the hidden secret in think and grow rich

The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

© 2006 All Right s Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim .net – I nvest in Your self and Make I t Happen™

1


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

© Copyright 2006 Brian Kim. All Rights Reserved.

This publication is protected under the US Copyright Act of
1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and
local laws, and all rights are reserved, including resale rights:
you are not allowed to give or sell this book to anyone else.
It is illegal to copy, distribute, or create derivate works from
this book in whole or in part, or to contribute to copying,
distribution, or creating of derivate works of this book.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any other information
storage and retrieval system, without the written
permission of the publisher.
THINK AND GROW RICH® is the registered trademark and
property of the Napoleon Hill Foundation. The book title
“Think And Grow Rich” and any references are being used for
illustrative purposes only, without permission and are not
authorized by, associated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by
the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Any reference to “Think And

Grow Rich” is by necessity in referring to the book title.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

2


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich
Chapter 2: The Journey to Its Discovery
Chapter 3: Step 1 of the Hidden Secret
Chapter 4: Step 2 of the Hidden Secret
Chapter 5: Step 3 of the Hidden Secret
Chapter 6: Step 4 of the Hidden Secret
Chapter 7: The Secret Ingredient
Chapter 8: Conclusion

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

3


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Introduction
First off, if you haven’t already done so, I strongly urge
you to read Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich BEFORE
reading this book. I’ll be referring to many stories and
concepts in Think and Grow Rich so it’s in your best interest
to read it in order to understand the context in which I place
them in.

So you’ve read Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and you
might have an idea as to what the Hidden Secret he alludes
to in the introduction of his book is. You see Napoleon Hill
capitalize various words such as DESIRE, THOUGHTS, and
PERSISTENCE throughout his book and you know the secret
has something to do with those things. It’s in your grasp, but
you can’t seem to crystallize it to the point where it’s in
perfect focus.
I’ve been there too. I went through the same process of
trying to find out what the Hidden Secret was since I first
read the book at the age of 10. I didn't remember
everything from the book then, but one theme, one idea, one
notion got stuck in my head and changed my life forever and
it was simply this: that anything we create in our minds, we
can bring into reality. To quote the author, “Throughout this
philosophy will be found the suggestion that thought, backed
by strong DESIRE, has a tendency to transmute itself into its
physical equivalent.” – Napoleon Hill.
You didn't need the right upbringing, you didn't need the
money, you didn't need anything outside of you. You just
needed yourself. You were the root cause of your own

success. You would be the one to initiate the sequence of
events that would ultimately lead to the achievement of your
major goals.
That was the one idea I took away from that book when I
was 10, and that was all I needed to change my life.
That launched me on my journey to self improvement. I
started reading books from Stephen Covey, James Allen,
John C. Maxwell, Dale Carnegie, Maxwell Maltz, Tony
Robbins, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, you name it, I've
probably read it. I couldn't get enough of these books.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

4


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

However, I soon found myself constantly looking for that
next book, that next new technique, that next principle of
success to help keep me going. It was as if I was dependent
on these books. It's then that I realized that there was a
problem.
The Problem With Success Books
If you've read a lot of success books, you might have
realized that they probably just 'pump' you up and that's
where it ends. The high only lasts a short while until you
finish reading another book. This results in a constant

dependency on these books in order to motivate you to take
action.
There's also so much information out there that people don't
know where to start or worse yet, people find themselves on
a never ending quest to find the next hot technique, concept,
or principle that they think will help them succeed.
Let's just list a fraction of the principles and concepts found
in success books today.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Persistence
Goal Setting
Strong Beliefs
Determination
Positive Thinking

Visualization
Discipline
Courage
Patience
Consistency
Networking
Creativity
Time Management
Hard Work
Confidence
Motivation, etc.

