Last week in Philosophies for Success, we discussed Think and Grow Rich, one of the most well-known books about success principles.
This week we start the review of Napoleon Hill’s 13 success principles. The first is Desire, the starting point of all success and perhaps the most important of the success principles.
Hill tells the story of Edwin C. Barnes, who had a burning desire to be a business associate of the great inventor, Thomas Edison.
“He saw himself standing in Edison’s presence. He heard himself asking Mr. Edison for an opportunity…to become a business associate of the great inventor.”
This was in Barnes’ mind’s eye, years before he ever meet Thomas Edison, it had been his dominating desire for a long time. It took Barnes over 5 years from the time he reached New Jersey, Edison’s base of operations, before the opportunity he desired made an appearance. Anywhere along the way he could have given up, moved on or looked for an “easier’’ path, but he did not; he persevered and succeeded in becoming business partners with Thomas Edison.
Hill further explains that desire can be converted (he uses the word “transmuted”) into success by following a six step process:
- Fix in your mind exactly what you want. For example, a specific amount of money you want to have in your possession.
- Decide what you are prepared to give in return for your success, perhaps a service you will provide.
- Select a definite date by which this will be achieved.
- Prepare a definite plan and begin to implement it immediately, whether you are ready or not, begin putting your plan into action.
- Use the first 4 steps to write out a clear, concise statement of what you will achieve, the time limit for its acquisition, what you will give in return and a description of your plan.
- Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before going to bed and once first thing in the morning. As you read, see, feel and believe that you have already accomplished your burning desire.
You get to determine your desire, because desire is a picture in your mind of what you want or what you will become.
Have you ever thought, “I know what I want, but can I get it?” The answer is YES! We are all capable of achieving what we can think of and truly desire. It’s like an internal control – you would not have the desire unless you were capable of its achievement.
Then the next question is, “How do I know if it is a burning desire?” This can be determined by your actions, how you go after it – are you tentative, hesitant and lazy, then it is not a burning desire, or are you purposeful, intentional and relentless, these are qualities of a burning desire. You have to sell out, be committed to not turning back and only focus on the future in front of you. There will be challenges along the way and you will need to have this burning desire, this insatiable hunger for success, to pick yourself up after the inevitable difficulties and failures that you will experience on your path to success.
Desire is the starting point to success and is perhaps the most important success principle. Your challenge is to apply the 6 step process, described above, to your dreams and desires to create a compelling vision for your future and start putting your plan into action.
Stay tuned to learn more about Napoleon Hill’s success principles from Think and Grown Rich. While we highly recommend reading Think and Grow Rich yourself, in the coming weeks, we will summarize the success principles. Next week we will talk about Faith.
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