Napoleon Hill Yesterday and Today Issue 112 Continued

Alone in a hostile world.
By Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson

Michael was broke. Stony broke. And homeless. Didn’t have a job. Not bankrupt, just broke. His business had folded. His wife had left him. His children didn’t want to know him. His true friends were few. The Bank repossessed his house, then sold it for what was owing. And cancelled his credit cards too.

Being homeless was something he had not known for over 30 years. Now at 51 Michael was alone in a hostile world. Fear of the future brought back a nervous childhood stammer. One he had not possessed for 30 years.

He did something rather crazy.

While most would have lived the life of a pauper on what remained, he sold his car for $10,000, bought a backpack, and a 6 months round the world airline ticket for $2000. And virtually disappeared. He spent 6 months traveling from Australia to the United Kingdom, to Canada, USA, Mexico and Guatemala, living in backpackers hostels, and other low cost accommodation in Latin America, before returning to his homeland.

Some would call this an adventure. Most would call it absolute foolishness as, when he returned to his homeland he truly was broke. Hardly a brass razoo in the world. Nil. Nothing. Zilch to his name.

During the 6 months he traveled with backpackers, he absorbed a little of their youthful enthusiasm for life, even though they had called him “the old guy” or “pops.” Backpackers knew where the casual work was and Michael had worked in Hawaii, painting a millionaire’s house, picked fruit in Canada, and cleaned a mansion in Indiana as he traveled. Now he was back in his homeland, Australia, 52 years old, with just about nothing to his name. No car, no job, no qualifications, no credit cards, no bank accounts. No home. No family. No future?

Might as well pull the plug and jump off the tallest building.

But…

Before going broke, he had been self employed for 20 years as a freelance writer, an area in which he had a few skills. He understood index and forex trading, but did not have the capital to start such a high risk business.

Old friends, he had a few, but then again too few to mention. He swallowed his pride and went to see some of them

An old ex business associate, Alexander, gave him a “home” in an empty room at the back of his house. At night, he and his friend talked philosophy. Alex had a success theory that, if one was an eagle and could fly above a crowd, all the people below would look the same. None would look more successful than any other. Therefore opportunities were equal, even though some people chose not to accept the equality.

Michael didn’t believe this, as he knew some were always more equal than others. At this moment in his life, he felt very unequal to the task of providing, even if just for himself.

Alex had two favorite sayings:

“Whatever happens, no matter how bad, always remember that success is your birthright.”

And the other one was

“If I could imprint into the mind of every child in this country who was less than 5 years old, that “Success is his birthright” I would create a nation of genii.”

This one Michael did believe, and he wondered if it was possible to imprint this belief into a 52 year old man?

Disaster was about to happen.

Alexander died suddenly in a car crash, and Michael knew he had to get out of the house quickly, as Alex's ex wife turned up, keen to sell the property, and told Michael he had no right to be living there. Michael went back to being homeless, bought a $500 wreck car and lived in the back of it, as he re-established himself.

Do you think a 52 year old man could come back from this position? Most would have quit. But there was a bit of hardened steel in Michael that even he did not know about. Living in a car, washing and shaving in a public park, shirt washed in a fountain, doesn't sound like the place where a dynasty might be formed. It wasn't. He sold his backpack. Now down to his last $372 dollars.

Let us put it in writing what changed his life.

It was his thinking, followed by positive action.

First was his friend Alex's belief that life, from the viewpoint of an eagle, leveled the playing field. Second was Alex's other belief that success was his birthright. Third was a poem he read in a library, where he went to keep warm in the autumn days of this story.

"If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't;
If you'd like to win, but you think you can't,
It's almost a cinch you won't.

"If you think you'll lose, you've lost,
For out in the world you'll find
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.

"Full many a race is lost
Ere even a race is run,
And many a coward fails
Ere even his work's begun.

"Think big, and your deeds will grow,
Think small, and you fall behind,
Think that you can, and you will;
It's all in the state of mind.

"If you think you are outclassed, you are;
You've got to think high to rise;
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

"Life's battle doesn't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later, the man who wins
Is the fellow who thinks he can."
--Edgar Guest

He copied this out and underlined the parts he especially liked. Of course he didn't believe it. But, like a drowning man, he was clutching at a straw. Parts he underlined, he turned slowly in his mind, wondering if he could really believe "this stuff."

He lay awake all night thinking of how success was "all in a state of mind" and wondering how he could be "sure of himself?"

Next day Michael determined to change his state of mind into the physical. He had no idea how. He decided to test Alex two statements and the beliefs of the poem.

He walked around the city all day, believing he was rich and wealthy. If you had asked Michael what he was looking for, he would have said: "I am looking for opportunities." He might have added that he was not sure if he would find them.

All day passed.

Nothing happened.

It had not worked.

No flash of inspiration. No magic voice from he sky. No heavenly choirs singing his praises. No angels or magic guardians. No television coverage of his story. No handouts. Nothing for free.

But the seed had been sown.

