THE 17UNIVERSALPRINCIPLESOF SUCCESSANDACHIEVEMENTYOUR PATH TO PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT

N A P O L E O N H I L L

© Napoleon Hill Foundation MCMXCIINightingale-Conant Corporation

6245 West Howard StreetNiles, IL 607141-800-525-9000

www.nightingale.com

The key to success is a combination of the17 principles presented here and on theaudio program, The Science of Personal

Achievement.

These 17 principles serve as a dependable roadmap leading directly to the source of all riches– be they intangible or material. Follow this mapand you cannot miss the way. But be prepared tocomply with all of the instructions and to assumeall of the responsibilities that go with achievingthe success.

And, above all, remember that enduring successmust be shared with others.

Napoleon Hill spent a lifetime researching thesecrets of success. Some of the most celebratedand successful men of the 20th Century sharedtheir insights with him during the course of hiswork, initially inspired by the industrialistAndrew Carnegie.

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The 500 greats who collaborated withNapoleon Hill included Thomas Edison,Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford,

Woodrow Wilson, Charles Schwab, J. PierpontMorgan and F. W. Woolworth.

While you might not found an internationalcorporation or invent a life-altering device (but,then again, you might!), if you use theseinspired and inspiring keys to success, you willlearn how to take full possession of your mindand your life, understand how adversity can beturned to your advantage and develop nurtur-ing, harmonious relationships.

Countless millions worldwide have benefittedfrom Napoleon Hill’s work. Now it is yourturn.

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DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE

The starting point of all achievement,Definiteness of Purpose – knowing whatyour goal is, knowing what you want –

fills you with a success-consciousness and pro-tects you against failure.

Exercise:Decide on a major goal in your life – eitherpersonal or professional. How much time willyou give yourself to achieve this goal? Howwill you know that you achieved it? Is yoursuccess measurable? Attainable? Write out yourgoal in a clear, concise, positive manner.Transfer it to a 3 x 5 card; place it in youroffice and home where you will see your goalseveral times a day.

Successful people move on their own imitative,but they know where they are going before they

start.

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MASTER MIND PRINCIPLE

T he coordination of effort between two or more people in a spirit of perfect harmony in order to attain a specific

objective.

Exercise:Keeping in mind the steps for creating a MasterMind group given below, list the people whocan help you reach a goal, as well as the waysin which each can help you.

• Adopt a definite purpose with an objective tobe attained by the alliance

• Determine what appropriate benefit eachmember may receive in return for his coopera-tion in the alliance, and see that he/she gets it

• Establish a plan through which each membermakes a definite contribution

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• Ensure that harmony prevails in the group

• Remember that your watchword is definite-ness of plan and purpose

• Calculate the number of individuals in thegroup by the nature of the purpose to beattained

No man can become a permanent successwithout taking others along with him.

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APPLIED FAITH

A state of mind through which youraims, desires, plans and purposes aretranslated into their physical or finan-

cial equivalent.

Exercise:What affirming statements, what beliefs do youfeel you must have faith in before you canreach your goal? These statements can refer toyourself, your fellow citizens, or the universe(and accompanying creator/s) at large.

You can do it if you believe you can.

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PLEASING PERSONALITY

Apleasing personality helps you masterthe major cause of failure –the inabilityto get along with people harmoniously.

Exercise:List the elements of a pleasing personality inwhich you most need to make improvement.What steps will you take to make thesechanges? How will changing them help youreach your goal?

Your personality is your greatest asset orliability. It embraced everything you control:

mind, body and soul.

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GOING THE EXTRA MILE

R endering more and better service thanyou are paid to render, doing it all the time and doing it with a pleasing,

positive attitude.

Exercise:In the process of achieving your goal, and with the list of your “master minds” in mind,what “extra miles” might you consider going?What might be the anticipated results of theseextra efforts?

The most successful men are those who servethe greatest number of people.

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PERSONAL INITIATIVE

T he inner power that start all action; thepower that inspires the completion of allthat one begins.

Exercise:What actions can you take today, right now, tomove toward your goal? How about tomorrow?What actions will be needed then? Outline your planned movement toward your goal,beginning each step with the words, “I will.”Be specific.

No man is free until he learns to do his ownthinking and gains the courage to act on his

own personal initiative.

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SELF-DISCIPLINE

The ability to control our thoughts andemotions, self-discipline is the onlything in life over which you have

complete, unchallenged and unchallengeablecontrol.

Exercise:Using the “I will…” statements outlined in #6,visualize in your mind that you are doing eachone. Imagine yourself going through whateverit takes to successfully complete each step.How does it feel? What do you notice as possi-ble obstacles? What parts were easy? Whatones were difficult?

Direct your thoughts, control your emotionsand ordain your destiny.

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CONTROLLED ATTENTION

The highest form of self-discipline, the actof coordinating all your mind’s facultiesand directing their combined power to a

given end.

Exercise:What resources can you use for research as youplan your strategy for achieving your goals?What affirmations would be most helpful ifthey were placed in your mind for your subcon-scious to remember?

You can keep your mind working for you, evenwhile you sleep, with controlled attention.

