Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill's Thirteen Steps Toward Riches

I admit, I was pretty sceptical in the first place. Being overwhelmed by the law of attraction, you would not blame me right? Yes, this is one of the earliest books using the principle of the law of attraction. I was quite uncomfortable reading the language style – not our modern day style but of the yester years (note that this book was written in 1930s). Thus, a little more concentration is needed to understand the author’s message. Believe me, it pays to persevere and read the entire book, if not several times. The 13 principles are indeed very powerful and critical for your success, even if it isn’t about being rich. Basically, you will know the necessary ingredients for attaining any goal you want in life.

My favourite paragraph from the book:

“Examine the first hundred people you meet, ask them what they want most in life, and ninety eight of them will not be able to tell you. If you press them for an answer, some will say – security, many will say – money, a few will say – happiness, others will say fame and power, and still others will say – social recognition, ease in living, ability to sing, dance, or write, but none of them will be able to define these terms, or give the slightest indication of a plan by which they hope to attain these vaguely expressed wishes. Riches do not respond to wishes. They respond only to definite plans, backed by definite desires, through constant persistence.”

If you are one of the ninety eight, you MUST READ THE BOOK NOW!

Book Summary:

“When you begin TO THINK AND GROW RICH, you will observe that riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work.”

Be success conscious and not failure conscious.

I am the Master of my Fate, I am the Captain of my Soul. We must become money conscious until the desire for money drives us to create definite plans to acquire it.

There are 13 principles that lead to riches:

1) Desire – Strong desire that makes a person determined to accomplish a certain goal. Burn all bridges behind you so you have to do it or perish. There are 6 definite steps to achieve it:

• Set a specific amount of money you want
• What do you intend to give in return for this amount of money
• Set a definite date that you intend to have it
• Create a plan to put into action at once
• Put the previous 4 steps on paper – black and white
• Read what you wrote once before you sleep and once after you are awake. Visualize, feel and believe yourself as being rich as you read.

Dreams are necessary before they can be realized in physical forms. Reach the state of mind, then you are ready to receive what you want.

2) Faith – A state of mind which may be induced, or created, by affirmation or repeated instructions to the subconscious mind, through the principle of auto-suggestion. This is the reason people fail to succeed because they possess negative thoughts in their subconscious minds. Thus, one should pass your desires to the subconscious mind so that it will be translated into physical forms and realities. Formula for Self Confidence:

• Believe you have the ability to achieve your goal and demand that you persistently act towards it.
• Using 30 mins of each day to visualize the person that you want to become.
• Dedicate 10 mins a day to develop self-confidence.
• Do not stop trying to attain the goal until you gathered enough self-confidence to attain it.
• Love and believe in others besides yourself, so that they will help and believe in you.

3) Auto-suggestion – or self-suggestion. No thoughts can enter the subconscious mind without auto-suggestion. Reading the statement of desire daily is a form of auto-suggestion and it must be done with emotions attached in order for the subconscious mind to register. The price to pay for success is persistence to apply these principles. As you concentrate on visualizing the amount of money you specified, demand a plan from your subconscious mind and act on the plan immediately when it appears. However, do not use your own reasoning when implementing the plan. It is important to visualize yourself rendering the service in return for the money.

4) Specialized Knowledge – General knowledge does not attract money, only organised knowledge with a definite plan and endpoint is able to draw money. First, you need to identify the specialized knowledge you will require which can be determined by the major purpose in your life. Next, you would need to find reliable sources like libraries, night school or courses, where you can increase your specialized knowledge. Paying for a course may be good because it forces you to complete it to make your money worth. Schooling is not able to furnish a person useful knowledge as it is too general and unorganized, thus signing up for additional courses after graduation is necessary.

5) Imagination – Gives shape and form to desire and formulates into plans for action. Synthetic imagination helps one to combine old concepts into new ones. If synthetic imagination is unable to solve a problem, creative imagination is needed to create totally novel ideas. Keep your imagination active as it may weaken if you do not use it. Ideas are products of imagination.

6) Organized Planning – Gather a group of people needed to carry out the plan. This group will be known as the “Master Mind” alliance. In order for them to help you, you need to address the benefits or compensation method for each of them. You would need to meet up with this group at least twice a week until you have formulated a concrete plan. Harmony within the group is paramount to success. The reason to have people to help you is because no one is equipped with sufficient knowledge, skills, ability and experience to acquire large wealth. Plans should be formulated together or at least be approved by the Alliance. It is crucial to have the persistence to continuingly replace failed plans with new plans, until a plan that works. “No man is ever whipped, until he quits in his own mind”. Remember, “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits”.

7) Decision – Lack of decisiveness and often, procrastination, are the major failures to riches. It is necessary for cultivating a habit that “reach decisions promptly and change them slowly”. It is also important not to be influenced by opinions on your decisions as they would not be your own desires. Heed advice only from your “Master Mind” group.

8) Persistence – One of the major causes of failure where people lacked of it, will give up at the first sign of opposition. By having a stronger desire, it may strengthen your persistence. “With persistence will come success”; “Be persistent no matter how slow you may, at first, have to move.” Having a master mind group helps you to persist when problems arise.
Four steps that will lead to persistence:

• A definite purpose backed by burning desire of fulfilment
• A definite plan, expressed in continuous action
• A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences
• Alliance with people who will encourage one to follow through with plan and purpose

9) Power of the Master Mind – Power has been defined by the author as “organized and intelligently directed knowledge”. Power in turn can be attained from the Master Mind – “Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose”. To put it simply, being in a Master Mind group works on the notion that “two or more heads are better than one” with the condition that all heads work in harmony, and will achieve a multiplying effect. “No two minds ever come together without, thereby, creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may likened to a third mind”.

10) Sex Transmutation – Sex is man’s most powerful desire which often drives them to even risk their lives in order to indulge in it. This desire cannot be suppressed but can be diverted to useful channels. Transmutation of sex energy may lift one to the status of a genius, where the mind is functioning at a higher rate of vibration than a normal mind; thereby the person goes beyond ordinary thought with abundance of creative imaginations. High sex drive is actually an ingredient for success! If only the energy is used in other areas, instead of dissipating it physically. However, it does not mean that there should be no sex. The emotion of sex must be balanced with the emotion of love to make the person more sane and reasonable. It is also because the emotion of genuine love lasts longer, if not for eternity, where the person can constantly harness the energy. “Man’s greatest motivation or desire is to please woman” and by “[taking] woman out of their lives, and great wealth will be useless to most men”.

11) The subconscious mind – The subconscious mind cannot be controlled but can be “installed” with your desire or plan into it through autosuggestion. It operates 24 hours daily, recording thoughts voluntarily without your notice. It must be remembered the subconscious mind responds more readily to emotionalized thoughts. Hence, it is important not think of negative thoughts predominantly. The importance of the subconscious mind is that it connects the human mind to infinite intelligence where the answers can be seeked.

12) The Brain – The brain uses the broadcasting principle – Creative imagination is the receiving station where thoughts are received. The brain must be stimulated to a higher degree of vibration in order to be more receptive. One of the stimulants can be brought about by sex transmutation. The substation is the sending station where it must be told what to send before thoughts can be received. Auto suggestion is where one plants the desire into the subconscious mind. It is important to operate your brain in this way.

13) The Sixth Sense – This can only be achieved when the first 12 principles are mastered. The mind receives ideas, plans and thoughts readily. You may call it hunches.