Think and Grow Rich

Think and Grow Rich

The purpose of this programme is to share the ideas and principles behind one of the greatest published books of all time. No single book of its kind has had a greater influence on the lives and accomplishments of individuals. In writing the book, the author, Napoleon Hill was motivated by the question: what makes people successful? Hill sort to uncover the answer to this question by studying the lives of highly successful people through interviews and biographies. What he observed was that the psychology of an individual was the principal cause of their success. Hill further observed that there was a pattern to the thinking exhibited by successful people, and it is the patterns of thinking that he observed that are distilled in his extraordinary book, Think and Grow Rich.

Think and Grow Rich was published in 1937. Since then, there have been several iconic books on the psychology of success creation. Why then do people return repeatedly to Hill’s book? Why has Hill’s particular narration stood the test of time?

The reason this book remains popular is because the perspective, advice and principles that Hill espouses work, and we will be shortly summarising what these principles are. There are also reasons for the continued popularity of the book that have to do with the author himself. Focusing on the latter set of reasons for the books continued popularity for a moment, we can say, more specifically:

• Napoleon Hill was a brilliant writer, he was able to communicate complex ideas with clarity, without pretention and with a great deal of humour. Thus Hill’s writing simply resonates with people intellectually and emotionally.
• Napoleon Hill approached his subject in a similar manner, as might a scientist who seeks to explore the natural world. He saw success as an effect, which had various causes, and through his investigation he was attempting to uncover causes. Each of the chapters is therefore an exploration of one of the features that he identified as being a cause of success. As scientific explanations are impartial, Hill was animated by the idea that whosoever replicated the cause would replicate the effect.

Having studied Think and Grow Rich we concur with many of the giants in personal development, such as Bob Proctor, when they say that Hill has managed to identify and successfully communicate something fundamental in his book. This is a book that changes you. Fundamentally. You will not be the same after reading the book or completing this programme. On completion, you will find that the path to success is clear, that your limiting self-beliefs are hushed and that you will proceed with a greater sense of purpose and self-efficacy. This is a programme that will motivate you to ACT.

Let’s move on now to look at the underlying philosophy behind Think and Grow Rich. Here there are three things to be cognisant of:

• Although the book is called Think and Grow Rich and is about the thinking that causes success, success here does not necessarily mean money. It is for each person to decide for him or herself what constitutes success for them. Thus, these principles will work for you whether your goals are monetary or not.
• Everything begins with an idea – meaning that success of every kind begins with a state of mind; one may start with nothing but thoughts and ideas, and using these states of mind as a starting point, achieve whatever goals that one desires
• The human mind has far greater potential power than any circumstance in which a person finds themselves, and as such strengthening that mind can enable us to overcome any circumstance. This means that we have the key to unlocking success within us and are unable to point to any external circumstance as an impediment to our ability to achieve success.

The 13 Principles of Success

There are 13 principles of success presented in the book Think and Grow Rich. We will now present a brief synopsis of each of these principles:

1. Principle of desire: Those who are successful have a burning desire to achieve a goal. We might put the point as follows: passion driven projects are the most likely to achieve lasting success.
2. Principle of Faith: Faith is the strong conviction that a positive future event will occur. Those who are successful have faith that the goals they set can be achieved and they have complete confidence in their ability to achieve it.
3. Principle of autosuggestion: Those who are successful have the ability to positively influence their subconscious mind by instilling into it the habits and attitudes that engender success in their chosen field.
4. Principle of specialist knowledge: Those who are successful have a high degree of specialised knowledge and a clear understanding that knowledge is power only to the extent that knowledge is put to use in action. In areas where they lack specialist knowledge, they bridge the gap with a mastermind group.
5. Principle of Imagination: Those who are successful have a heightened imaginative capacity, meaning that they are able to combine old concepts or plans in new ways or they are able to create entirely new ideas through the operation of their creative imagination, also known as the sixth sense.
6. Principle of organised planning: Those who are successful create organised plans directed at the achievement of their goals and they take action. If plan A fails, they replace their plans, not their goals.
7. Principle of decision: Decision is the master of procrastination. Those who are successful have mastered the habit of decision-making and as such do not procrastinate. Successful people have a habit of reaching decisions promptly and changing them slowly, if and when they were changed.
8. Principle of persistence: Those who achieve success have the will power required push through failure. They are tenacious and do not give up easily. Edison and his team reputedly went through 10,000 iterations before the electric light bulb was successfully created.
9. Principle of the mastermind: Those who achieve success surround themselves with individuals who are able to bridge their gaps in knowledge and experience. That is, they actively call upon their mastermind group to help to stimulate their thinking.
10. Principle of enthusiasm: Those who achieve success can channel bodily desires into positive, worthwhile, or creative outlets.
11. Principle of the sub-conscious mind: Those who achieve success are aware of the role that the subconscious mind plays in transmuting desires into physical form, and as such they work to imbed into their subconscious mind, ideas that are congruent with their goals.
12. Principle of brain power: Those who achieve success are aware of the remarkable power and potential of the human brain, there is no goal for which the proper application of brain power cannot achieve. As such, they deliver to their brains audacious goals in the quiet confidence that the human brain is more than up to task.
13. Principle of sixth sense: Those who achieve success work with their sixth-sense, which is also known as the faculty of creative imagination or intuition. These are individuals who have strong intuitions and let intuition guide them in their deliberations and decision-making processes.

Think and Grow Rich – Short lesson

Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich in 1937. It is one of the bestselling books of all time in personal development. The book continues to be widely read and is a favourite of entrepreneurs and CEO’s. Why is it that this book, written so many years ago remains so popular now? The simple answer to this question is that the book remains useful. The principles covered in Think and Grow Rich have catapulted many people to success. In other words, the principles outlined in Think and Grow Rich actually works.

In this programme we will be covering the key principles in the book Think and Grow Rich. Among the topics we will investigate are:

• Why, more exactly, has the book Think and Grow Rich stood the test of time?
• What is the philosophy that underlays Think and Grow Rich?
• What are the principles that Napoleon Hill identified as being common to successful