CONTENTS
Cover
About the Book
About the Authors
Title Page
Author’s Preface to Original Edition
Preface to Current Edition
1. THE POWER OF THOUGHT
2. DESIRE: THE STARTING POINT OF ALL ACHIEVEMENT (The First Step to Riches)
3. FAITH: VISUALISING AND BELIEVING IN THE ATTAINMENT OF DESIRE (The Second Step to Riches)
4. AUTOSUGGESTION: THE MEDIUM FOR INFLUENCING THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND (The Third Step to Riches)
5. SPECIALISED KNOWLEDGE: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OR OBSERVATIONS (The Fourth Step to Riches)
6. IMAGINATION: THE WORKSHOP OF THE MIND (The Fifth Step to Riches)
7. ORGANISED PLANNING: THE CRYSTALLISATION OF DESIRE INTO ACTION (The Sixth Step to Riches)
8. DECISION: THE MASTERY OF PROCRASTINATION (The Seventh Step to Riches)
9. PERSISTENCE: THE SUSTAINED EFFORT NECESSARY TO INDUCE FAITH (The Eighth Step to Riches)
10. POWER OF THE MASTER MIND: THE DRIVING FORCE (The Ninth Step to Riches)
11. THE MYSTERY OF SEX TRANSMUTATION (The Tenth Step to Riches)
12. THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND: THE CONNECTING LINK (The Eleventh Step to Riches)
13. THE BRAIN: A BROADCASTING AND RECEIVING STATION FOR THOUGHT (The Twelfth Step to Riches)
14. THE SIXTH SENSE: THE DOOR TO THE TEMPLE OF WISDOM (The Thirteenth Step to Riches)
15. HOW TO OUTWIT THE SIX GHOSTS OF FEAR (Clearing The Brain for Riches)
16. THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP (The Seventh Basic Evil)
Index
Copyright
The essential guide to joining the ranks of the world’s most successful people
Think and Grow Rich is the seminal work by the well-loved and world-renowned Napoleon Hill, a contemporary of Dale Carnegie. Originally published in 1937, Hill’s money-making secrets are as powerful today as they were then and can change your life forever. After interviewing over 500 of the most affluent men and women of his time, Napoleon Hill uncovered the secret to great wealth based on the notion that if we can learn to think like the rich we can discover wealth and success. He developed a simple but powerful 13-step formula to help you to:
This exciting updated and revised edition provides examples of men and women who, in recent times, exemplify the principles that Hill put forward, inclusing the success stories of top achievers such as Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg. It’s clear that Hill’s philosophies are as valid today as when they were first written.
Want to achieve your dreams? Then just follow Hill’s immortal rules.
Napoleon Hill was born in 1883 in Wise Country, Virginia and died in 1970 after a long and successful career as a consultant to business leaders, lecturer and author. Think and Grow Rich is the all-time bestseller in its field whose success made Hill a millionaire in his own right. Hill established the Napoleon Hill Foundation, a non-profit educational institution whose mission is to promote his philosophy of leadership, self-motivation and individual achievement.
Dr Arthur R. Pell holds B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees and a professional diploma in Personnel Psychology and is a nationally known author, lecturer and consultant in human resources management. He has worked with companies, government agencies, universities and not-for-profit organisations in the areas of employment, training, employee counselling, motivation and communication.
Dr Pell is the author of numerous articles, audiocassette training programmes and 50 books on management, personnel, career planning and human relations, including The Supervisor’s Infobank: 1000 Quick Answers to Your Toughest Problems and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Managing People, which has sold over 125,000 copies. He is a frequent commentator on radio and television and has conducted seminars and workshops on various aspects of human resources management that have been attended by over 250,000 people throughout the United States and Canada.
Every chapter of this book mentions the money-making secret that has made fortunes for more than 500 exceedingly wealthy people whom I have carefully analysed over a long period of years.
The secret was brought to my attention more than a quarter of a century ago by Andrew Carnegie. The canny, lovable old Scotsman carelessly tossed it into my mind when I was but a boy. Then he sat back in his chair, with a merry twinkle in his eyes, and watched carefully to see if I had brains enough to understand the full significance of what he had said to me.
When he saw that I had grasped the idea, he asked if I would be willing to spend 20 years or more preparing myself to take it to the world, to men and women who, without the secret, might go through life as failures. I said I would, and with Mr Carnegie’s cooperation, I have kept my promise.
This book contains the secret, which has been put to a practical test by thousands of people from almost every walk of life. It was Mr Carnegie’s idea that the magic formula, which gave him a stupendous fortune, ought to be placed within reach of people who do not have time to investigate how people make money. He hoped that I might test and demonstrate the soundness of the formula through the experience of men and women in every calling. He believed the formula should be taught in all schools and colleges, and expressed the opinion that if it were properly taught it would so revolutionise the entire educational system that the time spent in school could be reduced to less than half.
His experience with Charles M. Schwab (see here), and other young men of Mr Schwab’s type, convinced Mr Carnegie that much of what is taught in schools is of no value whatsoever in connection with the business of earning a living or accumulating riches. He arrived at this decision having taken into his business one young man after another, many with little schooling, and developed in them rare leadership by coaching them in the use of this formula. Moreover, his coaching made fortunes for every one of them who followed his instructions.
In the chapter on Faith, you will read the astounding story of how the formula was applied to the organisation of the giant United States Steel Corporation. It was conceived and carried out by one of the young men through whom Mr Carnegie proved that his formula will work for all who are ready for it. This single application of the secret by that young man – Charles M. Schwab – made him a huge fortune in both money and opportunity. Roughly speaking, this particular application of the formula was worth 600 million dollars.
These facts – and they are facts well known to almost everyone who knew Mr Carnegie – give you a fair idea of what the reading of this book may bring to you, provided you know what you want.
