WEBVTT - Self-Help Con Man 0:00:08.285 --> 0:00:09.685 School of Humans. 0:00:11.485 --> 0:00:15.205 You know what they say, those who can't do teach, 0:00:15.285 --> 0:00:16.485 and those who can't even do. 0:00:16.485 --> 0:00:20.365 That write self help books. That's right. 0:00:20.405 --> 0:00:22.605 You don't have to worry about failing in your career. 0:00:22.965 --> 0:00:26.445 You can always become a life coach. I personally don't 0:00:26.485 --> 0:00:28.765 read self help books, but I do ask read it 0:00:28.805 --> 0:00:35.565 a lot of questions about my life. One of the 0:00:35.605 --> 0:00:38.525 most sold self help books of all time is Think 0:00:38.645 --> 0:00:41.765 and Grow Rich. It came out in nineteen thirty seven 0:00:42.285 --> 0:00:46.325 and has sold over a bazillion copies. The actual number 0:00:46.565 --> 0:00:50.325 we don't know, as it's likely to have been greatly exaggerated. 0:00:51.605 --> 0:00:53.765 And how many of those people who read that book 0:00:53.805 --> 0:01:00.405 became rich, probably very few. The gist of the advice 0:01:00.445 --> 0:01:02.885 in the book is basically positive thinking. 0:01:03.565 --> 0:01:05.445 If you can think it, you can have it. 0:01:07.205 --> 0:01:10.245 That involves having a lot of desire for something, having 0:01:10.325 --> 0:01:17.285 faith in the process, positive self talk, imagining, intuition. If 0:01:17.285 --> 0:01:20.005 you use all of those things, you can get rich. 0:01:21.205 --> 0:01:23.365 So let's just take a moment to think and see 0:01:23.365 --> 0:01:28.525 if we become rich. Are you guys thinking? Do you 0:01:28.525 --> 0:01:31.925 guys have more money now? I don't think I do. 0:01:32.245 --> 0:01:32.725 Oh well. 0:01:35.685 --> 0:01:38.845 And even though most of its ideas are garbled, bullshit 0:01:39.605 --> 0:01:43.565 and relatively ineffective. Think and Grow Rich is considered one 0:01:43.605 --> 0:01:46.325 of the most influential books in the self help genre. 0:01:47.485 --> 0:01:50.405 And the guy who wrote this book was named Napoleon Hill. 0:01:51.125 --> 0:01:54.205 And if you can believe it, Napoleon was top tier 0:01:54.325 --> 0:01:59.445 American filth. He was a scammer, a cheater, temporarily part 0:01:59.485 --> 0:02:02.725 of a cult, you know, definitely someone I would like 0:02:02.805 --> 0:02:07.045 to take advice from. So let's get out of this 0:02:07.125 --> 0:02:10.725 self help section and just look at Napoleon Hill's life 0:02:10.885 --> 0:02:13.725 and see what lessons he can teach us on how 0:02:13.725 --> 0:02:14.125 to live. 0:02:15.605 --> 0:02:16.605 Cue the theme music. 0:02:22.005 --> 0:02:24.245 This is American filth and I'm Gabby Watts. Every week 0:02:24.285 --> 0:02:27.965 I tell you a filthy story from American history. This 0:02:28.005 --> 0:02:48.285 week's episode self help con Man. So here's something you 0:02:48.365 --> 0:02:50.325 might be dealing with that might make you turn to 0:02:50.405 --> 0:02:53.885 self help. This is a question. Are you struggling with 0:02:53.925 --> 0:02:58.365 getting people to take you seriously? Well, looking at Napoleon 0:02:58.445 --> 0:03:01.365 Hill's life, you can follow this one simple step to 0:03:01.525 --> 0:03:08.965 change that lie. That's right, Make stuff up about yourself 0:03:09.365 --> 0:03:12.205 to make you seem more serious, more elite, more deserving 0:03:12.245 --> 0:03:16.125 of sympathy, more interesting, more important, more worth someone's time. 0:03:16.645 --> 0:03:20.525 Why just be yourself. That's embarrassing and won't get you anywhere. 0:03:22.125 --> 0:03:25.085 So Napoleon Hill was born in eighteen eighty three in Virginia, 0:03:25.525 --> 0:03:29.525 and really he was born Oliver Napoleon Hill. He started 0:03:29.565 --> 0:03:34.285 going by Napoleon later in life. Napoleon described his family 0:03:34.365 --> 0:03:40.045 as three generations of quote, ignorance, illiteracy, and poverty. And 0:03:40.085 --> 0:03:43.925 who can't empathize or sympathize with a woe as me tale. 0:03:44.085 --> 0:03:46.885 Someone who came from such a dire and tough background 0:03:47.365 --> 0:03:49.485 definitely deserves to be taken seriously. 