Napoleon Hill - Think And Grow Rich - Chapter 1.

Summary

The script is a reading of Napoleon Hill's 'Think and Grow Rich,' highlighting the money-making secret shared by Andrew Carnegie. It discusses Hill's journey to meet industry leaders, Carnegie's belief in a clear-cut path to success, and the impact of the secret on various successful individuals. The book promises to reveal the secret to those who seek it, emphasizing the importance of ideas in achieving success and wealth.

Takeaways

• 📚 The book 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill is a classic motivational guide that reveals the secrets to success and wealth.
• 💡 The core secret to success was imparted to Hill by Andrew Carnegie, who believed that anyone could achieve greatness by understanding the principles of success.
• 🤝 Carnegie challenged Hill to spend over 20 years interviewing successful individuals to compile a comprehensive set of success principles.
• 🏆 The formula shared in the book has been tested and proven by thousands, leading to the creation of fortunes and personal success stories.
• 💼 The application of the secret by Charles M. Schwab, for instance, was worth an estimated $600 million, showcasing the potential of the formula.
• 💰 The secret has been used to achieve success in various fields, including business, personal harmony, and even during wartime by presidents Wilson and Roosevelt.
• 👥 The principles outlined in the book have influenced numerous successful individuals, including famous entrepreneurs and inventors like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison.
• 🌟 The secret to success is not directly named in the book but is hinted at throughout, allowing readers to discover it in their own way.
• 💭 Success and wealth begin with an idea, and the book suggests that readers already possess half of the secret if they are ready to recognize it.
• 🔄 The updated 21st-century edition of 'Think and Grow Rich' includes contemporary examples and annotations to ensure its relevance to modern readers.
• 📈 The book is structured as a cohesive whole, with chapters designed to build upon each other, emphasizing the importance of reading it from beginning to end.

Q & A

Who is the author of 'Think and Grow Rich'?

Napoleon Hill is the author of 'Think and Grow Rich'.

What is the significance of the 'Carnegie Secret' mentioned in the script?

The 'Carnegie Secret' refers to the money-making secret that Andrew Carnegie shared with Napoleon Hill, which is believed to be the key to achieving success and wealth.

How did Napoleon Hill get involved with Andrew Carnegie?

Napoleon Hill was hired to write success stories about famous men, and his first subject was Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was impressed by Hill's perceptive mind and invited him to spend the weekend at his estate to continue their discussion.

What was Andrew Carnegie's belief about the possibility of achieving greatness?

Andrew Carnegie believed that any person could achieve greatness if they understood the philosophy of success and the steps required to achieve it.

How long did it take for Napoleon Hill to accept Carnegie's proposal?

Napoleon Hill accepted Andrew Carnegie's proposal in 29 seconds.

What was the condition Carnegie set for Hill's acceptance of the proposal?

Carnegie told Hill that if it took him more than 60 seconds to make the decision, he would have withdrawn the offer, as a man who cannot reach a decision promptly cannot be depended upon to carry through any decision.

What is the significance of the number 20 in the context of the book's creation?

Andrew Carnegie believed that it would take at least 20 years to compile the information and research into a comprehensive set of principles for individual achievement.

How did the editor's comments contribute to the understanding of the book?

The editor's comments provide context, historical background, and contemporary relevance to the original text, ensuring that the principles remain applicable to modern readers.

What was the role of Charles M. Schwab in demonstrating the effectiveness of the Carnegie formula?

Charles M. Schwab applied the secret formula and made a huge fortune, both in money and opportunity, proving that the formula works for those who are ready for it.

How did Napoleon Hill's work influence other motivational experts?

Napoleon Hill's work has influenced numerous motivational experts, including Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, W. Clement Stone, Og Mandino, and Earl Nightingale, among others.

What is the importance of the idea in relation to the Carnegie Secret?

Achievement and earned riches begin with an idea, which is half of the Carnegie Secret. The other half is recognized when one is ready and searching for it.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Introduction to 'Think and Grow Rich'

The video script introduces the 21st-century edition of Napoleon Hill's motivational classic, 'Think and Grow Rich,' read by Michael Mcconaughey. It is an updated version of the best-selling success book, edited and annotated by Bill and Ann Hartley. The script highlights the book's focus on the money-making secret that Hill learned from Andrew Carnegie and spent over 20 years analyzing and preparing to share with the world. The secret's potential to transform lives, as Hill was mentored by Carnegie and later influenced figures like Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt, is emphasized. The editor's comments provide historical context, detailing Hill's journey from a job at Bob Taylor's magazine to meeting Carnegie and his commitment to uncovering the philosophy of success.