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ENTHUSIASM

Acontagious state of mind that not onlyhelps you gain the cooperation ofothers but, more importantly, inspires

you to draw upon and use the power of yourimagination.

Exercise:It is always important to choose the most posi-tive language – with yourself and with others.Demonstrate that by writing ten statementsabout potential obstacles that begin negatively,i.e., “I’m afraid that…” or “I doubt that …: or“I don’t think that…” End each statement witha reason for your belief or doubt. Now trans-form that into a positive statement by rewritingeach statement, replacing “I’m afraid” or “Idoubt” with “I can” or “I will”. Once again,give your reasons for holding these new enthu-siastic and positive beliefs. See the differencebeing positive in word choice can make?

Real enthusiasm comes from within,and is faith in action.12

IMAGINATION

Imagination is your mind’s exercise, chal-lenge and adventure. It uses old ideas andestablished facts to reassemble them into

new combinations and to put them to new uses.

Exercise:Two imagination exercises: First, imagine your“ideal” life, the one in which your goal hasbeen reached, things are the way that you wantthem, you have everything you desire. What isthat life like? Describe it in detail. Describe allaspects of it – what you have, where you live,who you love, etc.

Second, imagine five alternative methods ofachieving your goal; it’s always good to haveseveral choices. Let your imagination soar, heldback by no barriers. Might these new ideas beincorporated into your current plan of attack?

Imagination is the workshop of the soul.13

LEARNING FROM ADVERSITY AND DEFEAT

Hardship and adversity are a commonlanguage of nature in which shespeaks to all living creatures and

teaches them many things they would notlearn in any other way.

Exercise:Review your life – both professional and in thepersonal realm – and recall several obstaclesthat have stood in your way. Think about thoseobstacles and what followed after encounteringthem. Remember how many of them actuallyled to positive things: new knowledge, inspira-tion, a “lucky” break. Describe one of theseincidents in detail.

Every adversity carries with it the seed of anequivalent or greater benefit.

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BUDGETING TIME AND MONEY

Successful people know themselves, not asthey think they are, but as their habitshave made them: the use of time and

money are the most vital of these habits.

Exercise:Detail the time and monetary expenses ofachieving your goals. Break down the costs asspecifically as possible. Where will you findthat time? Where will you find the money?Will you have to deduct time or money fromother tasks or needs? What will you do withany spare money you might have?

Tell me how you use your spare time and howyou spend your money, and I will tell you

where and what you will be ten years from now.

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POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE

To govern your life, your must be able togovern your mind, and that is the start-ing point of all riches.

Exercise:Over the next few days, review how much timeyou spend on the following negative aspects:complaining, gossiping, fearing or doubting,criticizing. Make an effort to erase these fromyour life. Apply the time you save to somethingpositive (see #12). Replace negative words –can’t, won’t, shouldn’t – with positive ones –can, will, shall (see #9).

Be careful what you wish for,for you will surely achieve it.

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ACCURATE THINKING

The accurate thinker recognizes all thefacts of life, both good and bad, andassumes the responsibility of separating

and organizing the two, choosing those whichserve his needs and rejecting all others.

Exercise:Think of three statements about the obstaclesyou might encounter that you now considerfacts. Think hard about the truth of each, doingresearch if necessary (see #8). Are these reallytrue? For example, you own a company thatsells beach chairs. Your obstacle is that beachchairs sell poorly in winter. That is a fact. Butdoes that mean beach chairs must sell poorly inJanuary or simply in cold weather? What if youfound a distributor in the Caribbean or SouthAmerica? The fact is, beach chairs could sellyear round; it all depends on how you look atthe facts!

You are what you think.17

SOUND PHYSICAL HEALTH

The key that coordinates all other princi-ples and sets all ideas into motion, soundhealth provides the “flavor” to the good

things in life.

Exercise:For one week, keep track of everything you eator drink. What percentage of that is “healthy”?What did you eat or drink that could do youharm? What should you do away with? Duringthat week, did you exercise? What sort of exer-cise? How many times and for how long? Andyour sleep habits, how were they? Did you getall of the sleep your body needed? Why or whynot? How could you change your lifestyle oryour schedule to incorporate a proper diet andsleep regimen?

Good health, a sense of well-being anda purpose for living make any day beautiful.

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COOPERATION

Harmony based on a definite motive,cooperation is the medium throughwhich great personal power may be

attained; the willing cooperation and coordina-tion of effort to achieve a specific objective.

Exercise:Returning to your Master Mind list (see #2),think of ways in which you might use yourskills and knowledge to help the people namedthere in return for the help they can give you.

Harmonious cooperation is a priceless assetthat you can acquire in proportion

to your giving.

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COSMIC HABITFORCE

The cosmic habitforce is the universe’slaw of equilibrium, the one natural lawinto which all other natural laws resolve

themselves.

Exercise:You manifest in your life that which you think.List eight things you would like to manifest bythinking about them repeatedly and by trulybelieving in them.

When you learn to weave unpleasantcircumstances into something useful,

you’re on the road to success.

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Authorized by The Napoleon Hill FoundationNightingale-Conant Corporation

6245 West Howard Street, Niles, Illinois 607141-800-525-9000

www.nightingale.com843PG