No one who has ever read Think and Grow Rich would deny that it’s a must-read self-help book. It is undoubtedly one of the best books ever written.
When you study it, you’ll understand why Napoleon Hill (Author of Think and Grow Rich) claimed he made more millionaires than Carnegie. Millions of people drew and are still drawing inspiration from the book.
There are many things to learn from Think and Grow Rich. The book boasts 238 pages, and all of it is filled with thought-provoking information.
But there’s a secret in Think and Grow Rich. Though Napoleon Hill didn’t clearly state what the secret was, it’s something you can deduce after studying the book carefully.
Let’s discuss what the secret or main point in the book is.
What is the secret in Think and Grow Rich?
Napoleon Hills wants readers to understand that a burning desire is the key to success. You have to first and foremost desire to be rich for it to manifest.
Your desire should relate to a definite purpose. That is, how rich do you want to become? When do you intend to achieve your desire? You have to be factual in your plans.
Your burning desire, which relates to a definite purpose, must be meaningful. Then make achieving your desire an obsession, and believe you have already achieved it.
There’s more on Think and Grow Rich that we would like you to know. Keep reading!
Is Napoleon Hill’s Think And Grow Rich Outdated?
Many people believe Think and Grow Rich is no longer useful in this dispensation. And you cannot blame them. Napoleon Hill wrote the book in 1937, almost a century ago.
In addition, myriads of great self-help and personal development flood the market now and then. Most of them are intelligent books with thought-provoking information.
Let’s not forget one thing. Many of such educational books will pop up as time goes on. But does that make the older ones obsolete? Well, that’s not how things should be.
Most books written in the 90s are ever-green. This means they carry information that will remain relevant from generation to generation.
Excitingly, N. Hill’s Think and Grow Rich is one of such books. It will remain useful for many generations. Why is this so? Napoleon Hill dedicated many years of research to his work.
So, the information in the book is from 20 years of research. Napoleon Hill spent time studying and interviewing over 500 millionaires in his time. These include Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, and Charles Schwab.
With that said, it’s safe to say the information in Think and Grow Rich is comprehensive enough to make it a relevant self-help book for generations. Thus, placing it in the “obsolete books” category would be unfair.
By combining Think and Grow Rich with other related self-help and personal development books, you can benefit more. By the way, no knowledge is a waste.
Besides, the quality of research put into most books these days isn’t measurable to N. Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. So, why should we discard such a book?
Think And Grow Rich: The 13 Principles For Success
Every individual wants to be successful. Nobody wants to be associated with failure. But talk is cheap. Thus, saying you’ll be successful without making an effort to change your status will result in nothing.
Napoleon Hill, one of the best-selling authors, detailed the 13 principles to help you achieve success. He explained them in his book, “Think and Grow Rich.”
Now, what are those principles you can incorporate in your journey to achieve success? Let’s discuss them one after the other.
Principle#1: Burning Desire:
Everything begins with a desire. If you don’t desire to become rich or achieve success, you won’t have the drive to work hard.
It’s easy to say you want to get rich in two or more years. Talk is cheap. The question is, do you have the burning desire to achieve the level of success you’re dreaming of?
The truth is, without desire, there’ll be no drive. A little challenge or obstacle on the way can force you to abandon your objective.
But if you badly desire to achieve a certain level of success, you’ll work hard as your life depends on it. No obstacle or challenge can derail you.
So, if you want to become rich, start with a burning desire. How? Create a mental picture of how rich you intend to become.
A Handy Tip: Think about your desire each day. Think about that goal, including how it would change your entire existence. In no time, you’ll have a clear picture of your desire and be eager to achieve it.
Principle#2: Faith:
It’s not enough to say you desire to become rich and cover your entire room with footnotes of your desire. Are you confident that you can achieve it?
Please, note that hope and faith are two different things. Hope is a conviction that lives majorly on one’s mind. Hope doesn’t imply total conviction.
Faith is deeper, and that’s what this principle wants you to have. Faith is a conviction that lives in one’s heart and spirit.
So, have faith in your ability to achieve your burning desire. Have faith that you have already accomplished your desire, plan, or goal. And act as if you have already achieved it.
