Mr. Hill states that desire is, “the first step to riches”. This doesn’t mean the universal wish to become rich, but a true desire, a dominating desire to be rich.

How do you know if you have a dominating desire? Let’s use his yard stick. A dominating desire will be one in which there is no middle ground. It’s literally win or perish!

Strong words, but the idea is this. You do not recognize failure. Is this some kind of mental deception? No! It’s the idea that failure is not recognized as a reality.

Desire begins with a definite goal in mind and the attitude of win or perish. Up until the time you obtain, or attain, your goal, anything that occurs along the way is part of the process.

The only way you can possibly fail is to give up! You don’t fail if you don’t quit.

One problem is that we are all wired with pretty much the same mindset. If we don’t “feel” successful, and we are not able to confirm success through one or more of our senses we label our endeavor as a failure.

Fortunately the world’s greatest inventors and innovators had, and have, a different attitude. For an interesting read, read the biographies of Thomas Edison or Harlan Sanders. Obviously, these were two very different men in their pursuits, but they were identical in their refusal to accept failure.

What made the difference between their success and their potential failure was the fact that they never gave up. They never failed because they never quit.

What is required to succeed even in the face of overwhelming odds? According to Napoleon Hill it is by, “maintaining the state of mind known as a burning desire to win”.

As an aid to help us “maintain a state of mind” we will use an outline based on Mr. Hill’s from “Think and Grow Rich”.

• Fix in your mind exactly the amount of money you desire.
• Determine exactly what you are willing to give for this amount of money.
• Establish a definite date that you intend to have this amount of money.
• Create a plan of action, ready or not, to obtain this amount of money.
• Write out a clear concise statement of all of the above.
• Read twice a day, visualizing yourself already in possession of your money.

Today we are still in the early stages of transition from Industrial Age to Informational Age. We find ourselves in a similar situation as in 1937; the year “Think and Grow Rich” was first published. The needs of the masses are strikingly similar to those of that time period. Our very futures may depend on our ability to reprogram our minds and break out from our old thought processes.

“Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to cut all sources of retreat. Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win – essential to success”. – Napoleon Hill.

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