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Writer's pictureKristen Taylor

The Napoleon Hill Experiment

Updated: Sep 13, 2023

Growth often comes from crisis. It is an unfortunate reality of the human psyche. Sometimes you have to be pushed to the edge of your comfort zone or shoved right off of it to make a change. To realize that life is short and amazing things are just on the other side of your self-imposed boundaries. It may feel like the end of the world but really it is just the beginning.


Your mind is not always your friend. It does crazy things to protect you. You have the ability to change that. You have the ability to redirect your thoughts, push past the point of uncomfortable, and move toward the abyss of potential.


My “crisis” started when I realized after 20+ years on the hamster wheel of living a life focused on achievement, it was never going to make me happy. The goalpost was always going to keep moving.


You see, happiness is an emotion that requires inputs from external factors outside of your control.


But fulfillment is a different story. Fulfillment is a state that can be attained through introspection. It puts you behind the wheel.


We are often misdirected in our belief that achieving will lead to happiness. What we are really looking for is fulfillment. To be happy in the life we are living.


And this is where the story behind The Napoleon Hill Experiment begins.


I had this epiphany about six-plus months ago.


You know, after my so-called crisis. I say “so-called” because the term crisis is very subjective. One person’s crisis is another person’s Tuesday morning.


A shift at work put me into a tailspin. I won’t go into the details but this shift had me questioning my professional trajectory.


I had always been a career-focused person deriving my self-worth from achievement.


I was left feeling frustrated, mad, scared, and lost.


I was 45 years old and I felt like was too old to start over again yet too young and driven to accept this new reality.


I became obsessed with comparing my professional status to everyone I saw on LinkedIn wondering what they had that I didn’t.


The negative voices in my head were on overdrive.


I needed a sign for what to do next. I couldn’t keep going on this way.


Funny enough, I found it in one of these free self-improvement workshops advertised in my Facebook feed. Well, it wasn’t totally free because I did sign-up for the course they were selling, but it was worth every penny.


What I learned was so simple. It opened my eyes to how I had been incorrectly prioritizing my values.


First, I learned was this was totally normal. I was not alone. I could dig myself out of this hole without totally recreating my professional life. I needed to learn how to work on my mindset. I needed to accept that I was responsible for creating this reality that I was living in my head.


Second, I realized that my lifelong career goals had been misdirected. Instead of focusing on the life that I wanted to lead, I had been focused on proving that I could be successful.


I had set my goals based on what I thought success looked like externally.


The misconception that achievement was going to make me happy had finally caught up with me. I could no longer hide behind my drive.


Instead of leading with what I could achieve, I needed to start leading with what I could contribute.


Instead of focusing on what I could get out of life, I needed to start focusing on what I could give.


And that was pretty freaking liberating.


You know, that kind of lesson you learn and are so excited to share it with everyone you meet.


The good news is that we can have both, success and fulfillment, as long as we are cognizant of how they work together. There is a formula!


I can tell you right now that this message is not going to resonate with everyone. It would have been lost on me just over a year ago. But if it can help someone, that is enough for me.


On my journey to recalibrate for fulfillment, I started reading all the self-help and personal growth books out there. What I found is, they all say the same thing.


You can do anything you want if you want it bad enough. It is all about your mindset.


If you want to make a change mid-life and become an advocate for finding happiness and fulfillment, you can make that happen.


If you want to inspire others by showing them that everyday people, like you and me, can do anything they put their minds to, you can do that too.


You just have to apply the principles. The 13 principles of success.


And that is where the “experiment” comes into play.


In reading all the self-help and personal growth books, the one that I kept coming back to was Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich.”


Now, it is not like it sounds. Sure, the sales pitch to get you to buy the book is the getting rich part, but the principles are the real deal. Desire, Faith, Persistence, Specialized Knowledge, Organized Planning, Decision, and the Subconscious Mind are just a few of the key ingredients you need to get anything worth doing done.


I believe in it because I have seen it work firsthand. One of the traits of being achievement-focused and goal-orientated is dreaming of where you want to go next and then figuring out how to get there. As a master reinventor and a queen of change, these principles are like a second language for me.


So now I want to apply this methodology to something more meaningful. Something beyond my old self-serving ways. Reach people who are looking for something more. Reach those who are seeking fulfillment and need a little help finding the path forward.

I am taking the next 13 months to follow the 13 principles of success to provide a real boots-on-the-ground grass-roots effort example that anyone can relate to.


I built my website as a resource for those who want to follow along and a window into the progress of my mission.


My mission to lead a more intentional life. To share the wealth of a healthy mindset and the principles to succeed in their own life goals.


Stay tuned. More to come. Subscribe on this website to be notified when my next update is available and follow my writings on Medium.com.


Make it count. Make it remarkable. Engage your drive to make it happen.

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