#10 - Overcoming Adversity

by Napoleon Hill, author of "Think and Grow Rich"

Napoleon Hill states that a positive mental attitude is the only means by which you can convert an adversity into an asset that will help you achieve outstanding success in the future.

Overcoming Defeat Index

Video - Overcoming Defeat and Adversity

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Stories of Overcoming Defeat

Milo C. Jones owned a small farm that only made a mere living. After Milo Jones was stricken with double paralysis and had only his mind to rely upon, he conceived of the idea of raising hogs to make little pig sausages. This idea yielded him a huge fortune.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was stricken with polio in the prime of his life that destroyed the use of his legs. Mr. Roosevelt transmuted his affliction and became the president of the United States and held that position longer than any previous president.

Napoleon Hill reports that his mother passed away when he was 8 year old. Most people would think no good could have come out of that situation. Napoleon reveals that his father brought home a new mother, who he credits for inspiring him to prepare for the opportunity he later received when Andrew Carnegie commissioned him to organize the world’s first practical philosophy of success.

Napoleon states that the defeat of the British in 1778 (when they lost the American colonies), held a seed of equivalent benefit. Mr. Hill believes that the British Empire probably would have been wiped out in World War I or World War II, if America had not gotten rich and powerful from its independence and provided financial support to save Brittan from starvation and bankruptcy.

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Lesson Quotes

"You lose that which you do not use."

To illustrate this point, Napoleon Hill cites an example of an arm that is not used, begins to wither and atrophy. He also indicates that people, who neglect to keep in contact with friends, lose them. If you show indifference towards your clients or an employer, you could find yourself without a market for your services.

"Nothing can be called a failure until you accept it as such".

"Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit."

See our extensive collection of adversity quotes to glean more insights on how to handle adversity successfully.

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Assignment

1. Go back into you past experiences and study each adversity and failure you experienced to discover that seed of equivalent benefit.

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