Think and Grow Rich: Opinions?
Accountant · Spring Lake, MI · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 26 votes
Think and Grow Rich: Opinions?
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Real Estate Investor · Springfield, MO · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y@Ben Zelenka, hi and welcome to BP!
I assume you're talking about the Napoleon Hill book. Hill was a contemporary of and interviewed Andrew Carnegie, who as you may know was one of the richest men in American history. So the man knows a thing or two about the habits of the rich.
It's been 2 decades since I read that book, but the lesson that stuck with me is that there is a psychology behind those who become rich that those who do not become rich often lack: and that is simply the will to become rich. Not that this is enough in and of itself. You still have to work hard, plan diligently, and often it requires a strong dose of "being in the right place at the right time and ready to act". We call that "making our luck" in business terms. Carnegie wouldn't have been successful if he hadn't spent years desiring wealth and turning himself into the person who could run a major corporation. He took classes, made connections, got work experience, etc. In short, much of his life was largely dedicated to making a lot of money. That would not have happened if he hadn't strongly desired wealth and believed he could achieve it in the first place.
Hill argues that we can get what we desire, but first we have to believe in it. His theory on auto-suggestion paved the way for a lot of self-help gurus in later decades, but no one uses that term any more. "Believe in yourself" is one of the more commonly used modern equivalents.
The Book is not a "how to"....it's more of a "why to". You won't learn to become a multi-millionaire real estate investor reading it, but you will learn whether or not you practice the habits that extremely rich and/or highly successful people routinely practice. It won't tell you how to BRRRR your way to 1,000 doors, but it might tell you that you CAN do it, if you WANT IT badly enough.
A lot of people THINK they want to be rich, but many of them are self-deluding. Do you really want to be rich and do the things that are required? Only a few people are ready to do it at Carnegie's level. Most of the rest of us pick up some useful tidbits from book's like Hill's, incorporate them into our already set thought patterns, and achieve a greater level of success, but nothing near Carnegie's level. I certainly don't do everything he talks about, not because I think Hill is wrong, but rather I don't desire that level of wealth and am not willing to dedicate my time and mental energy to pursuing that kind of wealth.
Overall, it's a good book, and you should read it and see what wisdom it holds for you.
25 Replies
- Real Estate Investor · Springfield, MO · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes6y
@Ben Zelenka, hi and welcome to BP!
I assume you're talking about the Napoleon Hill book. Hill was a contemporary of and interviewed Andrew Carnegie, who as you may know was one of the richest men in American history. So the man knows a thing or two about the habits of the rich.
It's been 2 decades since I read that book, but the lesson that stuck with me is that there is a psychology behind those who become rich that those who do not become rich often lack: and that is simply the will to become rich. Not that this is enough in and of itself. You still have to work hard, plan diligently, and often it requires a strong dose of "being in the right place at the right time and ready to act". We call that "making our luck" in business terms. Carnegie wouldn't have been successful if he hadn't spent years desiring wealth and turning himself into the person who could run a major corporation. He took classes, made connections, got work experience, etc. In short, much of his life was largely dedicated to making a lot of money. That would not have happened if he hadn't strongly desired wealth and believed he could achieve it in the first place.
Hill argues that we can get what we desire, but first we have to believe in it. His theory on auto-suggestion paved the way for a lot of self-help gurus in later decades, but no one uses that term any more. "Believe in yourself" is one of the more commonly used modern equivalents.
The Book is not a "how to"....it's more of a "why to". You won't learn to become a multi-millionaire real estate investor reading it, but you will learn whether or not you practice the habits that extremely rich and/or highly successful people routinely practice. It won't tell you how to BRRRR your way to 1,000 doors, but it might tell you that you CAN do it, if you WANT IT badly enough.
A lot of people THINK they want to be rich, but many of them are self-deluding. Do you really want to be rich and do the things that are required? Only a few people are ready to do it at Carnegie's level. Most of the rest of us pick up some useful tidbits from book's like Hill's, incorporate them into our already set thought patterns, and achieve a greater level of success, but nothing near Carnegie's level. I certainly don't do everything he talks about, not because I think Hill is wrong, but rather I don't desire that level of wealth and am not willing to dedicate my time and mental energy to pursuing that kind of wealth.
Overall, it's a good book, and you should read it and see what wisdom it holds for you.
- Accountant · Spring Lake, MI · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 26 votes6y
@Erik W. Yeah I knew a little about Napoleon Hill but not too much, I saw that some people were pretty negative about the book ( I don’t understand why) so I wanted to see what others thought of it. Thank you so much for the overview about the book. Super excited to read it now!
- Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes6y
Hey Ben,
I first read the book years ago but listened to it on Audible recently to reinforce the content.
It's a pretty amazing book, especially for the time period in which it was published. In my opinion it was very ahead of it's time. Consider that today, you can find tons of personal development books pretty much parroting more or less similar concepts and angles of thinking about acquiring success and wealth.
I'm not aware of any other personal development books that are as old as Think and Grow Rich but have stood the test of time. I think there's some great anecdotes about hard work, desire, and persistence in pursuit of seizing opportunity in order to become successful.
We know thoughts become beliefs, beliefs become actions, and actions become reality. I think Napoleon Hill does a fantastic job explaining that mindset is the most important thing because in order to take "rich" actions, you first need to have rich thoughts.
In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson "the ancestor of every action is a thought."
You are your own biggest impediment to success, and your path to success will mostly depend on how YOU react to things that happen to you. Additionally, hard work is a necessity if you want to get "lucky" in seizing opportunity because you are prepared. You can either view obstacles as opportunities to improve or play the victim. Self-limiting beliefs and excuses should have no place in your mind.
Some of my favorite quotes from Think and Grow Rich are:
"The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat."
“You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller Now Revised and Updated for the 21st CenturyI found Chapter 15 "How to Outwit the Six Ghosts of Fear" was especially good for knocking down anticipated excuses. Some chapters, like Chapter 11 "The Mystery of Sex Transmutation", were a little bit weird to me though.
- Accountant · Spring Lake, MI · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 26 votes6y
@Paul De Luca I totally agree with what you said, I’ve been very interested in the psychology of success, motivation etc. it’s fascinating trying to understand why you think the way that you do and how to shift that so you can become who you want to be. Yeah I read that ch 11 title and was a little confused what that topic was going to be about. Thanks for the reply! It means a lot
- Lender · Frisco, TX · Member since 2019 · 546 posts · 270 votes6y
@Ben Zelenka I’m reading it now but to complement it, one of his other books titled outwitting the devil was an absolutely phenomenal read. It’s actually free to listen to on YouTube. I would probably recommend outwitting the devil over think and grow rich
- Accountant · Spring Lake, MI · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 26 votes6y
@Elise Marquette thank you, I’ll check that book out.
- Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes6y
The biggest problem people have with the book is the age of it. Speaking style and socially acceptable terminology changes over time. You may read the book and it sounds strange, but when it was written that is how they talked. Some people get hung up on that and can't understand the message underneath.
All modern wealth creation strategies are based on the concepts in this book.
Thinking wealth into reality is the most important concept. The only difference between wealth people and poor people is how they think. Many people don't accept this and therefore never acquire wealth.
The other concept that is popular today is the idea of mastermind groups. This was really first discussed in this book. It relies on the concept that you the average of the people you spend time with. If you hang out with people that have a success mindset, you pull each other up.
Lots of other good stuff in this book. Old book, but the path to success has not changed.
- Accountant · Spring Lake, MI · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 26 votes6y
@Joe Splitrock thanks for the info!
- Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2019 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes6y
"What were the big key takeaways for you guys"
I can sit around and think a lot and not be any richer.
Usually to get richer you need to take productive actions.
Why do you ask? :)
- Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes6y
Originally posted by @Ben Zelenka:
Hey BP community I just bought the book Think and Grow Rich and was just wondering what you guys' opinions are about it. What were the big key takeaways for you guys
Take action (constantly) and Grow Rich.
- Realtor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2018 · 140 posts · 53 votes6y
@Ben Zelenka
I keep it in my nightstand as one of my go to’s :).
The language is a bit dated, but most, if not all principles still hold up, especially persistence, masterminding, and having faith.
I recommend to everyone Jack Canfield’s book “The Success Principles” which for me was a catalyst into the personal development field from teachers like Bob Proctor, Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer and countless others (more specialized) like Gary Keller to Thomas J. Stanley etc.
- Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes6y
Originally posted by @Steve Morris:
"What were the big key takeaways for you guys"
I can sit around and think a lot and not be any richer.
Usually to get richer you need to take productive actions.
Why do you ask? :)
So you didn't read the book...
- Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2019 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes6y
Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:
Originally posted by @Steve Morris:
"What were the big key takeaways for you guys"
I can sit around and think a lot and not be any richer.
Usually to get richer you need to take productive actions.
Why do you ask? :)
So you didn't read the book...
Well, made it to the title page and then lost interest :)
- Accountant · Spring Lake, MI · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 26 votes6y
@Doug Phillips thank you I’ll check that book out!
- Accountant · Spring Lake, MI · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 26 votes6y
@Steve Morris No I’m very interested in the book, I’m going to read it l. It was just delivered to my house and it will be my next book after I finish “ the infinite game by Simon Sinek
- 6yRandall AlanPro MemberInvestor · Lakeland, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
I went to a motivational speaker as a guest of my employer some 25 years ago, and that speaker was referencing Think and Grow Rich back then.
I still remember his words that influenced me greatly: “You are where you are because you choose to be there.”
The next day I quit my job (probably much to the surprise of my boss who took me to the seminar) and headed out on my own. I wasn’t in real estate at the time, but the book is applicable across any field of study.
Randy
- 6yAntonio CuccinielloPro MemberInvestor · Austin, TX · Member since 2016 · 531 posts · 310 votes
@Ben Zelenka This book changed my LIFE! I was 18 overweight, depressed, feeling like life was out of control. Never even kissed a girl, never thought I could have my own business or invest in real estate! After reading that book my mindset completely freaking changed. I have read it 10 times now.
- Accountant · Spring Lake, MI · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 26 votes6y
@Antonio Cucciniello man that’s awesome, I’m so happy it had such a big impact on you! Hope you’re doing amazing, super pumped to read the book even more now!
- Member since 2019 · 1 post · 2 votes6y
I still use his exercise in meditation. As the author describes it, he goes to bed after hosting a meet up with a series of histories biggest hitters. He's not advocating for speaking to the dead, but rather allowing his own imagination the opportunity to function at its highest octane. I personally use it as a tool for prayer, speaking to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is a tremendous tool that has brought me a few moments of insight I don't think I was capable of on my own. Not to get too preachy, but I feel like framing the meeting with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (I believe They all exist and are there with me) is a more worthwhile endeavor than what Mr. Hill conducts on his own (but to be fair, he also included Jesus in his own meetings). I'll be curious to see if any of this resonates with you!
- Accountant · Spring Lake, MI · Member since 2020 · 42 posts · 26 votes6y
@Weston Cowden Very interesting, anything that can strengthen my prayer life and my relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ, I’d be more than happy to learn about and implement
- 6yCalvin OzanickBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Janesville, WI · Member since 2017 · 708 posts · 297 votes
It was one of the first books I read on my path to getting into RE. While it is not directly tied to RE, I do find it interesting in the way it focuses on mindset. I believe mindset is an undervalued aspect of being successful. What that book taught me was to wake up everyday with a goal in mind. The more I direct my thoughts and actions towards that goal, the more likely I am to find success in whatever field I am aiming towards. I found it to be a great book written by someone who was around success and had first hand experience with it.
Wisconsin Property Managers4.7414 Reviews - Rental Property Investor · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2018 · 87 posts · 45 votes6y
It's a great book. I'm currently reading itnow for the 3rd time. I consider it a spiritual book. It speaks about the same concepts and principals that other spiritual books speak about but it focuses mainly on applying the concepts to making money.
