The lessons from “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill has inspired many other publications that expand on the many principles laid out in the book. First published in 1937, the book distills the principles of how to think and grow rich compiled from interviews of 500 successful people over 20 years.
1. Control Your Mind
All ideas that succeeded started from a thought. All inventions started in the mind of its creator. Similar to what we eat influencing our health; what we feed our mind also influences how we think. Your mind is a powerful tool that can also influence your actions. Only you can control your mind. A positive mindset is important for success. If you want to grow and be rich, then control your thoughts so you can think and grow rich. Guide your thoughts to the things that will make you productive and bring you closer to achieving your goals. Instead of reading negative newspaper headlines for example, start reading books on wealth and success.
2. Have A Strong Commitment
The Universe responds to your strong intentions so it is important to attach a burning desire to the outcome that you want. How do you prove your burning desire for something? By doing the actions that will bring you closer to the result. If you really want something; you will work hard for it and do everything you can to succeed. Just as you bring your best self when going out on a date with someone you like; do everything you need to do to show the Universe that you truly want something. Most importantly, have faith that you will succeed and believe in your own abilities to change your life for the better. You will notice that you will start attracting the resources that you need to help you succeed.
3. Have An Organized Plan
In order to start doing any kind of action; you need an organized plan. What does success mean for you? Take the time to plan out your vision and the things you need to do to achieve them. Break down major goals into smaller ones and work on those first. Specify your goals and what steps you need to take to succeed. Put a definite date on when you should have completed your goal and start working on your first steps right away. Remember that in order to change your life; you need to change your habits and replace old ones. Be consistent and persistent in your actions. Keep showing up daily until your new habits become automatic to you.
4. Use Your Energy Smartly
One of the things that can keep us or delay us from success are distractions. These are the small things in our daily lives that stimulate us strongly so that we end up using most of our time on these things instead of being focused working on our goals. Napoleon Hill identifies the 5 major stimulants known to man which you should manage wisely so it helps you in your goals instead of distracting you from them.
- Sex (the most powerful)
- Love
- Music
- Money
- Friends
This is why you need to be smart about who you spend most of your time with. Be wise in choosing your friends. Surround yourself with people who share your vision and who support you in your goals. Spend more time with people who are also actively working on their goals and who will hold you accountable for your own goals. These are the people who will help keep you on track and focused towards success.
5. Be A Specialist
General knowledge is what we learn in the classroom. We decide what field to specialize in when we get to college. In many fields, generalists usually have lower incomes than specialists. If you want to grow rich, then specializing in a specific field will guarantee a higher income. The more specific but more in-demand the field of specialization is; the higher your potential income will be. Focus on one area of specialization and learn as much as you can and be good, or even the best at it. Maybe you can specialize in something related to what you are passionate about. Once you have succeeded in becoming a specialist in one field; then you can try your hand at learning more about your other interests. Most people who succeed in one field find that they don’t really need to specialize in anything else.
6. Learn from Masterminds
Just because you didn’t get a college education doesn’t mean you can’t succeed. How many high school and college dropouts have already achieved success in their chosen fields? What you can’t learn in the classroom, you can make up for by learning on your own. There are tons of free online resources from which you can learn from. A better way is to learn from more experienced people. The only way to do this is to get yourself a mentor or mentors; whether by knowing them personally or following them on their online channels, or reading their books and/or blogs. By learning from those who have already failed and succeeded; you reduce your own failures and shorten your time to completing your goals.
7. Conquer Your Fears
Most of our fears only exist in our mind and we can control our mind. Worrying constantly will only bog down our thoughts and decrease our motivation to work towards our dreams. There are 6 fears that plague most of our daily thoughts. Conquering these fears will enable us to move forward in the direction of our dream life.
- Poverty
A symptom of this is indifference to money or a lack of ambition. To conquer it, tell yourself that what you have is enough and that getting more is easy. Turn your poverty mindset around so you can start putting action into getting out from your poor circumstances. - Criticism
It is normal for people to be nervous in the presence of others. This is usually because we worry about what other people will say about us. This attitude freezes you and destroys your initiative to take action. Instead, stop worrying about what others will say and focus on your own improvement. - Illness
The fear of getting sick can us lazy because we put ourselves in an unhealthy state of mind and body. Focus on maintaining your healthy habits instead. If you feel something wrong, don’t go online and check out what symptom it is. Stop looking for the symptoms and control your thoughts and see how you can start feeling better. Trust your intuition whether you need to see a doctor or you just need to rest for a day from vigorous exercise. - Loss of Love
Some of us don’t want to get into a relationship or are tied to an unhappy one because we fear losing a person’s love for us. Instead of dwelling on being single, try appreciate living by yourself. Learn to love yourself first. Once you’ve learned to have a good relationship with yourself; everything beyond that is a bonus which you will appreciate even more. - Old Age
Accept that growing old is inevitable and think of it as a blessing instead. Getting old makes us much wiser and we are able to make smarter decisions. Our experience and wisdom also enables us to help more people younger than us by sharing with them our own experiences and life lessons. - Death
Just like aging, death is inescapable. So the only way to cure this fear is to live your life to the fullest. Do the things that make you happy. Spend time with the people you love. Go out and experience different things that will become great memories later on. Learn to enjoy each moment and learn to rest when necessary.
Feature Image: Original Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash.