Think and Grow Rich is the most successful personal development book ever written. It was first published in 1937 and has since sold over 70 million copies. This tremendously successful book was written by the late Napoleon Hill. He was an American author of the new thought movement. In his prime, Mr. Hill was a personal advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was one of the originators of personal-success books. He has written a number of books but this is his most successful one. In this book, Mr. Hill explores the influence that personal beliefs have on us and our success. He coined the phrase 'what you can conceive and believe with your mind, you can achieve'. This books shows you how to transform your thoughts into tangible trophies of achievement. Here are some lessons we learned from 'think and grow rich'.
Everything which is tangible began as a thought
Napoleon made a profound observation when he indicated this lesson in his book. Every physical thing that we see today began as a thought in someone's mind. For example, a couch did not appear out of thin air. Someone conjured up a piece of furniture where one could sit or lie comfortably in their home or elsewhere. After that, the idea was refined into a plan and the plan was put into action. This resulted in the first couch ever. The author of this book indicates that every physical thing that we experience in our lives has been the result of our thoughts. This is great news because we can create our reality with this concept. If you imagine yourself as an athlete, a dancer or a leader, you can turn this into a reality. Anything that you create in your mind and trust that it is possible, you can achieve.
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Win or quit, pick a side
Napoleon Hill famously indicated in this book that winners do not quit and quitters do not win. From a real life perspective, this statement rings true. Failure is part of the process of winning. If you fail, understand that it is temporary. After that, create a new plan, fix the initial problem and keep going. It is also very important to know that failure is only temporary. However, success can be permanent.
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Our minds receive ideas from the universe
An interesting observation that Napoleon Hill indicates is that the universe feeds us with ideas constantly. However, we need to tune our minds to receive them, much like an antenna. One of the ways to tune our minds is to use positive thinking. Keep positive, resourceful thoughts in your mind and you will be able to attract high quality ideas which you can implement and transform your fortunes.
If you have a burning desire for something, you can achieve it
Many people begin to follow a personal dream and when it becomes tough, they give up halfway through. Sometimes, they give up when the dream was simply a moment away. Napoleon Hill says that for you to achieve a dream, you need to have a burning desire to accomplish it. You need to be in a position where you will do whatever it takes to achieve it. He gives the example of Henry Ford and the V12 engine. The great industrialist and his engineers had a very difficult time when creating the first V12 engine. It was almost impossible. However, Henry was determined and he assertively told his engineers that they must achieve his vision. Eventually, they did. This is a sure sign that if you believe in yourself and your vision, you will accomplish it.
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Failures don't mean that you have failed
The road to one's dream is paved with heartbreak, pain, loss and failure. Many people give up halfway there due to perceived failure. They fail so many times that they believe that they don't have what it takes.They also believe that their goal is not for them. They let the failure overcome them and they give up. Napoleon Hill indicates that failure is simply a lesson in what not to do. It is a pointer on how not to go about something. Failure shows you that you need to try a different approach to accomplish something. Just to encourage you, failure just means that you are getting closer to your goal. Part of success is dedication and persistence.
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Have faith
Faith is a belief in something that you cannot see but can feel. Mr. Hill indicates that it is absolute certainty with no fear, trepidation or hesitation that you will achieve exactly what you desire. There are many people who begin chasing their dreams with a feverish excitement. However, they begin to encounter some obstacles. They experience doubt and disbelief from their friends and family. This doubt in their dream begins to eat at them and causes them to lose faith in themselves. Eventually, they lose faith in their dreams too. Nobody said achieving your goals is easy. You need to have faith that is solid as a rock. It will be your firm foundation during the tough times and the bedrock upon which you build your dream.
Implementing your idea is the most important step of achieving your dreams
According to Napoleon Hill, the ability to implement an idea is more important than the knowledge about it. Many people know about a variety of different concepts and things. However, very few are able to see some relationships between these concepts, create an idea and then implement it. Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come. It will burn in the back of your mind. The author says that it is up to you to fan it into a blazing fire or regretfully watch it flicker for the rest of your life. Nurture your idea and let it grow. Act on it and let it become a reality. This is the destiny of every idea which we create.
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The Important Take Away
Napoleon Hill's book 'Think and Grow Rich' has influenced some of the most successful business-people in the world today. It is full of lessons which can help you to turn a simple idea into billions. The lessons are practical, straightforward and easy to apply in your life. Some of them are indicated above. They are sure guidelines to a better, richer future for you.
You can get Think and Grow Rich here.
