The secret of success from a man whose fortune was estimated at 310 billion dollars

This man is richer than Bill Gates and Warren Buffett combined. And he began as a poor Scottish immigrant. Interview with him - the dream of many. That's just bad luck - he died 96 years ago. How could Andrew Carnegie , the man who owned the largest steel empire in the world, manage to create it from scratch, without start-up capital, opportunities and connections, and become such a rich person?

The author of the article spent hundreds of hours exploring the secrets of Carnegie’s success and is now ready to share the 5 most important lessons from this person.
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Get out of the shadows

One afternoon, a young man entered Carnegie's office to interview him and ask about success. Carnegie could tell the young man about his journey from poverty to wealth and about a rough business relationship with John Rockefeller. But instead, Carnegie told something else.

Carnegie said that the most important thing in his life was his " ability to forget about problems and smile at life ." He said that the talent to look at life through the prism of optimism was more important for him than millions of dollars.

"Young people should know that this ability can be developed," said Carnegie. "The mind, like the body, can be moved from shadow to light."

This is also true in business. Being free from the oppression of negative perceptions of life, Carnegie was able to keep his attention on the good, quickly recover from experienced failures and find opportunities where others could not.

Ask yourself the question: Do you sometimes have pessimistic thoughts, does it happen that you conduct a negative internal dialogue? Do you miss opportunities only because you let your mind go into the “shadow”? How much would your business grow if you attached a piece of paper above your desk that says “move your mind into the light”?

Ask him to leave 10 thousand.

Carnegie and J.P. Morgan has been business partners for some time. One day, Morgan wanted to buy back Carnegie’s share and asked how much he wanted for it.

Carnegie replied that his shares cost $ 50,000, but beyond that, he wants $ 10,000 on top, so the total is $ 60,000. Morgan agreed to these terms. But the next morning Carnegie called.
“Mr. Carnegie, you are mistaken,” said Morgan. "You sell your shares for $ 10,000 cheaper than stated in the documents." Morgan found out that Carnegie’s share was actually worth $ 60,000, and with an additional $ 10,000, the amount should have been $ 70,000. So Morgan sent Carnegie a check for $ 70,000.

Carnegie replied that Morgan could leave this $ 10,000 - this amount today, adjusted for inflation, is $ 130,000. Morgan replied: “No thanks. I can not do it".

After thinking about this story, Carnegie later wrote: “Big business is based on the utmost honesty.” He learned from Morgan that it’s better to lose money in the short term than reputation in the long term .

Think carefully about this: Do you do everything to ensure that your business reputation takes precedence over short-term profits?

Follow the nine-tenth rule

This story has changed the whole course of Carnegie’s life. She is about an elderly man whose life was full of tragic events. People in the city felt sorry for him, but the old man replied: “Yes, my friends, everything you say is true. I have lived a long life full of adversity. But there is one curious fact - nine-tenths of my troubles really did not exist. ”

Carnegie understood from the story that most of the problems and doubts that worry us do not really exist. Our brain has a tendency to imagine the worst options and act accordingly - but, in fact, most of the fictional negative scenarios are not realized. But even if this happens, everything is not really as bad as it seemed.

Reminding himself of the “nine-tenths rule,” Carnegie was freed from the fear of the unknown and was able to take the risks necessary to achieve significant success.

Be honest with yourself: Do you fall into the power of doubt? Would your life be better if you followed the nine-tenths rule and remind yourself that most problems are imaginary ? Are you ready to start living according to this rule right now?

Catch Flash of Lightning

When Carnegie was interviewed for his first job, the interviewer asked him how soon he could begin. Most people need a few weeks to enter a new job. What did Carnegie say? "I can start right now."

“It would be a big mistake to miss this opportunity,” wrote Carnegie. “The position was offered to me, but anything could happen, they could hire anyone else. I preferred to stay and start working immediately. ”
Carnegie did not think too long. He preferred to act quickly and risk something less important than delay, and risk losing the opportunity entirely .

This rule worked in the reverse order. When Carnegie realized that the company, the shares of which he owns, is no longer interesting for him, he immediately offered his partner to sell all their shares. The partner responded that in his opinion there was no need to rush, to which Carnegie said: “Do it immediately!” This was the right decision, as the company soon went bankrupt.

Of course, it is very important to study the facts, but if you have a real opportunity, do not risk missing its delay. As Carnegie would say: catch a "flash of lightning."

How many opportunities do you think you missed simply because you didn’t respond quickly enough? Are you ready to start acting like Carnegie and say, “I can start right now”?

Find motivation for "$ 2.50"

At the dawn of his career, Carnegie won an award of $ 2.50. He gave this money to his parents in order to support the family. Later he said: "No subsequent victory and recognition did not excite me more than this ... then I felt myself in heaven."

From that moment on, Carnegie realized that he wanted to become rich. But not for myself. He dreamed of money for his parents so that they could live a decent life.

As soon as Carnegie found external motivation, his enthusiasm and efficiency began to experience an incredible rise. The fact is that he did not have enough incentive to help himself, but there was a motivation to do everything for someone else.
Therefore, whether you are doing this for parents, children, or to help people who do not even know your name, there must always be an impetus in your mind that can help you cope with the inevitable difficulties on the road to success.

Do you have someone who would become a $ 2.50 motivation? The one for whom you will do everything that you would not do for yourself? If you are not sure yet, think about it. And if you know the exact answer to this question, another one arises: how can you constantly keep this motivation in your head?

Andrew Carnegie is an example of the fact that if you work hard, take your thoughts out of the shadows, take risks, act quickly and take care of your reputation as an honest person, you can achieve anything.

But what is most unbelievable? Carnegie is only one among many who have made their way from poverty to tremendous success and wealth.

PS We recommend another article on the topic - 28 secrets of extremely productive people .

Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult .