The eighth lesson in Napolean Hill’s reading course discusses self-control, and its great importance to achieving success. According to Hill, a lack of self-control resembles the unharnessed lightning of an electrical storm – it may strike anywhere; it may destroy life and property. Enthusiasm arouses action, and self-control directs that action in a constructive and positive way. It may interest one to know that the overwhelming percentage of prison inmates remain in jail because they lacked the necessary self-control to channel their energies in a constructive manner. Conversely, the one common quality of successful people is self-control.

No one can manage to control others unless they can first control themselves. This therefore makes a lack of self-control one of the average salesperson’s most damaging weaknesses. Hill states that the primary ways to maintain self-control is by not forming opinions without knowing the necessary facts, and by not spending beyond one’s means. Self-control also enables a person to prevent striking back at those who offend you, as well as other destructive habits which result in a waste of energy through non-productive efforts.

The main point that Hill wants the reader to get out of this lesson is that you have the “power to control your own thoughts and direct them to do your bidding.” Self-control is simply a matter of thought control, and we certainly have complete control over our own thoughts. Don’t allow outside forces to influence you excessively, but rather think for yourself and with rock-solid precision.

In the seventh lesson in Law of Success, Napolean Hill discusses the great importance of “enthusiasm”, and how integrating enthusiasm into your life will ultimately lead to success. Hill defines enthusiasm as a state of mind that inspires and arouses one to put action into the task at hand.” By constantly engaging in life with enthusiasm, the characteristic can be developed and used as a vital force in the work environment. In order to develop this potential enthusiasm, Hill argues that you must do the kind of work that you like, and make sure your actions are leading toward the achievement of your definite chief aim. Enthusiasm is a contagious characteristic, which magnifies its power. That is, it makes a large enough impression on others in order to make them become enthusiastic as well. Enthusiasm can mean using the same word choice but stated in a different manner, as people become more or less motivated based on how something is said to them. Hill emphasizes this fact, as it is not so much what you say as it is the tone and manner in which you say it that makes a lasting impression.

In order to truly master the quality of enthusiasm, Hill stresses the idea of working for something that you believe in. This will naturally bring out the enthusiastic quality in yourself, as you will be legitimately interested in what you are doing. In his example, Hill discusses how he turned down the most money that was ever offered to him simply because he did not believe in what he was doing. The job was to write articles on a topic that he opposed, and therefore knew he would not be giving his best enthusiastic effort when taking the time to write the articles. When working in an environment or on a project that you genuinely enjoy and believe in, the enthusiasm will begin to come on its own.

The sixth “Law of Success” that Napoleon Hill discusses involves the need for imagination. Hill emphasizes this as being one of the most important of the lessons in his book. The chapter on imagination calls for the reader to use the one power that no person can take away from them.

Man has the ability to cheat and slander other men, but a man has no power over any mans imagination. Hill maintains that the idea of daydreaming is not a useless one, but rather that many vital ideas and products were developed through the act of daydreaming. Simple use of imagination has proven to lead to success, with the creation of “Five and Ten Cent Stores”, “Self-Help Grocery Stores”, and even the Panama Canal as evidence.

The main point that Hill intends to emphasize in this lesson is to use your imagination to rearrange old ideas into new combinations. With maximum effort combined with imagination, you can achieve maximum achievement. This is where a “Master Mind” group will become vital, as the collective effort provides for even greater imagination.

The fifth chapter of The Law of Success, written by Napolean Hill, explores the lesson of initiative and leadership. According to Hill, both of these qualities are much-needed in finding success in life. Initiative is defined in the lesson as “that exceedingly rare quality which impels a person to do what ought to be done without being told to do it.”

This is a characteristic which a person can make a habit, and gradually develop as it is utilized on a regular basis. As a person begins to possess the quality of initiative, Hill argues that the quality of leadership develops naturally. Leaders exercise initiative, have a definite chief aim or purpose, and possess the quality of self-confidence, all of which are the reasons why they make great leaders.

One should be warned, however, of the major initiative killer: procrastination. This is the one quality that a person must fight off in order to develop initiative, as a procrastinator lacks the quality of getting things done and taking action, regardless of being told to do so or not. In order to fight off this procrastination, Hill argues that you must form the habit of aggressively and persistently following the objective of your definite chief aim until you achieve it — regardless of how long it takes.

“The Habit of Saving”

In the fourth lesson in his book Law of Success, Napolean Hill discusses the “Habit of Saving”. It is clear that humans are naturally creatures of habit, for when someone forms a habit it becomes a part of their everyday life. Therefore, Hill explains that one must make a habit of saving, which will result in saving becoming an integral part of one becoming successful.

However, one characteristic that a majority of people have is the lack of making a habit of saving, and instead making a habit of spending. Hill discusses that this habit of spending has resulted in many people spending more than they earn, thus making it impossible to build up any form of savings over a period of time. It is crucial to live within your means until you have accumulated enough capital to begin using some of it recreationally.

Nevertheless, no matter how much you are earning at any given time, Hill suggests that you set aside 20% of your income in a savings account. This number will gradually build up until you have established financial independence, and the fear of debt will not be present in your mind.

Self Confidence

In his third lesson in The Law of Success, Napolean Hill discusses the idea of “Self-Confidence.” According to Hill, fear is the primary reason that a person falls into failure and poverty. As a result of this idea, a person who can master fear will be successful. A person can work on developing self-confidence by eliminating these fears, which include a fear of poverty, old age, criticism, loss of love of someone, ill health, or of death. In order to master these fears and eliminate them from one’s subconscious, you must work on obtaining mass amounts of organized knowledge. Ignorance and fear are a pair that go hand-in-hand, therefore if ignorance is eliminated, fear is eliminated as well. Self-confidence is a trait which can be developed over time, but is not sufficiently improved until you truly believe Napolean Hill when he writes, “You can do it if you believe you can.”

