Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Chapter 7
Organized Planning the Crystallization of Desire into Action
The Sixth Step toward Riches. You have learned that everything man creates or
acquires, begins in the form of DESIRE, that desire is taken on the first lap of its journey, from the
abstract to the concrete, into the workshop of the IMAGINATION, where PLANS for its transition are
created and organized.
In Chapter two, you were instructed to take six
definite, practical steps, as your first move in
translating the desire for money into its monetary
equivalent. One of these steps is the formation of a
DEFINITE, practical plan, or plans, through which
this transformation may be made. You will now be
instructed how to build plans which will be
practical, viz:—
(a) Ally yourself with a group of as many people as
you may need for the creation, and carrying out of
your plan, or plans for the accumulation of money—
making use of the "Master Mind" principle described
in a later chapter. (Compliance with this instruction
is absolutely essential. Do not neglect it.)
(b) Before forming your "Master Mind" alliance,
decide what advantages, and benefits, you may offer
the individual members of your group, in return for
their cooperation. No one will work indefinitely
without some form of compensation. No intelligent
person will either request or expect another to work
without adequate compensation, although this may not
always be in the form of money.
(c) Arrange to meet with the members of your
"Master Mind" group at least twice a week, and more
often if possible, until you have jointly perfected
the necessary plan, or plans for the accumulation of money.
(d) Maintain PERFECT HARMONY between yourself and
every member of your "Master Mind" group. If you fail
to carry out this instruction to the letter, you may
expect to meet with failure. The "Master Mind"
principle cannot obtain where PERFECT HARMONY does
not prevail.
Keep in mind these facts:—
First. You are engaged in an undertaking of major
importance to you. To be sure of success, you must
have plans which are faultless.
Second. You must have the advantage of the
experience, education, native ability and imagination
of other minds. This is in harmony with the methods
followed by every person who has accumulated a great
fortune.
No individual has sufficient experience, education,
native ability, and knowledge to insure the
accumulation of a great fortune, without the
cooperation of other people. Every plan you adopt, in
your endeavor to accumulate wealth, should be the
joint creation of yourself and every other member of
your "Master Mind" group. You may originate your own
plans, either in whole or in part, but SEE THAT THOSE
PLANS ARE CHECKED, AND APPROVED BY THE MEMBERS OF
YOUR "MASTER MIND" ALLIANCE.
If the first plan which you adopt does not work
successfully, replace it with a new plan, if this new
plan fails to work, replace it, in turn with still
another, and so on, until you find a plan which DOES
WORK. Right here is the point at which the majority
of men meet with failure, because of their lack of
PERSISTENCE in creating new plans to take the place
of those which fail.
The most intelligent man living cannot succeed in
accumulating money— nor in any other undertaking—
without plans which are practical and workable. Just
keep this fact in mind, and remember when your plans
fail, that temporary defeat is not permanent failure.
It may only mean that your plans have not been sound.
Build other plans. Start all over again.
Thomas A. Edison "failed" ten thousand times before
he perfected the incandescent electric light bulb.
That is— he met with temporary defeat ten thousand
times, before his efforts were crowned with success.
Temporary defeat should mean only one thing, the
certain knowledge that there is something wrong with
your plan. Millions of men go through life in misery
and poverty, because they lack a sound plan through
which to accumulate a fortune.
Henry Ford accumulated a fortune, not because of his
superior mind, but because he adopted and followed a
PLAN which proved to be sound. A thousand men could
be pointed out, each with a better education than
Ford's, yet each of whom lives in poverty, because he
does not possess the RIGHT plan for the accumulation
of money.
Your achievement can be no greater than your PLANS
are sound. That may seem to be an axiomatic
statement, but it is true. Samuel Insull lost his
fortune of over one hundred million dollars. The
Insull fortune was built on plans which were sound.
The business depression forced Mr. Insull to CHANGE
HIS PLANS; and the CHANGE brought "temporary defeat,"
because his new plans were NOT SOUND. Mr. Insull is
now an old man, he may, consequently, accept
"failure" instead of "temporary defeat," but if his
experience turns out to be FAILURE, it will be for
the reason that he lacks the fire of PERSISTENCE to
rebuild his plans.
No man is ever whipped, until he QUITS— in his own
mind.
This fact will be repeated many times, because it is
so easy to "take the count" at the first sign of defeat.
James J. Hill met with temporary defeat when he first
endeavored to raise the necessary capital to build a
railroad from the East to the West, but he, too
turned defeat into victory through new plans.
Henry Ford met with temporary defeat, not only at the
beginning of his automobile career, but after he had
gone far toward the top. He created new plans, and
went marching on to financial victory.
We see men who have accumulated great fortunes, but
we often recognize only their triumph, overlooking
the temporary defeats which they had to surmount
before "arriving."
NO FOLLOWER OF THIS PHILOSOPHY CAN REASONABLY EXPECT
TO ACCUMULATE A FORTUNE WITHOUT EXPERIENCING
"TEMPORARY DEFEAT."
When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your
plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set
sail once more toward your coveted goal. If you give
up before your goal has been reached, you are a "quitter."
A QUITTER NEVER WINS—AND— A WINNER NEVER QUITS.
Lift this sentence out, write it on a piece of paper
in letters an inch high, and place it where you will
see it every night before you go to sleep, and every
morning before you go to work.
When you begin to select members for your "Master
Mind" group, endeavor to select those who do not take
defeat seriously.
Some people foolishly believe that only MONEY can
make money. This is not true! DESIRE, transmuted into
its monetary equivalent, through the principles laid
down here, is the agency through which money is
"made." Money, of itself, is nothing but inert
matter. It cannot move, think, or talk, but it can
"hear" when a man who DESIRES it, calls it to come!
PLANNING THE SALE OF SERVICES
The remainder of this chapter has been given over to
a description of ways and means of marketing personal
services. The information here conveyed will be of
practical help to any person having any form of
personal services to market, but it will be of
priceless benefit to those who aspire to leadership
in their chosen occupations.
Intelligent planning is essential for success in any
undertaking designed to accumulate riches. Here will
be found detailed instructions to those who must
begin the accumulation of riches by selling personal
services.
It should be encouraging to know that practically all
the great fortunes began in the form of compensation
for personal services, or from the sale of IDEAS.
What else, except ideas and personal services, would
one not possessed of property have to give in return for riches?
Broadly speaking, there are two types of people in
the world. One type is known as LEADERS, and the
other as FOLLOWERS. Decide at the outset whether you
intend to become a leader in your chosen calling, or
remain a follower. The difference in compensation is
vast. The follower cannot reasonably expect the
compensation to which a leader is entitled, although
many followers make the mistake of expecting such pay.
It is no disgrace to be a follower. On the other
hand, it is no credit to remain a follower. Most
great leaders began in the capacity of followers.
They became great leaders because they were
INTELLIGENT FOLLOWERS. With few exceptions, the man
who cannot follow a leader intelligently, cannot
become an efficient leader. The man who can follow a
leader most efficiently, is usually the man who
develops into leadership most rapidly. An intelligent
follower has many advantages, among them the
OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE FROM HIS LEADER.
THE MAJOR ATTRIBUTES OF LEADERSHIP
The following are important factors of leadership:—
1. UNWAVERING COURAGE based upon knowledge of self,
and of one's occupation. No follower wishes to be
dominated by a leader who lacks self-confidence and
courage. No intelligent follower will be dominated by
such a leader very long.
2. SELF-CONTROL. The man who cannot control
himself, can never control others. Self-control sets
a mighty example for one's followers, which the more
intelligent will emulate.
3. A KEEN SENSE OF JUSTICE. Without a sense of
fairness and justice, no leader can command and
retain the respect of his followers.