Now don't get me wrong. Learning these principles of
success is extremely helpful and vital. They have helped me
a great deal.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

5


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

The only problem is once you start reading enough of these
books, you begin to realize that they have conditioned us to
view these principles of success as entirely separate from
one another and because we view them that way, we think
we have to work on developing each and every one on its

own.
What makes this problem even worse is that experts begin to
pigeon hole these principles. What I mean by that is people
hear experts say "Determination is the key to success" or
"Positive Thinking is the key to success", or "Hard work is the
key to success", etc. That kind of thinking is very
dangerous because it just contributes to narrow-minded
thinking.
Instead of treating these principles as separate from
one another or worse yet, focusing in on only one
concept or principle and blocking out the rest, you've
got to see how all these pieces fit in the BIG PICTURE.
Finding the Hidden Secret
After realizing this, I had a feeling that if I discovered the
Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich, I would be able to
make sense of everything I read on self improvement and
goal attainment and see everything in the big picture.
If you're a reader of my articles, you know that I love to
read, analyze, find patterns and possibilities, and apply
inductive reasoning in order to find the underlying principles
behind concepts, all of which has helped immensely in
discovering the Hidden Secret.
I read the book a number of times, took notes, shaped my
theories, ran them through the clues Napoleon Hill provided,
honed it again and again, took out some concepts, put some
back in, and I found as I kept on working on uncovering the
Hidden Secret, I began to see the common factors that gave
rise to all the principles of success that I learned, not just
from Think and Grow Rich, but from the hundreds of other
books that I read.

I saw the relationships and made the connections between
the concepts and principles I read about and then it hit me
like a ton of bricks. The Hidden Secret appeared just like
Napoleon Hill said it would. It jumped right off the pages of
his book.
© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

6


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

When I understood the Hidden Secret, everything, and I
mean everything I had read on self improvement and goal
achievement for over a decade made sense. It all clicked. I
finally understood why I was able to achieve some of my
major goals and not others. I saw the entire puzzle for the
first time in all its glory and I knew it would be my duty to
share it with the world.
When you read about the Hidden Secret in the subsequent
chapters and you understand the reasoning behind it,
everything you’ve read about self improvement, personal
development, goal setting, etc. will all come together and
click into place. It will all make sense.
Up until now, everything you’ve probably read on the subject
of goal attainment was probably like snippets of a full course
meal. You had a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but
never saw the entire meal in front of you.

This book will give you the full course meal. You’ll realize
the information you’ve read was not necessarily wrong, but it
was presupposing a lot of very important things and giving
you tunnel vision in the process.
After understanding the Hidden Secret, you’ll find you’ve
probably applied it in your own life to achieve a major goal
without even being aware of it because you did it naturally.
If you read the biographies of other successful people and
the journey they went through, you’ll also be able to “frame”
their journey of success with the Hidden Secret.
When you become conscious of the Hidden Secret, and by
that I mean you read about it and understand the logic and
reasoning behind it, you can easily see where you are at in
your own journey to achieve your goals and “diagnose”
yourself to find out what you need to do in order to move
forward.
It’s important to note that the Hidden Secret can be used to
obtain virtually anything you desire. Any goal is attainable
with proper use of the Hidden Secret, whether it’s losing the
weight, getting the job, or starting the business. It is not
just for financial success.
Enough of the teasing.
Let’s dive right in to The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow
Rich.
© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

7

The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Chapter 1: The Hidden Secret in Think and
Grow Rich
The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich
Step 1: Have a burning desire to accomplish one major
definite purpose.
Step 2: Have faith that you will succeed.
Step 3: Organize a definite plan and take action.
Step 4: Never give up until you achieve your one major
definite purpose.
The Secret Ingredient: Consistency in all steps.

Seems simple enough right? (don’t worry, there’s way
more to it than meets the eye)
But here’s the one thing that makes ALL the difference in the
world.
It is the fact that each step must be properly executed
and taken in the correct sequential order on a
consistent basis.
When the steps are properly executed in the correct
sequential order on a consistent basis, you will find the
achievement of your one major definite purpose to be
natural. You won’t have to “force it”.
The subsequent chapters will explain this concept more in
depth, but here is the logic behind it.
If you look at the majority of success books, you’ll find that
they’ve thrown out tons of “ingredients” at us when it comes
to achieving our goals.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

8


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You
You

need
need
need
need
need
need
need
need

need
need
need

to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to
to

think positive.
be determined.
believe.
have a goal.
have a great attitude.
be creative.
visualize.
do affirmations.
be motivated.
be action oriented.
do hard work.