Even before it had undergone 20 years of practical testing, the secret was passed on to more than 100,000 men and women who have used it for their personal benefit, as Mr Carnegie planned that they should. Some have made fortunes with it. Others have used it successfully in creating harmony in their homes.
The secret to which I refer has been mentioned no fewer than a hundred times throughout this book. It has not been directly named, for it seems to work more successfully when it is merely uncovered and left in sight, where those who are ready and searching for it may pick it up. That is why Mr Carnegie tossed it to me so quietly, without giving me its specific name.
If you are ready to put it to use, you will recognise this secret at least once in every chapter. I wish I could tell you how you will know if you are ready, but that would deprive you of much of the benefit you will receive when you make the discovery in your own way.
While this book was being written, my own son, who was then finishing the last year of his college work, picked up the manuscript of Chapter 2, read it, and discovered the secret for himself. He used the information so effectively that he went directly into a responsible position at a starting salary greater than the average man ever earns. His story has been briefly described in Chapter 2. When you read it, perhaps you will dismiss any feeling you may have had, at the beginning of the book, that it promised too much. And, too, if you have ever been discouraged, if you have had difficulties to surmount which took the very soul out of you, if you have tried and failed, if you were ever handicapped by illness or physical affliction, this story of my son’s discovery and use of the Carnegie formula may prove to be the oasis in the Desert of Lost Hope, for which you have been searching.
This secret was extensively used by President Woodrow Wilson, during World War I. It was passed on to every soldier who fought in the war, carefully wrapped in the training received before going to the front. President Wilson told me it was a strong factor in raising the funds needed for the war.
Early in the 20th century, Manuel L. Quezon (then Resident Commissioner of the Philippine Islands), was inspired by the secret to gain freedom for his people, and went on to lead them as its first president.
A peculiar thing about this secret is that those who acquire it and use it find themselves literally swept on to success with but little effort, and they never again submit to failure! If you doubt this, study the names and records of those who have used it, wherever they have been mentioned, and be convinced.
There is no such thing as SOMETHING FOR NOTHING!
The secret to which I refer cannot be had without a price, although the price is far less than its value. Those who are not intentionally searching for it cannot have it at any price. It cannot be given away; it cannot be purchased for money because it comes in two parts. One part is already in possession of those who are ready for it.
The secret serves equally well all who are ready for it. Education has nothing to do with it. Long before I was born, the secret had found its way into the possession of Thomas A. Edison, and he used it so intelligently that he became the world’s leading inventor, although he had but three months of schooling.
The secret was passed on to a business associate of Mr Edison. He used it so effectively that, although he was then making only $12,000 a year, he accumulated a great fortune, and retired from active business while still a young man. You will find his story at the beginning of the first chapter. It should convince you that riches are not beyond your reach, that you can still be what you wish to be, that money, fame, recognition and happiness can be had by all who are ready and determined to have these blessings.
How do I know these things? You should have the answer before you finish this book. You may find it in the very first chapter, or on the last page.
While I was performing the 20-year task of research, which I had undertaken at Mr Carnegie’s request, I analysed hundreds of well-known men, many of whom admitted that they had accumulated their vast fortunes through the aid of the Carnegie secret. Among these men were:
Henry Ford
Theodore Roosevelt
William Wrigley
John Wanamaker
James J. Hill
Wilbur Wright
William Jennings Bryan
Woodrow Wilson
William Howard Taft
Elbert H. Gary
King Gillette
Alexander Graham Bell
John D. Rockefeller
Thomas A. Edison
F. W. Woolworth
Clarence Darrow
These names represent but a small fraction of the hundreds of well-known Americans whose achievements, financially and otherwise, prove that those who understand and apply the Carnegie secret reach high stations in life. All the people I have known who have been inspired to use the secret have achieved noteworthy success in their chosen calling. I have never known any person to distinguish himself, or to accumulate riches of any consequence, without possession of the secret. From these two facts I draw the conclusion that the secret is more important, as a part of the knowledge essential for self-determination, than anything one receives through what is popularly known as ‘education’.
What is education, anyway? As far as schooling is concerned, many of these men had very little. John Wanamaker once told me that what little schooling he had he acquired in very much the same manner as a locomotive takes on water, by ‘scooping it up as it runs’. Henry Ford never reached high school, let alone college. I am not attempting to minimise the value of schooling, but I am trying to express my earnest belief that those who master and apply the secret will reach high stations, accumulate riches, and bargain with life on their own terms, even if their schooling has been meagre.
Somewhere, as you read, the secret to which I refer will jump from the page and stand boldly before you, if you are ready for it! When it appears, you will recognise it. Whether you receive the sign in the first or the last chapter, stop for a moment when it presents itself and raise your glass to toast your epiphany.
Chapter 1 tells the story of my very dear friend who has generously acknowledged having seen the mystic sign, and whose business achievements are evidence enough that he turned down a glass. As you read his story, and the others, remember that they deal with the important problems of life, such as all people experience, the problems arising from one’s endeavour to earn a living, to find hope, courage, contentment and peace of mind; to accumulate riches and to enjoy freedom of body and spirit.
Remember, too, as you go through the book that it deals with facts and not with fiction. Its purpose is to convey a great universal truth through which all who are ready may learn, not only what to do but also how to do it! and receive the needed stimulus to make a start.
As a final word of preparation, may I offer one brief suggestion that may provide a clue to recognising the Carnegie secret. It is this – all achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea! If you are ready for the secret, you already possess one half of it; therefore you will readily recognise the other half the moment it reaches your mind.
