The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Andrew Carnegie’

Ted Nicholas, a very successful entrepreneur and copywriter, has always stressed the importance of continuous learning. Recently in his ezine, The Success Margin, he shared “21 Books I’ve Read That Changed My Life.” I would like to share his list with you. Mr. Nicholas also considered these 21 books to be his life mentors. I was ecstatic when he referred to the books as his mentors.

1. Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
2. Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
3. A new constitution for a new country – Michael Oliver
4. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
5. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff- Richard Carlson
6. Foreign Tax Havens – Marshall Langer
7. Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics – Harry Hazlitt
8. A Tale of Two Cities: 150th Anniversary (Signet Classics) – Charles Dickens
9. How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World: A Handbook for Personal Liberty – Harry Browne
10. The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and The Gospel of Wealth (Signet Classics) – Andrew Carnegie
11. An Intimate Story of Milton S. Hershey- Joseph Richard Snavely
12. The Wanamaker Diary – John Wannamaker
13. Five and Ten the Fabulous Life of F. W. Woolworth – John K Winkler
14. The Alger Series – Horatio Alger, Jr. (There are many books in the series)
15. Scientific Advertising – Claude C. Hopkins
16. Confessions of an Advertising Man – David Ogilvy
17. Making Ads Pay – John Caples
18. The Robert Collier Letter Book – Robert Collier
19. How I Made $1,000,000 in Mail Order-and You Can Too!- E. Joseph Cossman
20. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
21. The Little Engine That Could – Watty Piper

I like this list because it does not contain many of the usual suspects. Think and Grow Rich is on Mr. Nicholas’ list, and is one of the books that influenced many. I’ve read Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and I’m embarrassed to say that I preferred Earl Nightingale’s summary of the book. There you have it, I’ve wanted to get that off my chest for a very long time. I have read about five of the books listed and another five are on my list to read. I am always fascinated to see the kinds of books that influence highly accomplished individuals.

How many of the 21 books have you read, and what are your thoughts? What would your 21 books be? I had prepared a list of 15 books for my Facebook wall. I will add to that list and let you know what my 21 books are.

Please keep the information flowing, please provide comments.

Links for books are affiliate links.

If Napoleon Hill were alive, I think that he would have been a great blogger and would frequently blog about how people can attain true financial success. Like most accomplished individuals, Hill found success through repeated failures. He understood the concepts Pay it Forward and Social Responsibility and dedicated over 20 years of his life researching the formula for success. Best known for his runaway bestselling book Think and Grow Rich, he popularized the quote, ”What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

What does that quote mean to you? Do you agree or disagree with it? Why?

The quote tells me that I should be mindful of my thoughts, and live in the moment. It also tells me that I can accomplish any goal if I set my mind to it and take action.

Note: Based on what I have researched, I have written the following about Napoleon Hill. I am projecting what I think Napoleon Hill would say about personal achievement if he blogged about the topic.

About Napoleon Hill

Big Break: Commissioned by Andrew Carnegie without pay to research – which he did for over 20 years – the formula for success. The results of the research formed the basis for many of his most successful work.

Bestseller: Think and Grow Rich

Personal Mantra: What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve

Interesting Tidbit: Coined the phrase Master Mind

Below is a short (7 minutes) video with Napoleon Hill talking about his meeting with Andrew Carnegie. If you cannot view the video here for any reason, click on the link and you will be taken to the YouTube website where you can watch the video there.

Napoleon Hill talks about his meeting with Andrew Carnegie

Napoleon Hill’s Personal Achievement 101

• Start a mastermind group because no one succeeds alone
• 13 Steps to Success in Think and Grow Rich: Desire, faith, autosuggestion, specialized knowledge, imagination, organized planning, decision, persistence, power of the master mind, mystery of sex transmutation, subconscious mind, brain and sixth sense
• Monitor your thoughts throughout the day
• Study the habits of people you would like to emulate and interview them if possible
• What you give comes back to you
• “Whatever price you ask of life, life is willing to pay.” See the poem below My Wage by Jessie Rittenhouse. Also see blog post Using the Poem “My Wage” by Jessie B. Rittenhouse to Think Differently

My Wage

by Jessie B. Rittenhouse (1869 – 1948)

I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;

For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have paid.

What do you think of the poem My Wage? Was Napoleon Hill inspired by the poem? Or was Jessie Rittenhouse inspired by Napoleon Hill? My Wage is featured in Think and Grow Rich.

Further Reading & Sources

Napoleon Hill Biography – Life

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

Napoleon Hill Information

Napoleon Hill Biography & Notes

Napoleon Hill Biography

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