Napoleon Hill was one of the earliest authors of the personal success movement. One of his greatest ideas for me was the concept of a gur class he encouraged like minded meeting of different levels to meet and convene. The idea was that a group of peopel could brainstorm and talk within a completely secure environment. The idea of security was important because that of course meant that no one person was ripping off someone else's ideas. The values of this core group had to be roughly the same.

he thought that negative thoughts caused a person to fail what you could dream of achieving was possible, his books are still maongst the most powerful books ever sold today and are still right up there as bestsellers.

Sam does it work the answer is yes if you have the correct group, you can all contribute and all benefit even if it is different levels. The ones at the bottom of the pile ie with less knowledge may be excellent amministrators, and they are can be good coordinators.

my two penny worth is a good mentor is better than ten tormentors.
La dominatrix

The question "does it work?" is a little too open ended.

If you read the book will you wake up rich? No.

If you read the book, really think about it, take the steps it outlines as well as continue to educate yourself and be persistent. Then yeah it "works".

Reading these books alone will make you a success. It is what we learn from the books and the actions we take AFTER reading that will determine that.

"The Secret" is based on Wallace Wattle's "The Science
of Getting Rich", which is okay but has a Sunday-school
fable vibe to it that makes it prone to misinterpretation.

"Think and Grow Rich" is dated, but still relevant. I recently
picked-up a new edition, updated with contemporary success
stories mentioned in each chapter: Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey...
you get the idea.

You could argue that this new edition must "Suck" because
it's been updated by an editor - but I think it's okay and it is
still mostly the old book anyway.

I've read older editions several times. It's worth reading
every year or so.

Read the book at least 2 or 3 times and really ask yourself,
after you've decided how rich in money you'd like to be,
"What exactly are YOU are going to GIVE to the marketplace
of life in exchange for your riches?"

Answer that question realistically and you'll be on your way,
because when you know what you want and what you are
willing to give to get it, then you go from abstract to concrete
thinking and you become empowered to make realistic plans
to attain your objectives.

Don't forget to take big action!

Principles and theories of think and grow rich are quite eloberate and clinical.If you look at most of the self help books,most of them contain the same principles with a twist here and there.It should be reread several times and its principles should be applied and be persistent with them.

The Secret was based on Walles D. Wattles's "Science of Getting Rich"

Think and Grow Rich is another bestseller, yet more profound and
deep. Think and Grow Rich is focused on success while science of
getting rich is focused on money.

Igor

I recently discussed this topic from the perspective of a Sandwich on my blog and reposted on my Warrior forum blog... Success is Simply a Sandwich Away. | The Master Achiever

First, what do you do when you want a sandwich? Do you think intensely about it? Do you wish for it with your eyes squeezed shut, your fists balled up, all of your muscles tense, your teeth clenched, sort of sitting there and vibrating?

Did it work?

No... you go to the kitchen, you get out the mayo and the bread and fixins, and you make a sandwich. Same thing for success.

Once upon a time you learned how to make a sandwich for your mom or dad - ie: your mentor group. Then, when the idea came into your head you might of thought a bit about what kind of sandwich you wanted, but after a few minutes you simply made it, gathering the necessary ingredients.

Think and grow rich, the Secret, etc. unfortunately can be misinterpreted as "If you think it hard enough, your magical PSI powers will move the various levers of the universe so that you will get what you want" Well, I can tell you, if that were true I would be on the beach right now and not working so hard...

...It's not true, but what is, is that if you concentrate on an idea and hold it in your mind, your subconscious will start working in the idea so that you start getting new ideas, start seeing opportunities that were there but that you missed, and you will start forming the required confidence to achieve what you want. But you have to add plenty of hard work to it.

The main thing that separates those who "get Rich" and those who do not, is that those who get rich believe that they can, and because they believe it, they do whatever it takes to make it so.

The others sit on the couch and complain...and then get the government to take more taxes from the rich so they can stay on that couch, but that is another post for another time.

