THINK AND GROW RICH

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

AA2Think And Grow Rich was written in 1937 and sold 70 million books before its author, Napoleon Hill, died in 1970. Who knows how many copies since. Talk about a best seller. It’s still in print. It’s about the science of personal achievement; the philosophy of success. There’s a lot in it for you.

AA#Andrew Carnegie, the philanthropist of U.S. Steel and Carnegie Hall fame (the Bill Gates/Warren Buffet of the day), wanted to leave the masses a timeless formula for prosperity. He challenged a young buck, a West Virginia reporter by the name of Napoleon Hill, to research and write it. He didn’t pay Hill – Carnegie just introduced Hill to the players of the time – writers, inventors, business people, presidents, royalty, socialites, clergy, sports stars & entertainers.

Hill spent 20 years studying the secret of what makes people successful. He identified 17 common principles and wrote a heady book titled The Philosophy of Success. It didn’t sell well, so he modified it as The Science of Personal Achievement. That didn’t do so good, neither.

AA4Napoleon Hill didn’t quit. He condensed it with a catchy cover and a slick title: Think and Grow Rich.

People wanted to get rich, so they bought up his book and, when everybody started talking about it, they told their friends, who wrote their pen-pals, who dialed-up others, who lettered-the-editor, …

Napoleon Hill spew pure truth. He got it bang-on and his secret has stood the test of time. Read it. Modern updates are available if you can’t handle the male vernacular of the time.

Here’s Napoleon Hill’s 17 principles of success. Think about how they can work into your writing… or whatever you need.

  1.   Definiteness of Purpose

  2.   Positive Mental Attitude

  3.   Self Discipline

  4.   Personal Initiative

  5.   Enthusiasm

  6.   Creative Vision

  7.   Accurate Thinking

  8.   Controlled Attention

  9.   Learning From Adversity and Defeat

  10.  Maintenance of Sound Health

  11.  Budgeting Time and Money

  12.  Pleasing Personality

  13.  Applied Faith

  14.  Teamwork

  15.  Going The Extra Mile

  16.  Master-Mind

  17.  Cosmic Habit-Force

AA9These principles are of no particular order, but follow a pattern. To achieve something, you must first conceive what you want – your definite purpose – knowing where you want to go. Then, you must have a positive mental attitude to go with it. In other words – you must believe that you are going to achieve your definite purpose – and then you must build your world around it – using all these principles – especially the mastermind.

Go read, or re-read, Think And Grow Rich. And I’ve already given you a spoiler… the Napoleon Hill secret is –

Whatever The Mind Can Conceive And Believe, It Can Achieve.

4 thoughts on “THINK AND GROW RICH

  1. Cyd Madsen

    Eternal truths, indeed, Gary that should be read over and over again. Applied Faith appeals to me most. Having faith is nice, but applying it requires patience and discipline and self-control and almost everything else he mentions. Have you seen the video of Jim Carey’s commencement address? He says not to hope, hope is desperate. Have faith and make the leap over the fire. Believe and trust and don’t question when or how that faith will come back to you. Is in this book, one of his later ones, or one of his many speeches I’ve listened to on tape where he mentions another principle–sexual energy. The man covered all the bases 🙂 But I do think in this world of changing global power and wealth, we need to re-examine the concept of “rich” and what it means during these times of massive change. Is it money, or is it living a rich life, regardless of money and circumstance? I lean towards the latter…and like it better. Much better.

    1. Garry Rodgers Post author

      Hey Cyd, I love your thought-out comments and your optimistic, yet realistic, outlook. I’ve never seen Jim Carry’s speech so I’ll look it up. I believe that Napoleon Hill’s work is absolute truth. And I believe that the ‘Rich’ in his title is part of the genius of his writing – Riches in peace, health, purpose, and relationships is the key to happiness which I think is the beauty of life. Money is simply a tool in finding richness. Sexual energy is what he referred to as “sex transmutation” or the channelling of one form of energy into another – it’s the most powerful of human desires. It doesn’t surprise me that you’re a student of Napoleon Hill 🙂

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