Going The Extra Mile

When I first started studding the works of Napoleon Hill‘s one of the hardest concepts for me to understand in the ‘Law of Compensation’ was this principle of ‘Going the Extra Mile.’

But now I get it!

‘Going the Extra Mile’ states that in order to achieve our goal(s) in life we must first give before we can receive.   Most people say that this is impossible because they haven’t received anything yet, so there is nothing to give. 

Let’s consider this word “impossible” a little more.

When we give the word “impossible” power over us, we automatically surrender to failure to what ever we are attempting to do.  We talk ourselves into believing that whatever we think is impossible has gotten the better of us. 

Let’s get back to ‘The Law of Compensation.’

When people hear they must give before they receive they automatically think of money.  This is not the case.  I would argue that our greatest gift is the gift of our personal time, not our financial resources.  Both are valuable, but the gift of time is something that all the money in the world cannot purchase.

Sure it takes mental strength to give your time instead of money and as you do this you will start to move closer to your life’s goal and your personal performance will dramatically increase.  

In this excerpt below from the PMA Science of Success Course, Napoleon Hill tells a story that emphasizes quite well The Law of Compensation’ and ‘Going the Extra Mile.’

A Sharp Contrast – by Dr. Napoleon Hill

“Andrew Carnegie had a story about this principle of going the extra mile which he often liked to tell.  “Several years ago,” he would say, “a policeman noticed a light burning at a late hour in a small machine shop on his beat in which he knew that no night work was being done.  Becoming suspicious, he telephoned the owner of the shop who came down immediately, unlocked the door and cautiously crept inside with the policeman.

“When they reached the small room where the light appeared, the owner of the shop looked in and, to his amazement, found one of his employees at work at a machine.  The young man quickly explained that he had been in the habit of coming to the shop at night to learn how to operate the machine and thereby make himself more useful to the employer.

“The newspapers carried the story, and I happened to read it.  The newspaper article made it appear that it was all a big joke on the employer.  For I contacted this young man and employed him at double the wages he had been getting in this small machine shop.  Today he is head of one of our most important plant operations at a salary four times what he was getting at the machine shop, and if he keeps on as he is going and continues to exhibit the same wonderful mental attitude, he will some day have our top plant job – provided he doesn’t first go into business for himself.

“There is no way to hold down people who spend their spare time preparing to render grater and better service for others.  These persons go right to the top of their profession or calling as naturally as a cork rises to the top of water.”

There is little one can add to a story like that.  It would be like trying to gild the lily.  If you are ready to grasp the secret of real success, somewhere as you study the lessons in this course, you will find it.  You will grasp the significance of each of these principles, and will be on the way to the achievement of your own definite major objective.”

Source: PMA Science of Success Course. Pgs. 139 & 140.

How can you go The Extra Mile today? 

Please let me know in your comments below.