Napoleon Hill - The Master Of Success

Napoleon Hill
(1883-1970)
Founder of The Science Of Success

"Whatever your mind can conceive and believe it can achieve." - Napoleon Hill

American born Napoleon Hill is considered to have influenced more people into success than any other person in history. He has been perhaps the most influential man in the area of personal success technique development, primarily through his classic book Think and Grow Rich which has helped million of the people and has been important in the life of many successful people such as W. Clement Stone and Og Mandino.

Napoleon Hill was born into poverty in 1883 in a one-room cabin on the Pound River in Wise County, Virginia. At the age of 10 his mother died, and two years later his father remarried. He became a very rebellious boy, but grew up to be an incredible man. He began his writing career at age 13 as a "mountain reporter" for small town newspapers and went on to become America's most beloved motivational author. Fighting against all class of great disadvantages and pressures, he dedicated more than 25 years of his life to define the reasons by which so many people fail to achieve true financial success and happiness in their life.

During this time he achieved great success as an attorney and journalist. His early career as a reporter helped finance his way through law school. He was given an assignment to write a series of success stories of famous men, and his big break came when he was asked to interview steel-magnate Andrew Carnegie. Mr. Carnegie commissioned Hill to interview over 500 millionaires to find a success formula that could be used by the average person. These included Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Elmer Gates, Charles M. Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, William Wrigley Jr, John Wanamaker, WIlliam Jennings Bryan, George Eastman, Woodrow Wilson, William H. Taft, John D. Rockefeller, F. W. Woolworth, Jennings Randolph, among others.

He became an advisor to Andrew Carnegie, and with Carnegie's help he formulated a philosophy of success, drawing on the thoughts and experience of a multitude of rags-to-riches tycoons. It took Hill over 20 years to produce his book, a classic in the Personal Development field called Think and Grow Rich. This book has sold over 7 million copies and has helped thousands achieve success. The secret to success is very simple but you'll have to read the book to find out what it is!

Napoleon Hill passed away in November 1970 after a long and successful career writing, teaching, and lecturing about the principles of success. His work stands as a monument to individual achievement and is the cornerstone of modern motivation. His book, Think and Grow Rich, is the all time best-seller in the field.

In recent years The Napoleon Hill Foundation has published his bestselling writings worldwide, giving him immense influence around the globe.

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Here are some interesting observations by one of the greatest gurus on achieving success, Napoleon Hill:

"Before us lie two paths -- honesty and dishonesty. The shortsighted embark on the dishonest path; the wise on the honest. For the wise know the truth; in helping others we help ourselves; and in hurting others we hurt ourselves. Character overshadows money, and trust rises above fame. Honesty is still the best policy.

"Understand this law and you will then know, beyond room for the slightest doubt, that you are constantly punishing yourself for every wrong you commit and rewarding yourself for every act of constructive conduct in which you indulge."

"Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements."

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit."

"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit."

"Hold a picture of yourself long and steadily enough in your mind's eye, and you will be drawn toward it."

"If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self."

"One must marry one's feelings to one's beliefs and ideas. That is probably the only way to achieve a measure of harmony in one's life."

"The ladder of success is never crowded at the top."

"The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail."

"Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you; until you have cultivated the habit of saying some kind word of those whom you do not admire; until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy."

"War grows out of the desire of the individual to gain advantage at the expense of his fellow man."

"When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal."

"You must get involved to have an impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee."

"I have proved, times too numerous to enumerate, to my own satisfaction at least, that every human brain is both a broadcasting and a receiving station for vibrations of thought frequency.

"If this theory should turn out to be a fact, and methods of reasonable control should be established, imagine the part it would play in the gathering, classifying and organising of knowledge. The possibility, much less the probability, of such a reality, staggers the mind of man!"

"The sixth sense is that portion of the subconscious mind which has been referred to as the creative imagination. It has also been referred to as the 'receiving set' through which ideas, plans and thoughts flash into the mind. The flashes are sometimes called hunches or inspirations.

