1장
The Power of Mindset: Your Ultimate Guide to Success
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to attract success effortlessly while others struggle despite similar circumstances? The secret might be simpler than you think. Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone's groundbreaking book "Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude" has transformed millions of lives since its publication, becoming a favorite of business leaders like Tony Robbins and personal development enthusiasts worldwide. This book reveals that success isn't hidden or inaccessible-it's available to anyone who masters their mental attitude. The authors' collaboration began when Stone discovered Hill's earlier work "Think and Grow Rich" in 1937, distributing it to his sales team with remarkable results. Their eventual partnership distilled decades of research interviewing over 500 successful individuals including Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Franklin D. Roosevelt into a practical philosophy of achievement that works regardless of your starting point or obstacles.
2장
The Invisible Talisman That Shapes Your Destiny
Somewhere in this journey, you'll encounter the most important living person-yourself. When you do, you'll discover you possess an invisible talisman with two sides: Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) on one side and Negative Mental Attitude (NMA) on the other. This talisman has remarkable power: PMA attracts health, happiness, wealth, and success, while NMA repels these essentials of a fulfilling life.
Consider S.B. Fuller, born to a poor tenant farmer in Louisiana. Unlike others who accepted poverty as their destiny, Fuller's mother told him: "We shouldn't be poor, S.B. And don't ever let me hear you say that it is God's Will that we are poor. We are poor-not because of God. We are poor because Father has never developed a desire to become rich." These words transformed Fuller's life, igniting a burning desire for wealth. Starting as a door-to-door soap salesman, he eventually purchased the soap company itself for $150,000-despite having only $25,000 saved. Through persistence and faith, he found the final $10,000 he needed on the last day before his deadline expired. Fuller ultimately gained controlling interest in eight companies, including cosmetics, hosiery, and a newspaper.
Tom Dempsey's story further illustrates this principle. Born with half a right foot and a stub arm, Dempsey developed a burning desire to play football. With a wooden artificial foot, he practiced relentlessly until becoming so skilled the New Orleans Saints hired him. His record-breaking 63-yard field goal-the longest in professional football history at that time-demonstrates how PMA can transform apparent disadvantages into extraordinary achievements.
The difference between success and failure often comes down to which side of your mental talisman you choose to display. Henry J. Kaiser built billion-dollar companies and constructed Liberty Ships in record time during WWII because of his "big attitude" toward himself and generous spirit toward others. Meanwhile, a woodcutter with NMA lost his chance at $2,250 hidden in a hollow log because his negative attitude prevented him from helping a customer split oversized logs.
Your mind carries this invisible talisman everywhere. A Positive Mental Attitude comprises characteristics like faith, integrity, hope, optimism, courage, initiative, generosity, tolerance, tact, kindliness, and good common sense. The most successful people throughout history share this one simple secret-they mastered PMA and used it to achieve their goals.
3장
Transforming Your World Through Positive Thinking
You can change your world through a Positive Mental Attitude. PMA is the catalyst that makes any combination of success principles work to achieve worthwhile goals. The authors present 17 success principles that form "PMA: The Science of Success," including definiteness of purpose, going the extra mile, accurate thinking, self-discipline, applied faith, enthusiasm, learning from defeat, and creative vision.
Many people who consider themselves failures blame external circumstances-alcoholic parents, slum upbringing, or limited education. But it's their negative mental attitude, not external handicaps, that holds them back. As a minister taught his son when assembling a torn-up picture of the world: "If I got the man right, the world would be right." If you're unhappy with your world and want to change it, start with yourself.
Every person is born a champion, having won a tremendous battle before birth. Out of millions of competing sperm cells, only one-the fastest and healthiest-united with the egg to create you. This victory over staggering odds means you've inherited all the potential abilities and powers needed to achieve your objectives.
Irving Ben Cooper's story demonstrates how identifying with a successful image can transform your life. Growing up poor with an immigrant tailor father, Ben lived in fear until reading Horatio Alger's stories of courage and success. Through these stories, he unconsciously absorbed a Positive Mental Attitude that helped him overcome his fears and eventually become a respected judge.
