The Art of Converting Defeat into Opportunity by Jennifer Janechek

Never has there been a time more favorable to pioneers than the present. —Napoleon Hill 

Napoleon Hill wrote his masterpiece, Think and Grow Rich, in the thick of the Great Depression. It is credited with helping end the Depression by providing people with the strategies they needed to take control of their future by single-mindedly pursuing a definite purpose. He speaks directly to his original readership when he writes, “You have been disappointed, you have undergone defeat during the depression, you have felt the great hurt within you crushed until it bled. Take courage, for these experiences have tempered the spiritual metal of which you are made—they are assets of incomparable value.”  

According to Hill, how a person handles temporary defeat makes the difference between success and failure. Of the 500-plus business leaders he interviewed—America’s greatest minds, entrepreneurs, and millionaires like Thomas A. Edison, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Ford—every single one of them admitted to meeting with obstacles, many quite heartbreaking, before they “arrived.” 

In fact, they described these moments of crisis as turning points, or make-or-break moments. It is during these difficult times that they met their “other self”—that bearer of indefatigable strength and commitment who summons every ounce of courage and energy to press forward in the face of opposition and misfortune. Their other self helped them channel their fear and passion into creativity, which they used to find solutions to the challenges at hand. For as Hill emphasizes, obstacles, when properly viewed, are prime opportunities for innovation, growth, and achievement. Opportunity, he writes, “has the sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity.”  

Even in these difficult times in which we presently find ourselves, we have the option to grow and succeed. Consider the following questions:  

How can you use this time to build your knowledge and deepen your awareness by reading more—especially e-books and audiobooks—and taking online courses?  

Where can you simplify your life, your systems, etc., to allow for a deeper focus on what really matters?  

How can you “reset” in your business so that you emerge with a stronger vision, more efficient processes, and a smarter business plan? 

What new problems have been created that you could solve? 

Where are there opportunities to give? What service can you render?  

I’ll leave you with this inspirational call to action, which is as timely now as it was in 1937: “Never, in the history of America has there been so great an opportunity for practical dreamers as now exists… A new race is about to be run. The stakes represent huge fortunes which will be accumulated within the next ten years.” 

Don’t miss your opportunity because you’re focused on temporary defeat. The stakes are too big! 

Napoleon Hill is the founder of the Science of Success. His success principles have changed the lives of more entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and cultural icons than any other system. The original, unedited edition of Think and Grow Rich is available from Sound Wisdom—get your copy now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Porchlight Book Company, and other fine retailers. 

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