Posts Tagged ‘Napoleon Hill’

Cutting The Ties That Bind Old Habits

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

Letting go of the old attitudes and habits that hold you back is just plain hard. We’ve established that. Even once this is done it’s hard to keep them cut so that you don’t slowly slip back into your old ways. It may take some fairly drastic measures to make those new habits stick.

Burning Bridges

You’ve probably heard the advice throughout your life, not to “burn your bridges” so that you always have that avenue of escape to fall back on. The problem is that when we have an escape route back to something comfortable and familiar we’re too quick to take it. When we come up against obstacles and difficulties, we can easily decide the reward is not worth the effort, or that the task at hand is just “impossible” and turn around and go right back to cutting-tieswhere we came from. To avoid this temptation, sometimes it is in your best interest to cut those ties that bind and burn those bridges. Sometimes it’s good not to be able to return from whence you came. That “safety” is not always favorable in the light of wealth and progress.

Force Yourself Forward

Without an escape route, there is only one place left for you to go—forward. No matter what happens, you will have to find a way to persevere and find a solution that meets your end—that results in wealth and personal prosperity! Yes, it’s a difficult course of action at first, but often you’ll find yourself relieved when you release yourself from commitment to old weighty habits, actions, and attitudes that were poisoning your success. Once you’ve adjusted to the new you, you’ll come to understand that it was all for the better and you’ll welcome the change and new-found dedication and perseverance.

This is a topic also broached in Napoleon Hill’s updated book, Mindset Mastery, which is available for free download through this link: Mindset Mastery Download.

Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
Aussie Internet Marketer © 2004 – 2009

Access Is Knowledge

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Something else that Napoleon Hill says (and again, if you join our Mindset Mastery series, or download the book and read for yourself you’ll get it straight from him), is that having knowledge is not always a matter of having been educated or having collected knowledge along the way. Moreover, knowledge is the access to information. If you know how to find the information you seek when you need it, you are every bit as well off as the person who has spent a lifetime studying (maybe more).

You Don’t Have To Know It All

This should be a comforting thought to you, because it means that you do not already have to know everything about being successful and creating wealth. No doubt you will gather more knowledge as you continue to progress unlock-accessand be wealthy, but you do not have to know it all right now. In fact, you will not have to know it “all” ever, because there are many other people and resources that you can utilise for the areas where you are not expertly versed.

Resources At Hand

This is a key to know and to remember. The most successful and wealthy men and women do not try to know everything, they just know how to access the information and services that they need when they need it. They delegate tasks out to those who can more efficiently “do the job”. They consult expert resources when they feel the need. They focus their energies where they are most productive and rewarding, and surround themselves with the resources that can fill in the rest of the blanks.

This is not unlike what you are doing and will do in creating wealth. You don’t know everything about building wealth now, but you are seeking out valuable resources and accessing others as you move along. As long as you are doing that, you are doing all that is necessary to live prosperously. Don’t despair if you’ve more to learn or have things you can’t do, that’s just life—and successful life at that!

Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
Aussie Internet Marketer © 2004 – 2009

Use Knowledge Wisely

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Again, I am taking my inspiration from Napoleon Hill and our Mindset Mastery series at my personal Success Communication blog. Today the topic is knowledge, and the difference between general and specialized knowledge.

Two Kinds Of Knowledge

knowledge-worth-having“There are two kinds of knowledge. One is general, the other is specialized. General knowledge, no matter how excessive or varied, is of little use in the accumulation of wealth. If you combined all the knowledge of all the professors of all the best Universities together, you would have in excess practically every form of general knowledge known to civilization. Most of the professors have little or no money. They specialize in teaching knowledge, but they do not specialize in the organization, or the use of knowledge.”
-Napoleon Hill, Mindset Mastery

Having a lot of knowledge makes life interesting, but it does not automatically equal success or wealth. As Hill says many of the most knowledgeable and intelligent people are near broke. Just think about all the people who you could name who are highly educated, but have no more wealth than you do, or quite possibly even less. Or, if you are one of those people, think about this—has that knowledge by itself built wealth for you?

