2 Useful Principles in Think and Grow Rich

 

By Lukas Perdekamp


Recently I finished reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This work was originally published in 1937 and is targeted towards people who would like to learn more about success in life. Although the title suggests that Think and Grow Rich is mainly about gaining monetary wealth, it focuses on psychology and philosophy which can be applied in many fields. In this blog post I will discuss two principles in Think and Grow Rich which can help you become successful.





The first idea Napoleon Hill discusses in his work is desire. In the first chapter of his book Hill shows examples of how desire plays a major role in success. He provides two prime examples of how desire played out for two people’s lives. The first example is about Edwin C. Barnes who desperately wanted to work with Thomas Edison. In the beginning he was poor and initially had to take a freight train to visit Edison. Once he arrived he attempted to get hired by Edison but he did not want to hire him. Although Barnes was denied his desire led him to try many more times to get the job. Finally, Edison hired him but only to do simple work. He worked this way for Edison for several months until he seized a great opportunity. Edison had created a new device which his salesmen were not enthusiastic about and could not sell well. Barnes saw this opportunity and asked Edison if he could try to sell it. Even though the device previously had been unsuccessful Barnes was able to make a fortune from it due to his constant desire to work his way up.


A second principle Hill discusses is decision. One aspect he noticed among many successful people is how they all seemed somewhat stubborn and were determined for what they had originally planned. They were quick to make decisions and did not procrastinate about them. These people were slow to change their mind about their decisions and stuck with them. I think this principle makes a lot of sense as setbacks should not affect the successful because they persevere with their decisions even in difficult times. One powerful quote in Hill’s book is when he states, “Tell the world what you intend to do, but first show it.” Here he says that deeds are far greater in significance than words.





Overall I think this is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone because it provides many useful tips and principles valuable to life. I also think it is useful as it discusses thirteen principles so there is much more information in it than just what is mentioned in this post.