Business Wisdom

When Napoleon Hill was asked to deliver the baccalaureate sermon on June 2, 1957, at Salem College, it had been 35 years since he had delivered a commencement address to the 1922 graduating class at the same college. He was introduced as the man who developed the "science of success". This science was an exact study which laid down the principles by which anyone could realize his or her material goals no matter what ambitions they may be.

In 1952, Napoleon Hill spoke at a dental convention. He was introduced by insurance tycoon W. Clement Stone. Stone had been given a copy of Hill's best-selling book, Think and Grow Rich, and was so impressed that he gave away thousands of copies. Hill and Stone jointly wrote Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude in 1960, and it became an immediate best-seller. Over 50 years later, the book still sells well in the United States and all over the world.

In 1922, Napoleon Hill was invited to give the commencement address at Salem College in Salem, West Virginia. He was 39 years old at the time, and he spoke of what he had learned from his failures in life up to that point. His personal adventures in the business world illustrated for the students the cyclical nature of success and failure as well as the lessons one can take away from each of life’s experiences. Titled The End of the Rainbow, this commencement address is considered to be the most influential speech ever given by Hill.

Napoleon Hill put great emphasis in his writings and lectures on the principle of going the extra mile. Hill said this was the one principle that would get a person ahead faster than anything else one could do. In this speech, Going the Extra Mile, Hill explains that nature's law of increasing returns means that the service we render with the right mental attitude not only brings back its true value, but is multiplied many times over.