"The Napoleon Hill Story"
ONE ROOM, ONE WINDOW
Dr. Napoleon Hill was born October 26, 1883 in a one room log
cabin on Pound River in the mountains of Wise County in southwest Virginia, near
the spot made famous by John Fox in his "Trial of the Lonesome Pine." He was
born in poverty and never saw a railroad train until he was past twelve years of
age. His mother died when he was nine years old. A year later his father
remarried and his guiding light of inspiration, his stepmother, came into his
life.
Through the influence of his stepmother, he became a
newspaper reporter while still in his teens, supplying "local" news items to
some dozen or more papers throughout the State. The originality of his style
brought him to the attention of Robert L. Taylor, former Governor of Tennessee
and owner of Bob Taylor's Magazine, who employed Hill to write "success stories"
about famous men.
By this means Hill had planned to pay his way through
Georgetown University Law School. He had matriculated as a student in 1908 when
he received his first assignment from Governor Taylor to interview Andrew
Carnegie, one of the richest men in the world.
COMMISSIONED BY STEEL -- KING
Arrangements were made for a three hour interview, but
Carnegie strung it out to three days and nights, during which Hill was
entertained at the Carnegie home. During this time Carnegie sold Hill on the
idea of organizing the world's first philosophy of personal achievement, based
on the seventeen principles of success which he had used in accumulating his
vast fortune of over 500 million dollars. As a final test of Hill's staying
qualities, Carnegie put the question to him squarely, asking him if he were
given an opportunity to organize the philosophy with Carnegie's help whether or
not he would complete the task which probably would require twenty
years.
Unknown to Hill, Carnegie gave him sixty seconds in which to
make up his mind. In twenty-nine seconds Hill said that he would begin the job
and complete it. Later he learned that Carnegie was sitting with a stop-watch in
his hand, timing the answer. If it had gone beyond the sixty seconds, Hill would
have lost his chance, as Carnegie had learned from his observation of men that
those who are slow to make up their minds are also slow in carrying out their
decisions.
Carnegie provided Hill with no subsidy for the job except to
pay his expenses while he was interviewing Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison, John
Wanamaker and some 500 others of their caliber, explaining that he wished to
make sure that Hill learned to apply the philosophy he was to organize -- thus
proving its soundness by his own achievements.
When Hill reported back to his family the arrangements he had
made with Mr. Carnegie and explained that the job would require twenty years of
research before it would begin to pay off, they questioned his reasoning. But
Hill went on with the work.
AMERICA'S MOST SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATED
Carnegie introduced Hill to one after another of the
distinguished Leaders in other fields of business whose cooperation he enlisted
in contributing their own experiences to be included in the philosophy. Besides
Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison and John Wanamaker, some of the 500 best-known and
most successful men this country has ever known who contributed to this
philosophy included Dr, Alexander Graham Bell, Woodrow Wilson, Luther Burbank,
William Howard Taft, Cyrus H. K. Curtis, Edward Bok, Dr. Elmer R. Gates, William
Wrigley Jr., Col. Robert A. Dollar, Frances I. Du Pont, Charles M. Schwab, J.
Pierpont Morgan, Sr., E. M. Statler, George S. Parker, Harvey S. Firestone, F.
W. Woolworth, Judge Elbert H. Oary, Edwin C. Barnes, Charles P. Steinmetz,
Elbert Hubbard, George Eastman, James J. Hill, J. Ogden Armour, Dr. David Starr
Jordan, J. G. Chapline, John Burroughs, Frank A. Vanderlip, General R. A. Ayres,
and many others.
In 1921 Dr. Hill applied the philosophy personally for the
first time on a large scale. As a recent groom he visited his bride's family in
Lumberport, West Virginia and decided to do something about the poor
transportation into town. By applying the philosophy he got the B. & O.
Railroad, the Electric Interurban Railroad and the County Commissioners of
Harrison County to build a bridge over the Monongahela River and bring
streetcars to Lumberport. The incident brought Dr. Hill much favorable publicity
and opened the way for him to extend application of the philosophy into many
fields.
It came to the attention of the management of the LaSalle
Extension University in Chicago and Napoleon Hill. became the first advertising
manager of that school, and was largely responsible for getting LaSalle
operating on a sound financial basis. While at LaSalle he wrote a course in
advertising and salesmanship and later taught this course in classes at Bryant
and Stratton Business College in Chicago and through their correspondence
facilities.
PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR
He entered the service during World War I and was assigned to
President Woodrow Wilson's staff as public relations expert. In 1919-20 he
edited and published the "Golden Rule" magazine. By applying the philosophy he
so managed it that it earned a substantial profit the first year -- an
achievement rarely experienced in the publishing field. Dr. Napoleon Hill
compiled the first interpretation of the philosophy of individual achievement in
the Fall of 1923. The eight volume manuscript, "The Law of Success," was
published in 1928, -- exactly twenty years after the famous Carnegie
interview.
It had taken as long to compile it as Carnegie had said it
would. This work was distributed throughout the nation and Senor Manuel L.
Quezon had it adopted for the public schools of the Philippines.
