napoleon hill was born on October 26, 1883, in Wise County, United States. Later, after doing an interview with businessman Andrew Carnegie, the author was inspired to write highly successful books. He also worked in advertising and was a consultant to the president. Franklin Roosevelt.
The writer, who died on November 8, 1970, in South Carolina, was one of the leading names in the New Thought Movement. Author of bestsellers of self-help, he published motivational books that defend the power of thought, such as his work Smarter than the devil.
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Summary about Napoleon Hill
American writer Napoleon Hill was born in 1883 and died in 1970.
In addition to being a writer, he worked in advertising and was a consultant.
He was part of the New Thought Movement.
His texts present motivational elements of self-help.
One of his most famous books is Smarter than the devil.
Who was Napoleon Hill
napoleon hill was born on October 26, 1883
, in Wise County, United States. He lost his mother when he was about 10 years old. At the age of 13, he was already writing for a newspaper. Around 1908, after an interview with businessman Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), the boy was inspired to create a philosophy of personal achievement.However, before success as a writer, he devoted himself to work in advertising as publicity manager for the University of Chicago Extension course for a year when he resigned. Then he was president of the Betsy Ross Candy Company, but he had problems with the partners and left the position.
He then created an advertising and sales school in partnership with the Bryant & Stratton School of Business. However, with the beginning of First World War, in 1914, the business came to an end. Then, Hill went to work in the United States government, during the term of the president. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924).
In 1918 he became magazine partner golden rule, with great success. However, the author was not happy and left the business. He then decided to create a training school for salespeople. Again, he was successful in an undertaking. Despite this, he did not achieve happiness.
Thus, Napoleon Hill abandoned yet another profitable business, in search of happiness, and, in 1923, his life took a big turn. He lived in Columbus, Ohio. He had no source of income, was experiencing financial difficulties and had no plans. So he got the idea to publish his manuscripts.
However, your first bestseller — the law of triumph — was not published until 1928. Later, from 1933 to 1936, was a consultant to President Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945). Years later, between 1952 and 1962, he was a partner of businessman W. Clement Stone (1902-2002) and lectured on the “science of success”.
The writer died on November 8, 1970, in South Carolina. He was married twice and had two children. His books are still very popular today. However, some of the author's assertions about his own biography have been contested, as they have no proof.
Works by Napoleon Hill
the law of triumph (1928)
The Steps of Fortune (1930)
think and get rich (1937)
Who sells gets rich (1939)
How to sell your way through life (1941)
The Master Key to Riches (1945)
Smarter than the devil (1948)
A year to get rich (1953)
unlimited success (1954)
keys to success (1959)
the science of success (1961)
How to increase your own salary (1963)
positive mental attitude (1964)
Peace of mind, wealth and happiness (1967)
Success and wealth by persuasion (1970)
You can perform your own miracles (1971)
Smarter than the devil
In this work, Napoleon Hill mentions a interview he did, around 1908, with Andrew Carnegie. Hill's goal is to find out how this American businessman became so successful. It is based on this interview that the author proceeds to research the causes of failure and success.
Next, he narrates his own trajectory and the decisive moment of his life. Thus, he has several unstable work experiences, with successes and failures. Until, one day, he is walking, when he receives “a command from my interior, which came in the form of a thought”.|1|
That command says the following:
It's time for you to complete the philosophy of success you started, following Carnegie's suggestion. Go home once and for all and start transferring the data you've gathered from your own mind into manuscripts.
The author finds, within himself, the “another me”, quoted by Carnegie during the interview. It is this “other me” that starts to influence Hill's actions: “From this moment on, you are completely in charge of your 'other me'. From now on, you must know that two entities occupy your body, in fact two similar entities occupy the body of every living being on Planet Earth.”
Thus, Hill must choose between fear and faith, which is the "other me". This experience transforms the author's life, as he abandons fear and surrenders to faith. Then the writer gets his books published and informs us that "my income from the sale of the books was large enough to supply all my needs."
In addition, he exposes his reflections on success and failure, and comes out in defense of faith and prayer. Thus, after relating his personal story, Hill finally arrives at the central point of the book, that is, the interview with the devil, however, first, he clarifies:
[...] the Devil I interviewed may have been as real as he claimed to be or he may have been a figment of my own imagination. Whatever it was, real or imagined, it is of very little importance compared to the nature and content of the information contained in the interview.
Then he transcribes his long interview with the devil. In the end, it comes to this conclusion:
There are three interconnected things within my interview with the Devil that interest me most. These three factors interest me because they were the most important influences in my life, a fact that any reader of my story can easily discern. The three most important factors are: the habit of drifting, the Law of Hypnotic Rhythm, through which all habits eventually become permanent, and the element of time.
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Characteristics of Napoleon Hill's work
Napoleon Hill was an author belonging to the New Thought Movement, which arose based on the theological ideas of the American Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-1866). According to this movement, positive thinking as well as meditation and prayer are powerful forces.
In this perspective, auto-suggestion and the subconscious are valued. In theory, with the power of thought, an individual would be able to transform reality itself. Therefore, Hill's works are self-help motivational books, which intend to help readers to achieve goals such as getting rich, succeeding and being happy.
Napoleon Hill quotes
Next, we are going to read some phrases by Napoleon Hill, taken from his text “Essay on Life” and from the book Smarter than the devil:
“Life, you cannot subdue me because I refuse to take your discipline too seriously.”
“I like laughter much better, and because I do, I use it as a substitute for sadness, pain, and disappointment.”
“Life, you are a fickle cheat.”
“I have a precious possession that no man can steal—it is the power to think my own thoughts and be myself.”
“Death is no worse than a long peaceful sleep, and sleep is the sweetest of human experiences.”
“Faith is the beginning of all great achievement.”
“If knowledge were wisdom, the achievements of science would not be converted into instruments of destruction.”
“Adversity frees people from vanity and self-centeredness.”
“The habit of doing anything that is useless leads to the formation of other habits that are also useless.”
“Your only limitation is the one you impose on your own mind.”
image credit
[1]citadel publisher (reproduction)
Note
|1| Translation by M. Conte Jr.
By Warley Souza
Literature Teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/biografia/napoleon-hill.htm
