACITY: Am I moving closer to my dream? How do you move closer to your dreams? The secret to your success is determined by your daily agenda Every day you are either PREPARING or REPAIRING. If you do all the right things today, then you will be prepared for tomorrow. RULE OF FIVE: No matter how big a tree is, if you take five swings a day at it with an axe, it will eventually fall. What five things can you do EVERY DAY that will move you steadily toward your dream. They are different for every one. Dr. Maxwell suggested that you spend the next few months deciding what those five things are for you, and then be tenacious about doing them every day. That means EVERY DAY. Weekends, Christmas, Birthday. EVERY DAY.

His dream was to write books, so his rule of five is that every day he does the following:

READ
FILE (quotes and stuff)
THINK
ASK QUESTIONS
WRITE

His first book took him 365 days to write 100 pages. He's not particularly good at writing books, but he's tenacious. He has written 54 books using this method.

We can accomplish less than we think we can in a week, but more than we think we can in a year -- if we follow the RULE OF FIVE. What are your five things?

9. FULFILLMENT: Does working toward my dream bring me satisfaction?

10. SIGNIFICANCE: Does my dream benefit others? Does it add value to other people? Success is all about you. Significance is about other people.

Dr. Maxwell suggests that we give our dreams a score based on the above questions. The closer we are to scoring a 10 on each question, the more successful we will be in achieving our dream. How does your dream rate? What can you do to improve your odds?

This lecture by John Maxwell is based on his book, Put Your Dreams to the Test, part of a multimedia package.  You can buy  The Dream Bundle at JohnMaxwell.com.