Sean Rasmussen

The power of thought and state-of-mind is both individual and collective. Here Napoleon Hill talks about the power state-of-mind held over an entire nation’s, ultimately an entire world’s, economy.

“As evidence of the collective power state-of-mind has over people, this example is offered–

“The Great Depression started in the United States in 1929, and continued on to an all time record of destruction, until after President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office. Then the depression began to fade into nothingness. Just like in a theatre when the lights are raised so gradually that darkness turns into light before you realize it; the spell of fear in the minds of the people gradually faded away and became faith.

“This same concept has been proven time and again throughout the decades since. Today’s recessions come on more gradually than the Great Depression; any time there is a financial recession, it is directly governed by the attitudes of the people as a whole. When the masses believe the outlook is bleak, they act (financially speaking) accordingly; when they begin to regain hope, the populace spends more freely and the recession recedes again. This is an economic cycle that is repeated over and over, but there is never a single moment experts can point to that signifies the beginning or end of the recession. Instead, the start- and end-points are defined in retrospect.”

State Of Mind Governs The World

Consider this—if this were not the case, if emotion and state-of-mind did not govern national and world economies, economics would be a much more simple and predictable science. The fact that economics is not predictable to exactness proves that thought is a driving factor in wealth creation. This is why we here buzz words like ‘consumer confidence’ when economic predictions are made.

I will see you back here every Monday and Thursday for the continuation of the Mindset Mastery series.

Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
SeanRasmussen.com © 2004 - 2008

If Napoleon Hill has taught you one thing from the experiences of Mr. Darby, learn that you do not need to go far to find the answers to the questions of your own personal wealth creation.

The Secret Leading to Success

“Life is strange, and often imponderable! Both success and failure find their roots in simple experiences. Darby’s experiences were commonplace and simple enough, yet they held the answer to his destiny in life; therefore they were as important (to him) as life itself. He profited from these two dramatic experiences, because he analyzed them, and found the lesson taught in each respectively. But what does that mean for a person who has neither the time nor inclination to study his/her failure to find the secret leading to success? Where and how will that person learn to turn defeat into a stepping stone to opportunity?

These are the questions this book was written to answer.

The Thirteen Principles

The answer to these questions consists of thirteen principles, all working in conjunction with each other; but as you read, remember–the answer(s) you may be searching for, the answers to the questions that have brought you to contemplate the irony and complexity of life, may be found in your own mind, through some idea, plan, or purpose which may spring into your mind as you read.”

So you already have all the answers you need; but like nearly everyone, you may be in need of some help unlocking and deciphering them. That’s what this book was written for to help those with the inclination and motivation figure out what they need to do differently to create wealth for themselves, and their loved ones.

I will see you back here every Monday and Thursday for the continuation of the Mindset Mastery series.

Sean Rasmussen
Success Communicator
SeanRasmussen.com © 2004 - 2008

The title of this post is introduction enough to the next installment from Mindset Mastery, so I’ll let Napoleon Hill continue with the conclusion to this episode.

“Ironically, Darby told this unusual story to the author inside the old mill, on the very spot where the uncle took his whipping. Ironically, too, this story was told to the author after he had devoted nearly a quarter of a century to studying that very power–the power which enabled an ignorant, illiterate colored child to conquer an intelligent man.

As the two (the author and Darby) stood there in that musty old mill, Darby repeated the story of the unusual conquest, and finished by asking, “What can you make of it? What strange power did that child use, that so completely whipped my uncle?”

The answer to his question will be found in the principles detailed in this book. The answer is full and complete. It contains details and instructions sufficient enough to enable anyone to understand and apply the same force the small girl accidentally stumbled upon.”

The power is more than persistence

We’ve mentioned persistence as this power, but to be fair, this power is more than simple persistence. What that additional power is may be different for individual readers, as is its bearing on their own experience and circumstance; Napoleon Hill does not define the power because he wishes for each reader to discover its form and importance on their own, in the way that it will benefit them the greatest. I’ll do the same and not venture too much of my own personal conjecture. We’ll see what else of it we can uncover as we move along.

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

Persistence is one way to describe that staying power that wealthy, successful men and women have, that power that takes them that critical step past temporary defeat. To illustrate the power of persistence, Napoleon Hill tells us this story of one brave and persistent little girl.

[Note: As you read, keep in mind that this incident took place in the early 1900's before the Civil Rights Movement in the United States; all things, at that time, were certainly not equal.]

“Shortly after R.U. Darby earned his degree from the “University of Hard Knocks,” and had determined to profit from his experience in the gold mining business, he was fortunate enough to be present to witness an incident that proved to him that “No” does not necessarily mean no.

One afternoon Darby was helping his uncle grind wheat in an old fashioned mill. The uncle operated a large farm where a number of colored sharecrop farmers lived. Quietly, the door was opened, and a small colored child, the daughter of a tenant, walked in and took her place near the door.

The uncle looked up, saw the child, and barked at her roughly, “what do you want?”

Meekly, the child replied, “My mammy say send her fifty cents.”

“I’ll not do it,” the uncle retorted, “Now you run on home.”

“Yas sah,” the child replied. But she did not move.

The uncle went on working, too busy to notice that the child did not leave. When he looked up and saw her still standing there, he yelled at her, “I told you to go on home! Now go, or I’ll take a switch to you.”

The little girl said “yas sah,” but she did not budge an inch.

The uncle dropped a sack of grain he was about to pour into the mill hopper, picked up a band of wood, and started toward the child with an expression meant to drive fear into her.”

Being Persistent

This is the point where most of us would relent and let the old Uncle keep the fifty cents. Be sure to join us in our next post to find out how this little girl with persistence and a simple word triumphed over “the Man”.

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

The next of Napoleon Hill’s anecdotes is presented as a direct contrast to the definite thought, purpose, and determination of Edwin C Barnes. He calls this story “Three Feet From Gold”; most of us can see quite a lot of our past limited successes within the telling of this story.

“One of the most common reasons people fail is that they quit when faced with temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another. What follows is a case in point.

“An uncle of R.U. Darby was caught by the “gold fever” in the days of the great gold-rush, and went west to dig and grow rich. He had never heard that more gold has been mined from the brains of men than has ever been taken from the earth. He staked a claim and went to work with a pick and a shovel. The going was hard, but his lust for gold was definite.

“After weeks of labor, he was rewarded with the discovery of the elusive shining ore. He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly, he covered up the mine, went back to his home in Williamsburg, Maryland, and told his relatives and a few neighbors about the “strike.” Together, they raised the money for the needed machinery and had it shipped. The uncle and Darby went back to work the mine.”

So far in this tale we’ve seen that Darby and Uncle had the foresight to place themselves in a presumably profitable spot, but Napoleon Hill indicates that the uncle lacked a definite thought; he has thus far failed to put the required definite thinking into the project. Will the men be able to succeed without having taken this essential first step? We’ll see if he is able to pull himself out of it.

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