THE THIRTY MAJOR CAUSES OF FAILURE - HOW MANY OF THESE ARE HOLDING YOU BACK? (Napoleon Hill)

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From: "Mark's Motivation Mail" <motivation@chattertonworld.com>

Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2012 05:47:58 +0800

To: <Undisclosed-Recipient>

Subject: THE THIRTY MAJOR CAUSES OF FAILURE - HOW MANY OF THESE ARE HOLDING YOU BACK? (Napoleon Hill)

Life's greatest tragedy consists of men and women who earnestly try, and fail! The tragedy

lies in the overwhelmingly large majority of people who fail, as compared to the few who

succeed. I have had the privilege of analyzing several thousand men and women, 98% of

whom were classed as "failures." There is something radically wrong with a civilization, and

a system of education, which permit 98% of the people to go through life as failures. But I

did not write this book for the purpose of moralizing on the rights and wrongs of the world;

that would require a book a hundred times the size of this one.

 

My analysis work proved that there are thirty major reasons for failure, and thirteen major

principles through which people accumulate fortunes. In this chapter, a description of the

thirty major causes of failure will be given. 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.

 

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.

 

2. 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

 

3. 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.

 

4. 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.

 

5. 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.

 

6. 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:

 

a. Overeating of foods not conducive to health

b. Wrong habits of thought; giving expression to negatives.

c. Wrong use of, and over indulgence in sex.

d. Lack of proper physical exercise

e. An inadequate supply of fresh air, due to improper breathing.

 

7. 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.

8. 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.

 

9. 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.

 

10. 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.

 

11. 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.

 

12. 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.

 

13. 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.

 

14. 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.

 

15. 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.

 

16. 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.

 

17. 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 emu-lating.

 

18. 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.

 

19. 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.

 

20. 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.

 

21. 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 bargaining for the sale of personal services.

Without money, one must take what one is offered, and be glad to get it.

 

22. 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.

 

23. INTOLERANCE. The person with a "closed" mind 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.

 

24. 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.

 

25. 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.

 

26. 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.

 

27. 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.

 

28. EGOTISM AND VANITY. These qualities serve as red lights which warn others to keep

away. THEY ARE FATAL TO SUCCESS.

 

29. 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.

 

30. 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.

 

31. Under this, name any particular cause of failure from which you have suffered that has

not been included in the foregoing list.

 

In these thirty major causes of failure is found a description of the tragedy of life, which

obtains for practically every person who tries and fails. It will be helpful if you can induce

someone who knows you well to go over this list with you, and help to analyze you by the

thirty causes of failure. It may be beneficial if you try this alone. Most people cannot see

themselves as others see them. You may be one who cannot.