Think and grow rich by Napoleon Hill

Think and grow rich by Napoleon Hill

This book contains the experience of more than 500 men of great wealth who began at scratch, with nothing to give in return for riches except THOUGHTS, IDEAS and ORGANIZED PLANS.

[I find chapter 12 quite interesting]

Thoughts are things and powerful things at that when you are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches or other material objects. Desire is the starting point of all achievement.

Kindle anew in your mind the fire of hope, faith, courage and tolerance. If you have these states of mind, and a working knowledge of the principles described, all else that you need will come to you, when you are READY for it.  There is a difference between WISHING for a thing and being READY to receive it. No one is ready for a thing, until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must be BELIEF, not merge hope or wish. Open-mindedness is essential for belief. Closed minds do not inspire faith, courage and belief.

“I bargained with Life for a penny,

And Life would pay no more,

However I begged at evening

When I counted my scanty store;

For Life is just an employer,

He gives you what you ask,

But once you have set the wages,

Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial's hire,

Only to learn, dismayed,

That any wage I had asked of Life,

Life would have paid.”

― Jessie B. Rittenhouse

FAITH is the head chemist of the mind. When faith is blended with the vibration of thought, the subconscious mind instantly picks up the vibration, translates it into its spiritual equivalent and transmits it to infinite intelligence, as in the case of prayer.

  

The emotions of faith, love and sex are the most powerful of all major positive emotions. When the three are blended, they have the effect of ‘coloring’ the vibration of thought in such a way that it instantly reaches the subconscious mind where it is changed into its spiritual equivalent, the only from that induces a response from infinite intelligence. Love and faith are psychic; related to the spiritual side of man. Sex is purely biological and related only to the physical.  The emotions of faith, love, and sex when mixed with any thought impulse, give it greater action than any of these emotions can do singly.

Thoughts which are mixed with any of the feelings of emotions, constitute a magnetic force which attracts from the vibrations of the ether, other similar or related thoughts.

Self-confidence formula:

1.  I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my definite purpose in life, therefore, I demand of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment and I here and now promise to render such action.

2. I realize the dominating thoughts of my mind will eventually reproduce themselves in outward, physical action, and gradually transform themselves into physical reality, therefore i will concentrate my thoughts for 30 minutes daily upon the task of thinking of the person I intend to become, thereby creating in my mind a clear mental picture of that person.

3. I know through the principle of autosuggestion, any desire that I persistently hold in my mind will eventually seek expression through some practical means of attaining the object back of it, therefore, I will devote 10 minutes daily to demanding of myself the development of self-confidence for its attainment.

4. I have clearly written down a description of my definite chief aim in life, and I will never stop trying until I shall have developed sufficient self-confidence for its attainment.

5. I fully realize that no wealth or position can long endure, unless built upon truth and justice, therefore, I will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom it affects. I will succeed by attracting to myself the forces I wish to use, and the cooperation of other people.

6. I will sign my name to this formula, commit it to memory and repeat it aloud once a day, with full faith that it will gradually influence my thoughts and actions so that i will become a self-reliant and successful person.

If you think you are beaten, you are

If you think you dare not, you don't,

If you like to win, but you think you can't

It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost

For out of the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow's will

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or late the man who wins

Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN

 -Walter D. Wintle

AUTO-SUGGESTION is a term which applies to all suggestion and all self-administered stimuli which reach one’s mind through the five senses. Stated in another way, auto-suggestion is self-suggestion. It is the agency of communication between that part of the mind where conscious thought takes place, and that which serves as the seat of action for the subconscious mind.

No thoughts, whether it be negative or positive, can enter the subconscious mind without the aid of the principle of auto-suggestion, with the exception of thoughts picked up from the ether

SPECIALIZED-KNOWLEDGE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OR OBSERVATION

There are two kinds of knowledge: one is general and the other is specialized. General knowledge, no matter how great in quantity or variety it may be, is of but little use in the accumulation of money. Knowledge is only potential power and it becomes power only when and if, it is organized into definite plan of action and directed to a definite end.

This “missing link” in all systems of education known to civilization today, may be found in the failure of educational institutions to teach their students how to organize and use knowledge after they acquire it.(E.g Ford’s story where he sued the Chicago newspaper for calling him a pacifist.)

IMAGINATION THE WORKSHOP OF THE MIND

The imagination is literally the workshop wherein are fashioned all plans created by man. The impulse, the desire, is given shape, form, and action through the aid of the imaginative faculty of the mind.

