If you are in business, no doubt you’ve read the book ‘Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. But did you know that Napoleon Hill was master at branding himself? Why else do you think years after his death, his book still regarded one of the best books in personal success? Moreover, his book was published in 1937 and is still a bestseller to this day.
So let’s have an in-depth look at the many personal branding lessons we can learn from this branding guru. Napoleon Hill was a master of marketing and his branding strategy is so strong that he has created a legacy that outlasted his life.
Looking at how Napoleon Hill created a brand position for himself can help you achieve this essential goal of branding yourself.
So what did Napoleon Hill have that made him stand out from others?
The most powerful tool at your disposal is simply having the desire. In a competitive landscape, you need to want it more than anyone else to become successful.
Having strong passion for what you do, will get you through the difficult times and ultimately prove to your audience you are worth paying attention to. Napoleon Hill had an amazing vision…his vision was to reveal the mind-set secrets of the rich and successful to the rest of the world. And he devoted his life to it.
To break it down he had the following 5 critical elements/traits that created a strong personal brand:
• Persistence. Desire alone isn’t enough; you need the will power to continue against the odds. A brand is not built overnight…you gotta keep repeating your tagline and mantra and back it up with persistence. Eventually, people will start taking notice. Napoleon Hill spent decades persisting even though sometimes financially he was very low. How many of us can do that?
• Imagination. You need to harness your creativity to come up with ideas. Napoleon Hill tapped into the wisdom of his subconscious mind to create ground breaking ideas and concepts to leap ahead of his competitors.
• Specialisation. Focusing on a particular field is essential. Be the best at what you do. Napoleon Hill focused on the mind-set of the rich, he did not tell people how to succeed in the railroad or steel industry. He created name in this niche for himself
• Leveraging others. A big turning point for Hill was an interview he conducted with Andrew Carnegie, who at the time was the richest man in America. While Mr. Hill barely had a penny to his name, he leveraged on the richest and most successful men during his period to build his brand.
• Getting into customer’s minds. Having the best mouse trap is one thing, but going out and letting people know about it requires a different skill set. Napoleon Hill wrote books, he did lectures and seminars, he wrote for publications, he gained media publicity, he worked with presidents, he had his own courses. All these helped to position him as the undisputed expert and leader in his field.
Napoleon Hill was a master at personal branding. The way he did it was subtle yet deliberate. Looking at how much of an effect his books have had on millions of people around the world, his personal profile in the world of personal success second to none. Testament to this is that even decades after his death, his name is often cited to anyone interested in personal success.
Whether you choose to build your personal profile to advance your career or business, learning these principles from Napoleon Hill is an invaluable lesson.
