Napoleon Hill – Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill – Think and Grow Rich – Contents

Napoleon Hill Biography
Napoleon Hill – Big Idea:
- Think and Grow Rich
Interesting Facts and Insights about Napoleon Hill
Career Advice Quotes by Napoleon Hill
Business Advice Quotes by Napoleon Hill
Leadership and Management Advice Quotes by Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill Inspirational Quotes
Books by Napoleon Hill
Questions about Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill – Videos

Napoleon Hill Biography

Oliver Napoleon Hill (1883 – 1970) was a self-help author best known for his book “Think and Grow Rich,” which was published in 1937. It is among the top ten best-selling self-help books of all time. First published during the Great Depression, the book sold more than 20 million copies by Hill’s death in 1970. By 2015, more than 100 million copies had been sold worldwide.

Hill became famous through his books but is a controversial figure. In addition to charges of fraud, the authenticity of many of Hill’s claims have been widely disputed. Historians doubt many of his claims, such as that he met Andrew Carnegie Napoleon or that he aided President Wilson and there is no known evidence to support his claim that he helped President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Hill’s works were inspired by the philosophy of “New Thought” and the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The “New Thought” movement developed in the United States in the 19th century. The “New Thought” movement evolved into a loosely allied group of religious denominations, authors, philosophers, and individuals who share common beliefs in the law of attraction, creative visualization, and personal power.

Napoleon Hill – Big Idea: Think and Grow Rich

Napoleon Hill wrote “Think and Grow Rich” in 1937. The book is a personal development and self-improvement book. Seventy years after the book was published, BusinessWeek magazine’s Best-Seller List still has ranked it as the sixth best-selling paperback business book.

Hill claimed that he was inspired by a suggestion from business magnate and later-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The book asserts that desire, faith, and persistence can propel one to great heights if one can suppress negative thoughts and focus on long-term goals. The book lists 13 Steps for success:

Desire
Faith
Autosuggestion
Specialized Knowledge
Imagination
Organized Planning
Decision
Persistence
Power of the Master Mind
The Mystery of Sex Transmutation
The Subconscious Mind
The Brain
The Sixth Sense

Interesting Facts and Insights about Napoleon Hill

Born: Napoleon Hill was born in 1883, in Pound, Virginia, U.S.
Appalachian: Hill was born in a one-room cabin near an Appalachian town in southwest Virginia.
Parents: Hill’s mother died when he was nine years old, and his father remarried two years later to Martha. His stepmother was a positive influence on him.
Reporter: Hill, at the age of 13, began writing as a reporter, initially for his father’s newspaper.
Marriage: Hill, at the age of 15, married a girl who had accused him of fathering her child. The girl later recanted the claim, and the marriage was annulled.
Graduated: Hill, at the age of 17, graduated from high school and attend business school at Tazewell, Virginia.
Law: Hill began law school before withdrawing due to a lack of funds. Later in life, Hill used the title of “Attorney of Law,” although there is no record of him acting as a lawyer.
Businessman: Hill relocated to Mobile, Alabama in 1907 and co-founded a lumber company, which later became liable to bankruptcy proceedings and charges of mail fraud.
Car Business: Hill relocated to Washington D.C. in 1909 and started a College, where he instructed students to build, chauffeur, and sell motor cars. Hill’s college was labeled a scam by an automobile magazine for misleading marketing materials. Hill’s automobile college ended its business soon after.
Advertising: Hill established a new school in Chicago, in 1915, called the “George Washington Institute of Advertising,” where he intended to teach the principles of success and self-confidence.
Charges: The state of Illinois had issued two warrants for the arrest of Hill, who was charged with violating laws for fraudulently attempting to sell shares of his school. The school ended soon afterward.
Magazines: Napoleon Hill then started several personal magazines, including Hill’s Golden Rule and Napoleon Hill’s Magazine.
School: Hill also started in 1922, the Intra-Wall Correspondence School, a charitable foundation intended to provide educational materials to prisoners in Ohio.
The Law of Success: Hill relocated to Philadelphia in 1928 and achieved publication of his first book success, “The Law of Success.” The book was Hill’s first major success, allowing Hill to adopt an opulent lifestyle.
The Magic Ladder To Success: Hill’s next published work, “The Magic Ladder To Success,” proved to be a commercial failure.
Business Ventures: During the next few years, Hill returned to his habits of continuously moving and starting short-lived business ventures.
Think and Grow Rich: Hill published the best-selling book “Think and Grow Rich” in 1937. It became Hill’s best-known work.
The Law of Success: Hill’s “Philosophy of Achievement” was offered as a formula for rags-to-riches success. From 1952 to 1962, Hill taught his “Philosophy of Personal Achievement – Lectures on Science of Success” in association with W. Clement Stone.
Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude: During 1960, Hill and Stone co-authored the book “Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude.”
Andrew Carnegie: Later in life, Hill claimed that the turning point of his life had been a 1908 assignment to interview the industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (d. 1919). Hill made this revelation after Carnegie’s death, though there is no documented proof. Carnegie was among the most powerful men in the world before his death.
Interview Wealthy People: Hill claimed that he met Carnegie, who inspired him to interview wealthy people to discover a simple formula for success. Hill claimed to have interviewed many successful people of the time.
Controversies: In addition to charges of fraud, the authenticity of many of Hill’s claims have been widely disputed. Napoleon Hill claimed that all the photos, letters from presidents, and endorsement letters from famous men were all lost in a fire.

