Think and Grow Rich 3: Psyche up to reach your career goal

(Part 3 of 10) Napoleon Hill's best-selling business book of all time derived from the beliefs and actions of many of the richest and most successful people of the early 20th century offers eight steps to success: 1. Desire 2. Faith 3. Autosuggestion 4. Specialized knowledge 5. Imagination 6. Organized planning 7. Decision 8. Persistence The second step is Faith. In Hill's own words, this means, "Visualization and belief in the attainment of desire." The kind of faith Napoleon Hill is talking about is faith in yourself, self confidence. This is the faith that is so readily available when things are going well and so easily abandoned when we see things falling apart. In the case of a job or career search, confidence can be further shaken if we have recently lost a job through layoff or termination for cause. To develop, or in some cases redevelop faith, Hill defines a six-step formula: 1. I know I can achieve what I want, so I promise to pursue it with persistent action. 2. I know that what I think will come true, so I will concentrate for 30 minutes daily on the person I intend to become. 3. I will devote 10 minutes daily to using affirmations to develop self confidence. 4. I will write a description of my goal and never stop until I have the self-confidence to attain it. 5. I will engage in only win-win transactions, giving before I receive, and holding a positive attitude toward others. 6. I will sign this formula, commit it to memory and repeat it aloud once a day, knowing that it will gradually influence my thoughts and actions so that I will become a self-reliant and successful person. Napoleon Hill and those successful people he studied were devotees of the "whatever you think, you're right" school. If you think you can't, you're right. If you think you can, you're right. It's a very important choice in the process toward your career goal, as well. Too many candidates approach a job search already defeated:

• "I'll never get a job in this economy."
• "I'm too old to change careers."
• "I don't want to learn about computers."
• "There aren't any good jobs here."
• "Nobody is hiring entry-level employees."
• "Nobody is hiring middle managers."
• "Nobody is hiring CEOs."

Make the choice today to catch yourself when you think those thoughts. Next in Think and Grow Rich 4: What to think instead