Think and Grow Rich - Entire Book Summary

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Chapter 1

Principle 1: Have a BURNING DESIRE to reach your goal, and you will be able to conquer that goal. 

The book outlines that when you have a definite, BURNING DESIRE to achieve a certain goal, the Universe will make that goal become a reality due to the energy that is transmitted through your thoughts. 

Think of it in a more practical way. Everything in the Universe is energy. Your thoughts are energy. Your actions are energy. Your BURNING DESIRE about a goal or thing, means that you are constantly having thoughts regarding that particular goal or thing and you are making certain actions to attain it. Therefore, the more you think about it and the more you are making actions towards that goal/thing, the more energy is transmitted in the Universe through your thoughts which make it aligned with your goal or thing. 

This is illustrated in the book through a story from a friend of Napoleon Hill.

Napoleon Hill emphasises the fact that his friend had a BURNING DESIRE to work with Thomas Edison. Therefore, his friend, Barnes remained focused on his desire for months without changing his mind and as psychologists say, 'when one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance.'

Correspondingly, Barnes finally got his chance and seized it. He ended up working with Thomas Edison for more than thirty years. 

Principle 2: Never quit after a temporary defeat

This will become evident once you look at the Chapter on persistence in later blog posts. Every failure is a learning step towards success. As George Moore pointed out, “A winner is just a loser who tried one more time.”

Chapter 2

Principle 1: Desire 

This vastly important principle is emphasised, again, in Chapter 2. 

Accordingly, an important factor of the success of the author's friend, Barnes, who seized his goal through desire, was that he had no plan B. As Napoleon Hill makes clear in page 32, Barnes completely and utterly left himself no other option. He certainly had no alternative option to fall back on and his thoughts and actions reflected that. He showed Edison that working with him was the only single thing he wanted.  

Additionally, it is advisable that the reader writes on a piece of paper the six practical steps that are outlined in the book, since it brings clarification and it will be easier for you to read it over and over again until it is embedded in your subconscious. You can use these practical steps for any area of your life and not just the financial. 

In fact, a study from the Dominican University found that "you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down."1

Principle 2: Imagination

The book asserts that imagination is a vital aspect of success. It is apparent that any sort of innovation that was created in the world throughout the human race, has been part of the imagination of the inventor. If it weren't for the imagination of the inventor, to see something that no other person has seen before him, that invention that has made our life better, more convenient or more productive, would not have existed. Napoleon Hill adduces airports, cities and factories, among others. Now, think of the  smartphones, TV's and computers that have made our life better, more convenient and more productive. 

Remember Albert Einstein's famous quote, 'Imagination is more important than knowledge'.

Napoleon advises to look at history. Examine and analyse the great leaders of history to squeeze the valuable lessons out of them. For instance, Thomas Edison failed approximately a thousand times before finally figuring out the way to create a lamp that would run on electricity. He was determined to create it because he imagined that it was possible. 

As George Santayana rightly acknowledged, 'Those who do not learn history, are doomed to repeat it'.

Along with imagination, it is emphasised that the individual must possess BELIEF that his/hers imagination can become his/hers reality, as illustrated with the Thomas Edison example. This would require a sense of open-mindedness, since it is derived from belief and faith. On the contrary, close-mindedness tends to immediately dismiss and disregard belief and faith due to the fact that they can only see limitations.  

Reference: 1 - https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/this-is-way-you-need-to-write-down-your-goals-for-faster-success.html#:~:text=You%20are%2042%20percent%20more%20likely%20to%20achieve%20your%20goals,tasks%20necessary%20for%20your%20success. 

Chapter 3

Principle 1: Faith

The book makes crystal clear that one must possess FAITH in order to transmit powerful thoughts through the ether and then, the law of vibration will transmit the energy in one of the strongest forms. 

To develop faith, just like any other worthwhile value/skill, repetition is a prerequisite. Accordingly, to develop faith one must certainly adopt the concept of auto-suggestion. Auto-suggestion is the ability to repeat over and over to yourself certain things/phrases or even words in order to emphasise it so much, that your subconscious will believe it is true and it will keep coming back into your mind subconsciously. 

Correspondingly, the following paragraph hits the nail as to the whole point of the chapter and is definitely one of my favourites:

"There are millions of people who BELIEVE themselves "doomed" to poverty and failure, because of some strange force over which they BELIEVE they have no control. They are the creators of their own "misfortunes," because of this negative BELIEF, which is picked up by the subconscious mind, and translated into its physical equivalent."