"The sixth sense defies description! It cannot be described to a person who has not mastered the other principles of this philosophy, because such a person has no knowledge and no experience with which the sixth sense may be compared. Understanding the sixth sense comes only by meditation through mind development from within.

"After you have mastered the principles described in this book, you will be prepared to accept as truth a statement which may, otherwise, be incredible to you, namely:

"Through the aid of the sixth sense, you will be warned of impending dangers in time to avoid them and notified of opportunities in time to embrace them.

"There comes to your aid and to do your bidding, with the development of the sixth sense, a 'guardian angel' who will open to you at all times the door to the temple of wisdom."

-- Napoleon Hill

Mini Biography:

Napoleon Hill Biography : American Author
Famous for : Being one of the first writers of the self improvement movement. Hill's "Think and Grow Rich" is a motivational book that was first published in 1937 and continues to be published and sold in large numbers today.
Hill details : Born - 26th of October, 1883 Virginia, USA / Died 8th of November, 1970 United States of America

Napoleon Hill was one of the original founders of the personal-success literature movement and the author of the best-selling book Think and Grow Rich. Hill considered all his works part of his "Philosophy of Achievement" and his mantra, "what the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" became the foundation for his works.

Napoleon Hill was born on October 26, 1883 in the rural town of Pound in Wise County, Virginia. By the age of twelve, both his parents were dead and by the time Hill was thirteen he was writing for local mountain newspapers to help save money for school. Although he entered law school for a short time, Hill eventually had to drop out due to lack of funds.

Hill returned to writing and, as part of a series of articles assigned to him, he went to interview Andrew Carnegie, a very wealthy and powerful man. During the interview, Carnegie disclosed his belief that any man could achieve great success by following a simple formula. Carnegie then commissioned Hill to interview 500 successful people in order to discover this formula and publish it. There was no money paid to Hill for this project, just the challenge of finding the secret to success.

During his research, Hill interviewed numerous influential people including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. It took him over twenty years to interview all of the people on his list. As a result of his research, however, Hill became an advisor to Carnegie and they published The Law of Success by means of the Philosophy of Achievement in 1928. Originally published as a study course, it eventually became a lengthy home-study course that included seventeen volumes of the "Mental Dynamite" series.

During his time with Carnegie, Napoleon Hill became the editor and publisher of the Hill's Golden Rule magazine, published a book called The Ladder to Success and also served as an unpaid advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt from 1933 to 1936.

In 1937 Hill broke down the basics of the Philosophy of Achievement and published his work in the book Think and Grow Rich. This became Hill's most famous work and has sold over 30 million copies. Two years later, in 1939, Hill published How to Sell Your Way through Life, another best-selling book on personal achievement.

By 1953 Napoleon Hill was working closely with W. Clement Stone teaching Stone's own "Philosophy of Personal Achievement". Hill began focusing more on the idea that "thoughts are things" and that an individual can manifest his or her success simply by sharing ideas and finding like-minded individuals. Hill also wrote about the importance of the "Golden Rule" of giving and the understanding the difference between giving and exchanging with the community.

Throughout his life, Hill was open about his Christian faith and believed that his religion played a very important supporting role in his beliefs about success. Faith, in fact, always played a major role in Hill's philosophies of achievement. Napoleon Hill died on November 8, 1970. His last book, You Can Work Your Own Miracles, was published after his death.

Hill Quotes:

We are what we are, because of the vibrations of thought which we pick up and register, through the stimuli of our daily environment.
Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich - Thinking - Influence - Self Help

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.
Napoleon Hill - Defeat - Attitude - Failure - Planning - Goals - Motivational

Strong, deeply rooted desire is the starting point of all achievement.
Napoleon Hill - Goals - Motivational - Desire - Achievement

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches.
Napoleon Hill - Thinking - Self Help - Goals - Motivational - Desire - Achievement - Mind - Belief - Power - Rich - Purpose

Before success in any man's life he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do.
Napoleon Hill - Success - Failure - Quitting - Defeat

I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my Definite Purpose in life, therefore, I demand of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment, and I here and now promise to render such action.
Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich - Self Help - Goals - Achievement - Belief - Action - Determination - Persistent - Now

