I want you to imagine this…
You begin open your eyes and suddenly realize that you’re in this medieval castle surrounded
by your most trusted knights, nobles, and consolers - all of which are surrounding a
large table with a battle plan map.
You then realize they’re all waiting for you to say something because after all, you
are their king!
You then look down and ponder a bit on the map as you observe your army’s pieces and
as well as your enemy’s.
As your warriors are planning, you begin to ask yourself,
“Will this plan really work?”
Out of nowhere, one of your soldiers runs inside the room,
“My lord!
I’m afraid I have some dire news.
Our initial plan has been compromised for the enemy has appeared from the east!”
That isn’t very good…
But then another thought appears in your mind…
“We’re simply going to counter with a new better plan.”
You immediately stand up and boldly tell your people, “Let us not swayed with discouragement
for this isn’t a rejection ending with failure, but instead simply view it as a simple redirection
towards a new victory!”
And so, with everyone encouraged by your uplifting words, all got back together in creating a
new plan.
You know... if you ever played a game of chess, what are the odds of that exact same thought
coming across your mind?
This brings us into Chapter 7 of Think and Grow Rich in which Napoleon Hill talks about
how one can achieve extraordinary success through the 6th Principle called... organized
planning.
Back in Chapter 2 of Think and Grow Rich, we learned about the 6 definite practical
steps as your first move in translating desire into money.
And if you remember, one of those steps is the formation of a definite, practical plan,
or plans.
So...
In order to obtain your desire of let’s say creating wealth, Napoleon Hill starts
this chapter by making it very clear that whatever plan you make, you will eventually
need to collaborate with others.
Much like a king does with his trusted people.
No individual can make it entirely on their own, but a plan devised with your people can outstand
among others.
So then, how should we really approach this?
Well, this goes with a quote that Hill said, “Every plan you adopt in your endeavor to
accumulate wealth should be the collective creation of yourself and every other member
of your mastermind group.”
Ah!
The Mastermind Group!
Remember back in Chapter 5 when we first learned about Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie having
Masterminds?
Hill shows that you must associate yourself with other people to create a direction and
put your plan into action.
And he calls this group of people, the ‘mastermind’, which he also dedicates a whole lot into another
chapter later in the book.
So to start this mastermind, Hill recommends following these 4 steps:
Step 1 - Ally yourself with a Master Mind group that consists of people who will help
you carry out your plan.
Step 2 - Before assembling the group, you need to determine what you can offer them
in return for their help and cooperation.
Step 3 - Meet with the group at least twice a week, or more if possible, until a solid
plan has been created.
Step 4 - Maintain good relations between you and the group at all times.
Now, this brings us to the next point in the chapter which mentions how just because you
finished crafting a plan, doesn’t mean that plan is going to work!
Just like the King with his warriors, their first plan was comprised.
There’s going to be bumps along the road with many times, those initial plans failing.
But Hill also states that the process of planning must be continuous and persistent as quote,
“If the first plan you adopt does not work successfully, replace it with a new plan.
If this new plan fails to work, replace it, in turn, with still another, and so on until
you find a plan which does work.”
Even Thomas Edison who’s known for his 10,000 failed plans before he perfected the
light bulb once said, “Temporary Defeat should mean only one thing
– the certain knowledge that there is something wrong with your plan.”
If your plans fail, go back to the drawing board and keep refining it until a plan works.
Now the rest of this chapter goes off into a variety of detailed practical guides that
Napoleon Hill dedicated a lot of his time to in this book.
So much so, this made the chapter OVER 40 pages long.
The main ideas from these guides are about rendering important useful services which
is about adding value to others and to the world.
There are important topics such as 11 qualities of a leader,
30 causes of failure in life, and the 28 questions you should ask yourself annually
to gauge your progress.
I highly recommend reading them through by yourself and apply some of the knowledge he brings
out!
Up Next!
Chapter 8 will dive into the 7th Step to Riches called Decision!
If you’re enjoying this series so far, please drop a like, that really will help a lot and
again!
Friendly reminder!
You can start this book right now for FREE thanks to Audible!
Link in the description below!
I’ll see you in the next chapter!