4. DEFINITENESS OF DECISION. The man who wavers in
his decisions, shows that he is not sure of himself.
He cannot lead others successfully.
5. DEFINITENESS OF PLANS. The successful leader
must plan his work, and work his plan. A leader who
moves by guesswork, without practical, definite
plans, is comparable to a ship without a rudder.
Sooner or later he will land on the rocks.
6. THE HABIT OF DOING MORE THAN PAID FOR. One of
the penalties of leadership is the necessity of
willingness, upon the part of the leader, to do more
than he requires of his followers.
7. A PLEASING PERSONALITY. No slovenly, careless
person can become a successful leader. Leadership
calls for respect. Followers will not respect a
leader who does not grade high on all of the factors
of a Pleasing Personality.
8. SYMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING. The successful
leader must be in sympathy with his followers.
Moreover, he must understand them and their problems.
9. MASTERY OF DETAIL. Successful leadership calls
for mastery of details of the leader's position.
10. WILLINGNESS TO ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY. The
successful leader must be willing to assume
responsibility for the mistakes and the shortcomings
of his followers. If he tries to shift this
responsibility, he will not remain the leader. If one
of his followers makes a mistake, and shows himself
incompetent, the leader must consider that it is he who failed.
11. COOPERATION. The successful leader must
understand, and apply the principle of cooperative
effort and be able to induce his followers to do the
same. Leadership calls for POWER, and power calls for COOPERATION.
There are two forms of Leadership. The first, and by
far the most effective, is LEADERSHIP BY CONSENT of,
and with the sympathy of the followers. The second is
LEADERSHIP BY FORCE, without the consent and sympathy of the followers.
History is filled with evidences that Leadership by
Force cannot endure. The downfall and disappearance
of "Dictators" and kings is significant. It means
that people will not follow forced leadership indefinitely.
The world has just entered a new era of relationship
between leaders and followers, which very clearly
calls for new leaders, and a new brand of leadership
in business and industry. Those who belong to the old
school of leadership-by-force, must acquire an
understanding of the new brand of leadership
(cooperation) or be relegated to the rank and file of
the followers. There is no other way out for them.
The relationship of employer and employee, or of
leader and follower, in the future, will be one of
mutual cooperation, based upon an equitable division
of the profits of business. In the future, the
relationship of employer and employee will be more
like a partnership than it has been in the past.
Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, the Czar of
Russia, and the King of Spain were examples of
leadership by force. Their leadership passed. Without
much difficulty, one might point to the prototypes of
these ex-leaders, among the business, financial, and
labor leaders of America who have been dethroned or
slated to go. Leadership-by-consent of the followers
is the only brand which can endure!
Men may follow the forced leadership temporarily, but
they will not do so willingly.
The new brand of LEADERSHIP will embrace the eleven
factors of leadership, described in this chapter, as
well as some other factors. The man who makes these
the basis of his leadership, will find abundant
opportunity to lead in any walk of life. The
depression was prolonged, largely, because the world
lacked LEADERSHIP of the new brand. At the end of the
depression, the demand for leaders who are competent
to apply the new methods of leadership has greatly
exceeded the supply. Some of the old type of leaders
will reform and adapt themselves to the new brand of
leadership, but generally speaking, the world will
have to look for new timber for its leadership. This
necessity may be your OPPORTUNITY!
THE 10 MAJOR CAUSES OF FAILURE IN LEADERSHIP
We come now to the major faults of leaders who fail,
because it is just as essential to know WHAT NOT TO
DO as it is to know what to do.
1. INABILITY TO ORGANIZE DETAILS. Efficient
leadership calls for ability to organize and to
master details. No genuine leader is ever "too busy"
to do anything which may be required of him in his
capacity as leader. When a man, whether he is a
leader or follower, admits that he is "too busy" to
change his plans, or to give attention to any
emergency, he admits his inefficiency. The successful
leader must be the master of all details connected
with his position. That means, of course, that he
must acquire the habit of relegating details to
capable lieutenants.
2. UNWILLINGNESS TO RENDER HUMBLE SERVICE. Truly
great leaders are willing, when occasion demands, to
perform any sort of labor which they would ask
another to perform. "The greatest among ye shall be
the servant of all" is a truth which all able leaders
observe and respect.
3. EXPECTATION OF PAY FOR WHAT THEY "KNOW" INSTEAD
OF WHAT THEY DO WITH THAT WHICH THEY KNOW. The world
does not pay men for that which they "know." It pays
them for what they DO, or induce others to do.
4. FEAR OF COMPETITION FROM FOLLOWERS. The leader
who fears that one of his followers may take his
position is practically sure to realize that fear
sooner or later. The able leader trains understudies
to whom he may delegate, at will, any of the details
of his position. Only in this way may a leader
multiply himself and prepare himself to be at many
places, and give attention to many things at one
time. It is an eternal truth that men receive more
pay for their ABILITY TO GET OTHERS TO PERFORM, than
they could possibly earn by their own efforts. An
efficient leader may, through his knowledge of his
job and the magnetism of his personality, greatly
increase the efficiency of others, and induce them to
render more service and better service than they
could render without his aid.
5. LACK OF IMAGINATION. Without imagination, the
leader is incapable of meeting emergencies, and of
creating plans by which to guide his followers
efficiently.
6. SELFISHNESS. The leader who claims all the honor
for the work of his followers, is sure to be met by
resentment. The really great leader CLAIMS NONE OF
THE HONORS. He is contented to see the honors, when
there are any, go to his followers, because he knows
that most men will work harder for commendation and
recognition than they will for money alone.
7. INTEMPERANCE. Followers do not respect an
intemperate leader. Moreover, intemperance in any of
its various forms, destroys the endurance and the
vitality of all who indulge in it.
8. DISLOYALTY. Perhaps this should have come at the
head of the list. The leader who is not loyal to his
trust, and to his associates, those above him, and
those below him, cannot long maintain his leadership.
Disloyalty marks one as being less than the dust of
the earth, and brings down on one's head the contempt
he deserves. Lack of loyalty is one of the major
causes of failure in every walk of life.
9. EMPHASIS OF THE "AUTHORITY" OF LEADERSHIP. The
efficient leader leads by encouraging, and not by
trying to instil fear in the hearts of his followers.
The leader who tries to impress his followers with
his "authority" comes within the category of
leadership through FORCE. If a leader is a REAL
LEADER, he will have no need to advertise that fact
except by his conduct— his sympathy, understanding,
fairness, and a demonstration that he knows his job.
10. EMPHASIS OF TITLE. The competent leader
requires no "title" to give him the respect of his
followers. The man who makes too much over his title
generally has little else to emphasize. The doors to
the office of the real leader are open to all who
wish to enter, and his working quarters are free from
formality or ostentation.
These are among the more common of the causes of
failure in leadership. Any one of these faults is
sufficient to induce failure. Study the list
carefully if you aspire to leadership, and make sure
that you are free of these faults.
SOME FERTILE FIELDS IN WHICH "NEW LEADERSHIP" WILL BE
REQUIRED
Before leaving this chapter, your attention is called
to a few of the fertile fields in which there has
been a decline of leadership, and in which the new
type of leader may find an abundance of OPPORTUNITY.
First. In the field of politics there is a most
insistent demand for new leaders; a demand which
indicates nothing less than an emergency. The
majority of politicians have, seemingly, become highgrade,
legalized racketeers. They have increased
taxes and debauched the machinery of industry and
business until the people can no longer stand the burden.
Second. The banking business is undergoing a
reform. The leaders in this field have almost
entirely lost the confidence of the public. Already
the bankers have sensed the need of reform, and they have begun it.
