Dale King: Today, I'm interviewing the President and CEO of The
Mindpower Institute, Ross Cornwell. He is also the editor of a special new edition of the landmark book "Think and Grow Rich." Hello Ross, how are you?
Ross Cornwell: Great, thank you. And thanks for having me with you. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you and your readers.
Dale King: Ross, tell my readers how and when you got started marketing on the Internet.
Ross Cornwell: We are just beginning to do formal marketing on the
Internet for the new edition of Napoleon Hill’s classic "Think and Grow Rich." Of course I’ve been doing round-the-clock "guerilla marketing" on the Internet for some time—visiting discussion rooms, forums, chat rooms, any place where I and a whole legion of TGR supporters can find people who are interested in entrepreneurship, personal achievement, and wealth creation.
And I mean wealth creation in all its dimensions, not just financial and material. People want to have rich personal relationships and rich experiences, as well as riches on their balance sheet. In any event, we’re just beginning to do formal Internet marketing.
Dale King: Tell my readers about the new version of "Think & Grow Rich" and how it came about?
Ross Cornwell: "Think and Grow Rich" is the best-selling motivational book of all time. It is estimated that more than 30 million copies have been sold worldwide, and the book has never been out of print since the day it was first published in 1937. My new edition is subtitled "The Original Edition, Restored and Revised."
In the 1960s, Dr. Hill edited out of the book a lot of material that he thought "dated" it. That abridged edition has been just about the only one available since 1960. As it turns out, those sections—which concerned the economic upheavals of the 1930s and the Great Depression—are as relevant to today’s economic dislocations as they were to those dire days.
So what I have done is to restore that original material to the book and then to gently revise the book to correct certain grammatical and spelling errors, clear up some outdated and obsolete language, and revise some other language that while appropriate for the 1930s would be considered almost sexist and racist today.
I have also done some things with the book that had never been done before. I have completely annotated it. The book has 56 pages of endnotes that explain the Think and Grow Rich Philosophy and tell about Dr. Hill’s life and times and the people he studied. I gave the book the first index it has ever had, and the first appendix. It’s now not just a motivational book. It’s a mini-history book and a reference book as well. It is developing a growing and loyal audience just about everywhere.
Dale King: Some Internet Marketing experts advise newbies to steer clear of certains areas of Internet Marketing, like selling e-books on how to make money, advertising services, SEO services, copywriting, etc., because those areas are too competitive. Do you agree with that assessment?
Ross Cornwell: If by "newbies" you mean uninformed and untalented, yeah they should steer clear. But if newbies really know their stuff and can produce the highest quality of product or service and do it reliably, consistently, and expertly they shouldn’t have any problem with competition. Cream always rises.
Dale King: How is Internet Marketing different now, as opposed to when you first got started online?
Ross Cornwell: It has just started growing exponentially. There are
newer technologies, many more options. Each year that passes makes the previous year look almost like ancient history and in slow motion. The Internet, and Internet Marketing, started out as this nice, quiet little wasp nest of activity and has now grown into this unimaginably gigantic beehive with millions and millions of cells, and growing bigger every year. It’s just about a full time job keeping apprised of what’s on the horizon in Internet Marketing.
Dale King: How important has goal-setting been to your overall success?
Ross Cornwell: Absolutely essential. Napoleon Hill was the first to stress the all-importance of setting clear goals and objectives in all aspect of life, writing them out, visualizing on a daily basis the achievement of them, and developing sound plans to back them up. In doing several years of research on "Think and Grow Rich" I happened to study the life of Asa Candler, who founded Coca-Cola. He set goals and wrote them out for everything, even his Sunday School classes.
Dale King: How important has reading been to your overall success?
Ross Cornwell: Reading is almost as important as breathing. Modern
civilization and technology have arisen out of the mind/written word synergy. The written word captures the fire of human knowledge and imagination. The act of active reading kindles the spark of the future in our minds.
Dale King: If you could recommend one book that all Internet marketers should read, what would it be?
Ross Cornwell: There are several that apply directly to Internet
Marking, but I’d have to say "Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised." On the front cover of the book, Brian Tracy says, "This is the best single book on personal success ever written; it made me a millionaire—starting from nothing." This entrepreneurial bible and road map should be on every entrepreneur’s desk. It is that foundational and is especially important for Internet marketers.
Dale King: In your opinion, what technology has changed Internet Marketing the most over the last 5 years?
Ross Cornwell: Internet feeds, bloglines.
Dale King: What new technology do you see changing Internet Marketing over the next 5 years?
Ross Cornwell: That’s a tough one. Probably any technology that most effectively facilitates continued Internet integration—the seamless interweaving of different services and capabilities into an
easy-to-use, unified experience.
Dale King: What person has influenced you the most in your lifetime, and how?
Ross Cornwell: My wife and daughters, and my parents and the love they showed me—and Napoleon Hill for his gift to the world that has so touched my life.
Dale King: If you could give my readers one piece of advice, what would it be?
Ross Cornwell: Live your dream!
Dale King: Thank you very much, Ross. I appreciate you taking the time to do this interview.
Ross Cornwell: Dale, thanks so much. I have enjoyed it immensely, and I appreciate your gracious hospitality. I hope we can do this again sometime.
Ross Cornwell's website:
http://mastermindpower.org
