SECRET #1- Don’t Stop Three Feet from God

Before we move to today’s business, let’s consider these truths: Abraham was rich. His son Isaac was not only rich, he was very wealthy. I wonder what will be the experience of the third generation.  Money is the answer to everything. But Wealth is magnetic, attracted only to those who possess the right traits. If you are serious about being wealthy, you need to develop some traits. The moment you have the right traits and position yourself for bountiful opportunities around you, sooner or later, wealth we locate you. Also remember that, money at hand or fat bank account is not wealth. Riches have wings and can easily fly away. Wealth has to do with your assets and properties you have invested your money in.

Yesterday, we examined differences between wealth and riches. We were also able to see some of the habits of wealthy people. This includes change of mindset, living below your means, not aspiring to be a millionaire overnight and determination. All these are the foundational keys to becoming wealthy in life. Do you know that no matter how gigantic a door is, just a small key opens such door? No matter how wealthy you want to be, start small. Do not despise the day of little beginnings. Develop the right mindset. Be prudent with your present resources. Do not corner to become rich. Those who do so are always cut short in the prime of their lives. Also, learn to be persevering even in the face of obstacles and challenges. The story below as told by Napoleon Hill in “Think and Grow Rich” will illustrate the fact that we should not give until we reach our goals in life.

One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another. An uncle of R. U. Darby was caught by the ‘gold fever’ in the gold-rush days, and went west to DIG AND GROW RICH. He had never heard that more gold has been mined from the brains of men than has ever been taken from the earth. He staked a claim and went to work with pick and shovel. The going was hard, but his lust for gold was definite. After weeks of labor, he was rewarded by the discovery of the shining ore. He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly, he covered up the mine, retraced his footsteps to his home in Williamsburg, Maryland, and told his relatives and a few neighbors of the ‘strike.’

They got together money for the needed machinery, had it shipped. The uncle and Darby went back to work the mine. The first car of ore was mined, and shipped to a smelter. The returns proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars of that ore would clear the debts. Then would come the big killing in profits. Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle! Then something happened! The vein of gold ore disappeared! They had come to the end of the rainbow, and the pot of gold was no longer there! They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again— all to no avail.

Finally, they decided to QUIT. They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars, and took the train back home. Some ‘junk’ men are dumb, but not this one! He called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer advised that the project had failed, because the owners were not familiar with ‘fault lines.’ His calculations showed that the vein would be found JUST THREE FEET FROM WHERE THE DARBYS HAD STOPPED DRILLING! That is exactly where it was found!

The ‘Junk’ man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine, because he knew enough to seek expert counsel before giving up. Most of the money which went into the machinery was procured through the efforts of R. U. Darby, who was

then a very young man. The money came from his relatives and neighbors, because of their faith in him. He paid back every dollar of it, although he was years in doing so.

Long afterward, Mr. Darby recouped his loss many times over, when he made the discovery that DESIRE can be transmuted into gold. The discovery came after he went into the business of selling life insurance. Remembering that he lost a huge fortune, because he STOPPED three feet from gold, Darby profited by the experience in his chosen work, by the simple method of saying to himself, ‘I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say 'no' when

I ask them to buy insurance.’ Darby is one of a small group of fewer than fifty men who sell more than a million dollars in life insurance annually. He owes his ‘stickability’ to the lesson he learned from his ‘quitability’ in the gold mining business.

Before success comes in any man's life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to QUIT. That is exactly what the majority of men do.

More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them. Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.

End of story! Do you learn any lesson at all? Do no give up! No matter what you face, always keep your hope up! As long there is life, there is hope for your life. So, keep your hope alive, don’t give up. You will make it a big way. See you on Top! Till next time, Stay lifted.