TO WHITE HOUSE AGAIN
In 1933 Dr. Hill again became a presidential advisor and it
was he who gave F. D. R. the idea for his famed speech, -- "We have nothing to
fear but fear itself" -- which helped halt financial hysteria at the pit of the
depression. While on the Staff of F. D. R. he devoted his spare time to writing
and completing six books among them the famous "Think and Grow Rich". Dr. Hill
helped to inaugurate F. D. R.'s famous Fireside Chats and wrote much of the
contents of same.
When Honorable Daniel C. Roper was a member of the
President's Cabinet, during the year 1934, he gave a luncheon in honor of Dr.
Hill. When he introduced his guest he astonished his visitor by saying,
"Gentlemen, I have the honor of presenting a man who has made what is in my
opinion the greatest contribution to the generation in which we live, and one
that will insure his name a place among the names of the other great men who
have given us the American way of life."
WORLD - WIDE BEST SELLER
"Think and Grow Rich" was published in 1937 and immediately
captivated the public's Interest. It became a "best seller" throughout the world
and still remains high in public acclaim, interest and demand today. Results of
a poll on the books that most influenced the lives of successful men in the
country were published in the February, 1948 issue of CORONET Magazine. "Think
and Grow Rich" rated fourth. The book has been published and distributed
throughout the British Empire, Brazil, Canada, and withMahatma Gandhi's
endorsement in India. "Think and Grow Rich" is also now published as a Crest
Book in paperback by Fawcett Publications, Inc.
Although being printed at the rate of 100,000 per printing,
news stands across the nation experience sell-outs with this book so often that
it is difficult to keep sufficient copies on hand for sale. The total combined
hardback and paperback copies sold exceed TEN's of MILLION's.
In 1942 Dr. Hill was invited by R. G. LeTourneau, head of the
LeTourneau Company of Toccoa, Georgia to teach the seventeen principles of his
philosophy to the LeTourneau executives, foremen, and members of the supervisory
staff. It went over so well that Dr. Hill was then employed to teach the
philosophy to all of the 2,000 LeTourneau employees. Dr. Hill conducted a
half-hour radio program over station KFWB, Los Angeles, Sunday afternoons from
1947 through 1950.
The program rated exceptionally high for listening interest.
He advertised classes running in Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Santa Monica with
enrollments of 200 to 700 students in each class. In 1952 Napoleon Hill
Associates was organized by W. Clement Stone, President of Combined Insurance
Company of America, who attributes much of his success in the attainment of a
100 million dollar personal fortune to Dr. Napoleon Hill's philosophy. Mr. Stone
persuaded Dr. Hill to come out of retirement and devote five years to spreading
the success Philosophy. This fruitful association went on for ten years instead
of the originally planned five.
During these 10 years the lives of countless thousands of
persons of all ages and stations of life, in many parts of the world, were
affected for the better through books -- hardbound and paperback newspaper and
magazine articles, lectures, home study courses, class instruction, radio and TV
appearances, movies, tapes and last, but not least, advisory and financial help
to worthwhile individuals and causes.
"Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can
achieve," is the core of Dr. Hill's philosophy. You can, he says, "be anything
you want to be, if only you believe with sufficient conviction --and act in
accordance with your faith." The philosophy coincides with all religions and
remains politically unbranded. As a public speaker and teacher, Dr. Napoleon
Hill is as dynamic as a buzz saw in action. His mind is keenly alert and his
speeches are always punctuated with sharp, good humor. He understands and is
understood by people of all classes.<
NAPOLEON HILL FOUNDATION
On August 21, 1962, a dream for many years of Dr. Napoleon
Hill came into being. He founded the NAPOLEON HILL FOUNDATION and received an
eleemosynary corporate charter from the State of South Carolina. The Foundation.
was established to teach and otherwise disseminate throughout the world by
publication and instruction, and to perpetuate, the lifetime research, writing
and teaching of Philosopher and Author of Personal Success Philosophies of
Personal Achievement -- Dr. Napoleon Hill, as sponsored by Andrew
Carnegie.
Thus began a charitable institution destined to influence our
civilization for centuries to come. Already the Foundation has commenced a
World-wide Mission to train and develop people in the underdeveloped countries
of the free world. "The Science of Personal Achievement" success course Is being
taught as a major part of their rehabilitation program in prisons throughout the
United States.
This free contribution to society on the part of the
Foundation will be extended to prison programs through the free world. All of
this is a part of the Hill program destined to make this world a better place in
which to live. E. Harold Keown, was elected President of the Foundation and is
co-author with Dr. Napoleon Hill on "Philosophy of Success," "Blacks are Growing
Rich," and his latest book, "Succeed and Grow Rich Through
Persuasion."
In December, 1969, Dr. Hill and Mr. E. Harold
Keown selected Charles H. Cranford, who holds the honors of achieving the
Presidents Club and International Sales Leader with SMI, W. Clement Stone, and
Earl Nightingale, to head a new company to handle all of the Foundation's
commercial functions. Mr. Cranford is also co-author with Dr. Hill on his latest
course called "Science of Professional Selling." Dr. Hill has since passed away,
leaving the world a legacy that will grow as many students of the philosophy
inspire others to accomplishment.
Leading into the Classic & Legendary "Talk" that Inspired Millions of People
to GO INTO Business for themselves... . . .
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