"The two great major influences that cause the mind of man to grow are the urge of necessity and the urge of desire to create.
Some minds develop only after they have undergone failure and defeat and other forms of punishment which arouse them to greater action. Other minds wither away and die under punishment, but grow to unbelievable heights when provided with the opportunity to use their imaginative forces in a creative way."
So says Napoleon Hill in what I believe to be the greatest self improvement book of all time - The Law of Success.
It's tucked away at the end of Lesson Eight - Self-Control, in his 'after-the-lesson' comment called "The Evolution Of Transportation" (of all things!). Whilst everyone else bangs on about his Master Mind concept...there are literally hundreds of gems like this one, 'lost' within the book.
It's lucky then that I'm probably one of the top experts where The Law of Success is concerned. When you've scanned and edited by hand 1,170 pages yourself over a number of months as I did - then you'll soon understand why this book is so great.
Anyway...let's get back to the quote. It's a very important one when you are looking to lead a continuously successful life.
We'll deal with each sentence in turn...
"The two great major influences that cause the mind of man to grow are the urge of necessity and the urge of desire to create."
Ever heard that before? I certainly hadn't - but doesn't it make perfect SENSE?
Brillant stuff in my opinion. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Think about it...one of the ways that you get inspired to do something with your life is because you NEED to, and the other is because you are fired up with IDEAS about what you could do.
It's just a shame that most people can't be bothered to grow at all - and don't have any urge to do ANYTHING apart from go through the motions at work, and perhaps live for the weekends. Sad but true.
I hope that, as you're here and reading this - you are proving that you're not one of those people who are literally wasting their lives doing practically nothing.
OK...let's move onto the next sentence in the quote...
"Some minds develop only after they have undergone failure and defeat and other forms of punishment which arouse them to greater action."
I can certainly count myself as one of these people! It wasn't until 'bad things' happened in my life that I realized I actually COULD do something about it! I haven't looked back since, and haven't had any regrets at all about quitting my job without a clue about how I was going to pay the mortgage and support a young family.
This also explains why many 'gurus' have been bankrupt or homeless turn their lives around. Once you've hit what seems like rock-bottom, there is only one way you can turn...and that's upwards!
Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey are just two examples of this type of person who succeeds despite the odds.
Inspiring though it is...I wouldn't wish such things to happen to you, just to PROVE to you that there IS more to life than the daily grind. Fortunately, not every successful person has benefitted from a serious dose of adversity like I have!
Let's look at the other side of the coin from the last part of Napoleon Hill's quote...
"Other minds wither away and die under punishment, but grow to unbelievable heights when provided with the opportunity to use their imaginative forces in a creative way."
Now, you may be the type that collapses under pressure. I certainly know that a couple of members of my family wouldn't have been able to cope with what we did - just because they struggle ALL of the time just going through the day-to-day stuff of life!
As I also mentioned earlier - you don't particularly want to have something bad happen anyway as a learning experience, do you?
So...the path for you might be the way that practically the other half of successful people use for inspiration. You get inspired by the ideas that you have.
Look at Richard Branson and Bill Gates as two examples of this type of person. They are fired up by the exciting things and businesses they can create. They didn't need to be inspired by adversity - their own MASSIVE ideas are what keeps them STILL working despite their huge wealth.
Keeping your motivation on a DAILY basis is virtually impossible if you haven't got something that inspires you with a passion.
So...if you need a little punishment to inspire you - by all means hit the floor if that's what it will take!
But perhaps it's a much better decision to start using that thing between your ears, and start making the most of the strengths you ALREADY have. No idea is necessarily a bad idea. It's the lack of execution of it, and the refusal to keep on keeping on at all costs that usually ends in failure.
That's why you need to have something in your life to DRIVE you forward, whatever life puts in front of you.
The thing is...I can't TELL you what that should be. Only YOU knows what is inspiring enough for you (good or bad) to make you do WHATEVER is necessary to make you succeed.
I'd wish you luck...but you certainly won't need it if you continue to educate yourself about how your mind works, and what inspires you.
I believe in you. The more important thing is - do YOU?
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Note:
If you like this sort of analysis of what Napoleon Hill has written...then you'll love my Our Wealth Partnership newsletter, as every single month I have an entire section devoted solely to 'Napoleon Hill's Big Lesson'.
In this month's issue - Issue #5 due out in the next week, I'm getting to the root of what a Master Mind should REALLY be based upon, based on the exact formula Napoleon Hill himself specified in The Law of Success. You'd be surprised at how many people completely get it wrong! ('Experts' included)
In previous months in Napoleon Hill's Big Lesson in Our Wealth Partnership, I've...
- 'Outed' the secret that Napoleon Hill says is contained in Think & Grow Rich (and prove what it is by what he wrote in the Law of Success).
- Analyzed Hill's 'Golden Rule' and why it is so crucial to EVERYONE'S success, whatever their abilities, income, or background.
-Investigated his simple, yet effective, way of instantly discovering whether an opportunity is right for you or not.
So...you can see that the keys to success are timeless, and you'd be a fool to think otherwise. It's facinating stuff...and it is one of the SIX sections in my monthly print newsletter.
Source vurnumg on http://www.oursuccesspartnership.com/blog/archives/003420.html
