Outwitting the Devil is a work of fiction that was written in 1938 by Napoleon Hill, which was considered too controversial to be published in its era. The book is written as an interview between Hill (Mr. Earthbound) and the devil (our inner dark self), wherein Hill attempts to uncover the secrets to freedom and success by evaluating the greatest obstacles that humans face in order to attain their personal goals in life. Interview With The Devil - The Secret To Freedom And Success - Napoleon Hill About Napoleon Hill: Napoleon Hill (October 26, 1883 -- November 8, 1970) was an American author in the area of the new thought movement who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. He is widely considered to be one of the great writers on success. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich (1937), is one of the best-selling books of all time (at the time of Hill's death in 1970, Think and Grow Rich had sold 20 million copies). Hill's works examined the power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success. He became an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1936. "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" is one of Hill's hallmark expressions. Hill considered the turning point in his life to have occurred in the year 1908 with his assignment, as part of a series of articles about famous and successful men, to interview the industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. At the time, Carnegie was one of the most powerful men in the world. Hill discovered that Carnegie believed that the process of success could be outlined in a simple formula that anyone would be able to understand and achieve. Impressed with Hill, Carnegie asked him if he was up to the task of putting together this information, to interview or analyze over 500 successful men and women, many of them millionaires, in order to discover and publish this formula for success. As part of his research, Hill claimed to have interviewed many of the most successful people of the time in the United States. In the acknowledgments section of his 1928 multi-volume work The Law of Success, Hill listed 45 of those studied by him during the previous twenty years, "the majority of these men at close range, in person", like the three to whom the book set was dedicated, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and Edwin C. Barnes, an associate of Thomas Edison. Carnegie had given Hill a letter of introduction to Ford, who introduced Hill to Alexander Graham Bell, Elmer R. Gates, Thomas Edison, and Luther Burbank. According to the publishers, Ralston University Press, endorsements for the publishing of The Law of Success were sent by a number of them, including William H. Taft, Cyrus H. K. Curtis, Thomas Edison, Luther Burbank, E.M. Statler, Edward W. Bok, and John D. Rockefeller. As a result of Hill's studies via Carnegie's introductions, the Philosophy of Achievement was offered as a formula for rags-to-riches success by Hill and Carnegie, published initially in 1928 as the multi-volume study course The Law of Success. For this first edition, Hill had rewritten his previous 1925 manuscript, also recently released in 2011. The Achievement formula was detailed further and published in home-study courses, including the seventeen-volume "Mental Dynamite" series until 1941. The secret of achievement was tantalizingly offered to readers of Think and Grow Rich, but Hill felt readers would benefit most if they discovered it for themselves. Although most readers feel that he never explicitly identified this secret, he offers these words about 20 pages into the book: If you truly desire money so keenly that your desire is an obsession, you will have no difficulty in convincing yourself that you will acquire it. The object is to want money, and to be so determined to have it that you convince yourself that you will have it. . . You may as well know, right here, that you can never have riches in great quantities unless you work yourself into a white heat of desire for money, and actually believe you will possess it. However, Napoleon Hill also states at the introduction that the secret that the 'canny, lovable old Scotsman carelessly tossed it into my mind' (Andrew Carnegie) was also the same secret that Manuel L. Quezon (then Resident Commissioner of the Philippine Islands) was inspired by to 'gain freedom for his people, and went on to lead them as its first president.' He presented the idea of a "Definite Major Purpose" as a challenge to his readers in order to make them ask themselves, "In what do I truly believe?" According to Hill, 98% of people had few or no firm beliefs, and this alone put true success firmly out of their reach.

This TV Series will help you learn how to improve your life using 13 rules for success as presented by Napoleon Hill in 1954. Napoleon Hill, the author of Think and Grow Rich, is one of the founders of motivational, self-help, and inspirational life coaching. The principles that Napoleon Hill will share with you in these 13 lessons may change your life as it did mine. I encourage you to listen to several lessons at first, just to get a feel for Napoleon Hill's language and delivery. Then return to the beginning, prepared to take notes - starting and stopping the program as needed. Be patient. For me, I spent several months reflecting on just the first principle alone. I applied it to my life and paid close attention to how it influenced my daily decisions and actions. Then I moved onto the second principle, and so on. Before you begin, I want to call your attention to Hill's first principle, Definiteness of Purpose. Definiteness of Purpose is the starting point of all achievement and, for many students, it is the most challenging principle to apply. In Chapter One, Napoleon Hill will instruct you to apply this principle by completing the three following tasks: 1. "Write down what you most desire in life - what is it that you want?" 2. "Write down what you are willing to give in return for that desire." 3. Memorize and repeat your answers. Repeat them as statements, with regularity, and with an expression of gratitude. This Definiteness of Purpose principle is often misinterpreted as only relating to that first question - "What do I want?" It is necessary that you understand that the application of Hill's Definiteness of Purpose Principle is the combination of all three of Hill's instructions. The first two questions, "What do I want?" and "What will I give?" are equally important if you intend to put this principle into action. If you cannot immediately provide answers to these questions, then I encourage you to begin by reflecting on Hill’s second question: "What are you going to give?" This question is about your passion and your contribution to life. It is about expressing your unique gifts and talents that aim to serve others in a positive way. To help you answer that question, consider the following. What are the things that you like to do that provide you with a feeling of fulfillment and happiness? What are the things that other people see and recognize in you? If you had unlimited access to time and money, what would you do with your life that would benefit and contribute to others? You should consider that every living thing in this world is here to contribute and express something of unique value. As humans, we have the potential to use our minds to live a life of our own choosing and to labor towards whatever ends we desire. For you, that may be in the form of creating, supporting, writing, constructing, inventing, teaching, or perhaps leading and inspiring others. When you decide how you will serve life in a way that is fulfilling and makes you feel happy, then you have found your PURPOSE, and you will be ready to receive what comes in return. Therefore, once you have answered the question of what you are willing to give, then it is time to answer what it is that you are willing to receive in return. What do you want from life? What do you most desire that will define your definition of success? When you have answered this question, then you have set for yourself a GOAL. From this point forward, you are living a successful life when you make regular progress toward that GOAL and act on PURPOSE and with passion. The 13 lessons that Napoleon Hill includes in this video will guide you on that path, by providing you with direction and instruction for your great journey toward success. And remember, that whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Through cosmic habit force, the law of attraction takes hold and thoughts become things. Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction 00:54 - Definiteness of Purpose 10:11 - The Master Mind Principle 19:56 - Going the Extra Mile 29:33 - Applied Faith 40:16 - Pleasing Personality 50:16 - Self-Discipline 59:46 - Positive Mental Attitude 1:08:14 - Enthusiasm 1:18:20 - Personal Initiative 1:28:59 - Learning from Adversity 1:41:43 - Creative Imagination 1:51:29 - Accurate Thinking 2:01:20 - Cosmic Habit Force