Originally written in the late 1920's, this book has been largely overshadowed by Think and Grow Rich also by Napoleon Hill.
It seems to have slipped under the radar of most people of today.
The lessons are still applicable to today even if Napoleon Hill went off on tangents instead of sticking to the point of each lesson.
Here is my condensed view of the key points of each lesson so that you may enjoy incorporating these principles into your life as you strive for success.
Lesson One: The Master Mind A master mind is developed through the harmonious co-operation of two or more people who ally themselves for the purpose of accomplishing any given task.
Through this master mind, each person is able to gather information, knowledge and ideas through the subconscious minds of all the members.
There is incredible power in joining minds in this purposeful, harmonious way.
~Find a business partner, team, strategic alliance or group of like-minded individuals and join together to catapult the project or idea to fruition.
Lesson Two: A Definite Chief Aim Success, however you define it, needs singleness of purpose.
Find what work you are best fitted for and passionate about and then focus all your thoughts, energy and action around that niche.
~Know clearly what you want and develop a burning, obsessive desire for its obtainment.
Believe it is yours to have.
Lesson Three: Self-Confidence Believe in yourself that you possess all the power you need to achieve your what you want in this world.
Others will only believe in you when you believe in yourself.
~Know yourself and become an expert in your field of study, work and passion.
Lesson Four: The Habit of Saving Cultivate the habit of saving a portion of all the money you earn or receive in any way.
Save by delaying immediate gratification.
Make investing a priority over spending.
~Create a budget and dedicate yourself to saving as a monthly routine.
Lesson Five: Initiative and Leadership Initiative means doing what ought to be done without being told to do so.
Overcome procrastination and do at least one thing each day that adds value to others.
Leaders make quick and firm decisions.
Initiative moves leaders ahead of followers.
~Become a leader by doing the right thing and making decisions quickly.
Lesson Six: Imagination Imagination takes old ideas and rearranges them in different ways.
Imagination creates new combinations out of old ideas.
~Re-purpose old material in fresh and innovative ways.
Lesson Seven: Enthusiasm Enthusiasm energizes your work, inspires followers, and is an important factor in salesmanship and public speaking.
Enthusiasm is contagious and draws others to you.
~Do the work you like best and mix in enthusiasm for productivity and enjoyment.
Lesson Eight: Self-Control Self-control means avoiding spending beyond your means, controlling negative emotions that injure others, controlling your thoughts and actions towards the positive and living in harmony without retaliation.
~Send out in the world only good as the world reflects back to you what you send forth like a magnet.
Lesson Nine: Habit of Doing More Than Paid For In work look for opportunities to do more than you are paid for each day.
Perform better service and more service than is expected.
By doing more than expected, you will develop an excellent reputation.
~Receive bigger returns and put yourself ahead by first helping others to get ahead.
Lesson Ten: Pleasing Personality Cultivate a pleasing personality by being interested in other people.
Study other people and their interests.
Select good qualities to build into your own character.
Praise other people.
~Interest yourself in other people and create positive character traits.
Lesson Eleven: Accurate Thought See the facts and avoid the delusions of prejudice and other negative emotions.
Use the power of positive thoughts and weed out negative ones.
Success is found by those who learn how to use the power of their minds.
~Create and guard your thoughts so that they are forces for good in your life.
Lesson Twelve: Concentration Focus your mind on a particular desire until it has come into fruition.
Create habits of repetitive thoughts towards your goals.
Control your attention to acquire knowledge, solve a problem and achieve mastery.
~Transform your desire into reality with focused concentration.
Lesson Thirteen: Co-operation Co-operation can be between two people or groups of people as well as between the conscious and subconscious minds.
Group effort is more powerful than individual effort.
Using your conscious mind to deliberately work in harmony with your subconscious mind will lead you to success.
~Find others to work with who have a similar aim and use your conscious mind to suggest to your subconscious mind what you want to achieve.
Lesson Fourteen: Failure Learn from failure and it is no longer a failure.
Adversity is a temporary defeat and a great teacher.
Success is often achieved when obstacles and difficulties are surmounted.
~Discover the blessings in disguise and the lessons in failure.
Lesson Fifteen: Tolerance Intolerance is a form of ignorance and is very destructive.
Be open to new ideas and different viewpoints and beliefs.
~Cultivate tolerance of others as a character trait in your life.
Lesson Sixteen: The Golden Rule Do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you if your positions were reversed.
What you sow is what you will reap.
Think about others as you would want them to think of you as well.
~Believe in the Golden Rule and live it every day.