When a man desire greatness.
If a man desire greatness, hardly will he give up easily. He will be ready to give up life, stake everything he has, to achieve what he wanted.
Napoleon hill in his book, 'think and grow rich', said "the first meeting between Barnes and Edison, years later, Mr. Edison said, “He stood there before
me, looking like an ordinary tramp, but there was something in the expression
of his face which conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what he
had come after. I had learned, from years of experience with men, that when a
man really DESIRES a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future
on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win."
Subsequently, When this DESIRE, or impulse of thought, first flashed into someone mind, there is always hindrance or blockage before it. Difficulty might stand his stake as the case of Napoleon characters, " Two difficulties stood in Barnes's way. He did not know Mr. Edison, and he did not
have enough money to pay his railroad fare to Orange, New Jersey. These difficulties were sufficient to have discouraged the majority of men from making any
attempt to carry out the desire. But his was no ordinary desire! He was so determined to find a way to carry out his desire that he finally decided to travel by “blind baggage,” rather than be defeated. (To the uninitiated, this means that he went to East Orange on a freight train). Learning from this stand, man shouldn't give up when obstacles surface although, fear of losing is not always might weaken one down but ability to never lose in his sting should be maintained.
When you desire greatness in life, opportunity might come and appeared in a different form, and from a different direction you might not expected. That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity. I so much love Napoleon view on achieving greatness in life.
Napoleon character, Mr. Edison had just perfected a new office device, known at that time, as the Edison Dictating Machine (now the Ediphone). His salesmen were not enthusiastic over the machine. They did not believe it could be sold without great effort. Barnes saw his opportunity. It had crawled in quietly, hidden in a queer looking machine which interested no one but Barnes and the inventor. Opportunity might come in form of a danger which one may see and run. But if you can summon courage and fight for it, success will be yours in the end. Remember opportunity comes where people complained, a lot of complain, numberless opportunity do take your time and think deep, you might have lost one due to fear of losing or rational process without wisdom.
Being great in life does not necessarily mean, you have the best education, rich family, a lot of friends who are influenced but ability for you to KNOW WHAT YOU WANTED, AND THE DETERMINATION TO STAND BY THAT DESIRE UNTIL YOU REALIZED IT. BARNES, Napoleon character, had no money to begin with. He
had but little education. He had no influence. But he did have initiative, faith, and the will to win. With these intangible forces he made himself number one man
with the greatest inventor who ever lived. 
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If you want to achieve greatness, you wouldn't die on the road like a damn,river which has no source.
Remember, before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to QUIT. That is exactly what the majority of men do.
Napoleon comment, "Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.