Do not wait; the time will never be "just right." Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.
Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich - Motivational - Action - Now - Inspirational - Work

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.
Napoleon Hill - Planning - Goals - Desire - Achievement - Inspirational - Vision - Soul

Henry Ford

Henry Ford Biography :

Ford Motor Company Founder
Famous for :

Maker of the Model T Ford car, Businessman and American Philanthropist
Ford details :

Born - July 30, 1863 United States Died - April 7, 1947

Mini Biography:

Henry Ford was an inventor, philanthropist and successful American businessman. Ford was the founder of the still popular Ford Motor Company which had its first success with the Model T Ford car that was released in 1908. Henry Ford revolutionized the way cars were designed and built, introducing assembly line factories for producing mass amounts of vehicles that led to lower prices for consumers and an explosion in car ownership throughout the United States.

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan, United States, in what was then known as Springwells Township. Ford's parents were Irish immigrants and the family lived on a farm, with Henry Ford being the eldest of six children. The family had a comfortable upbringing on the farm with a decent income, but even as a young person, Ford believed there was too much work and not enough income living from the land.

"It was life on the farm that drove me into devising ways and means to better transportation. I was born on July 30, 1863, on a farm at Dearborn, Michigan, and my earliest recollection is that, considering the results, there was too much work on the place." Henry Ford Quote

Ford began his career as an apprentice machinist in 1879, then returned to his family farm in 1882 before starting work with the Westinghouse company to service their steam engines. Ford then went to work at the Edison Illuminating Company where he became chief engineer in 1893.

Henry Ford had always enjoyed mechanical things and was always trying to improve or create more useful machinery. In 1893 he created his first gasoline driven buggy or Quadricycle that was completely self propelled. He then started the Detroit Automobile Company with several other investors to improve on his design, but the company went bankrupt soon after. Ford then started the Henry Ford Company, which he also left, before eventually starting the Ford Motor Company in 1903.

The Ford Motor Company released the successful Model T car in 1908. Generally cars were built one at a time and were only accessible to the very wealthy, but Ford continued to improve the way the cars were manufactured. In 1913 the cars were being mass produced by one of the first moving assembly lines. In 1918, half of the total amount of cars in the United States were Model T's, 15 million cars were sold, and production of the Model T was finally stopped in 1927.

Ford also had interests in politics but was never successful as a politician, and unsuccessfully ran for Senate as a Democrat. He also had strong views on labor and how the workforce should be treated. He paid his workers more money for less working days and made the 5 day 40 hour working week a normal part of working life.

Henry Ford created the Ford Foundation in 1936 to promote human welfare through research grants, educational grants and development.

In 1947, at the age 83 Henry Ford died of a cerebral hemorrhage and was buried in the Ford Cemetery in Detroit.

Ford's Quote:

If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.
Henry Ford - Money - Knowledge - Life - Skill -

Nobody can think straight who does not work. Idleness warps the mind.
Henry Ford - Work - Laziness

If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own.
Henry Ford - Success -

It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste time.
Henry Ford - Action - Time

A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one.
Henry Ford - Marketing -

Failure is the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently.
Henry Ford - Failure - Opportunity

RATAN TATA

Name : Ratan Tata

Birth Name : Ratan Naval Tata

Date of Birth : December 28, 1937

Place of Birth : Bombay (Mumbai), India

Occupation : Businessman

Nationality : Indian

Trivia :

On January 10, 2008, Ratan Tata launched 3 models of the one-lakh-rupee (US $ 25,000) 'peoples car', officially called the "TATA Nano".