Third. Industry calls for new leaders. The old type
of leaders thought and moved in terms of dividends
instead of thinking and moving in terms of human
equations! The future leader in industry, to endure,
must regard himself as a quasi-public official whose
duty it is to manage his trust in such a way that it
will work hardship on no individual, or group of
individuals. Exploitation of working men is a thing
of the past. Let the man who aspires to leadership in
the field of business, industry, and labor remember this.
Fourth. The religious leader of the future will be
forced to give more attention to the temporal needs
of his followers, in the solution of their economic
and personal problems of the present, and less
attention to the dead past, and the yet unborn future.
Fifth. In the professions of law, medicine, and
education, a new brand of leadership, and to some
extent, new leaders will become a necessity. This is
especially true in the field of education. The leader
in that field must, in the future, find ways and
means of teaching people HOW TO APPLY the knowledge
they receive in school. He must deal more with
PRACTICE and less with THEORY.
Sixth. New leaders will be required in the field of
Journalism. Newspapers of the future, to be conducted
successfully, must be divorced from "special
privilege" and relieved from the subsidy of
advertising. They must cease to be organs of
propaganda for the interests which patronize their
advertising columns. The type of newspaper which
publishes scandal and lewd pictures will eventually
go the way of all forces which debauch the human mind.
These are but a few of the fields in which
opportunities for new leaders and a new brand of
leadership are now available. The world is undergoing
a rapid change. This means that the media through
which the changes in human habits are promoted, must
be adapted to the changes. The media here described,
are the ones which, more than any others, determine
the trend of civilization.
WHEN AND HOW TO APPLY FOR A POSITION
The information described here is the net result of
many years of experience during which thousands of
men and women were helped to market their services
effectively. It can, therefore, be relied upon as
sound and practical.
MEDIA THROUGH WHICH SERVICES MAY BE MARKETED
Experience has proved that the following media offer
the most direct and effective methods of bringing the
buyer and seller of personal services together.
1. EMPLOYMENT BUREAUS. Care must be taken to select
only reputable bureaus, the management of which can
show adequate records of achievement of satisfactory
results. There are comparatively few such bureaus.
2. ADVERTISING in newspapers, trade journals,
magazines, and radio. Classified advertising may
usually be relied upon to produce satisfactory
results in the case of those who apply for clerical
or ordinary salaried positions. Display advertising
is more desirable in the case of those who seek
executive connections, the copy to appear in the
section of the paper which is most apt to come to the
attention of the class of employer being sought. The
copy should be prepared by an expert, who understands
how to inject sufficient selling qualities to produce replies.
3. PERSONAL LETTERS OF APPLICATION, directed to
particular firms or individuals most apt to need such
services as are being offered. Letters should be
neatly typed, ALWAYS, and signed by hand. With the
letter, should be sent a complete "brief" or outline
of the applicant's qualifications. Both the letter of
application and the brief of experience or
qualifications should be prepared by an expert. (See
instructions as to information to be supplied).
4. APPLICATION THROUGH PERSONAL ACQUAINTANCES. When
possible, the applicant should endeavor to approach
prospective employers through some mutual
acquaintance. This method of approach is particularly
advantageous in the case of those who seek executive
connections and do not wish to appear to be
"peddling" themselves.
5. APPLICATION IN PERSON. In some instances, it may
be more effective if the applicant offers personally,
his services to prospective employers, in which event
a complete written statement of qualifications for
the position should be presented, for the reason that
prospective employers often wish to discuss with
associates, one's record.
INFORMATION TO BE SUPPLIED IN A WRITTEN "BRIEF"
This brief should be prepared as carefully as a
lawyer would prepare the brief of a case to be tried
m court. Unless the applicant is experienced in the
preparation of such briefs, an expert should be
consulted, and his services enlisted for this
purpose. Successful merchants employ men and women
who understand the art and the psychology of
advertising to present the merits of their
merchandise. One who has personal services for sale
should do the same. The following information should
appear in the brief:
1. Education. State briefly, but definitely, what
schooling you have had, and in what subjects you
specialized in school, giving the reasons for that
specialization.
2. Experience. If you have had experience in
connection with positions similar to the one you
seek, describe it fully, state names and addresses of
former employers. Be sure to bring out clearly any
special experience you may have had which would equip
you to fill the position you seek.
3. References. Practically every business firm
desires to know all about the previous records,
antecedents, etc., of prospective employees who seek
positions of responsibility. Attach to your brief
photostatic copies of letters from:
a. Former employers
b. Teachers under whom you studied
c. Prominent people whose judgement may be relied upon.
4. Photograph of self. Attach to your brief a recent, unmounted photograph of yourself.
5. Apply for a specific position. Avoid application for a position without describing EXACTLY what
particular position you seek. Never apply for "just a position." That indicates you lack specialized
qualifications.
6. State your qualifications for the particular position for which you apply. Give full details as to
the reason you believe you are qualified for the particular position you seek. This is THE
APPLICATION. It will determine, more than anything else, what consideration you receive.
7. Offer to go to work on probation. In the majority of instances if you are determined to have
the position for which you apply, it will be most effective if you offer to work for a week, or a
month, or for a sufficient length of time to enable your prospective employer to judge your value WITHOUT
PAY. This may appear to be a radical suggestion, but experience has proved that it seldom fails to win at
least a trial. If you are SURE OF YOUR QUALIFICATIONS, a trial is all you need.
Incidentally, such an offer indicates that you have confidence in your ability to fill the position you
seek. It is most convincing. If your offer is accepted, and you make good, more than likely you
will be paid for your "probation" period. Make clear the fact that your offer is based upon:
a. Your confidence in your ability to fill the position.
b. Your confidence in your prospective employer's decision to employ you after trial.
c. Your DETERMINATION to have the position you seek.
8. Knowledge of your prospective employer's
business. Before applying for a position, do
sufficient research in connection with the business
to familiarize yourself thoroughly with that
business, and indicate in your brief the knowledge
you have acquired in this field. This will be
impressive, as it will indicate that you have
imagination, and a real interest in the position you seek.
Remember that it is not the lawyer who knows the most
law, but the one who best prepares his case, who
wins. If your "case" is properly prepared and
presented, your victory will have been more than half
won at the outset.
Do not be afraid of making your brief too long.
Employers are just as much interested in purchasing
the services of well-qualified applicants as you are
in securing employment. In fact, the success of most
successful employers is due, in the main, to their
ability to select well-qualified lieutenants. They
want all the information available.
Remember another thing; neatness in the preparation
of your brief will indicate that you are a
painstaking person. I have helped to prepare briefs
for clients which were so striking and out of the
ordinary that they resulted in the employment of the
applicant without a personal interview.
When your brief has been completed, have it neatly
bound by an experienced binder, and lettered by an
artist, or printer similar to the following:
BRIEF OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF
Robert K. Smith
APPLYING FOR THE POSITION OF
Private Secretary to The President of
THE BLANK COMPANY, Inc.
Change names each time brief is shown.
This personal touch is sure to command attention.
Have your brief neatly typed or mimeographed on the
finest paper you can obtain, and bound with a heavy
paper of the book-cover variety, the binder to be
changed, and the proper firm name to be inserted if
it is to be shown to more than one company. Your
photograph should be pasted on one of the pages of
your brief. Follow these instructions to the letter,
improving upon them wherever your imagination
suggests.
Successful salesmen groom themselves with care. They
understand that first impressions are lasting. Your
brief is your salesman. Give it a good suit of
clothes, so it will stand out in bold contrast to
anything your prospective employer ever saw, in the
way of an application for a position. If the position
you seek is worth having, it is worth going after
with care. Moreover, if you sell yourself to an
employer in a manner that impresses him with your
individuality, you probably will receive more money
for your services from the very start, than you would
if you applied for employment in the usual
conventional way.
