15 Lessons Learned From “Think And Grow Rich” By Napoleon Hill
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Written in 1937
after a 25-year research on some of the most economically successful
individuals, “Think And Grow Rich” is one of the universally recognized
personal development masterpieces (more than one hundred million copies sold
worldwide, according to recent estimates). The book‘s philosophy centers around
the idea that success, in any endeavor, can be reached through mental
visualization and imagination. To put it in simple terms, you can become
anything that your mind deems possible; as a result, your mind becomes the one
thing that can either stop you or propel you toward becoming the best version
of yourself.
Below, we’re going to outline and discuss the book’s most notable lessons:
#1. Thoughts are facts.
“TRULY,
"Thoughts are things," and powerful things at that, when they are
mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their
translation into riches, or other material objects.”
“Our brains
become magnetized with the dominating thoughts which we hold in our minds, and,
by means with which no man is familiar, these "magnets" attract to us
the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the
nature of our dominating thoughts.”
#2. Temporary defeat shouldn’t be a reason to quit.
“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.”
“Before success
comes in any man's life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and,
perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most
logical thing to do is to QUIT. That is exactly what the majority of men do.”
#3. Success comes to those who become SUCCESS CONSCIOUS.
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“One of the main
weaknesses of mankind is the average man's familiarity with the word
"impossible." He knows all the rules which will NOT work. He knows
all the things which CANNOT be done.”
“Success comes
to those who become SUCCESS CONSCIOUS.
Failure comes to
those who indifferently allow themselves to become FAILURE CONSCIOUS.”
“"Money
consciousness" means that the mind has become so thoroughly saturated with
the DESIRE for money, that one can see one's self already in possession of it.”
“Another
weakness found in altogether too many people, is the habit of measuring
everything, and everyone, by their own impressions and beliefs. Some who will
read this, will believe that no one can THINK AND GROW RICH. They cannot think
in terms of riches, because their thought habits have been steeped in poverty,
want, misery, failure, and defeat.”
#4. Wishing does not bring riches, DESIRE does.
“Every person
who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all
sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state
of mind known as a BURNING DESIRE TO WIN, essential to success.”
“Every human
being who reaches the age of understanding of the purpose of money, wishes for
it. Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind
that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire
riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize
failure, will bring riches.”
“There is a
difference between WISHING for a thing and being READY to receive it. No one is
ready for a thing, until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must
be BELIEF, not mere hope or wish. Open-mindedness is essential for belief.
Closed minds do not inspire faith, courage, and belief.
Remember, no
more effort is required to aim high in life, to demand abundance and
prosperity, than is required to accept misery and poverty.”
#5. Faith is the head chemist of the mind.
“FAITH is the
head chemist of the mind. When FAITH is blended with the vibration of thought,
the subconscious mind instantly picks up the vibration, translates it into its
spiritual equivalent, and transmits it to Infinite Intelligence, as in the case
of prayer.”
“Repetition of
affirmation of orders to your subconscious mind is the only known method of
voluntary development of the emotion of faith.”
#6. Whatever you repeat, you’ll believe.
“There is
nothing to hinder you from "deceiving" your subconscious mind when
giving it instructions through autosuggestion.”
“To make this
"deceit" more realistic, conduct yourself just as you would, if you
were ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MATERIAL THING WHICH YOU ARE DEMANDING, when
you call upon your subconscious mind.”
“It is a well
known fact that one comes, finally, to BELIEVE whatever one repeats to one's
self, whether the statement be true or false. If a man repeats a lie over and
over, he will eventually accept the lie as truth. Moreover, he will BELIEVE it
to be the truth.”
“Resolve to
throw off the influences of any unfortunate environment, and to build your own
life to ORDER. Taking inventory of mental assets and liabilities, you will
discover that your greatest weakness is lack of self- confidence. This handicap
can be surmounted, and timidity translated into courage, through the aid of the
principle of autosuggestion. The application of this principle may be made
through a simple arrangement of positive thought impulses stated in writing,
memorized, and repeated, until they become a part of the working equipment of
the subconscious faculty of your mind.”