Definiteness of purpose combined with PMA is where all worthwhile achievement begins. When you determine your definite major aims with PMA, you naturally activate seven success principles: personal initiative, self-discipline, creative vision, organized thinking, controlled attention, budgeting of time and money, and enthusiasm. Robert Christopher demonstrated this when he fulfilled his dream to travel around the world on just $80, using photography skills and creative problem-solving.
Life never leaves us stranded-if it presents a problem, it also gives us abilities to meet that challenge. Even serious illness can be overcome, as Milo C. Jones proved. A Wisconsin farmer who became completely paralyzed, Jones refused to surrender to despair. Instead of seeing himself as helpless, he recognized he was "a mind with a body" and could still think and plan effectively. He directed his family to plant corn, raise pigs, and produce sausages under a brand name. "Jones' Little Pig Sausages" became nationally famous, making him a millionaire.
A powerful formula for changing your world is memorizing and repeating: "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of man can achieve with PMA." This self-motivator becomes part of you, daring you to aim higher.
4장
Clearing Mental Cobwebs That Block Success
Your thoughts define you, but mental cobwebs-negative feelings, emotions, habits, beliefs, and prejudices-can entangle your thinking. Unlike trapped insects, humans have absolute control over their mental attitudes and can clear away these cobwebs through accurate thinking with PMA.
We tend to assume we act purely from reason, but every conscious act results from doing what we want to do, often influenced by subconscious urges rather than pure logic. The Greek philosopher who found many logical reasons not to sail to Carthage but went anyway simply because he wanted to demonstrates this principle.
Words themselves can be mental cobwebs that interfere with happiness. A single word can have vastly different meanings to different people, leading to misunderstandings. To communicate effectively, we must understand exactly what others mean by the words they use. When a Columbia University student boldly declared himself an atheist to Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, the minister didn't take offense but instead asked, "Please describe to me the God you do not believe in." After describing his rejected concept of God, Dr. Fosdick responded, "If that is the God you don't believe in, I don't believe in him either." Through thoughtful questioning rather than confrontation, Dr. Fosdick helped the young man discover he wasn't an atheist at all.
False premises lead to false conclusions. W. Clement Stone once disliked jumbo frog legs after a bad restaurant experience and concluded he only liked small ones. Years later at a quality restaurant, he insisted on small frog legs but was served jumbo ones. To his surprise, he enjoyed them immensely. The lesson? His original conclusion was based on a wrong premise-associating his distaste with the size rather than with spoilage.
Necessity can drive achievement when paired with PMA and integrity. Lee Braxton, a struggling mechanic with only a sixth-grade education, faced losing his home after losing his job. Turning to prayer and inspiration from Think and Grow Rich, he developed a Positive Mental Attitude, set high goals, and took immediate action starting with the first available job. Within years, he became president of the First National Bank of Whiteville, was elected mayor, and achieved financial independence by age 44.
When necessity pairs with NMA, however, it becomes the excuse for dishonesty. Al Capone, during counseling sessions with Napoleon Hill in federal prison, cited "necessity" as what drove him to crime. Unlike those who maintain integrity despite hardship, people with NMA use necessity to justify stealing, embezzling, or other crimes.
The strongest mental cobweb is inertia-doing nothing or continuing in the wrong direction without resistance. Ignorance stems from refusing to keep an open mind and learn the truth. A person with PMA acknowledges that truth exists regardless of their current understanding and remains ready to change when new information emerges.
5장
Harnessing Your Mind's Mystical Powers
Your mind possesses mystical powers waiting to be explored that can bring you health, happiness, wealth and success. Though your brain consists of over 10 billion cells generating and transmitting energy, it's your conscious and subconscious mind working together that holds the true power.
Bill McCall of Australia transformed from a twice-failed businessman into a millionaire through discovering the power of autosuggestion in Napoleon Hill's book Think and Grow Rich. After multiple readings, McCall had a flash of insight about using conscious autosuggestion to program his subconscious mind for wealth. He wrote down his definite aim to become a millionaire by 1960, read it aloud daily with emotion, and achieved his goal four years ahead of schedule.
