Truthful Living Read online

  “When defeat overtakes a man or woman, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That’s exactly what the majority of people do.”

  – Napoleon Hill

  “Most people are not willing to do the hard work that it takes to make success easy.”

  – Jeffrey Gitomer

  Copyright 2018 Jeffrey Gitomer and GitGo, LLC

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Amazon Publishing, Seattle

  www.apub.com

  Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Amazon Publishing are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

  ISBN-13: 9781503942011

  ISBN-10: 1503942015

  Cover design by Faceout Studio, Jeff Miller

  First Edition

  Foreword, Actions, and Annotations by Jeffrey Gitomer

  Edited by Jennifer Gluckow

  Book Designer: Mike Wolff – [email protected]

  Contents

  The First Thoughts of the Father of American Achievement and Wealth

  Lesson Number 1 Success Is Up to YOU

  Lesson Number 2 FINISH WHAT YOU START

  Lesson Number 3 HOW TO THINK

  Lesson Number 4 IMAGINATION

  Lesson Number 5 THE VALUE OF SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SINCERITY

  Lesson Number 6 LET AMBITION BE YOUR MASTER

  Lesson Number 7 ADVERSITY: A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

  Lesson Number 8 TIME: THE MOST PRECIOUS THING IN THE WORLD

  Lesson Number 9 SEVEN SUCCESS RULES

  Lesson Number 10 ADOPT A “CHIEF AIM IN LIFE”!

  Lesson Number 11 THE “LAW OF HARMONIOUS ATTRACTION”

  Lesson Number 12 HOW TO SELL YOURSELF AND YOUR SERVICES

  Lesson Number 13 DISCOVERY; THINGS, LIFE, and HAPPINESS

  Lesson Number 14 “LUCK versus P-LUCK!”

  Lesson Number 15 IMAGINATION, DESIRE, ENTHUSIASM, SELF-CONFIDENCE, AND CONCENTRATION

  Lesson Number 16 Who is BEHIND your success?

  Lesson Number 17 IF I HAD BUT ONE WISH!

  Lesson Number 18 THE GREAT MAGIC KEY

  Lesson Number 19 THE VALUE OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE IN CREATING A FAVORABLE FIRST IMPRESSION

  Lesson Number 20 AT THE SIGN OF THE DOLLAR

  Lesson Number 21 “THE FIVE-POINT RULE”

  Lesson Number 22 THE PRINCIPLE OF SERVICE

  Lesson Number 23 A GREAT TRUTH WHICH I HAVE LEARNED FROM TWENTY YEARS’ EXPERIENCE

  Epilogue by Jeffrey Gitomer The TRUTH, the Whole TRUTH, So Help Me HILL

  Books You Ought to Read

  The First Thoughts of the Father of American Achievement and Wealth

  by Jeffrey Gitomer

  In 1917, 20 years before the publication of his magnum opus, THINK AND GROW RICH, Napoleon Hill began his career as a teacher, philosopher, and writer at the George Washington Institute in Chicago. There he taught courses on advertising and selling, but rather than focusing on the more technical aspects of those subjects, he structured his courses around the notion that attitude, belief, hard work and personal development were the keys to achievement.

  As a teacher and a writer he intuitively understood that in order to get his students to succeed, they had to start with the foundation of believing in themselves, having a positive attitude, and making a plan before they could ultimately achieve their purpose.

  Mindful of the potential legacy of these teachings, and proud to have created them, Hill wrote, typed, and hand signed each lesson.

  Over the next two decades, Hill would go on to hone his craft and substantiate his original thinking by interviewing and writing about the most successful people of his time: icons like Edison, Firestone, Burroughs, and Schwab. Over the course of 45 years, Hill expanded the positive principles he wrote about and spoke about in 1917; penned ten books that have sold more than 100,000,000 copies; delivered thousands of talks and lectures; and became world renowned as the leader in self-help, personal development and positive attitude. One hundred years later, he still holds that global position.

  But what of those original lessons on life Napoleon Hill taught in 1917? Long the subject of rumors and speculation, they were thought lost to history – until now.

  THE BOOK: TRUTHFUL LIVING

  A few years ago, the Napoleon Hill Foundation uncovered Napoleon Hill’s ORIGINAL writings and teachings. These are not just Hill’s first writings, they represent the fundamental and foundational thinking that created his legacy.

  Napoleon Hill began his career as a college professor in Cleveland delivering lectures and lessons, and had the presence of mind to document them. These lessons and lectures were penned 20 years before the immortal Think and Grow Rich was published. These are in fact the first documented writings of Napoleon Hill.

  These are Hill’s original thoughts and ideas about how to focus on your major goals, have a great attitude, and become successful. These are his first lectures, lessons, and writings. At the same time Hill was teaching advertising and selling, he was focusing on attitude, self-belief, writing, persuading, and philosophy of life and living.

  These pages of Truthful Living contain Hill’s original writings and lectures from 1917. Think and Grow Rich was published in 1937. And Hill’s immortal sales book, How to Sell Your Way Through Life, was published in 1939. The original lessons and lectures in Truthful Living served as the foundation of his philosophy, strategy, and thinking for his entire body of work. Genuine classics. Genuine genius.