Faith is a total conviction that something will manifest, even though it hasn’t. So, don’t just have the mental picture of your success. Have faith that you have already achieved it.
Principle#3: Autosuggestion:
Here, you have to imbibe the idea into your subconscious. Let your burning desire and faith that you have achieved your objective sink into your subconscious mind.
How can you take advantage of auto suggestion’s power to change your world? It’s simple. Repeat your desire and faith you have already achieved your set goal to your hearing.
You can choose to do this in a quiet place or before sleeping. Say the words aloud to yourself without any iota of doubt.
Principle#4: Specialized knowledge:
It’s not enough to say you want to become rich in five years. Having a burning desire and faith without work will amount to nothing.
What service are you ready to offer for money to acquire the wealth you seek? Identify it and start learning it. Understand that if you become better in that field or career, you might enjoy increased patronage and make more profit.
So, identify the skills you wish to offer for payment and make efforts to get better at it daily.
Principle#5: Imagination:
How many times is a thing created? Well, two times! The first one takes place in the manufacturer’s imagination. The second is reality.
There’s a popular saying that you can achieve whatever your mind can conceive. The only thing that can stop you is yourself.
Rich and successful people have one thing in common. They are well-motivated. But who motivates them, if not themselves. So, don’t wait for anyone to inspire you. Motivate yourself.
Use your power of imagination to create a big mental picture of your desires and conceive in your mind that you have achieved it.
Principle#6: Organized planning:
Planning is crucial if you want to achieve your desire. So, get to it right away. Write down how you intend to achieve your desire.
It is better to write your plans down. Please leave plans in your head. Why? You can easily forget or put yourself under intense pressure, mentally.
It would also make sense to break your plans into tiny bits and work to achieve each bit. This way, it won’t appear cumbersome or tiring to you.
Principle#7: Decision:
Reach decisions faster. Don’t let your mind start wandering between two choices now and then. You’ll waste precious time and not achieve your desire by doing so.
You have to avoid procrastination. It won’t lead you anywhere.
Principle#8: Persistence:
Remember that the road to success is littered with bumps and varied obstacles. You may even have a thousand and one reasons to quit. But don’t give up. Be persistent and keep your eyes on the prize.
Principle#9: Mastermind:
Who are your friends or people you hang out with or run to for inspiration? Are they like minds? If you want to achieve your desire, surround yourself with people that have a strong will to succeed like you.
Why is this important? Whenever you’re down, having such people around you will prove helpful. They’ll uplift you in any capacity necessary for you to get going.
Principle#10: Sex transmutation:
Napoleon Hill explained in the book “Think and Grow Rich” that every individual boasts powerful sexual energy. And we can achieve a lot by ditching physical gratification and channeling energy from our sex drive towards achieving a set goal.
Principle#11: The subconscious mind:
Feed your subconscious mind with positivity. Think and act as you have already achieved your desire or goal. Our subconscious mind is very powerful.
So, start painting the picture in your subconscious mind. When you do, it will drive you towards your objective.
Principle#12: The brain:
Do not underestimate the power of the brain. The supercomputers, high-tech military hardware, airplanes, spaceships, and other tech advancements in the world all came from the brain.
So, feed your brain with positive thoughts concerning your objective and trust it to deliver.
Principle#13: The sixth sense
This implies your gut feeling or intuition. And don’t forget that it can only become profound when you manage to tune into your subconscious or meditate.
The sixth sense refers to the sense via which our infinite intelligence will and may communicate. So, put it to good use to achieve your objective.
Conclusion
What is the secret in Think and Grow Rich? We explained what it is here. You can also read the thirteen principles to help you achieve your burning desire.
Napoleon Hill’s best-seller, Think and Grow Rich, is a powerful book that will have a massive impact on readers from generation to generation.
It’s a book worth reading. N. Hill committed a lot of time into research, study, and interviews for this book. He spent over two decades interviewing over 500 millionaires.
However, having Think and Grow Rich as one of the self-help and personal development books on your shelf won’t make someone successful. You have to read between the lines and apply the principles explained in the book.
