Oliver Napoleon Hill was born on 26th October 1883 in south-west Virginia. He was an American self-help author who is widely known for his book Think and Grow Rich. This book was published in 1937, and it is among the 10 bestselling self-help books worldwide. His books mainly focused on the importance and means to achieve success in life.
He began writing as a 'mountain reporter' for his father's newspaper at the early age of 13. At the age of 17, he graduated from high school and went on to attend a business school in Virginia. He was encouraged by his step-mother to start writing. In 1909, Hill started the 'Automobile College of Washington' in Washington D.C., where he taught students to sell cars and build chauffer. He used to manufacture cars for the Carter Motor Corporation which got bankrupt in 1912 and Hill was accused of being a fraud. Thus, his college was shut down.
Hill married Florence Elizabeth Horner in 1910. He then relocated to Lumber port, West Virginia, and later to Chicago where he got the job at Lasalle Extension University. He also started a small business – the Betsy Ross Candy Shop. Hill later became the dean of George Washington institute.
He spent his life as an advisor of President Woodrow Wilson during World War I. He went on several new business ventures. He started personal magazines viz. Hill's Golden rule and Napoleon Hill's magazine. In 1928, Hill went to Philadelphia and published an eight-volume work 'The Law of Success'. By 1929, he bought a Rolls-Royce and owned 240 hectares of land. During the Great Depression, Hill's financial situation was adversely affected. In 1937, he published his best-selling book 'Think and Grow Rich' which won Alice Payne Hackett's '70 Years of Best Sellers'. Napoleon Hill died on 8th November 1970 at the age of 87.
Some of the most inspiring and motivating quotes by Napoleon Hill are as follows.
A goal is a dream with a deadline.
A dream with a deadline shows the clarity of thoughts in a person. Those who have planned how to achieve their dreams and the time it needs to get fulfilled are the most successful people. When you make a plan, it becomes easy to work accordingly. One feels encouraged to put his plan into action to achieve his goal. With proper planning and determination, one can achieve one goal easily.
The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.
Hard work pays off. Even if you get a job, where you feel you are underpaid, but you are still putting in efforts. One day you will be rewarded for your hard work. One should not focus on the amount he will get paid; rather, he should give in his full efforts to make his job perfect. He should focus on his hard work and toil. He will get what he deserves sooner or later.
Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.
It is important to dream but what is more important is to work hard to make that dream come true. Those who only dream can never fulfill those dreams but those who have a vision and who work hard every day to make their dream come true will live the life they have always dreamt of.
Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.
Every cloud has a silver lining. Every adversity, failure, and heartbreak comes to make you even stronger as a person. One should always remember everything happens for a reason. Every pain and emotional and mental turmoil one goes through will benefit him one way or the other in the near future. So one must accept and move on with a heart full of positivity and hope.
Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.
A 'never give up' attitude is what makes a person achieve heights in life. Those who never give up and don't succumb to adversities surely become successful in life.
A positive mind finds a way it can be done; A negative mind looks for all the ways it can't be done.
One should always remain optimistic in life. We should always look for the possibilities and how work can be done. If we search for the ways it cannot be done, we will never be able to achieve it. One can go ahead in life if he remains positive and hopeful in life.
Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.
You should always think before you speak. You can never take back the things you have said already. Your words and influence show what kind of a person you are. Your words determine your worth. A pleasing personality always becomes successful in life. He gets love and support from everybody throughout his life.
Plan your work and work your plan.
A person should make a proper plan for his work, and then he should work according to his plan. It is useless to make a plan if one doesn't accomplish it. So, one should outline their works and then execute them eventually.
No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it.
One should always believe himself. He should have faith in himself. Those who question their capabilities are not worthy of getting what they wish to. He should always have faith in himself; he should know that he is worthy of making his dreams possible. He should have faith in himself, and then only he deserves to get it.
If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.
When we don't get the opportunity to do great things, we can do whatever we are doing in a great manner and with full efforts. When we do small things in the long run, those small things add up to become a great thing. So it is very pivotal to do the small things perfectly too.
To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don't worry about darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.
If you want to do something great in life and shine bright like a star, you have to work very hard, you have to chase your dream and stay determined. You should never fear the hurdles that come your way because you can only prove your worth in times of hardship. Troubles come not to destroy you but to show your potential and strength.
You become what you think about.
Our minds are the most powerful weapons that we have. Our minds can do wonders. Our thoughts and beliefs guide our actions and build our personality. If one can control his mind, he can control his life's direction accordingly.
When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.
One should never fear defeat. Defeat is the sign that you are trying. When you face failure, you should not change your goal. Rather you should amend the ways to achieve your goal and try one more time.
Do not wait: the time will never be 'just right'. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.
There is nothing such as the 'right' time. We should consider 'now' as the most suitable time to start working. We should start working with whatever skills, qualities, and opportunities we have and with time we will gain experience and have better opportunities on our way.
The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.
One can only become successful if he has the urge to learn more. Those who urge to seek more knowledge, keep on learning more and more, and always succeed in life. A knowledgeable man is valued by others. Knowledge becomes his power, and he becomes capable of gaining what he wants.
A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.
A quitter will never win. Winning is all about trying harder and harder until one reaches his goal. Those who give up in between his journey can never reach their destination. One should always keep on trying no matter how hard the situation is or how much trouble one has to face. Those who dare to not give up on their dreams are the ultimate winners.
Our only limitations are those we set up in our own minds.
Your mind controls your actions. You should always take care of your thoughts and give them a proper direction. It is our mind, i.e. our thoughts which create limitations for us. We can achieve anything. There is nothing such as impossible in life. One can achieve anything he wants to only if he eliminates the limitations created in his head.
It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind.
We are the gatekeeper of our minds. We allow which thoughts should take over our minds. So it is our primary responsibility to have positive thoughts and emotions in our minds. A happy mind works wonders. One should fill his mind with optimistic and hopeful thoughts.
Most so-called failures are only temporary defeats.
People often try only once, and when they fail, they consider it as a permanent defeat and move on. One should never consider his failure as a defeat. Your failure is a temporary defeat. If you try a bit harder and keep trying, you will surely succeed and win one day.
There is very little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.
People are mostly alike but what makes them different is their attitude. Those who have a positive attitude, become very successful in life. On the contrary, those who complain and have negative approaches towards life can never achieve heights. A positive outlook always proves to be fruitful for an individual.