0:03:50.805 --> 0:03:53.325 And you see here is where Napoleon Hill did something 0:03:53.405 --> 0:03:54.125 very important. 0:03:54.365 --> 0:03:59.645 He lied because the Hill family was not ignorant, illiterate, 0:04:00.005 --> 0:04:04.805 or that poor. The family was actually pretty well educated. 0:04:05.565 --> 0:04:08.645 Like his grandfather was a printer, and if I'm being honest, 0:04:08.685 --> 0:04:09.685 it'd be really hard to be. 0:04:09.645 --> 0:04:11.205 A printer if you were illiterate. 0:04:12.765 --> 0:04:18.485 Napoleon's dad was a dentist. Granted he was an illegal dentist. 0:04:18.525 --> 0:04:21.685 He didn't have a license, but he eventually got one 0:04:21.725 --> 0:04:24.405 at the age of forty after authorities were like, hey, 0:04:24.605 --> 0:04:25.605 we're gonna arrest. 0:04:25.405 --> 0:04:26.965 You unless you become legit. 0:04:28.565 --> 0:04:31.725 And who knows, maybe it's because of this dentistry deception 0:04:32.525 --> 0:04:35.565 that Napoleon Hill himself got into scamming later in his life. 0:04:36.485 --> 0:04:39.245 Dads teach all the good lessons. 0:04:42.645 --> 0:04:45.285 Napoleon's mom died when he was around nine years old, 0:04:45.885 --> 0:04:49.045 which that it's sad and can you know, cause some trauma. 0:04:50.285 --> 0:04:52.885 But it seems that his stepmom was a very positive force. 0:04:52.685 --> 0:04:55.565 In his life. She was like, hey, Napoleon, you need 0:04:55.605 --> 0:04:57.645 to get your act together. You need to go to school, 0:04:57.725 --> 0:04:59.965 you need to go to church. And she also bought 0:05:00.045 --> 0:05:04.525 him a typewriter. She was like, Napoleon, if you can write, 0:05:04.645 --> 0:05:10.885 the world is your oyster. So clearly Napoleon's family wasn't ignorant, illiterate, 0:05:11.045 --> 0:05:15.605 or really in poverty. They were actually kind of well off, supportive, 0:05:16.285 --> 0:05:19.205 and one of the best for him. But that's not 0:05:19.245 --> 0:05:24.125 an interesting story. That doesn't capture the American dream where 0:05:24.165 --> 0:05:28.405 you start from the bottom and end up at the top. Napoleon, 0:05:28.605 --> 0:05:32.445 he was in the middle. That's not compelling. I'm not 0:05:32.485 --> 0:05:35.765 going to take that seriously. The only self help writer 0:05:35.885 --> 0:05:38.845 we're going to take seriously is one who has struggled 0:05:39.365 --> 0:05:43.205 and persevered. So anyway, if you want people to take 0:05:43.205 --> 0:05:45.405 you more seriously, just lie about who you are and 0:05:45.405 --> 0:05:49.725 where you come from. Another thing you can do to 0:05:49.765 --> 0:05:52.285 be taken seriously is to be in the right place 0:05:52.325 --> 0:05:56.765 at the right time and cover up a murder. Here's 0:05:56.805 --> 0:06:02.005 what happened. Right after college. Napoleon got a job working 0:06:02.045 --> 0:06:05.845 as the assistant to a lawyer, and this lawyer owned 0:06:05.885 --> 0:06:09.925 some coal mines. One night, the manager of the coal 0:06:09.965 --> 0:06:16.245 mine got drunk and shot a black bell hop allegedly accidentally. 0:06:16.925 --> 0:06:19.685 Napoleon's boss was out of town, so Napoleon went to 0:06:19.725 --> 0:06:21.525 the scene of the crime and it is like, I'm 0:06:21.565 --> 0:06:24.485 going to take responsibility for this situation, and I'm going 0:06:24.565 --> 0:06:27.965 to cover up the murder so that nobody, including my boss, 0:06:28.045 --> 0:06:31.445 will look bad. And then when his boss came back, 0:06:31.765 --> 0:06:34.365 Napoleon was like, hey, I covered up this murder for you. 0:06:35.085 --> 0:06:38.925 Nobody knows about it. It's totally chilling cool. And his 0:06:38.965 --> 0:06:41.085 boss was like, oh my god, that's such great work. 0:06:41.245 --> 0:06:45.045 I'm going to promote you. So Napoleon took that drunk 0:06:45.045 --> 0:06:48.685 guy's job and became the manager of a coal mine. 0:06:49.285 --> 0:06:52.725 At this point, he was only nineteen years old. But 0:06:52.845 --> 0:06:56.365 unfortunately for Napoleon, he had a huge head, huge ego, 0:06:57.005 --> 0:06:59.085 and being the manager of a coal mine was still 0:06:59.125 --> 0:07:02.365 not good enough for him. And that leads us to 0:07:02.405 --> 0:07:05.605 another self help question, how can I make a lot 0:07:05.605 --> 0:07:08.045 of money without actually having a job. 0:07:09.365 --> 0:07:11.765 Well, as Napoleon Hill's life will show us. 0:07:12.365 --> 0:07:15.445 You should probably just get a job. Because he started 0:07:15.485 --> 0:07:18.405 a lot of schemes, a lot of scams that failed. 0:07:20.405 --> 0:07:22.925 But Napoleon Hill, he thought he was destined for great 0:07:22.925 --> 0:07:25.405 things in his life, so he wasn't just going to 0:07:25.405 --> 0:07:29.365 be a low life employee. He wanted to own a business, 0:07:29.725 --> 0:07:34.325 be rich, be renowned. So what he did was moved 0:07:34.325 --> 0:07:40.805 to Mobile, Alabama in nineteen oh seven, because we all 0:07:40.845 --> 0:07:44.205 know that Alabama is the best place to make money. 0:07:44.445 --> 0:07:46.605 Everyone's always like, if you want to be famous, if 0:07:46.605 --> 0:07:48.525 you want to be rich, if you want to be notable, 0:07:48.605 --> 0:07:52.925 you got to move down to Mobile, Alabama. What he 0:07:53.005 --> 0:07:56.325 was doing down there is he developed a scheme. He 0:07:56.405 --> 0:08:00.205 was buying lumber on credit and then he would sell 0:08:00.245 --> 0:08:03.365 it to other people at a reduced rate and then 0:08:03.445 --> 0:08:07.605 just not pay back his credit. The people buying the 0:08:07.645 --> 0:08:11.165 lumber from him were like, Wow, this is a great deal. Meanwhile, 0:08:11.205 --> 0:08:13.565 the people he had bought the lumber from were like, hey, 0:08:13.605 --> 0:08:18.125 you need to pay us back. But unfortunately for Napoleon Hill, 0:08:18.285 --> 0:08:22.325 his scheme did not work out. Eventually a bunch of 0:08:22.405 --> 0:08:26.285 people were after him. He was bankrupt. He was also 0:08:26.445 --> 0:08:30.525 facing mail fraud charges. He had to pay back his creditors, 0:08:30.525 --> 0:08:32.205 but instead of doing that, he fled. 0:08:35.405 --> 0:08:37.005 But you guys know what they say. 0:08:36.925 --> 0:08:40.285 If you can do mail fraud and mobile Alabama, you 0:08:40.325 --> 0:08:47.245 can do it anywhere. It's unclear how he evaded authorities 0:08:47.285 --> 0:08:50.765 and his creditors, but by nineteen oh eight he was 0:08:50.805 --> 0:08:54.125 living in Washington, d c. And this is officially when 0:08:54.165 --> 0:08:58.965 he changed his name to Napoleon Hill instead of Oliver. Sure, 0:08:59.045 --> 0:09:01.165 he might say it was an esthetic change, you know, 0:09:01.205 --> 0:09:03.285 he was trying to be a new person, but it 0:09:03.365 --> 0:09:06.085 was probably a way to deceive the law so they 0:09:06.085 --> 0:09:08.245 wouldn't find him and throw him in prison. 0:09:11.805 --> 0:09:13.565 When he got to DC, he picked. 0:09:13.365 --> 0:09:17.325 Up his typewriter and started writing articles about successful people. 0:09:18.325 --> 0:09:20.605 But unfortunately he wasn't making enough money. 0:09:21.645 --> 0:09:23.245 So he was like, I guess I got to do 0:09:23.325 --> 0:09:27.205 another scheme because having a normal job is out of 0:09:27.245 --> 0:09:27.925 the question. 