Napoleon Hill, 1937
The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
achievement
age of 222–3
seeds of 55–6
Adams, Samuel 162–6, 171
adult education 85
adversity 27–8, 35
advertising 126, 127, 128, 131
affirmation 46
age 216–17, 222–3, 257–8
fear of old age 262, 272, 274
aircraft 26, 97
airfreight 171–3
airlines 111–13
alcohol 208, 217, 221, 268
alibis 182, 183, 185, 265, 268, 286–90
Allen, Paul 14
alliances 94, 115–16, 187
of minds 197–8
ambition 90, 137, 140, 183, 184–5, 265
American Steel and Wire Company 60
American Revolution 161–71
Andrews, A.M. 91–2
anger 235
animals 274–5
application for employment 127–33
Armour, Phillip D. 108
Armour Institute of Technology 108
Ash, Mary Kay xvii, 31–2
authority 124
autosuggestion 69–77
and broadcasting principle 241
character building through 250, 257
developing faith 46, 48, 49–55
developing persistence 177
developing self-reliance 181
emotionalised 71, 75, 233
as mind stimulus 208
Bacon, Robert 63
Ballmer, Steve 14
Barnes, Edwin C. 1–4, 19–22
basketball 93
Beethoven, Ludwig van 29
belief 31, 41–2, 46, 48
and autosuggestion 50, 71, 76
negative 47
self-belief 32, 53
Bell, Alexander Graham xi, xvi, 239
Beveridge, Mr 32
biology 101
blindness 29
book-keeping 87–8
Boston 162–3, 164
brain 256
alliances of 197–8
broadcasting principle of 239–41
research 242–4
brains, see intelligence
broadcasting principle 239–41
Bryan, William Jennings xi, xvi
Buddha 257
budgeting 146
Bunyan, John: The Pilgrim’s Progress 27–8
Burbank, Luther 198, 249, 251, 253
Burns, Robert 28, 217
Burroughs, John 197, 198
business 57–65, 83, 92
alliances 94
associates 141
executives 147
leaders 122, 126
Candler, Asa 105, 109
Cannes Film Festival 16
capital 143, 150
capital value of services 136
capitalism 150–5
career, see employment
Carnegie, Andrew xvi, 24, 90, 110–11, 184
formula of vii-xi, 246
as Invisible Counsellor 249, 251–2
on marketing of services 135
Master Mind group of 82, 196
in maturity 222
and US Steel Corporation 61–5
Carnegie, Dale xv
Carradine, David 180
chance 24, 140–1, 184
character building 250, 257
Chicago fire 21
Christ 255, 257
Civil Aeronautics Board 172
civil rights 57
clairvoyance 244–5
clothing 149, 211
Coca-Cola 105
Columbus, Christopher 25
communications 26–7, 97, 237, 239
computer software industry 13–14
Conan the Barbarian 29
concentration 72
of effort 141, 146, 265
Confucius 255, 257
conscience 211, 223
Continental Congress 166–8
control 92
mind control 224, 263–4, 276, 284, 286
cooperation 135, 139, 145, 194
as characteristic of leadership 121, 122
inability to cooperate 142
persistence and 181
Copernicus, Nikolaus 25
Cornwallis, Lord 161
Coué, Emil 71
courage 30–1, 51, 141, 182, 266
in decision-making 160–2, 169–72
and leadership 120
creative effort 206, 222, 225, 227, 230, 234
creative imagination 98–9, 217, 221
as brain’s receiving set 239, 240–1, 247
and genius 209–16
link with Infinite Intelligence 98, 194, 209–10
and negative thoughts 275
sixth sense as 209, 247
and subconscious 98
criminality 46, 48, 139
criticism 30, 111, 183–5
fear of 184–5, 262, 269–70, 274
CV 128–31
Darby, R. U. 5–10
Darrow, Clarence xi
Darwin, Charles 249, 251, 253
deafness 28, 29, 33–41
bone conduction of sound 34
hearing aids 37–9, 91
death 42
fear of 262, 263, 272–3, 274
risk of 160–1, 165, 168, 170
decision 58, 107, 108, 145, 157–73
courage in 160–2, 169–72
definiteness of 120, 157–8, 163, 169–70
lack of 140, 157
Declaration of Independence 166, 168–9, 170
defeat 9, 10, 28, 42, 53
temporary 3, 5–6, 26, 27, 87, 90, 111, 117–18, 179
definiteness
of decision 120, 157–8, 170
Definite Chief Aim 51, 52
of desire 1, 5, 19–20, 22, 43, 72
of goal 32, 145
in job application 129
of plan 23, 109, 115, 120, 181, 185, 187, 194
of purpose 3, 11, 25, 106, 109, 111, 181, 187
delegating 123
Depression xv, 11, 91, 104, 241, 263, 264
desire 4, 13, 19–43, 115, 169, 181, 264
and autosuggestion 52
burning desire 1, 21–3, 25, 27, 58, 106, 187, 208
definiteness of 1–3, 19–20
intensity of 176
planting in subconscious mind 231–2
as positive emotion 234
for riches 5, 15, 22–3
sexual 206
transformation into physical equivalent 65, 99, 118–19
detail, mastery of 121, 122–3
determination 2, 3, 4, 13, 21, 93, 111, 130, 186
Dickens, Charles 28
dictators 121, 156
Dictograph Products Company 91
disease, see ill health
dishonesty 142
disloyalty 124
distance learning 84, 85–6
doctors 263, 270–1
Domino Pizzas 186–7
dot.com companies 140
doubt 54, 261, 268
dreaming 17, 24, 188, 254–5
constructive 28–9
practical 24–7
Dreamworks 17
Dunmore, Lord 166
duty 184
Eastman, George xvi
economics, law of 154, 155–6
Edison, Thomas A. x, xi, xvi, 24
Barnes and 1–4, 19–21
creative imagination of 213, 214
dream of 26
education 82
failures 28, 117
and Ford 197, 198
as Invisible Counsellor 249, 252, 254
and negative suggestion 285
persistence 189
sixth sense of 257
Edison Dictating Machine (Ediphone) 3–4
education vii, xi, 4, 17, 24, 98, 116, 138
adult 85, 184
continuous learning 86
and decision-making 170
distance learning 84, 85–6
