Release year: 1937 (1987 re-issue)

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Vocabulary

Unerringly: In a way that is always right and accurate. Unfailingly
Percipient: A person who is able to perceive things.

My review

Here is a controversial book written by a controversial author. Napoleon Hill is one of the first self-help “gurus” of America. His book, Think and Grow Rich is one of the best-selling self-help books of all time.

Hill was someone fascinated with the idea of success and the majority of his publications revolve around that topic. Ironically, depending on who you’re asking, Hill was never as successful as his reading would have you believe. For example, Think and Grow Rich opens with Hill recounting how Andrew Carnegie urged him to write his book to lay bare the recipe for reaching success. In actuality, many historians doubt the meeting ever took place. Many things Hill has said throughout his life have been misleading or flat out lies. To this day, there is still doubt whether he was an attorney. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of author we’re dealing with here.

With all this in mind, this book had to be read with a grain of salt. Its subject was groundbreaking for its time, but Hill was not above embellishing things and inventing stories that he would later use as evidence against which to back his claims. Still, there are some pieces of wisdom here that are worth a look. Hill’s enthusiasm shines here, and I believe this to be the most interesting aspect of the book. Often times, it’s not the ideas put forward that are interesting, but rather the tone employed to communicate them.

Burning desire

The book’s method for attaining wealth is the following:

Fix the exact amount of money you desire.
Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire.
Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire.
Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin right away to put it into action.
Take your answers to all the steps above and put it in writing.
Read your statement aloud, twice daily—when waking up, and when going to bed.

As you can see, the method is vague, but there is something worth using here. Hill’s ideas often operate that way. In my understanding, there is nothing magical or even mysterious about this. The whole method is just a way to create a clear vision, figure out the steps to reach it, and make sure we don’t veer off course.

One thing I dislike however, is the way Hill talks to the reader. He often says the we will need to read his chapters two or three times before we “get” the idea. I think this is lazy writing. If his ideas were clearly explained, there would be no need to read the same chapter three times.

Although I’m not entirely sold on Hill’s ideas—the idea of sex transmutation feels especially made-up—I often found myself enjoying his ideas about leadership. If anything, I believe this is what Hill excelled at, and is what gives the book its unique, engaging tone. On that topic, I was able to extract many enjoyable quotes.

There is one quote that stands out to me that I feel is buried too deeply in the book: “Money without brains is always dangerous”. This should be a disclaimer for the book. Indeed, the book spends much time explaining how to set our minds to accumulate riches, but gives no instructions beyond that point. This brings to my mind Jim Carrey’s famous quote: “I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that it’s not the answer.” The book does not help on that regard. I think it was a failed opportunity to explain the ways to use hard earned money in a way that brings true happiness. This is one of the reasons why I would recommend the following books above Think and Grow Rich. To me, they provide a more accurate picture of what it means to become rich and to stay rich:

Ultimately, this book is interesting for a few reasons. It comes from a different era, when self-help was a new hot thing. For me, though, it feels short. There is a lot of fluff, cherry-picking, and empty promises. I think all the controversies surrounding Hill has poisoned the well for me.

Félix rating:
👎

⭐ Star Quotes

Chapter 1: Thoughts Are Things

(p. 32) Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.

Chapter 2: Desire—The Starting Point of All Achievement

(p. 39) All who succeed in life get off to a bad start, and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they “arrive.”
(p. 40) No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.
(p. 40) Life is a just employer, He gives you what you ask, But once you have set the wages, Why, you must bear the task.
(p. 44) Convert handicap into an equivalent asset.

Chapter 3: Faith—Visualization of, and Belief in Attainment of Desire

(p. 52) Perfection will come through practice. It cannot come by merely reading instructions.
(p. 53) Every man is what he is because of the dominating thoughts which he permits to occupy his mind.

Chapter 4: Autosuggestion—The Medium for Influencing the Subconscious Mind

(p. 74) Every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater Benefit.

Chapter 5: Specialized Knowledge—Personal Experiences or Observations

Chapter 6: Imagination—The Workshop of the Mind

Chapter 7: Organized Planning—The Crystallization of Desire Into Action

(p. 105) The man who cannot control himself can never control others.
(p. 106) One of the penalties of leadership is the necessity of willingness, upon the part of the leader, to do more than he requires of his followers.
(p. 106) If one of [the leader’s] followers makes a mistake, and shows himself incompetent, the leader must consider that it is he who failed.
(p. 107) ⭐ When a man, whether he is a leader or follower, admits that he is “too busy” to change his plans, or to give attention to any emergency, he admits his inefficiency.
(p. 108) ⭐ The world does not pay men for that which they “know.” It pays them for what they do, or induce others to do.
(p. 109) The efficient leader leads by encouraging, and not by trying to instill fear in the hearts of his followers.
(p. 121) Before you can control conditions, you must first control yourself. Self-mastery is the hardest job you will ever tackle.
(p. 122) Failure cannot cope with persistence.
(p. 124) No one can succeed in a line of endeavour which he does not like.
(p. 125) ⭐ The person with a closed mind on any subject seldom gets ahead. Intolerance means that one has stopped acquiring knowledge.
(p. 127) ⭐ Your financial requirements or wants have nothing whatsoever to do with your worth. Your value is established entirely by your ability to render useful service or your capacity to induce others to render such service.
(p. 134) ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Money without brains is always dangerous.
(p. 138) ⭐ ⭐ Success requires no explanations. Failure permits no alibis.

Chapter 8: Decision—The Mastery of Procrastination

(p. 141) Reach your own decisions. If you need facts or information from other people to enable you to reach decisions, acquire those facts quietly, without disclosing your purpose.

Chapter 9: Persistence—The Sustained Effort Necessary to Induce Faith

(p. 155) ⭐ ⭐ Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage.

Chapter 10: Power of the Master Mind—The Driving Force

Chapter 11: The Mystery of Sex Transmutation—The Tenth Step Toward Riches

(p. 198) Love comes when it pleases, and goes away without warning. Accept and enjoy it while it remains, but spend no time worrying about its departure. Worry will never bring it back.

Chapter 12: The Subconscious Mind—The Connecting Link

Chapter 13: The Brain–A Broadcasting & Receiving Station for Thought

Chapter 14: The Sixth Sense—The Door to the Temple of Wisdom

Chapter 15: The Six Ghosts of Fear

(p. 231) Employers who understand human nature get the best there is in men, not by criticism, but by constructive suggestion.

(Read 108) Think and Grow Rich

Vocabulary

My review

Félix rating:👎

⭐ Star Quotes

Félix rating:
👎