Thoughts on Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich

Thinking Your Way to Wealth

I’m going to bounce around and I took a lot of notes on this book so buckle up.

Let’s Get Started!

Disclaimer: These are my thoughts and opinions, not to be confused with expert opinion or fact. I am only a lifelong student.

Points from Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

1. On Page 2 Edwin Barnes states, “I came here to go into business with Edison and I’ll accomplish this end if it takes the remainder of my life.” Wow… talk about a powerful statement considering he started as a “intern.” I had to look up Edwin Barnes to figure out who he was outside of what the book says about him. Here is what I found. Edwin Barnes. Barnes was aid to use 12 key habits throughout his life that helped him to accomplish the great feat of partnering with Thomas Edison.

He knew what he wanted to accomplish;
He used the power of imagination to circumvent poverty and other difficulties;
He was willing to start at the “bottom” in order to gain know how and exposure;
He created and seized opportunity;
He maintained a dogged determination to bring his goal to reality;
He worked long hours with concentrated focus for many years to get what he wanted;
He talked relatively little and produced big;
He was not deterred by ridicule, criticism, setback, or obstacles;
He created ideas and made them happen;
In alignment with his goals, he found a way to help other people become more successful;
He made himself invaluable in his work;
He was committed to providing his customers with excellent service.

What can I learn from this? Go after what you want like your life depends on it. Barnes was determined to accomplish his goal of partnering with Edison no matter what the cost. Do I agree with this? Yes and no. There are certain things that I will not do to accomplish my goals but am I willing to sacrifice superficial things to move closer to my goals? Are you?

2. Seek Expert Counsel Before Giving Up

“Go to war with a multitude of counselors.” What I would do if I wanted to be the best at a particular game or skill? Let’s use basketball as an example. So you start with Defense. You go out and find the best defensive basketball coach in the world and learn how to play stellar defense. I’m not a professional basketball player but I’m guessing that to be one you are going to need more then one skill set. So now you need to find the best shooting coach, dribbling coach, rebounding coach, so on and so forth. If you surround yourself with the best people in your industry early and often to learn the lessons they have in their entire lives I believe it will take years off the learning curve. Can you think of anyone who didn’t have a multitude of counselors/mentors/advisors that helped them accomplish great success? (Shoutout to the Crazy Man in the Pink Wig for discussing his team of investment coaches)

3. Our Brains Become Magnetized with the Thoughts We Hold in Our Minds

What do you think about everyday? Do you visualize yourself dominating your competition? Here is an interesting article on how imagery can reduce anxiety. Playing poker I almost never walk into a room without visualizing and believing that I am going to win. I believe that competence and having won before weigh a great deal on my confidence. It could be extremely difficult to imagine yourself “winning” or accomplishing your goals if you have never been there before. A solution could be looking up Youtube videos on successful people in your industry accomplishing their goals and putting yourself in their shoes. This magnetization could haunt you as well if you only focus on the negative things. This is something that I have struggled with and occasionally do in the present. I get so caught up on something negative that happened that I get stuck. Haha! Take it from me this isn’t where you want to be! Focus on the positive in your life and the future! Don’t put your head in the sand though! If your house is on fire, thinking that it isn’t doesn’t put the fire out!

4. Helen Keller, “No One is Ever Defeated Until Defeat is Accepted as Reality”

In my humble opinion I believe that if anyone has a right to give up it is someone with the disabilities of Helen Keller. I mean seriously everybody She was DEAF AND BLIND! She had 12 books published and finished college. My excuses seem pretty lame when you compare them to hers. What about yours?

5. Repetition of Affirmation of Orders to Your Subconscious Mind is the Only Known Method of Voluntary Development of the Emotion of Faith

Is this the key to faith in yourself? Is this the key to strong religious faith? A lot of the most pious people that I know are the ones that are attending church multiple days a week, not just Sundays. They repeat incantations over and over again from the bible while at the church events. Does this cause them to have stronger faith or because they have strong faith does this cause them to be more involved with the church? How can this principle increase faith in my ability to accomplish my goals? What about yours? Try reading an incantation that is intended to increase self-confidence every morning for two months. See what happens. Maybe it will help, maybe not.

5. You are Influenced by Your Environment

“If you hang out with losers, you will end up a loser,” Les Brown.

Who are the people that you surround yourself with? Are they thought leaders in your industry? Are they people that you want to have similar qualities or outcomes? One of the things that I try to do is to get out and meet people who are out there kicking ass everyday. I have learned so much from trying to learn something from everyone that I am around. I know that I have a lot of learning left to do and getting around people who are older and have decades worth of experience over me.

6. Every Adversity, Every Failure, Every Heartache Arrives with it the Seed of an Equivalent or Greater Benefit

Everything that has happened to me I have not learned from. I have made some of the same mistakes over and over again. I have come to the realization that after adversity occurs I need to take step back and figure out how I could have learned from it. Realizing this has allowed me to go back over the years and look at ventures and relationships I have been in. Surprisingly, I have learned some things from each one. Who to avoid partnering with in business, what things not to do in business, and how to not act in a relationship are some of the more humorous, yet important ones. Make a list of different adversities you have faced in the past and what you could learn from them if it was someone else in the situation and not you.

