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
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Sean,
It seems to me the uncle was hedging his bets. He wasn’t entirely confident about his chances for success. He failed to take the machinery with him in the first place.
If he believed he would really find gold, or if he was unreservedly committed to finding gold and refusing to give up until he found gold, the machinery would have been a necessity from the start. I think achieving success means knowing exactly what you want, planning how to succeed and then working that plan. You have to be confident that you will be successful and giving up must never be an option.
I disagree with Sean and Lisa. The uncle was smart. He knew that there was gold out there and he was determind to get it. He was wise not to invest in machinery and cart it around with him as he did his test digs. This is exactly the procedure that modern miners follow. The gold could have been in a river or in quarts rock or just under the surface over a wide area. Each possibility would require a different set of equipment to win that gold. Until he explored his prospects and knew a lot more about them he would not understand the tools he needed to properly collect them. Had he gone out and bought the mining equipment first then he would have had to have made some pretty strong assumptions about the gold and have been pretty close-minded about how the venture would unfold.
A key to selling is to understand your target market. Know where to find them and understand what they want, what they need, what excites them, and what influences their buying decisions. This is why a single sales pitch or method won’t work on all of your target market. You have to be both knowledgable and flexible in your approach in order to win.
Well done Uncle. I’ll partner with you any day of the week.