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There are many self-help and inspirational books on the market, but some stand the test of time more than others. One such book is Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Although the original text was in more complex terms, in this article, I will share my personal Think and Grow Rich summary and takeaways in simple terms that still give accurate knowledge.
For a bit of background before the summary, Think and Grow Rich was first published in 1937. Andrew Carnegie inspired the author (Napoleon Hill) with his success, and Hill included that inspiration in his book. There is plenty to learn, so let's get started.
5 Think And Grow Rich summary takeaways
The Think and Grow Rich principles are for anyone looking to improve their life. While the text is specific to financial success, the principles outlined in the book can be used to achieve success in all aspects of life. In short, it’s a book for anyone striving to improve.
Think and Grow Rich is divided into separate chapters, each one covering one of the 13 Think and Grow Rich secrets that Hill advises to pursue.
I've come up with these 5 top takeaways based on Napoleon Hill's writing! Let's get into them.
1. All achievement is based on desire
Hill states that desire is the fundamental building block of success. With a weak desire to achieve, you'll get weak results. And you need to be steadfast in your desire to achieve your goal, as it's the starting point of all achievement.
It can’t be just a passing thought, but rather, you should have definiteness of plans. Your desire to reach your goal must be paramount.
Hill outlines the 6 steps he recommends to fuel your desire.
- Write down the exact amount of money you want.
- Determine what you’re willing to sacrifice to get it.
- Pick a date to achieve your goal.
- Create a written plan to achieve your goal.
- Write down your plan and date.
- Read the written statement aloud once each morning and again each night until you have it memorized. Once memorized, continue reading it twice daily, morning and night.
2. Failure happens when you quit too soon (key lessons from our Think And Grow Rich summary)
So, according to the principles in the book, there are certain factors that tie into failure. I list them out below as well as key tips to help you counter them:
Procrastination
Indecisiveness causes many failures. Hill advocates making decisions quickly and decisively.
The most successful people have the ability to make decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. They aren’t wishy-washy; once they make a decision, they stick to it.
In other words, they have mastery of procrastination.
A lack of faith
So, according to Hill, our beliefs determine our desires. He recommends incorporating faithful affirmations as a way to program our minds to visualize and believe in our success. Today there are still many proponents of the art of visualization - because it works.
Hill advises the use of affirmations to help form the mind into believing in yourself and to deepen your faith.
As it relates to affirmations, he specifically suggests the following:
- Know you are capable of achieving your goal. Promise to be persistent in pursuing this goal.
- Spend 30 minutes a day thinking about the type of person you want to be. Your thoughts will change your reality.
- Spend 10 minutes each day focusing on increasing your self-confidence.
- Write down your goal and don’t stop until you achieve it. It’s super important to actually write down your goal!
- Be positive and generous with all those you encounter. Good things don’t come to those who have ill intentions.
One of the most important key takeaways from our Think and Grow Rich summary is to utilize positive affirmations to change your mindset!
Indecision, doubt, and fear
According to Hill, before you can use any of the strategies in this book, your mind must be open to receiving wisdom. In order to have an open mind, the human brain must be free from the enemies of indecision, doubt, and fear that are driven by the six basic fears.
Furthermore, he says the sixth sense will never function if you have these 3 behaviors in your mindset. He describes the six basic fears as:
The fear of poverty
Poverty is tied to suffering, and suffering is something many are fearful of. It's embodied by indifference, indecision, doubt, worry, over-caution, and procrastination when it comes to your belief about being wealthy.
To counter this fear, you need to develop a strong desire to build wealth.
Criticism
The fear of criticism is a painful one, and people usually exhibit it through self-consciousness, lack of poise, an inferiority complex, extravagance, lack of initiative, and lack of ambition. It, in turn, instills resentment in people.
Instead of taking criticism negatively, look at truly honest criticism as an opportunity to improve. When criticism doesn't control you, it gives you great power to become even better.
Ill health
A fear that's tied to the fear of death that results from illness. It can result in hypochondria, susceptibility, self-coddling, and intemperance.
To counter the fear of ill health, you need to prioritize your physical and mental well-being through exercise, healthy eating, rest, and other healthy activities.
The loss of love
Fear of losing someone's love makes people less likely to trust others and is driven by jealousy and fault finding. Human nature is hard to control, and the loss of love is inevitable.