7. The Benefits of Getting Along with a Wide Variety of People are GREAT

I LOVE this one!! One of my strong points is my ability to get along with a wide variety of people. The people who claim that they can be assholes or demean people because Jobs or (insert random person here who could be a jerk) were is a ridiculous argument in my mind. Treat people with respect even if you don’t understand them. Help people out if they need it and be willing to listen to what people have to say. I have heard so many people say “It’s ok because I am an asshole.” How does that make it ok? You alienate people and paint yourself into a corner putting everyone else that you treat poorly on the opposing side. Don’t do that.

8. The Cost of Acquisition without Effort

Easy come, easy go. Earning things in life makes them more valuable to you. Look at the people who win the lottery? You will notice that they end up dead or broke again for the most part. Here is an example. Lottery. I want things all the time but if I don’t earn them I don’t get them. I think that it allows me to appreciate the things I have even more.

9. Importance of Imagination

Man, it was awesome reading about the importance of imagination! I have always had an extremely wild imagination but was ashamed of it growing up. I now consider it to be one of my greatest assets. I use my imagination to think outside the box and to come up with solutions to problems that otherwise would be impossible for me to think of. Use your imagination! You never know what you might discover.

10. Traits of a Good Leader

Unwavering Courage
Self-Control
A Keen Sense of Justice
Definiteness of Decision
Definiteness of Plans
A Habit of Doing More than Paid For
Pleasing Personality
Sympathy and Understanding
Master of Detail
Willingness to Assume Full Responsibility
Cooperation

When I compare this to the qualities of people in leadership positions that I know personally I think that this list applies to the best of them. The ones who turn out to be poor leaders are usually missing a lot of the factors on this list. I listen to a lot of podcasts on a daily basis and Art of Charm discusses how to take guys to another level in life, business, and romance. Art of Charm talks about the best qualities of the best guys and I think that those qualities are very apparent on this list. What traits would you add to this list? I can’t think of any off hand.

11. Lack of a Well Defined Purpose

Hill states that a lack of a well defined purpose is a very common reason why people don’t reach the “good life.” Personally, I can agree with this. If I know what goal I am working towards it makes it easier to do things that I don’t like to do. What is your well defined purpose? In his 67 steps, Tai Lopez discusses how you need to have a very short, concise statement summarizing your purpose. Is it a coincidence that two people have stated this in my limited exposure? Can you explain yours in one sentence? What is it?

12. Everyone Wants More but Are They Worth More?

I could see this point being misunderstood as people not being worth the same inherently. I don’t think that is what Hill meant. I believe that Hill meant if you and everyone else are asked to accomplish something can you do it more efficiently? Can you recruit a better team? Can you work faster, harder? Are you worth more to your team then anyone else? If you truly ask yourself this and the answer is no how can you improve? I can improve by increasing the amount of hours I put in on projects. I can also continually improve my hard skills to increase the efficiency of the hours I put in. What about you?

13. No System Has Ever Been Created That Man Can Acquire Riches Without Sacrifice

What have you had to sacrifice to be where you are now? I don’t think Hill is saying you have to give up things that you love. Quite the opposite. What are you willing to give up in order to do what you want/love? While I was accomplishing the most in my professional career I made the mistake of sacrificing things that I really enjoy doing to be able to work harder and more efficiently. I don’t think that is necessary to acquire “riches.” Figure out how you can optimize your life to integrate the things you like doing into it. If you like to bike, ride a bike to work and back. If you like to play a sport use that as your exercise. If you hate running and find it boring then don’t run! Do something else that you like to get your cardio workout in. Now, back to sacrificing to acquire riches. What Hill is saying here is to give up things like those 3 hours a day you spend checking the news, Facebook, or Twitter. I fall into the social media trap as well but what if we spent that time doing something we really enjoy? Wouldn’t that make for a better life?

14. Make Quick and Definite Decisions to Make War on Procrastination

Could this be the cure to that procrastination thing that is going around? Make quick and definite decisions? Instead of sitting around for days or hours contemplating what is next make an immediate concrete decision and make steps to accomplish whatever you decided. This could be the cure for my procrastination. I am sure that it won’t be easy. I weigh each and every decision as if the slightest wrong turn could throw me into a lifetime of turmoil and poverty. Haha! We all know that most decisions aren’t going to have that big of effect. I am making a conscious decision to do this now. Will you?

15. Don’t Tell the World, Show it

…..(Crickets)……. Yeah…… Ooops.. I am guilty of telling instead or not showing. The first time I read this it made so much sense to me. Wait a minute…. if I tell people how awesome I am they don’t care? Of course not. If anything people will become annoyed or think you are completely full of it. Earn it. Build it. Do something. Then show them.

