WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:06.919 Success habits by Napoleon Hill eight Persistence and Decisiveness. Hello, 2 00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:11.839 ladies and gentlemen. I am Henry Alderberg, the Associate Director 3 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:16.039 of Education of the Napoleon Hill Institute. Mister Hill has 4 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:18.800 invited me here to meet the people of Paris, which 5 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.480 I enjoyed doing this week, and I will be conducting 6 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:24.960 our discussion to day with mister Hill. Mister Hill, in 7 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:28.760 previous broadcasts has presented the success formula which people can 8 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:31.359 live by at their work and play in their jobs 9 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:34.439 and home. While you have been telling our audience what 10 00:00:34.479 --> 00:00:37.399 they must do in order to achieve success, mister Hill, 11 00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:40.039 you also told our friends what they must not do, 12 00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:44.079 detailing in the last broadcast the fifteen major causes of failure. 13 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:47.679 Will you continue your discussion of the causes of failure 14 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:51.840 to day and of how to overcome them? Mister Hill. Yes, 15 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:54.679 we will begin our program to day by describing the 16 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:58.439 two most common causes of failure. You will observe that 17 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:01.759 these stumbling blocks can be converted into stepping stones to 18 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:04.719 success by the simple process of following the rules I 19 00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:08.959 have previously presented. After discussing these causes and how to 20 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:12.439 overcome them through persistence, and decisiveness, I will tell our 21 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:16.519 audience how failure can be converted into success. Cause of 22 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:19.079 failure number one is the habit of quitting when the 23 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:22.400 going is hard. No matter who you are or how 24 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:25.000 skilled you may be in your occupation, there will be 25 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:28.359 times when the going is hard and unpleasant circumstances will 26 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:32.319 overtake you. If you yield easily to these obstacles, you 27 00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:34.840 may as well write yourself off as far as becoming 28 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:38.799 a great success is concerned. But assuming that you will 29 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:41.879 follow the success rules I have presented in these programs, 30 00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:45.239 when you meet with opposition of any nature, instead of quitting, 31 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:47.959 you will turn on more will power, stoke the fires 32 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:50.599 of a stronger faith in your own ability, and make 33 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:52.359 up your mind that, come what may, you will not 34 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:56.079 sell yourself short. Do that, and you will soon succeed. 35 00:01:57.239 --> 00:01:59.480 I had one of the greatest insights of my life 36 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:02.319 when tom Us say Edison told me how he reacted 37 00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:04.799 to failure when he was trying to perfect the incandescent 38 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:08.680 electric lamp. Before he found a solution to his problem, 39 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:11.759 he tried more than ten thousand different ideas, every one 40 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:15.120 of which was a failure. Just think of that. A 41 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:18.800 man keeping on despite ten thousand failures, with faith unshaken 42 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:23.000 and at long last being crowned with victory. One failure 43 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:26.680 is sufficient to make the average person quit. Perhaps this 44 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:29.240 is why there are so many average persons and there 45 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:33.400 was only one Thomas A. Edison. Cause of failure. Number 46 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:37.879 two is procrastination, the inability to make prompt and definite decisions. 47 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:42.280 Procrastination is the habit of waiting for something beneficial to 48 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:46.240 happen instead of getting busy and making something happen. All 49 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:49.800 successful people make it their habit to create circumstances and 50 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:54.840 opportunities favorable to themselves instead of accepting whatever life offers them. 51 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:58.000 Mister Alderberg, could you tell us what happens to the 52 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:00.439 person who fails to move on his own to achieve 53 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:05.080 an embrace opportunity when it presents itself. Mister Hill, yes, 54 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:07.919 I can give you a wonderful illustration of the cost 55 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:12.039 of this indecision and procrastination. Some years ago, one of 56 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:15.960 the large automobile manufacturing companies decided to begin an extensive 57 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:20.080 expansion program. The president called in one hundred young men 58 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:23.479 from the various departments of the plant and said to them, gentlemen, 59 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:26.439 we are going to enlarge our plant and greatly increase 60 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:29.240 our output of automobiles, which means that we will need 61 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:33.719 executives and department managers far beyond our present staff. We 62 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:36.039 are offering each of you young men the privilege of 63 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:38.680 working four hours per day in the office, where you 64 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:41.599 will learn to become executives, and four hours at your 65 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:45.080 regular jobs in the plant. There will be some homework 66 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:47.120 you must do