Napoleon Hill

Study each of the fifteen soldiers shown in command of the army in the picture at the beginning of this essay. Remember, as you look at the picture, that no one of these soldiers alone is powerful enough to insure success. Remove a single one of them and the entire army would be weakened. The powerful man is the man who has developed, in his own mind, the entire fifteen qualities represented by the fifteen commanding officers shown in the picture.

Before you can have power you must have a DEFINITE PURPOSE;

you must have SELF-CONFIDENCE with which to back up that purpose;

you must have INITIATIVE and LEADERSHIP with which to exercise your self-confidence;

you must have IMAGINATION in creating your definite purpose and in building the plans with which to transform that purpose into reality and put your plans into action.

You must mix ENTHUSIASM with your action or it will be insipid and without kick.

You must exercise SELF-CONTROL.

You must form the habit of DOING MORE THAN PAID FOR.

You must cultivate a PLEASING PERSONALITY.

You must acquire the HABIT OF SAVING.

You must become an ACCURATE THINKER, remembering, as you develop this quality, that accurate thought is based upon FACTS and not upon hearsay evidence or mere information.

You must form the habit of CONCENTRATION by giving your undivided attention to but one task at a time.

You must acquire the habit of CO-OPERATION and practice it in all your plans.

You must profit by FAILURE, your own and that of others.

You must cultivate the habit of TOLERANCE.

Last, but by no means the least important, you must make the GOLDEN RULE the foundation of all you do that affects other people.

Keep this picture where you can see it each day and, one by one, call these fifteen soldiers out of the line and study them. Make sure that the counterpart of each is developed in your own mind.

All efficient armies are well disciplined!

The army which you are building in your own mind must, also, be disciplined. It must obey your command at every step, When you call out of the line the thirteenth soldier, FAILURE, remember that nothing will go as far toward developing discipline as will failure and temporary defeat.

While you are comparing yourself with this soldier determine whether or not you have been profiting by your own failures and temporary defeat.