How To Own Your Mind

By Napoleon Hill 

Action is critical to success. But you must think before you act or your actions will be wasted.

Found in all successful leaders – definite purpose, definite motive, mastermind alliance, self reliance, self discipline over head and heart, persistence, a well developed faculty of imagination, definite and prompt decisions, opinions made on fact and not hearsay, capacity to create enthusiasm at will and direct it, keen sense of fairness and justice, tolerance and open mind, going the extra mile, tactfulness and a keen sense of diplomacy, listening much and talking little, an observing nature, determination, capacity stand critisicm without resentment, temperance of appetites, loyalty to all who deserve it, frankness with those who have a right to it, familiarity of men’s desires (love, sex, other motives), attractive personality, effective salesmanship, concentrate full attention on one thing at a time, learning from ones own and others mistakes, willingness to take responsibility of ones subordinates, adequately recognizing merits of others, applying golden rule to all relationships, positive mental attitudes at all times, full responsibility for all take one undertakes, keen sense of values… 

CHAPTER ONE CREATIVE VISION

• A philosopher said, ‘The imagination is the workshop of man wherein is fashioned the pattern of all his achievements.’

Creative Vision’- It is the ability to recognise opportunities and take action to benefit from them. An important element of Creative Vision is the use of the imagination.

• Synthetic imagination consists of the act of combining recognised ideas, concepts, plans, facts and principles in new arrangements.
• Practically, all the patents recorded in the Patent Office are nothing more than old ideas which have been arranged in a new order, or given a new use.
• Creative imagination has its source, as far as science has been able to determine, in the subconscious mind, wherein exists, through some power unknown to science, the ability to perceive and interpret new ideas. It is believed, by some, that the faculty of creative imagination truly is ‘the workshop of the soul’.
• Obsessional desire is the state of mind which serves to clear the mind of fear and doubt and self-imposed limitations, thereby opening the way for that state of mind known as Faith. By his refusal to accept defeat, through more than ten thousand failures, Mr. Edison prepared his mind for the application of Faith.
  • He focussed his mind on it, through concentration of his interest, and made it the major occupant of his mind from day to day until this form of auto-suggestion penetrated his subconscious mind and registered a clear picture of his desire.
  • Many people become confused as to the difference between a wish and a burning desire which has been stimulated into obsessional proportions by the repetition of thought in connection with the desire.

Working principles used by all successful men, as well as a clear picture of the Ford mind, viz.:

•  (a) Mr. Ford was motivated by a definite purpose, which is the first step in all individual achievements. 
• (b) He stimulated his purpose into an obsession by concentrating his thoughts upon it.
• (c) He converted his purpose into definite plans, through the principle of Organised Individual Endeavour, and put his plans into action with unabating persistence. 
• (d) He made use of the Master Mind principle, first, by the harmonious aid of his wife, and second, by gaining counsel from others who had experimented with internal combustion engines and methods of power transmission.
• (e) Back of all this effort was the power of Applied Faith, which he acquired as the result of his intense desire for achievement in connection with his Definite Major Purpose.

Every adversity brings with it the seed of an equivalent benefit!

• WHEN you pray, do not ask for more blessings; but ask for more wisdom that you may better understand and enjoy the blessings you already have.

Self-expression, through speaking and writing, is a never-ending source of stimulation of the imagination, as are many other forms of action. The very moment a man begins to organise his thoughts for the purpose of expression, whether through words or deeds, he starts his imagination to work. For this reason, children should be encouraged to give free expression to their thoughts, as this develops imagination early in life.

• Salesmen with imagination often sell something entirely different from that which they appear to be selling.

Creative Vision is an acquired ability through which one does two very important things, viz.: First, he becomes keenly alert in recognising opportunities favorable to the attainment of his aims and purposes; second, he develops the habit of embracing these opportunities and acting upon them through Organised Individual Endeavour.

• A man may have keen imagination as an artist, as, in fact, most artists do have, yet be entirely lacking in the Creative Vision necessary to make a business success of his artistic ability.
  • First, the man with Creative Vision (such a man as Dr. Harper) develops the alertness of mind to recognise opportunities favourable to his own advancement. 
  • Second, he moves with definiteness of purpose in embracing opportunities. 
  • Third, he plans every move he makes, through Organised Endeavour.
  • Fourth, he recognises and uses the Master Mind principle, through which he provides himself with the ability and the knowledge of others. 
  • Fifth, he removes limitations from his own mind by recognising and using Applied Faith, thereby opening his mind for the guidance of Infinite Intelligence. No man may possess Creative Vision without the aid of Faith, and this for the reason that Faith is of the essence of creative ability.
  • Sixth, he adopts and follows the habit of Going the Extra Mile, thereby attracting favourable opportunities to himself. 
  • Seventh, he keeps his mind definitely attuned to the circumstances and conditions of those around him, observing not only the general trend of the times, but watching closely the problems, needs and desires of people in general.
  • Eighth, he moves on his own personal initiative, without being urged to do so. 
  • Ninth, he assumes full responsibility for his own deeds and depends upon the soundness of his own judgement, in the formation of his plans, having first wisely availed himself of the counsel of others, through the Master Mind principle.
  • Tenth, he develops and uses both the faculties of synthetic imagination and creative imagination. Take notice, however, that these two factors constitute but one-tenth of the principles used by the man of Creative Vision.

To get more from life, one must give more! This is a truism from which no man can escape. Nature fixed it in all natural laws; therefore, it is not a man-made rule.