at night, and there may be times 67 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:49.400 when you will have to forego your social duties and 68 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:52.599 work over time. Your pay will be the same that 69 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:55.639 you are now getting in the plant. I am passing 70 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:57.719 out cards on which I wish each of you who 71 00:03:57.719 --> 00:04:00.080 will accept our offer to write your name, and I 72 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:02.159 will give you one hour in which to talk among 73 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:06.680 yourselves and make up your minds. Mister Alderberg, of course 74 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:11.879 all of them accepted the opportunity, Mister Hill, No, they didn't. 75 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:14.960 When the president of the company picked up the cards, 76 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:18.480 he got one of the biggest surprises of his life. 77 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:21.160 Only twenty three out of the one hundred had accepted 78 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.360 the offer. The next day, thirty more of the men 79 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:27.040 came into the president's office and informed him they had 80 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:30.040 made up their minds to accept, some of them, explaining 81 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:32.639 they had reached the decision to accept after talking the 82 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:36.959 matter over with their wives. Mister Alderberg, what happened to 83 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:41.680 the thirty that did that, mister Hill? The President said, gentlemen, 84 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:43.959 you were given one hour in which to make up 85 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.399 your minds after you had all of the facts concerning 86 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.279 my offer that I could give you. I am very 87 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.040 very sorry, but this opportunity is gone forever because I 88 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:55.600 have learned from experience that the man who cannot or 89 00:04:55.639 --> 00:04:58.199 will not make up his mind quickly indefinitely when he 90 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:00.639 has all of the necessary facts to enable him to 91 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:03.399 do so, will change his mind quickly at the first 92 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:06.199 sign of obstacles, or he will allow other people to 93 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:10.720 talk him into changing his mind, mister Alderberg, mister Hill, 94 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:13.279 you have told a remarkable story, and it is somewhat 95 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.720 similar to your relationship with Andrew Carnegie, which shows what 96 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:19.720 promptness of decision can do to help one seize upon 97 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:23.560 a favorable opportunity. I am sure our audience would like 98 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:26.800 you to describe your experience, which was destined to benefit 99 00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:29.800 not only yourself but millions of men and women throughout 100 00:05:29.879 --> 00:05:34.240 the world. Mister Hill, The experience you mentioned happened over 101 00:05:34.279 --> 00:05:37.240 forty years ago when I first met Andrew Carnegie, the 102 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:41.800 great industrialist who founded the United States Steel Corporation. I 103 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:45.600 described it briefly in our last broadcast. I went to 104 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:48.399 see mister Carnegie to write a success story for Bob 105 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:53.439 Taylor's magazine based on his stupendous achievements. Originally he allotted 106 00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.480 me three hours for the interview, but actually it lasted 107 00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:59.279 three days and nights, during which he was also interviewing 108 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:02.199 me with a purpose without my knowing what he was 109 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:05.519 up to. During those three days, he was telling me 110 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.560 that the world needed a new success philosophy, one that 111 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.160 would give the average man or woman the full benefit 112 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:13.920 of all that he and other successful men like himself 113 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:18.120 had learned from a lifetime of experience. Mister Carnegie said 114 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:20.920 it was a sin of major proportions that successful men 115 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:24.040 allowed their hard earned experience to be buried with their bones. 116 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:27.759 At the end of the third day, mister Carnegie said, 117 00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:30.439 I have been talking to you for three days about 118 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:34.000 the need for a written success philosophy. I am going 119 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:35.920 to ask you one question, which I want you to 120 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:38.800 answer with a simple yes or no, but don't answer 121 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:41.879 it until you make up your mind. Definitely. If I 122 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:45.600 commission you to organize the world's first practical success philosophy, 123 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:48.639 will you devote twenty years to research and to interviewing 124 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:51.839 successful people and earn your own way without a financial 125 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:56.360 subsidy for me? Yes or no? Mister Alderberg, of course 126 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:58.920 you told him yes, because if you hadn't done so, 127 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.480 we wouldn't be here on this program today, would we, 128 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:06.639 mister Hill. I said, yes, mister Carnegie, I'll accept your 129 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:09.399 offer and you may depend upon it, sir, that I 130 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:13.079 will carry it out to the finish Mister Carnegie said, 131 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:15.360 all right, you have the job, and I like the 132 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:19.480 mental attitude in which you accepted the assignment. I learned 133 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:22.240 some years later that mister Carnegie was holding a stop 134 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:24.720 