Think and Grow rich 21st century edition

Think and Grow Rich
The 21st-Century Edition
Annotated with Updated Examples

NAPOLEON HILL
edited by Bill Hartley
Contributing editor: Ann Hartley
Copyright © 2004 by The Napoleon Hill Foundation
First print edition published by Highroads Media, Inc., 2004,
First eBook Edition published by Highroads Media, Inc. 2008
All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission in writing from the publisher is prohibited, except for
brief passages in connection with a review. For permission, write: Highroads Media, Inc.,
8059 Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles, California 90046.


CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
CHAPTER 2
THOUGHTS ARE THINGS
CHAPTER 3
DESIRE
CHAPTER 4
FAITH IN YOUR ABILITY
CHAPTER 5
AUTOSUGGESTION
CHAPTER 6
SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE
CHAPTER 7
IMAGINATION

CHAPTER 8
ORGANIZED PLANNING
CHAPTER 9
DECISION
CHAPTER 10
PERSISTENCE
CHAPTER 11
POWER OF THE MASTER MIND
CHAPTER 12
SEXUALITY
CHAPTER 13
THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
CHAPTER 14
THE BRAIN
CHAPTER 15
THE SIXTH SENSE
CHAPTER 16
THE SIX GHOSTS OF FEAR


CHAPTER 1
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS
In every chapter of this book, mention is made of the money-making secret that has made
fortunes for the exceedingly wealthy men whom I have carefully analyzed over a long
period of years.
The secret was first brought to my attention by Andrew Carnegie. The canny, lovable
old Scotsman carelessly tossed it into my mind when I was but a boy. Then he sat back in
his chair, with a merry twinkle in his eyes, and watched carefully to see if I had brains
enough to understand the full significance of what he had said to me.
When he saw that I had grasped the idea, he asked if I would be willing to spend

twenty years or more preparing myself to take it to the world, to men and women who,
without the secret, might go through life as failures. I said I would, and with Mr.
Carnegie’s cooperation I have kept my promise.
COMMENTARY
In 1908, during a particularly down time in the U.S. economy and with no money and no
work, Napoleon Hill took a job as a writer for Bob Taylor’s Magazine. He had been
hired to write success stories about famous men. Although it would not provide much in
the way of income, it offered Hill the opportunity to meet and profile the giants of
industry and business the first of whom was the creator of America’s steel industry,
multimillionaire Andrew Carnegie, who was to become Hill’s mentor.
Carnegie was so impressed by Hill’s perceptive mind that following their three-hour
interview he invited Hill to spend the weekend at his estate so they could continue the
discussion. During the course of the next two days, Carnegie told Hill that he believed
any person could achieve greatness if they understood the philosophy of success and the
steps required to achieve it. “It’s a shame,” he said, “that each new generation must find
the way to success by trial and error, when the principles are really clear-cut.”
Carnegie went on to explain his theory that this knowledge could be gained by
interviewing those who had achieved greatness and then compiling the information and
research into a comprehensive set of principles. He believed that it would take at least
twenty years, and that the result would be “the world’s first philosophy of individual
achievement.” He offered Hill the challenge for no more compensation than that
Carnegie would make the necessary introductions and cover travel expenses.
It took Hill twenty-nine seconds to accept Carnegie’s proposal. Carnegie told him
afterward that had it taken him more than sixty seconds to make the decision he would
have withdrawn the offer, for “a man who cannot reach a decision promptly, once he has
all the necessary facts, cannot be depended upon to carry through any decision he may
make.”
It was through Hill’s unwavering dedication that this book was eventually written.
For detailed information on the life of Hill, read or listen to the audiobook of A
Lifetime of Riches: The Biography of Napoleon Hill by Michael J. Ritt Jr. and Kirk

Landers. Michael Ritt worked as Hill’s assistant for ten years and was the first employee
of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, where he served as executive director, secretary, and


treasurer. The material in his book comes from his own personal knowledge of Hill as
well as from Hill’s unpublished autobiography.
This book, Think and Grow Rich, contains the Carnegie secret a secret that has
been tested by thousands [now millions] of people in almost every walk of life. It was
Mr. Carnegie’s idea that the magic formula, which gave him a stupendous fortune, ought
to be placed within reach of people who do not have the time to investigate how others
had made their money. It was his hope that I might test and demonstrate the soundness of
the formula through the experience of men and women in every calling. He believed the
formula should be taught in all public schools and colleges. He said that if it
were properly taught, it would revolutionize the entire educational system, and the time
spent in school could be reduced to less than half.
In chapter 4, on faith, you will read the astounding story of the organization of the
giant United States Steel Corporation. It was conceived and carried out by one of the
young men through whom Mr. Carnegie proved that his formula will work for all who are
ready for it. This single application of the secret, by Charles M. Schwab, made him a
huge fortune in both money and opportunity. Roughly speaking, this particular
application of the formula was worth $600 million.
These facts give you a fair idea of what reading this book may bring to you, provided
you know what it is that you want.
COMMENTARY
According to one method of calculation, through inflation alone it would have taken
approximately twenty dollars in 2001 to buy what one dollar would have bought in 1901.
However, to find the contemporary equivalent value of $600 million is not simply a
matter of multiplying by the increase in the cost of living. Although there are other
factors and variables in calculating buying power, and even by conservative estimates,
the $600 million would translate into at least $12 billion at the beginning of the twentyfirst century.

The secret was passed on to thousands of men and women who have used it for their
personal benefit. Some have made fortunes with it. Others have used it successfully in
creating harmony in their homes. A clergyman used it so effectively that it brought him
an income of upwards of $75,000 a year [approximately $1.5 million in con-temporary
terms].
Arthur Nash, a Cincinnati tailor, used his near-bankrupt business as a “guinea pig” on
which to test the formula. The business came to life and made a fortune for its owners.
The experiment was so unique that newspapers and magazines gave it millions of
dollars’ worth of publicity.
The secret was passed on to Stuart Austin Wier, of Dallas, Texas. He was ready for it
so ready that he gave up his profession and studied law. Did he succeed? You will read
the answer in chapter 6, Specialized Knowledge.
While I was the advertising manager for the LaSalle Extension University, I had the
privilege of seeing J. G. Chapline, president of the university, use the formula so
effectively that he made LaSalle one of the great extension schools of the country.