However, taking your time to get to know people and developing your self-confidence can help.
The fear of old age
Embodied by slowing down and developing an inferiority complex around the age of 40, referring to oneself apologetically as “being old,” and killing off the habits of initiative, imagination, and self-reliance.
The truth is, your age does not determine your success, and you are only limited by what you believe you cannot do.
The fear of death
Fear of death leads to focusing on dying rather than living, lack of purpose, and lack of suitable occupation.
However, death is inevitable, so it's important to focus on living and appreciating the life you have now instead.
3. Success starts with believing in yourself (Our top takeaway from this Think And Grow Rich Summary)
A big part of the Think and Grow Rich secrets have to do with believing in yourself without fail. Once you decide on a goal, there should be nothing that stops you from believing that you can achieve that goal.
Hill’s way of furthering your intent to make your desires happen is through clear focus. He recommends these Think and Grow Rich principles:
- Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, and repeat aloud your written statement based on what you want to achieve. As you do so, visualize having that money.
- Repeating this morning and night until you have a clear image in your mind of all the money you wish to make.
- Placing this written statement where you can see it first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Read it until you have committed it to memory.
Hill also goes into detail about leveraging your sixth sense and training your subconscious mind. These are my takeaways about this for the Think And Grow Rich summary:
Leverage your sixth sense as you make decisions
Hill thinks that when people say they have a ‘gut feeling’ or a particular “hunch,” this is actually your sixth sense - or infinite intelligence- at work.
The sixth sense is Hill’s belief in an “Infinite Intelligence” that could be tapped into from positive emotions.
Train your subconscious mind
According to Hill, it’s important to train your subconscious mind to focus on positive emotions and avoid negative ones. Some of the major positive emotions include desire, faith, love, enthusiasm, and hope.
On the other hand, fear, jealousy, hatred, revenge, greed, superstition, and anger are some of the major negative emotions. These should not be the emotions you spend time on, but rather focus on positive ones.
4. You must take action to achieve success
As one of the Think And Grow Rich principles, Hill discusses his belief that you can’t simply hope for the outcome that you want. You must have the desire, and you must have a plan to achieve your desire and take action on that plan.
He suggests the following steps of organized planning to reach your goal.
- Join a mastermind group
- Decide what you can offer each group member of the mastermind
- Meet often: 2 times per week or more
- Maintain good relationships with all in the group
Collaboration is key to achieving your desires. I’m pretty sure mastermind groups were a novel idea when this book was written, but today, mastermind groups are very popular.
Don't forget persistence
Willpower and desire, when properly combined, are irresistible and are almost sure to fulfill their desires. Henry Ford was known for his persistence, as were the Carnegies.
People who want to achieve success will do well to take note of their unyielding persistence and incorporate it into their own lives as part of the Think and Grow Rich principles. Hill views lack of persistence as a weakness that can definitely be overcome.
5. Don't isolate yourself; People will help you win
Hill is a big proponent of not isolating yourself by leveraging mastermind groups. A mastermind group is a group of individuals who collectively work towards a definite end in a spirit of harmony.
You can create success much easier through your mastermind group than you could on your own. In fact, Hill advocates that it’s not possible to be powerful without the help of a mastermind group.
That said, other people can't create your success for you. So it’s also important to have specialized knowledge in the field that you intend to make money in.
Does this mean you have to be an expert in your field to succeed?
According to the Think and Grow Rich secrets, no, you don’t. But you do have to actively learn about your area of interest and surround yourself with experts.
Where to get a Think and Grow Rich free download
The principles in this book can help you throughout your life, and fortunately, it's not difficult to find. You can get a Think and Grow Rich free download from your local library, or purchase a copy from many places online.
Apply the tips from this Think And Grow Rich summary to your life today!
Overall, the Think and Grow Rich book describes many concepts that are as appropriate today as they were back in the 1930s. It’s interesting, considering how much the world has changed since then, that the principles and philosophies Hill outlines in Think and Grow Rich are still so meaningful.
Whether you read a Think and Grow Rich free download or buy a paperback copy to keep on your bookshelf, you'll benefit from this. If you read this book and put even a few of its suggestions into action, you will see great results and creative energy. I hope this Think And Grow Rich summary helps you get off to a great start.
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