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In This Article
Introduction
Have you ever wondered how self-made millionaires did it?
I’m not talking about the wealthy people who inherited the majority of their fortunes, but regular people like you or I—people who started with nothing.
How can somebody start with nothing and end up sitting on millions of dollars? Is it hard work? Intelligence? Luck? Or are they just built differently?
Well, in some rare cases, maybe. But the truth is this: Anyone can do it.
So then, why does it seem only a handful of people can actually become rich?
I’ve read 100s of books about wealth and put in 100s of hours of research into the topic. And one thing that stood out the most to me is a book called Think and Grow Rich.
Published in 1937 and written by Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich has stood the test of time, and it remains one of the best selling books of all time. To be honest, there’s a good reason for this.
The author spent 20 years of his life intensely researching wealth, interviewing over 500 millionaires at the time, including the likes of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell, Theodore Roosevelt, and more.
His 20-year findings were then simplified into the 250-page book that we have today.
The book is a turn-key solution for anyone looking to understand what wealth is and how you can achieve wealth in your life, too.
Think And Grow Rich Summary & Review
This article will outline a summary of 9 different areas from Think And Grow Rich that you can work on in order to completely transform your life and achieve a lifetime of wealth.
If you prefer a video format, you can watch my Animated Summary of Think And Grow Rich on YouTube.
So let’s dive right in…
1. Desire
Merely wishing for money will get you nowhere.
Clearly define a goal and pour all of your energy, power, and effort into achieving it. It may take many years before you are successful, but if you hold onto your desire, you will eventually attain what you seek.
Desire is the emotional fuel that drives people to success.
Henry Ford introduced the first car to the masses thanks to his burning desire. He kept his team working on a new engine design for a year when everyone said it was impossible.
In the end, Ford’s strong desire won, as his new car sputtered its way to life, changing the automobile industry forever.
Weak desire will bring you weak results, just like a small fire will give small amounts of heat.
Set a clear, obsessive goal and let nothing stop you from getting it. If you want money, decide exactly how much you want, to the dollar.
Determine how much of yourself you are willing to give to achieve this amount. Choose an exact date when you want to achieve this amount. Create a plan and begin making moves immediately, regardless if you feel ready or not. Make a clear personalized statement of what you want and write all of these steps down.
Then, finally, read this statement twice everyday, one in the morning and one in the evening. Visualize your life as if you have already achieved this amount.
2. Faith
Faith is when you take something as truth, even if it is not proved that it is true at the time.
Have faith in the image you see when you visualize yourself already achieving your desire. Have faith in the fact that you can accomplish anything you can dream of. Because the truth is, whatever you can imagine in your mind, you can achieve.
Continuously telling yourself you can achieve the things you desire will develop a strong conviction that you will achieve it. Use this faith to strengthen the thoughts and desires you are planting in your subconscious mind.
Remember, many seemingly-impossible things have been accomplished through faith. In fact, the impossible is only impossible until someone achieves it. Now it’s your turn.
3. Autosuggestion
Autosuggestion is the conditioning, or reprogramming of your subconscious mind. One of the most effective ways to do this is through changing your self-talk.
Experts estimate that the mind thinks between sixty to eighty thousand thoughts per day. That’s an average of around 3000 thoughts per hour. Be cautious of the thoughts coming into your mind. Be wary of the negative thoughts which could be making up your self-talk.
One of the best ways to counteract negative thoughts is to exercise purposeful thoughts and affirmations in your head. Write a detailed affirmation, then go to a quiet place for 30 minutes per day and read it over and over in your head. An example of an affirmation could be something like this:
“I let go of all my fears around money. My net worth is increasing. Money flows to me in expected and unexpected ways. My finances improve beyond anything I could ever imagine. I have the power to attract wealth and money into my life. I know anyone can be wealthy, including me.”
The subconscious mind has all the resources to make things happen for you. The key is to repeat your affirmations and positive thoughts daily until you have programmed your subconscious into replacing negative self-talk with a more positive message.
4. Knowledge
Your education is not your knowledge. Professors and teachers are highly knowledgeable, yet some struggle with their finances. Why? Knowledge will fail to attract money if your actions are not organized and put into practical plans.
To create massive value for other people is an invaluable skill, but in order to bring massive value, you will need to have massive specialized knowledge that does not stop expanding.
