Well here we are, a new year and a new plan, right? I know this – the Platform Builders have some new plans for 2014 and this year we are starting our Mastermind study with a little twist.
This month we are masterminding through The Men Who Built America, a DVD produced by the History Channel along with Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill to compliment the mini-series built around some of the great early leaders and entrepreneurs that help build the United States into a world power at the end of the 19th Century.
If you don’t know the back story on how these two connect together, Napoleon Hill was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to study the most successful people and find out what resulted in their success. The men who built America were among many of the 20,000+ that Hill interviewed over the twenty year period it took him to write the book.
This month we are going take a look at Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, JP Morgan and Henry Ford. In this, the first of four posts, we will take a look at Andrew Carnegie.
Carnegie is most recognized for the steel empire he built that would later become the U.S. Steel Company after being sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for the equivalent of 13.5 Billion Dollars in today’s economy. But there is much more to Carnegie’s story.
So what was it that took a boy born into poverty in the Country of Scotland to become one of the wealthiest men in the America? Lets take a look at three of the things that Napoleon Hill discovered:
Rags To Riches
DESIRE
“Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something.” – Andrew Carnegie
Carnegie spent his early years in business watching men like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller and Thomas Scott. He watched them build their empires and when his opportunity came, he knew exactly what he wanted and that desire never left. From one venture to the next his desire empowered him to find a way to achieve it.
Is It Time To Get A Bigger Box?
IMAGINATION
“Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole, clear, glorious life lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!” – Andrew Carnegie
One of the events showcased in the mini-series is when Thomas Scott, Carnegie’s mentor and boss, asked Carnegie to build and oversee the design and construction of a bridge across the Mississippi River. Scott suggested a man who according to Scott, “could do anything”, to design it. As it turned out, the designer said it was impossible. Carnegie responded with a emphatic “Nothing is Impossible.” From there he imagined the construction of the bridge using steel and thus began the legacy of Carnegie Steel.
Just When You Think You’ve Had Enough …
PERSISTENCE
“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” – Andrew Carnegie
All these men, including Carnegie, defined the spirit on entrepreneurship. I won’t suggest that they came up with entirely new ideas (except for possibly Edison) but they figured out entirely new ways to use what was already there, how to use it more efficiently, or how to produce it quicker and cheaper. None of these advances came with failure. 10,000 tries at the light bulb ring any bells for you? But all these men, especially Carnegie refused to quit. They persisted until they succeeded.
Most equate the success of these men to industry and the technological advances of their time. I believe what really made them more successful than anyone else of their time was their entrepreneurial spirit. They were visionaries. They saw what other didn’t and did what others couldn’t and achieved the impossible. (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)
This will be a great mastermind study. None of these men were angels, but one thing about them – they never let anyone else limit what they could do.
So I have a question for you to ponder today. What limits are holding you back for doing what you want to do and becoming who you want to be?
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Barry Smith 1/8/14 photo courtesy of Amazon © Building What Matters 2014