Career Advice Quotes by Napoleon Hill

“If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.”

“We refuse to believe that which we don’t understand.”

“The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”

“It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.”

“Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune or temporary defeat.”

“The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.”

“Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”

“Neglecting to broaden their view has kept some people doing one thing all their lives.”

“If you do not see great riches in your imagination, you will never see them in your bank balance.”

“Every man is what he is, because of the dominating thoughts which he permits to occupy his mind.”

“It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind.”

“Cherish your vision and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.”

“Everyone faces defeat. It may be a stepping-stone or a stumbling block, depending on the mental attitude with which it is faced.”

“Remember, too, that all who succeed in life get off to a bad start, and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they “arrive.”

“Tell me how you use your spare time, and how you spend your money, and I will tell you where and what you will be in ten years from now.”

“The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”

“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.”

“Success in its highest and noblest form calls for peace of mind and enjoyment and happiness which come only to the man who has found the work that he likes best.”

Business Advice Quotes by Napoleon Hill

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”

“Money without brains is always dangerous.”

“Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.”

“All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.”

“Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.”

“More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than has been taken from the earth.”

“Set your mind on a definite goal and observe how quickly the world stands aside to let you pass.”

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”

“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.”

“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.”

Leadership and Management Advice Quotes by Napoleon Hill

“It is always your next move. “

“The ladder of success is never crowded at the top.”

“No man can succeed in a line of endeavor which he does not like.”

“Anything you do to and for another person, you do it to and for yourself.”

“It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others succeed.”

“If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water’s edge.”

“When your desires are strong enough, you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve.”

“There is very little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”

“A genius is simply one who has taken full possession of his own mind and directed it toward objectives of his own choosing, without permitting outside influences to discourage or mislead him.”

“Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent.”

“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”

“Until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy.”

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
– Napoleon Hill

Share this Information to increase Your Influence

Share this page with your network to increase your Influence. Then explore the additional Coaching Information from some of the world’s top experts. Click the links below:

“Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to conceive.”
– Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill Inspirational Quotes

“You give before you get.”

“Think and grow rich.”

“Action is the real measure of intelligence.”

“Life reflects your own thoughts back to you.”

“Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.”

“No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it.”

“Keep your mind fixed on what you want in life: not on what you don’t want.”

“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and never the result of selfishness.”

“Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to conceive.”

“Awake, arise, and assert yourself, you dreamers of the world. Your star is now in the ascendancy.”

“Most great people have achieved their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”

“It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind.”

“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.”

“To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about the darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.”

“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”

Books by Napoleon Hill

The Law of Success, by Napoleon Hill, 1928
Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, 1937
The Master-Key to Riches, by Napoleon Hill, 1945
Grow Rich!: With Peace of Mind, by Napoleon Hill, 1967
How to Raise Your Own Salary, by Napoleon Hill, 1953
How To Sell Your Way Through Life, by Napoleon Hill, 1939
The Magic Ladder To Success, by Napoleon Hill, 1930
Outwitting the Devil, by Napoleon Hill, written in 19380, published 2011
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone, 1959
Succeed and Grow Rich Through Persuasion, by Napoleon Hill, 1970
You Can Work Your Own Miracles by Napoleon Hill, 1971

“Anything you do to and for another person, you do it to and for yourself.”
– Napoleon Hill

BIG IDEAS:

“Strategies for Influence” explores and shares the BIG IDEAS from the Leaders of Influence that can help you with your Career, Business, and Leadership. Click on any of the links below to explore the Big Ideas that have influenced our work and culture.