watch under his desk, and in his mind he had 135 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:27.399 given me exactly sixty seconds in which to make up 136 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:30.160 my mind, after he had given me three whole days 137 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:34.079 in which to get the facts. Mister Alderberg, why do 138 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:37.040 you suppose mister Carnegie placed so much emphasis on the 139 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:41.199 matter of prompt decision, mister Hill. He explained that no 140 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:44.199 one can be counted upon to carry out important assignments 141 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:47.560 or to assume important responsibilities without following the habit of 142 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:52.079 quick and definite decisions. Mister Carnegie was also searching for 143 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:54.959 another quality without which he knew I would never follow 144 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:58.439 through with twenty years of research, which quality was necessary 145 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:00.639 in order to find out what makes SCXCE scessful men 146 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:06.240 and women. Mister Alderberg, what quality was that, mister Hill? 147 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:08.720 It was the habit of turning on more will power 148 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:12.519 instead of quitting when the going is hard. Mister Carnegie 149 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:15.120 knew that there is always a time in every undertaking 150 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:18.399 when one meets with obstacles and is overtaken by opposition, 151 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:21.319 and he recognized that the quitter never wins and the 152 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:26.360 winner never quits. Mister Alderberg, what was your greatest obstacle 153 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:28.279 that you had to overcome while you were doing the 154 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:31.759 twenty years of research in organizing the success philosophy which 155 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:35.559 has made you famous throughout the world. Mister Hill, you 156 00:08:35.639 --> 00:08:39.840 are going to be surprised. My greatest obstacle was friends 157 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:42.840 and relatives who believed I had undertaken too big a job. 158 00:08:43.799 --> 00:08:46.200 They chided me for working for the richest man in 159 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:50.159 the world for twenty years without financial compensation from him. 160 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:53.440 One of the queer traits of most people, especially one's 161 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:56.720 own relatives, is that they so often discourage any member 162 00:08:56.759 --> 00:08:58.879 of the family who steps out ahead of the crowd 163 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:04.000 and aspires to achieve outstanding success. Mister Alderberg, how did 164 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.480 you manage to keep up your spirits and sustain your 165 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:08.960 faith for so long a time in the face of 166 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:13.080 this opposition from your relatives, mister Hill, I didn't do 167 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:16.799 it alone. I had helped through a mastermind alliance with 168 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:19.720 two people who gave me encouragement when the going was tough. 169 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:24.639 These were mister Carnegie, my sponsor, and my stepmother, who 170 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:27.080 was the only member of my family that believed I 171 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:30.679 would endure through twenty years of rough going. One of 172 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:33.919 the great miracles in human relations consists in the power 173 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:37.200 of survival, which one may acquire by a friendly alliance 174 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:41.440 with one or more other persons. Mister Alderberg, did you 175 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:44.759 get help from other successful men besides mister Carnegie while 176 00:09:44.759 --> 00:09:49.720 you were organizing the philosophy of success? Mister Hill, Oh, yes, 177 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:51.679 and if I hadn't, we wouldn't be here on this 178 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:55.879 program today. There was scarcely a single person of outstanding 179 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:59.639 achievements during my association with mister Carnegie, who didn't cooperate 180 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:01.960 with me by supplying a portion of that which went 181 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:05.279 into the making of the science of success. But I 182 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:08.080 also learned one interesting fact about many people while I 183 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:11.919 was struggling to complete my work and receive recognition. I 184 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:14.879 learned that when one needs anything very badly, it is 185 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:17.399 very difficult for him to find anyone who wishes to 186 00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:19.759 help him get it. But when one gets over the hump, 187 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:23.559 achieves recognition and no longer needs help, than just about 188 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:27.799 everybody on earth wants to do something for him. Mister Alderberg, 189 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:30.559 isn't there something in the Bible that corroborates what you 190 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:35.039 just said, mister Hill, Yes there is, And while I 191 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:37.080 am not going to try to undertake to quote it 192 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:40.159 verbat him, it goes something like this, to him that 193 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:42.919 hath it shall be given, and to him that hath 194 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.600 not it shall be taken away, even unto that which 195 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:48.919 he has. The first time I read this passage in 196 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:51.440 the Bible, I questioned the soundness of it, But the 197 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:54.919 sober experience of later years proves conclusively that this is 198 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:58.679 a trade of mankind. No one wants to be associated 199 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:01.240 with or to help a failure, while almost every one 200 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:02.919 will go out of their way to help one who 201 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:06.440 doesn't need help. This is explained by the law through 202 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:10.120 which like attracts like. Let me call your attention to 203 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:14.039 the fact that every failure, every adversity, and every unpleasant 204 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:17.000 circumstance carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit 205 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:20.039 or advantage, and the person who has a sound philosophy 206 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:22.519 to live by learns very quickly how to find this 207 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:25.840 seed of equivalent benefit and to germinate it into advantage. 