0:09:30.405 --> 0:09:32.205 This time, he started a scam in. 0:09:32.205 --> 0:09:35.285 The field of education, which he would do time and 0:09:35.325 --> 0:09:38.685 time again throughout his life. What he did is he 0:09:38.765 --> 0:09:42.605 started this education program where people were learning how to 0:09:42.645 --> 0:09:46.365 repair cars. But really what was happening is he was 0:09:46.445 --> 0:09:49.285 just using these people to assemble and repair cars and 0:09:49.365 --> 0:09:53.805 not pay them because look, they're learning, it's education. It 0:09:53.885 --> 0:09:57.365 was like an unpaid internship, and Napoleon got all of 0:09:57.365 --> 0:10:02.685 the profits from their labor. But unfortunately this scheme did 0:10:02.685 --> 0:10:06.605 not last long, so he pivoted. He was like, instead 0:10:06.605 --> 0:10:09.205 of doing that where I get people to assemble cars, 0:10:09.245 --> 0:10:11.405 what I'm going to do is I'm going to promise 0:10:11.445 --> 0:10:13.085 students that I'm going to teach them how. 0:10:12.925 --> 0:10:14.045 To sell cars. 0:10:15.125 --> 0:10:17.765 But really what happened is that he set it up 0:10:17.845 --> 0:10:20.725 kind of like a multi level marketing scheme where he 0:10:20.805 --> 0:10:23.445 got people to sign up and then got those people 0:10:23.445 --> 0:10:25.565 to get other people to sign up, but they didn't 0:10:25.565 --> 0:10:30.045 ever actually learn anything, and Napoleon again got all of 0:10:30.085 --> 0:10:32.125 their money. 0:10:32.085 --> 0:10:33.205 Through these schemes. 0:10:33.285 --> 0:10:36.445 Again, people were accusing him of fraud, and so he 0:10:36.525 --> 0:10:37.845 was like, no, what I'm going to do now, I'm 0:10:37.845 --> 0:10:43.485 going to move to Chicago. When he got to Chicago, 0:10:44.005 --> 0:10:47.365 he did try to do a legal business. He and 0:10:47.405 --> 0:10:51.245 a couple partners opened a candy store, but very quickly 0:10:51.285 --> 0:10:55.565 after starting that business, his partners were like, Hey, get 0:10:55.605 --> 0:10:57.925 the fuck out of this business. You're so annoying and 0:10:57.965 --> 0:11:01.445 you don't know how to do anything. I imagine Napoleon 0:11:01.485 --> 0:11:04.645 was also trying to scam them in some way. Yeah, 0:11:04.685 --> 0:11:08.245 that's conjecture, but I feel like it's kind of evidence 0:11:08.285 --> 0:11:11.885 based based on his past behavior. Isn't this someone you 0:11:11.925 --> 0:11:14.085 really want to take advice from? Good thing he got 0:11:14.085 --> 0:11:17.365 into self help because if he didn't get into self help, 0:11:17.405 --> 0:11:19.765 he kind of has the qualifications of being the president 0:11:19.805 --> 0:11:23.885 of the United States, get it, because Trump's also a 0:11:23.925 --> 0:11:28.405 con artist. Just kidding, guys, this is a bipartisan podcast. 0:11:28.765 --> 0:11:30.165 We have no opinions on it. 0:11:35.445 --> 0:11:37.765 So after the candy shot failed, he went back to 0:11:37.845 --> 0:11:43.125 his education model. Throughout these years of scheming and planning, 0:11:43.845 --> 0:11:47.565 something he is good at is marketing himself. He's good 0:11:47.565 --> 0:11:51.965 at convincing people he's legit when he's not. And so 0:11:52.045 --> 0:11:54.045 he was like, who else does that? 0:11:54.485 --> 0:11:54.765 Oh? 0:11:54.965 --> 0:12:00.005 People in advertising. So he started an institute of advertising 0:12:00.205 --> 0:12:02.205 where he was like, I'm going to teach people how 0:12:02.205 --> 0:12:06.965 to be confident and sell stuff, Like, yeah, I could see. 0:12:06.765 --> 0:12:08.285 How you could make money off of that. 0:12:08.525 --> 0:12:11.085 People love a nice little lecture about how to believe 0:12:11.125 --> 0:12:15.845 in themselves. But of course Napoleon had a scheme behind this. 0:12:16.005 --> 0:12:16.525 As well. 0:12:17.525 --> 0:12:19.765 What he did at the institute is that he valued 0:12:19.805 --> 0:12:22.165 it at one hundred thousand dollars and then got the 0:12:22.245 --> 0:12:26.605 students to buy stocks. But the thing is the school 0:12:26.685 --> 0:12:29.725 was actually only valued at twelve hundred dollars, and then 0:12:29.725 --> 0:12:34.245 he just kept all of that money. It's honestly insane 0:12:34.245 --> 0:12:36.565 how many schemes he had. It's just like bruh, Like 0:12:36.965 --> 0:12:39.885 can't you just write or pull down a job or something. 