Dear friends,

"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word - excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it." - Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973, Writer)

For most of his life, Napoleon Hill lived with the conviction that every failure carried with it the seed of equivalent advantage. Here are his 17 principles for extraordinary achievement.

Lesson 1: Definiteness of Purpose

Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. Without a purpose and a plan, people drift aimlessly through life.

Lesson 2: Mastermind Alliance

The Mastermind principle consists of an alliance of two or more minds working in perfect harmony for the attainment of a common definite objective. Success does not come without the cooperation of others.

Lesson 3: Applied Faith

Faith is a state of mind through which your aims, desires, plans and purposes may be translated into their physical or financial equivalent.

Lesson 4: Going the Extra Mile

Going the extra mile is the action of rendering more and better service than that for which you are presently paid. When you go the extra mile, the Law of Compensation comes into play.

Lesson 5: Pleasing Personality

Personality is the sum total of one’s mental, spiritual and physical traits and habits that distinguish one from all others. It is the factor that determines whether one is liked or disliked by others.

Lesson 6: Personal Initiative

Personal initiative is the power that inspires the completion of that which one begins. It is the power that starts all action. No person is free until he learns to do his own thinking and gains the courage to act on his own.

Lesson 7: Positive Mental Attitude

Positive mental attitude is the right mental attitude in all circumstances. Success attracts more success while failure attracts more failure.

Lesson 8: Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is faith in action. It is the intense emotion known as burning desire. It comes from within, although it radiates outwardly in the expression of one’s voice and countenance.

Lesson 9: Self-Discipline

Self-discipline begins with the mastery of thought. If you do not control your thoughts, you cannot control your needs. Self-discipline calls for a balancing of the emotions of your heart with the reasoning faculty of your head.

Lesson 10: Accurate Thinking

The power of thought is the most dangerous or the most beneficial power available to man, depending on how it is used.

Lesson 11: Controlled Attention

Controlled attention leads to mastery in any type of human endeavor, because it enables one to focus the powers of his mind upon the attainment of a definite objective and to keep it so directed at will.

Lesson 12: Teamwork

Teamwork is harmonious cooperation that is willing, voluntary and free. Whenever the spirit of teamwork is the dominating influence in business or industry, success is inevitable. Harmonious cooperation is a priceless asset that you can acquire in proportion to your giving.

Lesson 13: Adversity & Defeat

Individual success usually is in exact proportion of the scope of the defeat the individual has experienced and mastered. Many so-called failures represent only a temporary defeat that may prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Lesson 14: Creative Vision

Creative vision is developed by the free and fearless use of one’s imagination. It is not a miraculous quality with which one is gifted or is not gifted at birth.

Lesson 15: Health

Sound health begins with a sound health consciousness, just as financial success begins with a prosperity consciousness.

Lesson 16: Budgeting Time & Money

Time and money are precious resources, and few people striving for success ever believe they possess either one in excess.

Lesson 17: Habits

Developing and establishing positive habits leads to peace of mind, health and financial security. You are where you are because of your established habits and thoughts and deeds.

—Napoleon Hill

Dear friends,

"If you resolve, beginning today, to put out more on your job than you're getting paid to do, miracles will begin happening in your life." - Og Mandino (1923-1996, Author of The Greatest Salesman in the World)

If you focus on not missing the target instead of on hitting the target, the results are often disastrous. It is impossible to think negative thoughts in a positive way. Ask any golfer who has tried not to miss a putt or a bowler who has struggled not to miss a strike. Your goals should and must be specific and precise. "Making a lot of money" or "earning regular promotions" are not goals. It’s only wishes. State exactly how much money you expect to earn and when, the specific promotion you want, how you plan to earn it, and when you expect to do so.

Dear friends,

"There is no failure except in no longer trying. There is no defeat except from within, no insurmountable barrier except our own inherent weakness of purpose." - Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915, Writer and Publisher)

Dear friends,

"Laughter is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles. It won't take the potholes out of the road, but it sure makes the ride smoother." - Barbara Johnson (Writer)

From today on you should take advantage of the opportunities that come to the person who uses initiative, because this is one of the most important sign boards on the Road to Success.

Your instructions in connection with this sign board on Initiative are simple and easily followed. For the next ten days make it your business to use Initiative by doing at least one thing each day that you are not told to do in connection with your work. Say nothing to anyone about what you are doing, but keep your own counsel and follow these instructions. If your work is of such a nature that you cannot perform work that you are not told to perform, then speed up a bit and perform more work and better work than you have been performing in the same length of time. Keep this up for ten days and by that time you will attract attention of your employer. You will also see, by the end of the ten days, that it will pay you to use Initiative the remainder of your life, because Initiative leads to greater responsibility, to a bigger pay envelope and helps you to get whatever you have decided upon as your definite aim in life.

While your time and your job or work may be subject to the demands of your employer and others, your mind is the only thing that cannot be controlled by anyone else but you. The thoughts you think, your attitude toward your job and what you are willing to give in exchange for the compensation you are paid; are entirely up to you. It is up to you to determine whether you will be a slave to a negative attitude or the master of a positive one. Your attitude, your only master in life; is entirely within your control. When you control your attitude toward events, you control the eventual implication of those events.

Dear friends,

"You only lose energy when life becomes dull in your mind. Your mind gets bored and therefore tired of doing nothing. Get interested in something! Get absolutely enthralled in something! Get out of yourself! Be somebody! Do something. The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have." - Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993, Pastor, Speaker and Author)

Dear friends,

"Nothing is ever lost by courtesy. It is the cheapest of pleasures, costs nothing, and conveys much. It pleases those who gives and receives and thus, like mercy, is twice blessed." - Erastus Wiman (1834-1904, Journalist and Businessman)

The performers mentioned above was between the year 2004 till 2008. As for this year, the performers were Island Palm Beach Boys, Buzz Bros Band, In The Country, Sizhukong, Studnitzsky Trio, Band of Brothers, Charlie Jung Band, Paulo Bellinati & Cristina Azuma, Organamix, Dainius Pulauskas Band, Michelle Nicolle Quartet and Janek Gwizdala Project