Pick up any self improvement, personal development, or goal
attainment book on your shelf right now and browse through

it. You’ll find that the book is just a compilation of these
“ingredients” or that it may zero in on just one of these
“ingredients”.
On top of that, we read quotes such as “If you believe, you’ll
achieve”, or “The key to success is persistence”, or “All you
need is a positive attitude to succeed”.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re great quotes, but the trap in
reading these quotes and books that zero in on one
“ingredient” is you begin to think narrow mindedly. You
don’t see the big picture. Only slivers of it here and there.
People have been conditioned to see the “ingredients” of
success as entirely separate from one another. Because they
see it that way, they don’t see how all the principles of
success fit in the big picture so that they can be induced
naturally.
The common factor with all these books and quotes is that
they only show us the ingredients to the recipe for success.
It’s not enough to just show the ingredients to a person and
expect him/her to cook the meal.
You’ve got to show all the steps in which these
ingredients are used, exactly how to execute each step
and what’s more important, define the correct order in
which these steps need to be taken.
That’s where the real value is.
Take for example a recipe for American lasagna.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

9


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Here are the ingredients for it.
•

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

•

1 onion, chopped

•

2 cloves garlic, minced

•

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

•

1 teaspoon dried oregano

•

2 tablespoons brown sugar

•

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

•

1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes

•

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

•

12 dry lasagna noodles

•

2 eggs, beaten

•

1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese

•

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

•

2 tablespoons dried parsley

•

1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded

•

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Assuming you’re not a professional cook, would you have
any idea on how to go about making American lasagna with
just a list of ingredients?
Probably not.
We know we need meat for lasagna.
We know we need lasagna noodles for lasagna.
We know we need tomato paste for lasagna.
But what good does it do, when there are no proper step-bystep instructions that are in the correct order, on how to
utilize all these ingredients to create the end result?
It’s the same thing with all the success books out there.
They already tell us what we need to know.
We know we need to think positive for success.
We know we need to set goals for success.
We know we need to never give up for success.
But how do we incorporate them all? In what order? And
how exactly do we do it?

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

10


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

It’s not enough to give a person a list of ingredients.
I’ll say it again and again. You’ve got to show him/her how
to use the ingredients in the correct order, explain why they
should be in that order, and explain how to execute each
step in great detail as well.
For example, I doubt that the first step to making American
lasagna is to put the dry noodles in the oven. You haven’t
even added any sauce to the noodles. What about the beef?
The eggs? The three different types of cheeses? When do
all these ingredients come into play? Did you even preheat
the oven?
It’s the same thing with the success books out there that
give the advice of “Just do it.” No. You’ve got to backtrack.
You’ve got to do other things first like pre-heat the oven.
Speaking metaphorically, that means you must DESIRE to do
it first and that desire must be equivalent to that of a raging
fire. It can’t be the size of small camping fire.
There are a series of specific steps that need to be
properly executed in the correct sequential order on a
consistent basis in order to achieve your one major
definite purpose.
When those steps are properly executed in the correct
sequential order on a consistent basis, you will
naturally bring about ALL the principles of success,

which will then work together in synergy to bring
about the achievement of your one major definite
purpose.
You will naturally work hard. You will naturally have a
positive mental attitude. You will naturally seek the
information you need. You will naturally be creative.
You will naturally be persistent, etc. All those
principles of success you’ve read about, you will
naturally induce by following the Hidden Secret and
when they are induced, they will work together in
harmony to bring about the achievement of your one
major definite purpose.
It begins first with a burning desire to accomplish your one
major definite purpose, followed by faith that you will
succeed, coupled with organizing a definite plan and taking
action, never giving up, and most important of all, being
consistent in each and every step.
© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

11


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Some people fail to execute each step properly or they put
these steps in the wrong order and wonder why they’re not
achieving their major goals. For example:
Some people have too many major goals.

