In Napoleon Hill’s, “The Law of Success,” he recounts a tale of a salesman attempting to sell him a Dictaphone machine while simultaneously demonstrating that a stenographer is a better option. While the stenographer in Mr. Hill’s story is a shorthand writer, I think the story is apropos to machine writers as well. The story is as follows:

“Once I went into one of the offices of the Dictaphone Company to look at a Dictaphone (dictating machine). The salesman in charge presented a logical argument as to the machine’s merits, while the stenographer at his side was transcribing letters from a shorthand notebook. His arguments in favor of a dictating machine, as compared with the old method of dictating to a stenographer, did not impress me, because his actions were not in harmony with his words.” -From, “The Law of Success” By: Napoleon Hill

[SIDEBAR: The stenographer has been winning since way back.]