, This book is dedicated to
ANDREW CARNEGIE
whose motto was
"Anything in life worth having
is worth working for!"
and to
THE MOST IMPORTANT LIVING PERSON
===============================================
Quotations from Seven Came Through by Capt. E. Rickenbacker
and The Open Door by Helen Keller used by permission of
Doubleday & Company. Inc.
2
, PREFACE
The great Danish philosopher and religious thinker, Soren
Kierkegaard, once wrote, "It is the sign of a good book when the
book reads you."
You hold in your hands such a book — one that has not only
become a classic in the self-help field, but also has that rare
ability to relate to your problems, sympathize with them, and then
advise you on their solutions as a wise old friend would.
Still, I must warn you.
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude will do nothing for
you. If you truly wish to change your life for the better, and are
willing to pay a price in time and thinking and effort to reach
your goals — and if you're not kidding yourself — then you hold
in your hands a diamond plucked from a beach of pebbles, a road
map to a better future, a valuable blueprint that will enable you to
completely restructure your future.
I speak from experience. Many years ago, through my own
stupidities and faults, I lost everything that was precious to me —
my family, my home and my job. Nearly penniless, and with no
guidance, I began to wander the country, searching for myself
and for some answers that would make my life bearable.
I spent much time in public libraries because they were free —
and warm. I read everything from Plato to Peale, seeking that one
message that would explain to me where I had gone wrong —
and what I could do to salvage the remainder of my life.
I finally found my answer in W. Clement Stone's and Napoleon
Hill's Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. I have
employed the simple techniques and methods found in this classic
for more than fifteen years, and they have provided me with
riches and happiness far beyond anything I deserve. From a
3
, penniless vagrant without a single root, I eventually became the
president of two corporations and the executive editor of the
finest magazine of its kind in the world, Success Unlimited. I also
wrote six books, and one of them, The Greatest Salesman in the
World, has now become the best-selling book for salespeople of
all time; it has been translated into fourteen languages and has
sold more than three million copies.
None of these things would have been accomplished without the
daily application of the principles of success and living that I
found in Stone's and Hill's classic. If I could accomplish what I
did starting from ground zero, just think what you can do with all
you have going for you already.
We live in a strange and fast-moving world; each day a new false
prophet arises preaching his own brand of happiness and success
attainment. Like hula hoops and pet rocks they will all disappear
as quickly as they appeared, and when the fog lifts, the truth of
Stone's and Hill's book will still be changing the lives of
thousands yet unborn.
Do you really want to change your life for the better?
If you do, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude can be the
luckiest thing that has ever happened to you. Read it. Study it.
Read it again. Then get into action. It's all very simple, really, if
you make up your mind to work at it.
And wonderful things will begin happening to you.
I should know.
— OG MANDINO
4
ANDREW CARNEGIE
whose motto was
"Anything in life worth having
is worth working for!"
and to
THE MOST IMPORTANT LIVING PERSON
===============================================
Quotations from Seven Came Through by Capt. E. Rickenbacker
and The Open Door by Helen Keller used by permission of
Doubleday & Company. Inc.
2
, PREFACE
The great Danish philosopher and religious thinker, Soren
Kierkegaard, once wrote, "It is the sign of a good book when the
book reads you."
You hold in your hands such a book — one that has not only
become a classic in the self-help field, but also has that rare
ability to relate to your problems, sympathize with them, and then
advise you on their solutions as a wise old friend would.
Still, I must warn you.
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude will do nothing for
you. If you truly wish to change your life for the better, and are
willing to pay a price in time and thinking and effort to reach
your goals — and if you're not kidding yourself — then you hold
in your hands a diamond plucked from a beach of pebbles, a road
map to a better future, a valuable blueprint that will enable you to
completely restructure your future.
I speak from experience. Many years ago, through my own
stupidities and faults, I lost everything that was precious to me —
my family, my home and my job. Nearly penniless, and with no
guidance, I began to wander the country, searching for myself
and for some answers that would make my life bearable.
I spent much time in public libraries because they were free —
and warm. I read everything from Plato to Peale, seeking that one
message that would explain to me where I had gone wrong —
and what I could do to salvage the remainder of my life.
I finally found my answer in W. Clement Stone's and Napoleon
Hill's Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. I have
employed the simple techniques and methods found in this classic
for more than fifteen years, and they have provided me with
riches and happiness far beyond anything I deserve. From a
3
, penniless vagrant without a single root, I eventually became the
president of two corporations and the executive editor of the
finest magazine of its kind in the world, Success Unlimited. I also
wrote six books, and one of them, The Greatest Salesman in the
World, has now become the best-selling book for salespeople of
all time; it has been translated into fourteen languages and has
sold more than three million copies.
None of these things would have been accomplished without the
daily application of the principles of success and living that I
found in Stone's and Hill's classic. If I could accomplish what I
did starting from ground zero, just think what you can do with all
you have going for you already.
We live in a strange and fast-moving world; each day a new false
prophet arises preaching his own brand of happiness and success
attainment. Like hula hoops and pet rocks they will all disappear
as quickly as they appeared, and when the fog lifts, the truth of
Stone's and Hill's book will still be changing the lives of
thousands yet unborn.
Do you really want to change your life for the better?
If you do, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude can be the
luckiest thing that has ever happened to you. Read it. Study it.
Read it again. Then get into action. It's all very simple, really, if
you make up your mind to work at it.
And wonderful things will begin happening to you.
I should know.
— OG MANDINO
4