The imaginative faculty functions in two forms. One is known as “synthetic imagination,” and the other as “creative imagination.”

Synthetic imagination: --Through this faculty, one may arrange old concepts, ideas, or plans into new combinations. This faculty creates nothing. It merely works with the material of experience, education, and observation with which it is fed. It is the faculty used most by the inventor, with the exception of the “genius” who draws upon the creative imagination, when he cannot solve his problem through synthetic imagination.

Creative imagination: Through the faculty of creative imagination, the finite mind of man has direct communication with Infinite Intelligence. It is the faculty through which “hunches” and “inspirations” are received. It is by this faculty that all basic, or new ideas are handed over to the man.

ORGANIZED PLANNING THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF DESIRE INTO ACTION

You have learned that everything man creates or acquires, begins in the form of desire, that desire is taken on the first lap of its journey, from the abstract to the concrete, into the workshop of the imagination, where plans for its transition are created and organized.

Major attributes of leadership:

• Unwavering courage
• Self-control
• A keen sense of justice
• Definiteness of decision
• Definiteness of plans
• The habit of doing more than paid for
• A pleasing personality
• Sympathy and understanding
• Mastery of detail
• Willingness to assume full responsibility
• Cooperation

30 major causes of failure:

• Unfavorable hereditary background
• Lack of a well-defined purpose in life
• Lack of ambition to aim above mediocrity
• Insufficient education
• Lack of self-discipline
• Ill health
• Unfavorable environmental influences during childhood
• Procrastination
• Lack of persistence
• Negative personality
• Lack of controlled sexual urge
• Uncontrolled desire for something for nothing
• Lack of a well defined power of decision
• One or more of the six basic fears
• Wrong selection of a mate in marriage
• Over-caution
• Wrong selection of associates in business
• Superstition and prejudice
• Wrong selection of a vocation
• Lack of concentration of effort
• The habit of indiscriminate spending
• Lack of enthusiasm
• Intolerance
• Intemperance
• Inability to cooperate with others
• The possession of power that was not acquired through self effort
• Intentional dishonesty
• Egotism and vanity
• Guessing Instead of thinking
• Lack of capital

DECISION THE MASTERY OF PROCRASTINATION

Accurate analysis of over 250,000 men and women who had experienced failure, disclosed the fact that lack of decision was near the head of the list of the 30 major cause of failure.

PERSISTENCE THE SUSTAINED EFFORT NECESSARY TO INDUCE FAITH

Persistence is the essential factor in the procedure of transmuting desire into tits monetary equivalent. The basis of persistence is the power of will.Persistence is a state of mind, therefore it can be cultivated. Like all states of mind, persistence is based upon definite causes, among them these:

1. Definiteness of purpose. Knowing what one wants is the first and, perhaps, the most important step toward the development of persistence. A strong motive forces one to surmount many difficulties.
   
   
2. Desire. It is comparatively easy to acquire and to maintain persistence in pursuing the object of intense desire.
   
   
3. Self-reliance. Belief in one’s ability to carry out a plan encourages one to follow the plan through with persistence. (Self-reliance can be developed through the principle described in the chapter on auto-suggestion).
   
   
4. Definiteness of plans. Organized plans, even though they may be weak and entirely impractical, encourage persistence.
   
   
5. Accurate knowledge. Knowing that one’s plans are sound, based upon experience or observation, encourages persistence; “guessing” instead of “knowing” destroys persistence.
   
   
6. Co-operation. Sympathy, understanding, and harmonious cooperation with others tend to develop persistence.
   
   
7. Willpower. The habit of concentrating one’s thoughts upon the building of plans for the attainment of a definite purpose, leads to persistence.
   
   
8. Habit. Persistence is the direct result of habit. The mind absorbs and becomes a part of the daily.
   
   
9. Experiences upon which it feeds. Fear, the worst of all enemies, can be effectively cured by forced repetition of acts of courage. Everyone who has seen active service in war knows this.

POWER OF THE MASTER MIND THE DRIVING FORCE

Power is essential for success in the accumulation of money. Plans are inert and useless, without sufficient power to translate them into action. This chapter will describe the method by which an individual may attain and apply power.

If power is “organized knowledge,” let us examine the sources of knowledge:

• Infinite intelligence
• Accumulated experience
• Experiment and research

THE MYSTERY OF SEX TRANSMUTATION

The meaning of the word “transmute” is, in simple language, “the changing, or transferring of one element, or form of energy, into another.”