The secret is mentioned no fewer than a hundred times throughout this book. It has
not been directly named, for it seems to work more successfully when it is merely left in
sight, where those who are ready, and searching for it, may pick it up. That is why
Andrew Carnegie passed it to me without giving me its specific name.
If you are ready to put it to use, you will recognize this secret at least once in every
chapter, but you will not find an explanation of how you will know if you are ready. That
would deprive you of much of the benefit you will receive when you make the discovery
in your own way.
If you have ever been discouraged, if you have had difficulties that took the very soul
out of you, if you have tried and failed, if you were ever handicapped by illness or
physical affliction, the story of my own son’s discovery and use of the Carnegie formula
may prove to be the oasis in the Desert of Lost Hope for which you have been searching.
This secret was extensively used by President Woodrow Wilson during the world

war [and by President Roosevelt during the Second World War]. It was passed on to
every soldier in the training received before going to the front. President Wilson told me
it was a powerful factor in raising the funds needed for the war.
A peculiar thing about this secret is that those who acquire and use it find themselves
literally swept on to success. However, as is often pointed out in this book, there is no
such thing as something for nothing. The secret cannot be had without paying a
price, although the price is far less than its value.
Another peculiarity is that the secret cannot be given away and it cannot be purchased
for money. Unless you are intentionally searching for the secret, you cannot have it at any
price. That is because the secret comes in two parts, and in order for you to get it, one of
those parts must already be in your possession.
The secret will work for anyone who is ready for it. Education has nothing to do with
it. Long before I was born, the secret had found its way into the possession of Thomas A.
Edison, and he used it so intelligently that he became the world’s leading inventor,
although he had only three months of schooling.
The secret was passed on to Edwin C. Barnes, a business associate of Mr. Edison’s.
He used it so effectively that he accumulated a great fortune and retired from active
business while still a young man. You will find his story at the beginning of the next
chapter. It should convince you that riches are not beyond your reach, and that no matter
where you are in life, you can still be what you wish to be. Money, fame, recognition, and
happiness can be had by you if you are ready and determined to have these blessings.
How do I know these things? You should have the answer before you finish this
book. You may find it in the very first chapter, or on the last page.
While I was doing the research that I had undertaken at Andrew Carnegie’s request, I
analyzed hundreds of well-known men. Many of them attributed the accumulation of
their vast fortunes to the Carnegie secret. Among these men were:
Henry Ford [founder of the Ford automobile company, he started with no money and
little education yet became one of the most successful self-made businessmen in American
history]
William Wrigley Jr. [a traveling salesman who found that his customers liked the

chewing gum he gave away as a premium better than they liked the goods he sold, so he
started his own company]


John Wanamaker [known as The Merchant Prince, he created the world’s
first department store and was hailed for his innovations in marketing, customer service,
and employee benefits]
James J. Hill [known as The Empire Builder, he built the transcontinental
Great Northern Railway, encouraged homesteading in the West, then
established shipping routes linking America with Asia]
George S. Parker [a school teacher who grew tired of fixing his students’ pens, he
created a new design, founded the Parker pen company, and turned a simple idea into a
fortune]
E. M. Statler [the son of a poor pastor, he started as a bellboy and worked his way up
until he was able to start his own chain of Statler Hotels, famous for their luxury and
“service with a smile”]
Henry L. Doherty [starting at age 12 as an office boy for Columbia Gas, he went on to
acquire 53 utilities companies, and patented 140 innovations for natural gas and oil
production]
Cyrus H. K. Curtis [beginning with a small agricultural weekly, he turned
it into Ladies’ Home Journal, created Saturday Evening Post, then assembled one of the
largest newspaper empires]
George Eastman [inventor and founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, he created
many of the innovations that popularized photography and transformed the motionpicture industry]
Charles M. Schwab [the right-hand man of Andrew Carnegie, he was president of
Carnegie Steel Company, brokered the deal that formed U.S. Steel, and went on to found
Bethlehem Steel]
Theodore Roosevelt [26th president of the United States of America, 1901-09]
John W. Davis [a lawyer and political leader, he was Solicitor General under president
Woodrow Wilson, and later appointed ambassador to Great Britain]

Elbert Hubbard [philosopher, publisher of The Fra magazine, and founder
of the Roycrofters artists’ colony, he was also the author of many bestsellers including A
Message to Garcia]
Wilbur Wright [a bicycle-shop owner who, with his brother Orville, became the first
American to fly motor-powered heavier-than-air aircraft; they pioneered the aviation
industry]
William Jennings Bryan [newspaper publisher, presidential nominee, Secretary of State
under President William McKinley, but perhaps best known as the lawyer who defended
creationism at the Scopes Monkey Trial]
Dr. David Starr Jordan [educator, scientist, and author of over 50 books, he was the
nation’s youngest university president at Indiana University, and become the first
president of Stanford University]
J. Ogden Armour [inherited his family’s meat-packing business, turned it into a
conglomerate with more than 3,000 products, was an owner of the Chicago Cubs, and a
director of National City Bank]
Arthur Brisbane [a crusading journalist and syndicated columnist, he was sought after
by every major news organization and was the most-read and highest-paid editorial
writer of his day]


Dr. Frank Gunsaulus [a Chicago preacher who delivered such a powerful sermon that
Philip D. Armour gave him a million dollars with which to start the Armour Institute of
Technology, and Gunsaulus was made president]
Daniel Willard [president of the B&O Railroad for more than thirty years, he was
honored by having the city of Willard, Ohio, named for him]
King Gillette [a traveling salesman and born tinkerer, he was trying to shave on a
moving train when he came up with the idea of the safety razor, which became the
foundation of a corporate giant]
Ralph A. Weeks [president of International Correspondence Schools, he helped finance
Napoleon Hill’s Intra-Wall Institute, established to educate and rehabilitate prison

inmates]
Judge Daniel T. Wright [instructor at Georgetown Law School, where Napoleon Hill
was studying when Bob Taylor’s Magazine gave him the assignment to write a profile of
Andrew Carnegie]
John D. Rockefeller [with $1,000 savings, plus another $1,000 borrowed from his
father, he started a kerosene company which he grew into the giant Standard Oil and one
of the world’s greatest fortunes]
Thomas A. Edison [inventor and entrepreneur, he perfected the electric light bulb, the
phonograph, the motion-picture camera, and owned the rights to more than 1,000
patented inventions]
Frank A. Vanderlip [a poor boy who became a journalist, social reformer, and selfmade millionaire, he was president of the National City Bank, now Citibank, and was
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury]
F. W. Woolworth [a clerk in a general store, he pioneered the idea of fixed-price selling
and self-service, and forever changed retail selling with his chain of Woolworth 5 and 10
Cent Stores]
Col. Robert A. Dollar [starting with a small schooner bought to haul lumber down the
West Coast, he built the Dollar Steamship Company, the largest fleet of luxury liners
sailing under the U.S. flag]
Edward A. Filene [founder of the Boston-based stores, he devised revolutionary
methods of distribution and merchandising, and became famous for originating the
bargain-basement concept]
Edwin C. Barnes [the only man Thomas Edison ever had as a partner, he took Edison’s
failing dictating machine, the Ediphone, and sold it so successfully that it became
a fixture in offices and made him a multimillionaire]
Arthur Nash [a Cincinnati clothing manufacturer who used his bankrupt business as a
guinea pig for the Carnegie secret and was so successful that the newspapers made him
famous as “Golden Rule Nash”]
Clarence Darrow [famed as a lawyer, public speaker, and defender of the underdog, he
was perhaps best known as the lawyer at the Scopes Monkey Trial who defended teaching
the theory of evolution]

