Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day

It is virtually impossible to conceal the truth forever. It is the natural order of things that the truth will eventually come out. This single fact is the foundation of our judicial system and the basis on which all human relationships are formed. A business, professional, or personal relationship built upon a lie cannot long endure, but one that is founded on truth and equality of benefit for the participants is unlimited. Make it a practice to tell the truth in all that you do-even when it doesn’t matter-and you will form a habit of truthfulness. You will know instinctively that it is better to tell the truth and face the consequences than to launch a falsehood that will eventually make itself known to the world. of what others think.

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day

Officials who deal with fraud and theft say they are often amazed at the small amounts of money some people will steal. Some people will sell their integrity for a pittance. To those individuals, dishonest behavior is not an occasional occurrence-it is a way of life. Those who lie about insignificant things or steal trivial amounts of money will develop the habit of lying and stealing. As you look back on your own behavior, can you do so with pride in the knowledge that you have always been honest? If you cannot, perhaps it is time to think about the times when you chose dishonest behavior. Why did you do it? Was it worth it? Wouldn’t the consequences of being honest and truthful have been far better in those circumstances? Learn from your mistakes and vow that from this day forward you will always be honest.

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day

Schoolchildren sometimes play a game called “Honesty.” The rules are simple: For a designated period of time, the participants must tell the truth regardless of the subject. They then ask each other leading questions such as, “Do you like my hair?” “Do you think Lindsay is cute?” Inevitably someone gets angry when he or she discovers that these friends had been shading the truth, telling “little white lies,” to spare the person’s feelings. Even when the game is over, its lessons are not soon forgotten. Being honest with others doesn’t mean being brutal. It isn’t necessary to tell people everything you don’t like about them under the guise of being frank with them “for their own good.” Sometimes it’s better if we don’t know every person’s innermost feelings about us. Respect for another’s self-esteem often means telling them too little truth instead of too much.

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day

“Our strength grows out of our weakness,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson. “Not until we are pricked and stung and sorely shot at, awakens the indignation which arms itself with secret forces.” Strife and struggle can inspire you to overcome adversity and to propel yourself to real achievement. View every struggle as an opportunity for personal growth. It is the struggle itself, not the result that builds character. If you know you are right, stay the course even though the whole world seems to be against you and everyone you know questions your judgment. When you prevail-and you eventually will if you stick to the job-they will all tell you that they knew all along you could do it.

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day

Each of us has a finite amount of time, energy, and money; you must choose for yourself how you will spend them. If you elect to squander your resources by demeaning others in an attempt to advance your own interests, you will soon find that so much of your time and energy has been spent on gossip and slander that you have little time left for yourself. If you deal in malicious information, you’ll rarely be trusted. As the saying goes, “Those who talk about others to us will talk about us to others.”

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day

The subconscious mind makes no moral judgments. If you tell yourself something over and over, your subconscious mind will eventually accept even the most blatant lie as fact. Those whose lives and careers have been destroyed by dishonest behavior began the process of self-destruction when they convinced themselves that one slight infraction of the rules wouldn’t matter. When you sell yourself on an idea, make sure the idea is positive, beneficial to you, and harmless to others. Just as negative thoughts and deeds return to their originator, so do positive ones. When you practice honest, ethical behavior, you set in motion a force for good that will return to you many times over.

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day

There are many practical reasons to practice honesty. It requires far less effort to be truthful than to be deceitful, and in the long term the risks are fewer and the rewards greater. But in today’s complex society, the boundaries of acceptable behavior have been blurred until they are sometimes indistinguishable. Laws and codes of ethics establish minimum standards of behavior. Make sure you establish standards for yourself that exceed such minimums, a standard below which you will not allow yourself to fall, regardless of what others may do or say. Your own set of standards will allow you to decide quickly and easily upon an appropriate course of action when faced with a difficult problem. persevere in the face of great odds.