208 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:29.600 As far as luck is concerned, it may be true 209 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:32.000 that it often does play a temporary part in the 210 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:35.639 lives of people. But remember this. If luck brings temporary 211 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:39.080 defeat or failure, one doesn't have to accept this as permanent, 212 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:42.320 and by searching for that seed of equivalent benefit, one 213 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:47.639 may actually transform a failure into an enduring success. Mister Alderberg, 214 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:50.200 could you give me an example illustrating your point that 215 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:52.960 adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit. 216 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:57.200 Mister Hill, Yes, there are hundreds of examples I could 217 00:11:57.279 --> 00:12:00.600 provide if time permitted, but I'll give you two, one 218 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:03.320 of which changed the entire course of my life, and 219 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:06.039 through my efforts, it has changed the lives of many people. 220 00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:09.679 My mother passed away when I was only eight years old. 221 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:12.720 To most people, that, of course, would seem like a 222 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:15.919 terrible loss. But the seed of an equivalent benefit which 223 00:12:15.960 --> 00:12:18.000 came from my loss was found in a wise and 224 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.440 understanding stepmother, who took my mother's place and inspired me 225 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:24.799 with courage and faith when I most needed it. The 226 00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:28.320 other example is that of Abraham Lincoln's great sorrow over 227 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:31.279 the loss of his first love, the death of an Rutledge. 228 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:35.600 That experience reached deeply into the spiritual forces of the 229 00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:38.519 great Lincoln's soul and revealed to the world the qualities 230 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:40.639 which were destined to make him one of the greatest 231 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:44.039 presidents in the time of our greatest need. You might 232 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:47.120 say it was bad luck or misfortune which deprived Lincoln 233 00:12:47.159 --> 00:12:49.840 of his first love, but it was Lincoln's reaction and 234 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:53.120 adjustment to this loss which revealed the greatness of his soul. 235 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:57.600 He responded by recommitting himself to his professional and personal 236 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:02.559 ambitions and reaching for the stars. No human experience should 237 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:05.559 ever be charged off as a complete loss, because every 238 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:09.720 circumstance of our lives, whether pleasant or unpleasant, places us 239 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:11.440 in the way of learning how to live and how 240 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:16.240 to get along with other people. Mister Alderberg, speaking of adversity. 241 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:19.240 During your contacts with mister Edison, did you get the 242 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:23.840 impression that he was handicapped by his deafness? Mister Hill, No, 243 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:28.440 on the contrary, Much to my surprise, I discovered that 244 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:31.720 mister Edison's deafness was a blessing instead of a curse, 245 00:13:31.799 --> 00:13:34.200 because he found the seed of an equivalent benefit that 246 00:13:34.279 --> 00:13:37.600 his deafness yielded, and he made astounding use of that seed. 247 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:41.240 Once I asked mister Edison if his deafness were not 248 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:44.000 a hand decap and he said, no, it is a 249 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.799 blessing instead, because it has taught me to hear from within. 250 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:51.519 Mister Alderberg, just what did mister Edison mean by that remark, 251 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:55.440 mister Hill. He meant that his deafness had caused him 252 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:58.240 to tune in and make stronger contact with sources of 253 00:13:58.279 --> 00:14:01.320 knowledge outside of those available through the capacity of hearing. 254 00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:04.320 It was from these sources that he got much of 255 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:07.200 the knowledge which made him the greatest inventor of all time. 256 00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:10.600 While I'm on this subject, may I tell you that 257 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:13.759 throughout the twenty years I spent analyzing successful people to 258 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:16.960 learn what made them tick. I discovered that successful people 259 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:20.519 almost invariably were successful in exact proportion to the extent 260 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:25.039 that they had met and overcome obstacles and defeat. Mister Alderberg, 261 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:28.919 how do you explain this, mister Hill. It can be 262 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:32.279 explained by considering that nature has so arranged the affairs 263 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:35.720 of men that strength grows out of struggle. If men 264 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:38.759 had no problems and were never forced to exert themselves, 265 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.679 they would atrophy and wither away through disuse of their 266 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.399 brain cells, the same as would happen with an arm 267 