The turning point in the writing career of Napoleon Hill is considered to have occurred in 1908 with his assignment, as part of a series of articles about famous men, to interview the industrialist Andrew Carnegie, one of the most powerful men in the world at the time. Hill discovered that Carnegie believed that the process of success could be elaborated in a simple formula that could be duplicated by the average person. Impressed with Hill, Carnegie asked him if he was up to the task of putting together this information with only reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses to interview or analyze over 500 successful men and women, many of them millionaires, in order to discover and publish this formula for success.

As part of his research, Hill interviewed many of the most famous people of the time, including Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, George Eastman, Henry Ford, Elmer Gates, F.W. Woolworth, William Wrigley Jr., John Wanamaker, William Jennings Bryan, Joseph Stalin, Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Jennings Randolph. Do some of these names sound familiar?

Most of today’s philosophy of success teachers are using Hill’s philosophy to expand upon our world’s knowledge of personal development. It is clear that Hill’s work applies in all generations and is indeed timeless. I am reminded of that well known biblical passage.

“What has been will be again what has been done will be done again there is nothing new under the sun”.
Ecclesiastes 1:9

Below is one of Hill’s treatments on Optimism. May you be encouraged and inspired to greatness!

Optimism
by Napoleon Hill

Optimism is a matter of mental habit.  You can learn to practice the habit of optimism – and thereby greatly enhance your chances of achieving success.  Or you can drive yourself into the pit of pessimism and failure.

Optimism is one of the most important traits of a pleasing personality.  But it results largely from other traits we have discussed – a good sense of humor, hopefulness, the ability to overcome fear, contentment, a positive mental attitude, flexibility, enthusiasm, faith, and decisiveness.

The pessimist fears the Devil and spends most of his time fighting him.  The optimist loves his Creator and spends his time worshipping him.  You can fight pessimism through complete belief in two of the most basic truths of the Science of Success.

• “Whatever the mind of Man can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”
• “Every adversity and defeat carries the seed of an equivalent benefit, if we are ingenious enough to find it.”

Instead of worrying about the bad things that might befall you, spend a few minutes every day enumerating the pleasant events that will happen tomorrow, next week, next month, next year!  By thinking about them, you will find yourself laying plans to make them happen!  Then you are getting the habit of optimism.

Remember that no great leader or successful man was ever a pessimist.  What could such a leader promise his followers but despair and defeat?  Even in the darkest days of the War Between The States, leaders on both sides – such as Lincoln and Lee – held faith in better days to come.

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s natural optimism breathed a new spirit of hope into a dejected nation in the depths of the Depression.  Even infamous leaders – the Hitlers, Stalins, Mussolinis and Maos – relied on the promise of better days to win followers with such catch phrases as “Tomorrow the world,” “nothing to lose but your chains,” and “the new Asia.”

Can you – living under the finest social, economic and political system in human history – afford to have any less optimism?

Remember that like attracts like in human relations, no matter what the rule may be in the physical world.  An optimist tends to congregate with optimists, just as success attracts more success.

But the pessimist breeds worries and trouble without speaking a word or performing an act, because his negative mental attitude serves as a perfect magnet for them.

Optimism is, in itself, a kind of success.  For it means you have a healthy, peaceful and contented mind.  An exceedingly wealthy man can be a failure physically, if his constant pessimism has brought him a case of ulcers.

Optimism isn’t a state of mind which you throw judgment to the winds in starry-eyed belief that the future events will take care of themselves.  Such an outlook is only for fools.  It is, however, a firm belief that you can make things come out right by thinking ahead and deciding on a course of action based on sound judgment.  Let me give an example.

At the height of the big boom of 1928, there were those false optimists who refused to believe that the bubble could ever burst.  They jeered those few farsighted “pessimists” who warned that the nation was treading on dangerously inflationary and speculative ground.  When the bottom dropped out, the “optimists” were caught short.  Many lacked the spiritual strength to seek victory in defeat and revealed themselves as true pessimists.

But those who had looked ahead fearlessly and honestly had put themselves in position – by selling stock short and other devices – to make a killing.  They were revealed as the true optimists.

You can be that kind of optimist.  Learn to meet the future head-on.  Analyze it.  Weight the factors with clear judgment.  Then decide upon your course of action to make things turn out the way you want them.

You’ll find that the future holds nothing that you ever need fear.

Source: Success Unlimited. September, 1961. Vol. VIII, No. 9. Pgs. 25 & 26.

In this article, I will address the importance of choosing a positive attitude if you’ve chosen sales as a career. Notice I used the word “choosing” rather than the word “having” as it relates to attitude, to make the point that a positive attitude is a choice and not something that is beyond your control. The quote about attitude by Charles Swindoll sums it up nicely: “I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent of how I react to it.” What a powerful statement. It puts the ownership and responsibility of how we react to the world on us. This may feel like an awful lot of responsibility, but at the same time, it gives us control over our own circumstances and therefore offers a feeling of empowerment to make a difference in our own lives.

Attitude is a key element for anyone who has chosen sales as a career. If you are a sales professional, you know that having a positive attitude makes a world of difference in your success. In a profession that is conducive to rejection, you must have a positive attitude to be able to deal with the sometimes negative circumstances that occur simply as a result of being a salesperson.
How many times have you lost a sale and then immediately began thinking about what you could have done differently to win the business? The telling factor in your long-term success as a sales professional is your ability to learn from each “lost deal” and correct those mistakes the next time, which is all part of choosing a positive attitude.

It’s amazing how far a positive attitude can take you in the world of sales. Attitude is a huge part of what makes up your reputation, and often one of the first things people will notice when meeting you for the first time. It’s easy to have a positive attitude when things are going well; the difficulty comes in remaining positive when things don’t go the way you’d hoped.

Because attitude is a mind-set that reveals itself in behaviors, often acting positive even when you don’t feel positive will change the way you feel over time, which means you can change your attitude if you so desire.

Finally, to put a positive spin on the sometimes negative or losing circumstances that occur in sales, just think to yourself, “Yeah, losing stinks, but if it didn’t happen every once in a while, I wouldn’t appreciate winning!” or, as Jimmy Dean once said, “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sales to always reach my destination.” OK, OK, his quote used the word sails, not sales, but you get the point.

• Prepare a detailed job description
• Come up with a desired salary range
• Ready, aim, fire → that job description into CyberSpace!
• You now wait for Prince/Princess Charming candidate to somehow see your job and click and point their resume over to you. “Post & Hope” Sound Familiar??

It now becomes a waiting game- the clock is ticking and you go back to doing what you do best. You are literally putting your faith and trust in a system that has no emotion, feeling or could care less about your needs! You have relinquished control and are now at the mercy of the internet to make the most important decision you can make: hiring the best candidate you can! But you say wait a minute Michael, my old friend the internet has helped me before, “I have hired some good candidates through this system- it seems to be working just fine”. I say yes, I’m sure you have been able to attract candidates- in fact many candidates and you seemingly have your pick of the litter, right??

It’s the age of technology: everyone is pointing and clicking and if you are not, then you are a dinosaur- now go and open up a Twitter account! Okay back to my story, it’s been a few weeks, the resumes are trickling in, you are now receiving a fairly steady stream of paper flowing into your in-box. Your excitement level begins to rise because you are finally about to get this off your plate and move on to doing what you do best- big picture stuff, strategy, leading your organization and making those real grown up decisions… as soon as you can get this position filled it will be one less thing to keep you up at night. As you or your HR department start to weed through the vast variety of resumes, you are growing a little weary and tired of looking at resumes on your computer screen- there are just so many! But you are still excited because there are seemingly so many candidates to choose from and you can now see the finish line in sight. Some resumes have really caught your eye, and you start to prioritize the ones you like based on certain buzz words that leap off the page, or maybe it’s the organizations they worked for, or possibly it’s the good work history they seem to have, and lastly, man some of the resumes are like works of art! On the flip side some of the resumes are bland, lack content and just don’t look right, so you toss them aside and go with the ones that you or your HR department deem good based on some presupposition you have developed over the years. Or maybe you just have a gut feeling, whatever the case you are now ready to start calling and interviewing the candidates. The excitement only increases at this point because you are continuing to move one more step closer to getting this one off your plate and getting back to what you were hired to do- you know the big boy/girl stuff the important big picture stuff mentioned earlier.

