This true lost manuscript from the "grandfather of self-help," Napoleon Hill provides timeless wisdom on how to attain a more successful and wealthy life using simple principles. Napoleon Hill first wrote The Path to Personal Power in 1941, intending it as a handbook for people lifting themselves out of the Great Depression. But upon the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's entrance into World War II, these lessons were put aside and largely forgotten--until today. Discovered in the archives of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, this never-before-published work is made up of three easily digested lessons, each its own chapter: Definteness of Purpose; the Master Mind; and Going the Extra Mile. This concise book is a powerful roadmap that leads to a single discovery--you already have the power to attain whatever wealth, success, and prosperity you desire in life. All you need to do is walk the path without straying, and the rest will follow. Using these lessons, you have principles to live by that will help you stay on your own personal path to power, and achieve success that you never thought possible. Napoleon Hill was born in 1883 in Virginia and died in 1970 after a long and successful career as a lecturer, an author, and a consultant to business leaders. His Think and Grow Rich is the all-time bestseller in its field, having sold millions of copies worldwide, and setting the standard for today's motivational thinking. Chapter One Definiteness of Purpose Through the lessons of this book you will be provided with usable knowledge that would cost you a huge fortune if you acquired it, as it was originally organized, from the minds of Andrew Carnegie and more than five hundred other distinguished leaders in American business and industry. Among the persons whose successful experience is published here are Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison, Stuart Austin Wier, Cyrus H. K. Curtis, Edward Bok, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, Dr. Elmer R. Gates, John Wanamaker, James J. Hill, Edwin C. Barnes, William Howard Taft, Charles M. Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, Elbert H. Gary, Charles P. Steinmetz, and Woodrow Wilson. For all practical purposes you may assume that you are now entering a classroom in which your teachers will consist of more than five hundred of the men who have made America the "richest and freest" country known to civilization. Moreover, you will be privileged to acquire in this book the same knowledge that would have required over ten years of intense study had you procured it from its original source. Through this book you will be schooled in an entire philosophy of success, complete and adequate in every respect for the needs of any person seeking the privilege of self-determination under the great American system of personal advancement. You will receive instruction that is not available at any price nor under any circumstances through any other source. These lessons have been presented in a manner best suited to enable you to assimilate the knowledge they convey, with no effort on your part beyond a sincere desire to avail yourself of the secrets of achievement which are known to have been the foundation of almost all of the successful business leaders this country has produced. In thus departing from the usual academic style of presenting knowledge, the author has kept in mind the fact that this book is for men and women in all walks of life, whose educational background, occupation, and family responsibilities make it necessary for them to acquire practical knowledge by the shortest and quickest method available. The author has had in mind, too, the fact that this book is intended as a "family" schooling and should therefore be presented in an easy, readable style that will be interesting to young men and young women who have not yet finished high school or college as well as to the adult members of the family. Every principle of individual achievement here presented has been tested and tried in the great crucible of practical experience. You can read these lessons in a few hours, but more than thirty years of careful research made it possible for you to do this. Moreover, this research was carried on by practical business men who acquired their experience by the trial and error method, over a long period of years. Read slowly and digest that which you read, as you go along. The most important part is not in these lessons but in your mind. The major purpose of this chapter is not that of suggesting to you what your definite goal in life should be but rather to bring to your attention the necessity of your choosing a major objective as a starting point toward individual achievement. Mark the paragraphs which impress you most as you read and come back to these for a more detailed analysis when time permits. It will be helpful if two or more people form a study club for the purpose of reading and analyzing the lessons together. The benefits of this plan will become more obvious after