The Darby’s had reached it—the turning point in their financial success. Do you think they made the right decision? We know that if they followed the secret to wealth creation, had a definite purpose based in definite thought, they did. Alas…
“Finally, they decided to quit.
“They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars and took a train back home. Now, some “junk” men are ignorant, but not this one! He called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer advised that the project had failed because the owners were not familiar with “fault lines.” His calculations showed that the vein would be found just three feet from where the Darbys had stopped drilling! And that is exactly where it was found!
“The “Junk” man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine, all because he knew enough to seek expert advice before giving up.
“Most of the money used to buy the machinery was raised through the efforts of R.U. Darby, who was then a very young man. The money came from his relatives and neighbors, because they had faith in him. He paid back every dollar of it, even though it took him years to do so.”
Admirable of Mr. Darby to do so, but what would have been more admirable would have been not throwing up his hands in the face of temporary defeat. If he had followed the principles outlined by Napoleon Hill and in this book, he wouldn’t have. If he’d known the secret to wealth creation, he wouldn’t have.
What About You?
Does any part of this story mirror any cross-roads in your own life? I hope for your sake it does not, but odds are that it does; it seems all of us have been ‘there’ at one point or another. But don’t despair; past failure does not predetermine future failure. You have the opportunity to learn from your mistakes and take your new found knowledge from this book, and turn your poorly decided past into great future success and wealth, just as Mr. Darby did.
I will see you back here Monday and Thursday every week for the continuation of the Mindset Mastery series.
Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
SeanRasmussen.com © 2004 – 2008
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes it mirror one of life’s most confusing stage. I cant share it here though .
napoleon hill is my favorite writer . Lot of people are
Hi Sean,
You are right, past failure doesn’t have to mean that you will continue to fail in the future. I think you have to recognize where you went wrong, be willing to learn from your mistakes and learn some new ways to succeed.
I’ve had lots of failures to learn from and I feel success is getting closer all time because I am learning from my mistakes. In the past, if I had been the uncle, I would still be digging in that mine looking for gold. I wouldn’t have given up but I wouldn’t have asked anyone for help either. Now, I understand that I don’t need to know all the answers, I just need to know someone who does.
Hey Jazz,
It sounds like I would have been blindly digging right there beside you! *LOL*
I’m someone that often feels that for me to accomplish something, then it’s all up to me. Or, on the occasions when I DO realise I need to seek help, I either don’t know who to ask or where to find them.
Cheers,
Pete
Pete´s last blog ..peteboyr: @bullhunter Thanks, Sean. Just reviewing the webinar, and will get to your blogs after that. Big night ahead, pizza on the way!
Hi Pete,
I’m glad I’m not alone in this. I think the first thing we need to learn is that we don’t have to do everything alone. It’s okay to ask other people to help.
I learned this quickly when I wanted to start learning internet marketing. I couldn’t do it all alone and I most definitely needed some help. Thankfully the YOTA forum moderators are very good at helping.
Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Sean Rasmussen – Aussie Internet Marketer Making a Difference
Hi Sean,
Well, possibly now we should turn our attention to the junk man. He seized an opportunity and made good! A success story here and a lesson to learn? I think so.
Jill.
3 feet hey? Wouldn’t you be spewing…
Lina Nguyen´s last blog ..Richard Branson Business School: A day visit
Hi Lina,
Yes, I really would but I’m far too persistent and determined to give up three feet from anything that I want.
Yes I have enough failures to have given up. But I didn’t.
I had the burning desire to keep going in the belief that I would find the answer.
And I have and just as you would know it an opportunity has presented itself.
Gee´s last blog ..Why You Should Just Ignore Fad Diets (Part 2)
I actually think you have highlighted part of the answer, Gee. The faith that ‘it’ WILL occur if we just hold the vision long enough, is the essence of Faith, and not just holding a dream, up in the air, away, out of reach.