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:48.639 or leg if it were not given exercise. Nature penalizes 268 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:52.159 people for neglecting to properly use their physical bodies, as 269 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:55.440 everyone knows, and the same is true of their brain cells, 270 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:58.799 with which they think. If we do not use the mind, 271 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:03.399 it becomes lazy and unreliable. Human problems force people to 272 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:07.000 develop their minds through use. Look what happens to the 273 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:10.200 children of very wealthy people who allow their offspring to 274 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:13.039 grow up under the delusion that because their parents have money, 275 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:15.519 they don't have to work or to prepare themselves to 276 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:19.279 live on their own initiative. Very rarely does such a 277 00:15:19.320 --> 00:15:24.480 person become fully independent or self determining. Mister Alderberg, you 278 00:15:24.600 --> 00:15:28.279 had some experiences with struggle during your early days, didn't you, 279 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:32.519 mister Hill. Yes, I was blessed at birth with four 280 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:38.399 powerful causes for struggle, namely poverty, fear, superstition, and illiteracy. 281 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:45.080 Mister Alderberg, did you say blessings, mister Hill, Yes, blessings 282 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:47.879 because I was destined to devote my life to helping 283 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:51.080 my fellow men overcome these four common causes of failure, 284 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:53.799 and I needed to learn something about them at their source. 285 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:57.279 On the lighter side of my blessings, you may be 286 00:15:57.399 --> 00:15:59.960 interested in knowing that I was tagged with the name Napoleon, 287 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:02.360 with the hope of my parents that a great uncle 288 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:04.480 by the same name would leave me a portion of 289 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:10.000 his fortune when he died. Fortunately he didn't. I say fortunately, 290 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:12.039 because I know what happened to those to whom he 291 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:15.840 did leave his money. Whereas I, in my struggle to 292 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:21.120 master poverty, fear, superstition, and illiteracy, uncovered knowledge which I 293 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:23.559 have been privileged to share with millions of people who 294 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:26.720 have benefited by it. They received only money which did 295 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:30.799 not last long. Mister Alderberg, if you had a friend 296 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:33.120 or a son or a listener who was preparing to 297 00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:35.240 make his own way in the world, and you had 298 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:37.360 to select one trait on which you would urge him 299 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:40.159 to depend mostly for success. What would this trait be, 300 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:45.360 mister Hill, That's a sixty four dollar question, But without hesitation, 301 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:48.279 I'll say that I would select that trait which inspires 302 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:50.480 or compels a person to keep on going when the 303 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:53.720 going is hard, instead of giving up and quitting. I 304 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:56.080 would select this trait because it is the one which 305 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:58.720 has served me at times when my future seemed hopeless, 306 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:01.879 better than any other trade by any standard of evaluation. 307 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:04.400 And I would select it because I have never seen 308 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:07.480 or heard of any one who achieved success above mediocrity 309 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:10.440 without it. And I would select it because I have 310 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:13.440 reason to believe that the Creator intended people to become 311 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:18.440 wise and strong through struggle. Mister Alderberg, your remarks about 312 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:20.839 the sons of very rich men prompts me to ask 313 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:24.000 if during your contact with wealthy Americans you discovered any 314 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:26.400 son of a rich man who equaled or excelled his 315 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:31.039 father in business or otherwise. Mister Hill, only one, and 316 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:34.359 that was John D. Rockefeller Junior, who not only caught 317 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:36.519 up with the achievements of his father, but to my 318 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:40.759 way of thinking, excelled his father in many respects. Inherited 319 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:45.000 wealth is almost always a great curse. Poverty is often 320 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:48.119 a great curse as well, but only because people accept 321 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:50.680 it as such, and not as an inspiration to render 322 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:55.000 the sort of service which can overcome poverty. Mister Alderberg, 323 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:57.920 from what you've been saying, I judge that you believe 324 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:00.359 a poor man's son has a much better chance of 325 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:03.920 success than the son of a rich man. Mister Hill. 326 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:07.160 All of my observations during the past forty odd years 327 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:10.079 convinced me conclusively that the poor man's son has a 328 00:18:10.119 --> 00:18:12.960 better chance, provided that he does not accept poverty as 329 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:15.599 something he has to tolerate and makes up his mind 330 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:19.880 to master it. Mister Alderberg, what was your first reaction 331 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.480 to Andrew Carnegie's offer to you to sponsor you to 332 00:18:22.519 --> 00:18:25.240 write a philosophy of success on condition that you earn 333 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:29.519 your own way without a cash subsidy from him, Mister Hill, 334 