and knowledge 80–2, 84
leaders 126
qualifications 128
schooling xii, 80, 82–5, 128
technological 108
efficiency 134, 146
effort
concentration of 141, 146, 265
organised 193
egotism 143, 147
electricity 26, 54, 117, 148–9, 242
Electronic Data Systems (EDS) 202–3
Emerson, Ralph Waldo 30, 33, 249, 251, 253, 290
emotion 45, 218, 265
destructive 223–4
emotionalised autosuggestion 71, 75, 233
emotionalised thought 47, 50, 229, 233–4, 240
positive and negative 48, 233–5, 240
employment 85–7
applications 127–33
career path 90–2
employees 200, 219
employers 133–4, 141, 170, 173, 269
finding exact requirements 131–3
as partnership 133–4
probation period 129–30
selecting 141, 146, 170, 173, 184
employment agencies 127, 131
energy
and matter 100–1, 196, 248, 273
thought as 100, 196–7, 240
enthusiasm 141–2, 219–20, 265
as positive emotion 234
environment 51, 76, 139
envy 268
ether 26, 50–1, 56, 70, 97, 197, 236–7, 239–41
evolution 100
excuses, see alibis
experience 84, 98, 116
accumulated 194, 213
job experience 129
experiment 194
extra-sensory perception 244–5
facial expression 225
failure 6–7, 72, 74, 277
alibis for 182, 183, 185, 265, 268, 286–90
causes of 5, 124, 136–44, 157, 176, 265
consciousness of 12
creating new plans 117
examples of 16, 26, 28
faith as antidote to 49
lessons of 9
fairness 120, 146, 223–4
faith 11, 30–1, 45–67, 231, 249
absolute 76
and autosuggestion 49–55, 70–1, 75–6
and desire 35, 40, 42
developing 46–9
examples of 4, 56–7, 162, 169, 251, 252
in following instructions 74
and love 56
mixing plan with 232
in oneself 31, 49
as positive emotion 234, 236, 238
Schwab and 66
families 148–9
fast-food industry 27
fate
acceptance of 90
mastery of 14–15, 76
fear 141, 164, 166
mastery of 140, 182, 188, 261–76, 278
as mind stimulus 208
as negative emotion 235, 236
six basic fears 140, 145, 164, 262–73
Federal Steel Company 61
FEDEX (Federal Express) 171–3, 185
Fenton, Colonel 164–5
Field, Marshall 22
financial industry 6, 9–10, 125
Firestone, Harvey 197, 198
followers 119–20, 123
food 148, 150–1, 211
Ford, Henry xi, xvi, 26
decision-making 158
determination 12–13
as Invisible Counsellor 249, 252
lack of schooling xii, 80–1, 82
Master Mind group of 197–8
in maturity 222
and negative suggestion 285–6
persistence 175, 189
sixth sense of 257
temporary defeats 117–18
freedom 148, 149, 188
of Americans 162, 163
of capitalist system 154–5, 156
loss of 272
friendship 208, 227, 265
Gage, Thomas 164–6
gambling instinct 140, 183
Gandhi, Mahatma 56–7, 198–9
Gary, Elbert H. xi, 60, 62
Gates, Bill xvii, 13–14
Gates, Elmer R. 212–13, 239
Gates, John W. 60, 62, 63
Gates, Melinda 14
genius 12, 98, 199, 205, 206
defined 209
destructive 223
development of 209–16, 217, 223–4, 227
dormant 56
sixth sense of 211
Gillette, King xi
goals 30
achieving 24
definite 32, 145
gold mining 5–6, 7
Grant, Joseph 54
greed 235
Grove, Andrew 200–1
guardian angel 248
guesswork 143, 146, 181
Gunsaulus, Frank W. 105–9
habit 90, 92, 289
and mind control 286
persistence and 182, 188
of service 135
and subconscious 231, 235
Halpin, Dan 90–2
Hancock, John 162–4, 165–6, 168
happiness 57, 225, 276
hard work 10–11, 24, 109, 186
harmony xvii, 15, 254
domestic viii, 140
harmonious conduct 135, 145
harmonious cooperation 181, 193
in Master Mind group 116, 195–7, 199
Harpers Magazine 244
Harvard University 13–14
hatred 235
Henley, W.C. 14–15
Henry, O. 28
Henry, Patrick 167
heredity 137, 270
hero worship 249
Herrick, Dr C. Judson 243
Hill, Blair ix, 17, 33–42, 48, 92
Hill, James J. xi, 118, 222
Hill, Napoleon xv–xvii
Hitler, Adolf 122
hope 30–1, 234
Hubbard, Elbert 255, 289
hunches 38, 98, 210–11, 247, 256
Hutchinson, Governor 162, 164
hypochondria 221, 270
IBM 202–3
ideas xiii, 9, 10, 38, 65, 87–8, 94–5
and imagination 58, 96, 102–5, 109–10
magnification of 51
new 24–7, 98
sellers of 109–10, 111, 119
sitting for 213
stillborn 185
ignorance 141, 242
ill health 42, 138
fear of 262, 263, 270–1, 274
imagination 24, 95–6, 97–113
developing 99
examples of 65, 87, 92
idea-creation 28, 58, 88
lack of 123–4, 265, 269
and planning 73, 98, 99–100, 232
practical use of 102–13
synthetic 98, 99, 213, 214
see also creative imagination
impossibility 11, 12–13
imprisonment 28
indecision 140, 170, 183, 261, 268, 273–4, 289
indifference 183, 188, 267
individuality 131, 269
industry 57, 125–6
inferiority complex 82, 159, 220, 269, 272
Infinite Intelligence 76, 188–9
communication with 45, 49, 218, 226, 227, 235–8, 247–8
and creative imagination 98, 194, 209–10
faith and 49–50, 54
harnessing force of 50
inspiration as message from 73
and laws of Nature 248–9
source of hunches 210
source of knowledge and power 194, 199
and subconscious mind 230, 236–8
influence 4, 17
information 159
inheritance 142
initiative 4, 265, 269
insanity 221, 224
inspiration 39, 73, 98, 210, 247, 256
women as source of 207, 214–15, 220–1
intangible forces 241–2
Intel Corporation 200–1
intelligence 136, 137, 150
intemperance 124, 142, 146, 268
sexual 216, 220
intolerance 142