As you begin to interview, it runs the gamut… In your mind based off of the resumes you liked, you have already started to mentally put together what this person will look like, and sound like and how they will most likely interview. You quickly discover, however, that in some cases what looked like a rock star on paper turns out to be an American Idol throw away! Your pent up excitement quickly turns to disappointment and discouragement, but you remember, “ah” I have several more interviews lined up and surely the perfect candidate will emerge. Why wouldn’t they?

The next round of interviews seem to go pretty well. There were still a couple of sour notes, but there did emerge a few candidates who passed your litmus test, and in fact appear to be good enough for what you are looking for.

At this stage of the process, you are little tired, the job has been open for a month or two or three, and you just want to be over and done with it. So you decide to bring a couple of candidates back in for second and third interviews. You are now ready to make an offer to one of the candidates (over and out)…. but wait you start to think about your decision- did I make the right one? Did I hire the right candidate? Did I miss anything? Did I overlook any candidates that may have been better?  How will I ever know? Did I jump the gun and make a hasty decision (hasty you say, are you kidding this thing has been open for 3 months and we have had an avalanche of responses to our job postings and have interviewed 10 candidates)? The pit in your stomach is slowly going away because you are now justifying your decision- and rightly so.  You have done your job and have put a lot of time and effort into this process of evaluating resumes and interviewing candidates. What more could you have done? Sigh of relief, you now can get back to the job you were hired to do- you know the grown up stuff we keep mentioning. Hats off to you- but not so fast… I hate to burst your bubble or question your hiring practices but I must- because that is what I do…. Stay with me on this.. You see you really had no choice- you made the best decision given what you had to work with…. Here comes that sinking feeling again- your process has flaws; it is unable to yield the kind of candidate your organization needs. Remember it has no feelings no emotions and it does not really care about you or your needs- it has one job and one job only, to sit idle and wait for someone to click and post their resume.

Did you know we are at war? Yes there is still a war for talent no matter what economic cycles we find ourselves in. It is because organizations like yours are constantly in state of change or in flux when it comes to hiring staff. There will always be a need to assess your current talent, replace marginal employees, or top grade your staff in order to meet you business goals.

The greatest weapon you can have in this war for talent is me, an experienced, war hardened, recruiter!

You see unlike the no feeling, uncaring cyber world, I am made of flesh and blood full of passion, enthusiasm, and skill- some God given, some honed and developed over the years by practicing my craft year-in and year -out. You see I won’t sit idly by and wait for a candidate to point and click their resume to me or you. I have developed a tried and true process and can bring forth candidates that your old friend/old system cannot give you… And yes, you should have that sinking feeling again right about now because I have introduced a paradigm that will force you to start questioning your current method of recruiting. You must now draw a sobering conclusion- my system is in fact flawed! “You will never know if you could have had a better candidate because you were never given the choice.” You could only pick and choose from the pool of candidates that your system produced.

The system is flawed it does not care about you or your needs.

There is a better way – a bullet proof system that, when properly executed and utilized, will ensure you will secure the very best talent- I guarantee it! You may think this is a bold statement, and it is- because the best candidates are typically not interested in sending their resumes into the perceived black hole of the job boards. In short, they are the candidates who are buried in excellence and are not looking at the job boards anyway. The only way, I mean the only way for you get this person is through a skillful recruiter who has the ability to find and recruit top talent. A top recruiter maintains a strong stable of difference makers with whom they have already developed a relationship with, and know in advance the type of opportunity it will take for them to make a move. A great recruiter has developed deep and lasting relationships with best of breed professionals who they can leverage on behalf of their clients.
I am in the marketplace everyday. I know where the best fishing holes are, the hidden coves where no one else is fishing. I know how to find top talent, recruit top talent- because I have an intuitive GPS system that takes me to the hidden talent streams which will never be accessed by print ads, job boards or any other new system the internet will inevitably come up with to make claim to be the next holy grail of finding talent.. Real recruiting is a tough business and it takes tactful verbal persuasion and engagement. My business is the business of people up close and personal! Casting a wider net is not the answer, knowing where the best fish are and having the right bait is far better than randomly trolling the ocean of the internet and hoping you catch your star fish!
Specific and targeted recruiting is the only way for you to avoid the question’s, “Did I miss something?” “Have I made the right hiring decision?”

