Think and Grow Rich written by Napoleon Hill is among the 10 best selling self-help books of all time. Though written in 1937 it is still relevant today. Napolean Hill studied 500 of the most successful people over 25 years and in 1937 he released the book Think and Grow Rich which outlines 13 principles that empower an individual to climb the ladder of success. Think and Grow Rich tells how to access the power of your mind and use it to succeed in life. It explains that our thoughts, beliefs, emotions hold the power to shape our destiny and if we learn to use these tools to our advantage, we can manifest our dreams into reality. The book has sold millions of copies. Let’s find out the principles of success mentioned in the book.
You are the master of your destiny.
You can influence, direct and control your own environment.
You can make your life what you want it to be.
Table of Contents
Principles of Think and Grow Rich
Why are you not rich? Why are most of the people not rich or successful? As per Think and Grow Rich, 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. Many want to be rich but Anybody can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan, plus a burning desire for wealth, are the only dependable means of accumulating wealth. One has to keep on trying in face of all odds. As book reminds us Abraham Lincoln was a failure at everything he tried, until he was well past the age of forty.
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In the original Think and Grow Rich, published in 1937, Hill drew on stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires of his generation to illustrate his principles. In the updated version of Think and Grow Rich , we have anecdotes about how contemporary millionaires and billionaires, such as Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, Dave Thomas, and Sir John Templeton, achieved their wealth. The 13 principles are given below and discussed in detail
- Thoughts are things
- Desire
- Faith
- Autosuggestion
- Specialized Knowledge
- Imagination
- Organized Planning
- Decision
- Persistence
- Power of the Master Mind
- The Mystery of Sex Transmutation
- The Subconscious Mind
- The Brain
- The Sixth Sense
Think and Grow Rich: Achievement starts with a burning desire
Desire is one of the most critical steps that pushes one forward in achieving the end goals. A critical brainstorming session helps one identify the goals and build the plan of action that would prove useful in fulfilling the desire. So, set the goals, take the initiative, have faith in yourself, stay committed with it, and give a head start to your venture powered by your vision.
One of the most important things that one must keep in their minds is not to give up and have faith in themselves. Most of the individuals give up at an early stage and they end up with sorrow, depression, unhappiness, and abandonment. This happens because of a weak desire. The ones who are successful, they do not give up on their failure, instead, they learn from their mistakes and continue forward.
For example, two individuals were digging a mine in search of gold. After spending so long while digging, one person gave up. The second one consulted an engineer and continued. He eventually found gold in the mine. So, do not give up, have a burning desire, integrate creativity and innovation to it, take opinion from the experts, and believe in yourself.
Think and Grow Rich: Start now with what you have and find better tools along the way
Getting started is the most important thing. Rather than saying that I do not have enough tools, at least, move forward with what you have. In the beginning, your pace may be slow but as you would gather resources with time, you would get along with the success route faster.
Many individuals keep postponing while saying that they do not have an adequate set of tools and resources with which they can move forward. If you have such an attitude, you won’t be successful. Get yourself started with the tools you have. The success does not come overnight, instead, you have to join the chains together with what you have; get the tools and resources with what you gather, and finally, meet your final destination.
For example, two friends were having an old slow computer. They were asked to complete their assignment online. One of the friends used the computer that he had to complete the task. Although, the speed was slow, however, the assignment was completed timely. The second friend, however, gave an excuse that due to his slow and hanging computer he was unable to complete the assignment on time. Therefore, start doing rather than complaining.
Think and Grow Rich: Show the world what you will do instead of telling them
Showing the world what will you do before you tell them would help the audience get a positive impression of yours. This reflects your level of preparedness and seriousness over the work that you are working on. Moreover, this empowers the audience to have visualization and experience over the end product that you are working over. So, get yourself ready with a small demo.
For example, an architect was given a task to build a house. He started by showing the layout of the house using some software. The house owner then confirmed the plan and later gave him a green signal to start over.
Think and Grow Rich: Happiness is found in doing, not possessing
The time when one recognizes that he/she is raising the bar and improving their performance in the work they do, this gives real happiness within a short time and encourages an individual to do the same to reach the higher goals.
Possession, however, will never be enough to help you find real happiness. It distracts us from finding real happiness. For example, the individuals who define happiness in terms of wealth and possession, they would never be able to find real happiness as they would still desire more once they reach their set target.
Therefore, it is important to realize that our lives are valuable. We should stop chasing possessions and start finding real happiness. So, find happiness in the work that you do. This would prove useful in the long-run perspective.
Think and Grow Rich: Persistence will beat every failure
Failures are faced by all. But that does not mean that we should give up over the face of failure or hurdles of life. We must keep trying and learn from the mistakes that we’d done. Strength and tenacity are needed to deal with all the possible hurdles. With this, we would be able to push forward our beliefs to the audience.
For an entrepreneur, persistence is the most valuable thing. There would be times when things would not work the way we want it to work. In such a situation, the only way to stay committed to your end goal is to persist. This would help in dealing with the failure and difficult times during the venture.
To have persistence, one needs to repeat the efforts, learn from the mistakes; change the strategy, get advice from the professionals, capitalize on the momentum, be optimistic, celebrate the short-term gains, and aim yourself high to reach the higher goals.
