Why You May Be Standing Three Feet From Gold

Studies show that 5% of people reach all their dreams of success, the reason the other 95% don’t is found in the true account of R. U. Darby.

During the Great Depression Napoleon Hill started a mind revolution with the publication of Think and Grow Rich. Hill was given access to 500 of the richest people in the country, having been commissioned to glean their secrets by the richest man in America, Dale Carnegie. Hill opened his book with the story of Darby.

Darby had an uncle who was a gold prospector. Sure he would strike it rich he came up with a plan to mine gold in Colorado. After weeks of searching he was successful, but was unable to move the soil to get to the gold he discovered.

He marked the spot and returned to Maryland where he convinced Darby to help fund the purchase of equipment for the removal of the gold. With new machinery Darby accompanied his uncle back to the spot where he first found the gold. Sure enough they found the treasure and paid off all their debts.

However, they had not yet struck it rich, and before their initial celebration was over they couldn’t find any more gold. They then did what many people do when they hit a wall, they quit. They sold their machinery to a local man and went back to Maryland.

However, the local miner had been looking for such machinery and a lead like Darby offered. But unlike Darby this man hired an engineer to inspect the area where Darby had been digging. The engineer explained that gold ran in veins and Darby had possibly been digging on the wrong side of the vein.

Following the engineer’s advice the local miner began to dig and found a huge reserve of gold, only three feet from where Darby had searched.

The story doesn’t end there. Darby found out about the man’s discovery. He was devastated. However, he determined to learn from his mistake of giving up. He pushed himself to never give up again and became a wealthy businessman. More than that, he traveled around the world sharing his own story of how he gave up on his dream just three feet from gold.

He learned as Napoleon Hill would later teach, learn to deal with challenges, and don’t give up when they hit. Instead, expect them to come, and know that when they do come, you are not further from your goal but actually closer than you ever imagined.

Why do 95% of people not reach their goals? They give up before they reach them. So don’t let setbacks stop you, instead embrace them as a chance to learn and grow. And don’t quit, you never know just how close to the finish line you truly are. Indeed, it might only be three feet in front of you.