Napoleon Hill - Outwitting the Devil

F EAR is the tool of a man-made devil. Self-confident faith in ones self is both the man-made weapon which defeats this devil and the man-made tool which builds a triumphant life. And it is more than that. It is a link to the irresistible forces of the universe which stand behind a man who does not believe in failure and defeat as being anything but temporary experiences.

NAPOLEON HILL

Praise for Napoleon Hills
OUTWITTING THE DEVIL

Outwitting the Devil proves once again that the messages and philosophies of Napoleon Hill are timeless. This book contains insights on how to break free of habits and attitudes that prevent success and will ultimately lead to happiness and prosperity. If you want to break through your own roadblocks, read this book!

T. HARV EKER, author of #1 New York Times best seller
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

If you want to own your life, you have to own your money. In Outwitting the Devil, Napoleon Hill shares what may be holding you back in your financial life and charts the course for you to take control and own the life of your dreams.

JEAN CHATZKY, financial journalist and author of
The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even the Toughest Times

I have probably studied Napoleon Hills work as much as anyone alive. It was 50 years ago that I picked up Think and Grow Rich. I have it with me all the time and read it every day. When Sharon Lechter sent me a copy of Outwitting the Devil I thought Hill has done it again, another world changer. This book is going to eliminate the spiritual confusion people worldwide are presently experiencing, and it will tear down the wall of ignorance that separates millions of individuals from the freedom their soul is seeking.

BOB PROCTOR, founder of Life Success, www.bobproctor.com

Most people will achieve their greatest success one step beyond what looked like their greatest failure. While Napoleon Hills Think and Grow Rich provided a roadmap to success, Outwitting the Devil will help you break through the barriers that may be holding you back.

BRIAN TRACY, author of The Way to Wealth

NAPOLEON HILL
OUTWITTING
THE DEVIL

The Secret to Freedom and Success

ANNOTATED BY
SHARON LECHTER
with The Napoleon Hill Foundation

STERLING and the distinctive Sterling logo are registered trademarks of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

2011 by The Napoleon Hill Foundation
For further reading, please visit:
www.naphill.org
www.outwittingthedevil.com
www.sharonlechter.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 9781402784538 (hardcover)
ISBN 9781402789007 (ebook)

For information about custom editions, special sales, and premium and corporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special Sales at 8008055489 or specialsales@sterlingpublishing.com.

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

www.sterlingpublishing.com

CONTENTS

by Sharon Lechter

by Mark Victor Hansen

Summary

by Michael Bernard Beckwith

by Sharon Lechter

Portrait of a young Napoleon Hill

The introduction, typed on a manual typewriter with handwritten notes, from the original manuscript by Napoleon Hill.

by
SHARON LECHTER

OUTWITTING THE DEVIL is the most profound book I have ever read.

First, I was incredibly honored when Don Green, CEO of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, trusted me enough to ask me to become involved in this project. And then I read the manuscript! I couldnt sleep for a week.

Written on a manual typewriter in 1938 by the Master himself, Napoleon Hill, this manuscript had been locked away and hidden by Hills family for seventy-two years. Why? Because they were frightened by the response it would invoke. Hills courage in revealing the Devils work around each of us every day, in our churches, our schools, and our politics, threatened the very core of society as it was known at the time.

When asked why the family had hidden the manuscript, Don Green recites the following inside story:

It was the objections of Hills wife, Annie Lou. She was secretary to Dr. William Plumer Jacobs, president of Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. Jacobs was also owner of Jacobs Press and a public counselor to a group of South Carolina textile firms. Jacobs hired Hill to come to Clinton to work for him, and Annie Lou did not want the book published because of the role of the Devil. She feared the response from organized religion (and maybe for Hills job). Even though Hill died in 1970, Annie Lou did not die until 1984. Upon Annie Lous death, the manuscript came into the possession of Dr. Charlie Johnson, then the president of the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Charlie was the nephew of Annie Lou Hill. Charlies wife, Frankie, knew and shared Annie Lous feelings. Frankie told Charlie that she did not want the article published while she was alive either. Charlies wife passed away a couple of years ago and Charlie finally gave me the manuscript, bound in red leather and embossed with the letters Outwitting the Devil in gold on the cover. The Foundation believes the manuscript has a powerful message that needs to be shared.

After speaking with Don, I was overcome with a powerful realization. This book, even though written in 1938, was actually meant to be published today... meant to rock our society today! It was intended to provide answers during this uncertain economic and spiritual time. It provides the keys for each of us to outwit the Devil in our own lives. It shows us how to chart a course for success and to add value to the world around us through the process.

Just as Think and Grow Rich helped us recover and succeed after the Great Depression, Outwitting the Devil was written to help each of us recover and succeed today!

You may ask if Hill believes his conversation with the Devil was real, or was it merely imaginary? The choice is yours. But I also asked Don Green about Hills thoughts in his other writings to see if we could get another look inside Hills head. Dons response was as follows:

The use of imaginary conversations was not new to Hill. In 1953, Hill published How to Raise Your Own Salary, which was written as a conversation between Hill and Carnegie. Hill had actually interviewed Carnegie in 1908 and Carnegie died in 1919, well before its publication.

This was not the first time Hill used imaginary meetings to convey what he was writing about. In Think and Grow Rich, Hill, writing about the sixth sense, wrote about his imaginary council meeting with the nine men whose lifeworks had been the most impressive to Hill. These nine imaginary council members were Emerson, Paine, Edison, Darwin, Lincoln, Burbank, Napoleon, Ford, and Carnegie.