Outwitting the Devil – Three Feet from Gold

Napoleon Hill wrote two of my all-time favorite books, Outwitting the Devil and Three Feet from Gold.

I love that both books were written so long ago and are relevant today.  The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

Both books are on planning.  It doesn’t matter how old you are unless you plan on checking out of here soon; there is always more to learn.  I think of Colonel Sanders, who was 64 years old when his business started to take off. 

You can Run While You Pray and or Run with Your Dreams.  Either way, you can’t move from here to there or step A to step B without movement.

Outwitting the Devil – written in 1929 – released in 2011, the responder to the questions is either the Devil or Napoleon Hill’s “other self,” Napoleon Hill. 1929 would have never been ready for Outwitting the Devil, and so it was released in 2011. 

If you read it, and you want to put what you learn into practice, let me know; I created a Quick Goal Planning Chart based on Napoleon Hill’s discussion in the book.   

Napoleon Hill asks the Devil – I am beginning to see why successful business leaders are so careful in the choice of their business associates. Men who succeed in any calling usually establish their own environment by surrounding themselves with people who think and act in terms of success. Is that the idea?

Devil responds – Answer – That is the idea exactly. Observe, with profit, that the one thing all successful men insist upon is harmony among their business associates. Another trait of successful people is that they move with definiteness of purpose and insist upon their associates doing the same. Understand these two truths, and you understand the major difference between a Henry Ford and a day laborer.

Sharon Lechter – So, the principle of harmony is a benefit to us when we surround ourselves with other successful people. Think of the people you work with. Are they supporting you or holding you back?

Decide to live life to the fullest. You may be three feet from gold

In Three Feet From Gold – Napoleon Hill tells the story of R.U. Darby gave up his dreams of becoming rich by prospecting for gold a mere three feet before a major gold vein was hit.

Darby learned a costly lesson that changed him for the rest of his life.

• Impatience
  • Lack of knowledge
  • Frustration
  • Owed borrowed money from family and friends
  • Then he gave up…..

He sold the mine and equipment to a Junkman.

• The Junkman Hired a mining engineer to inspect the claim
  • Discovered the fault line
    • The Engineer explained that gold ran in long veins and that the previous owners had simply drilled through one side of the vein and come out the other.
    • The Engineer explained that if the Junkman were to go back and dig in the other direction, perpendicular to where the Darbys’ had made their first discovery, he would most likely tap back into the treasure.
  • The new owner, the Junkman, did what the Engineer told him to do and hit one of the largest pockets of gold ever found.
  • Three Feet away from where the Darbys’ quit mining.

More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than has ever been taken from the earth – Napoleon Hill.

Decide to live life to the fullest. You may be three feet from gold. – Napoleon Hill

R.U. Darby’s example is relevant today.  There are all kinds of success stories and stories of failure. 

You take what you learn and move forward.  In every failure, there is a lesson.  I bet if you had the same opportunity in the future, you would think like the Junkman.

I have watched companies (not small either) lack knowledge and patience, add to that a short attention span, and quit before ever seeing success.  You can do that when you are using someone else’s money, but you can’t when you have less money. 

You have to Think like the Junkman.

Sometimes with less, you tend to make better decisions, better planning, and more of an entrepreneurial mind. 

Three Feet from Gold is one of my all-time favorite stories.  I love it when the person you thought was least likely to succeed does. 

This is also is an example of how successful people can be from all walks of life. 

What does it take?

• Common Sense, Tenacity, and the Mentality of a Rocky Balboa.

I have the Rocky Balboa poster above on my exercise room wall as a reminder that life takes a fighter and that you can succeed no matter where you begin.

One of the comments on YouTube is the following from the movie – It is the greatest.

Rocky Balboa to his son:

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place, and I don’t care how tough you are; it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that, and that ain’t you! You’re better than that! I’m always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You’re my son, and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life.“

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Ignore the Noise and Move Forward