Napoleon Hill was an author born in 1883 he wrote the number one selling book of the century on personal wealth called Think and Grow Rich this book analyzed hundreds of extremely successful men such as John D rockfeller Henry Ford Thomas Edison Charles Schwab and Alexander Graham Bell to name a few he researched why these men were so successful he wondered why did they have massive wealth and others did not so he set on a journey to see what principles set them apart and wrote a book about the findings although this book may have been written
87 years ago the principles still ring True to this very day there are 13 principles to get through so let's get on with it shall we principle one desire having a definite purpose of along with a burning desire to achieve that purpose is the First Essential step to achieving your goals Hill explain six practical and definite steps to transmute desire into reality number one be exact with the amount of money you desire number two what are you willing to provide and or give to receive this desired amount number three give yourself a limit to the
amount of time you have to achieve this desire with an exact date number four make a plan and immediately put it into action no matter how unprepared you may feel number five write numbers 1- 4 in a clear statement number six read the statement created out loud to yourself as soon as you wake up and right before you go to bed you must read this statement as if you are already in possession of all you want in this statement here States you may as well know right here that you can never have riches in great
quantities unless you can work yourself into a white heat of desire for money and actually believe you will possess it a story is told in this chapter of when Edwin C Barnes went to New Jersey to go into business with Thomas Edison the only problem was Edison had no idea who Barnes even was but Barnes made it clear to himself that being Edison's business part partner was not a wish but a burning definite desire that will be carried out Edison gave Barnes a job but not at the position Barnes was looking for he wanted to
be business partners with Edison not another Cog in Edison's business wheel Barnes went on to work for Edison for 5 years doing menial tasks one day Barnes seized an opportunity to sell one of Edison's inventions the edone Edison sales team did not believe this product would sell and rejected the proposal Barnes seeing this opportunity put forth a plan to Edison to sell this product they went on to sell many with Barn's sales plan which accomplished Barn's goal and desire to be Edison's partner Barnes had a definite goal and put all of his power into seeing
that goal completed with definite purpose and a burning desire principle 2 Faith faith is a state of mind when the vibration of your thoughts and desires are blended with faith the doors of infinite intelligence are opened without faith your desires will seem impossible to fulfill and cause your subconscious mind to shut down any thought of a better life before you can even start Hill outlines a self-confidence Formula One know that you have the capability to realize the definite purpose in your life two the thoughts that you allow to dominate your mind will eventually transform into
physical reality three the desire you hold in your mind and persistently think about will continually seek to become reality four you have created a statement of your definite goal in life and you will not give up until you have attained it five by carrying out this desire you will benefit all whom it affects you will attract the right people to work with by doing the right things the right way with a positive attitude Hill states there are millions of people who believe themselves doomed to poverty and failure because of some strange force over which they
believe they have no control they are the creators of their own misfortunes because of this negative belief which is picked up by the subconcious mind and translated into its physical equivalent taking that quote and reversing it reveals how the successful men analyzed in this book think you can truly think and speak things into existence it is your decision on what thoughts you will turn into the physical equivalent using Faith principle 3 autosuggestion autosuggestion is when your mind automatically processes new information in a certain way depending on how you have trained your subconscious mind to handle
it you can then transfer these thoughts more easily to attract the results you are looking for to influence the subconscious mind the thoughts in which you feed your mind must be precise and filled with emotional belief in the book Hill States no thought whether it be negative or positive can enter the subconscious mind without the aid of the principle of Autos suggestion with the exception of thoughts picked up from The Ether stated differently all sense Impressions which are perceived through the five senses are stopped by the conscious thinking mind or rejected at will the conscious
faculty serves therefore as an outer guard to the approach of the subconscious principle four specialized knowledge the next step is understanding that having an abundance of general knowledge has little use in the accumulation of money but having organized specialized knowledge in a niche subject can make you rich one of the richest men in history had this to say regarding knowledge Andrew Carnegie stated that he personally knew nothing about the technical end of the steel business moreover he did not particularly care to know anything about it the specialized knowledge which he required for the manufacturer and