Mini biogarphy:
Ratan Tata, actually Ratan Naval Tata, was born on December 28, 1937, in Mumbai. He is the present Chairman of the Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate established by earlier generations of his family. Ratan Tata was born into the wealthy and famous Tata family of Mumbai. He was born to Soonoo & Naval Hormusji Tata, a Gujarati-speaking Parsi family. Ratan is the the great grandson of Tata group founder Jamsetji Tata. Ratan's childhood was troubled, his parents separating in the mid-1940s, when he was about seven and his younger brother Jimmy was five. Ratan Tata's mother moved out and both Ratan and his brother were raised by their grandmother Lady Navajbai. He was schooled at the Campion School in Mumbai. In 1962, after graduating from Cornell University with a degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering, Ratan joined the family business. Ratan turned down a job offer from IBM, following the advice of J.R.D. Tata, and entered the family business.

Ratan Tata joined the Tata Group in December 1962, when he was sent to Jamshedpur to work at Tata Steel. He worked on the floor along with other blue-collar employees, shovelling limestone and handling the blast furnaces. In 1971, Ratan was appointed the Director-in-Charge of The National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (Nelco), a company that was in dire financial difficulty. Ratan Tata suggested that the company invest in developing high-technology products, rather than in consumer electronics. J.R.D. was reluctant due to the historical financial performance of Nelco which had never even paid regular dividends. Further, Nelco had 2% market share in the consumer electronics market and a loss margin of 40% of sales when Ratan took over. Nonetheless, J. R. D. followed Ratan's suggestions.

From 1972 to 1975, Nelco eventually grew to have a market share of 20%, and recovered its losses. In 1975 however, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency, which led to an economic recession. This was followed by union problems in 1977, so even after demand improved, production did not keep up. Finally, the Tatas confronted the unions and, following a strike, a lockout was imposed for seven months. Ratan continued to believe in the fundamental soundness of Nelco, but the venture did not survive.

In 1977, Ratan Tata was entrusted with Empress Mills, a textile mill controlled by the Tatas. When he took charge of the company, it was one of the few sick units in the Tata group. Ratan managed to turn it around and even declared a dividend. However, competition from less labour-intensive enterprises had made a number of companies unviable, including those like the Empress which had large labour contingents and had spent too little on modernisation. On Ratan Tata's insistence, some investment was made, but it did not suffice. As the market for coarse and medium cotton cloth (which was all that the Empress produced) turned adverse, the Empress began to accumulate heavier losses. Bombay House, the Tata headquarters, was unwilling to divert funds from other group companies into an undertaking which would need to be nursed for a long time. So, some Tata directors, chiefly Nani Palkhivala, took the line that the Tatas should liquidate the mill, which was finally closed down in 1986. Ratan was severely disappointed with the decision, and in a later interview with the Hindustan Times would claim that the Empress had needed just Rs 50 lakhs to turn it around. In 1981, Ratan Tata was named Chairman of Tata Industries, the Group's other holding company, where he became responsible for transforming it into the Group's strategy think-tank and a promoter of new ventures in high-technology businesses. In 1991, he took over as group chairman from J.R.D. Tata, pushing out the old guard and ushering in younger managers. Since then, he has been instrumental in reshaping the fortunes of the Tata Group, which today has the largest market capitalization of any business house on the Indian Stock Market.

Under Ratan Tata's guidance, Tata Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. His dream was to manufacture a car costing Rs 100,000 (1998: approx. US$2,200; today US$2,482). In 1998, Tata Motors introduced his brainchild, the Tata Indica. On January 31st, 2007, under Ratan Tata's chairmanship, Tata Sons successfully acquired Corus Group, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminium producer. With the acquisition, Ratan Tata became a celebrated personality in Indian corporate business culture. The merger created the fifth largest steel producing entity in the world.

On December 28, 2007, Ratan Tata turned 70 and achieved yet another milestone in fulfiling his dream for Tata Motors as he launched the one lakh rupee 'peoples car,' officially the TATA Nano, on January 10, 2008 at Auto Expo in New Delhi, India. Three models of the Nano were announced, and Ratan Tata delivered on his committment to developing a car costing only 1 lakh rupees, adding that "a promise is a promise," referring to his earlier promise to deliver this car at the said cost.

Ratan Tata was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Bhushan on 26th January 2000, on the occasion of the 50th Republic Day of India. He serves in senior capacities in various organisations in India and he is a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. In March 2006 Tata was honoured by Cornell University as the 26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, considered the highest honor the university awards to distinguished individuals from the corporate sector.

