THINK AND GROW RICH AUTHOR: NAPOLEON HILL THIS POWER SUMMARY WAS CREATED BY DAVID RIKLAN Original Publication Date: 2006 BusinessWeek Magazine's Best-Seller List ranked Think and Grow Rich as the sixth best-selling paperback business book 70 years after it was first published. Over 20 million copies have been sold. PowerSummaries.com Copyright 2014 1
Short Summary Napoleon Hill certainly enjoyed success in his lifetime, both as a bestselling author and as the personal advisor of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This book explores in depth the laws that can apply to gaining wealth and success. These 13 principles are based on the reader developing a personal philosophy of achievement. The wisdom in this book is based on hundreds of interviews with the most successful people living in his day including: Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Charles Schwab, Alexander Graham Bell and Andrew Carnegie. Key Takeaways Hill bases his book on the belief that if you develop your life around 13 principles you can achieve financial success as well as personal contentment. These principles are: 1) Desire in this chapter Hill makes the distinction between just wishing and truly desiring, and how once you know what you desire you can make it into reality. 2) Faith our only real limitations are those which we place on ourselves. We must fill our minds with positivity and the sincere belief, even in the face of opposition, that we will accomplish what we desire. 3) Auto-Suggestion learning to direct your own thoughts and using visualization can influence your subconscious mind into self-fulfilling prophecy. 4) Specialized Knowledge not all smart people are exceptionally successful, and some of the wealthiest people in the world are not the most intelligent. This is because of the crucial difference between general knowledge and specialized knowledge. PowerSummaries.com Copyright 2014 2
5) Imagination you have likely heard the old adage if you can dream it, you can achieve it. Hill proclaims that this is an important step in designing and reaching our goals. We must have the imagination to know what we really want. 6) Organized Planning success does not happen randomly. A plan must be put into place and we must remain focused and organized in order to map out and move effectively toward success. 7) Decision procrastination is the death knell of success. In order to truly be successful you must decide to be successful. 8) Persistence even if you are clear about your desire and eager to put your plans into action you may not immediately notice results. This is when you need to persist and keep working toward your goals. 9) Power of the Master Mind identify people to develop a group that you can brainstorm with, hold each other accountable and motivate each other for greater success. 10) The Mastery of Sex Transmutation the most powerful human desire is our sex drive. We must learn to redirect this energy and harness it for greater success in other areas of our lives. 11) The Subconscious Mind we can make the link between our mind and our potential by feeding our subconscious the seeds of what we desire. 12) The Brain Hill goes in-depth to describe the different controlling factors of the mind. 13) The Sixth Sense this chapter discusses opening our minds, accepting our new reality, and letting go of the fears that have held us back. PowerSummaries.com Copyright 2014 3
Action Steps 1) Review the 13 principles and identify 2 or 3 that you can incorporate into your life immediately. 2) Refuse to be vague about your desires. 3) Focus on positive thoughts and the achievement of your goals. 4) Release yourself from the fears that have kept you from success and be willing to accept your success. 5) Begin networking with people to start forming a master mind group. Thought-Provoking Questions 1) Which of the thirteen principles that Napoleon Hill discusses can have the greatest impact on your life? 2) Think and Grow Rich was written over 70 years ago. Which of these principles are even more important today than they were 70 years ago? Which of these principles, if any, no longer apply to us? Quotes and Excerpts Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit. PowerSummaries.com Copyright 2014 4
To win the big stakes in this changed world, you must catch the spirit of the great pioneers of the past, whose dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value, the spirit that serves as the life-blood of our own country your opportunity and mine, to develop and market our talents. Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don t control what you think, you can t control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward. Author's Biography Napoleon Hill was born in 1883 in Wise County, Virginia. He began his writing career at age 13 as a "mountain reporter" for small town newspapers and went on to become America's most beloved motivational author. His work stands as a monument to individual achievement and is the cornerstone of modern motivation. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich, is one of the best-selling books of all time. Hill established the Foundation as a nonprofit educational institution whose mission is to perpetuate his philosophy of leadership, self-motivation, and individual achievement. To purchase this book directly from Amazon.com, go to http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/isbn=1612930298/selfimprovemeonla/ To get access to over 300 informative Power Summaries, go to http://www.powersummaries.com. PowerSummaries.com Copyright 2014 5