Napoleon Hill

Every line we carry

Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.

1. Most so-called failures are only temporary defeats.

   Hill spent his life interviewing successful people and found the same pattern. What looked like failure was usually a pause. Call it a setback, learn from it, and keep going.

   The Law of Success (1928), Lesson Two, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)

2. If you want to get more, demand more of yourself.

   Hill stresses that the demand is on yourself, not on the world. Raising your own standard is the only lever you fully control. Ask more of you first.

   The Law of Success (1928), Lesson Two, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)

3. Every time you resist a temptation, the stronger you become.

   Willpower is built like a muscle. Each refusal makes the next one easier. Win the small fights today and the big ones get lighter.

   The Law of Success (1928), Lesson Twelve, Concentration, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)

4. Opportunity may be found wherever one really looks for it, and nowhere else.

   To most people, Hill says, the picking looks better on the other side of the fence. Opportunity appears where you actually search. Look hard where you stand.

   The Law of Success (1928), A Visit With the Author, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)

5. Your acts will count for more than your words.

   Hill warns that people watch what you do and compare it with what you say. When the two disagree, actions win. Let your conduct do your talking.

   The Law of Success (1928), Lesson Three, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)

6. If you receive no pay but your pay envelope, you are underpaid.

   Hill means the skill, character and reputation you build by doing more than you are paid for. Those are wages too, and they compound. Work in a way that pays you twice.

   The Law of Success (1928), Lesson Five, Initiative and Leadership, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)

7. You can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.

   Hill learned this in sales and advertising: help your clients win and they bring you along. Generosity is not soft strategy; it is the fast road. Lift someone else today.

   The Law of Success (1928), Lesson Four, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)

8. Nature's richest gifts go to those who meet failure without flinching or whining.

   How you take the loss matters more than the loss. No flinching, no whining. That attitude is what turns a defeat into a beginning.

   The Law of Success (1928), A Visit With the Author, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)

9. A man without a definite purpose is a ship that has lost its rudder.

   Hard work without direction just goes in circles. Hill says purpose plus plan is the rudder. Set the course before you row harder.

   The Law of Success (1928), Lesson Two, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)

10. Reputation is not character.

    Reputation is what people believe you are; character is what you are. Hill says only character gives real and lasting power. Build the thing, not the image.

    The Law of Success (1928), lesson not identified in the OCR, Original English (The Law of Success, Ralston University Press, 1928)