Sean Rasmussen

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

Picking up where we left off with Darby and his Uncle, let’s see what happens next.

“The first car of ore was mined and shipped to a smelter. The returns proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars of that ore would clear all debts. Then they would make a killing in big profits.

“The drills went down as the hopes of Darby and his Uncle excitedly went up! Then something happened. The vein of gold ore disappeared! They had come to the end of the rainbow, and the pot of gold was gone! They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again–to no avail.”

Journey To Wealth Creation

These are the times that every one of us is destined to face on our journey to wealth creation. These times are the true test of our ‘metal’ so to speak. And what you choose to do in times like these is what separates you—makes you the one who succeeds to go on to build great wealth, or makes you fail and continue to struggle in financial stress.

Let’s remember what Napoleon Hill said was one of the biggest reasons people fail to get rich…”…they quit when faced with temporary defeat.”

So did Darby and Uncle let temporary defeat put an end to their success? We’ll find out soon enough…

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

This next passage needs little commentary from me; Napoleon Hill concludes Barnes’ story with a summation of the power of Barnes’ definite thought and purpose.

“The business alliance lasted more than thirty years. From that alliance, Barnes made himself a very rich man, in terms of money; but he did something infinitely greater than simply make himself rich—he proved definitely that it is possible for a person, even with limited financial resources, to “Think and Grow Rich.”

“How much actual cash that original desire of Barnes’ was worth to him, we have no way of knowing. It might have earned him two or three million dollars, but the amount, whatever it is, becomes insignificant when compared with the greater asset he acquired in the form of definite knowledge that an intangible impulse of thought can be transmuted into physical reality by applying known principles.

“Barnes literally thought himself into a partnership with the great Thomas Edison! He thought himself into a fortune. He had nothing to start with, except the capacity to know what he wanted, and the determination to stand by that desire until it was realized.

“He had no money to begin with. He had little education. He had no influence. But he did have initiative, faith, and the will to win. With these intangible forces he made himself the number one man of the greatest inventor who ever lived.”

Succeed, Build Wealth and Live Better

And there we have it—the man started with nothing but an idea and the determination to succeed. If you, too, possess these two simple things, you have all you need to succeed, build wealth, and live better.

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

There are some basic things worth knowing about the secret to wealth creation, as Napoleon Hill discovered. He talks about the secret and its universal availability to all people in his original forward.

“A peculiar thing about this secret is that those who once acquire it and use it find themselves literally swept on to success, with but little effort, and they never again submit to failure! If you doubt this, study the names of those who have used it, wherever they have been mentioned, check their records for yourself, and be convinced. “There is no such thing as something for nothing! “The secret to which I refer cannot be had without a price, although the price is far less than its value. It cannot be had at any price by those who are not intentionally searching for it. It cannot be given away, it cannot be purchased for money, for the reason that it comes in two parts. One part is already in possession of those who are ready for it.”

Wealth Creation Secret

Hill is basically saying two things here:

1) the secret to wealth creation is not overly complicated, and is within the reach of anybody, regardless of wealth, handicap, education, or location,

and

2) obtaining and utilizing the secret requires effort on the part of the seeker; you won’t get rich sitting by waiting for an opportunity to come your way, you have to take an active role in your own wealth creation.

Hill doesn’t present this to scare away the reader—exactly the opposite; he puts this informational tidbit upfront so that you can prepare yourself for some worthwhile effort, but also realize that wealth is certainly within your reach.

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

Napoleon Hill does not come directly out and name the secret to wealth creation in his book, and here he tells us why…

“The secret to which I refer has been mentioned no fewer than a hundred times, throughout this book. It has not been directly named, for it seems to work more successfully when it is merely uncovered and left in sight, where those who are ready, and searching for it, may pick it up. That is why Andrew Carnegie tossed it to me so quietly, without giving me its specific name.

“If you are ready to put it to use, you will recognize this secret at least once in every chapter. I wish I might feel privileged to tell you how you will know if you are ready, but that would deprive you of much of the benefit you will receive when you make the discovery in your own way.”

Your Path To The Secret

In fact, it might be best that Napoleon Hill does not put a name to this secret, because it might be called by many names by people from different cultures and backgrounds; it’s all semantics anyway, and if you grasp Hill’s point you’ll surely understand as well that the importance is more in understanding this secret thing and learning to apply it effectively in your own way, than in copying the path of another to the letter. Everyone’s path to successful wealth creation will be different; even in investing, no two paths are ever exactly the same. The key for educators of wealth creation like myself and Jamie McIntyre is to give students, such as yourself, the tools – tools that you can use for a lifetime of wealth creation, not a ‘get-rich-quick’ flash in the pan kind of windfall that won’t support you your whole life long.

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