I decided to pick up Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill for a second time after having read it five years ago and boy, was I glad I did. I had forgotten how inspiring it was. It’s easy to see why Think and Grow Rich
is considered the grandfather to all other books on success.
I also discovered something very interesting in my second reading. From the very first sentence of the book, it’s obvious that the producers of “The Secret” were inspired by the ideas and forces set into motion by Think and Grow Rich.
The author, Napoleon Hill, worked closely with a man named W. Clement Stone. The two eventually wrote a book together called Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude.
W. Clement Stone became the mentor to Jack Canfield, who wrote the international best-seller Chicken Soup for the Soul. Canfield was a major contributer to “The Secret,” in which he mentions Stone several times and credits his mentor for passing along the secret to him.
I counted 21 appearances of the word “secret” in the Napoleon Hill’s foreword (which is only five pages long), in which he talks about how the secret has been passed from person to person throughout the ages.
Being a huge fan of “The Secret“, it was exciting to rediscover Think and Grow Rich in light of the chain of events that were set in motion by it’s first publication, 75 years ago.
I can’t stress enough how powerful this book is. It should be required reading for anyone who aspires to any amount of success. I should assume that most readers of this blog have already read it, and to those who have I would recommend reading it over and over again until it becomes part of your way of thinking.
The Premise
Napoleon Hill claims to have learned the secret from none other than Andrew Carnegie. When he internalized the secret, he made it his life’s mission to develop and share it with others. In over twenty years of research, he analyzed and interviewed the worlds richest men in search of a common philosophy.
The fact that Hill devoted his life to this information, and had access to some of the most successful people in history, gives this book more credibility to me than any other I own. I give far more weight to this powerful collection of real-world knowledge than any other author (including myself) who speaks from less experience.
It’s doubtful that anyone will ever be able to replicate the level of access to the world’s most powerful minds represented in this book. The bottom line is: it’s well worth the cover price.
Focused Desire
The basic theme of the book is one of self-determinism. Hill suggests that the concentrated energy of your thoughts and emotions, when applied to a specific desire for wealth, deeply internalized and without safety net, will manifest itself into it’s real-world equivalent.
Hardcore left-brainers and scientists will immediately write off this suggestion as hocus-pocus, but considering the source, my ears are open. I’m less concerned with how it works than I am with the fact that the richest men in history say it works.
I don’t care if it’s something as strange as a mystical universal energy, or if it’s as practical as improving one’s probability for success through focus and discipline; if it’s good enough for Carnegie, it’s good enough for me.
One concept that stood out to me on my second reading is Hill’s emphasis on focused desire. He suggests to write down a specific amount of money that you want by a specific time and what you will give in exchange for it. To me, this is a contrast from what I had been taught in the past: the practice of setting many goals in many different aspects of life at many different time intervals.
I like the idea of focusing all of your energy and mental power into one goal.
Auto-suggestion
Hill suggests that in order to set the gears of the secret in motion, you have to first convince your subconscious to faithfully believe in your goal without an ounce of doubt. The best way to do this, according to Hill, is to repeat your goal statement over and over to yourself at least twice a day until your subconscious accepts it as reality.
What if what Napoleon Hill and the authors of “The Secret” are right, and the secret to success is as simple as repeating a few words over and over to yourself until you believe it to be true? Isn’t it worth a try?
Just think of the massive number of people who don’t even have the discipline to repeat a few words to themselves for fifteen minutes a day, even if it means missing out on success. Think of how many people will start out with great enthusiasm by following Hill’s suggestion, but will get bored of the practice after a week or two.
Are you really going to let go of your life’s dream because you got bored?
Persistence
My favorite part of the book is the chapter on persistence. I’ve always taught that persistence is a better indicator of success than talent, and this book only added to that principle.
Failure is a necessary stop on the road to success. Those that can’t handle failure will quit. Quitters will never win because they defeat themselves. If you follow the principles of this book, you will never quit until you reach your goal.
The Mastermind
Hill also emphasizes that you cannot achieve success in a vacuum. You can only achieve your dreams by joining forces with other people.
He suggests that the power within each of us is multiplied when combined with others who share a common goal. This idea was the precursor to the concept of synergy, where the sum of the whole is greater than the parts.
Read the Book
If you haven’t read the book, read it. If you’ve read it, read it again.
If you are a fan of “The Secret,” read Think and Grow Rich to learn the history. While “The Secret” does a great job of introducing us to the law of attraction, Think and Grow Rich
provides far more detailed instructions on how to apply it.
Hi great article I love Think and Grow Rich and The Secret. Thinking Grow Rich is one of those books that will always stand out. I also love the Abraham Hicks information which was on the original version of the secret. Very helpful for creating what we want in our lives
It’s definitely a great book. i read it twice in my semester break. one advice i will like to give is to read this book twice and then read the book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. also read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey. you will be on your way to become a leader.
Awesome webpage!!! You are truly a follower of Napoleon Hill’s work.