Emile Coue discovered the power of conscious autosuggestion after initially using hypnosis to cure patients. He realized that it wasn't the doctor's suggestions but the patient's own mind that created healing. This led to his famous affirmation technique where anyone could be taught to develop a positive mental attitude through repeating positive statements like "Day by day, in every way, through the grace of God, I am getting better and better."
Ralph Weppner's near-death experience demonstrates how self-motivators can flash from the subconscious in emergencies. While in a coma from a heart attack, though unable to move or speak, he could hear nurses declaring he wasn't breathing. Remembering the affirmation "You can do it if you believe you can," he persistently tried to open his eyes until finally succeeding, allowing doctors to bring him back to life.
Our subconscious minds are affected not only by our conscious thoughts but also by subliminal influences below our awareness. Beyond known physical forces lies the realm of psychic phenomena including ESP (telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition) and psychokinesis. Though such research might seem far-fetched, many once-scoffed-at ideas are now commonplace: matter converting to energy, atomic power, satellites, jet propulsion, and television.
6장
Finding the Missing Element for Breakthrough Success
Have you sincerely tried yet failed? Perhaps you're missing something more-that essential element needed to complete the whole. When you seek success with PMA, you keep searching until you find that missing piece, while those who experience defeat often stop looking.
Success becomes easy once you discover the missing element and gain the necessary know-how. Like a child struggling with a puzzle who can solve it quickly once they learn how, life's challenges become manageable when you find that "something more." The Wright brothers achieved flight where others failed by adding one crucial element to existing principles-movable wing flaps that gave pilots control over the plane's equilibrium. These simple flaps, forerunners of modern ailerons, made all the difference.
Alexander Graham Bell succeeded where others failed by making one crucial adjustment-switching from an intermittent to a continuous current. Philipp Reis nearly invented the telephone first but missed success by just a quarter turn of a screw. The Supreme Court noted that Reis could reproduce musical tones but not speech, concluding: "To follow Reis is to fail, but to follow Bell is to succeed."
R.G. LeTourneau, despite limited formal education, achieved engineering feats by partnering with what he called his "Senior Partner"-God. After losing his fortune on the Hoover Dam project due to unexpected rock formations, LeTourneau turned to prayer with gratitude for what remained: his body, hands, mind, and faith. This partnership became his greatest asset, leading him to become a successful businessman who often received solutions to engineering problems through flashes of inspiration during sleep.
Dr. Elmer Gates, who perfected over 200 patents that others had abandoned, developed a unique method called "sitting for ideas." In a soundproof room with only a table, chair, paper and pencils, Gates would turn off the lights and concentrate deeply on specific problems. When ideas began flowing, he'd turn on the lights and write them down. Gates believed ideas come from three sources: knowledge stored in one's subconscious, knowledge from others communicated telepathically, and the universal storehouse of Infinite Intelligence accessed through the subconscious.
To find your "something more," focus on learning principles rather than facts. As Admiral Rickover noted, principles become part of you and never become obsolete, unlike facts in our changing world. Once you've mastered fundamental principles, you can apply them to novel problems.
7장
Turning Problems into Stepping Stones
Problems are actually rungs on your ladder of success. With each victory over a problem, you grow in wisdom, stature, and experience. When confronted with problems, use this formula: 1) Ask for Divine Guidance; 2) Engage in thinking time; 3) State and analyze the problem; 4) Say enthusiastically "That's good!"; 5) Ask specific questions about what's good and how to turn adversity into benefit; 6) Keep searching for answers until you find one that works.
Charlie Ward transformed from a criminal associate to a business leader through PMA. Imprisoned at 34 for narcotics smuggling (though he maintained innocence), he chose to change his attitude from negative to positive. He forgave those who put him there, studied the Bible daily, and educated himself about electricity. After release, he rose from laborer to president of Brown & Bigelow, building the company to $50 million in annual sales.
Sex represents one of life's greatest powers-the ability to procreate human life. Like all power, it can be used for good or evil. The difference between sex being virtue or vice lies in mental attitude. With PMA, you can transmute sex into virtue, solving one of life's greatest personal challenges.