05:01

💰 The Impact of the Carnegie Secret

This paragraph discusses the significant impact of the secret shared by Andrew Carnegie with Napoleon Hill, which was later applied by various individuals to achieve success. It mentions Charles M. Schwab, who used the secret to amass a fortune worth hundreds of millions, and how the secret has been passed down to help others find personal and financial success. The editor's comments provide a modern perspective on the value of the secret, adjusting the worth of the fortunes mentioned for inflation, and emphasize the secret's applicability across different areas of life, from business to personal harmony. The narrative suggests that the secret's effectiveness is heightened when seekers discover it for themselves, without explicit instruction.

10:03

🚀 Achieving Success Through the Carnegie Secret

The paragraph details the transformative power of the Carnegie secret through various success stories. It includes examples of individuals like Henry Ford, William Wrigley Jr., and John Wanamaker, who attributed their vast fortunes to the secret. The paragraph underscores the idea that success is not limited by one's current circumstances and that determination and readiness are key to achieving riches. The editor's comments reinforce the book's message, stating that the secret is more critical for self-determination than formal education and that it will reveal itself to those who are prepared to recognize and apply it.

15:03

🌟 Success Stories Inspired by the Carnegie Secret

This section of the script lists a series of successful individuals from diverse backgrounds who achieved significant accomplishments, implying that they understood and applied the Carnegie secret. The list includes figures like King Gillette, Ralph A. Weeks, and John D. Rockefeller, among others, highlighting their unique paths to success. The editor's comment emphasizes the comprehensive nature of 'Think and Grow Rich,' suggesting that the book is not just a collection of business solutions but a philosophy of personal achievement that provides guidance, ethics, and values.

20:03

📚 The Timeless Relevance of 'Think and Grow Rich'

The paragraph discusses the influence of Napoleon Hill and his book 'Think and Grow Rich' on motivational experts and successful individuals. It suggests that the book has inspired more millionaires and motivational speakers than any other work in history. The editor's comment highlights the book's approach to personal achievement as a philosophy rather than a mere collection of business tips. The updated edition is presented as relevant to contemporary business, with retained stories from successful multi-millionaires and the inclusion of modern examples and annotations to reflect current society.

25:05

📘 The Structure and Purpose of 'Think and Grow Rich'

This final paragraph emphasizes the structured and sequential nature of 'Think and Grow Rich,' advising readers to engage with the material in its entirety. The editor's comments explain the updated edition's approach to language and formatting to align with contemporary standards. The chapter renumbering and renaming are detailed, along with the intention to maintain the original text's integrity while making it accessible to modern readers. The paragraph concludes with an encouragement to readers to embrace the book's philosophy and apply its principles to achieve personal success.

Keywords

💡Motivational Classic

A motivational classic refers to a book or piece of media that inspires and motivates people to achieve their goals. In the context of the video, 'Think and Grow Rich' is described as a motivational classic because it contains principles and philosophies aimed at helping individuals succeed financially and in other aspects of life.

💡Success Secret

The success secret in the script refers to a set of principles or strategies that lead to prosperity and achievement. It is the core message of the book 'Think and Grow Rich' and is said to have been shared by Andrew Carnegie with Napoleon Hill, who then spent years analyzing wealthy individuals to understand and articulate these principles.

💡Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill was an American author who is best known for his book 'Think and Grow Rich,' which is central to the video's narrative. Hill is depicted as someone who dedicated his life to understanding and teaching the principles of success, as imparted to him by Andrew Carnegie.

💡Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie, mentioned in the script, was a Scottish-American industrialist who built one of the most powerful and successful steel companies. He is noted for sharing his 'success secret' with Napoleon Hill, emphasizing the idea that anyone could achieve greatness by understanding the philosophy of success.

