Lately I have been re-reading some sections of the “motivational bible�? by Napoleon Hill called “Think and grow rich�?. I must say, that it never seizes to amaze me how this book written at the beginning of 20th century still 100% holds the relevance until this very day. Talk about timeless principles!

The section which caught my eye this time was the one describing The 30 Major Causes of Failure – How many of these are holding You back? I am yet to find a similar list so competently and entirely summing up the reasons behind failures of so many enterprising individuals. Few of my “favorites�? from the list:

• Lack of a well-defined purpose in life
  There is no hope for success for the person who does not have a central purpose, or definite goal, at which to aim. Ninety-eight out of every hundred [people] has no such aim! Perhaps this was the major cause of failure.
• 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 is not willing to pay the price.
• Lack of persistence
  Most of us are good “starters�? but bad “finishers�? of everything we begin. Moreover people are prone to give up at the first sign of defeat. There is no substitute for persistence. The persistent person discovers that “Old Man Failure�? finally becomes tired and goes away. Failure cannot cope with persistence.
• 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 effort of other people. A negative personality will not induce cooperation.
• Over-caution
  The person who takes no chances generally hat to take whatever is left when others have finished 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.
• 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 people who are dishonest by choice. Sooner or later, their deeds will catch up with them, and they will pay by loss of reputation, and perhaps even loss of liberty.

And the list goes on, as I said it includes 30 items after all. Needless to say that I for one, while not considering myself a failure, can certainly on the list see number of causes posing the biggest threats to my future business success. What about you?

For those who haven’t yet done so, visit your closest book shop or public library and try to get a hold of the source of above mentioned ideas, the book “Think And Grow Rich�? by Napoleon Hill.

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