Some have narrowed it down to one major goal, but haven’t
made it definite.
Some have a desire to achieve that one major goal, but it’s
not strong enough.
Some have a strong desire along with one major definite
purpose, but don’t have faith they can succeed, so nothing
get’s done.
Some pursue goals that they have faith they will succeed in,
but lack desire, and again, nothing get’s done.
Some people believe that all you have to do is organize a
plan FIRST, then take action and just power it through to the
end, but you and I both know that they run out of steam a
week later.
Some have the burning desire and the strong faith and take
action, but they stop within a week or two because they
forget to be consistent with all their steps.
You can cut it up any way you want but when the dust
settles, when it’s all said and done, when all the cards are on
the table, there is a correct chronological order to achieving
any idea you have in your mind and bringing it into physical
reality and that is precisely what the Hidden Secret is all
about.
There is a chapter dedicated to each step of the Hidden
Secret where you’ll find clear examples, explanations, and
techniques to help you maximize each step. You’ll also begin
to understand why they are in the order they are in, how
they relate to one another, and how they help build off one
another.
What about the other principles that Napoleon Hill mentioned
in his book such as auto-suggestion and Master Mind? Where

do these principles fit in the Hidden Secret?
Let’s first list all thirteen of them and see where they fit in
the Hidden Secret.
© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

12


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

1. Desire
2. Faith
3. Auto-Suggestion
4. Specialized Knowledge
5. Imagination
6. Organized Planning
7. Decision
8. Persistence
9. Master Mind
10.Transmutation
11.The Subconscious Mind
12.The Brain
13.The Sixth Sense
Step 1: Have a burning Desire to accomplish one major
definite purpose.
Imagination
Decision
Transmutation

Master Mind
Step 2: Have Faith that you will succeed.
Decision
Imagination->Auto Suggestion->The Brain->The
Subconscious Mind->The Sixth Sense
Master Mind
Step 3: Organize a definite plan (Organized Planning)
and take action.
Decision
Specialized Knowledge
Master Mind
Step 4: Never give up (Persistence) until you achieve
your goal.
Decision
Master Mind
The Secret Ingredient: Consistency in all steps.
(Notice how the principles of Decision and Master Mind are
listed under every single step. Those two principles are very
important as you will see later on in this book.)
But before we discuss the first step of the Hidden Secret,
let’s first take a look at the journey of its discovery.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

13


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Chapter 2: The Journey to Its Discovery
Let’s take a look at the clues Napoleon Hill provided in the
introduction of his book and see how we can use that to find
the Hidden Secret.
1. “In every chapter of this book, mention has been
made of the money-making secret which has made
fortunes for more than five hundred exceedingly
wealthy men whom I carefully analyzed over a long
period of years.”
2. “If you are ready to put it to use, you will recognize it
at least once in every chapter.”
3. “Somewhere as you read, the secret to which I refer
will jump from the page and stand boldly before you, if
you are ready for it! When it appears, you will
recognize it.”
4. “If you are ready for the secret, you already possess
one half of it.”
5. “..may I offer one brief suggestion which may provide
a clue by which the secret may be recognized? It is
this - all achievement, all earned riches, have their
beginning in an idea!”
When I first read those clues about the Hidden Secret, I
really wanted to find out what it was and I was pretty sure I
would be able to get it. After all, it was in every chapter
right?
I read the book in its entirety and had a general idea of what
I thought the secret was. I read the book again a little later,
but found that my original idea was too broad, so I refined it.
I kept on doing this each time I read the book, carefully

honing, stripping, and adding to the ideas that I had. I ran
my idea through the clues he provided, figured out some
missing ingredients, cut other ingredients out, realized that
some were by-products of other ingredients, until I got a
masterpiece that hit me like a ton of bricks.
The methodology I used to find the Hidden Secret WAS
the Hidden Secret.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