In 1939 on Chicago's North Michigan Avenue, office space was going begging with most buildings nearly empty. One building manager with PMA turned a 10% occupied building to 100% rented with a waiting list in just one year. His idea? He sought desirable tenants, stimulated their imagination with beautiful offices at the same rent they currently paid, assumed responsibility for their present leases, and offered free redecoration. While competitors complained "you can't fight the times," this manager saw opportunity where others saw only problems.
Understanding business cycles and trends can help you make and keep fortunes. Edward R. Dewey, director of The Foundation for the Study of Cycles, noted that every organism, business, or nation grows to maturity, levels off, and dies. However, individuals can successfully meet the challenge of change regardless of general trends by introducing new life, blood, ideas, and activity.
8장
Developing True Vision: Learning to See Beyond Limitations
Seeing isn't just a physical process-it's primarily mental. As Dr. Samuel Renshaw explains, our eyes merely grab meaningless "things" and bring them to the brain, which must interpret them through memory and comparative action before we truly see anything. Many people go through life "seeing" very little, failing to properly filter visual information through mental processes.
The rewards of truly seeing what's right in front of you can be enormous. In Darby, Montana, people had walked across "Crystal Mountain" for 14 years before A.E. Cumley and L.I. Thompson actually examined the sparkling material underfoot in 1951. After seeing beryl specimens in a mineral display, they realized the mountain contained one of the world's greatest deposits of valuable beryllium ore, making them millionaires.
We often fail to recognize potential in others-and even in ourselves. Thomas Edison was labeled a "stupid, muddle-headed blockhead" by teachers who couldn't see his abilities. After hearing a teacher call him "addled," his mother became his "most enthusiastic champion," declaring Edison had more brains than the teacher. This transformed his self-image and attitude toward learning.
Curiosity and questioning lead to discovery. When Dr. Roy Plunkett's experiment "failed," he noticed his empty test tube weighed more than it should. By asking "Why?" instead of discarding it, he discovered Teflon. Similarly, Isaac Newton's simple question about why apples fall led to his discovery of the law of gravitation.
In 1869 Japan, eleven-year-old Kokichi Mikimoto supported his entire family as a village noodlemaker after his father fell ill. At twenty, when he fell in love with a Samurai's daughter, he changed his occupation to pearl merchant. Seeking knowledge, Mikimoto consulted Professor Yoshikichi Mizukuri, who explained how pearls form when foreign objects enter oysters. Thrilled by this insight, Mikimoto pioneered cultured pearls by deliberately planting objects in oysters. His success came from applying knowledge through action, not just acquiring it.
9장
The Secret of Getting Things Done: Do It Now!
The secret of getting things done is simply to act, and the self-starter that forces action is the phrase "DO IT NOW!" To make this self-starter effective, you must develop the habit of immediate response through repetition, never saying "DO IT NOW!" without following through with action.
Kenneth Erwin Harmon, captured by Japanese forces in Manila during World War II, discovered the book Think and Grow Rich while awaiting transfer to a prison camp. Recognizing its value for the difficult days ahead, he immediately acted by typing the entire manuscript before being sent to Santo Tomas prison. For over three years, this copied book inspired him to develop courage and make future plans.
Jorgen Juhldahl, a Danish student visiting Washington D.C., discovered his wallet and passport missing with less than two dollars in his pocket. Instead of spending his one day in the capital at police stations or embassies, he made a crucial decision: "I won't waste my time in futile unhappiness over my loss." Recognizing he might never visit Washington again, he chose to walk the city, seeing the White House, Capitol, museums, and Washington Monument.
Bold action on our own ideas often produces spectacular results, but we're often timid about our inspirations. Ruth and Eleanor Butler, daughters of a New York furrier with an art collection, turned their knowledge of fine art into a business by forming a "Master Mind alliance." Despite warnings about potential problems, they established the New York Circulating Library of Paintings with just $300 capital and their father's basement. Their novel idea of renting paintings to businesses, professionals, and even a prison inmate became successful.
Manley Sweazey, an insurance salesman who loved wilderness adventures, had a breakthrough idea: sell insurance to people living in remote areas. Without hesitation, he took action, traveling to Alaska to sell to railroad workers, trappers, and miners living along the 500-mile Alaska Railroad. "Walking Sweazey" became welcome in these isolated communities, offering haircuts and cooking skills alongside insurance policies. By acting immediately on his "wild" idea, he sold over a million dollars of insurance in a single year.