invention 98, 210, 212–14, 257
inventory, personal, see self-analysis
investment funds 66–7
Invisible Counsellors 246, 249–57
Jaws 16
jealousy 235, 271
Jefferson, Thomas 166–7, 168
Summary of Rights 166
Joan of Arc 257
job applications 127–33
CV 128–31
Jordan, Michael xvii, 92–3
Josephine, Empress of France 215
journalism 126
Jurassic Park 17
justice 52, 120, 223–4
Kelleher, Herb 111–13
Keller, Helen 28
King, Martin Luther 57
King, Rollin 111–12
knowledge 120, 123, 186
accumulated 159, 194, 213
accurate 181
application of 80, 126, 138
continuous pursuit of 86
general 79, 81
and job applications 130
Master Mind groups 81–2, 116
organisation of 79–81, 84
as power 79–80, 82, 193
sources of 84–5, 193–4, 199, 209
specialised 79–96, 183
Kroc, Ray xvii, 27
Kung Fu 180
labour 57, 120, 123, 149, 155
hard work 10–11, 24, 109
leadership 147
attributes of 120–2
causes of failure in 122–5
by force/consent 121–2, 124
leaders and followers 119–20
opportunities for 125–6
Lee, Bruce 180–1
Lee, Richard Henry 163–4, 167
Lee, Gen. Robert E. 161
legal profession 126
letters of application 127–8
libraries 84, 89, 194
Lincoln, Abraham 26, 56, 160, 214
as Invisible Counsellor 249, 251–3, 254–5
literature 28
love 45, 47, 53, 200, 223–8, 265
and creativity 225–7
fear of loss of 262, 271–2, 274
influence of 56
memories of 225–6
as positive emotion 234
as stimulus of mind 208, 214
unhappy 28
Lowell, John 58
luck 12, 24, 109, 110, 185–6, 188, 263
bad luck 47
magnetism 15, 50, 56, 177, 254
personal 218–19
Marconi, Guglielmo 26
marketing of services 88–9, 94–5, 119, 173
capital value of services 136
means of 127–8
new method of 133–4
personal inventory 144–7
practical planning 147
QQS formula 134–5
marriage 140, 184, 227–8, 266–7
Mary Kay Cosmetics 31
Master Mind group 70, 137, 172
American colonists 163–4, 166, 169
defined 195
economic advantages of 94, 195
as mind stimulus 208
persistence 177
planning role 115–17
practical application of 246
psychic phase of 195–7
selecting 118, 158–9, 178
source of power 195–203
specialised knowledge of 81–2, 172
matter and energy 100–1, 196, 248, 273
maturity 216–17, 222–3, 255, 257–8
McDonald’s 27
meditation 248, 258
memory 265
of love 225–6
merchandising 66, 134, 136, 143, 144
Microsoft 14
Milton, John 29
mind 196
chemistry of 223–4
conscious 70, 99, 239
mind control 224, 263–4, 276, 284, 286
power of 41
stimulants 208–9, 214, 217–18
Universal Mind 248
vibration of 210, 214
see also Master Mind group; subconscious
miracles 49, 199, 248
misfortune 3, 27–8, 47, 175, 263
Mohammed 257
Monaghan, Tom 186–7
money consciousness 15, 23, 71, 72, 177–8, 234–5
money-madness 266
Moore, Bill and Jim 60, 61
Morgan, John Pierpont 59–65
motives 50, 51, 181, 183
motor industry 12–13, 26
movie industry 15–17, 29, 110, 180–1
music 55–6, 208
Napoleon Bonaparte 215, 249, 251, 253, 257
National Steel Company 61
Nature 33–4, 38, 40–1, 43, 70, 97, 155
energy and matter 100–1, 196
laws of 53, 169, 221, 248, 251, 264
natural stimulants 217
sexual nature 221
necessities, basic 148–9, 211
negative emotions 235, 240, 261
negative influences 277–9, 285
negative personality 139, 275
negative thoughts 47, 53, 138, 187, 231, 268, 271
new ideas 24–7
New York Times 243
New York World-Telegram 58
Notre Dame football team 90, 92
obsession 3, 19–20, 22, 23, 72, 111
obstinacy 158
old age, fear of 262, 272, 274
open-mindedness 17, 25, 29, 31, 141, 142, 146
opinions 158–9
opportunity viii, 3, 10, 27, 90–1, 94, 153, 155
Orange, New Jersey 1, 2, 19
organised effort 193
organised planning 94, 95, 115–56, 164, 169
other self 27–8, 241
overcaution 140–1, 145, 268
Paine, Tom 249, 251, 253
parenting 269–70
patents 212–13, 257
payment 123
Peale, Norman Vincent xv
Perot, Ross 202–3
persistence 1, 7–9, 65, 111, 169, 175–91
in applying principles 71, 76, 176–7, 181, 231
causes of 181
in definite desire 3
development of 177–8, 187–91
in following plan 22, 58, 145
lack of 139, 182–7, 265
in recreating plans 117
Personal Excellence 32
personality 145, 265
negative 139, 275
personal magnetism 218–19
pleasing 121, 123, 135
philanthropy 14, 186
Philippines x
physical handicap 28–9, 33–41
planning 15, 37, 39, 58, 93, 193
action plan 79–81, 84, 95
definite 23, 109, 115, 120, 181, 185, 187, 194
and imagination 73, 98, 99–100, 232
organised 94, 95, 115–56, 164, 169, 183
plan book 89–90, 94
practical 115, 117, 147
rebuilding plans 117–18
written 39, 100, 183
Plato 289
Poe, Edgar Allen: The Raven 217
poetry 28
politics 26, 30, 125, 198
positive emotions 234–5, 240
positive self-image 33
positive thoughts 47, 48, 113
poverty 70, 177, 183, 201, 262, 264–5
fear of 262, 263, 264–9, 274
power 75, 162, 163, 169, 177, 188
acquisition of 193
cooperative 139
defined 193
of faith 56–7
of knowledge 79–80, 82, 193–4
leadership and 121
Master Mind group and 195–203
sources of 199
universal 14–15
prayer 45, 49, 107, 230, 235–8
prejudice 141
procrastination 139, 140, 145, 157, 182, 265, 268–9
professions 126, 132
Provincial Assembly 162
Correspondence Committee 163–4, 166