Knowledge should not be a Monday to Friday process, but a never-ending one. When looking at the wealthiest, most successful people in the world, you will notice that most of them have a certain skill which they are a true master of, and they never stop learning.
5. Imagination
In the 1800s, a clerk in a drug store spent his life savings of $500 to buy an old kettle and a wooden spoon.
But why? Who would spend their entire life savings this way?
Welcome to the power of our imagination.
In this story, however, the clerk was no fool; he hadn’t really purchased the kettle and spoon for $500, he had bought an idea.
He sat down and began mixing ingredients together with his new hardware, and began testing different recipes. One after another, the clerk began getting closer to the mix that he had in mind, until finally, he mixed the secret ingredient. His imagination had come to fruition.
With Desire, Faith, Knowledge and Imagination, the clerk created Coca‐Cola.
Your brain is the most precious asset that you have. Nurture it, challenge it, and consistently use the power of imagination to picture exactly what you want to accomplish, and move towards that image every day. If other people can do it, so can you.
6. Planning
If successful athletes, bodybuilders and businesses use intense planning in order to reach success, then it’s evident we should all do the same in our lives.
Determine a clear, definite plan of action, and highlight the steps you need to take in order to reach the success you desire. If you are unsure, take a look around you at the people or businesses which are successful in your field, study what they are doing, and do it better.
Remember, you are free to change and create new plans if previous plans fail. Life is extremely long – humans are living to reach ages we’ve never reached before. There is no rush here. Remember, failure is just temporary defeat. Temporary defeats are just that – temporary.
The successful leader must plan his work and work his plan. A leader who moves by guesswork, without practical definite plans, is comparable to a ship without a rudder. Sooner or later he will land on the rocks. – Napoleon Hill
If you would like help in creating effective plans for your life or business, I have created a free guide to effective planning with actionable steps.
7. Decision
Most of the millionaires in the world have the habit of reaching decisions quickly and then analysing and changing these decisions slowly. People who fail to accumulate wealth often make decisions slowly, and then change them too quickly, and too often.
One of the biggest obstacles that we face—which can prevent us from moving toward our goals and desires—is the great difficulty we face when it comes to making decisions. Dwelling on decisions will only give you a headache, and zap you of your limited willpower.
Use the five second rule when confronted with a decision you need to make. Go with your heart and take action immediately. You can always change things later. The result will be that you will spend less time on unimportant decisions, saving your willpower, which will then give you the clarity and strength to make more effective decisions when they matter the most.
8. Persistence
Without persistence, your efforts will always fall short.
Success is a numbers game – all throughout nature, persistence never fails to leave its mark. Persistence can move mountains. Even the smallest drip of water can shape rocks one drip at a time. The law of averages won’t work if you only try once.
There are four simple steps which lead to the habit of persistence from Think And Grow Rich, summary as follows:
- A definite purpose backed by burning desire for its fulfilment.
- A definite plan, expressed in continuous action.
- A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences, including negative suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances.
- A friendly alliance with one or more people who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose.
Being persistent means choosing to keep going amidst challenges and failures. It’s our ability to get up every time that we fall down. Successful people persist, and they never give up.
9. The Devil’s Workshop
Life is a constant game of chess, and your opponent is time. Time punishes those who are indecisive and unclear about what they want in life. Life is what you make it, and if you don’t make it, then other people will. And guess what? They don’t have much planned for you…
Build a barrier around yourself and protect yourself against the negative energy around you. Sometimes negative energy can stem from people as close as your friends or even your family. You are an average of the five people you spend the most time with. You want to surround yourself with positive people who push you to do your best.
Seek the company of people who influence you to think and act for yourself. Find or create your own mastermind group and surround yourself with people who will uplift and inspire you. Seek people who have the ability to support your dreams and leave a positive, lasting mark on you. Trust me, they’re out there, and they’re probably looking for you, too.
Closing
Your burning desire, practiced with ultimate faith will set you up to achieve anything. Repeat quiet affirmations, and work on building unparalleled specialized knowledge in your expertise. Imagine your success, and create a detailed plan to achieve it. Use persistence to break down the walls that are holding you back from your full potential, and surround yourself with the positive energy needed to propel you towards your goals and dreams.
This is by far the best self-development book I’ve ever read.
I hope this Think And Grow Rich summary helps you as much as this book has helped me.
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