Think and Grow Rich – by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich is one of the best selling books of all time, this 1937 classic has stood the test of time. Whilst some of the specifics have changed, and some of the world views of them aren’t so politically correct anymore, the underlying principles are still applicable today.

This book covers ’13 Principles’, including thoughts, belief, desire, decision, persistence, specialized knowledge, organized planning, and fear.

Think and Grow Rich Summary

“Life is a checkerboard. If you hesitate your men will be wiped off the board by time. You are playing against a partner who will not tolerate indecision!”

In the 1930s, Napoleon Hill interviewed some of the most successful people in America at the time. He interviewed millionaires on his quest to find out what they did to get them to where they are today. This book presents the ’13 principles’ that he discovered, the 13 things that were common across all of the self-made fortunes. 

(It should be noted that this was the 1930s and it was a different time – on the plus side he talks about the great work Gandhi is doing in the present tense, but on the negative side it highlights some of the racist undertones of society about Chinese people having slanted eyes and little black boys shouldn’t disobey older white men, and he only interview rich men and only referred to successful men). 

The overarching idea of the book is that ‘thoughts are things’. This book, as the title suggests, has a lot to do with thinking. Using your imagination and getting in touch with creative thoughts is the vital first step to growing rich. Thoughts are like seeds, they’re the first element of life and the point from which great things grow out of. Importantly, we must plant this seed in fertile and welcoming ground, then mix the seed and the soil with the right amounts of purpose, persistence and burning desire. 

To grow our thought seed, we must have a definiteness of purpose. We must have a clear direction that we want to head in, and we need to know why we’re heading that way. 

To grow our thought seed, we must have persistence. You don’t plant a seed one day and come back the next day to find a tall tree full of apples…it takes time. You need to persistence to keep coming back to this seed, then the sprout, then the seedling, then the tree as it grows in size. You need to be watering it, fertilising it, protecting it from the wind and from the pests that might come to try eat it. You need the persistence to keep going, even when it looks like the tree is barely changing from day to day. 

To grow our thought seed, we must have a burning desire. This ‘burning desire’ is the thing that motivates us and pushes us forward. Wanting success or wishing for success is just that – a wish and a dream. But a desire can give you the obsessive state of mind you need to work hard and achieve. 

One big thing that he found was that the greatest success for these millionaires was often just one step beyond their greatest failure. All of these wealthy men he interviewed had experienced a great failure, but rather than letting it stop them dead in their tracks, they took just one extra step forward beyond the failure and it ultimately lead to their success. Opportunities often slip through the back door, disguised as something else like defeat or failure. Most people dismiss them and don’t recognise them for what they truly are. It is only those that grow rich that are able to see through the mask and understand the great opportunity that hides behind. Successful people are those that can turning defeat into the stepping stones to opportunity. It’s easy to give up, most people give up, but you should make the commitment to yourself that no matter what setbacks you face you will always endeavour to take that one extra step. 

Throughout the book, Napoleon shows us that all riches begin with a state of mind.  With the right attitude, the whole meaning of our experiences can change: all of a sudden failure can hold the seed of an equivalent advantage. This book will give you many strategies to change the wiring of your brain – you will be able to use principles such as faith, imagination and auto-suggestion to work in your favour on your journey to riches. A lot of these lessons boil down to the idea that whatever we think will eventually come to fruition. If we think we aren’t worthy then we won’t achieve, if we believe that we can’t do it then we can’t, if we’ve resigned ourselves to mediocrity then we’ll always be mediocre. These are all ‘self-fulfilling prophecies’ – we don’t believe we can do it, so we don’t put in the effort to try, so we never do it and we’re proven right. Instead, we need to shift to thinking better thoughts and believing more in ourselves – this belief is the first step to action which is the first step to achieving your dreams.