THE H A BIT 0 F DOl N G M 0 RET HAN PA I D FOR 565In 1908, during a particularly down time in the U.S. economy and with no
money and no work, Hill took a job with Bob Taylor's Magazine. Although it would
not provide much in the way of income, it would provide the opportunity to meet
and profile the giants of industry and business-the first of whom was the creator
of America:S steel industry, multimillionaire Andrew Carnegie, who was to become
Hill:S mentor.
Carnegie was so impressed by Hill's perceptive mind that following their
three-hour interview he invited Hill to spend the weekend at his estate. After two
more days of conversation, Carnegie told Hill that he believed any person could
achieve greatness if they understood the philosophy of success and the steps
required to achieve it, and that this knowledge could be gained by interviewing
those who had achieved greatness and then compiling the information and
research into a comprehensive set of principles. He believed that it would take
at least twenty years, and that the result would be "the world:S first philosophy
of individual achievement. " He offered Hill the challenge-for no more compen-
sation than that Carnegie would make the necessary introductions and cover
travel expenses.
It took Hill twenty-nine seconds to accept Carnegie's proposal. Carnegie told
him afterward that had it taken him more than sixty seconds to make the decision
he would have withdrawn the offer, for "a man who cannot reach a decision
promptly, once he has all the necessary facts, cannot be depended upon to carry
through any decision he may make. "
It was through HiII:S unwavering dedication that this book and his others
were eventually written. Hill's conversations with Andrew Carnegie during their
first meeting would later also become the basis for Think and Grow Rich.
For detailed information on the life of Hill, read or listen to the audiobook of
A Lifetime of Riches: The Biography of Napoleon Hill by Michael J. Riff Jr. and Kirk
Landers. Riff worked as Hill:S assistant for ten years and was the first employee
of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, where he served as executive director, secretary,
and treasurer. The material in Riff:S book comes from his own personal knowledge
of Hill as well as from HiII:S unpublished autobiography.