Jo Carey-Bradshaw´s last blog ..Empowering Mindset – Mindfulness
Hi
I at times have put aside some things to come back to later but have not given up on them.
“Rich people associate with positive, successful people”
Some experiences seem too painful for many to achieve success. I think of all the battered women out there that feel that it is less painful to stay in the relationship than leave. Yet leaving, most times – not all the time, is the best decision and leads to magnificent happiness. Maggie’s decision destroyer would help here. See eftsa.com.
Wal Heinrich´s last blog ..Think And Grow Rich Mindset Mastery
My mum always told me “you are allowed to make every failure. Once.”
If you don’t try how not to do something it’s hard to learn how to do it (and really remember it). But learn from your failures. Or even from failures others have done.
Like not asking experts for their advise if you don’t seem to be getting where you want to go like Mr.Darby.
Renee´s last blog ..The Best Way To Get Motivated
Hi Renee,
I agree that it’s o.k to make a mistake if you learn from it and don’t make the same mistake twice.
Wouldn’t it be super if we could learn from other people’s mistakes but alas this is usually not the case. Unfortunately we usually have to make them ourselves.
This article is a great lesson in persistence and a reminder to never giving up, thank-you Sean.
Jill Brown´s last blog ..Common Law Marriage – What is Common Law Marriage?
Hi Sean
I see this story as an illustration of someone who had not done their homework before going into the venture, nor seeking out professional advice at the crucial time.
It was obvious Mr Darby knew little about mining ore. However, Mr Darby still did not go on to be a failure, no, he still had a dream and persisted and he became very wealthy selling insurance.
I don’t know if I have ever stopped 3 feet short of the motherlode, because I am not a quitter. These days I change course if something is not working rather than flogging a dead lettuce ( I am a vegetarian) but I have set my sights and there is an internal compass which steers me towards them. I am unstoppable once I am passionate about something.
We need to educate ourselves about our chosen path and not rely on guesswork. When we need to know something, ask a person who knows more than us.
Ignorance is not bliss.
Blessings
Elly
G’day Sean,
In the past I’ve been guilty of being a quitter on a few things. As it turned out, a couple fell in a heap so ” no regrets ” about them, but sadly some of them went on to do well without me. It’s amazing what 20 20 hindsight can teach you HA HA HA !
Well meaning advisers who are often family and friends, can be the nail in the coffin of any idea which is new and, in their eyes untried. Very clever of the junk man to ask a mining engineer to check the mine before selling the scrap metal. Best scrap he ever bought !
As Napoleon Hill says Mr Darby learned from that lesson and after giving himself lots of swift kicks in the bum, [ I imagine, ] went on to do very well in insurance sales, NEVER taking no for an answer. A perfect lesson in PERSISTENCE !
Having joined YOTA and all the parts thereof, I feel constantly inspired by all the goings on, and even though I’m a little slower than some, WILL NOT QUIT WHEN 3 FEET AWAY FROM THE MOTHER LODE. Thanks for the push when needed – I’m getting closer.
Cheers
Harry
Harry Lynn´s last blog ..SEAN RASMUSSEN’S ” LEARN AND EARN ” COMPETITION.
Hey Sean,
There has been something that has been niggling at me: When does Persistence stop being admirable and turn into Annoyance? Or does this just come down to personal judgement and you have to decide when no actually means no?
It’s like when telemarketers call me, and depending on if they have called before (and I’ve had a few companies that call repeatedly every couple of months). I usually have to repeat myself that I’m not interested a few times before they will accept it, and there have been a few that after the 5th time, I’ve just had to hang up.
Just a thought.
Cheers,
Pete
Pete´s last blog ..peteboyr: @bullhunter Thanks, Sean. Just reviewing the webinar, and will get to your blogs after that. Big night ahead, pizza on the way!
You’ve got to hand it to telemarketers, they are super persistent, and also very annoying when they don’t take no for an answer.