💡Philosophy of Success

The philosophy of success refers to a set of beliefs and ideas about what it takes to achieve success. In the video, it is presented as a clear-cut guide that can be learned and applied by anyone willing to dedicate the effort, as outlined in the book 'Think and Grow Rich.'

💡Individual Achievement

Individual achievement is a central theme of the video and book, focusing on the accomplishments that one person can attain through understanding and applying the principles of success. The script mentions how the book contains a comprehensive set of principles aimed at guiding individuals towards their own achievements.

💡Mentorship

Mentorship is the process of being guided or taught by someone with more experience. In the script, Andrew Carnegie serves as a mentor to Napoleon Hill, sharing his insights into success and challenging Hill to compile these into a set of principles, thus playing a pivotal role in the creation of the book.

💡Wealth Creation

Wealth creation is the process of generating wealth, often through business endeavors and smart financial strategies. The script discusses how the success secret has been used by many to make fortunes, indicating that the principles within 'Think and Grow Rich' can be applied to create wealth.

💡Self-Determination

Self-determination refers to the ability to control one's own life and make choices. The video emphasizes that the secret to success comes from within and that individuals must be ready and determined to achieve success, which aligns with the book's teachings on taking control of one's destiny.

💡Education

In the context of the video, education is discussed not just as formal schooling but also as the process of learning and understanding the principles necessary for success. The script contrasts traditional education with the secret's ability to guide individuals towards success, suggesting that the secret provides a form of education that is essential for achieving one's goals.

💡Innovation

Innovation is the process of introducing new ideas or methods. The script mentions several individuals who used the success principles to innovate in their fields, such as George Eastman with photography and Charles M. Schwab with the steel industry, highlighting innovation as a key component of achieving success.

Highlights

Napoleon Hill's 'Think and Grow Rich' is presented as a motivational classic for the 21st century.

The book contains the money-making secret revealed by Andrew Carnegie to Napoleon Hill.

Hill's mission was to spend over 20 years preparing to share the secret of success with the world.

Hill's first major interview was with Andrew Carnegie, who became his mentor.

Carnegie believed that anyone could achieve greatness by understanding the principles of success.

The secret to success was to be compiled through interviews with successful individuals.

Hill accepted Carnegie's challenge to uncover the secret without immediate compensation.

Carnegie's formula was believed to be so powerful that it could revolutionize education.

The secret has been tested and used by millions to achieve success in various fields.

Charles M. Schwab's application of the secret led to a fortune equivalent to over $12 billion today.

The secret was used by U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt during wars.

Napoleon Hill's work has influenced countless motivational speakers and authors.

The secret to success is not directly named in the book but is revealed through its chapters.

The secret cannot be purchased with money; it can only be acquired through a search and readiness.

The secret has been used by famous individuals like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

The book is designed to be read in its entirety, with each chapter building upon the previous ones.

This edition of 'Think and Grow Rich' includes updated material and contemporary examples.

The editors have modernized the text while retaining the original stories and principles.

Transcripts

[Music]

welcome to the high roads media

presentation of the motivational classic

think and grow rich the 21st century

edition

written by napoleon hill

this is a verbatim reading of the new

updated version of the world's

best-selling success book

edited and annotated by bill hartley and

ann hartley

and read by michael mcconaughey

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'd said to me

when he saw that i had grasped the idea

he asked if i would be willing to spend

20 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

editor's comments

in 1908 during a particularly down time

in the u s economy and with no money at

no work

napoleon hill took a job as a writer for

bob taylor's magazine

he was 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

multi-millionaire 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 his 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

20 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 29 seconds to accept

carnegie's proposal

carnegie told him afterward that had it

taken him more than 60 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 10 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

that is the end of the editor's comment

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 dollars

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

editor's comment

according to one method of calculation

through inflation alone it would take

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 dollars

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

even by conservative estimates

the 600 million dollars would translate

into at least 12 billion dollars at the

beginning of the 21st century

that's the end of the editor's comment

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

seventy five thousand dollars a year

approximately 1.5 million dollars in

contemporary 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 weir of dallas texas

he was ready for it

so ready that he gave up his profession

and studied law

did he succeed

you'll read the answer in chapter six

specialized knowledge

while i was the advertising manager of

the lasalle extension university i had

the privilege of seeing jg chaplin

president of the university use the

formula so effectively that he made

lasalle one of the great extension

schools of this 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

ford 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 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 to 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

bell boy 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

henriel doherty

started 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

starting with a small agricultural

weekly curtis 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 motion picture