16. Fortune Goes to Those Who Are Ready

I disagree with Hill on this. I think that fortune or opportunity is made for you but it is up to you to take advantage of it. If you have worked your ass off and an opportunity presents itself you will be able to take full advantage of it.

17. Training Yourself to Be Persistent

The steps of being persistent are definiteness of purpose, desire, self-reliance, definiteness of plans, accurate knowledge, cooperation, will-power, and habit. I agree with this but I would add repetition over an extended period of time. You will need to apply these steps for more than a day or two if you want to develop persistence. Looking at these steps I realize that I could improve on definiteness of purpose and habit. Ironically, a strong definition of purpose keeps coming up. What else would you add to this list?

18. People Avoid Chances to Avoid Criticism

I will admit that I have avoided chances to avoid criticism. I am self-admitted perfectionalist that hates to see me work not be awesome! Seth Godin says that if he fails more than us he will be more successful. I agree that this is great advice. Make it and ship it!

19. The Power of a Good Woman

“The men who have accumulated great fortunes and achieved outstanding recognition in literature, art, industry, architecture, and the professions, were motivated by the influence of a woman.”

I have heard this before from other sources and it makes an interesting argument. A lot of people throughout history have a strong romantic relationship to support their professional career. Coming home to someone who inspires you to do better makes it a lot easier then someone who crushes your dreams. Does your significant other make you want to do better for having them in your life?

20. Man’s Greatest Motivating Force is His Desire to Please Women

Is everything we do focused on gaining the opposite sex’s attention? Is that our purpose? I agree and disagree with this. On a biological level this is the end all for everyone, to procreate and pass on your genes. But…is that what everyones motivating force is? What if you have to do something just to be able to eat? Or to survive? Is it still the greatest motivating force if you haven’t eaten in 3 days? It could be that it is the greatest motivating force once you have fulfilled your other needs. What do you think?

21. Your Subconscious Mind Functions Voluntarily Wether You Influence It or Not

On a daily basis I do not consciously control my thoughts as much as I need to and if this point is true it could be debilitating. I could begin to make strides to control what I am thinking about. Tony Robbins suggests using incantations where you get your entire body involved while you repeat them. I believe it was Zig Ziglar that said your eyes are the window to your soul and you need to look into them while you repeat your incantations. Be a mad scientist and try looking at yourself in the mirror and excitedly repeating your goal or an improvement you want to make. Try it for 30 days and see what happens. If you will, I will. Be sure to share whatever you use.

22. If You Focus Only On Positive Emotions, Negative Thoughts Can Never Enter

Again, this seems a little hokey but you never know if it works for you if you don’t try it. Have you ever refocused on something positive whenever a negative thought came to mind? Give it a shot, you never know what will happen. Have you noticed how much fun people who are positive and bubbly are to be around? What about the ones who always find something to complain about? For some reason I can only think of the really really positive ones and a whole lot of negative ones that I would prefer to avoid. Who leaves a lasting impact on you? Which do you want to be?

23. Effects of Being Broke — Page 207

“When a man is down and out and on the street, unable to get any job at all, something happens to his spirit which can be observed by the drop of his shoulders, the set of his hat, his walk and his gaze. He cannot escape a feeling of inferiority among people with regular employment, even though he knows they are definitely not his equals, in character intelligence or ability.”

Wow….that is pretty intense. I am familiar with this feeling all to well. When shit completely hits the fan and no matter what I do it appears that I will never get out of the hole of have dug myself. Which, in reality isn’t that big. I completely feel defeated and deflated until BAM I drag myself out of it and earn money! WOO! All of a sudden I am back to my positive, ass-kicking self! It is funny the effect that not having money can have on a person especially when they aren’t EARNING it. What type of effects has being broke had on you?

24. The 6 Basic Fears and How to Beat Them — 220

“The six basic fears become translated into a state of worry, through indecision. Relieve yourself, forever of the fear of death, by reaching a decision to accept death as an inescapable event. Whip the fear of poverty by reaching a decision to get along with whatever wealth you can accumulate without worry. Put your foot upon the neck of the fear of criticism by reaching a decision not to worry about what other people, think, do, or say. Eliminate the fear of old age by reaching a decision to accept it, not as a handicap, but as a great blessing which carries with it wisdom, self-control, and understanding not known to youth. Acquit yourself of the fear of ill health by the decision to forget symptoms.” After reading this, I find myself contemplating what would happen if I could pull this off. What would life be like if I applied all of those today? What about yours?

25. Control Over Your Thoughts

“The only thing you have control over is your thoughts and without this control success is not possible.” I agree and disagree. You do need to control what you think about and do if you want to have the “good life” but you also need to control your time. What you spend your time on over a extended period of time will greatly effect your future. I know that I could spend more time on programming or exercising everyday to provide myself with a better financial and healthier future. What could you focus on and work on regularly to get what you want in life?

I took a lot of notes with this book so I apologize for the excessive comments and long windedness (is that even a word?). Some of the content in the book was a bit hokey but at the same time very thought provoking. If you have read the book feel free to comment your impressions. See you next time.