“Think and Grow Rich” — it’s not about the money.

Napoleon Hill’s book “Think and Grow Rich” was mentioned by someone this week as a life-changing influence and it prompted me to re-read my own copy. One of Hill’s hallmark expressions is of course “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”

“Think and Grow Rich” really is a remarkable book, however, I’ve always felt that the title doesn’t do the book justice. It’s not really about making money and getting rich. It’s much more than that.

Hill published the book in 1937 but the principles he outlines are timeless and were consistent throughout all of his writings.

Here are Hill’s 17 Principles of Success. There are too many to absorb all at once so I recommend that you skim them and see if anything jumps out at you as something to focus on this week:

1. Definiteness of Purpose.  Successful people move on their own initiative, but they know where they are going before they start.
2. Mastermind Alliance.  No one can become a permanent success without taking others along.
3. Applied Faith.  You can do it if you believe you can.
4. Going the Extra Mile.  The most successful people are those that serve the greatest number of people.
5. Pleasing Personality.  It is essential that you develop a Pleasing Personality – pleasing to yourself and to others.
6. Personal Initiative.  Today’s employer is yesterday’s employee who found opportunity waiting at the end of the second mile.
7. Positive Mental Attitude.  Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you don’t want.
8. Enthusiasm.  To be enthusiastic — act enthusiastically!
9. Self-Discipline.  Direct your thoughts, control your emotions, and ordain your destiny.
10. Accurate Thinking.  Truth will be truth, regardless of a closed mind, ignorance, or the refusal to believe.
11. Controlled Attention.  Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you don’t.
12. Teamwork.  Harmonious cooperation is a priceless asset which you can acquire in proportion to your giving.
13. Adversity and Defeat.  Remember, every defeat, every disappointment, and every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.
14. Creative Vision.  The imagination is the workshop of the soul wherein all plans for individual achievement are shaped.
15. Maintenance of Sound Health.  Follow work with play, physical effort with mental, eating with fasting, and seriousness with humor, and you will be on your way to sound health.
16. Budgeting Time and Money.  Effectiveness in any endeavor calls for the organized budgeting of time and money.
17. Cosmic Habitforce.  The orderliness of the world gives evidence it is under the control of a universal plan.

Which of the above resonated most with you? Feel free to reply back to this with a comment or thought and I’ll incorporate readers’ comments in next week’s post.

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