Edison failed 10,000times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times. –Napoleon Hill, 1883-1970
Napoleon Hill knew persistence. He was born in a 1 room cabin in Appalachia; his mother died when he was 9 years old. At 13, he became a reporter for mountain news, setting aside his earnings to go to law school. He had to withdraw from law school eventually for financial reasons. But in his persistence, as he was interviewing famous successful men, Andrew Carnegie asked him to interview 500 successful people, as he believed success could be outlined in a formula; Napoleon would gather this information so he could discover and publish this formula.
In this process, Carnegie introduced Napoleon to Henry Ford, who introduced him to Alexander Graham Bell, then Edison, James J. Hill, Firestone, Schwab, Woolworth, Wrigley, etc. Twenty years later (now that’s persistence), he published his multi-volume The Law of Success (1928), which listed 45 people and the attributes of their success. Hill also was an advisor to Woodrow Wilson (1913-21) and FDR (1933-36).
Napoleon Hill is known as an author in the new thought movement, a genre of personal success literature. His best selling work is Think & Grow Rich which sold over 20 million copies at the time of his death. It is about the power of personal beliefs and the role they play in personal success. His son, Blair, who was born without ears or hearing organs, picked us his father’s book when he was a senior in college, and learned what his father had discovered regarding the secret to success. He grew up to eventually hear and speak normally, and went on to inspire others on the power of personal beliefs. Certainly he practiced persistence in this miraculous outcome!
I’ve written about this persistence before, calling it “grit” or practice, practice, practice. Our success originates in our minds – In what do I truly believe? – and follows with lots of action that plays out our beliefs. So are you investing your efforts with persistence in a belief FOR your success or a belief that sabotages your success? Line this up on your behalf and persistently succeed – you have the power!!!
On this first day of spring, plant your seeds for new growth, both in your mind and in your actions, and persist until they bear the fruit of the inevitable summer your success will lead you to.
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