Book Review: Think & Grow Rich

I was fortunate to be able to pick this book up, almost by accident. It was on Roosh's list of recommended books to read and given how much I got out of the 48 Laws of Power, it seemed a no-brainer. The funny bit of trivia regarding this is that I stumbled on the work somewhat by accident (my intention to read it went on the backburner for a bit) through reading several articles on Victor Pride's website, Bold & Determined.

It was an eye-opening read. It gives primacy to the power of thought and ties in well with some of the lessons of the 48 Laws of Power- namely that emotional states are contagious, and you need to be consciously aware of who you are allowing to influence you and what thoughts you allow to enter your head.

More than that, it gives a practical guide to controlling your own thoughts, lays out a blueprint for doing so, and provides a step-by-step philosophy for the mindset of success.

"Thoughts, whether positive or negative, immediately begin to transmute themselves into their physical equivalent."

I thought that was the best quote of the book. It is an old adage that you become what you think about, so you need to be aware of what it is you think about. I would suspect that most people think about nothing, or are too busy thinking negative thoughts, blaming others for their own problems, being miserable. The prevalence of narcissistic 'social justice' ideas gives much evidence to this hypothesis. These thoughts become self-fulfilling prophecies. Excuses for failure are all too common. And this, I would venture to say, is the leading cause of widening income inequality. In the age of the internet, everyone can at least be a part-time capitalist. Everyone has a hobby that can be turned into a moneymaker (and if someone doesn't that says a lot about him, first and foremost, that he needs to find one).

I've stated before that one of my own weaknesses is that I'm very self-critical, too much so. I'm a perfectionist. If things don't go exactly my way, I tend to get frustrated, which leads to negative thoughts that then translate into their physical equivalent. Perfectionism is good in moderation, but I have it too much. Think & Grow Rich allowed me to more fully see this weakness.

It also allowed me to more fully analyze my goals. Think about your goals. Start to make moves toward them. Make them specific. I need to apply the principles of autosuggestion more stringently, to overcome any negative coding in the subconscious mind (another useful aspect of this book).

One of the most amazing things was when Napoleon Hill talked about his imaginary 'Master Mind' council of figures he admired. It was so startlingly similar to my own Twenty Men exercise that I thought I might as well just be plagiarizing him. I guess there's nothing new under the sun. He took it further though. He actively imagined himself sitting with those men he admired and talking with them. That's something I'll need to do myself.

Though I admittedly found some of it a bit hokey, stuff that might as well be proto-New Age mumbo jumbo, the core philosophy is golden, and every man should read this book.

Read or download Think & Grow Rich here. Think & Grow Rich Napoleon Hill Self-Improvement