0:12:39.885 --> 0:12:42.525 It's really insane because over the next few years he 0:12:42.565 --> 0:12:46.605 did even more fraudulent advertising and committed mail fraud and 0:12:46.685 --> 0:12:49.045 just did all sorts of terrible things. 0:12:49.125 --> 0:12:52.405 Like he started a charity where he said, oh. 0:12:52.285 --> 0:12:54.925 If you donate to it, we'll give that money to veterans, 0:12:55.325 --> 0:12:57.725 but really he just took all that money and put 0:12:57.725 --> 0:13:01.965 it in oil stocks. Then he had another charity where 0:13:01.965 --> 0:13:04.285 he said, oh, if you give me money, I'm going 0:13:04.365 --> 0:13:08.045 to send educational supplies to people in prison. But can 0:13:08.125 --> 0:13:10.485 you believe it, he was just pocketing that money for himself. 0:13:13.045 --> 0:13:15.645 And even as he did all these scams and all 0:13:15.685 --> 0:13:21.645 these schemes, he never had that much money. And I know, 0:13:21.685 --> 0:13:23.365 I keep saying the thing of like, oh, he's a 0:13:23.485 --> 0:13:26.085 just good job, which sounds very boomer of me, but 0:13:26.245 --> 0:13:30.605 still like these scams weren't working out for him. He'd 0:13:30.605 --> 0:13:33.045 get the money, then he'd lose it, or he'd have 0:13:33.085 --> 0:13:36.005 to pay legal fees, and he had to travel a lot. 0:13:36.605 --> 0:13:38.485 But I guess he thought one day, through one of 0:13:38.525 --> 0:13:40.045 these schemes, he'd make. 0:13:39.925 --> 0:13:42.125 It big, so it'd all be worth it. 0:13:45.845 --> 0:13:48.005 As napoy and Hill was running amuck doing all of 0:13:48.005 --> 0:13:53.685 these scams and schemes, he was still manufacturing an identity 0:13:54.365 --> 0:13:59.845 to make himself look more notable throughout these couple decades 0:13:59.885 --> 0:14:02.405 after he went to college to before he became a 0:14:02.405 --> 0:14:04.005 successful self help writer. 0:14:05.205 --> 0:14:06.885 Said that he met all. 0:14:06.805 --> 0:14:10.845 Sorts of rich and talented people, who in turn thought 0:14:10.925 --> 0:14:16.365 he was also a rich and talented person. Unfortunately for him, 0:14:16.445 --> 0:14:19.685 there is absolutely no proof that he met any of 0:14:19.725 --> 0:14:24.845 these people, according to Napoleon Hill, though he says, oh, well, 0:14:24.885 --> 0:14:27.805 all the records of me meeting these people unfortunately got 0:14:27.805 --> 0:14:29.205 burned up in this fire. 0:14:30.125 --> 0:14:33.325 Ugh, that's so annoying. Sorry, I can't prove it, but 0:14:33.405 --> 0:14:34.685 I did meet these people. 0:14:36.245 --> 0:14:39.245 The only evidence that he met a famous person was 0:14:39.285 --> 0:14:44.325 there's a photograph of him and Thomas Edison. Edison looks 0:14:44.365 --> 0:14:47.805 annoyed Napoleon Hill is standing next to him, awkwardly close, 0:14:47.965 --> 0:14:51.845 just staring at him. And apparently this photo was taken 0:14:51.965 --> 0:14:55.525 after Napoleon had given Thomas Edison an award, an award 0:14:55.565 --> 0:14:58.925 that Napoleon had created through his magazine, and that was 0:14:59.045 --> 0:15:02.445 used as an excuse for him to meet people, being like, oh, hello, 0:15:02.445 --> 0:15:05.925 famous person, here's an award I'm giving you. According to 0:15:05.925 --> 0:15:12.805 some newspaper reports, Thomas Edison declined the award. Another person 0:15:12.845 --> 0:15:15.645 that Napoleon Hill claimed to meet was none other than 0:15:15.725 --> 0:15:22.485 President Woodrow Wilson, and they met during World War One. 0:15:23.405 --> 0:15:26.205 Napoleon claimed that Woodrow Wilson had reached out to him 0:15:26.405 --> 0:15:29.085 to get his perspective and his advice on the war, 0:15:29.485 --> 0:15:33.645 and also to go sign the armistice with Germany. Yes, 0:15:33.685 --> 0:15:36.965 apparently Napoleon Hill is so notable that Woodrow Wilson was like, 0:15:37.045 --> 0:15:39.565 I need you to finish this war. 0:15:40.845 --> 0:15:44.525 Isn't that believable? Later on, Napoleon. 