If you seek employment through an advertising agency,
or an employment agency, have the agent use copies of
your brief in marketing your services. This will help
to gain preference for you, both with the agent, and
the prospective employers.
HOW TO GET THE EXACT POSITION YOU DESIRE
Everyone enjoys doing the kind of work for which he
is best suited. An artist loves to work with paints,
a craftsman with his hands, a writer loves to write.
Those with less definite talents have their
preferences for certain fields of business and
industry. If America does anything well, it offers a
full range of occupations, tilling the soil,
manufacturing, marketing, and the professions.
First. Decide EXACTLY what kind of a job you want. If
the job doesn't already exist, perhaps you can create it.
Second. Choose the company, or individual for whom you wish to work.
Third. Study your prospective employer, as to policies, personnel, and chances of advancement.
Fourth. By analysis of yourself, your talents and capabilities, figure WHAT YOU CAN OFFER, and plan
ways and means of giving advantages, services, developments, ideas that you believe you can
successfully deliver.
Fifth. Forget about "a job." Forget whether or not there is an opening. Forget the usual routine of
"have you got a job for me?" Concentrate on what you can give.
Sixth. Once you have your plan in mind, arrange with an experienced writer to put it on paper in neat
form, and in full detail.
Seventh. Present it to the proper person with authority and he will do the rest. Every company is
looking for men who can give something of value, whether it be ideas, services, or "connections."
Every company has room for the man who has a definite plan of action which is to the advantage of that company.
This line of procedure may take a few days or weeks of extra time, but the difference in income, in
advancement, and in gaining recognition will save years of hard work at small pay. It has many
advantages, the main one being that it will often save from one to five years of time in reaching a
chosen goal.
Every person who starts, or "gets in" half way up the
ladder, does so by deliberate and careful planning,
(excepting, of course, the Boss' son).
THE NEW WAY OF MARKETING SERVICES.
"JOBS" ARE NOW "PARTNERSHIPS"
Men and women who market their services to best
advantage in the future, must recognize the
stupendous change which has taken place in connection
with the relationship between employer and employee.
In the future, the "Golden Rule," and not the "Rule
of Gold" will be the dominating factor in the
marketing of merchandise as well as personal
services. The future relationship between employers
and their employees will be more in the nature of a
partnership consisting of:
a. The employer
b. The employee
c. The public they serve
This new way of marketing personal services is called
new for many reasons, first, both the employer and
the employee of the future will be considered as
fellow-employees whose business it will be to SERVE
THE PUBLIC EFFICIENTLY. In times past, employers, and
employees have bartered among themselves, driving the
best bargains they could with one another, not
considering that in the final analysis they were, in
reality, BARGAINING AT THE EXPENSE OF THE THIRD
PARTY, THE PUBLIC THEY SERVED.
The depression served as a mighty protest from an
injured public, whose rights had been trampled upon
in every direction by those who were clamoring for
individual advantages and profits. When the debris of
the depression shall have been cleared away, and
business shall have been once again restored to
balance, both employers and employees will recognize
that they are NO LONGER PRIVILEGED TO DRIVE BARGAINS
AT THE EXPENSE OF THOSE WHOM THEY SERVE. The real
employer of the future will be the public. This
should be kept uppermost in mind by every person
seeking to market personal services effectively.
Nearly every railroad in America is in financial
difficulty. Who does not remember the day when, if a
citizen enquired at the ticket office, the time of
departure of a train, he was abruptly referred to the
bulletin board instead of being politely given the information?
The street car companies have experienced a "change
of times" also. There was a time not so very long ago
when street car conductors took pride in giving
argument to passengers. Many of the street car tracks
have been removed and passengers ride on a bus, whose
driver is "the last word in politeness."
All over the country street car tracks are rusting
from abandonment, or have been taken up. Whereever
street cars are still in operation, passengers may
now ride without argument, and one may even hail the
car in the middle of the block, and the motorman will
OBLIGINGLY pick him up.
HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED! That is just the point I am
trying to emphasize. TIMES HAVE CHANGED! Moreover,
the change is reflected not merely in railroad
offices and on street cars, but in other walks of
life as well. The "public-be-damned" policy is now
passé. It has been supplanted by the "we-areobligingly-
at-your-service, sir," policy.
The bankers have learned a thing or two during this
rapid change which has taken place during the past
few years. Impoliteness on the part of a bank
official, or bank employee today is as rare as it was
conspicuous a dozen years ago. In the years past,
some bankers (not all of them, of course), carried an
atmosphere of austerity which gave every would-be
borrower a chill when he even thought of approaching
his banker for a loan.
The thousands of bank failures during the depression
had the effect of removing the mahogany doors behind
which bankers formerly barricaded themselves. They
now sit at desks in the open, where they may be seen
and approached at will by any depositor, or by anyone
who wishes to see them, and the whole atmosphere of
the bank is one of courtesy and understanding.
It used to be customary for customers to have to
stand and wait at the corner grocery until the clerks
were through passing the time of day with friends,
and the proprietor had finished making up his bank
deposit, before being waited upon. Chain stores,
managed by COURTEOUS MEN who do everything in the way
of service, short of shining the customer's shoes,
have PUSHED THE OLD-TIME MERCHANTS INTO THE
BACKGROUND. TIME MARCHES ON!
"Courtesy" and "Service" are the watch-words of
merchandising today, and apply to the person who is
marketing personal services even more directly than
to the employer whom he serves, because, in the final
analysis, both the employer and his employee are
EMPLOYED BY THE PUBLIC THEY SERVE. If they fail to
serve well, they pay by the loss of their privilege
of serving.
We can all remember the time when the gas-meter
reader pounded on the door hard enough to break the
panels. When the door was opened, he pushed his way
in, uninvited, with a scowl on his face which plainly
said, "what-the-hell-did-you-keep-me-waiting- for?"
All that has undergone a change. The meter-man now
conducts himself as a gentleman who is "delighted-tobe-
at-your-service- sir." Before the gas companies
learned that their scowling meter-men were
accumulating liabilities never to be cleared away,
the polite salesmen of oil burners came along and did
a land office business.
During the depression, I spent several months in the
anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania, studying
conditions which all but destroyed the coal industry.
Among several very significant discoveries, was the
fact that greed on the part of operators and their
employees was the chief cause of the loss of business
for the operators, and loss of jobs for the miners.
Through the pressure of a group of overzealous labor
leaders, representing the employees, and the greed
for profits on the part of the operators, the
anthracite business suddenly dwindled. The coal
operators and their employees drove sharp bargains
with one another, adding the cost of the "bargaining"
to the price of the coal, until, finally, they
discovered they had BUILT UP A WONDERFUL BUSINESS FOR
THE MANUFACTURERS OF OIL BURNING OUTFITS AND THE
PRODUCERS OF CRUDE OIL.
"The wages of sin is death!" Many have read this in
the Bible, but few have discovered its meaning. Now,
and for several years, the entire world has been
listening BY FORCE, to a sermon which might well be
called "WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH, THAT SHALL HE ALSO
REAP."
Nothing as widespread and effective as the depression
could possibly be "just a coincidence." Behind the
depression was a CAUSE. Nothing ever happens without
a CAUSE. In the main, the cause of the depression is
traceable directly to the worldwide habit of trying
to REAP without SOWING.
This should not be mistaken to mean that the
depression represents a crop which the world is being
FORCED to reap without having SOWN. The trouble is
that the world sowed the wrong sort of seed. Any
farmer knows he cannot sow the seed of thistles, and
reap a harvest of grain. Beginning at the outbreak of
the world war, the people of the world began to sow
the seed of service inadequate in both quality and
quantity. Nearly everyone was engaged in the pastime
of trying to GET WITHOUT GIVING.