marketing of Steel he found available through the indiv idual units of his Mastermind group what this means is the man who accumulates the wealth does not necessarily need to personally have the specialized knowledge needed but rather requires the access to an organized group of Highly specialized people this Mastermind group of specialized Minds is the key to a successful Venture principle 5 imagination [Music] man's only limitation within reason lies in his development and use of his imagination all successful products and services in the world started off as just an idea in someone's imagination Hill states that
there are two types of imagination synthetic and creative imagination synthetic imagination is the product of rearranging past ideas experien or observations until something Clicks in your mind that seems right to move forward with if you cannot draw on new ideas using synthetic imagination you may have to try creative imagination this is the process in which you get ideas from scratch in your mind from inspiration or a gut feeling which have not been thought of before by having a strong desire you refine your focus and interest on what you are observing and experience experiencing and you
see it through A New Perspective that helps you automatically generate creative thoughts effortlessly this is because you are giving your mind something to look for something to focus on this ideology also ties back to the chapter on Autos suggestion you can use this to your advantage to supercharge your imagination this faculty functions only when the conscious mind is vibrating as at an exceedingly rapid rate as for example when the conscious mind is stimulated through the emotion of strong desire and don't be afraid to change your environment to Foster more creative thoughts changing your environment by
say walking on a nature trail surrounded by trees and natural streams sitting at a lively coffee shop or a dimly lit Library can have a profound effect on your motivation to spark that sub conscious idea or write down something great principle six organized planning the next step to Turning desire for money into its physical equivalent is to form a definite and practical plan Hill lays out four points to keep in mind a merge yourself with a group of as many other Minds as you may require for the carrying out of your plan in return for
the group's help with carrying out your plan determine what they will receive in return no person with specialized knowledge will work for free although what they wish in return may not be in the form of money it may be the help on something they're working on or an interest in the company for example c a meeting twice a week or more with all members of the group is necessary until a precise plan has been created d the harmony between yourself and the members of your Mastermind group must be perfect and if it is not a
solution is to be found promptly so everyone is on the same wavelength no follower of this philosophy can reasonably expect to accumulate a fortune without experiencing temporary defeat if defeat comes it is because your plans were not sound it is imperative that you adapt and change your plans and redirect your Mastermind group until you are met with success a quitter never wins and a winner never quits most great leaders began in the capacity of followers they became great leaders because they were intelligent followers leadership requires 11 major attributes one unwavering courage two self-control three a
keen sense of justice four definiteness of decision five definiteness of plans six the habit of doing more than paid for seven a pleasing personality eight sympathy and understanding nine Mastery of detail 10 willingness to assume full responsibility 11 cooperation the most intelligent man living cannot succeed in accumulating money nor in any other undertaking without plans which are practical and workable just keep this fact in mind and remember when your plans fail that temporary defeat is not permanent failure it may only mean your plans have not been sound principle seven decision reaching sound decisions quickly and
definitely is the next step toward riches and becoming a great leader when you know what you want it is easy to make a decision quickly do not mistake this with impulsive thinking with no purpose seek counsel from trusted advisers when needed But ultimately it is up to you to make a prompt and definite decision when required lack of decision is one of the leading causes of failure remember procrastination is the enemy and the opposite of decision analysis of several hundred people who had accumulated fortunes well beyond the million doll Mark disclosed the fact that every
one of them had the habit of reaching decisions promptly and of changing these decisions slowly if and when they were changed everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept them if you are influenced by opinions when you reach decisions you will not succeed in any undertaking much less in that of transmuting your own desire into money in other words if your thoughts and decisions are constantly influenced by others opinions you will not stay on the track of fulfilling a life of your own desire and purpose principle eight persistence
the next step toward riches is persistence to be persistent you have to harness The Power of Will are you willing to do what you need to do to become what you want to become for an uncertain amount of time until you achieve that desire persistence can be seen as an insurance against failure as long as you keep going in the right direction despite countless defeats eventually you will have success when you are persistent you give yourself more time to be intersected with opportunity at the right moment a person who stays persistent is one who has