0:15:44.125 --> 0:15:47.245 Hill also claimed that he had met FDR and he 0:15:47.285 --> 0:15:49.685 said it was actually himself who had come up with 0:15:49.725 --> 0:15:51.925 the iconic phrase the only thing we have to fear 0:15:51.965 --> 0:15:56.765 a spear itself. Unfortunately for Napoleon, though the White House 0:15:56.805 --> 0:15:59.765 has explicitly said that there are no records at all 0:16:00.485 --> 0:16:05.405 of Napoleon Hill ever meeting FDR, Woodrow Wilson or any president. 0:16:06.725 --> 0:16:09.005 At this point, I think we can learn a lesson 0:16:09.045 --> 0:16:12.885 from Napoleon Hill, which is, if you're trying to make 0:16:12.965 --> 0:16:15.965 up fun tidbits about your life, maybe don't go so 0:16:16.085 --> 0:16:19.045 far as to say that you're the advisor to the president. 0:16:19.725 --> 0:16:21.885 You know, if you want to stay believable, maybe just 0:16:21.925 --> 0:16:26.045 have some like lower tier people that you know, because 0:16:26.085 --> 0:16:29.205 at this point he does kind of sound like a lunatic. 0:16:30.605 --> 0:16:33.885 But it wasn't his fictitious meeting with Woodrow Wilson or 0:16:34.005 --> 0:16:38.365 FDR that was central to Napoleon Hill's life. No, it 0:16:38.445 --> 0:16:41.565 was in nineteen oh eight, right after he had fled Alabama. 0:16:42.125 --> 0:16:45.645 That's when he claimed he met Andrew Carnegie, who at 0:16:45.645 --> 0:16:51.685 the time was the richest man in the world. And 0:16:51.725 --> 0:16:55.365 it was this alleged conversation with Andrew Carnegie that would 0:16:55.445 --> 0:16:59.325 lead to his self help rise to fame because, according 0:16:59.365 --> 0:17:02.085 to Napoleon Hill, Andrew Carnegie gave him a lot of 0:17:02.125 --> 0:17:04.605 advice on how to think and how to get rich, 0:17:05.645 --> 0:17:08.685 and then also introduce Napoleon to all these other successful 0:17:08.725 --> 0:17:11.125 people who he interviewed so he could write his book, 0:17:11.165 --> 0:17:14.565 Think and Grow Rich. But again, there is no evidence 0:17:14.605 --> 0:17:19.085 that this conversation with Andrew Carnegie ever happened. You know, 0:17:19.285 --> 0:17:21.845 Napoleon would say it's because all of the documents got 0:17:21.845 --> 0:17:25.525 burnt up in that fire, and Carnegie would say it's 0:17:25.565 --> 0:17:28.325 because he has no idea who the hell that guy is. 0:17:30.285 --> 0:17:33.925 But before we get to his breakthrough, here's another question 0:17:34.045 --> 0:17:38.005 you might consult to self help book for how can 0:17:38.045 --> 0:17:42.845 I have a successful marriage? Well, let's look at Napoleon 0:17:42.925 --> 0:17:46.245 Hill's life once again to answer this question. And if 0:17:46.285 --> 0:17:50.285 we do that, it looks like the answer is you can't. 0:17:50.925 --> 0:18:02.525 It is literally impossible to have a successful marriage. Most 0:18:02.645 --> 0:18:07.445 official Napoleon Hill biographers basically the Napole Hill simps. They 0:18:07.485 --> 0:18:10.165 say that he was married three times, but actually it 0:18:10.205 --> 0:18:11.405 was probably more like five. 0:18:12.725 --> 0:18:13.365 The first time he. 0:18:13.365 --> 0:18:16.405 Got married was when he was fifteen. He married another 0:18:16.485 --> 0:18:20.165 teenager who had accused him of fathering her child. But 0:18:20.205 --> 0:18:22.205 after they got married, she was like, oh, actually, I'm 0:18:22.245 --> 0:18:25.205 just kidding. That didn't happen. This is someone else's kid, 0:18:26.045 --> 0:18:29.445 So the marriage was a nult. The next marriage was 0:18:29.445 --> 0:18:32.485 to this woman named Edith Whitman. They got married in 0:18:32.565 --> 0:18:36.445 nineteen oh three. In this relationship, Napoleon was super abusive 0:18:36.565 --> 0:18:38.925 and a huge pile of garbage. 