The Law of Success: Summary (Pt 1)

The Law of Success (originally The Law of Success in 16 Lessons) is the title of Napoleon Hill’s first book set, published initially in 1928 as a multi-volume correspondence course and later more compact formats in recent years. The work was originally commissioned at the request of Andrew Carnegie at the conclusion of a multi-day interview with Hill, and was based upon interviews of over 100 American millionaires across nearly 20 years, including such self-made industrial giants as Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Alexander Graham Bell, and Thomas Edison. The laws are as follows:

1.      The Master Mind

 “A mind that is developed through the harmonious cooperation of two or more people who ally themselves for the purpose of accomplishing any given task."

Two or more minds may be blended in a spirit of perfect harmony, in such a manner that there is born a third mind possessing the super human power to read the story of the vibration of thought as it has been written and now exists in the imperishable records of the ether.

The law upon which the principle of the master mind operates was discovered by Christ, when he surrounded himself with 12 disciples and created the first thirteen club of the world. Despite the fact that one of the 13 (Judas) broke the chain of harmony, sufficient seed was sown during the period of harmony that originally existed between these 13 people, to insure the continuation of THE GREATEST AND MOST FAR-REACHING PHILOSOPHY KNOWN TO THE INHABITANTS OF THIS EARTH.

If you wish to become a great leader in any undertaking, surround yourself with other minds that can be blended in a spirit of co-operation so that they act and function as one.

2.      Definite Chief Aim

“You will attract to you people who harmonize with your own philosophy of life, whether you wish it or not”

All great leaders base their leadership upon a definite chief aim. Followers are willing followers when they know that their leader is a person with a definite chief aim who has the courage to back up that purpose with action.

Any definite chief aim that is deliberately fixed in the mind and held there, with the determination to realize it, finally saturates the entire subconscious mind until it automatically influences the physical action of the body toward the attainment of that purpose.

Your definite chief aim in life should be selected with deliberate care, and after it has been selected it should be written out and placed where you will see it at least once a day, the psychological effect of which is to impress this purpose upon your subconscious mind so strongly that it accepts that purpose as a pattern or blueprint that will eventually dominate your activities in life and lead you, step by step, toward the attainment of the object back of that purpose.

The principle of psychology through which you can impress your definite chief aim upon your subconscious mind is called Auto-suggestion, or suggestion which you repeatedly make to yourself.

Be sure that you’re definite chief aim is constructive; that it’s attainment will bring hardship and misery to no one; that it will bring you peace and prosperity, then apply, to the limit of your understanding, the principle of self-suggestion for the speedy attainment of this purpose.

Those who BELIEVE they can achieve their definite chief aim do not recognize the word impossible. Neither do they acknowledge temporary defeat. They KNOW they are going to succeed, and if one plan fails they quickly replace it with another plan.

3.      Self- Confidence

“Any Statement that you repeatedly make to yourself, or any desire that you deeply plant in your mind through repeated statement, will eventually seek expression through your physical, outward bodily efforts.” - Napoleon Hill

Self Confidence Formula

1. I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my definite chief purpose, therefore I demand of myself persistent, aggressive and continuous action towards its attainment.

2. I realize that the dominating thoughts of my mind eventually reproduce themselves in outward bodily action, and gradually transform themselves into physical reality, therefore I will concentrate my mind for 30 minutes daily upon the task of thinking of the person I intend to be, by creating a mental picture of this person and then transforming that picture into reality through practical service.

3. I know that though the principle of auto-suggestion, any desire that I persistently hold in my mind will eventually seek expression through some practical means of realizing it, therefore I shall devote ten minutes daily to demanding of myself the development of the factors named in the 15 lessons of the Law of Success

4. I have clearly mapped out and written down a description of my definite purpose in life, for the coming five years. I have set a price on my services for each of these five years, a price that I intend to earn and receive, through strict application of efficient satisfactory service which I will render in advance.

5. I fully realize that no wealth or position can long endure unless built upon truth and justice, therefore I will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom it affects. I will succeed by attracting to me the forces I wish to use, and the cooperation of other people. I will induce others to serve me because I will first serve them. I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness and cynicism by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me because I will believe in them and in myself.

I will sign my name to this formula, commit it to memory and repeat aloud once a day with full faith that it will gradually influence my entire life so that I will become a successful and happy worker in my chosen field of endeavour.

                                                                                    Signed    .........................

"Believe in yourself, but do not tell the world what you can do. Show it!"

4.      Habit of Saving

The author states that the saving of money is solely a matter of habit. Millions of people go through life in poverty because they have developed bad habits. The habit of saving increases ones' earning capacity, Hill tells us, by the following method: First, through your definite chief aim, define an exact description of what you want — including the amount of money you intend to earn. Then, your subconscious mind takes over, resulting in a blueprint. This molds your thoughts and actions into practical plans for attaining your purpose. As income increases, savings will increase as well. Hill repeatedly emphasizes that we are victims of our habits — under any and all circumstances, good or bad. However, the choice of our habits is totally within our control — and good habits can and will result from sheer determination and willpower. Hill warns of "the slavery of debt" by using examples of how being in debt is like being imprisoned. To sum up: The author strongly cautions against living beyond your means.

5.      Initiative and Leadership

Having chosen the definite chief aim to _____________ as my life-work.  I now understand it to be my duty to transform this purpose into reality.

Therefore, I will form the habit of taking some DEFINITE action each day that will carry me one step nearer the attainment of my definite chief aim.

I know that procrastination is a deadly enemy of all who would become leaders in any undertaking and I will eliminate this habit my make-up by:

1. Doing some one definite thing each day, that ought to be done, without anyone telling me to do it.
2. Looking around until I find at least one thing I can do each day that I have not been in the habit of doing, and that will be of value to others, without expectation of pay.
3. Telling at least one other person, each day, of the value of practicing this habit of doing something that ought to be done without being told to do it.

I can see that the muscles of the body become strong in proportion to the extent to which they are used, therefore I understand that the habit of initiative also becomes fixed in proportion to the extent that it is practiced.

I realize that the place to begin developing the habit of initiative is in the small, common-place things connected with my daily work; therefore I will go at my work each day as If I were doing it solely for the purpose of developing this necessary habit of initiative.

I understand that by practicing this habit, but I will also be attracting the attention of those who will place greater value on my services as a result of this practice.

                                                                                                            Signed …...............