These illustrations are brought to the attention of
those who have personal services to market, to show
that we are where we are, and what we are, because of
our own conduct! If there is a principle of cause and
effect, which controls business, finance, and
transportation, this same principle controls
individuals and determines their economic status.
WHAT IS YOUR "QQS" RATING?
The causes of success in marketing services
EFFECTIVELY and permanently, have been clearly
described. Unless those causes are studied, analyzed,
understood and APPLIED, no man can market his
services effectively and permanently. Every person
must be his own salesman of personal services. The
QUALITY and the QUANTITY of service rendered, and the
SPIRIT in which it is rendered, determine to a large
extent, the price, and the duration of employment. To
market Personal services effectively, (which means a
permanent market, at a satisfactory price, under
pleasant conditions), one must adopt and follow the
"QQS" formula which means that QUALITY, plus
QUANTITY, plus the proper SPIRIT of cooperation,
equals perfect salesmanship of service. Remember the
"QQS" formula, but do more—APPLY IT AS A HABIT!
Let us analyze the formula to make sure we understand
exactly what it means.
1. QUALITY of service shall be construed to mean the
performance of every detail, in connection with your
position, in the most efficient manner possible, with
the object of greater efficiency always in mind.
2. QUANTITY of service shall be understood to mean
the HABIT of rendering all the service of which you
are capable, at all times, with the purpose of
increasing the amount of service rendered as greater
skill is developed through practice and experience.
Emphasis is again placed on the word HABIT.
3. SPIRIT of service shall be construed to mean the
HABIT of agreeable, harmonious conduct which will
induce cooperation from associates and fellow
employees.
Adequacy of QUALITY and QUANTITY of service is not
sufficient to maintain a permanent market for your
services. The conduct, or the SPIRIT in which you
deliver service, is a strong determining factor in
connection with both the price you receive, and the
duration of employment.
Andrew Carnegie stressed this point more than others
in connection with his description of the factors
which lead to success in the marketing of personal
services. He emphasized again, and again, the
necessity for HARMONIOUS CONDUCT. He stressed the
fact that he would not retain any man, no matter how
great a QUANTITY, or how efficient the QUALITY of his
work, unless he worked in a spirit of HARMONY. Mr.
Carnegie insisted upon men being AGREEABLE.
To prove that he placed a high value upon this
quality, he permitted many men who conformed to his
standards to become very wealthy. Those who did not
conform, had to make room for others.
The importance of a pleasing personality has been
stressed, because it is a factor which enables one to
render service in the proper SPIRIT. If one has a
personality which PLEASES, and renders service in a
spirit of HARMONY, these assets often make up for
deficiencies in both the QUALITY, and the QUANTITY of
service one renders. Nothing, however, can be
SUCCESSFULLY SUBSTITUTED FOR PLEASING CONDUCT.
THE CAPITAL VALUE OF YOUR SERVICES
The person whose income is derived entirely from the
sale of personal services is no less a merchant than
the man who sells commodities, and it might well be
added, such a person is subject to EXACTLY THE SAME
RULES of conduct as the merchant who sells
merchandise.
This has been emphasized, because the majority of
people who live by the sale of personal services make
the mistake of considering themselves free from the
rules of conduct, and the responsibilities attached
to those who are engaged in marketing commodities.
The new way of marketing services has practically
forced both employer and. employee into partnership
alliances, through which both take into consideration
the rights of the third party, THE PUBLIC THEY SERVE.
The day of the "go-getter" has passed. He has been
supplanted by the "go-giver." High-pressure methods
in business finally blew the lid off. There will
never be the need to put the lid back on, because, in
the future, business will be conducted by methods
that will require no pressure.
The actual capital value of your brains may be
determined by the amount of income you can produce
(by marketing your services). A fair estimate of the
capital value of your services may be made by
multiplying your annual income by sixteen and twothirds,
as it is reasonable to estimate that your
annual income represents six percent of your capital
value. Money rents for 6% per annum. Money is worth
no more than brains. It is often worth much less.
Competent "brains," if effectively marketed,
represent a much more desirable form of capital than
that which is required to conduct a business dealing
in commodities, because "brains" are a form of
capital which cannot be permanently depreciated
through depressions, nor can this form of capital be
stolen or spent. Moreover, the money which is
essential for the conduct of business is as worthless
as a sand dune, until it has been mixed with
efficient "brains."
THE THIRTY MAJOR CAUSES OF FAILURE
HOW MANY OF THESE ARE HOLDING YOU BACK?
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 emulating.
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-ofall-
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 wellinformed
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.
The oldest of admonitions is "Man, know thyself!" If
you market merchandise successfully, you must know
the merchandise. The same is true in marketing
personal services. You should know all of your
weaknesses in order that you may either bridge them
or eliminate them entirely. You should know your
strength in order that you may call attention to it
when selling your services. You can know yourself
only through accurate analysis.
The folly of ignorance in connection with self was
displayed by a young man who applied to the manager
of a well known business for a position. He made a
very good impression until the manager asked him what
salary he expected. He replied that he had no fixed
sum in mind (lack of a definite aim). The manager
then said, "We will pay you all you are worth, alter
we try you out for a week."
"I will not accept it," the applicant replied,
"because I AM GETTING MORE THAN THAT WHERE I AM NOW
EMPLOYED."
Before you even start to negotiate for a readjustment
of your salary in your present position, or to seek
employment elsewhere, BE SURE THAT YOU ARE WORTH MORE
THAN YOU NOW RECEIVE.
It is one thing to WANT money— everyone wants more—
but it is something entirely different to be WORTH
MORE! Many people mistake their WANTS for their JUST
DUES. Your financial requirements or wants have
nothing whatever to do with your WORTH. Your value is
established entirely by your ability to render useful
service or your capacity to induce others to render
such service.
TAKE INVENTORY OF YOURSELF
28 QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ANSWER
Annual self-analysis is an essential in the effective
marketing of personal services, as is annual
inventory in merchandising. Moreover, the yearly
analysis should disclose a DECREASE IN FAULTS, and an
increase in VIRTUES. One goes ahead, stands still, or
goes backward in life. One's object should be, of
course, to go ahead. Annual self-analysis will
disclose whether advancement has been, made, and if
so, how much. It will also disclose any backward
steps one may have made. The effective marketing of
personal services requires one to move forward even
if the progress is slow.
Your annual self-analysis should be made at the end
of each year, so you can include in your New Year's
Resolutions any improvements which the analysis
indicates should be made. Take this inventory by
asking yourself the following questions, and by
checking your answers with the aid of someone who
will not permit you to deceive yourself as to their
accuracy.
SELF-ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PERSONAL INVENTORY
1. Have I attained the goal which I established as
my objective for this year? (You should work with a
definite yearly objective to be attained as a part of
your major life objective).
2. Have I delivered service of the best possible
QUALITY of which I was capable, or could I have
improved any part of this service?
3. Have I delivered service in the greatest
possible QUANTITY of which I was capable?
4. Has the spirit of my conduct been harmonious, and cooperative at all times?
5. Have I permitted the habit of PROCRASTINATION to decrease my efficiency, and if so, to what extent?
6. Have I improved my PERSONALITY, and if so, in what ways?
7. Have I been PERSISTENT in following my plans through to completion?
8. Have I reached DECISIONS PROMPTLY AND DEFINITELY on all occasions?
9. Have I permitted any one or more of the six basic fears to decrease my efficiency?
10. Have I been either "over-cautious," or "undercautious?"
11. Has my relationship with my associates in work been pleasant, or unpleasant? If it has been
unpleasant, has the fault been partly, or wholly mine?
