Power Of Thoughts
In the first chapter, the author throws light on the power of thought and how strongly it has the ability to change one’s life. One should have a definite purpose which can be compared to an obsession.
Hill introduces Edwin Barnes, a man who had an immense desire to partner up with the famous inventor, Thomas Edison. Although Barnes had no clue how to materialize his thoughts (because he did not know Edison personally), he still had a positive perspective on it. He had to face a lot of obstacles in his journey, but he never thought of giving up. Eventually, he managed to sell Edison’s dictating machine so successfully that he became a major distributor of it. Their business became famous as “Made by Edison and Installed by Barnes.”
His hard work paid off handsomely and helped him to become a rich man. Opportunity had come to Barnes in an unexpected way.
Opportunity comes to one in the form of a temporary defeat or misfortune.
Barnes had nothing when he started, except the fact that he knew what he wanted and had a strong determination to follow it.
Besides Edwin Barnes, Hill also talks about Darby. Darby and his uncle borrowed money so that they could buy machinery to mine gold. They were successful at first, but as they started digging ‘fault lines’, they couldn't find any gold thereafter. After several unsuccessful attempts, they gave up and sold all their machinery to a man who collected junk.
The junkman who bought the equipment from Darby decided to take expert advice. He then went on to dig the same place where Darby had left off and found gold only after digging 3 feet deeper into the ground. If Darby had tried harder, he would have tasted success too.
A lot of people tend to give up when they face failure, not understanding that it is just a temporary defeat. Giving up should never be an option.
“Failure is nature’s plan to prepare you for great responsibilities”. -Napoleon Hill
One of the main drawbacks for a person is the word “Impossible”. He is very well aware of the things which cannot be done or the rules that cannot be followed.
According to the author, failure comes to those who allow themselves to become failure conscious. To become successful, a person has to follow the rules of successful people and abide by them under every circumstance. This book teaches the art of changing our mindsets from failure consciousness to success consciousness.
“Keep your mind fixed on what you want in life; Not on what you don’t want”. -Napoleon Hill