14


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Step 1: I had a burning desire to accomplish one major
definite purpose; to find out what the Hidden Secret in
Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich was. It was one
purpose. It was major. And it was definite.
Step 2: I had faith I would succeed because Napoleon Hill
stated that the secret was in the book. In fact, he said it
would be found in every chapter and that it would jump out
of the pages when you were ready for it.
Step 3: I decided to organize a definite plan and take
action. I took careful notes whenever I read the book. I
also took particular care of the words Napoleon Hill seemed
to capitalize: words like DESIRE, FAITH, and
PERSEVERANCE. I took note of the concepts he seemed to

stress again and again and the stories he seemed to
particularly emphasize, namely the one of Charles Schwab
and the formation of U.S. Steel.
Step 4: I never gave up in my pursuit of finding out what
the Hidden Secret was. Each time I tried, I honed my ideas
more and more and started to see the logic and importance
of chronological order in naturally inducing the principles of
success.
Secret Ingredient: I constantly intensified my desire to
find the secret. This for me was actually pretty easy as I
love figuring things out by absorbing mounds of information,
carefully analyzing it in my mind, and figuring out the logic
behind it.
I constantly reminded myself that I would succeed. The
secret can be found. It was in the book. Others have found
it. I can find it as well.
I consistently organized a plan and took action in the form of
writing down clues, notes, and gradually linking the pieces
together.
I never gave up and then it hit me just like I said it did.
The methodology I used to find the Hidden Secret WAS
the Hidden Secret.
It makes perfect sense too.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

15

The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

“If you are ready for the secret, you already possess one half
of it.” – Napoleon Hill
So when is somebody ready? Let Napoleon Hill speak for
himself.
“No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire
it.” – Napoleon Hill
Looking at the first half of the Hidden Secret, we find it’s
comprised of desire and faith (or belief). Without desire, you
wouldn’t even want to acquire the Hidden Secret in the first
place. So desire to find the Hidden Secret in addition to the
belief you will find it makes you ready for it, hence already
possessing one half of it.
I then went back and saw the Hidden Secret in every chapter
and where it really stood out and jumped from the pages
was when Napoleon Hill was describing the story of Charles
Schwab and the birth of U.S. Steel.
But first, let’s find the Hidden Secret in each chapter.

Mentions of the Hidden Secret in Think and Grow
Rich
Chapter 1
Napoleon Hill opens his book with the story of Edwin C.
Barnes.
Let’s see how he applied the Hidden Secret.
Step 1: Did Edwin Barnes have a burning desire to
accomplish one major definite purpose? Absolutely.
“Some years ago, Edwin C. Barnes discovered how true it is

that men do really think and grow rich. His discovery did not
come about at one sitting. It came little by little, beginning
with a BURNING DESIRE to become a business
associate of the great Edison.”
Right away, in the second paragraph of the first chapter, we
run into the first step of the Hidden Secret and that is a
BURNING DESIRE to accomplish one major definite purpose.
Was it one purpose?
© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

16


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Yes. He just wanted to accomplish ONE purpose: to become
a business associate of the great Edison.
Was it major?
Absolutely. It was to become a business associate with
arguably the greatest inventor who ever lived.
Was it definite?
Let’s let Napoleon Hill speak for himself.
“One of the chief characteristics of Barnes’ desire was that it
was definite. He wanted to work with Edison, not for him.”
He had a burning desire to accomplish one major definite
purpose.
Step 1 completed.
Step 2: Did Barnes have faith that he would succeed?

One of the ways you’ll find (or you may already know) to
develop faith that you’ll succeed is to use visualization.
Barnes used visualization to have faith that he would
succeed.
“He saw himself standing in Edison’s presence. He heard
himself asking Mr. Edison an opportunity to carry out the one
CONSUMING OBSESSION OF HIS LIFE, a BURNING DESIRE
to become the business associate of the great inventor.”
Let’s see what happened when the event came and what
Thomas Edison said about Barnes when it actually happened.
“He stood there before me, looking like an ordinary tramp,
but there was something in the expression of his face which
conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what
he came after…I gave him the opportunity he asked for,
because I saw he had made up in his mind to stand by until
he succeeded.” – Thomas Edison
Barnes had made up in his mind to stand by until he
succeeded. In other words, he made the decision that he
would succeed.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

17


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Step 3: Did Barnes organize a definite plan and take action?

