After many years, I recently sat down and re-read the book “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. I had forgotten all of the quotes and stories of the book but realized all of the principles written about in my lectures on money management and investing psychology are found exactly in Napoleon’s book. I cannot quote the entire book, but have included the prominent principles presented in the book by chapter in this lecture series. Use these principles to “think and Grow rich”.


Chapter 1: Thoughts are Things:

“Thoughts are things,” and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches or other material objects. An intangible impulse of thought can be transmuted into material rewards by the application of known principles. We must be able to conceive what we want to achieve, and then let nothing stop us. One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another. Know enough to seek expert council before giving up. R. U. Darby quoted as saying “I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say ‘no’.” Countless men have said their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them. “Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning; it takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.

“One sound idea is all that one needs to achieve success.” Inspiration comes in many forms and quite frequently when we are looking for it. You only need one to be successful. When you see it, grab it and don’t let go, and “When riches begin to come they come so quickly, in such great abundance, that one wonders where they have been hiding during all those lean years.”

Money can be obtained in many ways, and most people put in long hard work for their money, but riches do not come that way. Riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work. We must put in the necessary work to reach those riches, and that can be a long and difficult road, but once obtained wealth is self creating. We must truly believe that we can obtain riches, that we deserve them, and know what we must do to achieve them. Mankind is too familiar with the word “impossible” We know all the rules which will not work and all the things that cannot be done. Success comes to those who become success conscious. Failure comes to those who allow themselves to become failure conscious.

“Another weakness in too many people is the habit of measuring everything, and everyone, by their own impressions and beliefs.” Do not let your own prejudiced thoughts hinder your sight. We all have a tendency to develop tunnel vision. Particularly when we are in our comfort zones. How frequently we drive the same streets every day, but do not take note of the homes, shops, parks until we sit in the passenger seat. In driving we must become single tracked in order to prevent accidents, but the truth is we become automated. In order to see the opportunities around we must first be consciously looking for them, and subconsciously desiring them.

“When Henley wrote the prophetic lines, ‘I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul,’ he should have informed us that we are the masters of our fate, the captains of our souls, because we have the power to control our thoughts.” As anyone who is familiar with “The Secret” understands, we must all be aware that “our brains become magnetized with the dominating thoughts which we hold in our minds, and, by means with which no man is familiar, these ‘magnets’ attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts.”

Master your thoughts, keep them pure, and concentrate them on the deepest desires of you heart, and you will achieve them.

This page is a summary of instruction given by Napoleon Hill in Think & Grow Rich, with comments by Justin Hoopes. To continue to Chapter 2 - Desire, Click Here.