  I have been given the honor by the Napoleon Hill Foundation to edit and annotate these writings for the 21st century. With as much integrity as I possess, I have stayed true to the concepts and meaning that Hill was trying to transfer. Here’s why. . .

  In 1971 when I was first exposed to Napoleon Hill, I was a member of a fledgling sales team and less than impressed with the prospect of learning about “positive attitude.” In training with my fellow salespeople, I was literally forced by my peers to study Hill’s book every day. We had a morning sales meeting where each of us was assigned one chapter in the book to “report” on. After a while I began to “get it” and during the second read of the book, only one month later, and daily group discussion with my fellow salespeople, I became both aware and enlightened that Think and Grow Rich was a book designed and destined to change my life.

  Actually, I read Think and Grow Rich 10 times that year – studied and implemented both the principles and the directives. The result for me has been an unbreakable positive attitude and steadfast march toward success over the past 45 years.

  I have had a decade-long affiliation with the Napoleon Hill Foundation. I create Hill’s weekly newsletter, Napoleon Hill Yesterday and Today, and for the past ten years have grown it to more than 50,000 readers.

  As a result of my positive long-term connection with the Napoleon Hill Foundation, I have been asked and authorized to compile and annotate the ORIGINAL writings (1917) of Hill in producing this book.

  As eloquent as Hill was, his words were spoken and written 100 years ago. Not only has time changed, so has the language and lexicon.

  With the rare endorsement of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, we are honored to present TRUTHFUL LIVING – a century-old, modern-day classic.

  This book contains the first (annotated) writings of Napoleon Hill that will impact and inspire you and readers all over the world.

  There are twenty-three lessons and lectures about truth, focus, integrity, desire, decisions, attitude, beliefs, goals, and living. Although written 100 years ago
, all of them are timeless gems that have been lightly edited and annotated where appropriate into 21st-century words and strategies, while still maintaining the energy and importance of the work as written in 1917. These are Napoleon Hill’s ORIGINAL thoughts, and FIRST delivered works.

  At the end of each lesson I will give you real-world strategies that are easy to implement, and will have a huge impact on life, family, business, and earnings.

  Truthfully yours,

  Jeffrey Gitomer

  King of Sales

  “Think the thoughts, take the actions, and day-by-day success can be yours.”

  – Jeffrey Gitomer

  “This book by itself is not life-changing, but your actions combined with the wisdom and challenges of this book will make you a more successful and wealthier person.”

  – Jeffrey Gitomer

  “First comes thought; then organization of that thought into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”

  – Napoleon Hill

  Lesson Number

  1

  Success Is Up to YOU

  GITOMER INSIGHT: Words change lives. Truthful Living is a double opportunity if you read and study this book. The first opportunity is information. You will be informed about life and success to the edge of your gray matter. There are hundreds of aha! moments inside each lesson.

  The second opportunity is the challenge to do something with the information you’ve been provided. That’s the hard part. Thousands and thousands of people will read this book, but less than 5% will adopt the principles, take the action necessary, and receive the rewards presented to you over the next 200-plus pages. If you’re looking to be in the top 5%, you can find the formula on the pages that follow. The formula will seem simple, but with all things Hill, simple is never easy.

  There will be no confusion in the words of Hill, even though they are 100 years old. His declarative statements and sentences. . .“Success is up to you” and “demand success” require no interpretation whatsoever, but they do require hard work and dedication. Dig in. Study hard. Take action for yourself. And earn what you deserve. The door of Truthful Living is wide open. . .walk in!

  GITOMER NOTE: At the turn of the 20th century, women were largely omitted from business and personal development writings. Although I think of men and women equally (I am blessed with 4 daughters and 4 granddaughters), I am trying to stay as authentic to Hill’s writings as possible. Please don’t let the omission of a pronoun dissuade you from reading and learning this valuable and life changing information.

  As you undertake this book, remember your success will depend very largely on the following:

  FIRST: The manner in which you study. You must learn to read between the lines as well as on them – that is, you must see the principle that is behind the mere words in your textbooks.

  SECOND: You must go at this book just as you would if you were being paid real money to get all there is in it.

  THIRD: You must be enthusiastic, persistent, and determined to WIN! You must look ahead one, two, or even five years from now and see yourself as a success, and at the same time you must fully realize that the pay you receive will depend largely upon how well you master this book.

  FOURTH: You must be systematic in your studies. Set aside a certain hour each day for study and let nothing interfere with your work on your lessons during that hour. Remember that everything we do is more or less a habit, and that we can cultivate the “study” habit as easily as we can the “loafing” habit. Get into the habit of studying and soon it will come as natural as the eating of a meal.

  “The ability to succeed is a matter of self-inspiration and a full understanding of human nature and a knowledge of your own mind’s latent powers.”

  – Napoleon Hill

  FIFTH:

  Believe in yourself! The reason so many fail is because they set so small a value on their ability to accomplish anything they undertake. Self-confidence is the very warp and woof of success.

  GITOMER NOTE: Please go back and reread this formula because it contains the recipe for success in this book and in your life. It, like the rest of this book, is inspirational and challenging. Take it. Do it.