Never forget that failures are temporary and once you would deal with it there is going to be a wonderful life ahead. With this, one would move forward with positivity and success.
Think and Grow Rich: Weak desire brings weak results
Desire can be understood as the starting point of all the great results. The stronger the desire is, the more successful you are. A strong desire keeps an individual feel excited with a positive attitude and confidence to deal with all the possible hurdles to achieve great and remarkable results. If you need something badly, then you will be successful.
Think & Grow Rich teaches that the ones who are successful in their lives had a great desire to achieve great things. The successful individuals had worked day and night to get the results. Their strong desire had motivated them to deal with the potential challenges and the troublesome situations that were there in their journey.
For example, two individuals want to create software. The first individual had a strong desire and he was stick with it. He worked day and night to achieve to fulfill the goal. He dealt with all the possible challenges and finally achieved the goal. The second individual, however, had a weak desire. After he found that it is taking so many efforts and the results were not successful, he switched towards building another software and gave up on the first project.
Think and Grow Rich: 99% quit from temporary defeat
One of the most important things between the ones who are successful and the ones who are not is that successful people don’t give up after facing the challenges and hurdles during their venture. Instead, they stand up once again to deal with the challenges with improved strategies and ways to reach the end goal.
Defeat and failure are temporary, therefore, one must not give up after facing that. Always remember that the failures are just testing your abilities and once you will remove the roadblocks from your venture, there is going to be a great achievement waiting for you ahead.
For example, Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation also failed during the early stages of his life. But he did not give up. If he’d given up then we would have not been able to see Microsoft as one of the best American Multinational Companies headquartered in Washington with an amazing range of products.
Think and Grow Rich: You’re not paid for what you know. You’re paid for what you do with what you know
It is right that you are not paid for what you know rather you are paid for what you do. If you know the important stuff but you do not utilize the knowledge to produce the desired results then nobody would pay you. Even the customers pay you for the products and services that you deliver them not for the things that you know without utilizing the knowledge.
The successful individuals in the world utilize their knowledge and skillsets from past experiences to produce desirable results. The ones who know but do not use it efficiently then you would be either be fired or would be demoted or you will not get the customers who would pay you for what you know.
For example, there is a lawyer who has learned a lot from law school. He knows about the ins and outs of the law. From the knowledge that the person has, he can help out the big corporations with their legal troubles. But until and unless he applies the knowledge that he had gathered so far, he would not be paid.
Think and Grow Rich: Continuously pursue knowledge
This is right that one should continuously pursue knowledge. Even the great people in the world could be seen as always learning and exploring new things to take their venture to the heights while being competitive in the market.
The most successful companies recognize the fact and they invest heavily in their employees realizing their power of teaching through which they support their employees in learning the new skills and adding the same to improve their operations so that they can be competitive in the marketplace.
None of the successful individuals in the world have said that they know everything. Instead, they believe that learning is a continuous process to be successful.
For example, Warren Buffett, an American Investor, and a famous Business Tycoon spend most of his time reading books, blogs, and news to find the best investment opportunities, economics booms or busts, etc. Another example could be Jio of Mukesh Ambani, that is, extending its verticals across the new domains to achieve successful results.
Think and Grow Rich: Failure is always temporary
Everyone fails at some phase of their lives. But that does not mean that we should give up and move on with other things. The ones who think in this way would never be able to succeed in their lives. Instead, successful individuals are the ones, who learn from the mistakes they’d committed and improve the same to achieve the end goal. They never give up and continue pushing themselves to achieve the end results.
For example, two decades ago, Apple was almost bankrupt. They were struggling with new ideas, products failure, and leadership turmoil. But, instead of all the odds, the management of the company did not give up. They started again with new innovation and creativity. Today, Apple has reached the $1 trillion milestones and is counted among the most successful companies in the world.
Quotes from Think and Grow Rich
A quitter never wins, and a winner never quits.
Every adversity brings with it the seed of equivalent advantage
Conduct yourself just as you would if you were already in possession of the material thing which you are demanding, when you call upon your subconscious mind.
Riches do not respond to wishes. Riches only respond to definite plans, backed by definite desires, through constant persistence.
If you want riches, you must refuse to accept any circumstance that leads toward poverty.
The majority of people are ready to throw their aims and purposes overboard and give up at the first sign of opposition or misfortune.
Experience has proven that the best-educated people are often those who are known as “self-made,” or self-educated.
Video on Think and Grow Rich
Controversy about Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill claimed that in 1908 he interviewed the industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie who then among the most powerful men in the world. It seems Andrew Carnegie challenged him to interview wealthy people to discover a simple formula for success and that he had then interviewed many successful people of the time. The acknowledgements in his 1928 book, The Law of Success, listed 45 of those he had studied such as Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, and Edwin C. Barnes (an associate of Thomas Edison).
Napoleon Hill is, in modern times, a controversial figure. Modern historians also doubt many of his claims, such as that he met Andrew Carnegie and that he was an attorney
If interested in buying, Click on the image below to buy the book from Amazon.(If you buy something through our links, we would earn money from our affiliate partners)
Note: If you buy something through our links, we would earn money from our affiliate partners
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The book, Think & Grow Rich is packed with a number of success principles along with real-life examples of the most successful individuals across the world. It will inspire you to achieve your goals using the principlesof success.
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