definiteness of purpose desire self-reliance definiteness of plans accurate knowledge cooperation willpower and habit a few know from experience the soundness of persistence they are the ones who have not accepted defeat as being anything more than temporary they are the ones whose desires are so persistently applied that defeat is finally changed into Victory we who stand on the sidelines of Life see the overwhelmingly large number who go down in defeat never to rise [Music] again principle nine power of the Mastermind the next step is to harness the power of the Mastermind group available to you and
apply it to your burning desires The Mastermind is a merging of knowledge for the attainment of a definite purpose Hill explains there are two characteristics in order to harness the power of the Mastermind group the first is the economic Advantage one may be subject to by surrounding themselves with people willing to go above and beyond to provide advice and counsel to your mission the other is more spiritual when two or more more minds are focused on one idea a Spirit of Harmony is formed advancing you to your definite purpose faster Mr Carnegie's Mastermind group consisted
of Staff of approximately 50 men with whom he surrounded himself for the definite purpose of manufacturing and marketing steel he attributed his entire Fortune to the power he accumulated through his Mastermind a group of brains coordinated or connected in a Spirit of Harmony will provide more thought energy than a single brain just as a group of electric batteries will provide more energy than a single battery principle 10 the mystery of sex transmutation Hill explains there are two significant facts disclosed by science one the men of greatest achievement are men with highly developed sex natures men
who have leared the art of sex transmutation to 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 Hill explains that the natural force felt when trying to impress or please a woman is so deeply rooted in our instincts as humans that we can use that energy to supercharge our willpower to carry out our desires just as a man in prehistoric days used to find the will to hunt and bring home food to appear great and capable to women
of the tribe the same can be seen in the animals of nature pushing to appear capable and dominant to the female they are looking to impress the woman a man chooses to marry can make or break him because man is so heavily influenced and or motivated by the feale fale Spirit love is without question Life's greatest experience it brings one into communion with infinite intelligence when mixed with the emotions of romance and sex it may lead one far up the ladder of creative effort principle 11 the subconscious mind the subconscious will not remain idle so
you must plant your desires in your mind with positive thought the subconscious mind is seen to be the link between the finite mind of man and infinite intelligence provided to you through desire faith and emotion you cannot entirely control your subconscious mind but you can voluntarily hand over to it any plan desire or purpose which you wish transformed into concrete form positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time one or the other must dominate it is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind to
train your subconscious mind you must first feed it positive emotions such as desire faith and enthusiasm rather than fear jealousy hatred and anger to name a few you can think of emotions as the yeast in a loaf of bread which is the action agent to activate your subconscious mind you must start with the right emotions principle 12 the brain the power and vibration of your mind may not be able to be seen with the human eye but it is there like a radio signal is there if you are at the correct frequency vibrations of an
exceedingly High rate are 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 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 Hill explains the subconscious mind is the sending station of the brain where your thoughts are broadcasted Into The Ether The Ether then returns a
message in the form of thoughts into your creative imagination if and only if your mind is vibrating at a high enough frequency to be able to receive that infinite intelligence principle 13 The Sixth Sense the Sixth Sense is that hunch you get or gut feeling you have about something that turns out to be extremely helpful this is your creative imagination at work receiving intelligence from The Ether trying to tell you something The Sixth Sense flashes ideas and thoughts into your mind and can spark inspiration the chapter on the sixth sense was included because the book
is designed for the purpose of presenting a complete Philosophy by which individuals may unerringly guide themselves in attaining whatever they ask of Life the starting point of all achievement is desire the finishing point is that brand of knowledge which leads to understanding understanding of self understanding of others understanding of the laws of nature recognition and understanding of Happiness this is quite a lot of information to grasp all at once but that's why you should read books over and over until you get the marrow out of it I look forward to exploring some more Lost Wisdom
in the future together hope you enjoyed this summary and goodbye for now
