THE THIRTY MAJOR CAUSES OF FAILURE

Napoleon Hill, in his book “Think and Grow Rich” gives a description of thirty major causes of failure.

As you go over the list, check yourself by it, point by point for the purpose of discovering how many of these causes-of –failure stand between you and success.

 

THE THIRTY MAJOR CAUSES OF FAILURE

HOW MANY OF THESE ARE HOLDING YOU BACK?

 

  1. UNFAVORABLE HEREDITARY BACKGROUND. There

is but little, if anything, which can be done for people who are born

with a deficiency in brain power. This philosophy offers but one

method of bridging this weakness— through the aid of the Master

Mind. Observe with profit, however, that this is the ONLY one of

the thirty causes of failure which may not be easily corrected by any

individual.

  1. LACK OF A WELL-DEFINED PURPOSE IN LIFE. There is

no hope of success for the person who does not have a central

purpose, or definite goal at which to aim. Ninety-eight out of every

hundred of those whom I have analyzed, had no such aim. Perhaps

this was the major cause of their failure.

  1. LACK OF AMBITION TO AIM ABOVE MEDIOCRITY.

We offer no hope for the person who is so indifferent as not to want

to get ahead in life, and who is not willing to pay the price.

  1. INSUFFICIENT EDUCATION. This is a handicap which

may be overcome with comparative ease. Experience has proven

that the best-educated people are often those who are known as

“self-made,” or self-educated. It takes more than a college degree to

make one a person of education. Any person who is educated is

one who has learned to get whatever he wants in life without

violating the rights of others. Education consists, not so much of

knowledge, but of knowledge effectively and persistently

APPLIED. Men are paid, not merely for what they know, but more

particularly for WHAT THEY DO WITH THAT WHICH THEY

KNOW.

  1. LACK OF SELF-DISCIPLINE. Discipline comes through

self-control. This means that one must control all negative qualities.

Before you can control conditions, you must first control yourself.

Self-mastery is the hardest job you will ever tackle. If you do not

conquer self, you will be conquered by self. You may see at one and

the same time both your best friend and your greatest enemy, by

stepping in front of a mirror.

  1. ILL HEALTH. No person may enjoy outstanding success

without good health. Many of the causes of ill health are subject to

mastery and control. These, in the main are:

  1. Overeating of foods not conducive to health
  2. Wrong habits of thought; giving expression to

negatives.

  1. Wrong use of, and over indulgence in sex.
  2. Lack of proper physical exercise
  3. An inadequate supply of fresh air, due to improper

breathing.

  1. UNFAVORABLE ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

DURING CHILDHOOD. “As the twig is bent, so shall the tree

grow.” Most people who have criminal tendencies acquire them as

the result of bad environment, and improper associates during

childhood.

  1. PROCRASTINATION. This is one of the most common

causes of failure. “Old Man Procrastination” stands within the

shadow of every human being, waiting his opportunity to spoil

one’s chances of success. Most of us go through life as failures,

because we are waiting for the “time to be right” to start doing

something worthwhile. Do not wait. The time will never be “just

right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you

may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you

go along.

  1. LACK OF PERSISTENCE. Most of us are good “starters”

but poor “finishers” of everything we begin. Moreover, people are

prone to give up at the first signs of defeat. There is no substitute

for PERSISTENCE. The person who makes PERSISTENCE his

watch-word, discovers that “Old Man Failure” finally becomes

tired, and makes his departure. Failure cannot cope with

PERSISTENCE.

  1. NEGATIVE PERSONALITY. There is no hope of success

for the person who repels people through a negative personality.

Success comes through the application of POWER, and power is

attained through the cooperative efforts of other people. A negative

personality will not induce cooperation.

  1. LACK OF CONTROLLED SEXUAL URGE. Sex energy is

the most powerful of all the stimuli which move people into

ACTION. Because it is the most powerful of the emotions, it must

be controlled, through transmutation, and converted into other

channels.

  1. UNCONTROLLED DESIRE FOR “SOMETHING FOR

NOTHING.” The gambling instinct drives millions of people to

failure. Evidence of this may be found in a study of the Wall Street

crash of ’29, during which millions of people tried to make money

by gambling on stock margins.

