Given the current economic roller coaster, does it feel like you are taking two steps backwards for every one step forward? Have you ever felt like quitting? Even though you knew you were on the right track?

Once a highly coveted and symbol of ultimate success, the job of CEO today has been tarnished in the public’s opinion by the news stories of corporate scandals and executive excess.

Napoleon Hill, wrote “Many successful people have found opportunities in failure and adversity that they could not recognize in more favorable circumstances.” It is through perseverance, and definiteness of purpose that the truly talented CEOs of today will identify those opportunities and reach even greater heights of success than ever imagined.

There are many people today who compare our current crisis to the Great Depression during the 20’s and 30’s that almost brought total collapse to our economic stability. Yet from the Great Depression emerged many of today’s greatest success stories. It was the leaders of that time who recognized the opportunities, seized them and reached unparalleled levels of success. Many of them credited reading the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill as the tool that gave them the inspiration and courage to keep going.

In was in 1908, when a young Napoleon Hill was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie, the richest man in the world, to embark on more than a twenty year journey studying the principles of success. His book, Think and Grow Rich, was originally published in 1937 and has since sold over 100 million copies around the world. It is widely recognized as the foremost treatise on success ever written. In researching and studying the book, Hill had the opportunity to interview the most successful titans of his time. In addition, he also interviewed people who had given up, people who had failed, in order to truly understand the elements of success in life.

Considered the grandfather of personal development and financial wisdom, Napoleon Hill was the first to coin such ageless principles as “Definiteness of Purpose,” “Pay Yourself First,” the benefits of a “Mastermind”, and even the “Law of Attraction,” which he wrote about as early as 1919.

Even though Think and Grow Rich continues to sell well today and continues to give hope and inspiration to its readers, Don Green, CEO of the Napoleon Hill Foundation recognized an opportunity to update its core principles with modern examples. Think and Grow Rich - Three Feet From Gold is the product of Don’s vision, a message of hope and motivation given life through the stories of successful companies and their leaders from today’s economic environment. You may not recognize their names, but you will recognize their companies or their brands for they put their consumers, their employees and their companies before their personal quest for fame.

Steve Forbes’ endorsement of Three Feet From Gold says it all, “The perfect message of hope and inspiration during the current economic crisis.”

The title Three Feet From Gold, actually comes from the story of R. U. Darby told in the first chapter of the original Think and Grow Rich. A young man who went west during the Gold Rush, R. U Darby was determined to discover his fortune in gold. He staked his claim, and discovered high quality ore early in his quest. With investment from family and friends, he started mining his discovery with early successand then one day the gold simply ran out. After weeks of finding no more gold, R. U. Darby grew exceedingly more frustrated and finally gave up selling his mine and equipment to the junkman in town. He returned east totally defeated and completely broke.

The junkman, on the other hand had been studying gold-mining for 20 years, and had been just waiting for this opportunity. He hired the right advisor, a gold mining engineer to study the mine and to advise him. The engineer told him that Darby had simply punched right through the vein of gold. All the junkman had to do was to go back to the beginning, to the place of the original discovery of gold, move three feet in the other direction and he would tap back into the vein. That is exactly what the junkman didand he discovered a great fortune in gold!

What happened to Darby? Well, he did hear about the junkman’s fortune and was quite upset. But he vowed to learn from his mistake and to never give up “three feet from gold” again. He went on to build a highly successful insurance business and began a new quest to teach others the importance of perseverance and never quitting.

It was this story of perseverance that led Don Green to commission Sharon Lechter and Greg S. Reid, to interview leaders from today’s business world and to ask them about their challenges. What had they done to persevere when failure loomed, to keep going when others would have given up? Armed with introductions from The Napoleon Hill Foundation, Sharon and Greg found themselves with the opportunity of a lifetime, the opportunity to update and to share the incredible impact of Hill’s work.

Told as a parable, Three Feet from Gold, shares the story of a young entrepreneur whose life is falling apart. He finds himself retracing Napoleon Hill’s steps after a serendipitous encounter with a powerful businessman who sees the young man’s potential and sets him on a challenging journey of personal, spiritual, and financial growth. Through this journey the young entrepreneur is mentored by more than 35 of today’s most successful leaders who have followed Napoleon Hill’s advice, including Dave Liniger, chairman and co-founder of Re/Max; John St. Augustine, producer of ‘Oprah and Friends’ Radio Programming; Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies; boxing champ Evander Holyfield; Symphony Orchestra conductor Jahja Ling; NASCAR President Mike Helton; just to name a few.

What unfolds in Three Feet from Gold is an invaluable equation for personal success based on advice from these incredible men and women. The Personal Success Equation is:

((Passion + Talent) x Association x Action) + Faith = Your Personal Success Equation

By combining your passion with your talent and then finding the right association you will position yourself for great success. However, to realize that success you must take decisive action and at all time have faith that you are on the right path.

They not only share how they applied this Success Equation in their own lives to achieve great success but more importantly, what they said to themselves when the chips were down. What kept them going when others would have given up. It is that moment in time, when you keep moving forward, that truly defines great success.

Their advice is sincere, generous and above all road tested by their own successful life stories.

Just a few of their golden nuggets that provide a road map for the successful CEOs of tomorrow are:

Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, Inc. said, “Focus on your people more than your profits.” And “stop overplanning.”

“A true leader will take others where they would not have gone by themselves,” was the advice of Drayton McLane, Jr. owner of the Houston Astros.

Debbie Fields said, “Good enough, never is.”

John St. Augustine said, “People need to replace their wishbone with a backbone.”

James Amos said, “The margin between success and failure is a very thin line. History is the past. Base decisions on the future.”

John Hope Bryant said, “Ten percent of your attitude is determined by what life hands you and ninety percent by how you choose to respond.”

And returning to the ageless wisdom of Napoleon Hill, “Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”

Don’t quit, you are just three feet from gold!

Sharon Lechter can help you, step by step with your Personal Finances