publishing 109–10
purpose 9, 10, 51
definite 3, 11, 25, 106, 109, 111, 181, 187
lack of 137, 265–6
major 51
written statement of 51
QQS formula 134–5
qualifications 128, 129
quality/quantity of service 134–5, 145
Quezon, Manuel L. x
quitability 6, 118, 175, 183
radio 26, 51, 237, 239
railroads 118
reason 35, 73, 213, 218, 221, 234, 265
references 129
religion 126, 200, 210
repetition 70, 72, 75, 101
research 194
respect 121, 124, 146
responsibility 121
revenge 235
Rhine, Professor 243–5
riches 10–11, 15, 49, 201–2
desire for 22, 264–7
practical steps towards 22–4, 188
quick 142
where and how to find 147–9
ridicule 159
Riley, James Whitcomb 217
risk 160
Rockefeller, John D xi, xvi
Rockne, Knute 90, 91, 92
romance 227–8, 234
Roosevelt, Franklin D. 11, 198
Roosevelt, Theodore xi, xvi
Rutledge, Anne 56, 214
salespeople 218–20
scepticism 75–6, 93
schooling xii, 80, 82–5
Schultz, Howard 189–91
Schwab, Charles M. viii, xvi, 58–66
Schwarzenegger, Arnold xvii, 29–30
science 194, 212, 272–3
self-analysis 144–7, 182, 262, 267, 277
test questions 279–84
self-belief 53
self-confidence 16, 31, 32, 130
formula 52–3
lack of 51, 269
leadership attribute 120
self-control 120, 138, 265
self-determination xii
self-discipline 86, 138, 286
self-ignorance 143–4
self-reliance 181, 184, 265, 269
self-satisfaction 183
self-suggestion, see autosuggestion
selfishness 124
senses 70, 199, 210, 229
see also sixth sense
services, see marketing of services
sex 45, 47, 138, 139–40, 142
diminishing sexual attraction 272
highly sexed people 218–19, 220
and love 223
overindulgence in 216, 221
as positive emotion 234, 240
transmutation of 205–28, 240
Shakespeare, William: Hamlet 272
Sheinberg, Sid 16
shelter 148–9, 211
Simmons, J. Edward 58
sixth sense 245, 247–59
and genius 209–16
link with Infinite Intelligence 247–8
slavery 26, 28–9, 160
Smith, Charles Stewart 58
Smith, Fred 171–3, 185
Socrates 160–1, 255
Southwest Airlines 111–13
spendthrifts 141
Spielberg, Steven 15–17
spirit of service 134–5, 145
spirituality 45, 49, 56, 218
sport 92–3
Stalin, Joseph 122
Stanley Home Products 31–2
Starbucks 189–91
state of mind 11, 30–1, 205, 265, 278
faith as 46, 49
fear as 263
persistence as 181
steel industry 57–66, 82, 110
stream of life 201–2
subconscious 177, 182, 184, 229–39
broadcasting agent 240
communication with 98, 218, 234
deceiving 48, 73
and faith 45, 46–8, 51–4
fears 262
as link to Infinite Intelligence 45, 230, 236–8
negative influences 278
and positive/negative emotions 234–6
and prayer 45, 238
source of hunches 210
using via autosuggestion 69–72, 75–6
success 32
consciousness of 11–12
principles of 13, 17
Sugarland Express, The 16
suggestion 270–1
negative 54, 285
see also autosuggestion
suicide, suggestive 54
superstition 141, 235, 236
sympathy 121, 181
synthetic imagination 98, 99
Taft, William Howard xi, xvi
talking too much 159–60
telepathy 244–6, 275
Templeton, Sir John 66–7
think tanks 198
Thomas, Dave: Dave’sWay 83
thought 19, 39, 66
brain and 239–46
control of 14–15, 264, 276, 284
dominating 15, 50–1, 52, 69, 224
emotionalised 47, 50, 229, 233–4, 240
as energy 100, 196–7, 240
and faith 49
higher level of 210–11, 215, 239–40
as intangible force 242
magnetised 15, 50
negative/destructive 15, 47, 53–4, 70, 201, 231–2, 271, 275
positive/constructive 15, 47, 51, 53–4, 70, 201, 232
power of 1–17
repetition of 51
spiritual equivalent of 49, 56
subconscious 229, 231–3
translation into reality 52, 53–4, 169, 263
vibration of 45, 49–51, 98, 198, 209, 219, 239–41
titles 124–5
tolerance 25, 29, 30, 146
training 84, 85–6, 93
understanding xvii, 121, 258
United States Patent Office 213
United States Steel Corporation viii, 57–66, 169
Universal Mind 248
Universal Studios 15–16
universities 84–5
University Club, New York 58, 62
V-8 engine 12
vanity 143
vibrations
of ether 50–1, 56, 236–7
of fear 274–5
of thought 45, 49, 51, 98, 239–41
visualisation 23, 32, 70, 72–3, 74–5, 107
Voorhees, Dr Irving 40
Wall Street crash 202, 264
Wanamaker, John xi, xii, xvi
war 163, 182, 263
Washington, Booker T. 28–9
Washington, George 161–2, 169, 285
Wendy restaurants 83
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler 232–3
Williamsburg, Maryland 5
willpower 178, 265, 278
basis of persistence 175, 182
and mind control 224, 284
and transmutation of sex energy 206, 220, 221
Wilson, Dr J. Gordon 37
Wilson, Woodrow ix, xi, xvi
wisdom 72, 159
wishing 22 183, 187
women, influence of 207, 214–15, 220–1
Woolworth, F.W. xi, xvi, 94, 285
World War I ix
worry 268, 273–6
worth 144, 146
Wright, E.H. 244–5
Wright brothers xi, 26
Wrigley, William Jr xi, xvi
written statements 23, 75, 231
reading aloud 23, 51–2, 70–1, 74–5
When Think and Grow Rich was published in 1937, it was acclaimed as one of the great inspirational books of its time. Together with Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People and Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking, it became essential reading for men and women who pursued success in their lives and careers.
