THE HABIT OF DOING MORE THAN PAID FOR 595COMMENTARY
The magazine to which Napoleon Hill refers was Hill's Golden Rule. In 1918, on the
day the First World War ended, he was again looking for his definite purpose in life
through which he could also earn a living. As reproduced in Michael Ritt's book A
Lifetime of Riches, this is from the essay Hill wrote as he contemplated his future:
"Out of this war will come a new idealism-an idealism that will be based
on the Golden Rule philosophy; an idealism that will guide us, not to see how
much we can 'do our fellow man for' but how much we can do for him, that
will ameliorate his hardships and make him happier as he tarries by the wayside
of life .... To get this philosophy into the hearts of those who need it, I shall
publish a magazine to be called Hill's Golden Rule."
He took his essay to George Williams, a Chicago printer he had met while
working at the White House, and by early January of 1919 the magazine was on the
newsstands. Having no money to pay other writers, Hill wrote every word himself.We go through two important periods in this life. One is that
period during which we are gathering, classifying, and organizing
knowledge, and the other is that period during which we are strug-
gling for recognition. We must first learn something, which requires
more effort than most of us are willing to put into the job, but even
after we have learned much that can be of useful service to others,
we are still confronted with the problem of convincing them that we
can serve them.
One of the most important reasons why we should always be not
only ready but also willing to render service is that every time we do so,
we gain an opportunity to prove to someone that we have ability. We
go just one more step toward gaining the necessary recognition that we
must all have.
Instead of saying to the world, "Show me the color of your money
and I will show you what I can do," reverse the rule and say, "Let me
show you the color of my service so that I may take a look at the color
of your money if you like my service:'