  1. LACK OF A WELL DEFINED POWER OF DECISION.

Men who succeed reach decisions promptly, and change them, if at

all, very slowly. Men who fail, reach decisions, if at all, very slowly,

and change them frequently, and quickly. Indecision and

procrastination are twin brothers. Where one is found, the other

may usually be found also. Kill off this pair before they completely

“hog-tie” you to the treadmill of FAILURE.

  1. ONE OR MORE OF THE SIX BASIC FEARS. These fears

have been analyzed for you in a later chapter. They must be

mastered before you can market your services effectively.

  1. WRONG SELECTION OF A MATE IN MARRIAGE. This

a most common cause of failure. The relationship of marriage

brings people intimately into contact. Unless this relationship is

harmonious, failure is likely to follow. Moreover, it will be a form

of failure that is marked by misery and unhappiness, destroying all

signs of AMBITION.

  1. OVER-CAUTION. The person who takes no chances,

generally has to take whatever is left when others are through

choosing. Over-caution is as bad as under-caution. Both are

extremes to be guarded against. Life itself is filled with the element

of chance.

  1. WRONG SELECTION OF ASSOCIATES IN BUSINESS.

This is one of the most common causes of failure in business. In

marketing personal services, one should use great care to select an

employer who will be an inspiration, and who is, himself,

intelligent and successful. We emulate those with whom we

associate most closely. Pick an employer who is worth emulating.

  1. SUPERSTITION AND PREJUDICE. Superstition is a

form of fear. It is also a sign of ignorance. Men who succeed keep

open minds and are afraid of nothing.

  1. WRONG SELECTION OF A VOCATION. No man can

succeed in a line of endeavor which he does not like. The most

essential step in the marketing of personal services is that of

selecting an occupation into which you can throw yourself

wholeheartedly.

  1. LACK OF CONCENTRATION OF EFFORT. The “jack-of-

all-trades” seldom is good at any. Concentrate all of your efforts on

 

one DEFINITE CHIEF AIM.

  1. THE HABIT OF INDISCRIMINATE SPENDING. The

spend-thrift cannot succeed, mainly because he stands eternally in

FEAR OF POVERTY. Form the habit of systematic saving by

putting aside a definite percentage of your income. Money in the

 

bank gives one a very safe foundation of COURAGE when bar-

gaining for the sale of personal services. Without money, one must

 

take what one is offered, and be glad to get it.

  1. LACK OF ENTHUSIASM. Without enthusiasm one

cannot be convincing. Moreover, enthusiasm is contagious, and the

person who has it, under control, is generally welcome in any

group of people.

  1. INTOLERANCE. The person with a “closed” mmd on

any subject seldom gets ahead. Intolerance means that one has

stopped acquiring knowledge. The most damaging forms of

intolerance are those connected with religious, racial, and political

differences of opinion.

  1. INTEMPERANCE. The most damaging forms of

intemperance are connected with eating, strong drink, and sexual

activities. Overindulgence in any of these is fatal to success.

  1. INABILITY TO COOPERATE WITH OTHERS. More

people lose their positions and their big opportunities in life,

because of this fault, than for all other reasons combined. It is a

fault which no well-informed business man, or leader will tolerate.

  1. POSSESSION OF POWER THAT WAS NOT ACQUIRED

THROUGH SELF EFFORT. (Sons and daughters of wealthy men,

and others who inherit money which they did not earn). Power in

the hands of one who did not acquire it gradually, is often fatal to

success. QUICK RICHES are more dangerous than poverty.

  1. INTENTIONAL DISHONESTY. There is no substitute for

honesty. One may be temporarily dishonest by force of

circumstances over which one has no control, without permanent

damage. But, there is NO HOPE for the person who is dishonest by

choice. Sooner or later, his deeds will catch up with him, and he

will pay by loss of reputation, and perhaps even loss of liberty.

  1. EGOTISM AND VANITY. These qualities serve as red

lights which warn others to keep away. THEY ARE FATAL TO

SUCCESS.

  1. GUESSING INSTEAD OF THINKING. Most people are

too indifferent or lazy to acquire FACTS with which to THINK

ACCURATELY. They prefer to act on “opinions” created by

guesswork or snap-judgments.

  1. LACK OF CAPITAL. This is a common cause of failure

among those who start out in business for the first time, without

sufficient reserve of capital to absorb the shock of their mistakes,

and to carry them over until they have established a

REPUTATION.

 

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