How big of an issue is this for your organization?

Use Your Head To Get Your Foot in the Door
By Harvey Mackay

About two years ago, I had a conversation with several financial geniuses who shared a common fear:  the economic tsunami that was about to hit would affect more than just investments.  They were preparing for the fallout from the domino effect of the housing bust, stock market slide and uncertain business climate.
Talking about how to survive the gathering storm brought me to one certain conclusion:  job security was anything but secure.  The days of working at one company from youth to a gold watch at retirement are a distant memory.  Catapulting unemployment numbers included the most experienced employees of once-stable companies.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average person will have 10 to 14 jobs by age 38.  Other studies say most people will have 3 to 5 careers in their lifetimes.  The logical conclusion then is that we need to prepare for a perpetual job search, because almost no one is immune to these changing economic times.

The salesman in me started researching the best ways to sell yourself in an overcrowded job market.  I spoke to job hunters, headhunters, human relations managers, recruiters, and people who are currently employed but looking for a job or career change.  After hearing their fascinating stories, I wrote my new book, Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door:  Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You.  I took the best of their advice and, as a company owner who has hired hundreds of people over 50 years, added plenty of my own thoughts.
I am so is so confident in this book that I am offering a money-back guarantee if you practice these concepts and don’t have a job in six months!

Here are some nuggets from the book:
-The invisible web can help you learn more than you ever thought you could (or should) about your interviewer and the company you might be working for.  -One of the most frequent reasons people lose a job offer or fail to win an important concession is that they say “NO!” for the other person.  Don’t act or think that you’ve lost your chance till someone says so.
-Skilled interviewers put penetrating questions in an off-hand way.  Be constantly on your guard . . . but project confidence, not suspicion.
-Take fresh copies of your resume to an interview – 85 percent of interviewers don’t read the resume before the interview. -Remember the batting order:  The purpose of the resume is to get you an interview.  The purpose of the 1st interview is to get you a 2nd interview.  Jobs are rarely offered based on a single interview. -The best trial lawyers in the world dry-run their courtroom appeals in front of their own video cameras first.  Are you seriously rehearsing your job interviews with the help of business friends using your home video gear?
-Leave your last job with a cool head.  It’s crucial to getting your next job.  The reference most likely to be contacted (and believed) is your last employer.  And as much attention is paid to what isn’t said as what is.
-Avoid being the first candidate for an opening.  When companies start interviewing to fill a job, they are often unsure of what they want.
-Being out of a job isn’t a vacation.  Managing your time when you’re out of work and disciplining your job search plan are central to landing a spot.
-Having a presence on Facebook and other social networking sites is only beneficial to your job search if you project yourself as a responsible, thoughtful person with clear and realistic personal goals.
- When you’re invited to a job interview over lunch, experts agree:  ”It’s not about the food!”  Order something simple that won’t end up on your clothes.
- Nothing disrespects an interviewer more than having your cell phone ringing or taking a call during a conversation.  Turn it off beforehand!
- Volunteer work boosts your morale and self-image.  It can also help you rub shoulders with community leaders who might help you find a job.

Harvey Mackay has written five New York Times bestselling books, including two of the Times top 15 inspirational books of all time – Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware The Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt.  His new book, Use Your Head To Get Your Foot in the Door:  Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You will be in book stores Feb. 28.  In addition, Harvey is a nationally syndicated columnist and has been named one of the top five speakers in the world by Toastmasters International.  He is chairman of the $100 million MackayMitchell Envelope Company, a company he started in 1960.

• Prepare a detailed job description
• Come up with a desired salary range
• Ready, aim, fire → that job description into CyberSpace!
• You now wait for Prince/Princess Charming candidate to somehow see your job and click and point their resume over to you. “Post & Hope” Sound Familiar??

To read more about this please see my full post on the subject called “The Process is Flawed” by clicking here…