Page 33 - Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich Full Book | Success Learned

bedtime stories, hoping the time would come when he would find some plan by
which his handicap could be made to serve some useful purpose.

Reason told me plainly, that there was no adequate compensation for the lack of
ears and natural hearing equipment.

DESIRE backed by FAITH, pushed reason aside, and inspired me to carry on.

As I analyze the experience in retrospect, I can see now, that my son's faith in me
had much to do with the astounding results.

He did not question anything I told him. I sold him the idea that he had a distinct
advantage over his older brother, and that this advantage would reflect itself in
many ways. For example, the teachers in school would observe that he had no
ears, and, because of this, they would show him special attention and treat him
with extraordinary kindness. They always did. His mother saw to that, by visiting
the teachers and arranging with them to give the child the extra attention neces-
sary. I sold him the idea, too, that when he became old enough to sell newspapers,
(his older brother had already become a newspaper merchant), he would have a
big advantage over his brother, for the reason that people would pay him extra
money for his wares, because they could see that he was a bright, industrious boy,
despite the fact he had no ears.

We could notice that, gradually, the child's hearing was improving. Moreover,
he had not the slightest tendency to be self-conscious, because of his affliction.
When he was about seven, he showed the first evidence that our method of serv-
icing his mind was bearing fruit. For several months he begged for the privilege
of selling newspapers, but his mother would not give her consent. She was afraid
that his deafness made it unsafe for him to go on the street alone.

Finally, he took matters in his own hands. One afternoon, when he was left at
home with the servants, he climbed through the kitchen window, shinnied to the
ground, and set out on his own. He borrowed six cents in capital from the neigh-
borhood shoemaker, invested it in papers, sold out, reinvested, and kept repeat-
ing until late in the evening. After balancing his accounts, and paying back the
six cents he had borrowed from his banker, he had a net profit of forty-two cents.
When we got home that night, we found him in bed asleep, with the money tightly
clenched in his hand.

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NAPOLEON HILL THINK AND GROW RICH

His mother opened his hand, removed the coins, and cried. Of all things! Crying
over her son's first victory seemed so inappropriate. My reaction was the reverse.
I laughed heartily, for I knew that my endeavor to plant in the child's mind an at-