• That’s the idea precisely! There is only one satisfactory way to get men to do their best, and that is by setting up before them a motive which is sufficiently attractive to inspire them to act on their own initiative. The nature and scope of the motive must be measured by the potential ability and the personal characteristics of the man whom it is intended to inspire. This is usually determined by an individual’s ambitions and personal limitations.
• Success had the reverse effect on them to that which it should have had. It caused them to begin thinking they should be paid for what they knew instead of that which they did, or induced others to do. This is a mistake which is fatal to many who make a good start towards success, but slow down when they come within sight of it.

The man who helps the greatest number of others to succeed is, himself, the greatest success.

• The principles of successful achievement are as definite as are the rules of mathematics. Some men acquire an understanding of these rules and apply them persistently. Others may understand them, but they apply them with less persistence. Naturally, the more persistent a man is, the greater is the success.
• In the first place, a man must have the necessary Creative Vision to enable him to recognise the particular opportunity for which he is best suited, considering the amount of riches he desires and the kind of service he has to offer in return for the riches. That surely is the first thing to be considered.
• The second step, then, is to kill off this fallacy by recognising the truth that there is no such reality as something for nothing, or something for less than its true value.
• It is precisely the same procedure with the man who makes up his mind to be done with poverty. He must first clear his mind of all negatives and self-imposed limitations. Then he must take inventory of his education, experience, natural aptitudes, and general ability, to see what he has to offer. After this, he must look for a market for whatever service he is capable of rendering. Here enters one of the more important of the principles of individual achievement, the principle of Going the Extra Mile. I have never heard of anyone changing from poverty to riches without applying this principle, and doing it as a matter of habit.
• Here let me offer the warning that the man whose only object is to acquire riches will more than likely meet with disappointment. The best of all mental attitudes in which to begin the transition from poverty to riches is that in which a man centers his thoughts more upon the service he renders than upon the riches he is seeking.
• The most important thing is ability to negotiate with other with a minimum of friction, so as to gain a maximum of friendly cooperation. This is simply another way of saying the most important thing in life is “human relationships”. All success and all failure are the result of human relationships. The man who learns how to negotiate with others so as to gain their confidence and friendly cooperation has gone nine-tenths of the way towards success. From there on, the journey will be both definite and comparatively easy. In this attainment, the golden rule and the principle of the extra mile are vitally important.
• Verily, there is nothing impossible for the man with Creative Vision! He is the forerunner of civilisation, the inspirer of individual initiative, the protector of human freedom. So, the story goes, on and on, ad infinitum! Wherever men with Creative Vision are found, one also finds progress, prosperity, and high standards of living.
• I want the people to become wealthy, but my own experience teaches me that the greatest of all forms of wealth is practical wisdom through which men learn, once and for all time, that there is no such reality as something for nothing! That everything has its price, and the whole of the universe is so arranged that this price must be paid; that material riches, the same as all other forms of riches, are the result of personal initiative expressed through the principle of Going the Extra Mile.

Mind you, the book did not teach him anything he did not already know! It merely awakened something he already possessed, but did not know he had. But that was enough.

• All faculties of the mind may be developed and made dependable in the same manner that one may develop a strong arm, namely by systematic use, through organised habits of thought. There is no other way to gain control over the mind except systematic use, under a plan that will give recognition to every department of the mind,

How Habits are Formed 

• Habits are formed in two ways. One is by voluntary repetition of any desired thought or action, using the willpower, if necessary, to enforce the repetition. Most voluntary habits, however, grow out of the repeated expression of a desire based on definite motive. Motive is the greatest of all the media for the formation of habits. The other type of habit is involuntary. It develops, through the law of social heredity, from one’s environmental influences. Such habits are not controlled. Such habits follow the line of least resistance. They lead to procrastination, indifference, and indefiniteness, ending finally in forcing the individual into what is commonly called a ‘rut’. Let it be remembered that the law of social heredity is always and everywhere in operation; that it directs men’s thoughts and action habits.

John Wanamaker, the ‘merchant king’ of Philadelphia: “Controlled Attention, behind a single purpose, is the secret of all human achievement. The man who acquires this art and applies it skillfully thereby connects himself with a source of power that is not available to him through any other method.

• Controlled Attention has been my greatest asset. I have used it during most of the adult period of my life, and particularly in building and operating the Great Northern Railway.”
• John D. Rockefeller, Sr., founder of the Standard Oil Company: “From the very first day that I took my first job, as a book-keeper, until this very moment, I have followed the plan of centering my attention upon one thing at a time. Controlled Attention places a man in contact with a source of power that gives him what amounts to a sort of super wisdom in the management of his affairs. I have invested large sums of money in many different businesses and industries, but I earned this money in the business on which I have concentrated most of my thought, the oil business. No part of my attention has been given to any of the industries in which I have made investments, except my own.”
• Wilbur Wright, co-inventor of the Wright airplane: “My brother Orville and I always followed the habit of concentrating our attention upon one major purpose, and that was the perfecting of a heavier than air flying machine. If we had split our attention, I doubt that we would ever have built a machine that could have flown successfully.”

It is surprising what a man can accomplish when he gains the necessary self-discipline to enable him to control his attention by holding it on one thing at a time. Whatever success I have attained has been largely the result of Definiteness of Purpose, the Master Mind principle, Creative Vision, Organised Individual Endeavour, Self-Discipline, and Controlled Attention, with strong emphasis on the latter.”

That is about the way the story goes with all men who have attained noteworthy success. All of them go through their ‘testing time’, as Andrew Carnegie expressed it; that shows what sort of mettle they are made of. I have never heard of any person achieving great success without having gone through difficulties, and unpleasant experiences, and the one quality which best stands out during these periods of ‘testing time’ is Controlled Attention.

MAN IS not a creature of circumstances, but a creator of circumstances. He makes his own circumstances, his own opportunities.

“Great minds have purposes, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above them.” -Washington Irving