Introduction
This article is all about THINK & Grow RICH. Who was Napoleon Hill? Is there a secret to THINK & Grow RICH? What the Secret may be. Example of Belief with a Fish, a Boat, 4 Fisherman from Texas and a Crew. The truth is that ALL of the chapters or techniques in THINK & Grow RICH are immensely powerful, they are techniques or ways of thinking which are used by the successful people in life.
Think and Grow Rich was released in 1937 and promoted as a personal development and self-improvement book. The main theme of the book is that anyone can achieve success and wealth by following a certain set of principles. Hill identifies these principles as the “13 Steps to Riches,”
Not only did this book become the best-seller in personal development books of all time, the book also went on to inspire many other successful people including Tony Robbins, John Maxwell, Brian Tracy, Bob Proctor, and many others, and is highly recommended by them.
Having read Think And Grow Rich myself 6 times, I find that each time I read the book I found something new.
Does the book Hide A Secret?
Who is this book for?
- Readers who are interested in creating a better life for themself.
- People who want to learn the secrets of professionals in their fields.
- Anyone interested who wants to be successful in life.
Who Was Napoleon Hill
Hill was born in a one-room cabin near the Appalachian town of Pound in southwest Virginia. Hill’s mother died when he was nine years old, and his father remarried two years later to Martha. His stepmother was a good influence for him: “Hill’s stepmother, the widow of a school principal, civilized the wild-child Napoleon, making him go to school and attend church.
At the age of 13, Hill began writing as a “mountain reporter”, initially for his father’s newspaper
During 1928, Hill relocated to Philadelphia and convinced a Connecticut-based publisher to publish his eight-volume work The Law of Success. The book was Hill’s first major success, allowing Hill to adopt an opulent lifestyle.
During 1937, Hill published the best-selling book Think and Grow Rich, which became Hill’s best-known work. Hill’s wife Rosa Lee Beeland contributed substantially to the authoring and editing of THINK & Grow RICH.
His big moment and lifelong pursuit was discovered in 1908, when Napoleon was working for a magazine by Bob Taylor’s and was assigned to interview one of the most influential men of the time, Industrial giant Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was the magnate of Pittsburg Steel, a billionaire – and during the interview he put a 20 year challenge to Napoleon, which he accepted and it changed his life. Hill claimed that the turning point of his life had been the1908 assignment to interview Andrew Carnegie.
His lifelong mantra, ‘what the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve,’ and his bestselling book ‘THINK & Grow RICH,’ has showed the entire world how to take responsibility for their own personal success, and he has become one of America’s most beloved motivational authors.
Napoleon Hill died aged 87 on November 8, 1970.
The Popularity of THINK & Grow RICH
The popularity is in large part due to the way it is written.
Instead of being presented as a set of dry and unwavering rules to follow, the book is constructed like a mystery that compels the reader to engage in solving a riddle.
At the outset Hill unveils a clue to a hidden secret. He heightens our interest by promising that once the secret is discovered, the worthy detective (reader) who removes the veil and illuminates the mystery will possess a Master Key.
This Master Key will enable the reader to cause anything they fervently desires and believes they can possess to come into physical manifestation.
If you’ve ever read Napoleon Hill’s “THINK & Grow RICH,” you know that he repeatedly alludes to “the secret” without ever stating exactly what the secret is. If you haven’t read THINK & Grow 
RICH, do yourself a big favor and pick up a copy.
Here’s a question to think about – “do you think ‘THINK & Grow RICH’ would be as popular today if he had simply STATED the secret, instead of leaving it a bit of a mystery?
What Is The Secret?
If you’re not familiar with the book, let me bring you up to speed. In the early 1900s, Napoleon Hill spent decades of his life trying to figure out what made successful people successful. He studied people like Andrew Carnegie (who inspired the book), Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison.
In the book, there is a secret. It’s the Carnegie wealth formula – the secret to success. It’s mentioned in every single chapter but Hill never explicitly tells us what the secret is. It’s up to the reader to read between the lines and figure it out.
Napoleon Hill refers to a “secret” that runs throughout his 1937 self-help book THINK & Grow RICH. This secret, he writes, appears at least once in every chapter. But he does not specifically name the secret.
Some say the secret is, “What ever the mind can conceive and believe you can achieve it.” “Decide what you want, believe that you WILL achieve it, take the action necessary to make it happen.”
Others have said the secret lies in Chapter 2, where even Napoleon’s own son said he was able to identify the secret. That chapter is about “Desire: The Starting Point Of All Achievement.”
I want to share what I consider the most important passage in THNK & Grow RICH. It appears in the chapter on “Imagination”
You are now engaged in the task of trying to profit by Nature’s method. You are (sincerely and earnestly, we hope), trying to adapt yourself to Nature’s laws, by endeavoring to convert Desire into its physical or monetary equivalent. YOU CAN SO IT ! HAS IT BEEN DONE BEFORE?
You can build a fortune through the aid of laws which are immutable. But, first, you must become familiar with these laws, and learn to USE them. Through repetition, and by approaching the description of these principles from every conceivable angle, the author hopes to reveal to you the secret through which every great fortune has been accumulated.
Strange and paradoxical as it may seem, the “secret” is NOT A SECRET. Nature, herself, advertises it in the earth on which we live, the stars, the planets suspended within our view, in the elements above and around us, in every blade of grass, and every form of life within our vision.
