Key Takeaways
- Desire is the starting point of all achievement. Not a wish, but a burning, obsessive desire backed by faith and a definite plan.
- Thoughts become reality. What you hold in your mind and charged with emotion tends to materialize. Control your thoughts to control your destiny.
- The Master Mind is essential. Surround yourself with people who share your vision. Two minds in harmony create a third, invisible force.
- Persistence crushes resistance. Most people quit just before success. The difference between winners and losers is often just one more attempt.
- Fear is the greatest enemy of success. Conquer the six basic fears: poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love, old age, and death.
The Secret Behind 500 Millionaires
In 1908, Andrew Carnegie—the wealthiest man in America—challenged a young journalist named Napoleon Hill to interview 500 of the most successful people in America and distill their secrets into a philosophy of success.
Think and Grow Rich is the result of that 20-year study. Published in 1937, it has sold over 100 million copies and influenced countless leaders, entrepreneurs, and success seekers.
Hill discovered that success follows a predictable pattern—13 principles that all self-made millionaires shared. Master these principles, and you master the art of achievement.
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Principle 1: Desire — The Starting Point
The first step toward riches is DESIRE—not a wish, not a hope, but a burning, all-consuming obsession backed by definiteness of purpose.
The Six Steps to Transmute Desire into Riches
- Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire
- Determine exactly what you will give in return
- Establish a definite date by which you will possess it
- Create a definite plan and begin immediately
- Write out a clear, concise statement of all of the above
- Read your statement aloud twice daily—morning and night
Hill emphasizes: "Dreams are not born of indifference, laziness, or lack of ambition." The people who accumulate great wealth are those whose desire burns so intensely that they're willing to stake everything on its attainment.
Principle 2: Faith — Visualizing Achievement
Faith is "visualization of, and belief in, attainment of desire." It's the state of mind induced by affirmation or repeated suggestion to the subconscious mind.
How to Develop Faith
Repetition of thought implants ideas in the subconscious. By repeatedly visualizing and affirming your goal with emotion, you develop unshakeable faith in its attainment. This is the principle behind autosuggestion.
Principle 3: Auto-Suggestion — Influencing the Subconscious
Auto-suggestion is the medium for influencing the subconscious mind. It's the process of feeding your subconscious with definite, emotionalized thoughts.
Your subconscious mind doesn't distinguish between constructive and destructive thoughts. It acts on whatever you plant there. Therefore, you must actively control the input through:
- Written statements of your goals
- Spoken affirmations repeated with emotion
- Visualization of achieved outcomes
Principle 4: Specialized Knowledge
General knowledge, however broad, is of little value in wealth accumulation. What matters is specialized knowledge organized and directed toward definite ends.
Henry Ford proved this—he had little formal education but knew how to organize knowledge. He surrounded himself with experts and could summon any specialized knowledge he needed through his "Master Mind."
Get the Visual Summary
Beautiful infographic with all 13 Principles, the Six Steps to Riches, and Master Mind diagram.
Principle 5: The Master Mind
The Master Mind is "coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose."
Hill observed that no individual achieves notable success alone. When two or more minds work in harmony, they create a third, invisible force—a "Master Mind" that no single person could generate.
Building Your Master Mind
- Choose people who share your vision and values
- Meet regularly with a specific purpose
- Maintain perfect harmony—discord destroys the Master Mind
- Give as much as you receive
Principle 6: Persistence — The Sustained Effort
Persistence is the essential factor in transmuting desire into wealth. Most people quit at the first sign of opposition—and often right before success would have come.
How to Develop Persistence
- A definite purpose backed by burning desire
- A definite plan expressed in continuous action
- A mind closed against all negative influences
- A friendly alliance with those who encourage you
Conquering the Six Basic Fears
Hill identifies six basic fears that hold people back from success:
- Fear of Poverty — The most destructive of all fears
- Fear of Criticism — Robs people of initiative and imagination
- Fear of Ill Health — Often creates the very conditions feared
- Fear of Loss of Love — Leads to jealousy and fatal mistakes
- Fear of Old Age — Robs people of their enthusiasm
- Fear of Death — Makes life a nightmare
These fears must be mastered before you can accumulate riches. Fear and faith cannot occupy the mind at the same time—you must choose which will dominate.
Final Thoughts: The Secret
Hill never explicitly states "the secret" directly—he challenges readers to discover it for themselves as it appears throughout the book. But the essence is this:
The formula for riches: Desire + Faith + Auto-Suggestion + Specialized Knowledge + Imagination + Organized Planning + Decision + Persistence + Master Mind + Transmutation of Sexual Energy + The Subconscious Mind + The Brain + The Sixth Sense.
Master these 13 principles, and you master the art of achievement. Your only limitation is the one you set up in your own mind.