A Definite Chief Aim

Over 100 years ago a young man called, Napoleon Hill, sat at the feet of the richest man in the world, Andrew Carnegie. Young Napoleon was challenged by Mr. Carnegie to interview as many millionaires as he could find and narrow down what made them wealthy while so many others were not.

Well, it seems that he wound up interviewing at least 500 such people. His research lead to the creation of one of the greatest classics about wealth creation, “Think and Grow Rich.” Before that amazing work, he’d also written, “The Law of Success In Sixteen Lessons.” It was a lot thicker and wordier, so he eventually slimmed it down to Think and Grow Rich.

In the last post, we looked at the first lesson of The Law of Success. It was the power of the Master Mind. Understanding and mastering the Master Mind is the key to success in the rest of the Law of Success.

The second lesson is:

Have A Definite Chief Aim

As I’ve read what he has to say about this, it seems that the wording may lead to an easy misunderstanding of what he means. By “definite” he means extremely specific and clear.

By “chief” I think he means it’s a priority above all others. There isn’t any “more chief.”

By “aim” he means the end you have in mind. What’s the vision? What’s the purpose? The reason you’re doing this.

success is the development of the power with which to get whatever a person wants in life without interfering with the rights of others Share on X

However, after more reading, he gives examples of successful people. For example, Andrew Carnegie’s definite chief aim was to be the best in the steel business. Henry Ford’s was to be the best in the automobile business.

Then there were others such as Eastman focused on the Kodak camera, and Randolph Hearst focused on newspapers, and so on.

It’s evident that a clear purpose is essential for success in any endeavor, regardless of how anyone defines success. However, it’s also about having a focus on a specific niche in an area of business — the idea being that the more specific and relevant the niche, the more successful the person seems to be.

However, Mr. Hill defines success as the development of the power with which to get whatever a person wants in life without interfering with the rights of others. Power is an organized effort or energy. You can get whatever you want within reason. Education, wisdom physical endurance, temperament, and many other variables play a crucial role in your success as well.

Mr. Carnegie learned how to apply the law of the “Master Mind.” This enabled him to organize the faculties of his mind and the faculties of other men’s minds, and coordinate the entire process with a DEFINITE CHIEF AIM.

It’s a key to pivotal turning points in war, industry, relationships, and any specific vocation.

The unconscious mind is like a magnet. Whatever has been visualized and saturated with a definite aim or purpose tends to attract whatever is necessary for the fulfillment of that purpose. Share on X

Power is an organized effort.

Then, as now, about 95% of people in the world are drifting aimlessly. They have no real conception of the need for a definite objective toward which to strive.

He makes the point that when any definite chief aim is deliberately fixed and held in mind it eventually saturates the mind ultimately influencing the physical actions of the body toward the fulfillment of that purpose. He called that process, “auto-suggestion.”

Be careful when selecting your aim. There’s nothing to fear about using the power of the mastermind and auto-suggestion if what you’re striving for will bring you lasting happiness.

Autosuggestion could be used negatively, too. For example, a person can auto-suggest themselves into a lifelong business going nowhere just selling peanuts.

The unconscious mind is like a magnet. Whatever has been visualized and saturated with a definite aim or purpose tends to attract whatever is necessary for the fulfillment of that purpose. Like attracts like similar to what happens in nature.

People of similar mindsets tend to attract to one another. “Misery loves company.”

You’ll attract to people who harmonize with your philosophy of life, whether you wish it or not. You must aim higher in life.

All successful people owe their success to a definite chief aim.

With their clear niche focus, the people in his examples made millions of dollars, created massive empires and changed the world for all practical purposes.

“There is some one thing that you can do better than anyone else in the world could do it. Search until you find out what this particular line of endeavor is, make it the object of your definite chief aim and then organize all of your forces and attack it with the belief that you are going to win. In your search for the work for which you are best fitted, it will be well if you bear in mind the fact that you will most likely attain the greatest success by finding out what work you like best, for it is a well-known fact that a man generally best succeeds in the particular line of endeavor into which he can throw his whole heart and soul.” Napoleon Hill, The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons, (Wilder Publications, Inc, First Edition, ©2011), pages 87-88.

What’s that one thing that you can do better than anyone else in the world? Not sure?

Let’s get together and get started figuring it out! Click Here=>Work With Me.

Here’s to your success!

John Mason