Woodrow Wilson [28th president of the United States of America, 1913-21]
William Howard Taft [27th president of the United States of America, 1909-13]
Luther Burbank [world-renowned horticulturist who introduced over 800 varieties of
new plants in his effort to improve the quality of plants and thereby increase the world’s
food supply]


Edward W. Bok [though he had only six years’ schooling, by the age of 20 he was
editor of Ladies’ Home Journal, which he helped to build into the world’s most widely
circulated magazine]
Frank A. Munsey [a telegraph operator who quit to launch Argosy magazine, and then
parlayed his fortune into a newspaper empire that included the Washington Times and
the New York Herald]
Elbert H. Gary [chairman of U.S. Steel, at the time the largest corporation in the
world, he spearheaded the construction of its first major project, the Gary Works steel
plant, and the city of Gary, Indiana]
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell [best known as the inventor of the telephone, he also
perfected recording devices, advances in aircraft, and was a co-founder of the National
Geographic Society]
John H. Patterson [president of National Cash Register, he was known as an
advertising visionary and a genius at motivating his sales force, which made NCR the
leader in its field]
Julius Rosenwald [a small manufacturer who foresaw the future of mail-order, he
bought 25 percent of Sears, Roebuck, & Co., and together with Richard Sears built it into
an icon of American business]
Stuart Austin Wier [a construction engineer Hill met in the Texas oil fields who,
inspired by the Carnegie secret, went to law school after age forty, and was also involved
in the publishing of Napoleon Hill’s Magazine]
Dr. Frank Crane [a noted psychologist, essayist, and author of the book Four Minute
Essays on such subjects as The Price of Liberty, Pragmatism, The Duty of the Rich, and

How to Keep Friends]
J. G. Chapline [president of the LaSalle Extension University at the time Napoleon Hill
worked in the university’s advertising and sales department, where Hill first realized his
talent for motivating people]
Jennings Randolph [airline executive, congressman, then U.S. Senator from West
Virginia, he was a lifelong admirer of Napoleon Hill, and it was he who encouraged Hill
to act as adviser to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt]
These names represent a small fraction of well-known Americans whose
achievements, financial and otherwise, prove that those who understand and apply the
Carnegie secret reach high positions in life.
COMMENTARY
As Napoleon Hill says, the preceding list includes only some of the more than 500
multimillionaires and extraordinarily successful individuals whom Hill interviewed prior
to writing Think and Grow Rich. It does not include the equally impressive list of people
he came in contact with after the publication, nor does it include the names of those who
did not have the opportunity to meet Napoleon Hill personally but who attribute their
success to having read this book.
It is said that Napoleon Hill and Think and Grow Rich have made more millionaires
than any other person in history. It might equally well be said that Napoleon Hill inspired
more motivational experts than any other man in history.
It is practically impossible to find a motivational speaker who does not draw upon
Hill’s work. His influence can be seen in the writings of his early peers, Dale Carnegie


and Norman Vincent Peele. Later, successful authors and speakers such as W. Clement
Stone, Og Mandino, and Earl Nightingale worked directly with either Napoleon Hill or
with the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Echoes of Hill’s principles can also be found in
books by people as diverse as Wally “Famous” Amos, Mary Kay Ash, Ken Blanchard,
Adelaide Bry, Chicken Soup for the Soul authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen,
Debbie Fields, Shakti Gawain, John Gray, Susan Jeffers, Bruce Jenner, Charlie

“Tremendous” Jones, Tommy Lasorda, Art Linkletter, Joan Lunden, Dr. Maxwell Maltz,
James Redfield, Dr. Bernie Siegel, Jose Silva, Brian Tracey, Lillian Vernon, and
Dennis Waitley. Steven Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
has often spoken of the influence of Napoleon Hill. Anthony Robbins, arguably the most
successful motivational author and speaker at the beginning of the twenty-first century,
has acknowledged Napoleon Hill as a personal hero.
I have never known anyone who was inspired to use the Carnegie secret who did not
achieve noteworthy success. On the other hand, I have never known any person to
distinguish themself, or to accumulate riches of any consequence, without possession of
the secret. From these two facts I draw the conclusion that the secret is more important
for self-determination than anything you receive through what is popularly known as
“education.”
Somewhere, as you read, the secret will jump from the page and stand boldly before
you, if you are ready for it. When it appears, you will recognize it. Whether you receive
the sign in the first chapter or the last, stop for a moment when it presents itself, and
make a note of the time and place. You will want to remember, because it will mark the
most important turning point of your life.
Remember, too, as you go through the book, that it deals with facts and not with
fiction. Its purpose is to convey a great universal truth through which you, if you are
ready, may learn what to do and how to do it. You will also receive the needed stimulus
to make a start.
As a final word of preparation, may I offer one brief suggestion that could provide a
clue how the Carnegie secret might be recognized? It is this: achievement, and all earned
riches, have their beginning in an idea. If you are ready for the secret, you already
possess one-half of it. Therefore, you will recognize the other half the moment it reaches
your mind.
COMMENTARY
Unlike much of the business and motivational literature available, with Think and Grow
Rich it is not intended that readers skip around from chapter to chapter, taking a concept
here and an idea there to solve the problem of the moment. This book is written as a

carefully integrated whole, to be read in its entirety from beginning to end. Concepts that
are introduced in one chapter recur in other chapters where their meaning and
significance rely upon the reader having already assimilated the earlier knowledge. The
chapters are designed to build upon one another in such a way that every word is to be
read, every idea is to be considered, and every concept is to be understood and absorbed.
Think and Grow Rich is often called the first Philosophy of Personal Achievement,
and a philosophy is more than a collection of solutions to business problems. A
philosophy is a system of principles that will guide your thoughts and actions, and


