Number seven is a Willingness to Share One’s Blessings. He who has not learned the blessed act of sharing has not found the true path to happiness, for happiness comes only by sharing. And let it be forever remembered that all riches may be embellished by the simple process of sharing them where they may serve others. Let it be remembered, also, that the space one occupies in the hearts of his fellowmen is determined precisely by the services he renders through some form of sharing.
Number eight is a Labor of Love. There can be no richer man than he who has found a labor of love, and who is busily engaged in performing it, for labor is one of the highest forms of expression of human desire. Labor is the connecting link between demand and supply of all human needs, the forerunner of all human progress, the medium by which the imagination is given the wings of action. And all labor of love is sanctified because it brings the joy of self-expression, and it takes the drudgery out of all human endeavor.
Number nine is An Open Mind on All Subjects. Tolerance, which is among the higher attributes of culture, is expressed only by the person who holds an open mind on all subjects at all times. It is only the person with an open mind who becomes truly educated and thus prepared to avail himself of the greater blessings of life. It has been said that as long as a man remains green with an open and curious mind he may grow bigger and wiser, but when he becomes ripe with fixed opinions and judgments he next becomes rotten with decay.
Number ten is Self Discipline. The person who is not the master of himself may never become the master of anything else. But he who is the master of self may become the master of his own earthly destiny. And the highest form of self-discipline consists in the expression of humility of the heart after one has acquired great riches or has been met by that which is commonly called success.
A man without adequate discipline over his thoughts and deeds is like a ship without a rudder, and he must go wherever the waves of the ocean of life carry him.
Without hesitation, I would say self-discipline is most essential in connection with one’s habits of thinking, since all acts and deeds are but the expressions of thoughts. But, don’t forget that self-discipline is a wonderful healer of disease, a miraculous destroyer of fear and worry, and the only means by which we may take possession of our own minds and direct them to ends of our own choice, as the Creator provided we should. And it is the means by which we can give ourselves protection against those who endeavor to make us angry and thereby weaken us for their own selfish purposes.
Show me a person who exercises perfect discipline over self and I’ll show you a person who is a success in whatever he undertakes. He has sound health, he is happy, and he is liked by all who know him. The lack of self-restraint on the part of individuals is one, if not the main cause, of the fear and chaos throughout the world today. The salvation of mankind depends upon vitally needed changes in individuals who will use enough self-discipline to get back to the fundamentals of religion and live by these instead of merely professing to believe in them. Belief is not enough. There must be deeds to back up the belief.
Number eleven is The Capacity To Understand People. The person who is rich in the capacity to understand other people always recognizes that all people are fundamentally alike in that they have evolved from the same stem, and that all human activities are inspired by one or more of the same basic motives.
Under what circumstances is it most beneficial to have the capacity to understand other people?
I would say in connection with our relations with those whom we do not particularly like, or with those with whom we definitely disagree. It is not difficult to understand those with whom we have no conflict of opinions but it is a different story when we are dealing with those who disagree with us.
It definitely enables one to become more flexible in his relations with others, and enables one to adapt himself to unpleasant circumstances without losing his temper or his composure. It also enables one to transmute hatred of others into pity, and to temper his judgments of others with mercy and forgiveness when one has been injured or wronged. The capacity to understand others helps one to make allowances for their weaknesses and to give full credit for their virtues.
Number twelve is Economic Security, or more plainly stated, Money. The reason I have not given Money first place among the Twelve Great Riches of Life stems from my observation of those who have money in great amounts but lack some, or all, of the other things which make people truly rich.
Peace of mind is, or should be, one of the greatest of all riches. I did not include it because all those who have acquired the Twelve Great Riches we have mentioned have also found peace of mind. And they have found happiness, which is the objective all people are seeking and perhaps the only major objective of life.
Will those who acquire the first eleven of the Twelve Great Riches automatically come into possession of the twelfth, which is money? No, but these will lay the foundation for the accumulation of money. The actual acquisition of money begins by the development of a money consciousness—that is, a deep and enduring desire for money. This will naturally lead to the rendering of service or the exchange of things of value which entitle one to acquire money. Moreover, those who acquire the first eleven of the Great Riches will not only be in a position to acquire money, but more importantly, they will be able to use money wisely.
You can acquire money in large amounts without the aid of the other eleven great riches but I implore you to observe carefully what happens to those who do so. You will discover, in every such instance, that those who acquire money in large amounts, without first acquiring the other eleven Great Riches, do not use the money wisely, and often it turns out that they paid too dearly for their monetary riches.
Make a list of all of your riches, material and otherwise, and express your gratitude each night, in the form of a prayer, for these blessings. You will discover that the more you give thanks to the Giver of all gifts for the blessings you now possess, still other and greater blessings will be added unto you. We are living in an age of over plenty of everything except gratitude for that which we have.
Now that you know what makes people truly rich, what are you going to do about it? And when are you going to begin? May I suggest that the best place for you to begin is by writing out a complete list of the Twelve Great Riches and place this list where you can check yourself against it daily for the next thirty days. Go over the list of the Great Riches, one by one, and place an “ok” after those you believe you have already acquired, and a zero after those which you still lack.
May I suggest, also, that you have someone who knows you very well double-check your own rating on each of the Twelve Great Riches, since it is a common habit for human beings to err in their own favor when they take inventory of their blessings and their good qualities. Let your husband or wife, or some close friend who will dare to tell you the truth about yourself, have a look at your rating on the Twelve Great Riches, and you may make discoveries of great benefit to yourself.
If you are ready for a thing it will make its appearance.
Source: Adversity to Advantage by Napoleon Hill