00:18:29.799 --> 00:18:32.400 My first reaction was the same as that which most 335 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:36.640 anyone would have experienced. I believe that his requirements were 336 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:40.200 unfair in view of his great wealth. But I learned 337 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:42.519 later that this was one of the shrewdest moves that 338 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:45.680 mister Carnegie ever made in his relations with me, because 339 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:48.160 he forced me to become resourceful and to learn how 340 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:51.559 to apply the principles of success in sustaining myself while 341 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:54.400 engaged in a then and profitable work of research into 342 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:58.079 the causes of success. Because of this foresight on the 343 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:00.680 part of mister Carnegie, I lived to see the day 344 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.039 and it was not too far off from my beginning 345 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:07.160 with him when I didn't need financial help. Mister Alderberg, 346 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:09.880 I suppose that many of our friends would be interested 347 00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:12.359 in knowing how you managed to support yourself during the 348 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:14.960 twenty years of research you devoted to your work before 349 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:18.799 it became profitable. Mister Hill, I have been asked that 350 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:23.200 same question many times. I was an experienced newspaper man 351 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:25.880 when I first met mister Carnegie, and my work in 352 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:29.720 this field sustained me for a time. Later, I began 353 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:32.559 to train men and women in salesmanship, and it turned 354 00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:35.680 out that I had talent in this field. During my 355 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:38.519 work in the field of salesmanship, I trained over thirty 356 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:44.000 thousand people, many of whom became outstanding master salesman. Mister Alderberg, 357 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:46.720 just one more personal question, and I'll let you off 358 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:50.200 the hook. How do you manage to stay so energetic 359 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.640 and active and young at the age of sixty five, 360 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:58.000 mister Hill, thank you. I remain young by keeping busy 361 00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:59.920 in a labor of love, and by the habit of 362 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:02.880 celebrating every birthday by taking off a year from my 363 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:06.279 age instead of adding one. I am now back in 364 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:10.799 my late thirties. But perhaps, to speak more seriously, I 365 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:13.599 close each day's labor with a prayer which keeps my 366 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:16.880 store of blessings eternally filled. And I shall express that 367 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:21.000 prayer now, Oh, Infinite Intelligence, I ask not for more riches, 368 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:23.480 but for more wisdom with which to make better use 369 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:25.720 of the blessings with which I was endowed at birth, 370 00:20:25.799 --> 00:20:28.079 to reach the goal of embracing my own mind and 371 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:33.480 directing it to ends of my own choice. Amen, mister Alderberg, 372 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:36.240 Mister Hill, the time has come now for you to 373 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:38.440 answer a few of the many questions that have come 374 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:41.160 into our office in reference to problems that have arisen 375 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:44.599 in the minds of individuals. Will you give our listeners 376 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:47.359 the benefit of your wise counsel in answering some of them. 377 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:50.839 The first one comes from a woman who says, I'm 378 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:53.319 secretary to a man who believes that a woman is 379 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:57.079 not entitled to promotion to an executive job. I have 380 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:01.079 the ability to fill a more responsible position. How should 381 00:21:01.079 --> 00:21:04.759 I go about getting that position, mister Hill? I would 382 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:07.119 suggest that you manage to get permission to do some 383 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:09.720 of the work connected with the higher position, and that 384 00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:12.319 you do it on your own time and without compensation. 385 00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:15.680 It is not likely that your employer would object to 386 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:18.519 your working overtime without pay, and by doing so, you 387 00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:22.759 will prove your ability to fill the better position, mister Alderberg. 388 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:25.319 The next one comes from a man who desires to 389 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:29.200 go into business for himself. He says, I work for 390 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:31.880 a large trucking company, and I know their business from 391 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:35.400 top to bottom. I wish to start a trucking business 392 00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:37.480 of my own, but I do not have the capital 393 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:40.799 with which to buy the necessary equipment. How do you 394 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:44.960 suggest that I get the necessary money, mister Hill, First, 395 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:47.279 you should advertise for a partner who would be willing 396 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:49.640 to lend you the necessary capital, and who would also 397 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:52.960 take over a portion of the responsibilities of the business. 398 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:55.799 In this way, you would match your experience with the 399 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:59.200 other fellow's money, and the arrangement should be satisfactory to 400 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:02.119 both of you. If you get the right man, try 401 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:05.480