He did despite the fact that he did not know Edison and
didn’t have enough money to get to New Jersey. He decided
to organize a plan and take action in the form of hopping on
a freight train to New Jersey and arrive at Edison’s door to
inform him that he had come to go into business with the
inventor.
Here’s why it so crucial to back your desire with faith you will
succeed. Because he had a burning desire to become a
business associate of Edison along with faith that he would
succeed, that initiated and influenced his primary plans and
actions to be conducive to it. Observe what Edison said
again about Barnes again.
“He stood there before me, looking like an ordinary tramp,
but there was something in the expression of his face which
conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what
he came after…I gave him the opportunity he asked for,
because I saw he had made up in his mind to stand by until
he succeeded.”
With his burning desire to become a business associate of
Edison and faith that he would succeed, that combination
was reflected in the expression of Barnes’ face, which got
him through Edison’s door.
It wasn’t his clothes that got him through the door
(remember, he looked like a tramp). It was his burning
desire backed by faith that got him to organize the primary
plans and actions of getting on the train to Jersey and
influenced the expression he had on his face at Edison’s door
at that very moment in time, which got him through it.
Had he not first desired to be Edison’s business associate
and believed he would succeed, he never would’ve got on

that train to Jersey and the expression on his face when he
was at Edison’s door wouldn’t have conveyed his deep desire
and belief. Edison would’ve probably shut the door in his
face.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

18


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Step 4: Did Barnes give up?
Edison let him in but he didn’t give him the job right away.
In fact, it took him five years before he had the opportunity
to become a business associate, but he never gave up during
those five years. Because he never gave up, he saw the
opportunity to sell the dictating machine when it came along.
“Psychologists have correctly said that “when one is truly
ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance.”
That opportunity to sell the dictation machine presented
itself to Barnes because he was ready for it.
How do you know if you are ready?
“No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire
it.” – Napoleon Hill
But BEFORE you believe you can acquire it, you must
DESIRE to acquire it FIRST. So desiring to achieve your one
major definite purpose and believing you can do it results in

the presentation of opportunities to achieve it.
Those opportunities may not come right away, so it’s
important to persevere until you find it. You’ll find that those
opportunities consist of your secondary plans and actions
(more on this on the chapter dealing with Step 2 of the
Hidden Secret).
You’ll find that the natural way to persevere is to keep your
burning desire and faith alive, as well as to continue to
organize plans and take action, which leads us to the secret
ingredient of consistency.
Secret Ingredient: Was he consistent in all his steps?
Let’s take it step-by-step.
“Months went by. Apparently nothing happened to bring
nearer the coveted goal which Barnes had set up in his mind
as his definite major purpose. But something important was
happening in Barnes’ mind. He was constantly
intensifying his desire to become the business
associate of Edison.”
Was he consistent in his faith that he would succeed?
Absolutely.
© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

19


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

“To everyone, except himself, he appeared only another cog

in the Edison business wheel, but in his own mind, HE WAS
THE PARTNER OF EDISON EVERY MINUTE OF THE TIME, from
the very day that he first went to work there.”
Was he consistent in organizing a plan and taking action?
Absolutely.
“He was content to start in the most menial work, as long as
it provided an opportunity to take even one step toward his
cherished goal.”
Was he consistent in never giving up? Absolutely.
He didn’t have a backup plan. He didn’t rationalize that he
could be a salesman instead. He didn’t give up in the course
of five years. Because he never gave up, he saw the
opportunity that presented itself in the form of a problem
and the rest was history.
It all started with one idea of a major definite purpose
backed by burning desire, faith he would succeed, the
organization of a definite plan and action taken on it,
perseverance, and consistency in all steps. By doing so, he
was able to successfully convert his idea of becoming a
business associate with Edison into reality.