David T. McKee

Think and grow rich works if you work it. But it only scratches the surface of truth. Bit like speaking of the reflection of the moon in the water instead of the moon itself. But its still true and very powerful when you are beginning your journey. TGR and all other law of attraction books are great simply because they help you make one small little paradigm shift: reality is created on the inside, your mind is the key, the outside is a reflection of your thoughts and beliefs and you do have a choice on what unfolds in your life. For most people in the world right now, thats huge. But as you keep taking the next step and the next, this journey becomes filled with so much magic and miracles that its not even funny. Reality is not only stranger than you think, its stranger than you CAN think.

Have fun,

Shafin

Think and Grow Rich is a classic that deserves the praise it gets as a pioneering work, but I find its old style language pretty dated and hard to read.

More modern and useful to me personally have been newer books that also talk more specifically about today's business opportunities.

Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, and Thomas Stanley's The Millionaire Next Door and The Millionaire Mind are favorites of mine.

In fact, those books helped inspire me to start writing my books! A combination of inspiration and practical, detailed, current advice is a rare thing to find.

Think and Grow Rich is a Materpiece, but it really just scratches the surface. There is more to it than thinking your way to rich. In the comment above from David, he is correct when he mentions action, nothing happens without action. There is not enough room to get in to whole thing, but everyone should read Think and Grow Rich. I have written many posts on this subject on my blog. BTW:The Secret is based on The Law of Attraction.

I prefer to work and grow rich.

No one pays me to think.

I still read that book once a month. I've also been involved with a mastermind group for almost a year.

It's a mind game for me and I enjoy playing it! I've been averaging 70k+ a month in Real Estate investing even in this market, I wouldn't say I attribute all that I've made b/c of the book but I can say it's helped me stay in the game.

I would recommend anyone who knows how to read, read it! and then after you're done , read it again and again and then join a mastermind group to hold yourself accountable. You'll be amazed at what you achieve if you take action and hold yourself accountable.

i liked this book by Napoleon Hill, its an eye opener... i have an audio book too.

Napoleon Hill, in his time, didn't have the vocabulary we have
today to describe how the brain's sorting mechanism works.

Maxwell Maltz got closer to today's vocabulary with his 1960
book "Psycho-Cybernetics" where he compared the subconscious
success mechanism to the primitive gyroscopic guidance systems
used in missiles and torpedos of the time - a sort of "seeking"
feature where we tell our subsconscious mind what the target
is and then let it alone to work towards it.

Today we have a new term for how the brain sorts and goes after
what we want: the Reticular Activating Mechanism.

I remember struggling with Think and Grow Rich a few years ago and found that Mach 11 with your hair on fire was an easy to read alternative.

The Secret obviously is Awesome - but simply a good bit of marketing at the right time

I read the book and listened to the audio version. It's a good book. So is the Science of Getting Rich and Acres of Diamonds.

The best book I ever read was The Go Giver. This book can really help you get rich.

Please note you can read all the good books and go to all the seminars but it's all useless if you don't take massive action.

This is actually the book my previous boss made me read. He is also an aspiring entrepreneur but his business he's into were rather questionable (scam)

Anyway, back to the book, it help me a lot to "get rich" by applying what I've learned

Loren mentioned Psycho-Cybernetics, by Maxwell Maltz, which is good because I was going to mention that one if somebody hadn't. Since he has, I can second it.

Think and Grow Rich leans heavily on the Theater of the Mind and positive intention. The Theater of the Mind is huge and positive intention is wildly important, but there are more tools / methods one can learn to tweak out their own mind for maximum achievement. Psycho-Cybernetics covers more of those tools / methods. These are solid, Modern Western Methods (my term) for deeper self-knowledge.

When you start ripping into head-space, the deeper you go the more you find that your mind is the source of everything and that navigating your inner-space completely remaps your outer-space, the physical realm.

Not to get too spiritual or woo-woo, but Think and Grow Rich is the tip of the iceberg. And that linked picture doesn't even really do internal development justice.

The RICH in Think and Grow Rich is completely dependent upon the wealth one finds within. The external manifestations of wealth are the result of the internal work that develops spiritual wealth then applied to the outer world. The Secret glossed over the edges of this as a marketing tool to sell books, videos, and coaching.

Don't let that sway you from the internal world.

Gnothi seauton.


