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If you have never read this book let me warn you, it is probably like nothing you have ever read before. It will CHALLENGE you greatly. It will tempt you to dream LARGELY. It will make you THINK in ways you have never thought before.
This book is full of stories of others successes, and how you might achieve the same levels of success.
I have read this book on two different occasions, and listened to the audio version a few times. Every time I go through this book I take away something new. Just read through the Author's preface before you decide whether or not you will read the book.
You may take issue with parts of the message, and even disagree with some parts, but approach its teachings as if it were a buffet. Take only what you find pleasurable and leave the rest and you will still find it nourishing.
I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to discuss your likes and dislikes of the book.
Yours Truly,
BRADY VAUGHN
THINK
AND
GROW RICH
by
Napoleon Hill
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Author’s Preface ...................................................................................................................... p. 3
Chapter 1 — Introduction ....................................................................................................... p. 9
Chapter 2 — Desire: The Turning Point of All Achievement ................................................. p. 22
Chapter 3 — Faith Visualization of, and Belief in Attainment of Desire ............................... p. 40
Chapter 4 — Auto-Suggestion the Medium for Influencing the Subconscious Mind .............. p. 58
Chapter 5 — Specialized Knowledge, Personal Experiences or Observations ...................... p. 64
Chapter 6 — Imagination: the Workshop of the Mind .......................................................... p. 77
Chapter 7 — Organized Planning, the Crystallization of Desire into Action ........................ p. 90
Chapter 8 — Decision: the Mastery of Procrastination ......................................................... p. 128
Chapter 9 — Persistence: the Sustained Effort Necessary to Induce Faith ........................... p. 138
Chapter 10 — Power of the Master Mind: the Driving Force ................................................. p. 153
Chapter 11 — The Mystery of Sex Transmutation .................................................................. p. 160
Chapter 12 — The Subconscious Mind: The Connecting Link ............................................... p. 180
Chapter 13 — The Brain: A Broadcasting and Receiving Station for Thought ...................... p. 187
Chapter 14 — The Sixth Sense: The Door to the Temple of Wisdom .................................... p. 193
Chapter 15 — How to Outwit the Six Ghosts of Fear ............................................................. p. 203
A
UTHOR’S PREFACE
—
IN EVERY chapter of this book, mention has been made of the wealth-making
secret which has made fortunes for more than five hundred exceedingly wealthy
men whom I have carefully analyzed over a long period of years.
The secret was brought to my attention by Andrew Carnegie, more than a quarter
of a century ago. 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.
This book contains the secret, after having been put to a practical test by thousands
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 time to investigate how men create wealth, and
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, and
expressed the opinion that if it were properly taught it would so revolutionize the
entire educational system that the time spent in school could be reduced to less
than half.
His experience with Charles M. Schwab, and other young men of Mr. Schwab’s
type, convinced Mr. Carnegie that much of that which is taught in the schools is
of no value whatsoever in connection with the business of earning a living or accumulating
riches. He had arrived at this decision, because he had taken into his
business one young man after another, many of them with but little schooling,
and by coaching them in the use of this formula, developed in them rare leadership.
Moreover, his coaching made fortunes for everyone of them who followed
his instructions. In the chapter on Faith, you will read the astounding story of
the organization of the giant United States Steel Corporation, as 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 that young man-Charles M. Schwab-made him a huge fortune in both
money and OPPORTUNITY. Roughly speaking, this particular application of the
formula was worth six hundred million dollars. These facts-and they are facts
well known to almost everyone who knew Mr. Carnegie-give you a fair idea of
what the reading of this book may bring to you, provided you KNOW WHAT IT
IS THAT YOU WANT.
Even before it had undergone twenty years of practical testing, the secret was
passed on to more than one hundred thousand men and women who have used it
for their personal benefit, as Mr. Carnegie planned that they should. 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 $75,000.00 a year.
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. It is still thriving, although Mr. Nash has gone. The experiment
was so unique that newspapers and magazines, gave it more than a million dollars’
worth of laudatory 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? That
story is told too.
I gave the secret to Jennings Randolph, the day he graduated from College, and
he has used it so successfully that he is now serving his third term as a Member
of Congress, with an excellent opportunity to keep on using it until it carries him
to the White House.
While serving as Advertising Manager of the La-Salle Extension University, when
it was little more than a name, I had the privilege of seeing J. G. Chapline, President
of the University, use the formula so effectively that he has since made the
LaSalle one of the great extension schools of the country.
The secret to which I refer has been 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 uncovered and left in sight, where THOSE WHO
ARE READY, and SEARCHING FOR IT, may pick it up. That is why Mr. Carnegie
tossed it to me so quietly, 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. I wish I might feel privileged to tell you how you will know if you
are ready, but that would deprive you of much of the benefit you will receive when
you make the discovery in your own way.
While this book was being written, my own son, who was then finishing the last
year of his college work, picked up the manuscript of chapter two, read it, and discovered
the secret for himself. He used the information so effectively that he went
directly into a responsible position at a beginning salary greater than the average
man ever earns. His story has been briefly described in chapter two.
