Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill is a book about success and happiness. Hill writes that everyone has ideas and talents. The question is how, and whether, you use it at the moment. Read this article and complete the summary to get an idea of the book!
You might well remember that nothing can bring you success but yourself.
Napoleon Hill
Who was Napoleon Hill?
Napoleon Hill, born in 1883 and passing away in 1970, is regarded as the greatest successful philosopher of the last century. He was born in a mountain cabin in Virginia.
At a young age, Hill loses his mother and becomes “an unruly boy of no use anywhere.” His stepmother instills in him a sense of values and positive thinking. She praises him for his strengths and talents.
Hill embarks on a career as a writer and starts studying law. In 1908, he interviewed the steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, at that time the richest man in the world.
Carnegie is impressed by Hill. During the interview, Carnegie asked Hill if he would investigate his success formula. Carnegie granted the young journalist access to the wealthiest and most influential people in America.
Over a period of more than twenty years, Hill personally interviewed all these people to discover the success formula that had made them incredibly wealthy.
Hill interviewed 504 of the world’s greats. In his quest, he met people like Edison, Ford, Bell, and Rockefeller. He wrote several books on the subject, such as “The Law of Success” (1928) and “Think and Grow Rich” (1937).
Later on, he also became a personal advisor to American Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Origin of the Book “Think and Grow Rich”
“Think and Grow Rich” is Napoleon Hill’s most famous work. It is one of the best-selling self-improvement books of all time and likely the most influential book on achieving business and personal success.
It describes the ideas and principles that Hill researched, which Andrew Carnegie believed could be formulated into a blueprint for success that was applicable to everyone.
Throughout the book, Hill remains mysterious about this “Carnegie formula.” The Carnegie secret, the secret of success, is never explicitly revealed. Hill encourages the reader to discover the secret for themselves.
The book prepares you for this discovery, and Hill’s belief is that once you are ready, the secret will reveal itself naturally.
I can reveal to you that the idea in the book is not the same for everyone. It is a “state of mind,” and these remarkable insights must become a part of yourself if you want to bring out the best in you, of course.
Summary of “Think and Grow Rich”
It’s no coincidence that successful people with less talent than others can still achieve success. In the book “Think & Grow Rich,” Napoleon Hill describes a powerful visualization technique that these individuals apply, some consciously and others unconsciously.
Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robbins, Henry Ford, Beyoncé, David Guetta, and Cristiano Ronaldo are a few examples of these people. Developing imagination became one of their key attributes.
In addition to imagination, Napoleon Hill emphasizes the power of autosuggestion. Autosuggestion is self-suggestion. This technique is based on the idea that “you are what you suggest to yourself.” In short, you are what you think.
From Negative to Positive Thoughts
According to Napoleon Hill, you should teach yourself not to allow negative influences and actively work on your positive thoughts.
You cannot fully control your subconscious mind. It is only governed by habit. However, you can influence it. According to Hill, this is a matter of repetition and trust.
He writes that your mind often hasn’t had time to work on your self-confidence. Make it a habit to think positively and be positive.
Think and Grow Rich Tips
Hill describes in his book many examples of developing belief and confidence in yourself so that you can consciously work towards your own success and happiness.
- Develop a positive mental attitude. Define wealth for yourself, which doesn’t solely refer to money or success.
- Write down a clear and concise goal.
- Create a plan for your goal. Consider two things: What are you willing to sacrifice, and what steps will you take to achieve your goal?
- Belief is a mindset that you can create yourself (also read: train your mindset in 1 minute).
- It’s not about what you do but how you do it. Applied knowledge is more important than potential knowledge.
- Develop persistence. This is a combination of willpower, perseverance, and discipline.
- Build a Mastermind group. Connect with people who are necessary to develop and execute your plan.
- Increase your energy level.
- Train your thoughts. Your subconscious cannot distinguish between reality and vivid imagination. Create your own reality.
- Think and be positive. Find ways to receive positive thoughts more often.
Inspiring life lessons
Think and Grow Rich is a must-read for anyone who wants to consciously work on their own success and happiness.
In Think Big and Get Rich you will learn the most important lessons and laws for success. For example, how to develop faith and trust in yourself to achieve your goals. You learn to set goals, make plans for those goals, and take action.
And perhaps the most important life lesson: why your goals must become part of you to really achieve them. With one hundred percent focus. This book is one of my top 10 self-help books for personal growth.
Applying the reading material of Think Big and Become Rich in practice may seem simple. It also takes a lot of time, patience, and discipline to set this up.
