In Think And Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill cites the thirty major reasons that people fail. These reasons were developed from a study of thousands of people. I thought it might be useful to pick a few of these reasons so we can all evaluate and determine what gets in our way of being successful.
- Lack Of A Well-Defined Purpose – 98 of every 100 people that Mr. Hill analyzed that failed did not have a central purpose or defined goal to aim for in life.
- Lack of Ambition To Aim Above Mediocrity – There is not much hope for the person who doesn’t want to get ahead in life and isn’t willing to pay the price.
- Lack of Self-Discipline – Discipline comes from self-control. Self-mastery is the hardest job you will tackle. We must control all negative qualities.
- Procrastination – This is one of the most common reasons for failure. Do not wait, The time will never be “just right.” Start where you are with whatever tools you have.
- Lack of Persistence – Most people are prone to give up at the first sign of defeat. There is no substitute for persistence. Failure won’t happen with persistence.
- Negative Personality – Success comes through the cooperative efforts of others and a negative personality will not induce cooperation.
- Lack of Concentration of Effort – A jack-of-all-trades is seldom good at any. Concentrate all your efforts on one definite chief aim.
- Lack of Enthusiasm – Without enthusiasm, one cannot be convincing. Enthusiasm is contagious and generally welcome in any group.
It might be worthwhile to go over this list with someone who knows you to get their opinion and help you understand which ones might be holding you back. Sometimes, it’s hard to see our own faults and weaknesses. Failure can be measured by degree and can be as simple as not living up to your potential. In my insurance business, as well as my marketing business, one of the biggest reasons for failure is people just giving up on themselves. There is nothing easy or hard about building a business, we just have to keep learning and doing.
“Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.” –Dale Carnegie
Don’t let these reasons stand in your way to success. Have an incredible day.
