THE SEVENTEEN PRINCIPLES.
A POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE.
This principle is listed because it is the cornerstone that supports the other sixteen. It is process by
which you can begin to change your life for better, for you are the only person on earth who can
control you attitude.
A positive mental attitude is the right attitude in a given situation. It is not a pollyannaish notion the
everything will turn out all right if you only look on the bright side. It is, rather, a conscious effort to
replace negative, self defeating thoughts with positive, self –fulfilling thoughts. It is a process that
must be practiced during every waking moment until it becomes a habit to greet self-doubt with
self-confidence.
DEFINITENESS OF PURPOSE.
Napoleon hill said that Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. You must first
know where you are going if you are to ever have any hope of arriving there.
Definiteness of purpose is more than goal setting. In simplest terms, Definiteness of purpose is your
road map to ic steps along the way.
Most important, having a definite purpose manifests itself in a burning desire that will help you
focus all your energies on reaching your goals. Your purpose will become your life. It will permeate
your mind, both conscious and subconscious.
GOING THE EXTRA MILE.
If you do more than you are paid to do, it is inevitable that you will eventually be paid for more than
you do. But that truism is not widely accepted. People seem to naturally divide themselves into two
groups.
The principle works for companies as well as individuals. In late 1982, when Johnson, Johnson
discovered that poison had been placed in some of its Tylenol capsules, the company didn’t hesitate
to mount a nationwide recall, despite almost immediate vindication of the company, and convincing
evidence that the tampering had taken place only in a few stores in Chicago.
History is filled with examples of sports figures, business people, statesmen and soldiers who reaped
rewards, both personal and financial, and inspired others by giving more than what was expected of
them.
LEARNING FROM DEFEAT.
One of W Clement Stone’s favourite motivating phrases is every adversity carries with it the seed of
an equivalent or greater opportunity for those who have PMA and apply it.
It’s true. Think of the people you have known personally who failed at one thing, only to go on to
great success at something else. Seldom is defeat permanent.
Failure often has the habit of placing one in a position that requires unusual effort. Many a man has
wrung victory from defeat, fighting with his back to the wall when he could not retreat.
Of course, they won. Most people do when they make up their minds to do so.
PERSONAL PRINCIPLES.
The personal characteristics you possess are almost as important as your attitude. To achieve the
level of success you desire, you must develop the traits implicit in in the personal principles, which
include initiative ,enthusiasm, a pleasing personality, self-discipline, budgeting time and money, and
maintaining sound physical and mental health.
PERSONAL INITIATIVE.
Author Elbert Hubbard said, The world bestows its big prizes, both in money and honors,for one
thing, and that is initiative. What is initiative? It is doing the right thing without being told.
His advice on initiative and Leadership is.
Make your own opportunities.
Be serious about doing your job better than it’s ever been done before.
Be willing to stand up and be counted – to make decisions and take risks ever in mundane jobs.
ENTHUSIASM.
Enthusiasm is as state of mind that inspires and arouses a person to action. It is contagious and
affects not only the enthused, but everyone with whom he or she comes in contact.
If you mix enthusiasm with you work, it will never be difficult or monotonous. It will be fun and
exciting. Enthusiasm will so energize your body that you can get along with half your usual amount
of sleep and at the same time accomplish twice as much without getting tired.
Some people are naturally enthusiastic, others have to develop enthusiasm. The best starting point
for developing enthusiasm is to do something you like, something that helps you achieve your goals.
This principle is a good example of of the interdependence of all seventeen principles. If you have
the Definiteness of purpose, controlled attention positive mental attitude and the other attributes, it
is easy to be enthusiastic.
A PLEASING PERSONALITY.
People like to do business with people they like. if competitive factors such as
quality,service,price,and delivery are more or less equal, the deciding factor for most of us will be to
deal with an individual or organization to whom we can relate. But how do you go about developing
a personality that others like.
Once you have the solid foundation of good character, there are some specific techniques you can
employ to make a good impression. None are new or startling, but all
Of these attributes combined will result in your being a person that others like to be around. The
techniques are.
Be genuinely interested in others. Find their good qualities and praise them.
Speak with force and conviction not only in meetings and public gatherings, but in private
conversations as well.
Dress for success according to your age, physical build, and the type of work you do.
Learn to shake hands in a way that expresses warmth and enthusiasm. If this seems silly and
basic, think back to the last cold-fish handshake you by attracting yourself to them. Talk about their
interests rather than your own.
Always remember that yours only limitations are those you set up in your own mind.
SELF DISSCIPLINE.
We are the product of a million years of evolution. For generations, our species has been refined,
animal, animal instincts and baser passions tempered, unity finally we represent the finest specimen
of animal that has ever lived.
We have the reason, poise, and balance to control ourselves, to do whatever we will.
You have the power to use the most highly organized form of energy known to man that of thought.
You have the power to think and to direct your thoughts in any direction you wish.
There is great power in self-discipline. It is the stuff that keeps you going, even though it’s uphill
every step of the way, until you reach your objective.
BUDGETING TIME AND MONEY.
John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia merchant king ,once said, the man who doesn’t ‘t have a fixed
system for the use of his time and money will never have financial security unless he has a rich
relative who leaves him a fortune.
Providers of professional services- doctors, lawyers, accountants, and consultants-are keenly. Aware
that time is the only thing they have to sell. They develop a system of accounting for their time, an
hourly rate that covers the cost of doing business and builds in a profit. It’s a lesson for us all, time is
our greatest asset.
