I usually don’t share much about my personal life, but I need to explain how important the impact of Napoleon Hill’s teachings has been on my thinking, especially the last few years in particular.
We all go through what he described as ‘Turning Points’ within life. I can say that without a doubt that I’ve had what seems like dozens of these within just the past few years alone. Ranging from a divorce, new relationships, tragedy, temporary setbacks, the death of loved ones, to rebirth, renewal and many new business opportunities. Father time has indeed presented me with many interesting areas for growth and I’m sure many of you reading these words can relate to the last few sentences.
What I’ve discovered that has helped me immensely the past few years through many of these major turning points is the power of the Mastermind. By seeking out and attracting great people around me, this has helped me to get out of the malaise and refocus my mind to assist me with many important personal and professional life decisions. Change is never easy, but when we have positive, supportive and wise people around to help guide us, it makes the journey both easier and more fulfilling.
The following is an excerpt from the classic book Think and Grow Rich; I would like to share the first concept, from the Ninth Step Toward Riches: The Power of the Mastermind, from Napoleon Hill’s classic book, Think and Grow Rich. That is the idea of POWER.
The Ninth Step Toward Riches: The Power of the Mastermind
POWER is essential for success in the accumulation of money. PLANS are inert and useless, without sufficient POWER to translate them into ACTION.
POWER may be defined as “organized and intelligently directed KNOWLEDGE.” Power, as the term is here used, refers to ORGANIZED effort, sufficient to enable an individual to transmute DESIRE into its monetary equivalent.
ORGANIZED effort is produced through the coordination of effort of two or more people, who work toward a DEFINITE end, in a spirit of harmony.
Knowledge may be acquired from any of these sources: INFINITE INTELLIGENCE, ACCUMULATED EXPERIENCE and EXPERIMENT AND RESEARCH. It may be converted into POWER by organizing it into definite PLANS and by expressing those plans in terms of ACTION.
Examination of the three major sources of knowledge will readily disclose the difficulty an individual would have, if he depended upon his efforts alone, in assembling knowledge and expressing it through definite plans in terms of ACTION. If his plans are comprehensive, and if they contemplate large proportions, he must, generally, induce others to cooperate with him, before he can inject into them the necessary element of POWER.
The adage that two heads are better than one is a powerful statement that most people have heard before, yet often treat lightly. We all face challenges in life, relationships, communication and especially in business. Facing these challenges alone is fool’s folly. Facing them and creating a plan with a group of like-minded individuals with a common goal or purpose to positively serve others is much more powerful and more likely to succeed.
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