Chapter Two
Here is where the secret is mentioned.
“But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an
obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire
riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does
not recognize failure, will bring riches.” – Napoleon Hill
Note that you can replace the word “riches” with whatever
one major definite purpose you want to achieve and the
formula will still work.

The Story Of Blair
Let’s see how Napoleon Hill utilized the Hidden Secret in the
story of his son Blair.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

20


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Step 1: Did Napoleon Hill have a burning desire to
accomplish one major definite purpose?
Absolutely.
“More than anything else, I desired that my son would not
be a deaf mute.”
His burning desire was evident right there by the phrase
“More than anything else”. That desire was fueled in the
form of love for his son.
“I decided that my son would hear and speak. Nature
could send me a son with no ears but nature could not
induce me to accept the reality of the affliction.”
Notice that he also made a decision. He decided that his son
would hear and speak.
He had a burning desire.
It was one major purpose – it was to correct nature’s error.
It was definite - his son would hear and speak.
And he made a decision to do it.

Step 2: Did Napoleon Hill have faith that he would succeed?
Let’s see what he had to say in his own words.
“In my own mind, I knew that my son would hear and speak.
I was sure there must be a way and I knew I would find it. I
thought of the words of the immortal Emerson, ‘The whole
course of things goes to teach us faith. We need only obey.’”
“Desire backed by faith knows no word such as impossible.”
“DESIRE, backed by FAITH, pushed reason aside, and
inspired me to carry on.”
“Nothing is impossible to the person who backs DESIRE with
enduring FAITH.”
Clearly, Napoleon Hill had faith he would succeed.
Step 3: Did he decide to organize a definite plan and take
action?
Absolutely.
© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

21


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

“Somehow, I would find a way to transplant into the child’s
mind my own BURNING DESIRE for ways and means of
conveying sounds to his brain without the aid of ears. As
soon as the child was old enough to cooperate, I would fill
his mind so completely with the BURNING DESIRE to hear,

that Nature would, by methods of her own, translate it into
physical reality.”
He then later found out his son could hear him if he talked
with his lips touching the base of his skull.
This is key. Had Napoleon Hill not had the desire and the
faith to achieve his one major definite purpose, he never
would’ve found this method of communicating with his son.
He was able to discover this method because of his desire
AND faith. The opportunity presented itself to Hill because
he was ready for it.
What did he do now? He created stories designed to instill in
his son the desire to hear and to be normal, as well as to
communicate that his affliction was an asset, not a liability.
He did this on a consistent basis.
Step 4: Did Napoleon Hill ever give up?
When we think of never giving up on the goal, we tend to
forget the actions that can reflect on never giving up on a
goal.
For example, Napoleon Hill could’ve permitted his son to
learn sign language, but by doing so, he would’ve sent a
subtle signal to himself that he had given up.
His desire and faith would’ve been weakened or even
stripped by doing so. In other words, he would’ve retreated
from his one major definite purpose.
But that’s not what he did. He did not retreat. As Napoleon
Hill said, “We would not permit him to learn the sign
language”.
He never gave up. Much like Barnes’ never entertained the
thought of just becoming a salesman, Napoleon Hill held
steady to his one major definite purpose and never took any

action to deviate from it.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

22


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

Notice also that his decision to send his son to a normal
school resulted in heated debates with school officials, but he
nevertheless stood by his decision. He was able to do so
because he had a burning desire, faith he would succeed,
and saw the progress that was being made with his son due
to his plans and actions.
This is why the chronological order is so important. It’s
because the first three steps of the Hidden Secret were
properly executed in the correct order that the fourth step,
perseverance, could be naturally acquired.
Secret Ingredient: Was he consistent in all steps?
“Persistent desire induced nature to correct the error.”
“Everyday, I renewed the pledge I had made to myself, not
to accept a deaf mute as a son.”
He took consistent action by telling those bedtime stories on
a consistent basis.
He never gave up. He refused to let his son learn sign
language. He refused to retreat from his one major definite
purpose.