12. Have I dissipated any of my energy through lack of CONCENTRATION of effort?
13. Have I been open minded and tolerant in connection with all subjects?
14. In what way have I improved my ability to render service?
15. Have I been intemperate in any of my habits?
16. Have I expressed, either openly or secretly, any form of EGOTISM?
17. Has my conduct toward my associates been such that it has induced them to RESPECT me?
18. Have my opinions and DECISIONS been based upon guesswork, or accuracy of analysis and THOUGHT?
19. Have I followed the habit of budgeting my time, my expenses, and my income, and have I been
conservative in these budgets?
20. How much time have I devoted to UNPROFITABLE effort which I might have used to better advantage?
21. How may I RE-BUDGET my time, and change my habits so I will be more efficient during the coming year?
22. Have I been guilty of any conduct which was not approved by my conscience?
23. In what ways have I rendered MORE SERVICE AND BETTER SERVICE than I was paid to render?
24. Have I been unfair to anyone, and if so, in what way?
25. If I had been the purchaser of my own services for the year, would I be satisfied with my purchase?
26. Am I in the right vocation, and if not, why not?
27. Has the purchaser of my services been satisfied with the service I have rendered, and if not, why not?
28. What is my present rating on the fundamental principles of success? (Make this rating fairly, and
frankly, and have it checked by someone who is courageous enough to do it accurately).
Having read and assimilated the information conveyed
through this chapter, you are now ready to create a
practical plan for marketing your personal services.
In this chapter will be found an adequate description
of every principle essential in planning the sale of
personal services, including the major attributes of
leadership; the most common causes of failure in
leadership; a description of the fields of
opportunity for leadership; the main causes of
failure in all walks of life, and the important
questions which should be used in self-analysis. This
extensive and detailed presentation of accurate
information has been included, because it will be
needed by all who must begin the accumulation of
riches by marketing personal services. Those who have
lost their fortunes, and those who are just beginning
to earn money, have nothing but personal services to
offer in return for riches, therefore it is essential
that they have available the practical information
needed to market services to best advantage.
The information contained in this chapter will be of
great value to all who aspire to attain leadership in
any calling. It will be particularly helpful to those
aiming to market their services as business or
industrial executives.
Complete assimilation and understanding of the
information here conveyed will be helpful in
marketing one's own services, and it will also help
one to become more analytical and capable of judging
people. The information will be priceless to
personnel directors, employment managers, and other
executives charged with the selection of employees,
and the maintenance of efficient organizations. If
you doubt this statement, test its soundness by
answering in writing the twenty-eight self-analysis
questions. That might be both interesting and
profitable, even though you do not doubt the
soundness of the statement.
WHERE AND HOW ONE MAY FIND OPPORTUNITIES TO ACCUMULATE RICHES
Now that we have analyzed the principles by which
riches may be accumulated, we naturally ask, "where
may one find favorable opportunities to apply these
principles?" Very well, let us take inventory and see
what the United States of America offer the person
seeking riches, great or small.
To begin with, let us remember, all of us, that we
live in a country where every law-abiding citizen
enjoys freedom of thought and freedom of deed
unequaled anywhere in the world. Most of us have
never taken inventory of the advantages of this
freedom. We have never compared our unlimited freedom
with the curtailed freedom in other countries.
Here we have freedom of thought, freedom in the
choice and enjoyment of education, freedom in
religion, freedom in politics, freedom in the choice
of a business, profession or occupation, freedom to
accumulate and own without molestation, ALL THE
PROPERTY WE CAN ACCUMULATE, freedom to choose our
place of residence, freedom in marriage, freedom
through equal opportunity to all races, freedom of
travel from one state to another, freedom in our
choice of foods, and freedom to AIM FOR ANY STATION
IN LIFE FOR WHICH WE HAVE PREPARED OURSELVES, even
for the presidency of the United States.
We have other forms of freedom, but this list will
give a bird's eye view of the most important, which
constitute OPPORTUNITY of the highest order. This
advantage of freedom is all the more conspicuous
because the United States is the only country
guaranteeing to every citizen, whether native born or
naturalized, so broad and varied a list of freedom.
Next, let us recount some of the blessings which our
widespread freedom has placed within our hands. Take
the average American family for example (meaning, the
family of average income) and sum up the benefits
available to every member of the family, in this land
of OPPORTUNITY and plenty!
a. FOOD. Next to freedom of thought and deed comes
FOOD, CLOTHING, and SHELTER, the three basic
necessities of life.
Because of our universal freedom the average American
family has available, at its very door, the choicest
selection of food to be found anywhere in the world,
and at prices within its financial range.
A family of two, living in the heart of Times Square
district of New York City, far removed from the
source of production of foods, took careful inventory
of the cost of a simple breakfast, with this astonishing result:
Articles of food; . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cost at the breakfast table:
Grape Fruit Juice, (From Florida) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02
Rippled Wheat Breakfast food (Kansas Farm). . . . . . . . 02
Tea (From China). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02
Bananas (From South America) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02½
Toasted Bread (From Kansas Farm) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01
Fresh Country Eggs (From Utah) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07
Sugar (From Cuba, or Utah) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00½
Butter and Cream (From New England) . . . . . . . . . . . . 03
Grand total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
It is not very difficult to obtain FOOD in a country
where two people can have breakfast consisting of all
they want or need for a dime apiece! Observe that
this simple breakfast was gathered, by some strange
form of magic (?) from China, South America, Utah,
Kansas and the New England States, and delivered on
the breakfast table, ready for consumption, in the
very heart of the most crowded city in America, at a
cost well within the means of the most humblelaborer.
The cost included all federal, state and city taxes!
(Here is a fact the politicians did not mention when
they were crying out to the voters to throw their
opponents out of office because the people were being
taxed to death).
b. SHELTER. This family lives in a comfortable
apartment, heated by steam, lighted with electricity,
with gas for cooking, all for $65.00 a month. In a
smaller city, or a more sparsely settled part of New
York city, the same apartment could be had for as low
as $20.00 a month.
The toast they had for breakfast in the food estimate
was toasted on an electric toaster, which cost but a
few dollars, the apartment is cleaned with a vacuum
sweeper that is run by electricity. Hot &nd cold
water is available, at all times, in the kitchen and
the bathroom. The food is kept cool in a refrigerator
that is run by electricity. The wife curls her hair,
washes her clothes and irons them with easily
operated electrical equipment, on power obtained by
sticking a plug in the wall. The husband shaves with
an electric shaver, and they receive entertainment
from all over the world, twenty four hours a day, if
they want it, without cost, by merely turning the
dial of their radio.
There are other conveniences in this apartment, but
the foregoing list will give a fair idea of some of
the concrete evidences of the freedom we, of America,
enjoy. (And this is neither political nor economic
propaganda).
c. CLOTHING. Anywhere in the United States, the woman
of average clothing requirements can dress very
comfortably and neatly for less than $200.00 a year,
and the average man can dress for the same, or less.
Only the three basic necessities of food, clothing,
and shelter have been mentioned. The average American
citizen has other privileges and advantages available
in return for modest effort, not exceeding eight
hours per day of labor. Among these is the privilege
of automobile transportation, with which one can go
and come at will, at very small cost.
The average American has security of property rights
not found in any other country in the world. He can
place his surplus money in a bank with the assurance
that his government will protect it, and make good to
him if the bank fails. If an American citizen wants
to travel from one state to another he needs no
passport, no one's permission. He may go when he
pleases, and return at will. Moreover, he may travel
by train, private automobile, bus, airplane, or ship,
as his pocketbook permits. In Germany, Russia, Italy,
and most of the other European and Oriental
countries, the people cannot travel with so much
freedom, and at so little cost.