“A Definite Chief Aim”

The second of Napoleon Hill’s lessons in Law of Success is referred to as “A Definite Chief Aim”, which is exactly what Hill is instructing the reader to find. Hill repeatedly urges the reader to discover his or her natural talents, and to organize, coordinate, and put into use the knowledge gained from experience.

The primary cause of failure in life is to have no definite chief aim, without any attainable goals or plans to accomplish these goals. By finding your “definite chief aim” or “definite chief purpose” in life, Hill argues that this idea will be strongly embedded in the subconscious mind. That is, the idea of accomplishing your “definite chief aim” will soon transform from dream into reality.

What Hill emphasizes the most in this lesson is not just finding your “definite chief aim”, but writing both this idea and the ways that you will accomplish it down somewhere so that you will see it day after day. The result is that this will continue to keep the “definite chief aim” fresh on the mind almost at all times, until it is no longer a fantasy.

Hill closes his second lesson by explaining to the reader that the final step of the “definite chief aim”, which occurs after one has written both the aim and the ways that it will be accomplished, is to find an alliance. This alliance is meant as a support system for your “definite chief aim”, containing people who will cooperate with you in carrying out plans to achieve your goal. Therefore, this alliance should contain people such as a spouse, mother, father, brother, sister, or extremely close friend, who would only bring positivity and confidence in helping you attain your “definite chief aim”.

The “Master Mind”

Napolean Hill begins his volume of work, Law of Success, with a lesson on what he refers to as the “Master Mind.” A “Master Mind”, according to Hill, is defined as “a mind that is developed through the harmonious co-operation of two or more people who ally themselves for the purpose of accomplishing any given task.” From this definition, it seems as though Hill’s idea is that by combining two or more minds in order to accomplish something,the result is a separate mind that contains the knowledge of all of the minds in the group. This mind would therefore be referred to as a “Master Mind”. However, it is not as simple as this. What Hill emphasizes the most, and does so repeatedly throughout the first lesson, is the word HARMONIOUS that is given in the initial definition. A “Master Mind” cannot and will not be formed unless the minds that are involved in the group work in a HARMONIOUS manor. In fact, a “Master Mind” completely disintegrates the moment that the group is joined by just one person that doesn’t have the full co-operation and harmony between all of the other minds involved. In this first lesson, Hill concludes with the idea of education and how important it truly is to a person’s future. According to Hill, “the man who can intelligently use the knowledge possessed by another is as much or more a man of education as the person who merely has the knowledge but does not know what to do with it.” There are many well-educated people in the world who know an abundance of information that they have gathered over many years. However, it is the people who take in this information from many others and put it to good use who find true success.

Dr. Rick Goodman discusses the book The Laws of Success by Napoleon Hill and its profound effect on his success in business.  In the Alex Project Rick Goodman’s son Alex Goodman will review and summarize Napoleon Hill’s Laws for all to benefit from.

My point is that it is more important than ever to reach out and touch our clients, customers and friends in a more personal way! Just recently I was in St. Louis visiting my kids and was invited to my friend Doug’s house for a BBQ engagement function for his son and future daughter-in-law. That afternoon we went shopping at Plaza Frontenac  in St. Louis.  When we walked into Neiman Marcus we were helped by a woman named Karen Gillis who was absolutely fabulous! In no time she had a beautiful present picked out which work very well for my AAA personality, but
she also showered my wife with gifts and a box of Godiva Chocolates

To say I was impressed is an understatement! I was overwhelmed by her excellent customer service and looked forward to shopping with her again! If that was not enough two weeks later back in Florida I received a personal letter in the mail addressed to me from Neiman Marcus. To my surprise it was a note from Karen thanking me for my business and giving me her personal hours
and contact information. After receiving that personal note I can tell you that Karen is the only salesperson that I will work with at that location!

Only a few weeks ago I took my mother and her boyfriend out for her birthday to the Capitol Grill in Boca Raton, Florida. When we arrived at the table it was decorated with a personal note for my mother acknowledging her birthday. Our server Isabel came to our table with glasses of champagne to toast my mom’s birthday. The meal and the service was magnificent and we left completely full and happy, but once again that is not the end to the story.

A week later I received a personal note from our server is Isabel and in it she told me how honored she was to have  been able to make my mother’s birthday special. Just like Karen from Neiman Marcus she also stated in her note that she looked forward to serving us again in the future!

Again I can tell you the next time I go to the Capitol Grill in Boca Raton Florida I’m asking for Isabel to wait on our table.

The bottom line is two great companies, well-trained employees and satisfied customers who will return again and again.

This Is the Power of the Personal Note!

Dr. Rick Goodman speaks from real -Life experiences and achieves great results! Dr Rick’s newest book Living a Championship Life “A Game Plan for Success” has been
widely acclaimed since its release.

Dr. Rick Goodman is a professional speaker and author who will give your audience specific tools and systems that get great results. Dr. Rick also works with organizations that want to Develop Great Leaders “Through Excellence in Communication and Team Building”. For more information on Rick’s speaking programs Consulting Programs and Training programs contact (888) 267-6098 or Rick@DrRickGoodman.com or on the web at www.DrRickGoodman.com