Episode #172 – The Napoleon Hill Success Formula for Animal Health and Veterinary Professionals, Part 3
Julea: Welcome to “The Animal Health Employment Insider,” brought to you by The VET Recruiter. In this podcast, Animal Health Executive Recruiter and Veterinary Recruiter, Stacy Pursell, founder, and CEO of The VET Recruiter, provides insight and practical advice for both employers and job seekers in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. The VET Recruiter’s mission is to help Animal Health and Veterinary employers hire top talent, while helping animal health and veterinary professionals attain career-enhancing opportunities that increase their quality of life.
In today’s podcast episode, we’ll be talking more about the Napoleon Hill success formula for Animal Health and Veterinary professionals. Hello, Stacy, and thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: Hello, Julea. It is great to be here.
Julea: Stacy, this is the third in a series of podcast episodes about the wisdom of American self-help author Napoleon Hill. First, we explored two of the most important foundations for success, which are character and hard work. Then last week, we talked about “going the extra mile,” having a cheerful attitude and a positive outlook, and being persistent. What’s on the agenda for today?
Stacy: First and foremost, Julea, I want to say that I have really enjoyed doing this series about Napoleon Hill. I have long admired his wisdom and the advice that he has given people down through the years about the best ways to achieve success, both personally and professionally. Of course, what we’ve been discussing here these last few weeks falls into the realm of professional success.
And the advice that Napoleon Hill has dispensed falls into two basic categories. The first category involves the successful mindset, the correct way that a person has to think before they can act in the right way. The second category involves actions, things that people must do to be successful. Today, we’ll be talking about the successful mindset. In other words, before you can do what you have to do to be successful, you have to think the right way or having the right mindset.
Julea: You’re talking about the mental aspect of being successful?
Stacy: Yes, that’s absolutely right! I’m a firm believer that the mental aspect of success is perhaps the most important. During my career as an Animal Health Executive Recruiter and Veterinary recruiter, I have seen people do things the right way and I have seen people do things the wrong way. The number-one factor that influenced whether or not they did things correctly or not was their frame of mind. The way that a person views a situation or their circumstances largely dictates what they do about that situation or circumstances.
Julea: Will we be looking at more quotes by Napoleon Hill?
Stacy: Yes, we will. These are quotes from his books and his lectures about success, similar to what we have discussed the last couple of weeks. Today, I’m going to break down the mental aspect into two categories of topics: the negative mind and the closed mind, and those are exactly what they sound like.
A person with a negative mind thinks negative thoughts and says and does negative things. On the other hand, a person with a closed mind does not entertain new ideas and is not open to other opinions or other ways of thinking. Both of these mindsets are detrimental and do not lead to success.
Julea: Where would you like to start?
Stacy: I’d like to begin with the negative mindset, and of course, Napoleon Hill had something to say about that. His quote is as follows:
“It is a physical impossibility for a negative mind to generate positive thoughts. When you allow yourself to dwell on the negative aspects of life, negative thinking expands to fill all of your thoughts until there is no room for positive thoughts to grow. It becomes an endless cycle. The habit of negative thinking generates more and more negative thoughts, which the mind attempts to turn into physical reality. The result is a life of despair and hopelessness.”
Julea: Wow, he definitely did not mince words, did he?
Stacy: He didn’t, which is one of the reasons I like him. He told it like it was.
Julea: Did Napoleon Hill also have advice for how to turn negative thoughts into positive ones, or at the very least, how to stop negative thoughts from affecting a person’s success?
Stacy: As a matter of fact, he did. That’s because Napoleon Hill was big on solving problems and providing solutions. And that, incidentally, is another key to achieving more success: being a problem solver and not a problem creator.
Hill also had plenty to say about combatting negative thoughts. One of his pieces of advice is as follows:
“Develop the habit of eliminating negative thoughts the moment they appear. Start small at first. When you first hear that inner voice that says, ‘I can’t do this,’ put the thought out of your mind immediately. Instead, concentrate on the task itself. Break it down into manageable parts and complete them one at a time. When the job is finished, tell your doubting self, ‘You were wrong. I could do it, and I did!’”
Julea: Napoleon Hill took his own advice about having a positive attitude seriously, didn’t he Stacy?
Stacy: He absolutely did, and it’s not empty advice, either. He didn’t advocate having a positive attitude just for the sake of having one. There are multiple benefits to having one, not the least of which is combatting negative thoughts. The simple absence of negative thoughts contributes to enjoying more success. And positive thoughts and a positive attitude and outlook also contribute to success because they provide a person with more energy and a greater capacity for accomplishment.
And in terms of the marketplace and the workplace, an employee who is positive is more valuable than an employee who is negative. If you have two employees and their skill level is roughly the same, an organization will choose the employee who thinks positive thoughts over the one who thinks negative thoughts every time. As we’ve said many times before, the employment marketplace comes down to value. Employers want value, and a positive person is more valuable than a negative one.