To get started on your goals, write yourself a letter as if a biographer were writing about the wonderful accomplishments you've achieved-both personal and community projects-as though they've already happened. But don't stop there: use the self-starter "DO IT NOW!" and take immediate action.
10장
The Art of Motivation: Inspiring Yourself and Others
Motivation is that which induces action or determines choice-the inner urge within an individual that incites them to action. Understanding principles that motivate yourself helps you understand how to motivate others, and vice versa.
The magic ingredient in motivation is hope. A successful cosmetic manufacturer revealed at his 75th birthday that his secret formula contained the "magic ingredient"-not a promise that his cosmetics would make women beautiful, but that they gave women hope. Hope is a desire with expectation of obtaining what is desired and belief that it is attainable.
Every thought and voluntary action can be traced to some definite motive. The ten basic motives that inspire all thoughts and voluntary actions are: (1) The desire for SELF-PRESERVATION, (2) The emotion of LOVE, (3) The emotion of FEAR, (4) The emotion of SEX, (5) The desire for LIFE AFTER DEATH, (6) The desire for FREEDOM OF BODY AND MIND, (7) The emotion of ANGER, (8) The emotion of HATE, (9) The desire for RECOGNITION and SELF-EXPRESSION, and (10) The desire for MATERIAL GAIN.
Benjamin Franklin created a formula for self-improvement that always succeeds when applied with PMA. He focused on acquiring virtues one at a time rather than attempting all at once. Franklin listed thirteen virtues with precepts for each: TEMPERANCE, SILENCE, ORDER, RESOLUTION, FRUGALITY, INDUSTRY, SINCERITY, JUSTICE, MODERATION, CLEANLINESS, TRANQUILITY, CHASTITY, and HUMILITY. He created a tracking system with a page for each virtue, marking faults committed each day.
Throughout life, we play dual roles where we motivate others and they motivate us-as parents and children, teachers and pupils, salespeople and buyers. Effective motivation requires understanding what inspires action in others and applying that knowledge appropriately.
W. Clement Stone demonstrated the power of example when working with a discouraged salesman who claimed it was "impossible" to sell in Sioux Center, Iowa because the residents were "Holland Dutch, clannish" and wouldn't buy from strangers. Stone transformed these same objections into advantages through positive thinking: if he could sell to one clan member, particularly a leader, he could sell to the entire clan. After conditioning his mind through prayer and positive affirmations, Stone and the salesman visited Sioux Center, where they sold to nearly everyone they approached, proving that success often comes from the same circumstances others use to justify failure.
The key to motivating others lies in understanding that with PMA (Positive Mental Attitude), anyone can become what they want to be if they're willing to pay the price. Using techniques based on suggestion and self-suggestion, you can help others transform their weaknesses. For a timid salesperson who needs to be aggressive, have them repeat the self-motivator "Be aggressive!" frequently throughout the day, especially before challenging situations.
11장
Building Wealth Through Positive Mental Attraction
Is there a shortcut to riches? Yes-but only if you know your destination and take the most direct route despite obstacles. The shortcut can be expressed in six words: "Think with PMA and Grow Rich!" When you truly think with a Positive Mental Attitude, you'll automatically follow through with action, employing the 17 success principles that help you achieve any worthy goal.
Anyone can attract wealth, regardless of age, education, or occupation. Even those facing illness or hospitalization can use their time to plan for wealth, as demonstrated by George Stefek, who developed a profitable shirt board advertising business while convalescing. The key is establishing daily study, thinking, and planning time-even just 1% of your day (14 minutes) can yield remarkable results.
To attract wealth, you must learn to set proper goals by: (a) Writing down your goal to crystallize your thinking; (b) Giving yourself a deadline to maintain motivation; (c) Setting high standards, as higher goals generally inspire more concentrated effort; and (d) Aiming high, since it takes no more effort to aim for prosperity than for poverty.
