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.

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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? 

Prosperity Project, Phase 2: Do What You Love, Do It With Others

Greetings, my prosperous friends.

Every day we're learning a little bit more about how we can go from making the small (or nonexistent) amount of money we are earning now, to making enough money that we can have real wealth.  We decided that wealth is simply the freedom to be, do, and have anything that we can dream of, and that money is only an energetic tool that can help to make that happen.  And yesterday, we explored the idea that successful people exude self-confidence because they are doing something that they are knowledgeable about and that they do well. 

So now, let's look at our answers to yesterday's study question.  When you are in the flow, when time stand stills, when you are doing work that you enjoy, what are you doing?  The answer to that question is one clue to answering the question, "What can I do that will earn me some real money?"  

On Day 27 of the Prosperity Project, we talked about the idea of a Master Mind.  People like Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie amassed huge fortunes because they didn't rely only on their own limited personal knowledge.  Instead, they assembled a team of people, each of whom were experts in their particular field.  These people didn't need to know everything about making cars or steel, they only needed to know their own part of it.  If everyone on the team does what they do best, then they will be doing work that engages them and for which they have a passion.  A team assembled around that level of excellence is bound to be successful.  Ford and Carnegie themselves were doing work that they did best:  they were excellent at having a vision, seeing the big picture, and organizing and directing the efforts of their team. 

Now, I want to digress here for a moment to point out that not everyone is destined to be a master of industry.  Not everyone is an entrepreneur, so although it is popular in these times to entertain the idea of starting your own business, that route may not be for you.  Remember, that wealth is being free to be, do, and have, whatever you want.  Owning your own business may require that you spend long hours doing work that you hate, and being tied to a business that you can't leave or it will fail.  That is not freedom. 

My brother, for example, is a master craftsmen.  He can take old furniture and turn it into a priceless work of art.  He can turn fabric into stunning high-end draperies that have been showcased in major national trade magazines.  He loves working in his shop; he is the very best at what he does, and he enjoys his work immensely.  He is limited in the money that he can earn, however, because his earnings are tied to his personal labor.  Granted, he gets top dollar for his work because of the level of excellence that he puts into his pieces, but if he wants to make any real money at it he needs to hire help.   He tried that for a short time, but realized that he was spending his time managing his staff instead of working in his shop.  Instead of being a master craftsman, he had turned into a manager and hated his job! 

The point that I am making here is that our aim is to create the life that will bring us the most pleasure.  We want to have a life that is so enjoyable that when we open our eyes in the morning we bound out of bed ready to greet the new day.  If we hate our job, that is very unlikely.  If we hate our job, it doesn't matter how much money it pays.  If, then, we are to be successful, we want to design a life around activities that we enjoy.  We want to spend our days doing what we love to do best. 

In order to be successful, in order to earn larger wages doing work that we enjoy, we should follow Ford and Carnegie's lead and become a part of a Master Mind team.  That could take many forms:  we could be the entrepreneur who is the visionary who puts that team together; we could form a partnership with others who are starting up a new enterprise, or we could be happy simply being an employee of a company that pays us to play at what we love all day.  We don't have to own a business in order to be considered successful, we simply need to be doing work that makes us happy.  

So how, then, do we get there?  As the Munchkins told Dorothy, "It is always best to start at the beginning."  Start where you are.  If you have a job already, even if it is a job that you don't particularly enjoy and that does not pay you much money, begin working that job as if you are an integral part of a Master Mind team.   Do your part of the job with enthusiasm, with the idea of advancing the cause of the team. It will be wonderful practice for you, and because you will now be focusing on the positive aspects of the job instead of on the parts that you hate, you will begin attracting more opportunities to be an essential part of a successful team.  I guarantee that if you begin working your current job with enthusiasm, you will find that your current job will evolve:  you will find yourself spending more time doing work that you love, and less time doing the stuff you hate. 


If you do not currently have a job, then you have lots of free time on your hands.  Volunteer for something that allows you to use the skills that you identified yesterday as being your favorite thing to do.  Don't worry that you're spending your time working for free; you will be adding value to the world by doing work you love, and the Universe will reward you by sending to you more opportunities to do that work for a fee.  Remember that the Universe wants to support you. 

Today's study question will help you to gain a clearer picture of the kind of work that you are ultimately wanting to attract to yourself:

IF MONEY WERE NO OBJECT, HOW WOULD YOU SPEND YOUR DAYS? 

Prosperity Project, Phase 2: What is Wealth?

Greetings once again, prosperous friends!  Congratulations to those of you who successfully completed the entire 28 days of the Prosperity Project, where we became accustomed to spending ever-increasing amounts of dollars.  Those of us who made it through the entire course found that our relationship with money is a little more relaxed now.  More importantly, we are much more clear on what our goals are for our life.  On the one hand.