This is one of the VERY FEW books that promises to help you determine Who you want to become? What it is you want to do? When it‘s going to happen? Why THE MISSION IS POSSIBLE? And how you’re going to attain it? All through the aid and application of the “unknown and unused knowledge and power” they termed the “Carnegie Secret.”
1. Ready-Think 2. Get Set-Grow 3. Go-Get Rich
Let life come and live generously,
Host & Philosopher
Juddha Shaddai Fitzgerald
Thank you for keeping Napoleon Hill out there. Reading Think and Grow Rich changed my life. I do find there to be subtle errors in it in regards to the concept of a “burning desire”. When you are too desiring you feel a lack and the “desperate energy” pushes what you want away from you. You can make a definite decision without the neediness. Maybe it’s just my own confusion.
manifest your desires .
God Bless
Travis
Great review, an old book that still motivates one self that success is possible and people should create their own opportunities.
This is one of the most influential books I have ever read. I feel it is something everyone needs to read at least once!
You’re right, Nick: at least once, and preferably once a year!
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“The Secret” seems like a scam. A bunch of repackaged, overhyped, and slick-marketing ideas centering around the “Law of Attraction”. It’s fairly worthless and potentially dangerous, focusing on how thinking good thoughts will solve your problems and help you succeed. The actual path to success is to take focused action based on a clear vision of what you want to achieve. It also helps to be prepared, take calculated risks, and to be a little bit lucky.
Think & Grow Rich is a classic, old-school motivational book, good stuff. I read it a few years ago, and I think I’ll pick it up again and see if I can glean any new insights from it.
As a Fan of Hill, you will enjoy Downloading and listening to our Live Talk Show discussing Think & Grow Rich in derail
hrrp://focussociety.com
I really enjoyed listening to the new version’s audiobook. It’s much more accessible that way for me.
Great review, and amazing book!
This is one of the first books I read when I started to change my life around, and continues to be one of my favorites that I refer to from time to time.
Jeremy
http://www.theroadtoperfection.com
I enjoyed visiting your blog today and reading your comments about “Think and Grow Rich” and its influence on “The Secret.”
Concerning your web page…
http://geniustypes.com/think_and_grow_rich_book_review/
…I hope you will consider changing your links there for “Think and Grow Rich” from the ones you now use to, instead, the one for “Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised” (ISBN 1593302002). The new link would take you to Amazon.com page:
http://www.amazon.com/Think-Grow-Rich-Original-Restored/dp/1593302002/
I am the editor/annotator of this new 412-page edition of Napoleon Hill’s classic work. Among other things, the new book eliminates, through very subtle editing, some outdated, obsolete terminology and also language that was acceptable in 1937, but which today would be considered sexually or racially offensive. Most other versions of the book still contain this language (including the abridged version to which you now refer your blog readers).
What I have done is this: to restore Dr. Hill’s book to its original manuscript content (it was first published in 1937, but abridged in 1960), annotate it with more than 50 pages of endnotes and footnotes (most of the persons and events he discusses are generally unknown to readers today), index it thoroughly, add an appendix with a wealth of additional information about Dr. Hill and his work, and revise the book in ways to remove certain impediments (noted above) to reading the book today. None of these things had previously been done with TGR.
To learn more about this project, I invite you to visit http://www.tgr-restored-revised.com . The “Editor’s Foreword” there provides more complete information, and the “Testimonials” page will demonstrate how this new book is being received around the world.
Our new edition of TGR! is superior in every way to other versions on the market. It is not an “abridged” version, as are virtually all of the others on the market since 1960 (including the one you now link to). It is a trade paperback, not a pocket-size mass paperback. It is 412 pages versus 256+, depending on the edition. It looks better, feels better, reads better than any other edition.
If you examine “TGR!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised,” I think you will see why it has become the “version of choice” among so many Napoleon Hill devotees, entrepreneurs, and other students of success and high achievement. We believe it would be a valuable addition to your blog pages and a popular link for your visitors. We hope you will either link to our new edition, instead of the current one, or else include our link on your web page as well. Our version of TGR is the top-selling version on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca and alternates between No. 1 and No. 2 on Barnesand Noble.com.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Ross Cornwell
The Mindpower Institute
1208 North Main Street
Anderson, SC 29621
I’m lucky enough to win the prize, I’ll regift it for my own blog contest. ********************************************************************************************************** Over at Genius Types, Brian Lee is giving away a brand new copy of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Entering the contest is easy, and everyone gets a link back! To enter the contest, just write a post linking to his book review using the book title as anchor text. Brian is trying to build authority with the keywords “Think and
more “tag-ees”. These are all blogs that I’ve followed and loved, some of the bloggers I even consider friends—truly a fantastically diverse and talented crew: The 13 Graces Balanced Life Center Live the Power Abundance Journal Genius Types Pick the Brain Debra Moorhead Shama Hyder.com Contemplate This Uncover Your Bliss Made to Be Great Thoughts & Philosophies The Abundant Life The Daily Positive Bryan C. Fleming Verve Coaching