After setting a goal, taking action is crucial. Like the 63-year-old grandmother who walked from New York to Miami by taking "one step, and then another step," success comes from beginning the journey. A man in Phoenix who "received a million dollars cash for a gold mine and now has the million dollars and also owns the mine" achieved this by simply taking his pick and shovel to make his idea reality.
While PMA attracts wealth, a negative mental attitude repels it. Oscar, an MIT graduate who developed an instrument for detecting oil deposits, demonstrates this principle. When his company went bankrupt during the 1929 Depression, he became frustrated and lost faith in his own invention precisely when it indicated massive oil deposits beneath an Oklahoma City railroad station. His NMA caused him to abandon his "Doodle Bug" device at the very moment of his greatest opportunity.
You don't need to chase millions to acquire wealth. Even on a modest salary, you can build financial security by letting PMA guide your actions. Mr. Osborn proved this by following the simple principles from The Richest Man in Babylon: save one dime from every dollar earned, invest these savings plus returns every six months, and seek expert advice for safe investments.
The secret to acquiring great wealth is remarkably simple: use OPM-other people's money. This strategy has been employed by Benjamin Franklin, Conrad Hilton, Henry J. Kaiser, Colonel Sanders, and Ray Kroc. The unwritten premise behind this principle is that you operate with the highest ethical standards-integrity, honesty, and the Golden Rule.
Charlie Sammons' success story demonstrates how OPM combined with a solid plan can create extraordinary wealth. After partnering with two successful insurance salesmen who lacked administrative skills, Charlie eventually bought them out using bank financing. With unlimited credit from Republic National Bank of Dallas, whose officers took time to understand his business plan, Charlie expanded Reserve Life Insurance Company from $400,000 to over $40 million in premium volume within just ten years.
While OPM can create wealth, credit misused becomes destructive. Credit represents trust-a creditor believes you're worthy and reliable. The person with PMA will face financial challenges honestly, communicating with creditors in advance when payments might be delayed, and making sacrifices until debts are fully paid.
12장
Finding Satisfaction and Happiness in Work and Life
Finding job satisfaction is possible regardless of your position because satisfaction is fundamentally a mental attitude-the one thing over which you have complete control. You'll find greatest satisfaction doing work that aligns with your natural aptitudes, though PMA can help overcome frustrations in any role.
Jerry Asam, a Hawaiian sales manager, demonstrates how positive mental attitude transforms job satisfaction. Each morning, Jerry and his sales team enthusiastically declare "I feel healthy! I feel happy! I feel terrific!" before setting ambitious sales quotas. They've mastered their craft through diligent study, set clear goals, maintained positive attitudes through self-motivators, and enjoy the satisfaction of excellence.
The difference between happy and unhappy workers is mental attitude control. Those who enjoy their work take a positive view, looking for good aspects and seeking self-improvement when things aren't ideal. Conversely, unhappy people cling to NMA, seemingly wanting to be miserable. Regardless of your work type, you can choose happiness by controlling your mental attitude, switching from NMA to PMA, and actively creating happiness.
The secret to job satisfaction is seeing work as leading somewhere. A frustrated housewife complained that housework was "just too darned daily"-beds made only to be unmade, dishes washed only to be soiled again. The solution was finding a meaningful goal and making routine tasks stepping stones toward it. The woman chose a family world trip six years later when her baby turned twelve. This required money, planning an itinerary, and studying different countries. Her once-tedious duties became interesting stepping stones toward her desired goal.
When you have a meaningful goal at the end of your work, even mundane tasks become satisfying. A young man working at a soda fountain or digging ditches to pay for medical school endures because each hour brings him closer to becoming a doctor. However, if a job's emotional cost exceeds its value toward your goal, change positions-job dissatisfaction poisons every aspect of life.
Abraham Lincoln observed that people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. The little difference between people is attitude, but that creates the big difference of whether it's positive or negative. Those who adopt PMA attract happiness, while those with NMA repel it and make a business of being unhappy.
One of the surest paths to happiness is making others happy. As the popular song says, "I want to be happy, but I won't be happy, 'til I make you happy, too!" Happiness is elusive when pursued directly, but comes naturally when you bring joy to others.
