#41 - The 30 Causes Of Failure

#41 - The 30 Causes Of Failure In this episode of Right Your Own Story, I talk about the 30 Causes Of Failure, from the classic book 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill. Napoleon Hill was tasked with seeing if there was an actual formula for why people succeeded, and also failed. He was introduced to the big players of the day who were considered successful. These included former presidents of America, Inventors, Railroad Executives, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison etc, to name but a few.  In his quest, he discovered something important.  There WAS a reason why people succeed (13 of them), but there was also a reason why people failed (30). He wrote about this and more in his classic book, Think and Grow Rich, which became an international bestseller.  The lessons in the book are as valid now as when it was first published in 1937.  In last weeks podcast episode, I spoke about the 13 Causes of Success (Click this link to listen to that episode), but this weeks episode is to discuss the reverse side of that particular coin - The 30 Causes of Failure.  So, here they are, all 30 of them: **Note - Before you look at the list, maybe think about a time when you tried something, and it just didn't work OR, think of a certain person you know who failed at something, and see if you can identify some of the reasons.  1. AN UNFAVOURABLE HEREDITARY BACKGROUND 2. LACK OF A WELL DEFINED PURPOSE 3. LACK OF AMBITION 4. LACK OF SELF-DISCIPLINE 5. INSUFFICIENT EDUCATION 6. ILL HEALTH 7. POOR ENVIRONMENT DURING CHILDHOOD 8. PROCRASTINATION 9. LACK OF PERSISTENCE 10. NEGATIVE PERSONALITY 11. LACK OF A CONTROLLED SEXUAL URGE 12. DESIRE OF SOMETHING FOR NOTHING 13. LACK OF DECISION 14. ONE OR MORE OF THE SIX BASIC FEARS - POVERTY, CRITICISM, ILL HEALTH, LOSS OF LOVE, OLD AGE AND DEATH 15. WRONG SELECTION OF A MATE IN MARRIAGE 16. OVER CAUTION 17. WRONG SELECTION OF A MATE IN BUSINESS 18. SUPERSTITION OR PREJUDICE 19. WRONG SELECTION OF VOCATION 20. LACK OF CONCENTRATION OR EFFORT 21. INDISCRIMINATE SPENDING 22. LACK OF ENTHUSIASM 23. INTOLERANCE 24. INTEMPERANCE 25. INABILITY TO CO-OPERATE WITH OTHERS 26. POSSESSION OF POWER NOT EARNED 27. INTENTIONAL DISHONESTY 28. EGOTISM OR VANITY 29. GUESSING INSTEAD OF THINKING 30. LACK OF CAPITAL Quite a list, is it not? Did you identify with it in any way? I know I did when I first learned about it, and that was not particularly pleasant to discover, but it was important because then I could learn how to stop doing that.  For completeness, here are the 13 Causes for Success too: 1. DESIRE 2. FAITH 3. AUTO-SUGGESTION 4. SPECIALISED KNOWLEDGE 5. IMAGINATION 6. ORGANISED PLANNING 7. DECISION 8. PERSISTENCE 9. POWER OF THE MASTER MIND 10. MYSTERY OF SEX TRANSMUTATION 11. THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND 12. THE BRAIN 13. THE SIXTH SENSE I would highly recommend purchasing a copy of 'Think and Grow Rich', and adding it to your library. Here is the Amazon link for it. My best wishes, James Right Your Own Story Ltd