influence, attraction, direction and stuff

I’ve mentioned before that I am a fan of Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich“, this is despite my initial (and long-term) misgivings about the book, based on the title. Fortunately I eventually allowed myself to read it, and was delighted to find it wasn’t yet another “Get Rich Quick” theory, or “Sit Around All Day Imagining Wealth and It Will Come To You” nonsense.

The book was first published in 1937; when you realise that point you wonder why the author wasn’t burned at the stake or something. His ideas and thinking would be considered advanced today, let alone in 1937!

something’s missing

I’ve read the book a number of times now, and while there’s loads of information that can be taken and put to good use, I always wind up thinking I have somehow missed the key point. This isn’t helped by the fact that Napoleon Hill says right up front that the book contains the secret to success and that you might find it in the very first chapter, in the very last chapter, or somewhere in between. He gets all pseudo-mystical about it, stating that Andrew Carnegie “quietly tossed” the idea into his mind and that it seems to work best if it’s not stated directly, merely left for someone to discover for themself.

I always wind up thinking “won’t you just bloody well tell me what Carnegie said to you???”

I’ve come up with several theories as to what this elusive secret might be, the title of the book implies that it’s to do with thinking, thoughts, your mind… I know other people who have come up with different theories. I have not heard a single one that seems to be wholly satisfactory. The semi-mystical aspect makes things worse – it can easily lead to the book being dismissed.

the missing piece discovered

I had not realised that Think and Got Rich was NOT Napoleon Hill’s first work on the subject, nor had I realised it was NOT the main product of his work analysing 500 successful individuals. It seems that THIS particular honour goes to a larger volume of work called “The Law of Success In 16 Lessons”.

This “reading course” was published in 1928 – Think and Grow Rich appears to be a summary of certain key points, yet somehow (for me at least) that summary loses some of the clarity and specifics of the original work.

For one thing, “The Law of Success” contains exactly the response Andrew Carnegie gave when asked what the secret of his success was. Furthermore, while retaining all the incredibly advanced theories and ideas, “The Law of Success” comes across as a far more practical solution without any apparent “mystical” feel. There ARE still areas that require suspension of belief (particularly when he touches on Telepathy), however the overall tone helps you realise that it’s mostly about putting thoughts into real world action.

The individual topics are also covered in far greater depth than in “Think and Grow Rich”, leading to a broader understanding of the “recipe” for success that Napoleon Hill is trying to get across.

working with “the law”

There is no doubt that “Think and Grow Rich” has had a positive effect on me, in particular in helping me stick to my goal of building up Avallach Technology as a successful business. It’s also hit a lot of the same ground as my more “spiritual” development work, leading me to the conclusion that what seemed to be two aspects are actually different views of the same issues.

The results (if you can call them that) have been limited, mostly I believe because of the nagging feeling that something was missing.

The lightbulb went on after the first 2 “lessons” in “The Law of Success” – the extra detail, the additional information, the more practical nature of the thing all combined to make me realise that Think and Grow Rich was the “appetiser”; what I really need is to work through and understand his longer, more in-depth initial work.

So to that end I have decided to track those efforts on this blog, which is after all about my personal development “journey”, and in particular to post up my 2012 interpretations of what Hill was saying back in 1928.

Before I even get started on that though – I thoroughly recommend getting hold of “The Law of Success” to anyone vaguely interested in making a better life for themselves. It contains some very practical advice that should be obvious yet isn’t until someone else makes you face up to facts, or circumstances do the same.

One thing is for sure, blogging about it is going to help cement things in my mind – it will also probably cause a few raised eyebrows