I N T ROD U C T ION TOT HEM A S T E R MIN 0 105that does nothing to increase one's knowledge. Thousands of facts may have
been gathered, but an understanding of those facts, including which are significant
and which are not, is necessary before they can be considered knowledge. Still,
as Napoleon Hill says, even such knowledge is not power; it is only potential
power-the material out of which real power may be developed. Application of
this potential power requires properly organized effort.
Suppose you had collected the name and address of every CEO of a Fortune 500
company. Having this information represents a potential power-the ability to
contact these men and women. Such power might or might not be useful to you. If
you were attempting to sell a small starter home in need of much repair, you
would be targeting a very unlikely group of buyers. If, on the other hand, you were
selling a luxurious estate with state-of-the-art security and communications
capability, this group of people would likely be more interested. Clearly, the
knowledge you acquire must be suited to your task.
If you were indeed selling such an estate and you never attempted to contact
these CEOs, you would not be exercising the potential power of your knowledge
-simply because you would have made no effort. And if you sent each of them a
box of chocolates and some balloons with a handwritten note about your property,
you would be making an effort but it would not be appropriate.
However, if you printed a handsome brochure featuring photographs of
the estate and outlining all its unique aspects, you would be applying your
knowledge much more usefully-giving you the power to attract the attention
of your potential buyers.
So far, the selling of this estate has involved at least three separate tasks.
First, the collection of the names of potential buyers; second, the creation of an
appropriate selling tool; and third, its distribution to your potential buyers. Supposing
you interested some of these people, you would also need someone to show the
property and eventually to negotiate the terms of the deal. This means at least five
different tasks, all requiring different kinds of knowledge. You could work to educate
yourself for each of these jobs, or you could create a Master Mind alliance.
You could begin by enlisting a direct-mail specialist to collect the list of
names; that person could also contribute ideas for the brochure, which would