Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill - Book Review

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Main lesson of the book: Find your path to connect with infinite intelligence.

Napoleon spent over 25 years completing this book. He mentions it in several chapters as to make sure that the reader is aware of the extensive amount of research and dedication that went into the book. And after finishing it, I can honestly say I understand why it took 25 years because the intensity of his words, the way they feel more like facts than opinion really shows the work he put in. He spent a lot of time with business tycoons of that age and what is even more valuable than that is that he spent a lot of time with the so called “failures” of that age as well. Because as the book makes clear on several occasions, there is no success unless you understand why you’re failing.

Think and Grow Rich really focuses on the individual and what he or she can do to make sure they reach their financial goals. What I learnt from reading this book is that I am in complete control over my own reality. This might sound like common knowledge to most but a lot of us underestimate the power of this concept. Think and Grow Rich really focuses on the concept of not only being in control of your reality, but guiding it into one where you get everything you want. The book does make the assumption that you will want monetary gain but that is still up to you.

The beauty of this book is that it doesn’t just tell you that you can define your reality, it shows you how to do it. The first step you’re asked to take is to actually write down your goal and then state how you will reach said goal and what you’re willing to give up for that goal. I was then asked by the book to make sure to repeat what I wrote down every day until the words became second nature to me. This might sound weird to some of you but I already knew the power of telling yourself something until you believe it before I read the book. I just never knew that it could have been applied to making money as well.

The reason you’re asked to repeat it over and over again is to make sure that it gets embedded in your subconscious. And your subconscious will then make sure to tell Infinite Intelligence what you desire, and Infinite Intelligence will then hand it over to you. Napoleon Hill uses the term Infinite Intelligence as a reference to the Laws of Nature. The rules of cause and effect and the perfect beauty of energy. Energy is the key element in making sure that I or you can turn our wants into something tangible.

But to turn want into reality we will need to tell Infinite Intelligence that we will do whatever it takes to make it happen. And the only way to tell Infinite Intelligence that is to use our subconscious. I learned that I have complete control over my subconscious as long as I keep telling it what I want it to know. If we don’t tell our subconscious what we want it to tell Infinite Intelligence it will just deliver whatever emotion is dominant in our mind. I have to control my thoughts then my mind and then Infinite Intelligence will make sure that reality follows my instructions. In the book this is called Auto-suggestion and it is perhaps the most powerful tool in the entire book. Because with Auto-suggestion you can not only boost your confidence, you can change the way you look at the world and thus your very reality.

I am a huge believer in the power of words and like I said, I have tried this several times without knowing or understanding what I was using. To learn that what I did was tuning my mind to link with Infinite Intelligence brought me endless joy.

Think and Grow Rich is an amazing book for the sheer fact that it requires a lot of self-reflection on the part of the reader. The self-reflection will then allow the reader to assess his own position in this world and see where and how his chances lie. These chances will not come forth, unless I make sure to be honest with myself and make changes to my personality or behavior wherever fit.

The book goes into depth about what keeps most men back from success. And why most people will never become rich. The main point of which is that they have relinquished themselves to the path they have been set upon. Scared to move from their path because it could lead to poverty, criticism or failure. Fear is a common thread throughout most the chapters because Hill wants to make clear that people are too afraid of life to actually chase what they want. That is why only those who want something enough to the point where it becomes an obsession will succeed.

Before I started reading this book, I always believed that one should either go all in or don’t start at all. The reason I say that is because as long as you give yourself a way out, you will HAVE a way out. Hill reaffirmed my belief in several chapters as he makes clear that there can be no retreat on the path to success. And only by never giving up and continuing to move forward can I show Infinite Intelligence that I am indeed sincere in my quest for whatever it is that I want.

A few steps that can not be ignored are those where Hill makes clear that you can never reach success alone. Intelligent people hire those who are more intelligent than them. They will also have a team which Hill refers to as the Mastermind Group. The Mastermind group is where one learns and grows from one another by exchanging ideas and thoughts. Hill believed that by doing so in a harmonious way will allow the group to tap into Infinite Intelligence.

The chapter that resonated with me the most was without a doubt Chapter 14: The Sixth Sense. In this chapter Hill describes what can only be said to be his own vivid imagination. He uses his own imagination to create his own personal heroes. He then converses with his heroes in the hopes to learn from them what made them successful and their traits. He created a Mastermind group using nothing more than his own imagination and a bit of research of who the men were in their lives. I thought this was a beautiful concept that any and all of us can do with just a bit of free time and effort. And it could proof immeasurably valuable as a learning tool.

This book to me was more about self awareness than anything else. Understanding that you’re in control of your own reality and that you are capable of tapping into the laws of nature and converting that energy into whatever you wish. The belief in self needs to be so strong that no one or no thing can stand in your way. Be it failure, be it man, be it circumstance. My world is mine and as long as I am willing to control it and put forth the effort to do so, nothing is outside of my reach.