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Think and Grow Rich

by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich is a personal-development and self-improvement book by Napoleon Hill, first published in 1937 by The Ralston Society during the Great Depression. Hill presents what he calls a philosophy of success… more

First published 1937 · 238 pages · English

30 quotes ★ 4.16 (391,241) Nonfiction

Quotes from the Book

The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.
You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.
When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.
Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.
Set your mind on a definite goal and observe how quickly the world stands aside to let you pass.
The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.
A quitter never wins-and-a winner never quits.
Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.
Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.
An educated man is not, necessarily, one who has an abundance of general or specialized knowledge. An educated man is one who has so developed the faculties of his mind that he may acquire anything he wants, or its equivalent, without violating the rights of others.
More gold had been mined from the mind of men than the earth it self
We refuse to believe that which we don't understand.
To win the big stakes in this changed world, you must catch the spirit of the great pioneers of the past, whose dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value, the spirit that serves as the life-blood of our own country – your opportunity and mine, to develop and market our talents.
I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, and cynicism, by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and in myself.
Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth. Everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept them. If you are influenced by "opinions" when you reach DECISIONS, you will not succeed in any undertaking.
Put your foot upon the neck of the fear of criticism by reaching a decision not to worry about what other people think, do, or say.
One who has loved truly, can never lose entirely. Love is whimsical and temperamental. Its nature is ephemeral, and transitory. It comes when it pleases,and goes away without warning. Accept and enjoy it while it remains, but spend no time worrying about its departure. Worry will never bring it back.
Perhaps we shall learn, as we pass through this age, that the 'other self" is more powerful than the physical self we see when we look into a mirror.
There is a difference between WISHING for a thing and being READY to receive it. No one is ready for a thing, until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must be BELIEF, not mere hope or wish. Open-mindedness is essential for belief.
Helen Keller became deaf, dumb, and blind shortly after birth. Despite her greatest misfortune, she has written her name indelibly in the pages of the history of the great. Her entire life has served as evidence that no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality.
Neglecting to broaden their view has kept some people doing one thing all their lives.
Those who succeed in an outstanding way seldom do so before the age of 40. More often, they do not strike their real pace until they are well beyond the age of 50.
TELL THE WORLD WHAT YOU INTEND TO DO, BUT FIRST SHOW IT.This is the equivalent of saying "deeds, and not words, are what count most.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize.
Remember,too,that all who succeed in life get off to a bad start,and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they "arrive". The turning point in the lives of those who succeed usually comes at some moment of crisis,through which they are introduced to their "other selves".
There are no limitations to the mind except those that we acknowledge.
If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.
Remember that it is not the lawyer who knows the most law, but the one who best prepares his case, who wins.
IF - and this is the greatest of them all - I had the courage to see myself as I reallyam, I would find out what is wrong with me, and correct it, then I might have a chance to profit by my mistakes and learn something from the experience of others,for I know that there is something WRONG with me, or I would now be where I WOULD HAVE BEEN IF I had spent more time analyzing my weaknesses, and less time building alibis to cover them.
If you give up before your goal has been reached, you are a "quitter." A QUITTER NEVER WINS AND A WINNER NEVER QUITS. Lift this sentence out, write it on a piece of paper in letters an inch high, and place it where you will see it every night before you go to sleep, and every morning before you go to work

Did you know?

  • The book was first published in 1937 by The Ralston Society, during the Great Depression.
  • Hill said the work grew out of more than twenty years of studying individuals who had amassed personal fortunes.
  • The philosophy is organized around thirteen 'steps to riches,' including desire, faith, autosuggestion, and persistence.
  • Hill credited industrialist Andrew Carnegie as the inspiration for his research, a claim later questioned by historians.
  • It remains the biggest seller among Napoleon Hill's books.

About Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) was an American self-help author best known for Think and Grow Rich, one of the best-selling books in the personal-success genre. He spent decades studying wealthy and accomplished individuals to formulate what he described as a philosophy of achievement.

More about the author →

About the book

Think and Grow Rich is a personal-development and self-improvement book by Napoleon Hill, first published in 1937 by The Ralston Society during the Great Depression. Hill presents what he calls a philosophy of success, arguing that anyone can achieve wealth and their chosen goals by adopting a definite set of mental habits and principles. The book distills its message into thirteen steps to riches, among them desire, faith, autosuggestion, specialized knowledge, imagination, organized planning, decision, and persistence.

The core theme is that thought, when combined with intense desire, clear planning, and sustained persistence, can be organized into concrete achievement. Hill emphasizes positive mental attitude, goal-setting, and the power of belief in oneself, framing the mind as the primary tool for turning ambition into material and personal success. He drew the material from more than twenty years of studying individuals who had built substantial fortunes, and famously credited industrialist Andrew Carnegie as the inspiration for the project, though historians have questioned that connection.

Since its release, Think and Grow Rich has become the best-selling of Hill's works and one of the most enduring titles in the self-help genre, with sales estimates ranging into the tens of millions of copies worldwide. It helped establish the template for modern motivational and success literature, and its language of mindset, definiteness of purpose, and persistence has been widely echoed by later personal-development writers.

Book details

First published
1937
Length
238 pages
Reading time
3 hours
Goodreads rating
4.16 (391k ratings)

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