provide you with a code of ethics and a standard of values. This book will not just change
what you think, but it will literally change the way you think.
In preparing this new and updated edition, every aspect of Think and Grow Rich has
been analyzed to ensure its relevance to the current business climate. In those instances
where material might be considered dated or out of step with contemporary practices, the
original text has been updated or augmented with relevant new material.
A hallmark of the original edition of Think and Grow Rich is that in every chapter
Napoleon Hill cites real-life examples based on his own firsthand knowledge of
America’s most successful self-made multimillionaires. In this edition every one of Hill’s
stories has been retained, and the editors have added contemporary examples and
modern parallels which clearly demonstrate that Hill’s principles are as up-to-date as
today, and are still guiding those who succeed.
In addition to contemporary examples, where the editors felt it would be of interest to
the reader, we have included marginal notes that provide relevant information about
more recent developments. Where applicable, we have also suggested books and other
materials that complement various aspects of Napoleon Hill’s philosophy.
On a more technical note, the editors have approached the written text as we would
that of a living author. When we encountered what modern grammarians would consider
run-on sentences, outdated punctuation, or other matters of form, we opted for
contemporary usage.

Those readers familiar with earlier editions will notice that the chapter numbers have
been changed in this edition. Originally, Think and Grow Rich began with an
unnumbered chapter, A Word from the Author. In this edition, that text appears as
chapter 1 and is renamed The Secret of Success. The chapters that follow are
renumbered sequentially and proceed in their original order. The chapter that was
previously titled The Mystery of Sex Transmutation has been retitled Sexuality: Charisma
and Creativity, and the text has been restructured and annotated to reflect the role of
women in contemporary society.
All editorial commentary is clearly set off in a font and style that is different from the
original text.


BOTH POVERTY AND RICHES ARE THE OFFSPRING
OF THOUGHT

CHAPTER 2
THOUGHTS ARE THINGS
The Man Who “Thought” His Way
into Partnership with Thomas A. Edison
Truly, “thoughts are things.” And powerful things, when they are mixed with definiteness
of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches, or other
material objects.
Some years ago, Edwin C. Barnes discovered how true it is that you really can 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 Thomas
Edison.
One of the chief characteristics of Barnes’ desire was that it was definite. He wanted
to work with Edison, not for him. Pay close attention to the story of how he turned his
desire into reality, and you will have a better understanding of the principles that lead to
riches.

When this desire, or this thought, first flashed into his mind he was in no position to
act upon it. Two problems stood in his way. He did not know Mr. Edison, and he did not
have enough money to buy a train ticket to West Orange, New Jersey, where the
famed Edison laboratory was located.
These problems would have discouraged the majority of people from making any
attempt to carry out the desire. But his was no ordinary desire!
THE INVENTOR AND THE TRAMP
Edwin C. Barnes presented himself at Mr. Edison’s laboratory and announced that he had
come to go into business with the inventor. Years later, in speaking about that first
meeting, Mr. Edison said about Barnes:
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 had come after. I had learned, from years of experience with men, that
when a man really desires a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future
on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win. I gave him the
opportunity he asked for, because I saw he had made up his mind to stand by until he
succeeded. Subsequent events proved that no mistake was made.
It could not have been the young man’s appearance that got him his start in the
Edison office. That was definitely against him. It was what he thought that counted.


Barnes did not get his partnership with Edison on his first interview. What he did get
was a chance to work in the Edison offices, at a very nominal wage.
Months went by. Nothing happened to bring nearer the goal that Barnes had set 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.
Psychologists have correctly said, “When one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its
appearance.” Barnes was ready for a business association with Edison. And he was
determined to remain ready until he got what he was seeking.
He did not say to himself, “Ah well, what’s the use? I guess I’ll change my mind and

try for a salesman’s job.” But he did say, “I came here to go into business with Edison,
and I’ll accomplish my goal if it takes the remainder of my life.” He meant it. What a
different story people would tell if only they would adopt a definite purpose and stand by
that purpose until it had time to become an all-consuming obsession.
Maybe young Barnes did not know it at the time, but his bulldog determination, and
his persistence in focusing on a single desire, was destined to mow down all opposition
and bring him the opportunity he was seeking.
When the opportunity came, it appeared in a different form and from a different
direction than Barnes had expected. That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has a sly
habit of slipping in by the back door. And often it comes disguised in the form of
misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many people fail to
recognize opportunity.
Mr. Edison had just perfected a new device, known at that time as the Edison
Dictating Machine. His salesmen were not enthusiastic about the machine. They did not
believe it could be sold without great effort. Barnes saw his opportunity. It had crawled in
quietly, hidden in a queer-looking machine that interested no one but Barnes and the
inventor.
Barnes knew he could sell the Edison Dictating Machine, and he told Edison so.
Edison decided to give him his chance. And Barnes did sell the machine. In fact, he sold
it so successfully that Edison gave him a contract to distribute and market it all over
the nation. Out of that business association Barnes made himself rich in money, but he
did something infinitely greater. He proved that you really can think and grow rich.
How much actual cash that original desire of Barnes’ was worth to him, I have no
way of knowing. Perhaps it brought him two or three million dollars [three million
dollars in the early years of the twentieth century would be comparable to more than fifty
million dollars in terms of buying power at the beginning of the twenty-first century]. But
the amount becomes insignificant compared with the greater asset he acquired: the
definite knowledge that an intangible impulse of thought can be transmuted into
material rewards by the application of known principles.
Barnes literally thought himself into a partnership with the great Edison! He thought

himself into a fortune. He had nothing to start with, except knowing what he wanted, and
the determination to stand by that desire until he realized it.

THREE FEET FROM GOLD
One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when you are overtaken
by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another.


