As a young reporter, Napoleon Hill interviewed the richest man in America, Andrew Carnegie.  This occured in the early nineteen hundreds.

At that time the infrastructure of America industry was made of steel: railroads, bridges, buildings, tools, etc.  Carnegie Steel, later United States Steel, dominated the industry.

It was said that Carnegie owed much of his success to his remarkable ability to identify and hire outstanding men.

He was being interview by this young reporter, Hill, who asked questions incessantly.  Carnegie interrupted Hill, “Hill, I’ve a proposition for you.”  He said.

Carnegie told Hill that his assignment would be to learn the laws of success.  He would help him do it.

Carnegie told Hill that he would introduce him to the most successful people in America: captains of industry, great political leaders, sport superstars, spiritual leaders…   He would introduce him to the peak performers in America.

The plan was that Hill would interview them to determine what they had in common if anything.  What was it that made them successful?

Carnegie told Hill that he would provide a great service to humanity if he could discover the laws of success and communicate those laws to the rest of the world.

Finally, Carnegie told Hill that he would not pay him a penny.  Hill would have to do it on his own.  Carnegie would only provide the introductions.   Hill had one minute to think it over and then the offer would be withdrawn forever.

Hill agreed to the assignment.

Years later Hill had completed his assignment and had written a 1,100 page book entitled, The Laws of Success.

His publisher loved the book but not the title or the 1,100 pages.

The book was edited to about 250 pages and re-titled: Think & Grow Rich.

That book sold millions of copies and is still, decades later, a perennial seller.

Hill copyrighted his book in 1937.  Today, successful people around the world, including me, point to Hill’s book as a catalyst to their success.

I personally met a billionaire, Art Williams, who claimed that Hill’s book had an important impact upon him and his success.

Here’s something interesting.  Hill himself was broke, destitute in his elderly years.   How is that possible?

The answer is that knowing and doing are two entirely different things.

Fortunately for Hill, some of his rich students bailed him out.

Hill did not himself systematically practice his own discovered laws of success.  He did not implement or act on the principles of success.

One of the most important of these is to participate in a mastermind group.

What is a mastermind group?

Next week I’ll explain in detail what a mastermind group is and how you can become a part of one.