If you look up Universal Laws you will see that many of them pop up in the book.
- Member since 2020 · 87 posts · 35 votes6y
Haven't read Napoleon Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich. However, I have read through a similar book, to this one; The Varieties of Religious Experience, by William James. And after reading the comments to the thread, here; it sounds like some of what is in this book, by Hill, connects to the writings of James, due to William James once, in the U.S. was a college prof. paid attention to, with many attending his lectures. (James died in 1910. And Hill's book was first published in 1938. Hence, this time sequence suggests that Hill could had been familiar with James.) As for the comments on sexual transmutations, as Hill has in Think and Grow Rich; this might refer to the idea of mental health, as maintaining staying in the stage of Mental Illness, called Neurosis.(James studied to be a medical doctor, & then he got a job, as prof., teaching as much. And while he was so teaching, he did some of the early inquiry into Neurosis. Hence James would now be considered to be a psychiatist, if he had lived in the 20th century.) According to the Swiss Psychiatrist, Carl Jung, modern life is do difficult, that most people are at leat in the beginning stages of Mental Illness, as means to anticipate others, who are more crazy, in dealing with the so more difficult. Hence, a good many functioning-successful people, in the U.S. are also neurotic, as part of what makes them successful. (The book, by Karl Menninger, The Vital Balance, on psychiatry of mental illness; he prsents that those who stay in Neuroses, & don't progress into worse stages of Mental Illness; that they stay there, in part, due to these are people who stay engaged in sex, at least, in some way, which connects to the psychiatric idea of libido drive is what keeps us productive, as opposed to the psychiatric idea, of thanatos drive, or the death drive, does not connect to sexual activity. And the Death Drive, the stronger it gets,renders people unable to get much done with their lives, people, who Menninger says are in the last stages of increasing dis-control of their lives. And in Menninger's chapter on Neurosis, he includes a type of sexual neurosis, entitled, Magical Transformations, in which the claim is madethat the death drive is neutralized through the use of certain sexual activities. But what I write here, of Menninger, is only a guess, that it applies to Napoleon Hill's chapter on sexual transmutations, due to I have not read Hill's book.) But James did not put stock in sex & libido, in his book, The Varieties of Religious Experience. And James in this book, focuses on mental states, of the religious, as more central to human existence. ( In the previous week, I have been reading on what the ancient Egyptians believed. And this led to my inquiry, as to why Alexander-the-Great, went to the temple of Amun-Ra, in the Siwa Oasis, in north-west Egypt, one location in ancient Egypt where much of the army of Egypt was recruited from, of a separate ancient people, the Berbers. And I was surprised to learn that they, & their language, called Siwi, is still there, including with its traditions of proverbs, rhymes & chants, which are part of the once ancient Egyptian religion. So Hill, in he, in his book, talking of meditative states, as the source of much human success; Hill is writing of what has gone on among successful people, going back centuries ago.) And am living out, some of what the comments to this thread say, for the Napoleon Hill book, as in this 2020, I am working on a Rental I manage
- Rental Property Investor · Stockholm, Sweden · Member since 2019 · 12 posts · 15 votes6y
In the fore word of the book it is written something like "Every time you read this book you will discover something new" or at least thats the way I remember it right now. :-)
Ten years ago I was struggling to get the momentum and growth I wanted in my company. I thought I had a great idea and a great market window, wide open. But still just couldn't move to the next level.
After reading this book the second time I was struck by the story with the gold mine that stopped producing gold. Please read it if you haven't already. My key take away from that story was that I had the gold mine but I lacked the advisors to help me find it. So I started to look for advisors and hired board members to my company (very expensive for my company at the time). After that it started to change, I had to deliver more because my board expected me to perform. They opened up connections to other people and other businesses. It was a game changer for me!
So my advice is read it, and re-read it again every second year. You will find something new in the book that will help you with the problems you are currently facing.
//Ulf
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