Helen Keller, born deaf, mute, and blind, became a brilliant, joyful woman despite her disabilities. She wrote that the joy of surmounting obstacles and the countless delights we already experience are as numerous as dewdrops on morning flowers. By counting her blessings and sharing them with others, she attracted more happiness to herself.
Our homes should be havens of love and security, yet often become places of conflict. When two forceful personalities clash, they're like opposing magnets. The solution: at least one person must use PMA. Happiness requires understanding that others may have different energy levels, capacities, likes, and thought patterns.
13장
Your Magnificent Obsession: The Ultimate Path to Fulfillment
The principle of developing a Magnificent Obsession-helping others without expectation of reward-can bring untold riches, happiness, and love. When you share yourself secretly without seeking payment or recognition, you set in motion universal laws that shower blessings upon you.
A mother who lost her only teenage daughter found healing by developing a Magnificent Obsession through service to others. After initially seeking escape through travel, she realized her blessings were loans from the Almighty. She found her purpose in the City of Hope medical center, which provides free patient care. Through helping others, she gained peace of mind and understanding, turning her devastating loss into meaningful service.
Orison Swett Marden, orphaned at seven, was inspired by Samuel Smiles' book "Self-Help" to develop his own Magnificent Obsession. Despite losing his hotels and manuscript during the 1893 panic, Marden persevered with PMA, living on $1.50 weekly while writing "Pushing to the Front." His book became wildly successful, was translated into 25 languages, and helped change America's attitude from negative to positive.
J.B. Rhine developed a Magnificent Obsession to scientifically study psychic phenomena after hearing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle lecture. Despite warnings about ruining his teaching career and facing ridicule from colleagues, Rhine persisted in his research. For forty-five years, he fought against taboos, antagonism, and ridicule, often working with limited resources. His determination eventually earned him worldwide respect as he developed confirmed scientific proof of his discoveries.
Money itself isn't evil-the Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. This distinction matters greatly. Money is simply power and a medium of exchange that can be used for good or evil. Many wealthy individuals like Carnegie, Ford, Wrigley, and Rockefeller established foundations with over a billion dollars collectively for charitable, religious, and educational purposes.
Andrew Carnegie, a poor Scottish immigrant who became America's richest man, lived by a simple philosophy: "Anything in life worth having is worth working for!" This principle grew into his Magnificent Obsession. Before his death at 83, Carnegie distributed approximately half a billion dollars through grants, foundations, and trusts.
Those with something meaningful to live for tend to live longer. Men like Herbert Hoover and General Robert E. Wood, who devoted time and money to the Boys Clubs of America, enjoyed long lives enriched by their Magnificent Obsessions. Even without great wealth, anyone can build a Magnificent Obsession, as Irving Rudolph demonstrated through his lifelong commitment to helping boys in troubled neighborhoods-work inspired by gratitude for how a Boys Club saved him and his brother from jail, unlike the rest of their gang.
14장
Awakening the Sleeping Giant Within You
You are the most important living person-unique in all of history. You are the product of your heredity, environment, physical body, conscious and subconscious mind, experience, position in time and space, and something more. Your mind consists of dual invisible powers: the subconscious (which never sleeps) and the conscious (with unlimited potential when awakened).
Like the genie of Aladdin's lamp, your inner giant asks: "What wouldst thou have?" Whether you desire love, health, success, friends, money, recognition, peace of mind, or happiness, the sleeping giant within you has power to bring your wishes into reality. But you must summon this giant with magic-the magic of your talisman with PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) on one side and NMA (Negative Mental Attitude) on the other.
Life is like navigating through unfamiliar waters, requiring navigational skills. Your compass (your attitude) is affected by disturbing influences-environmental variations and internal negative attitudes-requiring corrections to stay on course. Ahead lie disappointments, adversities and dangers like rocks and hidden shoals, but with a properly compensated compass, you can capitalize on each challenge.
Remember Andrew Carnegie's words: "Anything in life worth having is worth working for." Awaken the sleeping giant within you through the principles of Positive Mental Attitude, and you'll discover that success, happiness, wealth, and health are all within your reach-if you're willing to pay the price in time, thinking, and effort to achieve your goals.