The emotion of sex has back of it the possibility of three constructive potentialities, they are:--

1. The perpetuation of mankind
   
   
2. The maintenance of health, (as a therapeutic agency, it has no equal).
   
   
3. The transformation of mediocrity into genius through transmutation.
   
   

Sex desire is the most powerful of human desires.

Scientific research has disclosed these significant facts:

1. The men of greatest achievement are men with highly developed sex natures; men who have learned the art of sex transmutation.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   

When driven by this emotion, men become gifted with a super power in action. The emotion of sex contains the secret of creative ability. The human mind responds to stimuli, through which it may be “keyed up” to high rates of vibration, known as enthusiasm, creative imagination, intense desire, etc. 

The stimuli to which the mind responds most freely are:--

1. The desire for sex expression
2. Love
3. A burning desire for fame, power, or financial gain,money
4. Music
5. Friendship between either those of the same sex, or those of the opposite sex.
6. A Master Mind alliance based upon the harmony of two or more people who ally themselves for spiritual or temporal advancement.
7. Mutual suffering, such as that experienced by people who are persecuted.
8. Auto-suggestion
9. Fear
10. Narcotics and alcohol.

Genius is developed through the sixth sense.

The faculty of creative imagination is the direct link between the finite mind of man and Infinite Intelligence.

All so-called revelations, referred to in the realm of religion, and all discoveries of basic or new principles in the field of invention, take place through the faculty of creative imagination.

When ideas or concepts flash in one’s mind, through what is popularly called a “hunch,” they come from one or more of the following sources:--

1. Infinite Intelligence
2. One’s subconscious mind, wherein is stored every sense impression and thought impulse which ever reached the brain through any of the five senses
3. From the mind of some other person who has just released the thought, or picture of the idea or concept, through conscious thought, or
4. From the other person’s subconscious storehouse.

The human mind responds to stimulation.

Among the greatest, and most powerful of these stimuli is the urge of sex. When harnessed and transmuted, this driving force is capable of lifting men into that higher sphere of thought which enables them to master the sources of worry and petty annoyance which beset their pathway on the lower plane.

The major reason why the majority of men who succeed do not begin to do so before the age of forty to fifty, is their tendency to dissipate their energies through over indulgence in physical expression of sex.

It is a fact well known to psychologists that there is a very close relationship between sex desires and spiritual urges.

The factor of personality known as “personal magnetism” is nothing more nor less than sex energy. Through cultivation and  understanding, this vital force may be drawn upon and used to great advantage in the relationships between people.

This energy may be communicated to others through the following media:

1. The handshake. The touch of the hand indicates, instantly, the presence of magnetism, or the lack of it.
2. The tone of voice. Magnetism, or sex energy, is the factor with which the voice may be colored, or made musical and charming.
3. Posture and carriage of the body. Highly sexed people move briskly, and with grace and ease.
4. The vibrations of thought. Highly sexed people mix the emotion of sex with their thoughts, or may do so at will, and in that way, may influence those around them.
5. Body adornment. People who are highly sexed are usually very careful about their personal appearance. They usually select clothing of a style becoming to their personality, physique, complexion, etc.

The road to genius consists of the development, control, and use of sex, love, and romance. Briefly, the process may be stated as follows:

1. Encourage the presence of these emotions as the dominating thoughts in one’s mind, and discourage the presence of all the destructive emotions
2. Even the memories of love are sufficient to lift one to a higher plane of creative effort
3. Go back into your yesterdays, at times, and bathe your mind in the beautiful memories of past love.

A man may attain to great heights of financial or business achievement, solely by the driving force of sex energy. The emotions of love bring out and develops the artistic and aesthetic nature of man. It leaves its impress upon one’s very soul, even after the fire has been subdued by time and circumstances. Love is whimsical and temperamental. Its nature is ephemeral and transitory. It comes when it pleases and goes away without warning.  Accept and enjoy it while it remains, but spend no time worrying about its departure.

Love is without question life’s greatest experience. Love is an emotion with many sides, shades and colors. Man’s greatest motivating force is his desire to please a woman. Men will not admit that they are easily influenced by the women they prefer. No man is happy or complete without the odifying influence of the right woman.

THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND THE CONNECTING LINK

The subconscious mind consists of a field of consciousness, in which every impulse of thought that reaches the objective mind through any of the five senses, is classified and recorded, and from which thoughts may be recalled or withdrawn as the letters may be taken from a filing cabinet.

