Three Feet from Gold: The Real Reason You’re Stuck
Are you stuck on a TOEIC score plateau? You might be just three feet from gold. Inspired by Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, this article reveals why a plateau is a test of persistence, not talent, and how consistent effort is the key to your breakthrough.
In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill tells the story of a man mining for gold.
He worked hard. Dug deep.
But after weeks of no success, he gave up.
He sold his equipment and walked away.
The man didn’t know the truth.
He was only three feet away from one of the richest gold seams in California history.
The person who bought his equipment dug a little further and struck gold.
Most TOEIC Learners Quit Three Feet from Their Breakthrough
You’ve been studying. Practicing.
Maybe even working harder than ever.
But the score doesn’t move.
The progress feels invisible.
And it starts to feel like you’ve hit a wall.
That’s the moment where most learners quit.
Not because they’re untalented.
Not because they’re lazy.
But because they can’t see how close they actually are.
The plateau isn’t the end.
It’s the last stretch before the breakthrough.
The Plateau is a Test of Desire, Not Talent
When you hit that flatline, it’s not your ability being tested.
It’s your desire.
Napoleon Hill called it a “Definiteness of Purpose.”
It’s the ability to stay locked on your goal—no matter how boring, frustrating, or pointless it feels in the moment.
Persistence isn’t about working harder.
It’s about showing up when it feels like nothing is working.
It’s about understanding that progress builds underground before it shows on the surface.
Every Small Action Builds Pressure — You Just Can’t See It Yet
Each mistake you correct.
Each drill you repeat.
Each session you finish when you “don’t feel like it.”
These aren’t wasted efforts.
They’re swings of the pickaxe.
You don’t know which hit will break through.
But if you stop, you’ll never find out.
The crack in the wall was always coming.
Most people just never stayed long enough to see it.
REMEMBER — Three Feet More Can Be Everything
Plateaus are not walls. They’re filters.
Most learners stop digging too soon.
Persistence isn’t “grinding.” It’s consistent, deliberate effort — even when it feels invisible.
Success happens after you feel like quitting. That’s the truth Hill understood. That’s the truth most learners never experience.
You’re not stuck.
You’re just three feet from gold.
Want to Learn More?
Our blog is full of practical strategies that help test-takers like you build better habits, overcome common blocks, and improve TOEIC scores through smarter, easier methods. Try our free TOEIC Block quiz now!
Here’s Another Thing They Taught You Wrong at School: Goal Setting
Do your TOEIC goals make you feel stressed and burned out? The problem isn't your motivation—it’s the type of goal you’re setting. This article reveals how to apply Think and Grow Rich to create process-oriented habits that build momentum and guarantee results.
At school, they teach you to set goals like:
“I will get 800 points in 3 months.”
“I will become fluent by the end of the year.”
But have you ever noticed…
those goals never happen?
You’ve probably set goals like that before.
You might even be setting one right now.
And yet, the more you focus on the result, the further away it feels.
Here’s why:
School taught you to chase outcomes.
But it never taught you to build processes.
So you end up obsessed with numbers you can’t control,
while ignoring the actions that actually produce results.
It’s like being told to grow a tree, but no one teaches you to plant seeds.
The “Outcome Goal” Trap — Emotional Failure Loop
When you set goals like “800 points in 3 months,”
you’re not setting a goal.
You’re setting a daily failure test.
Every day becomes a check-in:
“Am I closer?”
“Am I good enough yet?”
Most days, the answer feels like no.
The result?
You lose focus.
You feel stressed.
You burn out.
And the score doesn’t move.
It’s not that the goal was too high.
It’s that the goal was the wrong kind of goal.
What Think and Grow Rich Really Teaches — Process is Everything
Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich isn’t a book about sitting and wishing for success.
It’s about persistent, daily action.
But it’s not about working yourself to death.
It’s about short, intense, focused actions that compound over time.
At MTC, we don’t coach you to study for hours.
We coach you to win small, daily victories.
For example:
“I will do 20 minutes of focused mistake analysis every day, correcting my weak points with full attention.”
“I will practice listening drills for 15 minutes with total concentration, reacting to every sound immediately.”
“I will solve 3 reading problems under time pressure, driving my reaction speed.”
It’s not about studying longer.
It’s about studying with more focus in shorter, sharper bursts.
You Don’t Get Results. You Become Someone Who Gets Results.
Outcome goals make you think you’re chasing a score.
Process goals build the version of you that earns that score.
When you shift to process goals:
You measure success in actions, not emotions.
You stay in control.
You build habits that outlast the test.
The score is just a checkpoint.
The real victory is becoming the person who can create results on demand.
REMEMBER — The Number Is Not the Goal. The Process Is.
Outcome goals trap you in emotional failure loops.
Process habits build steady momentum.
Short, high-focus sessions beat long, unfocused marathons.
Think and Grow Rich is about daily deliberate action, not wishful thinking.
At MTC, we don’t teach you to “hope” for a high score.
We coach you to become the person who produces it, one focused action at a time
Want to Learn More?
Our blog is full of practical strategies that help test-takers like you build better habits, overcome common blocks, and improve TOEIC scores through smarter, easier methods. Try our free TOEIC Block quiz now!