Let’s take a look at the 13 steps to wealth.
Step #1: Having a Definite Purpose
According to the author, having a definite purpose is more than just a hope or a wish.
Wanting to keep all options open is fundamentally wrong:
“Anyone who wants to successfully complete a project must be willing to burn their bridges and eliminate all retreat options. Only then can they maintain the essential attitude for success: the urgent purpose to make it happen.”
By following the following six steps, Andrew Carnegie supposedly achieved his great fortune:
- Determine how much money you want to possess.
- Determine what you are willing to provide in return.
- Determine when you want to possess the money.
- Develop an implementation plan and take the first step immediately.
- Write down points 1 to 4.
- Read the written statement aloud twice a day (morning and evening).
(Supposedly, these six steps were approved by Thomas Edison.)
No one becomes rich by accident. You must be able to envision the desired wealth. What you need is so-called money consciousness:
“Only those who develop an awareness of money will ever achieve wealth. Money consciousness means that all thoughts are so full of the desire to become rich that one is already rich in their own imagination.”
Step #2: Faith
Faith unleashes emotions that create a communication pathway between our finite mind and the so-called infinite intelligence.
For achieving goals, it is essential to have the right emotions. Positive emotions lead to the goal, while negative emotions are hindrances.
“Faith is the eternal elixir that gives life, power, and energy to thought impulses.”
Faith itself can be induced through autosuggestion. Essentially, it involves repeating the message to the subconscious mind until it becomes firmly imprinted. This is also the reason why one should write down their financial goals and read them aloud twice daily.
Faith unleashes emotions that create a communication pathway between our finite mind and the so-called infinite intelligence.
For achieving goals, it is essential to have the right emotions. Positive emotions lead to the goal, while negative emotions are hindrances.
“Faith is the eternal elixir that gives life, power, and energy to thought impulses.”
Faith itself can be induced through autosuggestion. Essentially, it involves repeating the message to the subconscious mind until it becomes firmly imprinted. This is also the reason why one should write down their financial goals and read them aloud twice daily.
Step #3: Autosuggestion
Autosuggestion or self-influence, according to Hill, refers to “all suggestions and self-administered stimuli that penetrate the mind through the five senses.”
The goal is to supply the subconscious mind with thoughts that align with the desired outcome. An essential ingredient should not be forgotten in this process: emotions!
Supposedly, the subconscious mind can be prompted to create an action plan by imagining that you already possess what you desire. With closed eyes, you should visualize the desired money. The second step is also crucial: visualize yourself providing the service or value that justifies all that money.
For skeptics, the author recommends the following:
“Read the entire chapter [on autosuggestion] aloud every night until you are convinced that the principle of autosuggestion is working.”
Step #4: Specialized Knowledge
It’s often said that knowledge is power, but that’s not entirely accurate. Knowledge only becomes true power when it is used in concrete plans of action. Therefore, the correct saying is: that knowledge is potential power.
According to Hill, an educated person is not someone who possesses a vast amount of general or specialized knowledge but someone who can independently acquire the knowledge necessary for achieving their goals.
“An educated person is one who knows where to get knowledge when they need it and how to organize that knowledge into definite plans of action.”
Hill also notes that people tend to value only the knowledge for which they have paid. When you invest in acquiring knowledge, you are more likely to stay committed to it even when the learning process becomes challenging.
Hill emphasizes the importance of knowing how to promote oneself effectively, considering it a highly valuable form of specialized knowledge.
Step #5: Imagination
Imagination is crucial because our limits are determined by our imagination. The more imagination we possess, the fewer limitations we have.
Hill distinguishes between two forms of imagination that can be developed: synthetic imagination and creative imagination. Synthetic imagination simply combines existing ideas and plans in new ways. Creative imagination, on the other hand, taps into infinite intelligence, generating concepts, ideas, and plans that have never existed before.
Step #6: Organized Planning
Hill explains that no individual possesses enough experience, education, knowledge, and skills to accumulate wealth alone. Therefore, cooperation with others is essential to acquire money.
Achievable plans are created in four steps:
- Form a group by joining forces with other Master Mind people.
- Determine what advantage and benefit you can offer to the other members of the Master Mind group in exchange for their cooperation.
- Hold at least two weekly meetings with the group.
- Always maintain absolute harmony within the group.
If the plan fails, it must be replaced with a new one. Edison reportedly made around 10,000 attempts before his idea—the light bulb—became a reality.
“A person is truly defeated only when they give up.”
When assembling a Master Mind group, choose members who are not easily discouraged by setbacks.