The result?
Blair was able to speak and hear, and turn his affliction into
an asset by helping other people around the world like him.
This would’ve never happened if his father had not applied
the Hidden Secret.

Chapter 3:
“The object (of reading this book) is, naturally, to acquire the
ability to transmute intangible thought impulse of DESIRE
into its physical counterpart. By following the instructions
laid down in the chapters of auto-suggestion, and the
subconscious mind, as summarized in the chapter of
autosuggestion, you may CONVINCE the subconscious mind
that you believe you will receive that for which you ask, and
it will act upon that belief, which your subconscious mind
passes back to you in the form of faith followed by definite
plans for procuring that which you desire.” – Napoleon Hill
© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

23


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

We see here mention of the Hidden Secret and the
IMPORTANCE OF CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.
Desire -> Faith -> Definite Plan & Action
You must first desire to turn your idea into its physical

counterpart, then believe you will receive that which you ask
(faith) via auto-suggestion (there are additional methods),
and the subconscious will respond to that faith by passing
along definite plans for procuring what you desire (flashes of
insight, aka secondary plans and actions), which you will
then take action on. All that’s left is persistence until the
inevitable attainment of your one major definite purpose.
The Charles Schwab Story
Napoleon Hill mentioned in the introduction that “This single
application of the secret, by that young man-Charles M.
Schwab-made him a fortune in both money and
opportunity.” If we can study this story closely, we can
figure out what the Hidden Secret is.
In fact, if you look at pg 50, Napoleon Hill spells out the
secret in plain view. This is when the Hidden Secret jumped
off the pages and gave me confirmation that I found it
because it’s basically the exact steps I outlined in the first
chapter. Here it is verbatim.
“First, the huge United States Steel Corporation was born in
the mind of Charles Schwab, in the form of an IDEA he
created through his IMAGINATION.”
“Second, he mixed FAITH with his IDEA.
“Third, he formulated a PLAN for the transformation of his
IDEA into physical and financial reality.
“Fourth, he put his plan into action with his famous speech
at the University Club.
“Fifth, he applied, and followed-through on his PLAN with
PERSISTENCE, and backed it with firm DECISION until it had
been carried out.
“Sixth, he prepared the way for success by a BURNING

DESIRE for success.”

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

24


The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich

If you read the story, you’ll see that Schwab’s speech was
the catalyst that got the idea of U.S Steel going, but his
speech was based FIRST on his burning desire to succeed in
fulfilling his one major definite idea (idea being a clear
mental picture of his purpose of creating U.S. Steel) and his
faith that it was possible.
Because he had that definite purpose backed by burning
desire and faith he would succeed, those two factors
influenced his speech to the degree where it had a hypnotic
effect on the audience which got them thinking it was
possible, in particular one person by the name of J.P Morgan.
Note what Napoleon Hill said about Schwab’s speech.
“It is probable, however, that it was a “homely” speech,
somewhat ungrammatical, full of epigram and threaded with
wit. But aside from that, it had a galvanic force and effect
upon the five billions of estimated capital that was
represented by the diners.”
Because of his speech, J.P Morgan (after a week of turning
over the idea in his head) sent for Schwab so they could

have a meeting and told him if he could sell Andrew Carnegie
on the idea of bringing Carnegie Steel under his company, he
would go for it. Schwab did sell the idea to Carnegie and as
a result, the US Steel Corporation was brought into
existence.
It all began with an idea of one major definite purpose, a
burning desire to fulfill it, and faith that it would be
successful.
Once Schwab had all that, all his plans and all his actions
were conducive to the successful achievement of his one
major definite purpose.
Because his actions were conducive to his faith that he would
succeed (the hypnotic speech), that triggered a chain of
events that showed promise and progress, which made it
easy for Schwab to be persistent because he saw he was
getting closer and closer to fulfilling his one major definite
purpose.
He went with the “flow” and realized the achievement of his
one major definite purpose.

© 2006 All Rights Reserved – The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich –
Brian Kim
BrianKim.net – Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen™

25