  Writing, for instance, is one of the keys to successful living. Before you can write effectively, you must believe that you can do it. SELF-INSPIRATION is closely akin to self-confidence. You get inspiration from the outside, it is true, but it must go through the electrodes of that wonderful mind of yours and take on the form of your INDIVIDUALITY. It must charge your whole heart, soul, and body as an electric battery is charged with electricity. Enthusiasm is simply a matter of SELF-INSPIRATION, nothing more nor less.

  If I stopped right here, you would know but little more about how to acquire self-confidence, enthusiasm, and self-inspiration than you did before. IT would be just like telling a person to be honest if he would be successful (something which is quite obvious), but without telling him HOW TO BE HONEST.

  Throughout this book we are going to deal with CAUSE as well as EFFECT. To get back to first cause in the acquirement of these desirable qualities which are here mentioned, let me give you some definite instructions to follow – AN ADAPTATION FROM MY OWN PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY WHICH I HAVE FOLLOWED FOR YEARS:

  “Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.”

  – Napoleon Hill

  Repeat the following lines just before retiring at night and just after getting up in the morning, continuously for the next ten days:

  Affirm Your Success!

  1 – I am going to become a great person!

  2 – I have perfect confidence in myself!

  3 – I am equal to every task I undertake, and I am going to succeed. I feel that I am on my way to the greatest success I have ever known!

  4 – I am alert! I am tense and ready! All my faculties are in my instant command! I now see a hundred objects about which I would write interestingly, where I never saw one before.

  5 – I am successful! I am filled with energy and power! I am brave and courageous! I see tremendous opportunities ahead of me!

  6 – I am going to become master of my chosen career! I will use my personal magnetism and my ability for any purpose that may be profitable and helpful to me and my fellow men!

  You want to succeed or else you would not be devoting your time to this book. I need not be a mind reader to arrive at this conclusion. Then, do not look lightly upon any task, which your instructors give you to perform.

  Demand Success!

  Demand it with all your heart and soul and with the utmost confidence! If you faithfully carry out the suggestions and ideas in this book, your demand will be speedily and splendidly realized.

  Above all things, remember that all the work of this book, the thoughts of realization, the MENTAL DEMAND for success, must precede – not follow – practical outward effort. In more simple words, BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND IN THOSE WHO ARE HELPING YOU DO IT AND YOU ARE BOUND TO WIN! You must paint a picture of the person you want to be, and if you paint that picture on the sensitive plates of the mind vividly enough, you are sure to be just like it. You will not be disappointed. If you become a great person, it will be because you have first WILLED TO BECOME GREAT! If you fail to become a great person, it will be because your will power was of the half-hearted brand.

  Make your affirmations prophetic, not mere dull statements of fact! Make your energies initiative! Hold fast to this sequence: first, demand and by demanding beget CREATIVE THOUGHT; by creative thinking, efficient work; and by efficient work, WIN!

  Read these suggestions again and again! Meditate upon them! Do not look for flaws – look for thoughts – thoughts out of which to build SELF-CONFIDENCE, ENTHUSIASM, and SELF-INSPIRATION! Soon their truth and practicability will dawn upon you, and you will come into the FAITH that moves mountains of DOUBT, FEAR, and LACK OF COURAGE.

  Do not
attempt to expound these principles to others who have not had opportunity to see the work which is being done in this book, as you have seen it. You are preparing yourself to be a great person, a great analyst of human nature. You want knowledge that you can use commercially for the betterment of yourself and your fellow men.

  “Believe in what you are doing and in those who are helping you do it and you are bound to win!”

  – Napoleon Hill

  REMEMBER, THEN, THAT ALL FORCES WHICH MAKE FOR YOUR SUCCESS ARE WITHIN YOU! Also remember THAT YOU WILL GET OUT OF THIS BOOK IN EXACT PROPORTION WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT IN TIME AND EFFORT. You CAN and MUST do for yourself.

  Education is something which you must get yourself. You have to work to get it and you have to work to keep it after you get it! Education is a self-development process. Webster says that education is “instruction.” Personally, I do not agree with Webster. Mere instruction is not enough. I may instruct you until I become old and gray-headed, but if you do not actually DO SOME THINKING, YOU WILL NEVER LEARN TO BE STRONG, FORCEFUL, AND SUCCESSFUL.

  The best teacher on our staff, from YOUR VIEWPOINT, is YOU! By the side of this teacher every man on our staff pales into oblivion. You will take away from this book just exactly in proportion what you make up your mind to take – no more and no less! The best teachers in the world could not change this.

  Be courageous! Have faith in yourself! Believe you can accomplish whatever you wish to accomplish! Encourage this self-faith and do not let it get away from you! Believe in those who are helping you with this book! If the negative quality of DOUBT creeps into your mind, shake it off. Entertain no doubts as to your own ability to master this book, or as to the ability of your instructors to help you master it! Go at your lessons in a spirit of cheerfulness!

  THEN, SEE HOW MUCH YOU CAN ABSORB FROM EACH LESSON AND CONVERT INTO PRACTICAL USE IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR WORK.