Over 15 million copies of this book have been sold. It became a roadmap for many millions of people to escape the poverty of the Depression era and gain prosperity for themselves, their families and, in many cases, their employees.
Who was Napoleon Hill and what was the source of his philosophy? Napoleon Hill was born into a poor family in 1883 in a one-room cabin in rural Virginia. He was orphaned at the age of 12 and brought up by relatives. Overcoming poverty and his rebellious nature, he struggled to obtain an education and developed into one of the pragmatic geniuses of his time.
Aged 13, he started his writing career as a stringer for small-town newspapers – a reporter who wrote items and stories about happenings in his area for pennies a line. Perhaps because of his own struggle to overcome poverty, he became obsessed with why people fail to achieve true financial success and happiness in their lives.
To earn a living he chose to pursue careers in both law and journalism. His early career as a reporter helped finance his way through law school. His big break came when he was given an assignment to write a series of success stories of famous men.
One of the men he interviewed for this series was Andrew Carnegie, the world-renowned steel magnate. Mr Carnegie was so impressed by the young journalist that he gave him a commission that would dominate the next 25 years of Hill’s life. The project was to interview over 500 millionaires to find a success formula that could be used by the average person.
The interviewees included the greatest and wealthiest men of the era. Among them were Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Charles M. Schwab, Theodore Roosevelt, William Wrigley Jr, John Wanamaker, William Jennings Bryan, George Eastman, Woodrow Wilson, William H. Taft, John D. Rockefeller, F. W. Woolworth, and many others who are not as well known today. During this period Andrew Carnegie became Hill’s mentor, helping Hill formulate a philosophy of success, drawing on the thoughts and experience of the people who were interviewed.
The success of Think and Grow Rich led to a long career as consultant to business leaders, lecturer and writer of several more books, and made Hill a millionaire in his own right.
Napoleon Hill died in November 1970 after a long and successful career. His work stands as a guidepost to individual achievement and has influenced readers for almost 70 years.
Updating a classic work is a monumental task. The basic philosophy of the writer cannot be changed. It must always be Napoleon Hill’s book, not mine. I approached it in the same way an art restorer looks at a classic painting that is being refurbished. I carefully studied the text and deleted stories and anecdotes that, although meaningful to the reader of the 1930s, have little significance to the reader of the 21st century. I replaced them with examples and illustrations of men and women who, in their careers in recent times, exemplify the principles Napoleon Hill promulgated.
In the following chapters you will learn these principles. In addition to reading the success stories of the people Hill studied for the original book, you will meet some of the top achievers of our time, such as Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ray Kroc, Michael Jordan and others.
Napoleon Hill’s proven steps to riches are as valid for today’s reader as they were for his contemporaries. All who read, understand and apply this philosophy will be better prepared to attract and enjoy these higher standards of living that always have been and always will be denied to all except those who are ready for them.
Be prepared, therefore, when you actively follow Napoleon Hill’s precepts to make major changes in your approach to life. It will pay off in enabling you to enjoy a life of harmony and understanding, as well as setting the stage for you to join the ranks of wealthy people.
Dr Arthur R. Pell, 2004
TRULY, ‘THOUGHTS ARE things’, and powerful things at that, when mixed with purpose, persistence and a burning desire for their translation into riches or other material objects.
Edwin C. Barnes discovered how true it is that men really do think and grow rich. His discovery did not come about at one sitting. It came little by little, beginning with a burning desire to become a business associate of the great Thomas Edison.
One of the chief characteristics of Barnes’ desire was that it was definite. He wanted to work with Edison, not for him. Observe, carefully, the description of how he went about translating his desire into reality, and you will have a better understanding of the 13 principles which lead to riches.
When this desire, or impulse of thought, first flashed into his mind he was in no position to act upon it. Two difficulties stood in his way. He did not know Mr Edison, and he did not have enough money to pay his rail fare to Orange, New Jersey. These difficulties were sufficient to have discouraged the majority of people from making any attempt to carry out the desire. But his was no ordinary desire! He was so determined to find a way to carry out his desire that he finally decided to travel by ‘blind baggage’, rather than be defeated. (To the uninitiated, this means that he went to East Orange on a freight train.)