Personal savings and investment are frequently the areas that are neglected when other expenses
increase, but there is an often overlooked side benefit of saving. In times of emergency, even a
modest bank account can give you courage and security. In tinges of prosperity, it will bolster your
self-confidence and reduce anxiety. Worry over money matters can kill your ambition...and you.
MAINTAINING SOUND PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH.
In recent years we have seen increased attention given to holistic medicine-the treatment of the
body and mind as one complete unit.
You need not be seriously ill to evoke this principle. It might be difficult to document, but no doubt
you have known people who simply refuse to be ill-perhaps you’ve experienced the phenomenon
yourself-because they have pressing commitments that they must honour, regardless of the
circumstances.
A healthy body will help you attain the confidence that, coupled with a positive mental attitude, will
help you achieve your loftiest goals.
THE MASTER MIND ALLIANCE.
There’s a condition in electronics known as resonance, in which great amounts of power can be
generated and sustained by small amounts of electromagnetic force applied at regular intervals.
The condition of sustained regenerative power also exists when two or more minds developed
by a friendly alliance meet to produce a combined power that is far greater than the sum of the
individual minds.
Make them members of your Master-mind Alliance, and you will find there is no problem too
difficult to solve, no goal too lofty to achieve.
TEAMWORK.
A professional sports team that practices teamwork may win consistently when the players work as
a team on the field, whether or not they like each other off the field.
Teamwork differs from the master-mind alliance in one important respect.
Sports team are good examples of such cooperative effort, musical groups are another. Individual
players may star or solo briefly, but the success of the group will depend on their collective effort,
however temporary.
Any great leader in business, finance, industry, or politics understands how to create a motivating
objective that will be enthusiastically embraced by every member of the team. Find a motive that
people can be persuaded to rally around in an emotional, enthusiastic spirit of cooperation and you
have created an unstoppable force.
CREATIVE VISION.
Imagination is the workshop of the mind, where old ideas and established facts can be reassembled
into new combinations and put to new uses. It might be called the hub of the seventeen principles,
because every other success principle leads to imagination and makes use of it, just as all telephone
lines lead to the exchange office for their source of power.
You will never have a definite purpose in life, you will never have self-confidence, and you will never
have initiative and leadership unless you first create these qualities in your mind and see yourself
owning them. Your imagination belongs to you. The more you use it, the better it will serve you.
CONTROLLED ATTENTION.
The principle of controlled attentions could best be defined as the ability, through habit and
practice, to keep your mind on one subject until you have thoroughly familiarized yourself with it
and mastered it.
You will achieve your goals when you focus your thoughts on your definite, written, realistic plan of
action and imagine yourself in the position of having accomplished what you set out to do.
If you paint this picture clearly in your imagination, it will soon become the object of a deep
desire. Use that desire to control your attention and you can accomplish things you thought were
impossible.
ACCURATE THINKING.
The human brain has often been compared to a computer, and in many ways it is similar. Both can
store and process information, but there is one significant difference in the methods they use.
The best method might be to approach all the’’facts’’with healthy scepticism. Ask yourself, is the
expert’s opinion supported by adequate research? Is it corroborated by others in the field? Does this
make sense? Is it consistent with my previous experience, knowledge, and training? Does it make
good common sense?
Accurate Thinking is assisted by what W. Clement Stone refers to as the R2A2 formula, to Recognize
and Relate, Assimilate and Apply information learned in field to the problem at hand.
APPLIED FAITH.
Applied faith, in simplest terms, moans action. It is the application of your faith in yourself, your faith
in your fellowman, your faith in opportunities that are available, and your faith in god under any
circumstances.
The more worthwhile your goal, the easier it is to follow all the principles of success in achieving it.
It is simply impossible not to be enthusiastic and dedicated when your objectives are worthy and
desirable.
When you decide to guide yourself according to a code of conduct that is fair and just, you set in
motion a power that will run its course for good in the lives of others, and will inevitably return to
help you like proverbial bread cast upon the waters
Eventually, if you perform enough good acts, you will develop such a posattracted to you, and the
kindnesses you extended will be returned to you from totally unforeseen sources.
USING THE COSMIC HABIT FORCE.
We are all ruled by habits. they become a part of our makeup thoughts and acts. We can control
our habits. The reason our habits are so important for success is that after a time they become an
unconscious way of doing things or thinking.
Good habits which lead to success can be learned and acquired, bad habits can broken and
replaced by good ones-at will-by anyone. Man is the only animal that can do this, we alone are not
unalterably ruled by instinct W. Clement stone is fond of saying that the only way you learn anything
is through repetition,repetition,repetition . if you repeat an idea often enough, it becomes yours.
Cosmic habit force does not work miracles. It cannot make something out of nothing, and doesn’t
tell you which course to follow.
All of your successes and failures are the result of habits you have formed. You can change your life
and control your destiny through the application of this principle.
There you have them; seventeen principles that have withstood the test of time. In the chapters that
follow, some of today’s top achievers describe in detail their own application of the principles of
success. Their experiences are yours to take and apply in your own life.
Conclusion.
Reading believe and achieve is like taking aspirin for the mind.
You can’t help but to feel better about yourself and the world around you. It’s one of great books
of our generation and should be mandatory reading for anyone seeking personal and professional
success.
