A long time ago, a great warrior had to make a decision that insured his success on the
battlefield.
He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe whose men outnumbered his own.
He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy's country, unloaded the soldiers
and equipment, and then gave the order to burn the ships.
Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, “You see the boats going in smoke.
That means we cannot leave these shores alive unless we….. win!
We now have no choice --- we win or we perish!”
At the end of it all, they won.
Now, why did I tell you this story?
It’s because every person who wants to win in anything must be willing to burn his ships
and cut all sources of retreat.
Only then you can be sure of maintaining the state of mind which is essential to success
known as a burning desire.
Hey there!
I want to welcome you to the 2nd video of the 13 Steps to Riches Series.
If you haven’t watched the first introduction video yet of Think and Grow Rich then I suggest
you to pause this video right now and click on the link in the description below or the
video card because if you want to get the most of this series, you’re going to have
to watch all the videos in chronological order.
Now, last time we learned about the importance of thoughts which deeply ties with today’s
lesson of Napoleon Hill’s First Step to Riches, which is Desire: the Starting Point
of all Achievements.
You’re going to want to pay close attention to what’s coming next because reality is
everyone wishes for money but Napoleon Hill states that wishing alone will not bring money.
That’s just wishful thinking.
Unless… you have a true burning desire.
Without this desire, there would be no motivation or cause for action.
Having a burning desire will produce a greater chance for yourself to create wealth because
with that state of mind like the great warrior who ordered to burn the ships, winning the
battle became an obsession.
When you reach that state of mind, you begin planning on definite ways and means to acquire
riches, backing those plans with persistence.
Here’s a 6 practical steps from this chapter that Hill put together that was approved by
Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Edison, for directing your desire of riches into reality.
1) Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire.
2) Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money.
3) Establish a date you want to have it achieved.
4) Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and put it into action
5) Write out the exact amount of money you intend to acquire and what you are willing
to give in return for it.
And finally 6) Readout your statement out loud, twice
daily.
As you read, see, feel, and believe yourself in possession of the money.
Remember, for true success, desire is crucial because wishful thinking will only result
in frustration and it is this desire that catapults you into action that brings results.
Desire pushes you out of your comfort zone because when you desire something, you will
not sit idly without doing everything possible to attain the object of your desire.
I want finish off this chapter with an incredible true story that happened with Napoleon Hill’s
second son, Blair Hill.
Blair was born with no ears and the doctors said to Napoleon that the child might be deaf
and mute for the rest of his life.
Despite what the doctors told him, Napoleon's reaction was a silent vow, deep in his heart,
to find a way for Blair to one day be able to hear and to speak.
He thought of the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson as quote "The whole course of things goes
to teach us faith.
We need only obey.
There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening, we shall hear the right word."
So… what was that right word?
Napoleon said his word was desire.
More than anything, he wanted his son to be able to hear and speak.
And he was incredibly determined to transplant that burning desire into his own son as he
grew up.
One of the greatest things Napoleon did was creating bedtime stories for Blair with themes
"designed to develop in him self-reliance, imagination, and a keen desire to hear and
to be normal" as well as to establish the belief that “his affliction was not a liability,
but an asset of great value" Blair progressed through the grades despite
having poor hearing and went on to pursue advanced education at the University of West
Virginia.
And one day he got the chance to try hearing aids…… but had never found a device that
worked for him.
He didn’t give up.
His desire was still in him.
So later, in his last year of college, he got to try out a different hearing aid which
was specifically designed for him by another hearing aid company.
The hearing aid proved to be absolutely perfect for Blair!
He was so excited, he immediately telephoned his mother and was overjoyed to hear her voice
perfectly.
This was the most important turning point in Blair's life, for his and Napoleon's dream
of normal hearing and speech was now fulfilled.
This Burning Desire is what eventually led Blair in bringing hope and practical relief
to thousands of deafened people by working and expanding the hearing aid company.
This forever changed his limitation, into a priceless asset of value not just to himself
but to multitudes around the world.
What Blair learned from his father always stayed him.
And that was that "every adversity brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage."
Remember, in anything you want to do, desire is the starting point of all achievement….
Up Next!
Stay tuned to the next lesson that will progress in the following chapter called Faith: Visualization
and Believing in the Attainment of Desire.
If you want to learn more for yourself from this amazing book, you can get the book for
free via Audible!
Link down below.
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I’ll see you in the next video!