I recently read think and grow rich by Napolean Hill, and found it to be a profoundly positive book curtailing the human experience down to a few primitive emotions, and how to tap into them to get what you want.
The real thing I learned through the book was that desire is the driver behind fate, at least, as far as we can tell. It sounds kind of woo, and magical, but in America, where we have an excess of opportunity, this is definitely possible. If people try hard, and have a burning desire that they risk their life over, there is a good chance they will succeed. Persistence is its own kind of talent, and if someone has that in abundance, along with structure, they will win in life.
The book is preceded by a lovely little story. The story is about the gold rush, and about how a guy in the gold rush did an extensive search for gold, got tired, and gave up his materials to some poor guy waiting for his opportunity. The poor guy realized that the guy who sold the stuff was three feet from the gold, and became a millionaire.
This story would be one of absolute failure and resentment to any random person. Getting so close but failing. A cynic's wet dream. But this story, in the eyes of this bright young man, was a test of perseverance.
This perseverance paid off when the young man became an insurance salesman. He would no longer take no for an answer, and as a reward, he made 1 million dollars a year selling insurance during the great depression. During the great depression! What a man. What commitment!
I guess there's a lesson somewhere here. A glass half empty lesson. A lesson that maybe carries more weight to the people who have lived it. But a lesson nonetheless.
The lesson is failure with grace, and not losing sight of success. Failure with grace, but with the end in mind. Burned into your mind.