0:18:39.045 --> 0:18:41.965 They had a daughter together, and oh boy, was he 0:18:42.005 --> 0:18:43.125 a bad dad. 0:18:43.485 --> 0:18:46.525 On several occasions, he threw his toddler daughter to the 0:18:46.525 --> 0:18:50.805 floor and hit Edith, even choking her. There was also 0:18:50.805 --> 0:18:53.045 a time when he took their daughter away from Edith 0:18:53.565 --> 0:18:57.045 and said she couldn't have her back. Edith eventually was 0:18:57.045 --> 0:18:59.205 able to get her daughter back and filed for divorce. 0:19:00.165 --> 0:19:03.605 This happened when Napoleon was in Alabama doing his lumber schemes, 0:19:04.485 --> 0:19:07.005 and while he was down there, he started visiting houses 0:19:07.045 --> 0:19:12.685 of ill repute aka cornicating with prostitutes. In nineteen oh a, 0:19:12.805 --> 0:19:16.605 when Edith filed her divorce, Napoleon never showed up in court, 0:19:17.485 --> 0:19:21.645 effectively abandoning his wife and his daughter, probably for the best, 0:19:22.525 --> 0:19:25.605 and starting his new life in DC as Napoleon the 0:19:25.645 --> 0:19:29.485 writer who was single, but don't worry. With his lies 0:19:29.525 --> 0:19:32.205 and deceit, he was quickly able to find another wife. 0:19:35.085 --> 0:19:38.565 He married this lady named Florence Elizabeth Horner in nineteen ten, 0:19:38.765 --> 0:19:40.645 and by lady, I mean they met when she was 0:19:40.645 --> 0:19:43.045 still in high school and they got married in a 0:19:43.125 --> 0:19:47.765 rush literally three months after they met. Over the course 0:19:47.765 --> 0:19:50.765 of their marriage, they had three sons. One of the 0:19:50.845 --> 0:19:54.445 kids was born deaf. Napoleon believed he could fix this, 0:19:55.205 --> 0:19:57.165 and so he never allowed his son to learn sign 0:19:57.245 --> 0:20:00.365 language and was like, Hey, even though he's deaf, we're 0:20:00.365 --> 0:20:01.725 going to be able to teach him how to hear 0:20:01.805 --> 0:20:05.005 and how to speak. Yes, you can just will someone 0:20:05.045 --> 0:20:10.405 to start hearing, because that's the power of positive thinking. Unfortunately, 0:20:10.445 --> 0:20:14.325 his son remained deaf. His wife, Florence, came from a 0:20:14.365 --> 0:20:18.165 well off family, and early in their marriage her family 0:20:18.245 --> 0:20:22.325 actually invested in several of his schemes, but over time 0:20:22.765 --> 0:20:24.645 they realized how much of a con man he was 0:20:24.725 --> 0:20:26.925 and how he was just losing and wasting all of 0:20:26.925 --> 0:20:30.845 their money. For most of their marriage, Florence and Napoleon 0:20:30.885 --> 0:20:35.605 lived separately. Napoleon was always off doing his scams, and 0:20:35.685 --> 0:20:39.005 she would say with her family in West Virginia. He 0:20:39.045 --> 0:20:42.245 would only visit her and his kids when he wanted money, 0:20:43.405 --> 0:20:45.405 which her family was more and more hesitant to give 0:20:45.485 --> 0:20:49.325 him because they were sick of his shit. But in 0:20:49.405 --> 0:20:52.045 nineteen twenty eight, it seemed that everything was going to 0:20:52.125 --> 0:20:59.045 turn around because Napoleon Hill finally found the publisher. We'll 0:20:59.085 --> 0:21:05.845 be right back after these soothing advertisements. So Napoleon Hill, 0:21:05.925 --> 0:21:09.285 while he'd been doing his schemes and his scams and 0:21:09.365 --> 0:21:14.845 all that jazz he was writing, he had magazines. He 0:21:14.885 --> 0:21:20.325 wrote those profiles about inspirational successful people. During this time 0:21:20.365 --> 0:21:23.925 he had also written an eight volume work called The. 0:21:23.925 --> 0:21:25.725 Law of Success. 0:21:26.005 --> 0:21:30.405 In it, he described fifteen principles of success. A definite 0:21:30.485 --> 0:21:36.525 chief aim, self confidence, habit of saving, initiative, and leadership. Imagination. 