Men take on the nature and the habits and the power of thought of those with whom they associate in a spirit of sympathy and harmony.
Napoleon HillRead
The world does not pay men for that which they “know”. It pays them for what they do, or induce others to do.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People are valued for their actions and their ability to influence others, not just for their knowledge.
Napoleon Hill's quote emphasizes that knowledge alone is insufficient for achieving success; rather, it is the actions we take and the ability to motivate and lead others that truly defines our value in the world. While knowing is important, it is the application of that knowledge and the proactive steps we take that result in tangible outcomes and rewards.
Themes
SuccessActionKnowledgeInfluenceLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech to students about pursuing their dreams.
More from Napoleon Hill
All quotes →Nature yields her most profound secrets to the person who is determined to uncover them.
Napoleon HillRead
Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.
Napoleon HillRead
One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat.
Napoleon HillRead
Let nobody bribe you away from being yourself.
Napoleon HillRead
Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to cut all sources of retreat. Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win - essential to success.
Napoleon HillRead
Similar quotes
One of the major keys to success is to keep moving forward on the journey, making the best of the detours and interruptions, turning adversity into advantage.
John C. MaxwellRead
At 14, you think you compete, you retire and you get a job. I didn't think gymnastics was a career that was going to change my life.
Nadia ComaneciRead
Success lulls you. It makes the most ambitious of us complacent and sloppy. In a way, you have to cultivate a kind of amnesia and forget all of your previous prosperity.
Pat SummittRead
The prospect of penury in age is so gloomy and terrifying that every man who looks before him must resolve to avoid it; and it must be avoided generally by the science of sparing. For, though in every age there are some who, by bold adventures, or by favorable accidents, rise suddenly to riches, yet it is dangerous to indulge hopes of such rare events; and the bulk of mankind must owe their affluence to small and gradual profits, below which their expense must be resolutely reduced.
Lyndon B. JohnsonRead
In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.
Coco ChanelRead
I don't feel like a wealthy person. Other people think of me as a wealthy person, but I don't. I feel the same as when I was a fifth-year associate trying to make partner at Lehman Brothers. I haven't changed.
Stephen A. SchwarzmanRead