I think this is really a great article by Napoleon Hill! I’d print this out if I were you. Study it and apply it in your life.

Advantages in Going the Extra Mile
by Napoleon Hill

Some advantages for doing more than one is paid for:

1. The habit of Going the Extra Miles gives one the benefit of the law of Increasing Returns, in a variety of ways too numerous to be described here.

2. This habit places one in a position to benefit by the law of Compensation, through which no act or deed will or can be expressed without an equivalent response (after its own nature).

3. It gives one the benefit of growth through resistance and use, thereby leading to mental development and increased skill in the use of the body. (It is a well-known fact that both body and mind attain efficiency and skill through systematic discipline and use which call for the rendering of service that temporarily is not paid for.)

4. The habit develops the important factor of initiative, without which no individual ever rises above mediocrity in any calling.

5. It develops self-reliance, which is likewise an essential in all forms of personal achievement.

6. It enables an individual to profit by the law of contrast, since obviously a majority of the people do not follow the habit of doing more than they are paid for. On the contrary, they endeavor to “get by” with a minimum amount of service.

7. It helps one to master the habit of drifting aimlessly, thereby checking the habit which stands at the head of the major causes of failure.

8. It definitely aids in development of the habit of Definiteness of Purpose, which is the first principle of individual achievement.

9. It tends strongly to aid in the development of Attractiveness of Personality, thereby leading to the means by which one may relate himself to others so as to gain their friendly cooperation.

10. It often gives an individual a preferred position of relationship with others through which he may become indispensable, thereby fixing his own price on his services.

11. It insures continuous employment, thereby serving as insurance against want in connection with the necessities of life.

12. It is the greatest of all the known methods by which the man who works for wages may promote himself to higher positions and better wages, and serves as a practical means by which a man may attain the position of ownership of a business or industry.

13. It develops alertness of the imagination, the faculty through which one may create practical plans for the attainment of one’s aims and purposes in any calling.

14. It develops a positive “mental attitude,” which is one of the more important qualities that are essential in all human relationships.

15. It serves to build the confidence of others in one’s integrity and general ability, which is an indispensable essential for noteworthy achievement in every calling.

16. Finally, it is a habit which one may adopt and follow on his own initiative, without being under the necessity of asking the permission of anyone to do so.

    Compare these sixteen definite advantages that are available to man, in return for doing more than he is paid for, with the one sole benefit (that of acquiring food necessary for existence) that is available to the other creatures of the earth through the same habit, and you will be forced to the conclusion that overwhelmingly the greater number of benefits enjoyed by man serve as adequate compensation for his development and use of this habit. This comparison substantiates your statement that it is an impossibility for one to do more than one is paid for, and for the very obvious reason that in the mere act of doing that which is constructive one acquires power that can be converted into whatever one desires.

Source:  How to Raise Your Own Salary, 1953, Napoleon Hill Associates, A Division of W. Clement Stone Enterprises, Chicago 40, Illinois, pg. 120-122.

Did you find this helpful? Let us know by commenting below!

Terrie



Mental Equipment Checklist
by Dr. Napoleon Hill

There follows a list of very desirable qualities which almost any normal and reasonable person can come to possess and exercise. The list is long and perfection may be only slowly attained. Therefore, before entering into a detailed consideration of the things you would like to have your mind and body capable of doing, let’s at once enumerate those which are absolutely necessary.

1. Physical fitness is of tremendous importance for the simple reason that neither mind nor body can function well without it. Therefore, give attention to your habits of life, proper diet, healthful exercise and fresh air.

2. Courage must be the part of every man or woman who succeeds in any undertaking, especially that of selling in these trying time of intense competition after a devastating period of depression and discouragement.

3. Imagination is an absolute requisite of a successful salesman. He must anticipate situations and even objections on the part of his prospective customer. He must have such a lively imagination as to enable its operation to place him in sympathetic understanding with the position, needs, and objectives of his customer. He must almost literally stand in the other man’s shoes. This takes real imagination.

4. Speech. The tone of voice must be pleasing. A high-pitched squeaky voice is irritating. Words half swallowed are hard to understand. Speak distinctly and enunciate clearly. A meek voice indicates a weak person. A firm, clean-cut, clear voice that moves with assurance and color, indicates an aggressive person with enthusiasm and aggressiveness.

5. Hard work is the only thing that will turn sales training and ability into money. No amount of good health, courage, or imagination is worth a dime unless it is put to work; and the amount of pay a salesman gets is usually fixed by the amount of very hard, intelligent work that he actually puts out. Many people side-step this factor of success.

Source:  How to Sell Your Way Through Life, 1955, Ralston Publishing Co., Cleveland, Ohio, pgs. 72-73.

How’s your checklist?

Terrie

We’ve talked about your definite major purpose before. But I don’t think I wrote about how to develop it. It’s not just goal setting – goals are what will help you achieve your definite major purpose. They are like the stepping stones towards reaching it. This is a very important post. Here Napoleon Hill shows you how to find your definite major purpose and articulate it.

How to Develop a Definite Major Purpose
by Dr. Napoleon Hill

This procedure in the development of a Definite Major Purpose is simple, but important, viz:

    (a) Write out a complete, clear and definite statement of your Major Purpose in Life, sign it and commit it to memory. Then repeat it orally at least once every day, more often if practicable. Repeat it over and over, thus placing back of your purpose all of your faith in Infinite Intelligence.

    (b) Write out a clear, definite plan by which you intend to begin the attainment of the object of your Definite Major Purpose. In this plan state the maximum time allowed for the attainment of your purpose, and describe precisely what you intend to give in return for the realization of your purpose, remembering that there is no such reality as something for nothing, and that everything has a price which must be paid in advance in one form or another.

    (c) Make your plan flexible enough to permit changes at any time you are inspired to do so. Remember that Infinite Intelligence, which operates in every atom of matter and in every living or inanimate thing, may present you with a plan far superior to any you can create. Therefore be ready at all times to recognize and adopt any superior plan that may be presented to your mind.

    (d) Keep you Major Purpose and your plans for attaining it strictly to yourself except insofar as you will receive additional instructions for carrying out your plan, in the description of the Master Mind Principle, which follows.

Do not make the mistake of assuming that because you may not understand these instructions the principles here described are not sound. Follow the instructions to the letter; follow them in good faith, and remember than by so doing you are duplicating the procedure of many of the greatest leaders this nation has ever produced.

The instructions call for no effort that you may not easily put forth.

They make no demands upon time or ability with which the average person may not comply.

And they are completely in harmony with the philosophy of all true religions.

Decide now what you desire from life and what you have to give in return. Decide where you are going and how you are to get there. Then make a start from where you now are to get there. Then make a start from where you now stand. Make the start with whatever means of attaining your goal that may be at hand. And you will discover that to the extent you make use of these, other and better means will reveal themselves to you.

That has been the experience of all men whom the world has recognized as successes. Most of them started with humble beginnings with little more to aid them than a passionate desire to attain a definite goal.

There is enduring magic in such a desire!

Source: The Master Key to Riches. Fawcett Crest Book. 1965. Pgs. 41 & 42.

Have you worked on yours or do you already have it solidified?

Terrie

Do you go the extra mile in your job or in your relationship? Or do you expect to get the best you can for what you do? Do you have someone in your employ that you notice has gone the extra mile? Maybe it’s like this story. It’s a very important story and should be the basis for how you live your life if you wish to succeed.

A Sharp Contrast
by Dr. Napoleon Hill

Andrew Carnegie had a story about this principle of going the extra mile which he often liked to tell.  “Several years ago,” he would say, “a policeman noticed a light burning at a late hour in a small machine shop on his beat in which he knew that no night work was being done.  Becoming suspicious, he telephoned the owner of the shop who came down immediately, unlocked the door and cautiously crept inside with the policeman.

“When they reached the small room where the light appeared, the owner of the shop looked in and, to his amazement, found one of his employees at work at a machine.  The young man quickly explained that he had been in the habit of coming to the shop at night to learn how to operate the machine and thereby make himself more useful to the employer.

“The newspapers carried the story, and I happened to read it.  The newspaper article made it appear that it was all a big joke on the employer.  For I contacted this young man and employed him at double the wages he had been getting in this small machine shop.  Today he is head of one of our most important plant operations at a salary four times what he was getting at the machine shop, and if he keeps on as he is going and continues to exhibit the same wonderful mental attitude, he will some day have our top plant job – provided he doesn’t first go into business for himself.

“There is no way to hold down people who spend their spare time preparing to render grater and better service for others.  These persons go right to the top of their profession or calling as naturally as a cork rises to the top of water.”

There is little one can add to a story like that.  It would be like trying to gild the lily.  If you are ready to grasp the secret of real success, somewhere as you study the lessons in this course, you will find it.  You will grasp the significance of each of these principles, and will be on the way to the achievement of your own definite major objective.

Source: PMA Science of Success Course. Pgs. 139 & 140.

What has this story meant for you? Tell us below.

Terrie