4장
Desire: The Starting Point of All Achievement
Ideas alone have no intrinsic value without action. The successful implementation of one good idea outweighs a thousand unrealized concepts. Desire-intense, burning, obsessive desire-transforms ideas into reality.
S.B. Fuller rose from tenant farming to become one of America's wealthiest Black men through desire. Born in Louisiana in 1905, Fuller quit school after sixth grade and struggled through various jobs until his mother's dying words changed his perspective: "We're poor only because Father has never developed the desire for anything else." These words ignited in Fuller an obsession to become rich. After hitchhiking to Chicago in 1928, he eventually took his last dollars to buy soap and sell door-to-door during the Depression. Within five years, he built a sales team, purchased real estate, a drug company, theaters, and newspapers-becoming a millionaire despite his limited education.
Basic motives, moved to action, are prefaced by desire for a specific objective. Ordinary people become pillars of strength when aroused by intense desire. Leontyne Price garnered eighteen Grammy awards through her passion for singing; Gwendolyn Brooks became the first Black Pulitzer Prize winner driven by her unwavering desire to write poetry; Thurgood Marshall overcame racial barriers to win 29 of 32 Supreme Court cases; Florence Griffith Joyner transformed from a Watts project child to Olympic gold medalist through four years of grueling training.
Action alone doesn't guarantee happiness or satisfaction. Life presents three fundamental decisions: whom to spend your life with, how to spend it, and what to live for. Your answers determine whether you'll drive yourself or be driven. Every thought and act traces back to some definite motive, with love and fear being the strongest motivators.
Clara "Mother" Hale exemplifies the healing power of love through her Harlem-based Hale House, where she cured over 600 drug-addicted infants through love rather than medicine. After raising her own children as a young widow and caring for over forty foster children, she founded the center in 1969. President Reagan recognized her as a "True American Hero" in 1985. Mother Hale's philosophy was simple yet powerful: "You can have anything you want if you make up your mind and you want it bad enough."
To stay motivated, develop the right mental attitude; aspire to something greater than yourself; possess a futuristic outlook; develop personal integrity; accept total responsibility; edify others; be grateful; select friends carefully; do it now; and look for mentors who inspire you.
5장
Faith: The Prerequisite to Power
Faith represents a powerful force that few understand and even fewer use effectively. The path to triumph never follows the easy road but requires hard work and applied faith.
Bonnie St. John's story exemplifies the power of belief as a stepping-stone to faith. After having her right leg amputated at age five, Bonnie initially shut herself away for nearly a decade. Her mother, following a doctor's advice that Bonnie could do "as much as she believes she can do," refused to focus on her daughter's handicap. At fifteen, Bonnie discovered skiing, which taught her the relationship between mind and body. Despite being a relative novice and an amputee, her steadfast determination led her to join the U.S. Handicapped Olympic Ski Team, where she won silver and bronze medals. A Cornell and Harvard graduate with a perfect GPA, Rhodes Scholar, and Oxford PhD candidate, Bonnie proves that anything within human understanding is possible for the believer.
The seed of achievement lies dormant within us all, but many don't take the necessary steps to activate it. Every creation begins with seeds of thought that, through action, form physical equivalents. While our physical forms have limitations, our thoughts have none-if you can imagine achieving something, you can attain its physical equivalent.
Faith begins with a burning desire for a specific purpose. Its fundamentals include: a Positive Mental Attitude-removing negative emotions and understanding that difficult experiences carry the seed of equivalent or greater benefit; the Power of Prayer-communing with the infinite and aligning with universal principles; and Self-suggestion-the practice of "I can do it" self-talk that transforms faith into belief and finally into accomplishment.
Art Shell's journey from NFL player to the first Black head coach exemplifies the power of faith through autosuggestion. As a rookie with the Oakland Raiders, Shell memorized Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" which became his guiding force for twenty-one years. Despite his imposing physical presence, Shell was a studious player who meticulously analyzed game films and learned every offensive player's assignment. During off-seasons, he volunteered as a college line coach, preparing for his dream of becoming an NFL head coach. After a Hall of Fame playing career and serving as offensive line coach, Shell made history in 1989 when Raiders owner Al Davis selected him as the NFL's first Black head coach.
True success comes to those who dare to risk and challenge the status quo. Expressing faith often requires taking the first risky step, like the thirsty man in the desert who pours his last water into a pump rather than drinking it directly, trusting the instructions that promise abundant water in return.
6장
Persistence: The Sustaining Force of Achievement
Life favors those who stick with things when the going gets tough. The challenges we face are part of life's refining process, like a craftsman forging steel through fire and testing. Persistence means conviction, enthusiasm, perseverance and courage in the face of obstacles-never stopping, never giving up, never giving in.