Ratan Tata's foreign affiliations include membership of the international advisory boards of the Mitsubishi Corporation, the American International Group, JP Morgan Chase and Booz Allen Hamilton. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation, and of his alma maters: Cornell University and the University of Southern California. He also serves as a board member on the Republic of South Africa's International Investment Council and is a Asia-Pacific advisory committee member for the New York Stock Exchange. Tata is on the board of governors of the East-West Center, the advisory board of RAND's Center for Asia Pacific Policy and serves on the programme board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS initiative. In February 2004, Ratan Tata was conferred the title of honorary economic advisor to Hangzhou city in the Zhejiang province of China.

He recently received an honorary doctorate from the London School of Economics and listed among the 25 most powerful people in business named by Fortune magazine in November 2007.

Ratan Tata became the Chairman of the Tata Group in 1981 after serving as Chairman in charge of the Nelco division of the group. Tata is India's largest conglomerate and includes the brands Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Power, Indian Hotels, as well as other brands labeled under the Tata name.

Ratan Tata was born on December 28, 1937 in Mumbai, India in one of the richest families in the country. His great grandfather, Jamsedji Tata, was the founder of the Tata group and passed the power and inheritance down to his family. Ratan Tata grew up in a broken household, however, after his parents split in the mid-1940s and he and his brother were raised by their grandmother, Lady Navajbai.

Tata was a good student and studied hard at the Campion School in Mumbai followed by studies in architecture and structural engineering at Cornell University. He graduated with his bachelors degree in 1962 and joined the Tata Group in December of that same year. Tata's first job with the Group involved working with the Tata Steel division where he worked with the blue-collar employees shoveling stone and working with the furnaces.

Although this original job was physically difficult, it helped Ratan Tata gain a better understanding and appreciation for the business and he gradually began taking on more responsibility. In 1971, Tata became Director-in-Charge of the National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (Nelco) in order to help its struggling finances. Ratan Tata helped build a better consumer electronics division but the economic recession and union strikes prevented his vision from taking hold.

Tata was eventually moved to Empress Mills in 1977, a struggling textile mill within the Tata Group. Ratan Tata renewed the vision for the mill but the larger Tata Group was not in agreement with his advice. Instead, the mill was shut down and liquidated in 1986, to Tata's disappointment, and he was moved to the Tata Industries, another holding company.

With Tata Industries, Ratan Tata was able to transform the management and vision of the division and bring in significantly larger dividends. This renewed financial success helped bring the Tata Group to the New York Stock Exchange and gave the company even more international power and prestige. Ratan Tata continued to acquire different industries for the Tata Group, eventually purchasing the steel an aluminum producer, Corus Group as well as Jaguar and Land Rover brands from the Ford Company.

Ratan Tata lives a very private life in Mumbai, India.

Quotes:

One hundred years from now, I expect the Tatas to be much bigger than it is now. More importantly, I hope the Group comes to be regarded as being the best in India.. best in the manner in which we operate, best in the products we deliver, and best in our value systems and ethics. Having said that, I hope that a hundred years from now we will spread our wings far beyond India.
Ratan Tata - India - Best - Products - Ethics - Growth - Inspirational

I am proud of my country. But we need to unite to make a unified India, free of communalism and casteism. We need to build India into a land of equal opportunity for all. We can be a truly great nation if we set our sights high and deliver to the people the fruits of continued growth, prosperity and equal opportunity.
Ratan Tata - India - Growth - Proud - Opportunity - Great - Wealth

The country is now universally recognised as a nation on the move and takes its place amongst the successful economies in the region. The future potential is enormous but the country's destiny is in our hands. The time has come to move from small increments to bold, large initiatives. The time has come to stretch the envelope and set goals which were earlier not seen to be possible. The time has come for performance to be measured and for allocated funds of the government to reach the people for whom they were intended.
Ratan Tata - India - Growth - Inspirational - Wealth - Success - Economy - Goals - Potential - Government