Therefore, try to constantly convince yourself that you are who you want to become. Constantly reaffirm to yourself that which you would like to adopt. For instance, if you want to become a winner, constantly remind yourself that you are a winner or that you can, indeed, become a winner. As the book emphasises, "If a man repeats a lie over and over, he will eventually accept the lie as truth."

It is the experience of the author of this very blog, that auto-suggestion need not only be the one that you are talking to yourself. It could be exposing yourself to an environment of the values you wish to attain (e.g. positivity, self-confidence) or reading/listening to those certain things. Exposure to such surroundings and measures can truly transform your subconscious and hence, yourself. Therefore, be very careful what you read and listen to. 

Chapter 4

Principle 1: Auto-suggestion

As previously stated in the post on Chapter 3, auto-suggestion can be used to develop any type of mindset you wish to adopt by 'forcing' your subconscious mind to develop in that way. 

The reason why this post is closely related to the previous post in Chapter 3 on Faith, is due to the following paragraph:

"The mere reading of the words is of NO CONSEQUENCE--UNLESS you mix emotion, or feeling with your words. [...] Your subconscious mind recognises and acts upon ONLY thoughts which have been well-mixed with emotion or feeling."

Principle 2: There is no such thing as something for nothing. 

Appropriately, each time you seek to develop your skills, you must invest time in practice. To validate, if you want to become the world heavyweight champion in boxing, you must invest countless hours practicing the sport of boxing. In order to achieve something that is worth having, you must invest the adequate work ethic required to attain it, which will require you to be consistent and persistent. 

Think about the power of water. Even small drops of water hitting a rock consistently for several years, will eventually result in the water creating a hole within the rock. 

Principle 3: Visualize

The book has throughout emphasised that visualisation of what you wish to obtain, along with the positive emotions such as faith and love mixed together will render that thing become a reality. 

This is one of the most fundamental principles of the best-selling book 'The Secret' which touches upon the use of the law of attraction which is enabled through visualization, since the Universe then will commit to providing you with what you seek. This author is highly recommending the reading of this book, as it can act as a supplement to the knowledge received from Think and Grow Rich. 

Chapter 5

Principle 1: Specialized Knowledge

The book starts off this chapter by asserting that general knowledge, meaning knowing a little about various different areas, is not as effective as having specialized knowledge, meaning being an expert in a particular area. Appropriately, being the expert in a given area, gives you an advantage over your competitors, as all the opportunities will fall to you. For instance, if you are an expert in investment banking and someone else knows a little bit about investment banking, along with law and taxes, it is probable that the clients looking for investment banking services will choose the banker who is an expert. 

However, it is the opinion of this author that it also depends on your goals and what you want to do. To clarify, if you would like to be the owner/manager/CEO of a large company, it is required that you know a little bit about every area that the company operates in. (e.g. accounting, law, taxes, finance etc) Nonetheless, this does not imply that a CEO is not or could not be an expert in accounting and finance while knowing a little bit about the law, for instance.

Napoleon Hill continued to state that specialized knowledge should also be accompanied with a plan of action. Mere knowledge or memorisation of a topic has little effect if the application of it does not follow. 

Additionally, it is very rightly recognised that schooling is not the only way to acquire education. This is even more true today. Accordingly, it is a fact that highly successful people such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckenberg and Steve Jobs, among others, have not obtained a college degree. We live in the age of Information. We have more information that we could ever consume in the touch of a button and more extraordinarily, it could be consumed for free. As a matter of fact, someone reading this free blogpost right now could regard this as education due to the fact that he/she has learned something new. Consequently, lack of accessibility to education is no excuse. This was also emphasised by Mark Cuban in his book 'How to win in the sport of business', where he stated that he received his advantages in business from reading things that were available to everyone. It turned out that people just did not want to read it. (This is not to say that education only comes in reading. Listening to audio-books or watching videos/documentaries can be a great source of education.)

One indicator of success when studying career-wise successful people comes from the fact that the average American reads 1 book a year, whereas the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies read about 50-60 books a year. That's quite the difference. 

Furthermore, the quote from legendary investor Charlie Munger is also captivating. "Those who keep learning, will keep rising in life." While billionaire Ray Dalio also rightly acknowledged that the greatest skill you need to succeed in life is life-long learning. 

Chapter 6

Principle 1: Imagination

The principle was also discussed in Chapter 2 and it is the main principle of this Chapter. Remember that all the principles laid out by Napoleon Hill are inter-connected with each other and when all of them are used by an individual, it is the ultimate recipe for success. Therefore, let us neither neglect, nor undermine the emphasis given to each principle. In fact, the book does a great job of reiterating and repeating the principles in order for them to be embedded into the subconscious of the reader. 

The book starts off by expressing the fact that nothing is impossible if it can be imagined. 

