Stone documented his philosophies in the personal development classic he co-authored with Napoleon Hill in 1960, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. Here are some of his core principles:

Seek clarity of purpose.
“All personal achievement starts in the mind of the individual. Your personal achievement starts in your mind. The first step is to know exactly what your problem, goal or desire is.”

Develop a positive attitude.
“There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”

Embrace failure.
“With a positive mental attitude failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again.”

Look for the opportunity.
“Every great man, every successful man, no matter what the field of endeavor, has known the magic that lies in these words: every adversity has the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”

Know the secret to happiness.
“To be happy, make other people happy.”

To attract attractive people, you must be attractive. To attract powerful people, you must be powerful. To attract committed people, you must be committed. Instead of going to work on them, you go to work on yourself. If you become, you can attract.

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We can have more than we’ve got because we can become more than we are.

The big challenge is to become all that you have the possibility of becoming. You cannot believe what it does to the human spirit to maximize your human potential and stretch yourself to the limit.

Pity the man who inherits a million dollars and who isn’t a millionaire. Here’s what would be pitiful: If your income grew and you didn’t.

The most important question to ask on the job is not “What am I getting?” The most important question to ask on the job is “What am I becoming?”

It is hard to keep that which has not been obtained through personal development.

After you become a millionaire, you can give all of your money away because what’s important is not the million dollars; what’s important is the person you have become in the process of becoming a millionaire.

Income seldom exceeds personal development.

What you become directly influences what you get.