And while we’re on the subject, an organization will also choose an employee who does not gossip over one who does.
Julea: Gossiping falls into the category of a negative mindset; wouldn’t you say Stacy?
Stacy: That’s absolutely right. And it probably won’t surprise you to know that Napoleon Hill also addressed the subject of gossip.
Julea: You’re right, it doesn’t surprise me!
Stacy: And what Hill had to say about gossiping was rather simple. His opinion on the matter went like this:
“The individual who has time only for gossip and slander is too busy for success.”
Julea: What did he mean by that, exactly?
Stacy: You have to look at it from the point of view of the employer. A company or organization pays an employee for their time. Specifically, it pays an employee for their use of the time that it gives to them. If an employee spends the time that the organization is paying them for by gossiping, that’s not a very good use of the time. The organization is not getting a good return on their investment in the employee.
In fact, Napoleon Hill had even more to say about the subject. He said the following:
“Each of us has a finite amount of time, energy, and money; you must choose for yourself how you will spend them. If you elect to squander your resources by demeaning others in an attempt to advance your own interests, you will soon find that so much of your time and energy has been spent on gossip and slander that you have little time left for yourself. If you deal in malicious information, you’ll rarely be trusted. As the saying goes, ‘Those who talk about others to us will talk about us to others.’”
Julea: So it seems like there are two things happening when it comes to gossiping. First, instead of using the time that their employer gives them productively, the person is choosing to gossip instead, which basically means that they’re wasting that time. Second, gossiping can be detrimental to an organization and the teams within it. Spreading gossip can cause divisions and pit people against each other, and that further hurts productivity and the employer overall. Would you say that’s an accurate assessment?
Stacy: I would! In fact, I could not have said it better myself. Gossiping is the product of a negative mindset and it will definitely prevent a person from reaching their full potential and enjoying more success.
Julea: Stacy, what about the closed mindset? I know you also mentioned that earlier.
Stacy: Yes, the closed mindset is also part of the mental aspect of success, in as much as it also hampers growth and success. The opposite of the closed mindset, of course, is the open mindset. Being open to things will put a person in a much better position to enjoy success than not being open to them. I know that may seem like it’s a no-brainer, but the first reaction of many people is a closed mindset. Being open-minded is actually more difficult than it seems. It requires a proactive effort, and there are some people who are not willing to put forth that effort.
Julea: Did Napoleon Hill have anything to say about the closed mindset?
Stacy: He absolutely did, and this is what he had to say:
“There is a difference between wishing for a thing and being ready to receive it. No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must be belief, not mere hope or wish. Open-mindedness is essential for belief. Closed minds do not inspire faith, courage, and belief.”
I like that final sentence a lot: “Closed minds do not inspire faith, courage, and belief.” With everything that’s been happening in the world so far this year, we definitely need more faith, courage, and belief. You can see how Napoleon Hill’s advice works for personal success, as well as professional success. His tips and strategies work in just about all situations and circumstances, and that’s one of the great things about the things that he advocates.
Julea: Stacy, we’ve talked about being open-minded before, haven’t we, especially when it comes to considering other employment opportunities?
Stacy: Yes, we certainly have. And as we’ve pointed out, fear is one of the biggest factors in terms of being close-minded, specifically fear of the unknown.
Julea: Well, there is certainly a lot of fear in the marketplace right now, isn’t there?
Stacy: Yes, but there are also still a lot of opportunities in the marketplace, as well.
In fact, the most common objective that I’m encountering right now is when a candidate says, “It’s just not a good time to make a move.” Just recently, I had a veterinarian say that to me, and she found out that one of her co-workers had resigned that very morning. So, she came back to me and said she maybe should re-think things and decided to enter the process to look for a new position.
It’s simply a matter of overcoming fear. The fact of the matter is that there are people changing jobs right now. I know because I have been placing people in new jobs and in fact placed someone today in a new position.
Julea: Stacy, we’re just about out of time. Is there anything else you’d like to add before we wrap up today’s podcast episode?
Stacy: Yes. I want to reiterate that what we have been talking about these past few weeks is advice that works all of the time including in the middle of a pandemic. It works when there is a pandemic just as much as it works when there isn’t one. That’s why I like to call it “timeless advice,” because it works no matter your specific situation or even the century in which you live.
While I fully recognize that the pandemic is serious and it represents a challenge, there are always challenges in a person’s professional life, and those challenges have to be overcome in order to enjoy success. The COVID-19 pandemic is a new challenge, one we haven’t had to deal with in the past, and Animal Health and Veterinary professionals must make the choice to do what is necessary to overcome challenges if they wish to enjoy more success and grow their career.
Julea: Stacy, thank you so much for sharing more advice and tips for success from Napoleon Hill.
Stacy: It has been my pleasure Julea, and I look forward to our next episode of The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider!
Julea: That’s all for today’s show. For Stacy Pursell and everyone at The VET Recruiter, thank for your listening and we invite you to join us next time when we address more employment topics in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. We hope that you’ll join us then!