You might be interested in: 40 Powerful Affirmations That Will Change Your Life
You might be interested in: 40 Powerful Affirmations That Will Change Your Life
#7. We create
our misfortune through our beliefs.
“Not only
thought impulses which have been mixed with FAITH, but those which have been
mixed with any of the positive emotions, or any of the negative emotions, may
reach, and influence the subconscious mind.
From this
statement, you will understand that the subconscious mind will translate into
its physical equivalent, a thought impulse of a negative or destructive nature,
just as readily as it will act upon thought impulses of a positive or constructive
nature. This accounts for the strange phenomenon which so many millions of
people experience, referred to as "misfortune," or "bad
luck."
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.”
“The
subconscious mind, (the chemical laboratory in which all thought impulses are
combined, and made ready for translation into physical reality), makes no
distinction between constructive and destructive thought impulses. It works
with the material we feed it, through our thought impulses. The subconscious
mind will translate into reality a thought driven by FEAR just as readily as it
will translate into reality a thought driven by COURAGE, or FAITH.”
#8. Specialized knowledge, organized through practical plans of action to a definite end, is the way to accumulating wealth.
“THERE are two
kinds of knowledge. One is general, the other is specialized. General
knowledge, no matter how great in quantity or variety it may be, is of but
little use in the accumulation of money.”
“KNOWLEDGE will
not attract money, unless it is organized, and intelligently directed, through
practical PLANS OF ACTION, to the DEFINITE END of accumulation of money. Lack
of understanding of this fact has been the source of confusion to millions of
people who falsely believe that "knowledge is power." It is nothing
of the sort! Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and
if, it is organized into definite plans of action, and directed to a definite
end.”
“Successful men,
in all callings, never stop acquiring specialized knowledge related to their
major purpose, business, or profession. Those who are not successful usually
make the mistake of believing that the knowledge acquiring period ends when one
finishes school. The truth is that schooling does but little more than to put
one in the way of learning how to acquire practical knowledge.”
“The person who
stops studying merely because he has finished school is forever hopelessly
doomed to mediocrity, no matter what may be his calling. The way of success is
the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”
#9. Don’t wait for the right opportunity, create it.
“This idea of
starting at the bottom and working one's way up may appear to be sound, but the
major objection to it is this— too many of those who begin at the bottom never
manage to lift their heads high enough to be seen by OPPORTUNITY, so they
remain at the bottom. It should be remembered, also, that the outlook from the
bottom is not so very bright or encouraging. It has a tendency to kill off
ambition. We call it "getting into a rut," which means that we accept
our fate because we form the HABIT of daily routine, a habit that finally
becomes so strong we cease to try to throw it off. And that is another reason
why it pays to start one or two steps above the bottom. By so doing one forms
the HABIT of looking around, of observing how others get ahead, of seeing
OPPORTUNITY, and of embracing it without hesitation.”
“Broadly
speaking, there are two types of people in the world. One type is known as
LEADERS, and the other as FOLLOWERS. Decide at the outset whether you intend to
become a leader in your chosen calling, or remain a follower. The difference in
compensation is vast. The follower cannot reasonably expect the compensation to
which a leader is entitled, although many followers make the mistake of
expecting such pay.
It is no
disgrace to be a follower. On the other hand, it is no credit to remain a
follower. Most great leaders began in the capacity of followers. They became
great leaders because they were INTELLIGENT FOLLOWERS. With few exceptions, the
man who cannot follow a leader intelligently, cannot become an efficient
leader. The man who can follow a leader most efficiently, is usually the man
who develops into leadership most rapidly. An intelligent follower has many
advantages, among them the OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE FROM HIS LEADER.”
#11. Develop the capacity to reach quick and definite DECISIONS.