During the gold-rush days, an uncle of my friend R. U. Darby was caught by “gold
fever” and he went west to Colorado to dig and grow rich. He had never heard that more
gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than has ever been taken from the earth.
He staked a claim and went to work with pick and shovel.
After weeks of labor, he was rewarded by the discovery of the shining ore. He needed
machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly he covered up the mine and returned to
his home in Williamsburg, Maryland. He told his relatives and a few neighbors about the
strike. They got together the money for the machinery and had it shipped. R. U. Darby
decided to join his uncle, and they went back to work the mine.
The first car of ore was mined and shipped to a smelter. The returns proved they had
one of the richest mines in Colorado. A few more cars of that ore would clear their debts.
Then would come the big killing in profits.
Down went the drills. Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle. Then something
happened. The vein of gold ore disappeared! They had come to the end of the rainbow,
and the pot of gold was no longer there. They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the
vein again all to no avail.
Finally, they decided to quit.
They sold the machinery to a junkman for a few hundred dollars, and took the train
back home. The junkman called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little
calculating. The engineer advised that the project had failed because the owners were
not familiar with “fault lines.” His calculations showed that the vein would be found just
three feet from where the Darby’s had stopped drilling. And that is exactly where it was

found!
The junkman took millions of dollars in ore from the mine because he knew enough
to seek expert counsel before giving up.
Long afterward, Mr. Darby recouped his loss many times over when he made the
discovery that desire can be transmuted into gold. The discovery came after he went into
the business of selling life insurance.
Never forgetting that he lost a huge fortune because he stopped three feet from gold,
Darby profited by the experience in his newly chosen field. He simply said to himself, “I
stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because men say no when I ask them
to buy insurance.”
Darby became one of a small group of men who sell over a million dollars in life
insurance annually. He owed his “stickability” to the lesson he learned from his
“quitability” in the gold-mining business.
Before success comes in anyone’s life, that person is sure to meet with much
temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a person, the easiest
and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of people do.
More than five hundred of the most successful people this country has ever known
told me 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 you just when success is almost within reach.
COMMENTARY
Napoleon Hill’s creed, “Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent
success,” was the inspiration for entrepreneur and motivational speaker


Wayne Allyn Root to write his book The Joy of Failure. Published in the late 1990s,
it not only tells Wayne’s personal story of using his failures as stepping stones to
success, but also recounts stories from other successful people which prove that the
rich and famous got to be that way only because of what they learned from their
failures. People such as Jack Welch, the hugely successful CEO of General Electric,

who, early in his career, failed dramatically when a plastics plant for which he was
responsible blew up. Billionaire Charles Schwab was a failure at school and
university, flunking Basic English twice due to a learning disability, and then failed on
Wall Street more than once, before he thought of the idea that grew to make him
very rich indeed. Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton, Steven
Jobs, Donald Trump, and a host of other equally well-known achievers all had to fail
in
order
to
learn
the
lessons
that
ultimately made them successes. Every one of them was a failure, but none of them
was defeated.
Charles F. Kettering, who patented more than two hundred inventions including
the automobile ignition, the spark plug, Freon for air conditioners, and the automatic
transmission, said, From the time a person is six years old until he graduates from
college he has to take three or four examinations a year. If he flunks once, he is out.
But an inventor is almost always failing. He tries and fails maybe a thousand times, if
he succeeds once, then he is in. These two things are diametrically opposite. We often
say that the biggest job we have is to teach a newly hired employee how to fail
intelligently. We have to train him to experiment over and over and to keep on trying
and failing until he learns what will work. Failures are just practice shots.”
A FIFTY-CENT LESSON IN PERSISTENCE
Shortly after Mr. Darby received his degree from the “University of Hard Knocks,” he
witnessed something that proved to him that no does not necessarily mean NO.
One afternoon he was helping his uncle grind wheat in an old-fashioned mill. The
uncle operated a large farm on which a number of sharecropper farmers lived. Quietly the
door was opened, and a small child, the daughter of a tenant, walked in and took her

place near the door.
The uncle looked up, saw the child, and barked at her roughly, “What do you want?”
Meekly, the child replied, “My mom says to send her fifty cents.”
“I’ll not do it,” the uncle retorted. “Now you run on home.”
But she did not move.
The uncle went ahead with his work, not noticing that she did not leave. When he
looked up again and saw her still standing there, he said, “I told you to go on home! Now
go, or I’ll take a switch to you.”
But she did not budge.
The uncle dropped a sack of grain he was about to pour into the mill hopper, and
started toward the child.
Darby held his breath. He knew his uncle had a fierce temper.
When the uncle reached the spot where the child was standing, she quickly stepped
forward one step, looked up into his eyes, and screamed at the top of her voice, “My
mom’s gotta have that fifty cents!”


The uncle stopped, looked at her for a minute, put his hand in his pocket, took out
half a dollar, and gave it to her.
The child took the money and slowly backed toward the door, never taking her eyes
off the man whom she had just conquered. After she had gone, the uncle sat down on a
box and looked out the window into space for more than ten minutes. He was
pondering, with awe, over the whipping he had just taken.
Mr. Darby, too, was doing some thinking. That was the first time in all his experience
that he had seen a child deliberately master an adult. How did she do it? What happened
to his uncle that caused him to lose his fierceness and become as docile as a lamb?
What strange power did this child use that made her master of the situation? These
questions flashed into Darby’s mind, but he did not find the answer until years later,
when he told me the story.
Strangely, the story of this unusual experience was told to me in the old mill, on the

very spot where the uncle took his whipping.
As we stood there in that musty old mill, Mr. Darby repeated the story, and finished
by asking, “What can you make of it? What strange power did that child use, that so
completely whipped my uncle?”
The answer to his question will be found in the principles described in this book. The
answer is full and complete. It contains enough details and instructions for you to
understand and apply the same force that the little child accidentally stumbled upon.
Keep your mind alert and you will learn exactly what strange power came to the
rescue of the child. You may catch a glimpse of the power in this chapter, or it may flash
into your mind in some later chapter. If you stay alert to the possibility, somewhere you
will find the idea that will quicken your receptive powers and place at your command this
same irresistible power. It may come in the form of a single idea. Or it may come as a
complete plan, or a purpose. It may even cause you to go back over your past experiences
of failure or defeat. And, in doing so, it may bring to the surface some lesson by which
you can regain all that you lost through defeat.
After I had explained to Mr. Darby the power unwittingly used by the little child, he
mentally retraced his thirty years as a life insurance salesman. As he did so, it became
clear to him that his success was due, in no small degree, to the lesson he had learned
from the child.
Mr. Darby pointed out: “Every time a prospect tried to bow me out, without buying, I
saw that child standing there in the old mill, her big eyes glaring in defiance, and I said to
myself: “I’ve got to make this sale.” The better portion of all sales I have made were
made after people had said no.”
He also recalled his mistake in having stopped only three feet from gold. “But,” he
said, “that experience was a blessing in disguise. It taught me to keep on keeping on, no
matter how hard the going may be a lesson I needed to learn before I could succeed in
anything.”
Mr. Darby’s experiences were commonplace and simple enough, yet they held the
answer to his destiny in life. In fact, to him the experiences were as important as life
itself. And he was able to profit from these two important experiences, because he

analyzed them and found the lesson they taught.
But what if you don’t see the events of your life as being experiences of such
profound significance? And what about the young person who doesn’t yet have even