He presented himself at Mr Edison’s laboratory, and announced he had come to go into business with the inventor. In speaking of the first meeting between them, years later, Mr Edison said, ‘He stood there before me, looking like an ordinary tramp, but there was something in the expression of his face which conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what he had come after. I had learned, from years of experience with men, that when a man really desires a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win. I gave him the opportunity he asked for, because I saw he had made up his mind to stand by until he succeeded. Subsequent events proved that no mistake was made.’
Just what young Barnes said to Mr Edison on that occasion was far less important than what he thought. Edison himself said so! It could not have been the young man’s appearance that got him his start in the Edison office, for that was definitely against him. It was what he thought that counted.
If the significance of this statement could be conveyed to every person who reads it, there would be no need for the remainder of this book.
Barnes did not get his partnership with Edison on his first interview. He did get a chance to work in the Edison offices, at a very nominal wage, doing work that was unimportant to Edison, but most important to Barnes. It gave him an opportunity to display his ‘merchandise’ where his intended ‘partner’ could see it.
Months went by. Apparently nothing happened to bring the coveted goal, which Barnes had set up in his mind as his definite major purpose. But something important was happening in Barnes’ mind. He was constantly intensifying his desire to become the business associate of Edison.
Psychologists have correctly said, ‘When one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance.’ Barnes was ready for a business association with Edison; moreover, he was determined to remain ready until he got that which he was seeking.
He did not say to himself, ‘Ah well, what’s the use? I guess I’ll change my mind and try for a salesman’s job.’ But he did say, ‘I came here to go into business with Edison, and I’ll accomplish this end if it takes the remainder of my life.’ He meant it! What a different story people would have to tell if only they would adopt a definite purpose, and stand by that purpose until it had time to become an all-consuming obsession!
Maybe young Barnes did not know it at the time, but his bulldog determination, his persistence with a single desire, was destined to mow down all opposition and bring him the opportunity he was seeking.
When the opportunity came, it appeared in a different form, and from a different direction than Barnes had expected. That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often comes disguised in the form of misfortune or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognise opportunity.
Mr Edison had just perfected a new office device, known at that time as the Edison Dictating Machine (later called the Ediphone). His salesmen were not enthusiastic over the machine. They did not believe it could be sold without great effort. Barnes saw his opportunity. It had crawled in quietly, hidden in a queer-looking machine that interested no one but Barnes and the inventor.
Barnes knew he could sell the Edison Dictating Machine. He suggested this to Edison and promptly got his chance. He did sell the machine. In fact, he sold it so successfully that Edison gave him a contract to distribute and market it all over the nation. Out of that business association grew the slogan, ‘Made by Edison and installed by Barnes’. This business alliance made Barnes rich in money, but he accomplished something infinitely greater: he proved that one really may ‘Think and Grow Rich’.
How much actual cash that original desire of Barnes was worth to him, I have no way of knowing. Perhaps it brought him two or three million dollars. Whatever the amount, it becomes insignificant when compared with the greater asset he acquired, the definite knowledge that an intangible impulse of thought can be transmuted into its physical counterpart by the application of known principles.
Barnes literally thought himself into a partnership with the great Edison! He thought himself into a fortune. He had nothing to start with, except the capacity to know what he wanted, and the determination to stand by that desire until he realised it.
He had no money to begin with. He had but little education. He had no influence. But he did have initiative, faith and the will to win. With these intangible forces he made himself number one man with the greatest inventor who ever lived.
Now, let us look at a different situation, and study a man who had plenty of tangible evidence of riches, but lost it because he stopped three feet short of the goal he was seeking.
One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another.
R. U. Darby, who later became one of the most successful insurance salesmen in the country, tells the story of his uncle, who was caught by the ‘gold fever’ in the gold-rush days, and went west to dig and grow rich. He had never heard the saying that more gold has been mined from the brains of men than has ever been taken from the earth. He staked a claim and went to work with pick and shovel. The going was hard, but his lust for gold was definite.
After weeks of labour, he was rewarded by the discovery of the shining ore. He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly, he covered up the mine, retraced his footsteps to his home in Williamsburg, Maryland, and told his relatives and a few neighbours of the ‘strike’. They got together money for the needed machinery and had it shipped. The uncle and Darby went back to work the mine.
The first car of ore was mined and shipped to a smelter. The returns proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars of that ore would clear the debts. Then would come the big killing in profits.
Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle! Then something happened – the vein of gold ore disappeared. They had come to the end of the rainbow, and the pot of gold was no longer there. They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again, all to no avail.
Finally, they decided to quit. They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars, and took the train back home. Some ‘junk’ men are dumb, but not this one! He called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer advised that the project had failed because the owners were not familiar with ‘fault lines’. His calculations showed that the vein would be found just three feet from where the Darbys had stopped drilling! That is exactly where it was found.
The junk man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine because he knew enough to seek expert counsel before giving up. Most of the money which went into the machinery was procured through the efforts of R. U. Darby, who was then a very young man. The money came from his relatives and neighbours, because of their faith in him. He paid back every dollar of it, although he was years in doing so.
Long afterwards, Mr Darby recouped his loss many times over when he made the discovery that desire can be transmuted into gold. The discovery came after he went into the business of selling life insurance.
Remembering that he lost a huge fortune because he stopped three feet from gold, Darby profited by the experience in his chosen work. His simple method was to say to himself, ‘I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say “no” when I ask them to buy insurance.’ He owes his ‘stickability’ to the lesson he learned from his ‘quitability’ in the gold mining business.
Before success comes to most people, they are sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and perhaps some failure. When faced with defeat the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of people do.
More than 500 of the most successful people America has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them. Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one up when success is almost within reach.