THE "MIRACLE" THAT HAS PROVIDED THESE BLESSINGS
We often hear politicians proclaiming the freedom of
America, when they solicit votes, but seldom do they
take the time or devote sufficient effort to the
analysis of the source or nature of this "freedom."
Having no axe to grind, no grudge to express, no
ulterior motives to be carried out, I have the
privilege of going into a frank analysis of that
mysterious, abstract, greatly misunderstood
"SOMETHING" which gives to every citizen of America
more blessings, more opportunities to accumulate
wealth, more freedom of every nature, than may be
found in any other country.
I have the right to analyze the source and nature of
this UNSEEN POWER, because I know, and have known for
more than a quarter of a century, many of the men who
organized that power, and many who are now
responsible for its maintenance.
The name of this mysterious benefactor of mankind is CAPITAL!
CAPITAL consists not alone of money, but more
particularly of highly organized, intelligent groups
of men who plan ways and means of using money
efficiently for the good of the public, and
profitably to themselves.
These groups consist of scientists, educators,
chemists, inventors, business analysts, publicity
men, transportation experts, accountants, lawyers,
doctors, and both men and women who have highly
specialized knowledge in all fields of industry and
business. They pioneer, experiment, and blaze trails
in new fields of endeavor. They support colleges,
hospitals, public schools, build good roads, publish
newspapers, pay most of the cost of government, and
take care of the multitudinous detail essential to
human progress. Stated briefly, the capitalists are
the brains of civilization, because they supply the
entire fabric of which all education, enlightenment
and human progress consists.
Money, without brains, always is dangerous. Properly
used, it is the most important essential of
civilization. The simple breakfast here described
could not have been delivered to the New York family
at a dime each, or at any other price, if organized
capital had not provided the machinery, the ships,
the railroads, and the huge armies of trained men to
operate them.
Some slight idea of the importance of ORGANIZED
CAPITAL may be had by trying to imagine yourself
burdened with the responsibility of collecting,
without the aid of capital, and delivering to the New
York City family, the simple breakfast described.
To supply the tea, you would have to make a trip to
China or India, both a very long way from America.
Unless you are an excellent swimmer, you would become
rather tired before making the round trip. Then, too,
another problem would confront you. What would you
use for money, even if you had the physical endurance
to swim the ocean?
To supply the sugar, you would have to take another
long swim to Cuba, or a long walk to the sugar beet
section of Utah. But even then, you might come back
without the sugar, because organized effort and money
are necessary to produce sugar, to say nothing of
what is required to refine, transport, and deliver it
to the breakfast table anywhere in the United States.
The eggs, you could deliver easily enough from the
barn yards near New York City, but you would have a
very long walk to Florida and return, before you
could serve the two glasses of grapefruit juice.
You would have another long walk, to Kansas, or one
of the other wheat growing states, when you went
after the four slices of wheat bread.
The Rippled Wheat Biscuits would have to be omitted
from the menu, because they would not be available
except through the labor of a trained organization of
men and suitable machinery, ALL OF WHICH CALL FOR CAPITAL.
While resting, you could take off for another little
swim down to South America, where you would pick up a
couple of bananas, and on your return, you could take
a short walk to the nearest farm having a dairy and
pick up some butter and cream. Then your New York
City family would be ready to sit down and enjoy
breakfast, and you could collect your two dimes for your labor!
Seems absurd, doesn't it? Well, the procedure
described would be the only possible way these simple
items of food could be delivered to the heart of New
York City, if we had no capitalistic system.
The sum of money required for the building and
maintenance of the railroads and steam ships used in
the delivery of that simple breakfast is so huge that
it staggers one's imagination. It runs into hundreds
of millions of dollars, not to mention the armies of
trained employees required to man the ships and
trains. But, transportation is only a part of the
requirements of modern civilization in capitalistic
America. Before there can be anything to haul,
something must be grown from the ground, or
manufactured and prepared for market. This calls for
more millions of dollars for equipment, machinery,
boxing, marketing, and for the wages of millions of men and women.
Steam ships and railroads do not spring up from the
earth and function automatically. They come in
response to the call of civilization, through the
labor and ingenuity and organizing ability of men who
have IMAGINATION, FAITH, ENTHUSIASM, DECISION,
PERSISTENCE! These men are known as capitalists. They
are motivated by the desire to build, construct,
achieve, render useful service, earn profits and
accumulate riches. And, because they RENDER SERVICE
WITHOUT WHICH THERE WOULD BE NO CIVILIZATION, they
put themselves in the way of great riches.
Just to keep the record simple and understandable, I
will add that these capitalists are the self-same men
of whom most of us have heard soap-box orators speak.
They are the same men to whom radicals, racketeers,
dishonest politicians and grafting labor leaders
refer as "the predatory interests," or "Wall Street."
I am not attempting to present a brief for or against
any group of men or any system of economics. I am not
attempting to condemn collective bargaining when I
refer to "grafting labor leaders," nor do I aim to
give a clean bill of health to all individuals known
as capitalists.
The purpose of this book—A purpose to which I have
faithfully devoted over a quarter of a century— is to
present to all who want the knowledge, the most
dependable philosophy through which individuals may
accumulate riches in whatever amounts they desire.
I have here analyzed the economic advantages of the
capitalistic system for the two-fold purpose of
showing:
1. that all who seek riches must recognize and adapt themselves to the system that controls all approaches
to fortunes, large or small, and
2. to present the side of the picture opposite to that being shown by politicians and demagogues who
deliberately becloud the issues they bring up, by referring to organized capital as if it were
something poisonous.
This is a capitalistic country, it was developed
through the use of capital, and we who claim the
right to partake of the blessings of freedom and
opportunity, we who seek to accumulate riches here,
may as well know that neither riches nor opportunity
would be available to us if ORGANIZED CAPITAL had not
provided these benefits.
For more than twenty years it has been a somewhat
popular and growing pastime for radicals, selfseeking
politicians, racketeers, crooked labor
leaders, and on occasion religious leaders, to take
pot-shots at "WALL STREET, THE MONEY CHANGERS, and
BIG BUSINESS."
The practice became so general that we witnessed
during the business depression, the unbelievable
sight of high government officials lining up with the
cheap politicians, and labor leaders, with the openly
avowed purpose of throttling the system which has
made Industrial America the richest country on earth.
The line-up was so general and so well organized that
it prolonged the worst depression America has ever
known. It cost millions of men their jobs, because
those jobs were inseparably a part of the industrial
and capitalistic system which form the very backbone
of the nation.
During this unusual alliance of government officials
and self-seeking individuals who were endeavoring to
profit by declaring "open season" on the American
system of industry, a certain type of labor leader
joined forces with the politicians and offered to
deliver voters in return for legislation designed to
permit men to TAKE RICHES AWAY FROM INDUSTRY BY
ORGANIZED FORCE OF NUMBERS, INSTEAD OF THE BETTER
METHOD OF GIVING A FAIR DAY'S WORK FOR A FAIR DAY'S
PAY.
Millions of men and women throughout the nation are
still engaged in this popular pastime of trying to
GET without GIVING. Some of them are lined up with
labor unions, where they demand SHORTER HOURS AND
MORE PAY! Others do not take the trouble to work at
all. THEY DEMAND GOVERNMENT RELIEF AND ARE GETTING
IT. Their idea of their rights of freedom was
demonstrated in New York City, where violent
complaint was registered with the Postmaster, by a
group of "relief beneficiaries," because the Postmen
awakened them at 7: 30 A. M. to deliver Government
relief checks. They DEMANDED that the time of
delivery be set up to 10: 00 o'clock.
