The 60 second decision……

“The man of DECISION cannot be stopped! The man of INDECISION cannot be started! Take your own choice.” He also said: “Make a decision. Make ANY decision. ANY decision is better than NO decision. At least if you make the wrong decision, you can always go back and correct the mistake.” 

Make a decision…. Uncategorized December 18, 2012 Leave a comment For those of you who haven’t yet tired of my endless quoting of my favorite authors, here we go again! I truly believe that making a reasonably fast decision, as long as not under emotional duress, is the best way to act in most cases. Napoleon Hill has devoted a large portion of his works to discussing this subject. The story of how he came to be appointed by Andrew Carnegie to write the world’s first complete philosophy of success revolves around Mr. Carnegie’s difficulty in finding a person who can make a quick and definite decision once he has all the facts at hand. Dr. Hill didn’t know it at the time, but when Mr. Carnegie put the question to him, i.e. if he would be willing to devote the next twenty years of his life, without pay, to researching and writing the philosophy, Mr. Carnegie was holding a stopwatch under his desk. He had decided in advance that he would not give this opportunity to anyone who took longer than 60 seconds to definitely say either “yes” or “no.” It took Napoleon Hill exactly 29 seconds to say, “Yes Mr. Carnegie, I will not only accept your commission, sir, but you may depend upon it that I will complete it!” Mr. Carnegie replied with, “I not only like what you said, but I like the way you said it!” He went on to reveal the stopwatch to Dr. Hill, and told him that he had already offered this opportunity of a lifetime to dozens of other young people but they had all failed to make a decision within the 60 seconds, and all had taken anywhere from a few hours to several weeks to make up their minds. He went on to explain that no person who is unable to make quick and definite decisions can ever possibly hope to achieve any degree of success. Dr. Hill has explained the importance of the ability to make quick and definite decisions in numerous books. One of his quotes in particular stands out in my mind: “The man of DECISION cannot be stopped! The man of INDECISION cannot be started! Take your own choice.” He also said: “Make a decision. Make ANY decision. ANY decision is better than NO decision. At least if you make the wrong decision, you can always go back and correct the mistake.” “Studies have shown that the most successful people make decisions rapidly because they are clear on their values and what they really want for their lives. The same studies show that they are slow to change their decisions, if at all. On the other hand, people who fail usually make decisions slowly and change their minds quickly, always bouncing back and forth. Just decide!” — Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within, p. 49