“Analysis of
several hundred people who had accumulated fortunes well beyond the million
dollar mark, disclosed the fact that every one of them had the habit of
REACHING DECISIONS PROMPTLY, and of changing these decisions SLOWLY, if, and
when they were changed. People who fail to accumulate money, without exception,
have the habit of reaching decisions, IF AT ALL, very slowly, and of changing
these decisions quickly and often.”
#12. If you are influenced by the opinions of others, you will have no DESIRE of your own.
“The majority of
people who fail to accumulate money sufficient for their needs, are, generally,
easily influenced by the "opinions" of others. They permit the
newspapers and the "gossiping" neighbors to do their
"thinking" for them. "Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth.
Everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept
them. If you are influenced by "opinions" when you reach DECISIONS,
you will not succeed in any undertaking, much less in that of transmuting YOUR
OWN DESIRE into money.”
“Keep your own
counsel, when you begin to put into practice the principles described here, by
reaching your own decisions and following them. Take no one into your
confidence, EXCEPT the members of your "Master Mind" group, and be
very sure in your selection of this group, that you choose ONLY those who will
be in COMPLETE SYMPATHY AND HARMONY WITH YOUR PURPOSE.”
#13. Listen more than you talk.
“It is
characteristic of people who have but a smattering or a veneer of knowledge to
try to give the impression that they have much knowledge. Such people generally
do TOO MUCH talking, and TOO LITTLE listening. Keep your eyes and ears wide
open— and your mouth CLOSED, if you wish to acquire the habit of prompt
DECISION. Those who talk too much do little else. If you talk more than you
listen, you not only deprive yourself of many opportunities to accumulate
useful knowledge, but you also disclose your PLANS and PURPOSES to people who
will take great delight in defeating you, because they envy you.”
#14. Persistence combined with will power is an essential factor in wealth building.
“PERSISTENCE is
an essential factor in the procedure of transmuting DESIRE into its monetary
equivalent. The basis of persistence is the POWER OF WILL.”
“Will-power and
desire, when properly combined, make an irresistible pair. Men who accumulate
great fortunes are generally known as cold-blooded, and sometimes ruthless.
Often they are misunderstood. What they have is will- power, which they mix
with persistence, and place back of their desires to insure the attainment of
their objectives.”
“ The ease with
which lack of persistence may be conquered will depend entirely upon the
INTENSITY OF ONE'S DESIRE.
The starting
point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires
bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of
heat. If you find yourself lacking in persistence, this weakness may be
remedied by building a stronger fire under your desires.”
“THERE IS NO
SUBSTITUTE FOR PERSISTENCE! It cannot be supplanted by any other quality!
Remember this, and it will hearten you, in the beginning, when the going may
seem difficult and slow.
Those who have
cultivated the HABIT of persistence seem to enjoy insurance against failure. No
matter how many times they are defeated, they finally arrive up toward the top
of the ladder.”
#15. The mind that isn’t favorable to attract money, attracts poverty.
POVERTY is
attracted to the one whose mind is favorable to it, as money is attracted to
him whose mind has been deliberately prepared to attract it, and through the
same laws. POVERTY CONSCIOUSNESS WILL VOLUNTARILY SEIZE THE MIND WHICH IS NOT
OCCUPIED WITH THE MONEY CONSCIOUSNESS. A
poverty consciousness develops without conscious application of habits
favorable to it. The money consciousness must be created to order, unless one
is born with such a consciousness.
“Poverty may,
and generally does, voluntarily take the place of riches. When riches take the
place of poverty, the change is usually brought about through well-conceived
and carefully executed PLANS. Poverty needs no plan. It needs no one to aid it,
because it is bold and ruthless. Riches are shy and timid. They have to be
"attracted."”
“Positive and
negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time. One or the other
must dominate. It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions
constitute the dominating influence of your mind. Here the law of HABIT will
come to your aid. Form the habit of applying and using the positive emotions!
Eventually, they will dominate your mind so completely, that the negatives cannot
enter it.”
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