You never can tell what your thoughts will do,

In bringing you hate or love;

For thoughts are things, and their airy wings

Are swifter than carrier doves.

They follow the law of the universe

Each thing must create its kind,

And they speed o'er the track to bring you back

Whatever went out from your mind.

-Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The seven major positive emotions:

The emotion of desire

The emotion of faith

The emotion of love

The emotion of sex

The emotion of enthusiasm

The emotion of hope

The seven major negative emotions:

The emotion of fear

The emotion of jealousy

The emotion of hatred

The emotion of revenge

The emotion of greed

The emotion of superstition

The emotion of anger

A BROADCASTING AND RECEIVING STATION FOR THOUGHT

Every human brain is both a broadcasting and receiving station for the vibration of thought.

Through the medium of the ether, in a fashion similar to that employed by the radio broadcasting principle, every human brain is capable of picking up vibrations of thought which are being released by other brains.

Vibrations of an exceedingly high rate are the only vibrations picked up and carried, by the ether, from one brain to another. Thought is energy traveling at an exceedingly high rate of vibration. Thought, which has been modified or “stepped up” by any of the major emotions, vibrates at a much higher rate than ordinary thought, and it is this type of thought which passes from one brain to another, through the broadcasting machinery of the human brain.

When stimulated, or “stepped up” to a high rate of vibration, the mind becomes more receptive to the vibration of thought which reaches it through the ether from outside sources. This “stepping up” process takes place through the positive emotions, or the negative emotions. Through the emotions, the vibrations of thought may be increased.

The result of sex transmutation is the increase of the rate of vibration of thoughts to such a pitch that the Creative Imagination becomes highly receptive to ideas, which it picks up from the ether. On the other hand, when the brain is vibrating at a rapid rate, it not only attracts thoughts and ideas released by other brains through the medium of the ether, but it gives to one’s own thoughts that ‘feeling’ which is essential before those thoughts will be picked up and acted upon by one’s subconscious mind.

THE SIXTH SENSE THE DOOR TO THE TEMPLE OF WISDOM

This principle is the apex of the philosophy. It can be assimilated, understood, and applied ONLY by first mastering the other twelve principles. The sixth sense is that portion of the subconscious mind which has been referred to as the Creative Imagination. It has also been referred to as the

“Receiving set” through which ideas, plans, and thoughts flash into the mind. The “flashes” are sometimes called “hunches” or “inspirations.”

Through the aid of the sixth sense, you will be warned of impending dangers in time to avoid them, and notified of opportunities in time to embrace them. There comes to your aid, and to do your bidding, with the development of the sixth sense, a “guardian angel” who will open to you at all times the door to the Temple of Wisdom.

HOW TO OUTWIT THE SIX GHOSTS OF FEAR

In order to apply these 13 rules, you need to know three enemies which you shall have to clear out. These are indecision, doubt and fear. The sixth sense will never function, while these three negatives or any of them remain in your mind.

The fear of poverty at the bottom of most of one’s worries

The fear of criticism

The fear of ill health

The fear of loss of love or someone

The fear of old age

The fear of death

Fears are nothing more than states of mind.

Symptoms of the fear of poverty:

Indifference

Indecision

Doubt

Worry

Over-caution

Procrastination

Symptoms of the fear of criticism:

Self-consciousness

Lack of poise

Personality

Inferiority complex

Extravagance

Lack of initiative

Lack of ambition

To protect yourself against negative influences, whether of your own making, or the result of the activities of negative people around you, recognize that you have a willpower, and put it into constant use, until it builds a wall of immunity against negative influences in your own mind.

Recognize the fact that you, and every other human being, are, by nature, lazy, indifferent, and susceptible to all suggestions which harmonize with your weaknesses.

Recognize that you are, by nature, susceptible to all the six basic fears, and set up. Habits for the purpose of counteracting all these fears.

Recognize that negative influences often work with you through your subconscious mind, therefore they are difficult to detect, and keep your mind closed against all people who depress or discourage you in any way.

Clean out your medicine chest, throw away all pill bottles, and stop pandering to colds, aches, pains and imaginary illness.

Deliberately seek the company of people who influence you to think and act for yourself.

Books recommended in this book

Acres of diamonds by Russell H Conwell

As a man thinketh by James Allen

The science of getting rich by Wallace D Wattles

The way to wealth by Benjamin Franklin

Your invisible power by Genevieve Behrend