In this chapter, the author extensively discusses self-promotion. He lists a total of eleven leadership qualities that he believes are important: self-confidence, self-control, a sense of justice, decisiveness, definite plans, enthusiasm, steadfastness, empathy and sympathy, knowledge of details, willingness to assume responsibility, and cooperation.
Leadership through consensus is generally more effective than leadership through force. Under coercion, people will only submit temporarily, if at all.
For beginners in their careers, Hill advises looking for partnerships rather than employment:
“Do not search for just any job. Do not speculate on where there might be job openings. Forget the classic question, ‘Do you have work for me?’ Instead, focus on what you have to offer.”
Step #8: Persistence
Hill emphasizes that without persistence, one is already defeated, and with persistence, one will ultimately succeed. Lack of persistence can be compensated for by stronger desire. Additionally, persistence depends on several factors, including a clear goal, specific planning, a definite purpose, self-confidence, secure knowledge of the facts (rather than mere speculation), teamwork, willpower, and habit.
Persistence is crucial because only those who exhibit it gain the insight that every failure contains the seed of equivalent benefit.
Hill identifies signs of a lack of persistence, including a lack of interest in acquiring specialized knowledge. He considers individuals who are complacent to be hopeless cases.
Hill provides four steps to develop persistence:
- Have a definite purpose that is backed by a burning desire.
- Form a definite plan for carrying out your purpose.
- Shield yourself from negative influences.
- Create a friendly alliance with one or more persons who will encourage you to follow through with both your plan and purpose.
Hill emphasizes that these four steps are the foundation for success in all aspects of life. Those who habitually follow these steps are on the right path.
Step #9: The Power of the Master Mind Principle
By joining forces with other people in the form of a harmonious Master Mind group, you gain power. And power is a fundamental requirement for successfully achieving financial goals. Ultimately, it’s about the coordination of knowledge.
(Hill mentions three sources of knowledge: infinite intelligence, the accumulated knowledge of humanity, and research.)
Step #10: The Secret of Transmutation of Sexual Energy
Hill observed that most people often only become professionally and financially successful around the age of 40. He attributes this to the fact that people between the ages of 30 and 40 accidentally discover how to redirect their sexual energy to tap into their creative potential for financial success. He refers to this as the transmutation of sexual energy.
“Men who accumulate great fortunes and achieve outstanding recognition in fields of endeavor are motivated by the influence of a woman. They make life worth living. Without them, men would be little more than animals, driven by instinct rather than reason.”
Besides sexual energy, Hill suggests that the mind can be stimulated by other factors such as music, love, friendship, and fear, as well as alcohol and other drugs.
He explains how to harness this supposed fact:
“Genius is developed through the sixth sense. You achieve this end by creating, through the principle of auto-suggestion, a mind stimulus that will place your mind in the state of consciousness, which enables you to connect with Infinite Intelligence.”
Note: This concept should be taken in the historical context of when the book was written, and it may not align with contemporary views on psychology and success.
Step #11: The Subconscious Mind
The subconscious mind processes and records all sensory inputs received through the five senses. In some yet unknown way, the subconscious mind taps into Infinite Intelligence and gathers all the information necessary to achieve one’s goals.
While you can’t completely control the subconscious mind, autosuggestion can be used to direct it in a particular direction. Since the mind can only focus on either positive or negative emotions, it’s your responsibility to ensure that the mind is dominated by positive emotions.
“You can voluntarily plant in your subconscious mind any plan, thought, or purpose which you desire to translate into its physical or monetary equivalent.”
The idea here is that by repeatedly impressing positive thoughts and emotions on your subconscious mind, you can influence it to work toward your goals and desires.
Step #12: The Brain
Hill views the brain as the transmitter and receiver of thoughts. He suggests that the brain can exchange vibrations with other brains through the medium of the ether. By using emotions and our imagination, we can enhance the receiving power of our brains.
“A brain stimulated by sexual emotion vibrates at a much higher rate than at other times.”
At the end of this chapter, the author also mentions an experiment that supposedly proved the reality of both clairvoyance and telepathy.
Step #13: The Sixth Sense
The sixth sense allows the boundless intelligence to communicate with us without our conscious effort. Hill explains what we gain from it:
“The sixth sense warns you of impending dangers in such a way that you can avoid them, and it also makes you aware of opportunities early enough for you to embrace them.”
The author himself uses his sixth sense by holding imaginary meetings with his advisory council in his mind.
The rest of the book delves into the six basic fears and how to outsmart them.