minor failures to analyze? Where and how will they learn the art of converting defeats
into the steppingstones to opportunity?
That is exactly why this book was written to answer those questions.
To convey my answer I have constructed thirteen principles. These principles work
individually or together as catalysts. The specific answer that you are looking for may
already be in your own mind. Reading these principles may be the catalyst that causes
your answer to suddenly come to you as an idea, a plan, or a purpose.
One sound idea is all you need to achieve success. These thirteen principles contain
the best and most practical ways and means of creating ideas.
SUCCESS CONSCIOUSNESS
Before I go any further in the description of these principles, you should know this: When
riches begin to come, they come so quickly, and in such great abundance, that you will
wonder where they have been hiding during all those lean years.
This is an astounding statement, especially when you take into consideration the
popular belief that riches come only to those who work hard and long.
When you begin to think and grow rich, you will observe that riches begin with a
state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work. What you need to
know now is how to acquire the state of mind that will attract riches. I spent twenty-five
years researching the answer to that question because I, too, wanted to know “how
wealthy men become that way.”
What you will learn is that as soon as you master the principles of this philosophy,
and begin to apply those principles, your financial status will begin to improve.
Everything you touch will begin to transmute itself into an asset for your benefit.
Impossible? Not at all!
One of the main weaknesses the average person suffers is too much familiarity with

the word impossible. We know all the rules that will not work. We know all the things
that cannot be done. This book was written for those who seek the rules that have made
others successful, and are willing to stake everything on those rules.
Success comes to those who become success conscious.
Failure comes to those who allow themselves to become failure conscious.
The object of this book is to help you learn the art of changing your mind from failure
consciousness to success consciousness.
Another weakness is the habit of measuring everything, and everyone, by your own
impressions and beliefs. Some of you reading this will have trouble believing that you
can think and grow rich, because your thought habits have been steeped in poverty,
misery, failure, and defeat.
This kind of thinking reminds me of the story about the man who came from China to
study at the University of Chicago. One day President Harper met this young man on
campus and stopped to chat with him for a few minutes. He asked what had impressed
him as being the most noticeable characteristic of the American people.
“Why,” the student exclaimed, “the unusual shape of your eyes.”
It’s all a matter of perspective and habit.
The same is true of your belief in what a person can achieve. If you have formed the
habit of seeing life only from you own perspective, you may make the mistake of
believing that your limitations are in fact the proper measure of limitations.


THE “IMPOSSIBLE” FORD V-8 MOTOR
When Henry Ford decided to produce his famous V-8 motor, he chose to build an engine
with the entire eight cylinders cast in one block. Ford instructed his engineers to produce
a design for the engine. The design was drawn up on paper, but the engineers agreed, to
a man, that it was simply impossible to cast an eight-cylinder engine block in one piece.
Ford said, “Produce it anyway.”
“But,” they replied, “it’s impossible!”
“Go ahead,” Ford commanded, “and stay on the job until you succeed. No matter how

much time is required.”
So the engineers went ahead. Six months went by. Nothing happened. Another six
months passed, and still nothing. The engineers tried every conceivable plan to carry out
the orders, but the thing seemed out of the question. “Impossible!”
At the end of the year Ford again checked with his engineers, and again they told him
they had found no way to carry out his orders.
“Go right ahead,” said Ford. “I want it, and I’ll have it.” They went ahead, and then,
as if by a stroke of magic, the secret was discovered.
The Ford determination had won once more!
Henry Ford was a success because he understood and applied the principles of
success. One of these principles is desire: knowing clearly what you want. Remember
this Ford story as you continue reading this book. Pick out the lines in which the secrets
of his stupendous achievement have been described. If you do this, if you can put
your finger on those particular principles that made Henry Ford rich, you may equal his
achievements in almost any calling for which you are suited.
COMMENTARY
To those readers who may interpret Ford’s actions as nothing more than obstinacy,
the editors would point out that he was employing a technique that has become a
common part of strategic planning in many industries including aerospace,
computers, medicine, and the military.
When launching large, complicated, long-term projects the planners often know
that at certain points along the way they will need components that simply do not yet
exist. The fact that at the beginning there is no way to get from A to B does not deter
them. There are many parts of the project they can get started on now, and they just
assume that by the time they get to the point where they will need a technology or a
device, they will have solved the problem of making it. And they have been proven
right time and again.
Stated simply, the technique is to clearly know what you want to accomplish, have
faith in your ability to do it, and persist until you have accomplished your goal.

WHY YOU ARE “THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE”
When the famed English poet William 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 the reason we
are the masters of our fate, the captains of our souls, is that we have the power to control
our thoughts.


He should have told us that it is because in some way our brains become
“magnetized” with the dominating thoughts that we hold in our minds. And it is as
though our magnetized minds attract to us the forces, the people, and the circumstances
of life that are in sync with our dominating thoughts.
He should have told us that before we can accumulate riches in great abundance, we
must magnetize our minds with intense desire for riches. That we must become “money
conscious” until the desire for money drives us to create definite plans for acquiring it.
But, being a poet, Henley contented himself by stating a great truth in poetic form,
leaving those who followed him to interpret the philosophical meaning of his lines.
Little by little the truth has unfolded itself, until I have come to know with certainty
that the principles described in this book hold the secret of mastery over our economic
fate.
PRINCIPLES THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR DESTINY
We are now ready to examine the first of these principles, and as we do I ask you to
maintain a spirit of open-mindedness. Remember, as you read, that these principles are
not my invention. Nor are they the invention of any one person. These principles have
worked for literally millions of people. You, too, can put them to work for you and your
own enduring benefit. You will find it easy, not hard, to do.
Some years ago I delivered the commencement address at Salem College in Salem,
West Virginia. I emphasized with so much intensity the need to have a burning desire,
that one of the members of the graduating class became completely convinced and made
it a cornerstone of his own philosophy. That young man became a congressman and an
important factor in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. He wrote me a letter

in which he so clearly stated his opinion of the principle of desire outlined in the next
chapter, that I have chosen to publish his letter as an introduction to that chapter. It gives
you an idea of the rewards to come.
My dear Napoleon:
My service as a member of Congress having given me an insight into the problems of
men and women, I am writing to offer a suggestion, which may become helpful to
thousands of worthy people.
In 1922, you delivered the commencement address at Salem College, when I was a
member of the graduating class. In that address, you planted in my mind an idea,
which has been responsible for the opportunity I now have to serve the people of my
state, and will be responsible, in a very large measure, for whatever success I may
have in the future.
I recall, as though it were yesterday, the marvelous description you gave of the
method by which Henry Ford, with but little schooling, without a dollar, with no
influential friends, rose to great heights. I made up my mind then, even before you had
finished your speech, that I would make a place for myself, no matter how many
difficulties I had to surmount.
Thousands of young people will finish their schooling this year, and within the
next few years. Every one of them will be seeking just such a message of practical
encouragement as the one I received from you. They will want to know where to turn,


what to do, to get started in life. You can tell them, because you have helped to solve
the problems of so many, many people.
There are thousands of people in America today who would like to know how they
can convert ideas into money, people who must start from scratch, without finances,
and recoup their losses. If anyone can help them, you can.
If you publish the book, I would like to own the first copy that comes from the
press, personally autographed by you.
With best wishes, believe me,

