Eliezer Alperstein (right) recently visited Don Green, executive director and vice president of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, on the UVa-Wise campus. Alperstein, a CPA licensed in both the United States and Israel and influenced by the philosophies of Napoleon Hill, hopes now to translate Napoleon Hill’s works to Hebrew and share those motivational teachings with at-risk youths and university students in Israel.

CPA to translate, teach Napoleon Hill’s philosophies of success in Israel

 
A CPA licensed in both the United States and Israel and influenced by the philosophies of Napoleon Hill hopes now to translate Hill’s works to Hebrew and share those motivational teachings with at-risk youths and university students in Israel.
 
Born a Jewish American who moved to Israel 17 years ago to open an accounting practice, Eliezer Alperstein recently visited the Napoleon Hill Foundation, headquartered on the campus of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise, to discuss his plans for bringing Hill’s philosophies to Israel, which include “making the world a better place in which to live.”
 
“Napoleon Hill’s philosophies are beneficial for anyone, including businesses, and I know there will be great interest in Israel for his works,” Alperstein said. “Hill aimed to unite different nations and bring world peace. He was not just an American citizen, but also a world citizen.”
 
Alperstein first experienced Napoleon Hill’s philosophies when reading Hill’s “The Law of Success.”
 
“Hill had a very religious philosophy for success, but he did not focus on one specific religion,” Alperstein said. “He taught that we must acknowledge a higher power, and I found that very attractive.”
 
Because of his interest in Napoleon Hill, Alperstein recently attended a course presented by the Napoleon Hill Foundation at Purdue University. With his successful completion of the course, Alperstein is now certified to teach Hill’s philosophies.
 
While translating Hill’s works to Hebrew, Alperstein also plans to propose coursework on Hill’s motivational teachings to some universities and schools for at-risk youths in Israel. He believes that those youths, in particular, may find a highly valuable lesson in Hill’s philosophies.
 
“Hill teaches that changing the world starts with yourself,” Alperstein said. “Once you’ve done that, your influence will be positive and ripple out forever.”
 
The Napoleon Hill Foundation is a nonprofit educational institution dedicated to promoting Hill’s philosophy.
 
Napoleon Hill was born in poverty in a one-room cabin on the Pound River on Oct. 26, 1883. From these humble beginnings, the Wise County native became an advisor to presidents and a best-selling author. During the early 20th century, Hill interviewed the nation's most successful business leaders, including Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford. Hill compiled his eight-volume set, “The Law of Success,” a collection of the philosophy of individual achievement. He later condensed his research to compile “Think and Grow Rich,” often called one of the most important motivational books ever written.
 
First published in 1937, “Think and Grow Rich” has sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and continues to appear on the list of top business books. In this classic on personal achievement, Hill introduced the concept “whatever the mind can conceive and believe the mind can achieve.” Thirteen principles form Hill's philosophy of personal achievement include cultivating a burning desire, faith, and persistence in the attainment of goals.
 
Hill's writings are still must-reads for business professionals. His volumes have influenced many successful individuals including Mary Kay Ash, Wally "Famous" Amos, Bruce Jenner, Paul Harvey and Senator Jennings Randolph. Hill's works are licensed for publication in a host of other counties, including China, Japan, South Korea, Nigeria, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Croatia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Other works by Hill, which are also still widely distributed, include “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude,” “How to Raise Your Own Salary,” “How to Sell Your Way Through Life” and “The Magic Ladder to Success.”
 
The only branch campus of the University of Virginia and home to the Napoleon Hill Foundation, UVa-Wise is ranked among the nation’s top ten public liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. UVa-Wise offers Virginia's only undergraduate degree in software engineering, among 28 other degrees and professional programs in the liberal arts tradition of Thomas Jefferson.

Posted November 28, 2007