An excerpt from
“The Law Of Success”
By Napoleon Hill.

Start of Story ———

…The incident to which I refer happened in

Chicago, while I was engaged in the work of
character analysis.

One day a tramp presented himself at my office
and asked for an interview.  As I looked up from
my work and greeted him he said, “I have come
to see the man who wrote this little book” as he
removed from his pocket a copy of a book entitled
“Self-Confidence” which I had written many years
previously.

“It must have been the hand of fate”, he continued,
“that slipped this book into my pocket yesterday afternoon,
because I was about ready to go out
there and punch a hole in lake Michigan.

I had about come to the conclusion that everything
and everybody, including God, had it in for me until
I read this book, and it gave me a new viewpoint
and brought me the courage and the hope that
sustained me through the night.

I made up my mind that if I could see the man who
wrote this book he could help me get on my feet
again.

Now, I am here and I would like to know what you
can do for a man like me.”

While he was speaking I had been studying him
from head to foot, and I am frank to admit that down
deep in my heart I did not believe there was anything
I could do for him, but I did not wish to tell him so.

The glassy stare in his eyes, the lines of discouragement
in his face, the posture of his body, the ten days’ growth
of beard on his face, the nervous manner about this
man all conveyed to me the impression that he was
hopeless, but I did not have the heart to tell him so,
therefore I asked him to sit down and tell me his whole
story.

I asked him to be perfectly frank and tell me, as nearly
as possible, just what had brought him down to the
ragged edge of life.

I promised him that after I had heard his entire story
I would then tell him whether or not I could be of service
to him.

He related his story, in lengthy detail, the sum and
substance of which was this:

He had invested his entire fortune in a small
manufacturing business.  When the world war began in
1914, it was impossible for him to get the raw materials
necessary in the operation of his factory and he
therefore failed.

The loss of his money broke his heart and so disturbed his mind that he left his wife and children and became a tramp.

He had actually brooded over his loss until he had reached the point at which he was contemplating suicide.

After he had finished his story, I said to him:  “I have listened to you with a great deal of interest, and I wish there was something that I could do to help you, BUT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.”

He became as pale as he will be when he is laid away in a coffin, and settled back in his chair and dropped his chin on his chest as much as to say “that settles it.”

I waited for a few seconds then said:
“While there is nothing that I can do for you, there
is a man in this building to whom I will introduce you,
if you wish, who can help you regain your lost
fortune and put you back on your feet again.”

These words had barely fallen from my lips when he
jumped up, grabbed me by the hands and said
“For God’s sake lead me to this man”.

It was encouraging to note that he had asked this
“For God’s Sake.”  This indicated that there was
still a spark of hope within his breast, so I took
him by the arm and led him out into the laboratory
where my psychological tests in character analysis
were conducted, and stood with him in front of what
looked to be a curtain over a door.

I pulled the curtain aside and uncovered a tall looking
glass in which he saw himself from head to foot.

Pointing my finger at the glass, I said:

“There stands the only man in this world who can put you back on your feet again, and unless you sit down and become acquainted with that man, as you never became acquainted with him before, you might just as well go on over and ‘punch a hole’ in Lake Michigan, because you will be of no value to yourself or to the world until you know this man better.”

He stepped over to the glass, rubbed his hands over his bearded face, studied himself from head to foot for a few moments, then stepped back, dropped his head and began to weep.

I knew that the lesson had been driven home, so I led him back to the elevator and sent him away.

I never expected to see him again, and I doubted
that the lesson would be sufficient to help him
regain his place in the world, because he seemed
to be too far gone for redemption.

He seemed to be not only DOWN, but almost OUT.

A few days later I met this man on the street.

His transformation had been so complete that I
hardly recognized him.

He was walking briskly, with his head tilted back.

That old shifting, nervous posture of his body
was gone.  He was dressed in new clothes
from head to foot.  He looked prosperous and he
felt prosperous.

He stopped me and related what had happened
to bring about this rapid transformation from a
station of abject failure to one of hope and promise.

“I was just on my way to your office”, he explained, “to bring you the good news.  I went out the very day I was in your office, a down and out tramp, and in spite of my appearance I sold myself at a salary of $3,000 a year.  THINK  OF IT, MAN, THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR!

And my employer advanced me money enough
with which to buy some new clothes, as you
can see for yourself.

He also advanced me some money to send
home to my family, and I am once more on the
road to success.

It seems like a dream when I think that only
a few days ago I had lost hope, and faith,
and courage, and was actually contemplating
suicide.

I was coming to tell you that one of these days,
when you least expect me, I will pay you another
visit, and when I do, I will be a successful man.

I will have with me a check, signed in blank and made payable to you, and you may fill in the amount because you have saved me from MYSELF by introducing me to MYSELF – that self which I never knew, until you stood me in front of that looking glass and pointed to the REAL me.”

As that man turned and departed on the crowded streets of Chicago I saw, for the first time in my life, what strength and power and possibility lie hidden in the mind of the man who has never discovered the value of SELF-RELIANCE.

Then and there I made up my mind that I, too, would stand in front of that same looking glass and point an accusing finger at myself, for not having discovered the lesson which I had helped another to learn.

I did stand before that same looking glass, and as I did so, I then and there fixed in my mind, as my DEFINITE PURPOSE in life, the determination to help men and women discover the forces that lie sleeping within them.

The man whose story I have related is now the
President of one of largest and most successful
>concerns of its kind in America, with a business
that extends from coast to coast and from Canada
to Mexico.

—-End Story

What do YOU see as you gaze into that mirror?
Look more closely. Ponder a while. . .

Never lose hope my friend.
Keep the spark burning.

There’s ALWAYS a path to a better life and
the key is in that person who stares back at
you in the mirror each morning.

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Transforming lives,

…

Loretta
247LiveBetter@gmail.com
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