Cordially yours,
Jennings Randolph
Since that time in 1922, I watched Jennings Randolph rise to become one of the
nation’s leading airline executives, a great inspirational speaker, and a United States
senator from West Virginia.
Thirty-five years after I made that speech, it was my pleasure to return to Salem
College in1957 and deliver the baccalaureate sermon. At that time, I received an
honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Salem College.
COMMENTARY
As you begin the next chapter, the editors would like to reinforce the earlier statement
that what you are reading is not just a collection of theories out of which you can
cherry-pick what you like.
The thirteen principles of success were proven by the real-life experiences of the
long list of famous successful people cited earlier by Napoleon Hill. His techniques
are also practiced and endorsed by the contemporary experts and authors whom the
editors mentioned, following Hill’s list. More than 60 million people have purchased
copies of the book that you are now holding in your hands.
If this book has proven to be that successful, surely you owe it to yourself to give it
every chance to work for you too. Read it. Don’t question it. Do it. If you don’t, if you
think that you know better than Napoleon Hill, if you decide to pick and choose the
parts that you will believe or follow, then if you don’t succeed you will never know if
your failure lies with this book or with you.


WHATEVER THE MIND OF MAN
CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE
IT CAN ACHIEVE.

CHAPTER 3
DESIRE

The Starting Point of All Achievement

The First Step Toward Riches
When Edwin C. Barnes climbed down from the freight train in West Orange, New Jersey,
he may have resembled a tramp but his thoughts were those of a king.
As he made his way from the railroad tracks to Thomas A. Edison’s office, his mind
was at work. He saw himself standing in Edison’s presence. He heard himself asking Mr.
Edison for an opportunity to carry out the one consuming obsession of his life a burning
desire to become the business associate of the great inventor.
Barnes’ desire was not a hope. It was not a wish. It was a pulsating desire, which
transcended everything else. It was definite.
A few years later, Edwin C. Barnes again stood before Edison, in the same office
where he first met the inventor. This time his desire had been translated into reality. He
was in business with Edison. The dominating dream of his life had become a reality.
Barnes succeeded because he chose a definite goal, placed all his energy, all his
willpower, all his effort he put everything he had into achieving that goal.
Five years passed before the chance he had been seeking made its appearance. To
everyone, except himself, he appeared to be just another cog in the Edison business
wheel. But in Edwin Barnes’ own mind, he was the partner of Edison every minute from
the very day that he first went to work there.
It is a remarkable illustration of the power of a definite desire. Barnes won his goal
because he wanted to be a business associate of Mr. Edison’s more than he wanted
anything else. He created a plan by which to attain that purpose, and he burned all bridges
behind him. He stood by his desire until it became the dominating obsession of his life
and finally, a fact.
When he went to West Orange he did not say to himself, “I will try to induce Edison
to give me a job of some sort.” He said, “I will see Edison, and put him on notice that I
have come to go into business with him.”
He did not say, “I will keep my eyes open for another opportunity, in case I fail to get
what I want in the Edison organization.” He said, “There is one thing in this world that I

am determined to have, and that is a business association with Thomas A. Edison. I will
burn all bridges behind me and stake my entire future on my ability to get what I want.”
He left himself no possible way of retreat. He had to win or perish!
That is all there is to the Barnes story of success.


ALLOW YOURSELF NO RETREAT
A long while ago, a great warrior faced a situation in which he had to make a decision
that ensured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against a
powerful foe whose men outnumbered his. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to
the enemy’s country, and unloaded the soldiers and equipment. Then he gave the order to
burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said,
“You see the boats going up in smoke. That means we cannot leave these shores alive
unless we win! We now have no choice we win or we perish!”
They won.
Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut
all sources of retreat. That is the only way you can be sure of maintaining the state of
mind known as a burning desire to win. It is essential to success.
The morning after the great Chicago fire a group of merchants stood on State Street,
looking at the smoking remains of what had been their stores. They went into a
conference to decide if they would try to rebuild or if they would leave Chicago and start
over in a more promising section of the country. They decided to leave. All except one.
The merchant who decided to stay and rebuild pointed a finger at the remains of his
store and said, “Gentlemen, on that very spot I will build the world’s greatest store, no
matter how many times it may burn down.”
That was in 1871. The store was built. It still stands there today. The Marshall Field’s
Department Store is a towering monument to the power of that state of mind known as a
burning desire. The easy thing would have been for Marshall Field to do exactly what his
fellow merchants did. When the going was hard, and the future looked dismal, they
pulled up and went where the going seemed easier.

Mark well this difference between Marshall Field and the other merchants. It is that
difference which distinguishes those who succeed from those who fail.
Every human being old enough to understand the value of money wishes for it. But
wishing will not bring riches. 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 a persistence which does not recognize failure that’s what will
bring riches.
COMMENTARY
In other of his writings, Napoleon Hill uses the term definiteness of purpose as being
interchangeable with desire. The following explanation is adapted from the Napoleon
Hill Foundation’s book Believe and Achieve.
Desire or Definiteness of Purpose is more than goal setting. In simplest terms,
your Desire is your road map to achieving an overall career objective. Your goals
represent specific steps along the way.
Having a Desire or Definiteness of Purpose for your life has a synergistic effect on
your ability to achieve your goals. As you become better at what you do you devote all
of your resources toward reaching your objective, you become more alert to
opportunities, and you reach decisions more quickly. Every action you take ultimately
boils down to the question: Will this goal help me reach my Desire, my overall
objective, or won’t it?


Your purpose will become your life; it will permeate your mind, both conscious
and subconscious.
SIX WAYS TO TURN DESIRE INTO GOLD
The method by which your desire for riches can be transmuted into its financial
equivalent consists of six definite, practical steps:
1. Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. It is not sufficient merely
to say “I want plenty of money.” Be definite about the amount. (There is a
psychological reason for such definiteness explained in subsequent chapters.)

2. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire.
(There is no such reality as “something for nothing.”)
3. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire.
4. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you
are ready or not, to put this plan into action.
5. Now write it out. Write a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you
intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give
in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to
accumulate it.
6. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily. Read it once just before retiring at
night, and read it once after arising in the morning. As you read, see and feel and
believe yourself already in possession of the money.
It is important that you follow the instructions in these six steps. It is especially
important that you observe and follow the instructions in the sixth step. You may
complain that it is impossible for you to “see yourself in possession of money” before
you actually have it. Here is where a burning desire will come to your aid. If you truly
desire money so keenly that your desire is an obsession, you will have no difficulty in
convincing yourself that you will acquire it. The object is to want money, and to become
so determined to have it that you convince yourself you will have it.
If you have not been schooled in the workings of the human mind, these instructions
may appear impractical. It may help you to know that the information they convey was
given to me by Andrew Carnegie, who made himself into one of the most successful men
in American history. Carnegie began as an ordinary laborer in the steel mills, but
managed, despite his humble beginning, to make these principles yield him a fortune of
considerably more than $100 million. [In today’s terms, the value of Carnegie’s fortune
would be at least $20 billion, and probably a good deal more.]
It may be of further help to know that the six steps were carefully scrutinized by the
famed inventor and successful businessman, Thomas A. Edison. He gave his stamp of
approval, saying they are not only the steps essential for the accumulation of money, but
also for the attainment of any goal.

COMMENTARY
In the time since Napoleon Hill wrote these words, advances in our understanding of
both the physiology of the brain and the psychology of the mind have yielded a much
greater understanding of human motivation. Even so, the methods used by modern
motivational experts are essentially the same techniques advised by Hill. Research
studies confirm that there is sound psychological basis for doing as Hill advises: be
very specific when setting goals, perform the physical act of committing those goals to
paper, and repeat your stated goal aloud to yourself often.
These techniques have gained wide acceptance among modern experts in the field.
The psychological principle at work is similar to that which underlies autosuggestion
and self-hypnosis concepts that will be discussed in greater depth in chapter 5,
Autosuggestion, and in chapter 13, The Subconscious Mind.
Hill’s instruction to “see yourself as you will be when you have already achieved
your objective” is also a specific technique. Today it is commonly taught by
motivational experts under the term “creative visualization.” In chapter 4 on faith and
in chapter 5 on autosuggestion, Hill elaborates on his method.
Before moving on, the editors would like to reinforce Hill’s advice to follow his
instructions to the letter. The editors know there is a tendency for the reader to
assume that it is enough for them just to intellectually understand a concept. As you
read Hill’s six points, you probably found yourself thinking, “Sure, some people might
need to write things down, but I’m not a kid. I get the idea.” Or, “Okay, I understand
that saying it out loud might help some less sophisticated people, but I already
understand the point intellectually.” If you feel that way, let us remind you that many
of the most successful people whom you admire did not think they were too smart or
too sophisticated to follow Hill’s instructions. The editors would again point out that
if Napoleon Hill believed the actual acts of writing and speaking your goals is
important, and if psychologists and motivational experts agree, then you would be
foolish not to follow this simple advice. Just do it.

The steps call for no hard labor. They call for no sacrifice. To apply them does not
call for a great amount of education. But the six steps do call for enough imagination to
see, and to understand, that the accumulation of money cannot be left to chance or luck.
You may as well know, right here, that you can never have riches in great quantity
unless you can work yourself into a white heat of desire for money, and actually believe
you will possess it.
THE POWER OF GREAT DREAMS
If you are in this race for riches, you should be encouraged by the following truth:
The world in which we live is demanding new ideas, new ways of doing things, new
leaders, new inventions, and new methods, styles, versions, and variations of everything
all of the time. Behind all this demand for new and better things, there is one quality that
you must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose the knowledge of what you
want, and a burning desire to possess it.
If you truly desire riches, remember that the real leaders of the world have always
been people who harnessed, and put into practical use, the intangible, unseen forces of
opportunity. Leaders are the people who convert those opportunities into cities,


skyscrapers, factories, transportation, entertainment, and every form of convenience that
make things easier, faster, better, or just make life more pleasant.
In planning to acquire your share of the riches, don’t let anyone put you down for
being a dreamer. To win the big stakes in this changing world, you must catch the spirit
of the great pioneers, whose dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value. It is
that spirit which serves as the life-blood of our own country your opportunity and mine,
to develop and market our talents.
A burning desire to be and to do is the starting point from which the dreamer must
take off. Dreams are not born of indifference, laziness, or lack of ambition.
If the thing you wish to do is right, and you believe in it, go ahead and do it. Never
mind what “they” say if you meet with temporary defeat. “They” do not know that every
failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.

Marconi dreamed of a system for sending sound from one place to another without
the use of wires. It may interest you to know that Marconi’s “friends” had him taken into
custody, and examined in a psychiatric hospital, when he announced he had discovered a
principle by which he could send messages through the air. Evidence that he did not
dream in vain may be found in every radio [and television set, cellular phone,
communications satellite, and every other “wireless” device] in the world.
Fortunately, the dreamers of today fare better. Today your world is filled with an
abundance of opportunity that the dreamers of the past never knew.
If you doubt this is true, if you are feeling crushed because of a recent failure, you are
about to learn how your failure can be your most valuable asset. Almost everyone who
succeeds in life gets off to a bad start, and passes through many heartbreaking struggles,
before they “arrive.” The turning point in the lives of those who succeed usually comes
at the moment of some crisis, through which they are introduced to their “other selves.”
COMMENTARY
Napoleon Hill’s concept of the “other self” is mentioned elsewhere in Think
and Grow Rich, but he does not comment on it extensively. The following elaboration
is taken from his later writings:
You’ve been thinking about your losses to the exclusion of everything else. The more
you concentrate on them, the more you attract other losses. Stop thinking about them,
and make up your mind that you are going to benefit from your experience. Whatever
personal obstacles you face, you must start getting to know that side of your
personality that knows no obstacles, that recognizes no defeats. Cultivate a friendship
with the “other” you, so no matter what you are doing, you are allied with someone
who shares your goals. All the philosophy and advice about persuading others will be
much more useful to you if you practice it yourself.
Sydney Porter discovered the genius that slept within his brain only after he had met
with great misfortune. He was found guilty of embezzlement, and confined to a prison
cell in Columbus, Ohio, and it was there that he became acquainted with his “other self.”
He began to write short stories. Then, while locked in his cell, he began to sell those
stories to magazines under the pen name O. Henry. Through the use of his imagination,

he discovered himself to be a great author instead of a miserable criminal and outcast. By