Prescription for Success in the Healthcare Industry

Sometimes it takes a personal experience to bring what should be an obvious problem into focus. For Rick Goodman, that came as he evaluated his wife’s experience navigating the complex world of cancer treatment and helping him develop a better understanding of how the people that surrounded her care made a difference in helping her get better. In the video, “Prescription for Success in the Healthcare Industry, Dr. Rick focuses on the human side of healthcare and discusses how he challenges healthcare organizations to inspire and train their people. He strives to help leaders in healthcare organizations recognize that everyone in the organization, not just the clinical professionals, can contribute to the positive outcome of their patients. According to Dr. Rick, all healthcare professionals “have the power to help the patient or the power to make the patient feel helpless”. Dr. Rick brings focused training programs targeted at the healthcare industry that help organizations create a strong patient-focused culture.

The Alex Project - Laws of Success "Profiting by Failure"

The fourteenth lesson in Napolean Hill’s Law of Success is titled “Profiting by Failure.” In the lesson, Hill gives the reader a different view of the meaning behind the word “failure”. Normally a negative word, Hill distinguishes failure from temporary defeat, and temporary defeat can at times be a blessing in disguise. He then states that he is thankful for experiencing so much defeat, since it had the effect of giving him the courage to attempt things he would not have tried if his early life would have been easier. The lesson flips the idea behind failure so drastically that by the end of the lesson it appears as though failure isn’t a bad thing at all. The message that can be taken after concluding with the lesson is simple. Ultimately, there is no failure. What appears to be failure is usually a minor setback in disguise, and you must always refuse to accept it as being permanent.

The Alex Project - Laws of Success "Concentration"

In his twelfth lesson in Law of Success, Napolean Hill discusses the importance of concentration in achieving great success. The lesson defines concentration as "the act of focusing the mind on a given desire until ways and means for its realization have been worked out and successfully put into operation."

Two important laws enter into this principal, including both the Law of Autosuggestion and The Law of Habit. Hill states that habit grows out of environment, and out of doing and thinking the same things the same way, over and over again. Therefore, Hill reminds us of the importance of selecting our environment with great care. The habits that we develop can be both good and bad, but know that bad habits can always be turned into good ones. Habits are created by repetition, and the best way to break old bad habits is to replace them by forming new good ones.

Concentration is a person's ability to keep their mind focused on one subject until they have mastered it. Also, both the ability to control your attention and the ability to throw off bad habits and attain self-mastery are also included in the definition of concentration. These abilities are helped by constantly keeping your "Definite Chief Aim" in mind. Hill concludes the lesson by stating that concentration is a characteristic obtainable by all. It is possible for anyone to develop the ability to "tune in" and understand the thoughts of others through what he refers to as "the universal mind."

The Alex Project: Laws of Success "The Habit of Doing More Than Paid For"

Napoleon Hill explores another topic that is vital to achieving success in the ninth lesson of this book, titled “The Habit of Doing More Than Paid For.” Essentially self-explanatory, this rare characteristic often results in countless opportunities for a person, and will add much to one’s credibility and reputation.

The easiest way for you to develop this habit is by ensuring that you are working in a profession that is enjoyable to you. According to Hill, some people love their work, but many hate what they do for a living. You are most efficient and will more quickly and easily succeed when engaged in work that you love, or work that you perform on for some person that you love.

If you are doing the type of work you love, it is no hardship to do more and better work than you are paid for.  Hill mentions two benefits of doing what you love: happiness (which is priceless) and earning far more money. He also states that family and friends may disapprove of following your passion, but you must proceed onward, regardless of the opinions of others.

The Alex Project: Laws of Success "Self Control"

     The eighth lesson in Napolean Hill’s reading course discusses self-control, and its great importance to achieving success. According to Hill, a lack of self-control resembles the unharnessed lightning of an electrical storm – it may strike anywhere; it may destroy life and property. Enthusiasm arouses action, and self-control directs that action in a constructive and positive way. It may interest one to know that the overwhelming percentage of prison inmates remain in jail because they lacked the necessary self-control to channel their energies in a constructive manner. Conversely, the one common quality of successful people is self-control.

 No one can manage to control others unless they can first control themselves. This therefore makes a lack of self-control one of the average salesperson's most damaging weaknesses. Hill states that the primary ways to maintain self-control is by not forming opinions without knowing the necessary facts, and by not spending beyond one’s means. Self-control also enables a person to prevent striking back at those who offend you, as well as other destructive habits which result in a waste of energy through non-productive efforts.

The main point that Hill wants the reader to get out of this lesson is that you have the “power to control your own thoughts and direct them to do your bidding.” Self-control is simply a matter of thought control, and we certainly have complete control over our own thoughts. Don’t allow outside forces to influence you excessively, but rather think for yourself and with rock-solid precision.

The Alex Project: Laws of Success "Enthusiasm"

In the seventh lesson in Law of Success, Napolean Hill discusses the great importance of “enthusiasm”, and how integrating enthusiasm into your life will ultimately lead to success. Hill defines enthusiasm as a state of mind that inspires and arouses one to put action into the task at hand." By constantly engaging in life with enthusiasm, the characteristic can be developed and used as a vital force in the work environment. In order to develop this potential enthusiasm, Hill argues that you must do the kind of work that you like, and make sure your actions are leading toward the achievement of your definite chief aim. Enthusiasm is a contagious characteristic, which magnifies its power. That is, it makes a large enough impression on others in order to make them become enthusiastic as well. Enthusiasm can mean using the same word choice but stated in a different manner, as people become more or less motivated based on how something is said to them. Hill emphasizes this fact, as it is not so much what you say as it is the tone and manner in which you say it that makes a lasting impression.

            In order to truly master the quality of enthusiasm, Hill stresses the idea of working for something that you believe in. This will naturally bring out the enthusiastic quality in yourself, as you will be legitimately interested in what you are doing. In his example, Hill discusses how he turned down the most money that was ever offered to him simply because he did not believe in what he was doing. The job was to write articles on a topic that he opposed, and therefore knew he would not be giving his best enthusiastic effort when taking the time to write the articles. When working in an environment or on a project that you genuinely enjoy and believe in, the enthusiasm will begin to come on its own.