A fascinating quote points out, "Whatever the mind can conceive, the body can achieve."

Napoleon Hill makes the distinction between Synthetic Imagination, which is the imagination that has resulted from an old concept or an old combination, and Creative Imagination, which is the imagination that is derived from originality in order to develop/produce something entirely new. Napoleon expressly states that the great leaders and the most successful people have Creative Imagination. 

Correspondingly, the story of 'What I would do if I had a million dollars' outlined in page 99 provides an excellent summary of the principles provided thus far in the book. The story illustrates that your thoughts are energy, since as Napoleon Hill identified, the whole Universe was created from an intangible form of energy and therefore, you and your thoughts are energy. As a result, Nature will respond to your calling if you produce the adequate amount of energy. When reading the story, observe that Napoleon (and throughout the book) is emphasising the fact that the man had a continuous obsession. The common misconception that being obsessed is a bad thing is false. This may be due to the fact that a lot of people do not want to see others succeed and hence, try to impose limitation upon the obsessed individuals by claiming that obsession is a bad thing to make those individuals either quit or slow down their efforts and success. 

Chapter 7

Principle 1: Organized Planning

By organized planning, the author of the book points out that a significant amount of time must be invested in planning in order to make the plan 'faultless'. However, even if the plan fails for one reason or another, the individual must reflect and learn from that mistake to create a better plan next time, but more importantly, the individual must be persistent. 

Remember the discussion on persistence in Chapter 4. 

Also, just like Einstein (who is arguably considered by the world as one of the smartest people to ever live) pointed out, 'It's not that I am so smart, it's just that I stick with problems longer'. Consequently, when your plan fails because of a problem, stick with that problem until you find a solution. 

Napoleon continues to comment on the attributes that a great leader ought to have. This is a fascinating discussion unfolding from pages 110 onward. Additionally, the importance of studying history becomes significant again in the book, since intelligent examples are provided from leaderships by force instead of leaderships by consent. Therefore, looking at these historical examples, it is easy to realise that indeed, leadership by consent is the ideal approach for any type of leadership. It is the opinion of this author that it is human nature that people will eventually oppose something that is forced upon them. 

Another interesting discourse unfolding in the book, is the one with the abbreviation 'QQS.' By QQS, Napoleon Hill states that for proper sales purposes, Quality, Quantity and Spirit are the greatest recipe. This is even more true today than in the 1930s. Consider the fact that we live in an era where content marketing is everywhere and therefore, the ideal approach for any one individual to market his/hers services, would be to provide/produce Quality, Quantity along with the Spirit of adding value to the consumer and working with a spirit of kindness and harmony. This notion is widely advocated by Gary Vaynerchuk. 

Subsequently, again the importance of education is stressed and the fact that 'brains' is more important than money. This is because 'brains' can never be stolen and neither can they depreciate in value in an economic downturn, a recession or a depression. 

Additionally, analyse the 30 major causes of failure in life provided in page 127 onward and figure out which are the ones that are holding you back. After you identify the causes of failure in your life, work relentlessly to try and rectify them. 

Chapter 8

Principle 1: Decision 

Firstly, it is stated as a fact that lack of decision can lead to disastrous results. Napoleon associates lack of decision with procrastination. Appropriately, in order to attain that which you wish, assuming it is a goal that is difficult to achieve, you must undertake immense action and therefore, procrastination stands in the way of that action. 

One of the most common reasons for lack of decision is the individual is too concerned with the opinion of others. Since we have previously cited Gary Vaynerchuk, it is key to cite him again in this Chapter as one of his most fundamental principles is ignoring other people's opinions. That is not to mean that you should not receive feedback, advice or constructive criticism, but the notion that you must not allow others to dictate your life because eventually you will come to regret the decision that you did not live on your own terms.

In light of this, it is critical that you take objective decisions and conclusions and not decisions based on the opinion or logic of others. By objective decisions this author means knowing the relevant facts prior to making the decision or conclusion. 

An interesting passage appears when Napoleon emphasises that one must not do too much talking. Those who talk too much, he says, do little else. As Robert Kiyosaki asserted (author of another best-selling book 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad') there is a reason why we have 2 ears but only one mouth. Similarly, the Dalai Lama once recognised, 'When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.' Additionally, the ancient Greek Socrates observed that 'Intelligent people know that they can learn from everyone and everything, whereas stupid people already have all the answers.' Consequently, it is vital that you avoid spending too much time talking about how you are going to do this or that and actually showing with actions what you are going to do or have done. 