I discovered persistence's power when writing a book on successful Black entrepreneurs. After compiling a list of 35 business leaders to interview, I faced one major obstacle: Earl Graves, publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, repeatedly declined my interview requests. For eighteen months, I received various versions of "no" from his office. But something told me to "stay with it." My breakthrough came when I learned of Graves' upcoming anniversary celebration and arranged for someone to hand-deliver my letter directly to him. Within days, I received a call arranging the interview. When we finally met, Graves greeted me with words I'll never forget: "Young man, you are to be commended for your persistence."
Persistence drives achievement, as demonstrated by figures like Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who became the first Black woman at University of Georgia and later won the Peabody Award; Beverly Johnson, who transformed the fashion industry despite rejection; Louis Armstrong, who taught himself trumpet in reform school; and Spike Lee, who created provocative films on shoestring budgets.
While genius, talent and luck matter, without definite purpose they won't ensure success. What distinguishes truly successful people is their doggedness and determination when facing failure. To ordinary people, failure carries negative connotations, but it's actually the great educator of success. The wise learn from each mistake, while losers, trapped in fear, gain nothing. Thomas Watson of IBM advised, "Double your failure rate!"-take more risks to generate knowledge. Edison, after thousands of failed experiments finding lightbulb materials, remarked, "Now we know ten thousand things that won't work!"
Dr. Benjamin Carson, director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, rose from poverty in Detroit despite an explosive temper that once led him to stab another teenager. After this wake-up call and with his mother's constant encouragement, he transformed himself. Despite setbacks at Yale where he nearly flunked out his first year, Carson persisted. He later led a 70-person team in separating Siamese twins joined at the head. Carson advises: "The difference between success and failure is seeing obstacles not as boundaries but as hurdles that strengthen you each time you clear one."
7장
Self-Worth: The Foundation of Achievement
Each person carries immense value beyond physical measurement. Scientists now estimate that the atomic energy in a human body is worth billions of dollars, far beyond the old estimate of thirty-two dollars in chemical value. You are not only valuable but unique-unlike any human who ever lived or will live.
Jesse Jackson's Operation PUSH begins with the powerful affirmation: "I am somebody! I may be black, but I am somebody! I may be poor, but I am somebody!" This reflects the crucial understanding that success depends more on who we are than what we know. Each person weaves their own web of self-images from childhood experiences, defeats and victories. We behave according to our perceived reality, not actual reality. Our self-image affects every aspect of life-from career choices to aspirations. As Elbert Hubbard wrote, "Man is not what he thinks he is-but what he thinks, he is."
Low self-esteem causes most social problems in Black America. We must guard against allowing negative half-truths to shackle our lives. Our self-image is shaped not by what happens to us, but what happens in us. Like precious gold, our minds deserve protection-they're worth far more than any material treasure.
In Shaw's Pygmalion, Henry Higgins advises Eliza Doolittle to "think like a duchess, act like a duchess, talk like a duchess, and one day you will be a duchess!" Similarly, Dr. Maxwell Maltz suggested capturing the feeling of success to act successfully. This principle is illustrated through the story of an African prince born a hunchback who requested a statue of himself standing straight. For eight years, he stretched daily to match the statue until, by age twenty-one, he stood tall and straight. The secret? "What thou seest, that thou beest!" How you visualize yourself determines what you become.
The Bible's second commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself," reveals a vital key to riches-you must first love yourself. Not narcissistically, but with respect and belief in your own abilities. Anyone wanting to change their life circumstances must first change from the inside out-transforming their innermost self-image.
To understand being Black in America requires assessing how generations of racism and oppression have affected the collective psyche. Over 300 years of slavery, segregation, and exclusion have led to an obtrusive self-hatred. Fortunately, these problems are of our own making, with solutions within our power. Those who base their beliefs on a loving God who created them in His image tend not to think less of themselves.
8장
Self-Reliance: Taking Control of Your Destiny
Self-reliance is the foundation of achievement. As Frederick Douglass stated, "Our destiny is largely in our own hands." Those who have risen to greatness relied primarily on themselves, not external support.
You are in business for yourself regardless of who signs your paycheck. As president of your personal corporation, you're responsible for its success or failure, with your family as stockholders counting on you to increase their stock value. Your corporation has four vital functions: finance, production, sales, and research. Neglect any one, and you have a crippled company.
Time waits for no one. A young woman hesitated to pursue psychology because she'd be twenty-five when finished. The wise man asked how old she'd be in seven years if she didn't pursue it-still twenty-five. Lincoln said, "I am a slow walker, but I never look backwards." The past cannot be resurrected. Those who live in the past prevent their personal growth as life moves forward without them.