If you are one of those who believe that riches can
be accumulated by the mere act of men who organize
themselves into groups and demand MORE PAY for LESS
SERVICE, if you are one of those who DEMAND
Government relief without early morning disturbance
when the money is delivered to you, if you are one of
those who believe in trading their votes to
politicians in return for the passing of laws which
permit the raiding of the public treasury, you may
rest securely on your belief, with certain knowledge
that no one will disturb you, because THIS IS A FREE
COUNTRY WHERE EVERY MAN MAY THINK AS HE PLEASES,
where nearly everybody can live with but little
effort, where many may live well without doing any
work whatsoever.
However, you should know the full truth concerning
this FREEDOM of which so many people boast, and so
few understand. As great as it is, as far as it
reaches, as many privileges as it provides, IT DOES
NOT, AND CANNOT BRING RICHES WITHOUT EFFORT.
There is but one dependable method of accumulating,
and legally holding riches, and that is by rendering
useful service. No system has ever been created by
which men can legally acquire riches through mere
force of numbers, or without giving in return an
equivalent value of one form or another.
There is a principle known as the law of ECONOMICS!
This is more than a theory. It is a law no man can beat.
Mark well the name of the principle, and remember it,
because it is far more powerful than all the
politicians and political machines. It is above and
beyond the control of all the labor unions. It cannot
be swayed, nor influenced nor bribed by racketeers or
self-appointed leaders in any calling. Moreover, IT
HAS AN ALL-SEEING EYE, AND A PERFECT SYSTEM OF
BOOKKEEPING, in which it keeps an accurate account of
the transactions of every human being engaged in the
business of trying to get without giving. Sooner or
later its auditors come around, look over the records
of individuals both great and small, and demand an
accounting.
"Wall Street, Big Business, Capital Predatory
Interests," or whatever name you choose to give the
system which has given us AMERICAN FREEDOM,
represents a group of men who understand, respect,
and adapt themselves to this powerful LAW OF
ECONOMICS! Their financial continuation depends upon
their respecting the law.
Most people living in America like this country, its
capitalistic system and all. I must confess I know of
no better country, where one may find greater
opportunities to accumulate riches. Judging by their
acts and deeds, there are some in this country who do
not like it. That, of course is their privilege; if
they do not like this country, its capitalistic
system, its boundless opportunities, THEY HAVE THE
PRIVILEGE OF CLEARING OUT! Always there are other
countries, such as Germany, Russia, and Italy, where
one may try one's hand at enjoying freedom, and
accumulating riches providing one is not too particular.
America provides all the freedom and all the
opportunity to accumulate riches that any honest
person may require. When one goes hunting for game,
one selects hunting grounds where game is plentiful.
When seeking riches, the same rule would naturally obtain.
If it is riches you are seeking, do not overlook the
possibilities of a country whose citizens are so rich
that women, alone, spend over two hundred million
dollars annually for lip-sticks, rouge and cosmetics.
Think twice, you who are seeking riches, before
trying to destroy the Capitalistic System of a
country whose citizens spend over fifty million
dollars a year for GREETING CARDS, with which to
express their appreciation of their FREEDOM!
If it is money you are seeking, consider carefully a
country that spends hundreds of millions of dollars
annually for cigarettes, the bulk of the income from
which goes to only four major companies engaged in
supplying this national builder of "non-chalance" and
"quiet nerves."
By all means give plenty of consideration to a
country whose people spend annually more than fifteen
million dollars for the privilege of seeing moving
pictures, and toss in a few additional mil-lions for
liquor, narcotics, and other less potent soft drinks
and giggle-waters.
Do not be in too big a hurry to get away from a
country whose people willingly, even eagerly, hand
over millions of dollars annually for football,
baseball, and prize fights.
And, by all means, STICK by a country whose
inhabitants give up more than a million dollars a
year for chewing gum, and another million for safety
razor blades.
Remember, also, that this is but the beginning of the
available sources for the accumulation of wealth.
Only a few of the luxuries and non-essentials have
been mentioned. But, remember that the business of
producing, transporting, and marketing these few
items of merchandise gives regular employment to MANY
MILLIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN, who receive for their
services MANY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS MONTHLY, and spend
it freely for both the luxuries and the necessities.
Especially remember, that back of all this exchange
of merchandise and personal services may be found an
abundance of OPPORTUNITY to accumulate riches. Here
our AMERICAN FREE-DOM comes to one's aid. There is
nothing to stop you, or anyone from engaging in any
portion of the effort necessary to carry on these
businesses. If one has superior talent, training,
experience, one may accumulate riches in large
amounts. Those not so fortunate may accumulate
smaller amounts. Anyone may earn a living in return
for a very nominal amount of labor.
So— there you are!
OPPORTUNITY has spread its wares before you. Step up
to the front, select what you want, create your plan,
put the plan into action, and follow through with
PERSISTENCE. "Capitalistic" America will do the rest.
You can depend upon this much— CAPITALISTIC AMERICA
INSURES EVERY PERSON THE OPPORTUNITY TO RENDER USEFUL
SERVICE, AND TO COLLECT RICHES IN PROPORTION TO THE
VALUE OF THE SERVICE.
The "System" denies no one this right, but it does
not, and cannot promise SOMETHING FOR NOTHING,
because the system, itself, is irrevocably controlled
by the LAW OF ECONOMICS which neither recognizes nor
tolerates for long, GETTING WITHOUT GIVING.
The LAW OF ECONOMICS was passed by Nature! There is
no Supreme Court to which violators of this law may
appeal. The law hands out both penalties for its
violation, and appropriate rewards for its
observance, without interference or the possibility
of interference by any human being. The law cannot be
repealed. It is as fixed as the stars in the heavens,
and subject to, and a part of the same system that
controls the stars.
May one refuse to adapt one's self to the LAW OF
ECONOMICS?
Certainly! This is a free country, where all men are
born with equal rights, including the privilege of
ignoring the LAW OF ECONOMICS.
What happens then?
Well, nothing happens until large numbers of men join
forces for the avowed purpose of ignoring the law,
and taking what they want by force.
THEN COMES THE DICTATOR, WITH WELL ORGANIZED FIRING
SQUADS AND MACHINE GUNS!
We have not yet reached that stage in America! But we
have heard all we want to know about how the system
works. Perhaps we hal1 be fortunate enough not to
demand personal knowledge of so gruesome a reality.
Doubtless we shall prefer to continue with our
FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF DEED, and FREEDOM TO
RENDER USEFUL SERVICE IN RETURN FOR RICHES.
The practice, by Government officials of extending to
men and women the privilege of raiding the public
treasury in return for votes, sometimes results in
election, but as night follows day, the final payoff
comes; when every penny wrongfully used, must be
repaid with compound interest on compound interest.
If those who make the grab are not forced to repay,
the burden falls on their children, and their
children's children, "even unto the third and fourth
generations." There is no way to avoid the debt.
Men can, and sometimes do, form themselves into
groups for the purpose of crowding wages up, and
working hours down. There is a point beyond which
they cannot go. It is the point at which the LAW OF
ECONOMICS steps in, and the sheriff gets both the
employer and the employees.
For six years, from 1929, to 1935, the people of
America, both rich and poor, barely missed seeing the
Old Man Economics hand over to the sheriff all the
businesses, and industries and banks. It was not a
pretty sight! It did not increase our respect for mob
psychology through which men cast reason to the winds
and start trying to GET without GIVING.
We who went through those six discouraging years,
when FEAR WAS IN THE SADDLE, AND FAITH WAS ON THE
GROUND, cannot forget how ruthlessly the LAW OF
ECONOMICS exacted its toll from both rich and poor,
weak and strong, old and young. We shall not wish to
go through another such experience.
These observations are not founded upon short-time
experience. They are the result of twenty-five years
of careful analysis of the methods of both the most
successful and the most unsuccessful men America has
known.
Next page - Chapter 8