Lastly, when making a gigantic decision, courage is necessary. Especially when that gigantic decision has the power to change the life of millions or even humanity. Napoleon cites examples of Abraham Lincoln, the Independence of the USA in 1776, among others. There have been similar decisions that required courage since then, as well. For instance, Winston Churchill refused to surrender to the Nazi German Forces in World War II and decided courageously, against a lot of backlash by Parliament, to fight until the end. The rest is history. 

Chapter 9

Principle 1: Persistence 

This is a principle that should be adopted for life by everyone. As Napoleon rightly observed, defeats will come. Every individual will experience failure at some point but the important thing is to be persistent. Persistent in keep trying until you win. Until you achieve what you want. Through failure, one will be able to learn from his/hers failure and mistake, which would afterwards result in making a better decision next time. Remember the discussion in a previous blog post, where it was stated that Thomas Edison failed 1000 times before making the first light bulb. The inventor Dyson made 5000 prototypes before making the first vacuum cleaner and Michael Jordan admitted that he missed more than 9000 shots in his career. Yet, he is arguably the greatest basketball player of all time. 

As the great Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill once said, 'Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm'. Additionally, actor Will Smith firmly believes in the idea of failing frequently, failing early and failing forward. 

Napoleon rightly acknowledges the power of habit, and thence, if you quit once, it becomes a habit. When it becomes a habit then, it becomes easier to allow yourself to quit. Something which Inky Johnson calls, 'Sweat Equity'. 

Notably, Aristotle recognised that,‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’

In conclusion, perfect harmony with your goal in conjunction with persistence, will result in the Universe delivering on your wish. Accordingly, Alexander Graham Bell famously said, “What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.” Through my interpretation of this passage, it appears that Graham Bell explicitly wanted to assure that if you remain persistent and persevere, you shall have what you seek.  

Chapter 10

Principle 1: Power of the Master Mind

Napoleon gives the definition of power as, 'organized and intelligently directed knowledge'. Power, therefore, may be obtained through Infinite Intelligence, accumulated experience and experiment and research. Today, in the era of information, it is much easier to conduct research and countless scientific studies are conducted each day. As a result, knowledge can be easily acquired through research from plenty of sources and could be backed by science rendering them valid. As Dr. Anthony Fauci asserted, 'Science is truth'. 

The title being 'Power of the Master Mind', it also necessary to examine the definition of 'Master Mind'. Napoleon describes it as 'Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.' Napoleon then explains the importance of perfect harmony of those people, since their minds would then be interconnected to send greater forces of energy. Napoleon provides the example of the Master Mind group assembled by Henry Ford. 

Similarly, billionaire Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, points out that he always tried to find people smarter than he was and make sure they can work together on a shared vision. The collaboration of those smart people in perfect harmony, then, would result in inevitable success. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4JFrVJCOkY 

Chapter 11

Principle 1: Sex Transmutation 

The definition provided by the book is the following: "It means the switching of the mind from thoughts of physical expression, to thoughts of some other nature."

Napoleon's essential point is that sex desire being one of the most powerful emotions, it makes individuals be courageous, persistent etc and thus, if it is properly maintained and controlled, the individual can transfer that courage, persistence etc into other aspects of his/her life, e.g. their profession. This transfer and shift of energy, according to Napoleon, will render one a genius. 

Napoleon, subsequently, goes back to a previously discussed notion of Creative Imagination and he then claims that Creative Imagination is what links one mind with Infinite Intelligence. Remember that Creative Imagination is the imagination that is derived from thinking something new and original (therefore, your creative side of the brain was put into action.)

It is highlighted heavily in the book that successful people tend to have a loving spouse with them to help achieve that success. The book adduces examples such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln and William Shakespeare. In my view, one of the most fascinating quotes of this chapter comes in page 205, where it is expressed that "It is a very old saying that a man's wife may either make him or break

him."  

Chapter 12

Principle 1: The Subconscious Mind

Thus far the subconscious mind was discussed in previous blog posts, however, it deserves a chapter by itself due to it being crucial. Remember that through the principle of auto-suggestion, one can influence his/hers subconscious mind and hence, guiding it to think what one wants. This step is vital for everyone to do every day because the subconscious mind is 30,000 times more powerful than the conscious mind. Yes, this is backed up by science. Consequently, programming your subconscious mind the way you see fit, or the way in which you think it will allow you to achieve what you want is a necessity. Have a look at the article adduced below. 

https://www.academia.edu/31074300/Subconscious_mind

Napoleon also refers to the subconscious mind as the connecting link between one's mind and Infinite Intelligence. To validate, the following is a paragraph taken from the book: "There is plenty of evidence to support the belief that the subconscious mind is the connecting link between the finite mind of man and Infinite Intelligence. It is the intermediary through which one may draw upon the forces of Infinite Intelligence at will. It, alone, contains the secret process by which mental impulses are modified and changed into their spiritual equivalent."

