A Lesson from Nature

by Napoleon Hill

Everything, animate or inanimate, starts out as a nucleus – a whirling bit of energy which, although so small as to defy the lens of the microscope, has the power to attract to itself whatever of a like nature it requires for its sustenance and growth.

Remember the acorn and the handful of earth. Locked up within that acorn is the germ of life, the nucleus which is capable of drawing from its surrounding elements of soil, air, water, and sunlight, the materials to build an oak tree.
Take a seed of corn or wheat; plant it in the ground and it will create a center of activity which attracts from its environment the precise balance of chemical constituents which will produce a cornstalk, or a stalk of wheat, and bring forth a reproduction of itself, according to the law of growth and increased returns.

These analogies help us to get a true picture of the power of the mind through self-suggestion. You can see how it is possible to sow a seed of desire with the subconscious mind through conscious expressed repetition of this desire . . . to feed and nourish this seed by the stimulus of high emotion . . . to germinate it by the sunshine of faith, and thus to attract to yourself from the bounteous supply of life energy in Infinite Intelligence the practical plans whereby that original seed of desire may be developed into its physical counterpart.

The law of attraction is based upon the principle of growth from the vitality which is inherent in the seed (idea or desire) itself. Every seed has, in itself, a potentially perfect plant. Every worthy desire has in it the potential power for its perfect fulfillment. If a seed is to germinate and produce a crop after its own kind, it must be planted in fertile soil, it must have nourishment, and it must have sunshine to ripen it for harvest.

Your subconscious mind can be compared to a fertile garden spot wherein may be planted the seed of your definite purpose, by means of a burning desire which imparts the initial energy into the nucleus of your definite purpose, and causes it to enlarge and grow. Now we have explained how the seed may be nourished and cultivated by persistent action according to your plans and through repeated instructions to your subconscious. Also how you may attract the vitalizing influence of Infinite Intelligence and focus it on the object of your desire. Here you have the whole process laid before you. It is a process which is going on all around you in countless forms of life. It is not a matter of theory. It is a demonstrated fact. You have only to adapt it to y our own definite purpose.

Source: PMA Science of Success Course. Pgs. 106 & 107.

Peace of Mind Can Be Attained Only By a Positive Mental Attitude

by Napoleon Hill 

Peace of mind is one of the most sought after blessings in life. As is true of everything of value, you must pay a price to obtain it. And the price required is the continual and consistent maintenance of a positive mental attitude. If you will pay this price, you will receive the following blessings, all of which result in peace of mind:

• Freedom from want.
• Freedom from superstition.
• Freedom from fear in all of its forms.
• Freedom from the common weakness of seeking something for nothing.
• The habit of doing your own thinking.
• The habit of frequent self-inspection from within, to determine what changes of character are necessary.
• The habit of developing sufficient courage and inherent honesty with yourself to look at life as a realist.
• The habit of discouraging both greed and the desire for power at the expense of others.
• The habit of helping others to help themselves.
• Recognition of the truth that the universal power of Infinite Intelligence is available to all who will learn how to use it.
• Freedom from anxiety over what may happen to you after death.
• Freedom from all desire for revenge.
• The habit of going the extra mile in all human relationships.
• Knowledge of yourself – the you which cannot be seen in a mirror; an understanding of who you are and what your virtues and abilities are.
• Freedom from discouragement.
• The habit of thinking in terms of your highest and noblest objectives.
• The habit of looking for the seed of equivalent benefit in every adversity.
• The habit of taking life in your stride, neither shrinking from the disagreeable nor over-indulging in the pleasant.
• The habit of starting where you stand to accomplish your goals.
• The habit of conquering petty misfortunes rather than being mastered by them.
• The joy of doing, rather than merely possessing.
• The habit of making life pay off on your terms, in values of your choosing.
• The habit of giving before trying to get.
• The privilege of engaging in a labor of love of your own choice.

These are some of the joys which one receives from peace of mind by exercising a positive mental attitude. A review of this list will also convince you that men with positive mental attitudes are never found in a rut. And it will also be evident to you that another blessing which can be achieved by maintaining a positive mental attitude is the attainment of success in your chosen field of endeavor.

Source: PMA Science of Success. Pgs. 235 & 236.

Stone Walls

by: Napoleon Hill

  You are an unusual person if you never came to what seemed to be a stone wall that stood between you and achievement.

Lately I have been studying the lives of Lincoln, Socrates, Plato, Napoleon and some of the more modern men of achievement, and it encourages me to discover that every one of these men found not one, but many such stone walls between him and his goal.

In my own somewhat commonplace career I have encountered many of these stone walls. When I see one of them in front of me I walk up to it and test it was a hammer to make sure that it is not made of mere clay. If I find it to be real stone I then bring up a step-ladder and proceed to climb over it. If I find a spiked fence on top I climb down again and proceed to the right, believing that the wall cannot possibly extend around the earth. If I find the way blocked I turn to the left, hoping to find a passage-way in that direction. If I find the road blocked in that direction I then begin to dig a tunnel under the wall, for it blocks my pathway to achievement and I have to pass!

If I find the wall built on solid rock and no tunnel is possible I then resort to the last means of disposing of the wall, by applying a strong charge of TNT and blowing the thing out of the way. The TNT is also known under another name--Persistence, the twelfth rung of the Magic Ladder to Success.

Source: Napoleon Hill's Magazine. May-June, 1923. Pg. 12.