On the other hand, although we know where we would spend money if we had it, we are still a bit unclear on how to actually earn that money.  Well, that is exactly what we will be exploring here in Phase 2 of the Prosperity Project.  I don't actually yet know the answer to that question, or I would be making more than $11.00 an hour.  But I know that it is possible, because I see others around me who are comfortably well off, able to travel, happily working high-paying jobs.  I know that if some people can do it, then we can also learn to do it ...  even in what is euphemistically known as "this economy."

This blog is called The New Book of Clues specifically because I don't have all the answers.  What I do have is a whole bunch of clues.  So over the next few weeks we'll be exploring those clues, to see if we can uncover together the secret of attracting wealth.  Before we begin, though, we should take some time to explore what we mean by "wealth."

Sure, one measure of wealth is having a lot of money.  But I've met some very wealthy people who were miserable.  For example, I know one money-rich woman who is so lonely that she pays for a companion.  She is grossly overweight because she compensates for her emptiness by eating lots of comfort food.  This woman doesn't DO anything.  She married money, and adds no value of her own to the world every day, unless you count spending money.  She spends her day making shopping lists, and then pays someone to go buy the stuff and put it away for her.  In my mind, that women may have money but she does not possess wealth.

On the other end of the spectrum,  I have a friend who has almost no money, and doesn't really want any.  When his trailer was destroyed a few years ago he had no means of replacing it, so now he lives quite happily in a tent in a friend's backyard.  He has an old truck that runs, because he is an excellent mechanic.  The truck gives him a dry place to keep his things, and gets him around town.  This particular friend works odd jobs, but nothing that keeps him too tied down.  Every morning when he wakes up he sits quietly on the riverbank while he sips his coffee, deliberately not thinking.  Some people might call this practice meditation; he would tell you that people's brains get them into an awful lot of trouble, and it's best to give them a time-out every day so they don't get out of control.  This man spends his days doing acts of service.  He attracts people who are sick and alone, and he sits with them.  It's a simple act, and one which doesn't cost him anything but time.  But I've witnessed his healing presence first-hand.  He may be gnarly looking, but when I was the one sick and alone, I welcomed his presence.

Of these two people, I would have to say that the one with no money was the wealthier of the two.  I have to be careful here, because it is examples like these that feed into my false belief that only corrupt people have money, so in order to be pure at heart you must also be poor.  I'm learning through this Prosperity Project that this really isn't a true assumption.  Money is a tool, like a hammer or this computer.   Good people can have money, just as good people can own a hammer!

So, if wealth isn't money, what is it?

Wealth is the freedom to be, do and have anything that your heart desires.  Money definitely helps, but sometimes there are creative solutions to getting what you want that don't require much money.  In Phase 1 of the Prosperity Project, we each learned that what we really wanted was to build a workspace for ourselves filled with all the tools we could ever need for working on our creative projects.  We also wanted the freedom to travel, and we absolutely all wanted to use our money to help friends, family, and even total strangers to live their dreams.  Although we had lots of money to spend, we found we weren't really interested in the money; we were more interested in the freedom that the money gave us to fully live our lives.

True wealth cannot exist without a sense of deep gratitude and appreciation for everything that we have.  It is one thing to have what you want; it is quite another thing altogether to want what you have.  Wealth is in the eye of the beholder.  My tent-dwelling friend says that he's wealthier now than he was in the days when he had lots of money, because he has learned to see his world with a grateful eye.  I urge you to look around at all that you have and to see it for the wealth that it is.  Remember that the Law of Attraction teaches that we will attract that which we consistently focus on.  If we look at what we have and focus only on the things that we don't have, we will continue to attract more lack.  If, however, we learn to look on what we currently possess and see it as wealth, we will begin to attract more wealth.

OK, so money is tight, and the lights might get turned off this week, and we might run out of fuel oil before the end of winter, and people might get sick with no way of going to the doctor, and the car might break down with no way of fixing it.  How can I look at all this and see wealth?  My answer is, don't focus on that part.  Focus on what you do have.  Do you have people or animals that love you?  Do you have a place to sleep at night?  Can you take a hot shower?  Is there hot coffee when you wake up?  Are you happy, at least some of the time?  Is there beauty around you?  Do you have harmonious relationships?  Focus on those things, because they are definitely included in the definition of wealth. 

See yourself as already wealthy.  That doesn't mean picture yourself with a lot of money, it means to see yourself where you already are, and to see, and appreciate, and be grateful for the fact that wealth is already yours.  Then watch that wealth grow.

Now it's your turn to talk.  Every day I will close with a question for you to answer.  Here's today's question:

IN WHAT WAYS ARE YOU ALREADY WEALTHY?