Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day The best-managed companies are those in which management creates opportunities for employees to own a piece of the business through various types of stock-ownership programs. Management has found that when individual employees are also owners, they are more loyal, more creative, and more cost-conscious. They also work harder and are more responsive to customers. If you have the opportunity to participate in employee stock programs, do so. If possible, extend the same opportunity to your employees. If such programs are not available to you, conduct yourself as though you were already an owner, and sooner or later you will be. It is inevitable that when you think like an owner, you will eventually become one.

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day In any business, profession, or occupation, there comes a time when you have to deliver. You may fake it for a time, pretending that you’re giving an honest effort, but eventually you will be measured by your deeds, not by your words. If you are more of a talker than a doer, make a vow today — right now — to change your behavior. You may be able to drift through life if you never do more than you are required to do, but you will never know what you might have achieved if you had only been willing to give a little more. The greatest opportunities always go to those who have an affinity for hard work, not an allergy to it.

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day Wally Amos, the man whom many consider to be the father of the gourmet cookie industry, has turned lemons into lemonade so often in his life that in his official portrait he holds a pitcher in one hand and a glass of lemonade in the other. A perennial optimist, Amos refuses to acknowledge that obstacles are anything other than stepping-stones to success. In a career that has spanned several decades, he has made it to the pinnacle of success several times, only to lose everything and be forced to start over. But he’s never lost faith. “You have to have the trust and faith to let go and not agonize,” he says. “Don’t waste your time worrying. Worry is not preparation. Analyze the situation and focus on solutions. There is always an answer.”

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day Going the extra mile can give you insight and a good reputation, both of which attract opportunity. Many obvious opportunities are found in places no one else has bothered to venture. If you put in the extra effort to make a good project an even better one, or you get to know your equipment better than anyone else on your shift, you will see things others overlook and be in a position to make use of them. Leaders who need a job done think first of people they know who will do it well. If other people respect you for the quantity and the quality of your work, you will find yourself advancing past others who regard their jobs as drudgery. For all the extra service that you’ve rendered, you’ll find yourself more than amply compensated by opportunities others never grasp.

It is a very basic human characteristic that we tend to respond to others in the same way they treat us. They will always remember the kindness you extended, and someday when you need it most, help will appear from a totally unexpected source. The kindness and courtesies you extend to others need not be large and expensive. A kind word, a friendly greeting, or assistance with a favorite project lets others know that you care enough about them to lend a helping hand. When you help another cheerfully and enthusiastically without asking for anything in return, the law of compensation places that person in your debt. You have made a friend who is now interested in your success.

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day Someone once said that no one can really motivate anyone else; all we can do is motivate ourselves and hope it catches on. You will probably never know how much you influence others with your behavior. When you always go the extra mile, you will influence those in your circle of friends and acquaintances, your family, your co-workers, and even your bosses to do more and better than they have done before. Your value to yourself and others is greatly enhanced by your ability to influence others to be happier, more productive people. There are no salary caps or career limits for those who lead others to great heights of success. Such people are simply too valuable.

Napoleon Hill Thought of the Day Christ’s admonition to the faithful in Matthew 5:41: “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain,” was in response to the Roman custom of allowing officers to force others to carry their load for a mile. The purpose of the biblical principle, similar to the idea of turning the other cheek, was to make good come from evil. You can add goodness to goodness by rendering beyond what you are asked to do. When you truly believe that the habit of going the extra mile is the only acceptable way to conduct yourself in all your dealings with others, when you are driven by a burning desire to serve your fellow man, you will be rewarded both financially and personally.

Though it may not seem so when you first encounter a serious blow, you can never lose two of the most important assets you have. These are the power of your mind and your freedom to use it. Once you have turned them to understanding what laid you low, you can begin forming new plans. You may not have the money you once had; you may lack the allies you had cultivated. But you still have the benefit of a universe that eventually rewards honest effort, as well as gaining the experience of mistakes you will never make again. Remember, no matter where you are now, whatever you can conceive and believe, you can achieve. Protect the most important thing you have.

Everybody loves a winner, it has been said, but nobody knows you when you’re down and out. One of the often unappreciated benefits of adversity is that it accelerates the process of identifying your true friends. Most of us have many acquaintances and associates, but we are indeed fortunate if we have a handful of real friends. You will very quickly identify yours when you ask them for help. The wise individual is the one who, when asked for assistance, recognizes that he may one day find himself in the same situation.

Del Smith, the millionaire founder and chairman of Evergreen International Aviation, has often said, “Thank God I was born poor; I learned how to work.” Like many others who made it to the top on their own, Smith believes that the greatest gift that can be given to a child is to teach him or her the value of work. It is a gift that can never be lost or stolen. It’s a natural desire of parents to give their children material things they didn’t have as children. Such generosity, however, often deprives children of the greatest gift you can give them: confidence in their ability to take care of themselves. When you make life “hard” for your children by requiring them to learn the value of work, they will have a far greater likelihood of success as adults.