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Showing posts with the label Napoleon Hill’s 17 Principles of Success

The Story of Sukanya and Sage Chyavana

Introduction In Sanatan Scriptures, Sukanya was the daughter of King Sharyati, son of Vaivasvata Manu, and later became the wife of the great sage Chyavana. The sage had spent so many years in deep meditation that his body was covered by an anthill and a bird’s nest had formed over him. One day, the young and curious Sukanya noticed two shining objects inside the nest. Unaware that they were the sage’s eyes, she playfully poked at them, causing him to lose his sight. Enraged by this act, Chyavana cursed the kingdom, but Sukanya’s father pacified him by offering his daughter’s hand in marriage. Despite Chyavana’s old age and blindness, Sukanya accepted her role as his wife and devotedly cared for him with cheerfulness and loyalty. One day, the celestial physicians of the gods, the Ashwini Kumaras—twin brothers renowned for their beauty and healing powers—saw Sukanya and were struck by her radiant charm. Believing her beauty was better suited for heaven, they asked her to abandon her hus...

Principle 16: Budgeting Time & Money

Introduction The sixteenth principle of Napoleon Hill's 17 principles of success is "Budgeting Time & Money". Budgeting money and time requires similar principles. Money must be spent very wisely otherwise it will be lost forever. In a similar way, time also needs to be budgeted and we must have discipline to adhere with the budget limits so that overspending can be eliminated. Our first priority must be to set aside fixed amount for savings. This principle will help us to build a safety cushion of money around us. There will be no fear of unknown or fear of poverty and this will enhance our creativity. Tell me how you use your money and time, I will tell you where and what you’ll be in next 10 years. Doers and Drifters Your attitude towards life determines your attitude towards time. We can categorise people in two types: Doers: These are those people who have definite major purpose. They learn from their mistakes and give gratitude to god for providing challenging ...

Principle 12: Teamwork

Introduction The eleventh principle of Napoleon Hill's 17 principles of success is Teamwork. Teamwork is the key to success in any professional setup. We are working in knowledge economy and everyone have some kind of important knowledge with her. Just like love and friendship, we will get cooperation from others if we cooperate with others. In several studies, it was found that happy parents nurture happy children. We can inculcate Teamwork among our subordinates by displaying cooperation in our day to day dealings. Meaning of Teamwork We form a very small group of people with same enthusiasm and inner fire in Mastermind Alliance. Teamwork also works in similar fashion but here we deal with people of varied goals and enthusiasm levels. Here we have to put extra effort to maintain good level of cooperation among different teams. General Douglas MacArthur who was a chief of US Army used to start with the presentation of junior most officers. He used to ensure that no one interrupt ...

Principle 10: Accurate Thinking

Introduction The tenth principle of Napoleon Hill's 17 principles of success is the Accurate Thinking. Accurate thinking is a mental process that helps us to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant facts. It is more than critical thinking which enables us to inspect the thoughts of others or agenda. Accurate thinking helps us to create new thoughts, new agenda or new visions. It inspires us to be proactive and not reactive. Jonas Salk’s accurate thinking helped humanity in the discovery of Polio vaccine. George Marshall’s diligent planning ensured revitalisation of Europe’s economy after Hitler's downfall. Mother Clara Hale’s idea of making Hale house provided shelter and much required care for unwanted children and children who were born addicted to drugs. None of the above mentioned achievements had materialised in the absence of accurate thinking. No one can ever achieve great things without learning to think accurately. The Thinking Process The accurate thinking is b...

Principle 9: Self-Discipline

Introduction The ninth principle of Napoleon Hill's 17 principles of success is the Self-Discipline. It is the one without which the previous principles would be useless. It refers to your mastery over negative habits standing in the way to your success, development, and enforcement of positive habits which are required to avail the previously mentioned assets. How to develop Self-Discipline 1.Mastery over tongue: Thinking first and then speaking after evaluating that whatever you are about to say is beneficial for you and not harmful to others. 2. Refrain from striking back: Master to refrain from the general tendency to strike back at people who troubles you by exercising self–discipline. Every thought and every act which you do to benefit or injure another person will come back to you in some of the other forms. So, if you feel like slandering someone, instead of speaking it, write it in the sands near the edge of the water and then, walk away from it until the tides flow. 3. ...

Principle 8: Enthusiasm

Introduction  The eighth principle of Napoleon Hill's 17 principles of success is the Enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is a strong feeling of active interest in something that we like to enjoy or relish. It is just like a steam in engine as steam runs the engine to its optimum speed, our enthusiasm can become the reason of our grand success. Enthusiasm is a very contagious trait and can deeply influence our target audience. Sales executives harness the power of enthusiasm very appropriately, by talking with exuberance. They convince their customers with sheer enthusiasm. Andrew Carnegie used to promote his enthusiastic executives very often. People say that knowledge is power but in reality enthusiasm is real power of any individual. Many speakers leave their audience spellbound but if we ask the audience about the content of the speech then they might not remember the speech. But they remember the enthusiasm of the speaker. How to influence others We can use below mentioned methods to infl...

Principle 7: Positive Mental Attitude

Introduction The seventh principle of Napoleon Hill's 17 principles of success is the Positive Mental Attitude. A positive mental attitude can clear away all the hurdles which come and stand between a person and his/her major goal of life. It stands on the top of the entire list of the twelve great riches in life and will provide you the master key to success. Steps to keep your mind positive 1. To get along peacefully with people, one should learn to adjust to their state of mind, and to abstain from taking notice of insignificant situations, thus avoiding small controversial incidents. 2. To keep your mind positive under all circumstances, establish a fixed system of conditioning your mind for yourself while starting your day. 3. Selling yourself to other people is an art, which must be learned including leading questions to bring out desired reactions from others. Do not allow yourself to be drawn into an argument over an insignificant subject. 4. The habit of having a good-hea...

29 Factors of a Pleasing Personality

Introduction We already talked about the fifth principle of Napoleon Hill's 17 principles of success is the Pleasing Personality. Our personality can be our greatest asset or liability. Napoleon Hill explained how 29 major factors shape our personality and we can modify our personality at any given point in time. In our last article , we discussed 10 factors and now let's talk about rest of the factors. 29 Factors of a Pleasing Personality 11. Pleasing Tone of Voice: We can make or break a day of others by just our way of speaking. Our words may be acidic or floral. We must try to speak in more appropriate way during our conversations. 12. Facial Expression and the Habit of Smiling: Our single smile can make other’s day. Always try to make positive facial expressions as these expressions can attract others and inappropriate expressions can repel them away. 13. Tolerance: We have to accept that everyone have different perspectives towards life and we must accept this fact. Tol...

Principle 6: Personal Initiative

Introduction The fifth principle of Napoleon Hill's 17 principles of success is the Pleasing Personality. Personal initiative is that aspect of success, which in the process of rendering one’s paramount purpose into its physical financial equivalent, initiates the transition of faculty of imagination into action. Success, if chosen above mediocrity, requires you to learn to act on your own personal initiative. It must be achieved by you for yourself without anybody’s interference or suggestions, as to, what should be done or how should it be done. Cyrus H. K. Curtis, the former owner of the Saturday Evening Post, once said that two kinds of men never amount to much; First, those who cannot do as they are told, Second, those who can do nothing else!’ This implies that people who move on their own personal initiative without being told what to do or why they should do it, are the ones who amount to something worthwhile in life. A person who is habitual of taking action on his own pe...