To growth and success,

Max Leadford

Oh, my, oh my. First the short and undeniable answer to 'does it work?' The answer is a resounding NO, but with an equally resounding exception. Napoleon Hill, himself, blew a couple of fortunes in his life and ended up destitute and impoverished. He even lost the rights to the book and was extremely estranged from his family. If the content of the book really worked, then the author shouldn't have ended up that way.

Enter W. Clement Stone, a very strong believer in the premise of the book, "Think and Grow Rich." He bought back the rights to the book and had Hill as an employee for the rest of Hill's life. Stone became a multi, multi, millionaire and a relentless philanthropist. His wealth was built initially because of his ability to sell insurance and his subsequent ownership of an insurance company.

Now, the difference? Hill had the strategy right, but he had no way to implement the strategy (except for giving speeches). Stone had Hill's strategy and an insurance company for implementation. No matter how much you want a sandwich, no matter how much you know about making a sandwich, no matter how willing you are to go the kitchen and make it happen... if there's no bread or middle stuff, that sandwich simply isn't going to be made.

All self improvement stuff is great. But it must be implemented, and you must have a vehicle for implementation (job, business, something).

Just a thought.
Cheers
Steve Manning

Aanii All,

Well I have been away for awhile recovering from and illness. I'm healthy again and stopped in to see what's going on around here these days.

Wow! This is a great topic!

A lot of though provoking and interesting answers as well : -)

I personally love Think and Grow Rich and many other classics. I do however agree that you have to put into action anything that you learn in order to have it bring about a change in your life.

Also...a lot has to do with mind set...not just being positive, I mean you have to look at yourself and start to see what you have going for you and what you don't in relation to what you want in your life.

When you see things in yourself that don't help you to get where you want to go you need to change those things and learn new things that will help you.

Also...today we have the advantage of hindsight. We can look back now and see the lives of Napoleon Hill and many others and see the results they had.

However...we also have to look not just at the results...we have to also look at their actions to discern what lead to their success or down fall.

Anyway that's my own humble opinion : -)

Napoleon Hill's principles work big-time. He's the best author in motivation and mind-setting, period. His advice to form a mastermind group is very much correct.

I find Napoleon Hill's book still relevant today, it is one of the books that started me off on my journey of self discovery. Now no amount of reading will make any difference in life until positive changes are made. In my own experience overcoming a poverty consciousness was the hardest part, I see that same attitude in many people around me.
We need to change our viewpoint if we are to be successful, if our thinking process is narrow and limiting , this is what we end up with: limitations.
I am often amazed at stories of people winning the lottery who end up broke and destitute in a couple of years. Being able to deal with wealth takes some training and why not train ourselves to think rich? It is not enough to day dream about big houses and fast cars, day dreams are just that: day dreams.
Here are a few points I picked up:
Be grateful for what you already have
Share what you already have with others less fortunate [tithing, volunteering]
Know that there is always plenty to go around
Be precise in what you want: vision boards are a good tool
Become pro active, don't sit on your hands waiting for things to happen, get started now!
Sort out your life: declutter, streamline, tidy loose ends, pay those bills
Be fearless
Did I mention gratefulness?

The Secret claimed they took the ideas from The Science Getting Rich..so they would not have to pay royalties to Esther when they cut her from the movie. So, the secret still keeps quiet the big secret.

Think and Grow Rich..I have the manuscript (the secret could not be published those days either) led me to the Abraham Hicks material, and I am thankful for that.

It can't be said that it is work or not, we're still in journey here.
But I believe we won't walk like this now if we never have a great thinking

A lot of the concept and thoughts are all very old. Look at traditional Martial Arts. Everything is about believing in yourself, taking the right steps. Getting up after getting knocked down and not giving up. Positive Attitude is essential, but it almost always takes a lot of work that no one sees (there are exceptions of course).

All that being said, take everything with a grain of salt and keep the suggestions in perspective. It is not meant for everybody. I always tell my friends who bring up The Secret and like minded books, these principles apply to people that have a shot at making there life better. It doesn't really help a kid trapped in a war torn country, or someone that's starving in a drought stricken country with no food or water or help. My point with that last sentence is that, there are a lot of factors that combine to make someone successful. Keep that in mind when reading these books. Ultimately it is always up to you, and what you are willing to do to make your life a success.