Talking to Myself about Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (Self-Dialogue Book Review)

What made you want to read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill?

I’ve wanted to read it for years. You see it all the time on ‘best of’ lists for books about self-improvement or personal growth. It’s considered a must-read in the self-help genre, similar to Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. These books were written in the 1930s and yet people still talk about them, so I wanted to find out why. I wanted to know what the hype was all about.

So, you wanted to read it because of its popularity and not because of its subject matter? You have no desire to be rich?

Well–

Sorry, how presumptuous of me. Maybe you are rich…

Um, no, not yet. Yet being the operative word.

Ah, yes, you’re practicing positive thinking. Is that something that Hill advises in the book?

Yes, it is. The first word in the title – “THINK” – points to the direction of his message. And he introduces the first chapter with the words “THOUGHTS ARE THINGS.” There’s a strong emphasis on the power of the mind to manifest your desires.

So, if you just think good thoughts about money, it will start flowing into your life? Just like that?

Well, no, it isn’t that simple, unfortunately.

Haha. No pun intended, right?

Sorry?

“Unfortunately”?

…

In reference to fortune? Or lack thereof in this case…?

…

*clears throat* Anyway. You were saying?

To attract money or anything we desire into our lives, Hill states that we must make it into a dominating thought, mixed with resolute faith and emotion, that reaches the subconscious mind. This is where the magic happens. The subconscious mind is like Santa’s workshop, wherein it “draws upon the forces of Infinite Intelligence for the power with which it voluntarily transmutes one’s desires into their physical equivalent.”

Sounds complicated. No wonder there aren’t more rich people in the world.

Well, I probably didn’t explain it very well. Hill explains it is pretty clearly. And I just gave a brief summary of his message. He shares 13 principles for success in the book.

If Hill explains the principles for success clearly, as you say, then why did you give the book 2 out of 5 stars on Goodreads?

There’s a strong focus on money, to have tunnel vision for its attainment – at least that’s the impression I got from it. This emphasis kind of thwarted my enthusiasm for the book. Hill advises us to come up with a specific dollar figure we desire and to focus on it; this exercise made me feel uncomfortable.

I do desire abundance, but in reading the book I almost felt like I had to become heartless or greedy in order to attain wealth.

Let me make clear that Hill encourages service, gratitude, and kindness. He even talks about love.

I think Hill’s writing voice was part of why the book didn’t make a stronger impact on me. It’s written in an efficient, almost clinical, no-nonsense voice. Quite pragmatic – I could see how some people would like and appreciate that. For me, however, I felt it lacked humanity. There was no heart and soul in it. And it is possible to talk about money from a heart and soul-focused way.

I just finished reading A Happy Pocket Full of Money, which resonated with me more strongly as it explains money-consciousness from a spiritual perspective and has a strong focus on working on our entire inner Being, not just predominantly on our mindset.

Does this mean Think and Grow Rich won’t be a mainstay on your bookshelf? Are you going to try to sell it at the used bookstore for a couple bucks?

It’s staying on my bookshelf. I actually plan on re-reading it, at least parts of it, as it does share a lot of valuable points.

I know you love quotes. Let’s conclude by sharing a quote from the book.

“Most of us go through life as failures, because we are waiting for the ‘time to be right’ to start doing something worthwhile. Do not wait. The time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”

I like this quote because it reminds us that it is in the starting and doing that our growth will strengthen and blossom. We need not worry whether we have all the tools at the beginning; we learn and pick up more tools and skill sets along the way.

My question to you, kind reader: Have you read Hill’s Think and Grow Rich? If so, what was its impact on you?

Please feel free to recommend other books on self-improvement!