Change is the only constant in life. How you generate, utilize, and react to change determines whether you grow or stagnate. Many resist change, preferring familiar problems to unknown possibilities. But nothing grows without changing. To earn more, you must first learn more. Companies understand this fundamental law: nothing stands still. A growing company tends to continue growing; a shrinking one continues declining until acted upon by outside forces.
Sales isn't just about products or services-it's how you sell yourself to everyone you meet. Your success depends on your ability to sell yourself to others. Selling is personal persuasion of ideas and thoughts. People are moved more by your conviction than your logic, more by enthusiasm than proof. True salesmanship requires genuine interest in others' needs-otherwise it's merely forcing temporary surrender.
Earl Graves embodied persistence throughout his career-from working three jobs in high school to launching a landscaping business from his college dorm room that attracted forty clients in its first week. Henry Parks built the Parks Sausage Company through meticulous planning, becoming one of the first Black businessmen to successfully sell to the general market. John H. Johnson built a $150 million personal fortune through common-sense sales strategies. Wally Amos combined flair, hype and showmanship to build his Famous Amos cookie empire.
Success demands forging your own path. Opportunity isn't about fate or luck-it's about your perception and action. Every life teems with opportunity if you have the fortitude to seize it. Those who miss success often hide behind excuses like "I'm not a genius" or "opportunities don't exist today." The truth? Opportunity first takes shape in your mind.
9장
A Pleasing Personality: The Key to Human Relations
Success in our fast-changing world requires tact and skill in handling people. Courtesy costs nothing yet yields enormous dividends when practiced sincerely as a habit. The only barrier between you and your desires is gaining the support of others.
Cervantes tells of an old lamplighter who methodically lit street lamps in Madrid each evening. Villagers could track his progress by the lights he left behind. Like him, we can light lamps of kindness in others' lives through our daily interactions, developing skills to get along graciously with others.
Personality is the sum of one's mental, spiritual, and physical traits that distinguish them from others. Like an iceberg, much lies beneath the surface. Your personality transmutes into "persona"-how you make others feel upon contact. It shows in your greeting style, walk, talk, eye expressions, dress, habits, and treatment of others.
The Bible's Golden Rule provides guidance: treat others as you wish to be treated. How we approach and treat society-and how it reacts to us-depends largely on our adherence to this principle.
Like attracts like. We get from others what we give. Life reflects your expressions-smile and it shows cheer, be irritable and it mirrors contempt. What you say of others is said of you. You'll find nothing in the world you won't find in yourself first.
Force doesn't create lasting relationships, but a pleasing personality draws others naturally. The deepest human craving is appreciation, as illustrated by George the custodian who valued his boss's recognition more than his paycheck after seventeen years of service. People give their best not for money alone but for appreciation. By making sincere praise a habit, you enhance your own success and happiness.
Daniel "Chappie" James, who grew up during Jim Crow in Pensacola, Florida, later became the second Black American promoted to general in the U.S. Air Force. His success stemmed from his mother's teachings: love of God, country, and fellow man, and focusing on the good in everyone rather than criticism. James made those around him feel special by acknowledging their importance and contributions, giving them what they desired most-open and honest praise and appreciation.
You get only one chance to make a first impression. The world forms opinions of you largely from the opinion you have of yourself. Act like a nobody, and you'll be treated as such; act like somebody worthy of respect, and you'll receive it. By emphasizing positive aspects of your personality and directing your thoughts, you can control the kind of person you become.
10장
Enthusiasm: The Vital Force of Achievement
Enthusiasm is an incalculable force that brings zest to living and can transform ordinary work into extraordinary achievement. It's the difference between merely "laying tracks" and "building a railroad." As a burning desire that drives conviction and action, enthusiasm is the power that can kindle your chief aim into a burning desire.
Enthusiasm, meaning "the God within," is a dynamic vitality expressed in your walk, talk, and actions. It's the light in your eye, vigor in your handshake, and the quality that propels you toward greatness. Unlike temporary excitement or mass hysteria, genuine enthusiasm is enduring and springs naturally from the heart.
To generate enthusiasm that springs from within, follow Frank Bettger's advice: "To become enthusiastic-act enthusiastic!" Many people suppress their natural zeal due to childhood conditioning. Effective enthusiasm requires three essential ingredients in proper sequence: interest, knowledge, and belief. Without interest, knowledge is lost; without knowledge, there is no genuine belief; without belief, we never develop interest.
