“He conceives of, mentally builds up, an ideal condition of life; the vision of a wider liberty and a larger scope take possession of him; unrest urges him to action, and he utilizes all his spare time and means, small though they are, to the development of his latent powers and resources.” – As A Man Thinketh
Read carefully those 52 words and you will find the keys to success in any endeavor.
Allen is describing a young person who is unschooled, mired in poverty and working in unhealthy conditions. He goes on to write that the young person follows the formula above and becomes a person of “world-wide influence and almost unequaled power.” He finishes the story noting that “He has realized the Vision of his youth. He has become one with his Ideal.”
It’s a formula for success that’s so simple that most people might overlook or discount its effectiveness. And it’s built around one guiding principle — what Napoleon Hill called “a definiteness of purpose.” That’s what creates the unrest that moves us to action; that’s what gives us the energy and drive to spend our spare time and means in developing ourselves to achieve at levels we’ve never reached before.
One prominent study found that 94% of the 3,000 people interviewed had no definite purpose for their lives. Is it any wonder then that so many people reach their twilight years feeling like life has passed them by.
We have the choice to live our life on purpose or without a purpose. Life doesn’t make the distinction, it simply rewards our choice. And the rewards may not always be what we had hoped, as this old poem from Think and Grow Rich illustrates:
“I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store.
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.”
And that’s worth thinking about.
I like this very much. my father had a verse on the wall of our lounge since we were about 5. It couldn’t be done…by Edgar A Guest……last verse reads. There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done, there are thousands to point out to you one by one, the dangers that wait to assail you. But just buckle in with a bit of a grin, just take off you coat and go to it. Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing that ‘cannot be done and you’ll do it’. My father was one of 17 children, left school at 13 and became a very successful businessman. He ran his own race, and took charge of his own destiny.
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