0:21:37.325 --> 0:21:40.765 Of those things, he most definitely had imagination. But it 0:21:40.805 --> 0:21:45.285 was a long road to publishing, first of all, because 0:21:45.325 --> 0:21:48.845 these books that he wrote are actually quite bad. They're 0:21:48.845 --> 0:21:54.285 pretty messy, they don't make that much sense. But Napoleon 0:21:54.525 --> 0:21:57.325 said he did have an interested publisher. His name was 0:21:57.325 --> 0:22:00.725 Donald Mellett, and he was a newspaper publisher in Ohio. 0:22:03.285 --> 0:22:07.005 Mellett was known for going after game and also police corruption, 0:22:08.005 --> 0:22:11.565 and according to Napoleon, he was very interested in publishing 0:22:11.605 --> 0:22:17.285 self help books. However, right before the contract was supposed 0:22:17.285 --> 0:22:20.445 to be signed, right before Napoleon was supposed to get 0:22:20.445 --> 0:22:25.005 his cash to publish the books, Mellet was murdered, perhaps 0:22:25.005 --> 0:22:27.765 by some gang members or even by some police officers, 0:22:29.325 --> 0:22:33.445 Napoleon was convinced that he was next. Obviously he was 0:22:33.525 --> 0:22:35.925 friends with Mellet, so the gangs are going to come 0:22:35.965 --> 0:22:39.445 after him because he's so important. The gangs don't want 0:22:39.485 --> 0:22:44.165 those self help volumes coming out, so Napoleon went into 0:22:44.285 --> 0:22:50.685 hiding because he was for sure a target. Well, Napoleon 0:22:50.925 --> 0:22:54.845 very quickly came out of hiding, and he was bereft 0:22:54.965 --> 0:22:56.965 because he didn't have a publisher. 0:22:57.525 --> 0:22:58.765 He had burned most. 0:22:58.485 --> 0:23:01.005 Of the bridges in his life and so he was 0:23:01.045 --> 0:23:04.725 reduced to cold calling. But he did find this one 0:23:04.765 --> 0:23:08.285 publisher who was really into self help, who was going 0:23:08.365 --> 0:23:12.165 to self help Napoleon, and by that I mean publish 0:23:12.245 --> 0:23:24.205 his freakin' books. The publisher was Andrew Pelton. He loved 0:23:24.245 --> 0:23:26.565 a self help which was really having a moment in 0:23:26.565 --> 0:23:31.365 the nineteen twenties, and so Napoleon cold called him, was like, hey, 0:23:31.445 --> 0:23:34.965 I have this series of books that I wrote about 0:23:35.005 --> 0:23:38.445 self confidence and how to be successful. 0:23:38.525 --> 0:23:40.565 I think you might like them. 0:23:40.765 --> 0:23:43.245 Andrew Pelton had no idea who he was, but agreed 0:23:43.245 --> 0:23:48.125 to me with him in Philadelphia. Now, Napoleon, who at 0:23:48.125 --> 0:23:52.645 the time was extremely broke estranged from his family, he 0:23:52.685 --> 0:23:54.245 was like, I need to look like I'm rich and 0:23:54.285 --> 0:23:56.725 successful so that I can get this guy to publish 0:23:56.805 --> 0:24:00.085 these books about being successful. So what he did is 0:24:00.125 --> 0:24:02.485 he approached one of Florence's brothers and was like, can 0:24:02.525 --> 0:24:04.325 you give me some money? And he was like, okay, fine, 0:24:04.805 --> 0:24:08.045 go away now. And so Napoleon got a swanky hotel 0:24:08.125 --> 0:24:10.805 room in Philadelphia and kept acting like he was the 0:24:10.885 --> 0:24:14.085 richest guy ever. He was overtipping everybody. He would just 0:24:14.125 --> 0:24:16.725 pull out a roll of cash, being like, look, I mean, 0:24:16.765 --> 0:24:19.045 I'm the richest, most successful guy in the world. That's 0:24:19.085 --> 0:24:23.445 why I wrote these books about success. But he tricked Pelton. 0:24:23.525 --> 0:24:25.365 Pelton's all of that and was like, damn, this guy 0:24:25.525 --> 0:24:28.085 knows what he's talking about. I better publish his eight 0:24:28.165 --> 0:24:32.525 volume work, The Law of Success. And weirdly enough, the 0:24:32.565 --> 0:24:37.725 book was a whopping success. Napoleon had finally done it. 0:24:38.405 --> 0:24:42.725 He was making something that made money and wasn't completely 0:24:42.725 --> 0:24:44.925 a scam. I mean, the advice was a scam because 0:24:44.925 --> 0:24:47.485