CHAPTER SUMMARY

Lesson 9— Habit of Doing More Than Paid For

From The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill

A man is most efficient and will more quickly and easily succeed when engaged in work that he loves, or work that he performs in behalf of some person whom he loves.

When a man engaged in work that he loves it is no hardship for him to do more of better work than that which he is paid for. Think of times where you spend hours at your hobbies, trying to get better at them every day and are having fun along the way and never expecting a penny.

These are the things you should capitalize on. You should always seek to serve your audience in a way which only you can provide value. You will be more efficient and more likely to succeed when engaged in work you love. When you do what you love it is no hardship adopt a habit of doing more work than what you are paid for. You owe it to yourself to find the sort of work you like best!

The man who engages in work that he loves best does not always have the support, in his choice, of his closest friends and relatives.

Doing what you do is never really endorsed by your nearest peers or relatives. It can require a great deal of effort to combat derogatory feedback from friends and relatives. You should brace yourself for discussions with people that are close to you, and be frank about your intentions. But it is wise to never tell the full story of your intentions if you’re not asked to do so. Keep your progress and plans anonymously. Hone your craft, work overtime and walk the walk before you talk the talk. This is why wisdom is synonymous with old age and more experience is synonymous with a higher skill level.

Realize that sometimes, the job you enjoy doesn’t offer the greatest payoff at the beginning. Balancing that is the reality that you’re going to receive the biggest reward, joy! Typically, the money received over a lengthy period, as well as the work done out of love, is much greater in quantity and consistency than the work undertaken purely for income. The job you undertake without getting compensated or just expecting to be rewarded can free up doors later in life. As Napoleon Hill shares his experience of having spent years gathering evidence and turning it into the Law of Success while accumulating debt and experiencing massive resistance from friends and colleagues.

THE LAW OF INCREASING RETURNS

Napoleon Hill describes the power of the Law of Increasing Returns by speaking of the farmer, who carefully prepares the soil, then sows the seeds of the crop he desires. Because he is attuned to the Law of Increasing Returns, he waters and weeds and waits with the confident expectation that the seeds he has sown will return to him, plus “a many-fold increase.”

Likewise, If you offer a service worth a hundred bucks, odds are you’ll get back not only the one hundred bucks but maybe ten times the — provided you do so with the correct mental mindset. Whether you do additional service unwillingly or grudgingly, you certainly won’t earn something free or even get what you paid towards.

The Law of increasing returns works like the law of compounding interest. If I send you business referrals, you would feel compelled to give me business referrals. Over time, we’re both helping each other expand our companies and obviously, this can both ways. That’s why the Law of Increasing Returns can be seen as a “Givers Gain” put into effect. You have to learn how to give by being a good networker. Don’t make a mistake, it’s a lot of effort, but it’s really critical to achieving true performance and to maximize your potential.

All Salesman will profit by remembering that none of us want anything that someone else wishes to “get rid of”.

Examples of Law of Increasing Returns:

1. You write a weekly blog post with helpful and inspiring content, which costs you time and money to publish. Eventually, because people come to know and appreciate you, they get in touch to see about working with you.
2. You start a podcast and really give a tremendous amount of your wisdom and caring to a person. Overtime you garner listeners, learn from the critics and grow to a level where your service becomes something people will pay for, such as at a speaking event or as a guest on other shows or maybe even they’ll buy your book. The opportunities are endless if you choose to give before you gain.

As Napoleon Hill says “No man can rise to fame and fortune without carrying others along with him. It simply cannot be done.” So you might as well do it willingly.

THE LAW OF COMPENSATION (You get what you paid for)

This Law of compensation frequently specifies that you will never be paid for anything that you haven’t invested in for the long run. The money you receive now is your allowance for what you’ve achieved in the past(Think about your job then compare it to an investment you make in real estate or a business. Done correctly they offer you returns for which you need not work). If you want to increase your compensation, you must increase the value of your contribution.

If you fill your head with emotions, dreams and insights of achievement, joy and hope, you will be paid for by such optimistic encounters in your everyday activities.

Hey there!~Don’t mean to interrupt your reading. But if you’d like to support me and the authors whose knowledge I summarize please consider purchasing their original work through the links below. These works are carefully selected to help you crystalize the lessons from this summary.

Full disclosure: As an affiliate, I receive compensation if you purchase through the links below.

The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill: https://amzn.to/2ycdhjE

The Wisdom of Success by Andrew Carnegie & Napoleon Hill: https://amzn.to/3cmbYhg

Benefits of doing more than your paid for, even when it doesn’t always pay you to do so. These reasons are extracted from the audiobook Wisdom of Success(Link Above), where Napoleon Hill interviews Andrew Carnegie.

1. Get your clients into the habit of calling on you! Always be there ready to serve, volunteer if necessary and be there even when they are least expecting you to be there.
2. The quickest, surest way to a promotion or pay raise is through the customer. By being there for your customer, you are paid by the opportunity it offers you to bring yourself to the attention of the man who had it within his powers to compensate you.
3. The habit of Going the Extra Mile gives one the benefit of the law of Increasing Returns, in a variety of ways too numerous to be described here.
4. This habit places one in a position to benefit by the law of Compensation, through which no act or deed will or can be expressed without an equivalent response (after its own nature).
5. It gives one the benefit of growth through resistance and use, thereby leading to mental development and increased skill in the use of the body. (It is a well-known fact that both body and mind attain efficiency and skill through systematic discipline and use which call for the rendering of service that temporarily is not paid for.)
6. The habit develops the important factor of the initiative, without which no individual ever rises above mediocrity in any calling.
7. It develops self-reliance, which is likewise essential in all forms of personal achievement.
8. It enables an individual to profit by the law of contrast since obviously a majority of the people do not follow the habit of doing more than they are paid for. On the contrary, they endeavour to “get by” with a minimum amount of service.
9. It helps one to master the habit of drifting aimlessly, thereby checking the habit which stands at the head of the major causes of failure.
10. It definitely aids in the development of the habit of Definiteness of Purpose, which is the first principle of individual achievement.
11. It tends strongly to aid in the development of Attractiveness of Personality, thereby leading to how one may relate himself to others to gain their friendly cooperation.
12. It often gives an individual a preferred position of relationship with others through which he may become indispensable, thereby fixing his own price on his services.
13. It ensures continuous employment, thereby serving as insurance against want in connection with the necessities of life.
14. It is the greatest of all the known methods by which the man who works for wages may promote himself to higher positions and better wages, and serves as a practical means by which a man may attain the position of ownership of a business or industry.
15. It develops alertness of the imagination, the faculty through which one may create practical plans for the attainment of one’s aims and purposes in any calling.
16. It develops a positive “mental attitude,” which is one of the more important qualities that are essential in all human relationships.
17. It serves to build the confidence of others in one’s integrity and general ability, which is an indispensable essential for noteworthy achievement in every calling.
18. Finally, it is a habit which one may adopt and follow on his own initiative, without being under the necessity of asking the permission of anyone to do so.

There are no lazy men. What may appear to be a lazy man is only an unfortunate person who has not yet found the work for which he is best suited.