Interest, the first step to enthusiasm, isn't hereditary-it's developed through environment and experience. To cultivate interest in something you currently don't care about, define your purpose (creating motivation) and search for unsatisfied curiosity. Interest is simply unsatisfied curiosity; when you stop asking questions, you lose interest.
Knowledge, the second step to enthusiasm, determines its direction and depth. Regardless of educational background, anyone can acquire knowledge if their interest is strong enough. Ask questions, search for answers, and pursue ideas until convinced of their significance. Knowledge protects against doubts, fears, and indecision.
Belief, the third crucial element, provides the emotional foundation for enthusiasm. No one is born with belief-it's learned like any other habit. To create genuine enthusiasm, combine kindled interest and acquired knowledge with the emotional impact of sincere belief.
Don King, the world's greatest boxing promoter, exemplifies the power of enthusiasm. Rising from Cleveland's ghetto after his father's death in a steel mill accident, King showed entrepreneurial spirit early, selling fruit pies, peanuts, and newspapers. After a gambling setback and later a prison sentence following a fatal altercation, King transformed himself through reading and education during his incarceration. Upon release in 1971, he organized a boxing benefit for a struggling hospital featuring Muhammad Ali, raising $80,000 despite having no contacts or funds-just enthusiasm. King credits his success to enthusiasm: "If you set yourself on fire, the world will watch you burn... I didn't have rich parents, influential contacts, or a college degree... But I did have, and still do possess, a great deal of enthusiasm."
Enthusiasm requires constant fuel like fire-without it, the flame dies out. We often operate below our productive boiling point, lacking that crucial single degree that transforms water into steam. To sustain enthusiastic momentum, you must deliberately rebuild your belief daily by constantly reviewing your goals. Write them down, burn them into memory, make them an obsession.
11장
The Right Mental Attitude: Your Key to Success
Our attitudes determine what occurs in our lives-good attitude, good results; poor attitude, poor results. When we expect failure, we fail repeatedly. General Patton warned, "When there is fear of failure, there will be failure." A right mental attitude means keeping your mind focused on your desires and goals, tuned to what you wish to experience rather than fears and worries.
A beaten, suicidal man visited a Chicago executive who showed him his own reflection in a mirror-helping him realize he held the solution to his problems. Poverty-stricken people maintain a poverty consciousness, thinking, fearing, talking, and expecting poverty. Yet as James Allen wrote, "A man can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting up his thoughts."
We tend to minimize our capabilities while believing others more capable of success. Yet there remains an enormous gap of undeveloped potential in all of us. Successful people maintain the attitude that they can accomplish whatever they set their minds to. They aren't more brilliant than others-their attitude makes the difference.
Willie Davis, an All-Pro Green Bay Packer, nearly quit his master's program until Coach Lombardi reminded him he was at his best in the fourth quarter when others quit. Davis applied his football attitude to academics and excelled. Despite being voted "least likely to succeed" in high school, Davis became a business powerhouse, owning beer distributorships, radio stations, and trucking companies while serving on boards of major corporations.
Arsenio Hall faced a pivotal moment when Paramount offered him a late-night talk show-his lifelong dream. Despite his success with "Coming to America" and other projects, Hall initially rejected the offer twice because everyone told him "America isn't ready for a black talk show host." After appearing as a guest on Johnny Carson's show-the man who had inspired him since childhood-Hall finally trusted his own judgment and accepted. His story demonstrates that achievers with the right mental attitude learn to trust themselves rather than being influenced by others' negative opinions.
Bill Demby's story demonstrates how the right mental attitude can transform tragedy into triumph. After losing both legs to a Vietcong rocket in Vietnam in 1971, Demby initially spiraled into substance abuse. After hitting rock bottom and seeing his family's distress, he turned to sports for rehabilitation. Though hesitant to expose his artificial limbs publicly, he eventually agreed to appear in a Du Pont commercial showing him playing basketball with able-bodied players. The nationally aired commercial transformed his life, allowing him to inspire countless others facing difficulties.
Developing the right mental attitude requires effort, patience, and practice, but with definite purpose, clear thinking, creative vision, action, and persistence applied with enthusiasm and faith, you can achieve and maintain a positive outlook. Remember: your attitude toward life determines life's attitude toward you; overcome negative thinking with "I can if I know I can"; become the person you wish to be in thought and action; and treat everyone as the most important person on earth.
Human potential is limitless when we harness the power of our minds. By understanding and applying these principles-imagination, desire, faith, persistence, self-worth, self-reliance, personality, enthusiasm, and the right mental attitude-you can transform your life and achieve the success you deserve. The journey begins with a single thought, cultivated with determination and persistence, until it blossoms into the reality you've envisioned. Your destiny awaits-the only question is whether you'll accept the challenge to create it.