When you read it, perhaps you will dismiss any feeling you may have had, at the
beginning of the book, that it promised too much. And, too, if you have ever been
discouraged, if you have had difficulties to surmount which took the very soul
out of you, if you have tried and failed, if you were ever handicapped by illness
or physical affliction, this story of my 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. It was passed on to every soldier who fought in the war, carefully wrapped
in the training received before going to the front. President Wilson told me it was
a strong factor in raising the funds needed for the war.
More than twenty years ago, Hon. Manuel L. Quezon (then Resident Commissioner
of the Philippine Islands), was inspired by the secret to gain freedom for
his people. He has gained freedom for the Philippines, and is the first President
of the free state. A peculiar thing about this secret is that those who once acquire
it and use it, find themselves literally swept on to success, with but little effort,
and they never again submit to failure! If you doubt this, study the names of those
who have used it, wherever they have been mentioned, check their records for
yourself, and be convinced.
There is no such thing as SOMETHING FOR NOTHING!
The secret to which I refer cannot be had without a price, although the price is far
less than its value. It cannot be had at any price by those who are not intentionally
searching for it. It cannot be given away, it cannot be purchased for money, for
the reason that it comes in two parts. One part is already in possession of those
who are ready for it. The secret serves equally well, all who are 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 but three months
of schooling. The secret was passed on to a business associate of Mr. Edison. He
used it so effectively that, although he was then making only $12,000 a year, 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 first chapter. It should convince
you that riches are not beyond your reach, that you can still be what you
wish to be, that money, fame, recognition and happiness can be had by all who
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 performing the twenty year task of research, which I had undertaken
at Mr. Carnegie’s request, I analyzed hundreds of well known men, many of
whom admitted that they had accumulated their vast fortunes through the aid of
the Carnegie secret; among these men were: -
HENRY FORD
WILLIAM WRIGLEY JR.
JOHN WANAMAKER
JAMES J. HILL
GEORGE S. PARKER
E. M. STATLER
HENRY L. DOHERTY
CYRUS H. K. CURTIS
GEORGE EASTMAN
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
JOHN W. DAVIS
ELBERT HUBBARD
WILBUR WRIGHT
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
DR. DMTID STARR JORDAN
J. ODGEN ARMOUR
CHARLES M. SCHWAB
HARRIS F. WILLIAMS
DR. FRANK GUNSAULUS
DANIEL WILLARD
KING GILLETTE
RALPH A. WEEKS
JUDGE DANIEL T. WRIGHT
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
THOMAS A. EDISON
FRANK A. VANDERLIP
F. W. WOOLWORTH
COL. ROBERT A. DOLLAR
EDWARD A. FILENE
EDWIN C. BARNES
ARTHUR BRISBANE
WOODROW WILSON
WM. HOWARD TAFT
LUTHER BURBANK
EDWARD W. BOK
FRANK A. MUNSEY
ELBERT H. GARY
DR. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL
JOHN H. PATTERSON
JULIUS ROSENWALD
STUART AUSTIN WIER
DR. FRANK CRANE
GEORGE M. ALEXANDER
J. G. CHAPPLINE
HON. JENNINGS RANDOLPH
ARTHUR NASH
CLARENCE DARROW
These names represent but a small fraction of the hundreds of well known Americans
whose achievements, financially and otherwise, prove that those who understand
and apply the Carnegie secret, reach high stations in life. I have never
known anyone who was inspired to use the secret, who did not achieve noteworthy
success in his chosen calling. I have never known any person to distinguish
himself, 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, as
a part of the knowledge essential for self-determination, than any which one receives
through what is popularly known as “education.”
What is EDUCATION, anyway? This has been answered in full detail. As far as
schooling is concerned, many of these men had very little. John Wanamaker once
told me that what little schooling he had, he acquired in very much the same
manner as a modern locomotive takes on water, by “scooping it up as it runs.”
Henry Ford never reached high school, let alone college. I am not attempting
to minimize the value of schooling, but I am trying to express my earnest belief
that those who master and apply the secret will reach high stations, accumulate
riches, and bargain with life on their own terms, even if their schooling has been
meager.
Somewhere, as you read, the secret to which I refer will jump from the page and
stand boldly before you, IF YOU ARE READY FOR IT! When it appears, you will
recognize it. Whether you receive the sign in the first or the last chapter, stop for a
moment when it presents itself, and turn down a glass, for that occasion will mark
the most important turning-point of your life.
We pass now, to Chapter One, and to the story of my very dear friend, who has generously
acknowledged having seen the mystic sign, and whose business achievements
are evidence enough that he turned down a glass. As you read his story,
and the others, remember that they deal with the important problems of life, such
as all men experience. The problems arising from one’s endeavor to earn a living,
to find hope, courage, contentment and peace of mind; to accumulate riches and
to enjoy freedom of body and spirit.
Remember, too, as you go through the book, that it deals with facts and not with
fiction, its purpose being to convey a great universal truth through which all who
are READY may learn, not only WHAT TO DO, BUT ALSO HOW TO DO IT! and
receive, as well, THE NEEDED STIMULUS TO MAKE A START.
As a final word of preparation, before you begin the first chapter, may I offer
one brief suggestion which may provide a clue by which the Carnegie secret may
be recognized? It is this-ALL ACHIEVEMENT, 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 readily recognize the other half the moment it reaches your mind.
THE AUTHOR
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