Subsequently, continue your reading to the pages where a discussion between the seven major positive emotions and the seven major negative emotions unfolds. Napoleon suggests that the greatest communication with Infinite Intelligence comes from the mixing of the positive emotions, as has been identified in other subjects as well. 

Chapter 13

Principle 1: The Brain

Initially, the brain is called a broadcasting and receiving station for the vibration of thought. To increase the frequency and the strength of the broadcasting station one will require to use emotions. It is pointed out that both positive and negative emotions can enhance the vibration of thought. 

Accordingly, the following sentences highlight the importance of thoughts, which were touched on in previous blog posts: "Thought is energy travelling at an exceedingly high rate of vibration. Thought, which has been modified or 'stepped up' by any of the major emotions, vibrates at a much higher rate than ordinary thought, and it is this type of thought which passes from one brain to another, through the broadcasting machinery of the human brain."

Additionally, the book states that the greatest forces in our Universe are the intangible ones. For instance, consider the power of gravity which defines our everyday lives and everything we do, also consider electricity and also consider the internet today. It is a system that connects us and connects our devices without anything tangible between them. Of course, there are tangible devices that generate electricity and cables to connect us to the internet but you can send a message from one smartphone to another without any tangible cables in between them. Consequently, the fact that the internet has been made a fundamental part of our lives, it is true, then, that the greatest forces in our Universe are the intangible ones. 

Chapter 14

Principle 1: The Sixth Sense

This unique principle provided by the author can be described best by his own words. "THE 'thirteenth' principle is known as the SIXTH SENSE, through which Infinite Intelligence may, and will communicate voluntarily, without any effort from, or demands by, the individual. 

This principle is the apex of the philosophy. It can be assimilated, understood, and applied ONLY by first mastering the other twelve principles. The SIXTH SENSE is that portion of the subconscious mind which has been referred to as the Creative Imagination. It has also been referred to as the 'receiving set' through which ideas, plans, and thoughts flash into the mind. The 'flashes' are sometimes called 'hunches' or 'inspirations'." Later on it is expressed that this can be achieved only through years of constant meditation, self-examination and serious thought. 

This is the Chapter that would be best to be read completely from the book due to its complexity. Accordingly, just like any other piece of knowledge you read for the first time, it is of paramount importance that the reader keeps an open mind. The person who keeps a closed mind and refuses to evaluate the information given to him/her, cannot learn anything new. 

Another great piece of advice is Napoleon pointing out that before he became an author or speak in public, he worked on shaping his character first. Appropriately, this is in line with an inspiring quote from Mahatma Gandhi, who asserted that "If you want to change the world, start with yourself first".

Additionally, observing the character of successful people and having great role models is another vital step to success. Napoleon wrote about the fact that his role models were  Emerson, Paine, Edison, Darwin, Lincoln, Burbank, Napoleon, Ford, and Carnegie. Correspondingly, it is greatly beneficial to also study the great minds of today like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Elon Musk, as there is an abundance of important lessons to learn from them. For instance, look at this article from CNBC Make It, where the author recognised some very important principles and habits of the most successful people by reading biographies, books and the like. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/10/why-successful-people-spend-10-hours-a-week-on-compound-time.html

Chapter 15

Principle 1: Outwitting the Six Ghosts of Fear

Once again, throughout this Chapter, it is important to self-reflect in order to identify which of these fears do you possess. This is because the first step to solving a problem is recognising there is one. 

These are: 

"The fear of POVERTY, The fear of CRITICISM, The fear of ILL HEALTH, The fear of LOSS OF LOVE OF SOMEONE, The fear of OLD AGE and The fear of DEATH."

The following is a sentence that ties together the whole Chapter: "Fears are nothing more than states of mind." It is true that once you break down the fear into 'smaller' pieces, meaning asking yourself for instance, 'What's the worst that can happen?', then the fear doesn't seem so significant after all. 

Interestingly, in the fear of ill health, Napoleon was told by a physician that around 75% of his patients suffer from hypochondria, meaning imaginary illness. Notably, an article from the Guardian reports that the people who hardly ever get sick, have a positive outlook on life.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jan/24/secrets-of-people-who-never-get-sick

Additionally, Harvard Health also reports that to boost your immune system, you must minimise stress. 

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system

Therefore, it is evident that those who do not fear ill health, (if you have a positive outlook, then you cannot be fearful at the same time) do not generally get sick and hence, validating the statement of Napoleon that fear is just a state of mind. 

P.S. any comments that are made by the author of this blog are outlined in Italics.