The True Value Of Knowledge

There’s no doubt that knowledge has value. I love knowledge. I love information. I enjoy learning new things. But for knowledge to result in wealth beyond its own value—in tangibles of wealth and happiness—it has to be focused and channeled into something more powerful and productive.

Perhaps the best way to explain this is as Hill does. Basically, he says that knowledge is nothing if not directed with a plan and acted upon. More specifically, knowledge is not power, it is “potential power”.

We all have “potential power” within us. What is left is to learn how to use that power to our own advantage for prosperity and wealth creation. An abundance of knowledge is only a gift if you can put that knowledge to good use for you.

Quite frankly, Napoleon Hill does a much better job of explaining this. Please join our Mindset Mastery series and we’ll talk more on the subject in the coming days, there.

Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
SeanRasmussen.com © 2004 – 2009

Create Wealth: You Wouldn’t Be The First

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

The prospect of creating wealth is empowering. Just knowing that you have the real capability of becoming rich and financially free gives you that “on top of the world” feeling that you are setting off in unchartered territory. In a lot of ways that will be true—no one else will pursue wealth in just the way that you do; but in reality, you are far from being the first person to build wealth, or go from “rags to riches” as the saying goes.

A History Of Success

We’ve seen real wealth success stories all through the ages. The concept of developing the millionaire mindset or succeeding simply through thought and attitude is not new. Historic writers like Napoleon Hill (from whom came success-lineMindset Mastery) and Wallace Wattles (the man who gave us the Secret Law of Attraction) are historic proof of rags to riches success, and there have been many others, myself included, who have become self-made wealth-builders. Across all nations and times, regular people have made it big and enjoyed the financially free life that most people think is just a dream.

Why Burst Your Bubble?

So why do I burst your bubble with this knowledge? Why not let you feel like the conqueror of the world? (Which you still are, by the way) Only for this reason: to give you the support to know that it is indeed possible for a regular guy or girl like you to set your mind to wealth and success and achieve it. To prove to you that this is not at all an exercise in futility, and that you can certainly achieve the same prosperity as any other on the face of this earth.

Still A Minority

You may not be the first, but you are still one of a select group. That is the select group of regular people who have the courage and determination to know that they can succeed and be wealthy, and then go after it. You should be very proud of yourself for that fact, and give yourself a hug pat on your back. Take comfort in knowing that wealth and prosperity is attainable, that the path is there for you to follow, and be proud that you care enough about yourself to follow it!

Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
SeanRasmussen.com © 2004 – 2009

All Things Begin In Thought

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

When Napoleon Hill introduced this next quote, he was speaking in reference to the power of thought—to the fact that a thought, a single thought, is the foundation of all things. His hope was that readers would take this point to heart and apply it to the great things that they want in life—like wealth and prosperity. He knew, though (because he’s seen this at least as often, and probably more often), that a thought could be a foundation for failure just as easily as it could for goodness and well-being.

Thoughts For Better Or Worse

Thoughts are Things“Both poverty and wealth are the offspring of thought.”

It’s funny that a lot of times people have a hard time accepting that something as simple as a thought could be the father of great wealth; but when you tell someone that thought is the father of poverty, too, people suddenly start to warm to the idea. It’s almost as if we can’t accept any positives without acknowledging our demons and struggles.

Stop and think about this quote, though, and you’ll soon see that it’s true. We think our way to our own personal positions. If they are positive, it’s because we have a positive mind backing them—a belief in our own selves, in our deserving of good things, and in our ability to produce them.

If our position is negative, and you trace the line backwards, you’ll surely uncover a line of negative thoughts and actions, and/or a breakdown in the positive thought model. Basically, you find a lack of confidence in our own thoughts and abilities.

These are important things to know and acknowledge, because when you understand that it is your thought process that is controlling your outcome, you can work to make it one of more confidence and more positive productivity. You can pay conscious attention to correcting your thought patterns, and thus leveraging positive influence on your life. Always be aware that your thoughts do matter—they matter implicitly—and that the path of thought that you choose is deciding your destiny. Choose well, and live well!

Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
SeanRasmussen.com © 2004 – 2009