Nature advertises this “secret” in the terms of biology, in the conversion of a tiny cell, so small that it may be lost on the point of a pin, into the HUMAN BEING now reading this line. The conversion of desire into its physical equivalent is, certainly, no more miraculous!
Here’s what I think the Secret may be:
We all believe the secret to be something different from each other because we are all different from each other in personality types, life experience, skills, leaning style preferences etc.
It’s like knowing something to be true, and when you know something is true you don’t actually question it, it’s a deep belief.
The real secret to THINK & Grow RICH… “the secret which is mentioned in every chapter” but never specifically highlighted.. is that there is not just ONE single secret.
The secret is that you have free will. You can choose whatever you want out of life. I personally thought this was the Carnegie wealth secret, especially since Napoleon Hill focuses on this concept in his other works.
In Chapter 14 “The Magic Power of Belief” Napoleon Hill reveals the “Supreme Secret.”
“Anything the human mind can believe, the human mind can achieve. That is the Supreme Secret. Truly, deeply believe you will have great wealth, and you will have it.”
While we may never know exactly what the Secret is, Imagination, Faith and Belief seems to top the list.
Again, “Anything the human mind can believe, the human mind can achieve.”
Think and Grow Rich Chapter 2
Chapter 2 reads, “The method by which desire for riches can be transmuted into its financial equivalent consists of six definite, practical steps…”
— First. “Be definite as to the amount of money you want.” Just saying I want a lot of money…won’t get it done. By setting a goal of making $5,000 a month part-time in 180 day in net income or establishing a date, will get the job done. It is specific and the mind can conceive it.
— Second. “Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire.” It’s a universal law…you don’t get something for nothing – if you did, you could simply make a wish and your desire would appear. You’ll need to exchange your time and efforts for the money you desire. As an example: “you can help others to achieve want they want and in doing so, you will get what you want.” That’s comes from Zig Ziggler
— Third. “Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire. Never under estimate the power of a definite date, or the need to be accountable to someone even if that someone is YOU. Tell yourself how disappointed you will be if you miss your deadline and on the other side, how excited you will be when you accomplish it.
— Fourth. “Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put your plan into action.” Decide what you’re going to do, and then Just Do It. Don’t wait – procrastination leads to excuses which leads to more procrastination. Begin immediately. If you can’t start now ask yourself WHY?
— Fifth. “Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.” Write it down. Make it concrete. Make it REALISTIC. Simply saying “I want $100,000 dollars in my bank account in 180 days (or a date)” when you haven’t even started with a plan to make money is unrealistic. Set real attainable goals and then achieve the goal and set another goal.
— Sixth. “Read your written statement aloud, daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning. As you read your goals – SEE, FEEL AND BELIEVE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MONEY.”
Put the message in your phone, on your iPad, as a sticky note on the computer.
A good friend Rob wrote his goals on the bathroom mirror in permanent black ink. He reads it every time he was in front of the mirror. At the bottom he wrote, “I will replace the mirror when my goal is met and write a new goal”. Rob has replaced the mirror six times. He’s also earning a six figure income starting from nothing.
As you think about your goal, BELIEVE it’s already done – you’re simply going through the formalities.
Again…”what ever the mind can conceived it will achieve.”
You’ll notice that these 6 steps assume just one thing – that you will take ACTION! You will do whatever it is you need to do to make it happen. Six steps, plus action.
Summarize The Secret
I think we can summarize the secret with what we just learned. It can be summarizes in 3 simple steps:
- Conceive it…Start With A Plan
- Believe it…Your Mind Knows No Difference
- Achieve it…Take Action And It Will Happen
That’s it…3 steps and 3 actions – Napoleon Hill’s secret to ‘THINK & Grow RICH’.
Best advice I can offer is – If you don’t have THINK & Grow RICH as part of your library. Get it. Read it… read it again… and then read it again.
THINK & Grow RICH In Action
Here’s a story of a fish, a boat, a fisherman, and the boat crew.
Four men from Texas chartered a boat in Florida for a week of big fish outing in May. The men, Bob, Mike, Bill and Jerry flew to Tampa for a week of fun, and fishing. On the day of the big outing they met the crew of the charter boat. The captain was a seasoned captain with a crew of 5. The co-captain was new with only 6 months of experience.
On the day of the outing, the day was excellent. They left the dock at 7:00 AM. Excited they sailed far out thinking of the “Catch” they will be making.
It was around 11:35 AM when Mike got his first hit. The pole bent, the line went taunt, and Mike started to strain holding the pole.
The crew went crazy with someone shouting out to the captain, “slow down, speed up, hard to port, etc.” Crew members were running around doing whatever they do, and the entire boat had a feeling of total frenzy and chaos. One of the crew member brought over a net to catch the fish and shouted out instructions to Mike, who by now was really straining to pull in this big fish.
It was now close to noon and everyone was still giving Mike and the captain instructions.
All the while, Bill had his hands on Mikes shoulders. In the mist of the frenzy, Bill was as calm as he could be. That evening celebrating Mikes catch, Mike asked Bill how he could stay so calm amid all this frenzy. Sitting back and smiling, Bill replied, “While the fish and the crew didn’t know the outcome of this struggle, I did.”
Bill had already conceived and believed Mike would catch this giant fish. All that was left was to calmly and serenely land it.
Pick up a copy of ‘THINK & Grow RICH”. You will thank yourself many times over.
Thanks for reading,