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 from

1901 to 1909

john w davis

a lawyer and political leader davis was

solicitor general under president

woodrow wilson and later appointed

ambassador to great britain

albert hubbard

philosopher

publisher of the fra magazine and

founder of the roy crofter's artists

colony hubbard 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

americans to fly heavier than air

aircraft and 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

author of over 50 books he was the

nation's youngest university president

at indiana university and became the

first president of stanford university

jay ogden armor

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 and american

international corporation

arthur brisbane

a crusading journalist and syndicated

columnist brisbane was sought after by

every major news organization and was

the most read and highest-paid editorial

writer of his day

dr frank gonzalez a chicago preacher who

delivered such a powerful sermon philip

d armour gave him a million dollars to

start the armor institute of technology

of which he became president

daniel willard

president of the b o railroad for more

than 30 years he was honored by having

the city of willard ohio named for him

king gillette

a traveling salesman and born tinkerer

gillette 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 correspondent

schools weeks 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 one thousand dollars in savings

plus another one thousand dollars

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 one thousand

patented inventions

frank a vanderlip

a poor boy who became a journalist

social reformer and self-made

millionaire he was president of the

national city bank now citibank and

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 a chain of

woolworth 5 and 10 cent stores

colonel 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 feiling founder of the

boston-based stores he devised

revolutionary methods of distribution

and merchandising and became famous for

the first bargain basement department

edwin c barnes

the only man thomas edison ever had as a

partner

barnes took edison's failing dictaphone

and sold it so successfully it became a

fixture in offices and made him a

multi-millionaire

arthur nash

a cincinnati tailor who used his

bankrupt business as a guinea pig for

the carnegie secret and was so

successful the newspapers made him

famous as golden rule nash

clarence darrow

famed as a lawyer public speaker and

defender of the underdog

daryl is best known as the lawyer who

defended teaching the theory of

evolution at the scope's monkey trial

woodrow wilson

28th president of the united states of

america from 1913 to 1921

william howard taft

27th president of the united states of

america from 1909 to 1913

luther burbank

world-renowned horticulturalist 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 buck

although 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 munzee

a telegraph operator who quick to launch

argosy magazine then parlayed his

fortune into a newspaper empire that

included the washington times and the

new york herald

albert h gary

chairman of u.s steel at the time the

largest corporation in the world gary

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 bell 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

patterson 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 and company and

together with richard sears built it

into an icon of american business

stuart austin weir

a construction engineer hill met in the

texas oil fields who inspired by the

carnegie secret went to law school after

age 40 and also helped publish napoleon

hill's magazine

dr frank crane

a noted psychologist essayist and author

of the book four-minute essays on

subjects such as the price of liberty

pragmatism the duty of the rich

and how to keep friends

j.g chaplin president of the lasalle

extension university at the time

napoleon hill worked in the university's

advertising and sales department where

he first realized his talent for

motivating people

jennings randolph

a congressman then u.s senator from west

virginia randolph was a lifelong admirer

of napoleon hill and it was he who

encouraged hill to act as advisor 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

editor's comment

as napoleon hill says the preceding list

includes only some of the more than 500

multi-millionaires and extraordinarily

successful individuals whom napoleon

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 peale

later successful authors and speakers

such as w clement stone

augmendino and earl nightingale either

worked directly with napoleon hill or

with the napoleon hill foundation

echoes of hills 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 link letter joan

london dr maxwell maltz james redfield

dr bernie siegel jose silva brian tracy

lillian vernon and dennis waitley

stephen 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 21st

century has acknowledged napoleon hill

as a personal hero

that is the end of the editor's comment

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

anyone to distinguish themselves 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 which

may provide a clue how the carnegie

secret may 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

editor's comments

unlike much of the business and

motivational literature available think

and grow rich is not written for readers

to 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 values

think and grow rich will not just change

what you think

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 first-hand

knowledge of america's most successful

self-made multi-millionaires

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 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 recent developments

where applicable we have also suggested

books or 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 note 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 one

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 re-titled

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

this is the end of the editor's comments