That night, after what he called the longest day of his life, when he walked around for 12 hours telling himself a lie that he was wealthy and famous, changed his life forever.

A strange place to find opportunity

That night, he read an American magazine that he discovered in a rubbish bin, at the back of a high class hotel. Oh how the mighty are fallen. No newspapers for Michael. No office to read them in. Only the lonely light of a streetlamp.

Unless you've walked a mile in Michael's boots, you cannot know the fine line between being a bum and being on the road to recovery. It truly is all in a state of mind. Anyone meeting Michael at this moment, would have found a bum, eating a raw carrot, and living in the back of a vehicle.

But in Michael's mind he had already changed. Already become a successful business man. In his mind he saw the money coming in. In his mind he visualized a new home. In his mind he had a new and wonderful partner. In his mind he worked from an office where he wore new and beautiful clothing. In his mind he was an established success.

He remembered his army days when he marched under orders of "head up, shoulders back, chest out, stomach in - remember soldier, if you are 6 foot tall, march like you are 6 foot 1. "

"Yes, Sir," He remembered. He began to walk taller.

In reality he lived in the back of a car. Nothing had changed. Except his stammer had disappeared.

Strange what a touch of imaginary confidence can do?

Reading the magazine, he found a product that sold for $600 in the USA, and which had not, to his knowledge, been sold in Australia before.

"I wonder if Australian's would buy this?" he thought.

He believed they would. From here on it is a long story. He approached another old friend, and got him to finance him for $500 which he promised (and did) repay later. He used the fax and phone at his friend's house, also on a pay later basis. He faxed the business in USA where he received permission to sell the product in Australia on a drop-ship basis. That is he would fax orders and a credit card number for the wholesale price of each sale, one by one, to the business, which would ship the product by airmail direct to his customers.

Of course he hadn't got any customers - except in his mind.

Now he needed his imaginary customers to pay him in advance for a product that would take 7 to 10 days to reach them.

He decided to sell direct to his prospects via the mail order business, and ask that they pay in advance by cash, money order or credit card. He would bank the money in his friend's account, and use the friend's credit card for the orders, again paying all the costs.

Remember the impossible dream? His friend, an optician did, and actually thought Michael was crazy... but went along with it as there was a gleam in Michael's eye that would not take no for an answer.

Michael opened a post office box for his mail. A secretarial service typed out his advertisement. A magazine he knew of, was due out in two weeks. He phoned the advertising manager and said he was interested in a classified ad space, and placed a small ad for this product which he had to prepay. Ouch... there went $300 of his $500. A week later the ad appeared.

Michael waited. And waited and waited.

Nothing happened.

Then... two weeks later 3 enquiries were made. Michael mailed them some photocopies of material he had produced, copied from some original artwork from his U S connection, and included his own story, which was poignantly believable, and actually gave him an unusual kind of credibility. Two of the three people bought. The following week two more bought.

Michael made $300 profit on each sale.

Was he back? Perhaps not.

But miracles do happen, and a bit of good fortune befell him. He approached the tax office to put in a "nil" return for the previous year. They mailed him a refund of $1200 from the past. They also mailed him $1200 due to his ex wife with whom he had previously worked in a partnership trust. He mailed it on to her last known address.

Michael paid back what he owed his friend, bought some new clothes and a pair of scissors to trim his beard.

Then did another crazy thing. He spent every cent he had, about $900 on advertising.

Then it was as if the doors of heaven had been opened.

More good fortune befell him.

Almost by magic he found a replica cuckoo clock which he sourced to Switzerland. He made a drop ship arrangement to have this drop shipped directly to his future customers. He booked a display ad in a Sunday paper advertisement, and sold 364 clocks.

Michael was back. And when he did get an office again, which took him over a year, he had the following lines photographed and mounted and hung on his wall.

Life's battle doesn't always go

To the stronger or faster man

But sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the fellow who thinks he can.

The story you have just read is from Michael S Johnson's unpublished book The Incredible Plan. A book which encompasses success strategies, a dash or quantum physics, metaphysical techniques involving visualization and meditation, and even a love story or two. Michael's original intention was to write a movie, and I am sure you can "see" the Michael in this story explaining with flashbacks, his story to St Peter, of why he deserves to be given the keys to the gateway of heaven. But the others, with him at the gateway, just may outdo him with their fables, based on true success stories, of how they have given before they got as they turned their lives from failure to success.

Michael is a writer, successful futures market trader, salesman and poet from Australia and first came across Think and Grow Rich when he worked for W Clement Stone’s Combined Insurance Company of America. What he remembers most of those days is that Combined not only gave the best salesman’s training course in the world in two weeks, they also gave you a free life philosophy which was priceless. A perfect example of give before you get. For more information please visit www.michaelsjohnson.com or email michael here michael@superformula.com

Thank you Michael. To submit your own Guest Column to be included with Napoleon Hill Yesterday and Today, please contact Gill Kilcoyne via email pma@gitomer.com or call 704 333-1112.