Introduction

About the book

Think and Grow Rich is one of the best-selling books on personal development by Napoleon Hill (author). It was ranked as the sixth best-selling business book by 'The Business Week magazine'. 

This book was written during the process when Napoleon Hill was given the challenge to interview other successful people to discover the simple formula for success. It is a pearl of combined wisdom from more than 500 most successful individuals, which has been pinned into 13 principles. It is an all-time self-help classic for readers, which helps them become more effective in spite of the uncertainties coming their way. 

The book has been an inspiration to many people for decades.   

About the author

Napoleon Hill, born in 1883, was a great self-help author who insisted that deep-rooted expectations are important to improve a person's life. He is best known for his book 'Think And Grow Rich' and mostly promoted advanced principles to achieve success. Apart from being a prominent author, he had also become an advisor to many presidents. After several years of teaching, lecturing, and writing, he died in 1970. 

"Awake, arise, and assert yourself, you dreamers of the world"- Napoleon Hill

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Power Of Thoughts

In the first chapter, the author throws light on the power of thought and how strongly it has the ability to change one’s life. One should have a definite purpose which can be compared to an obsession.

Hill introduces Edwin Barnes, a man who had an immense desire to partner up with the famous inventor, Thomas Edison. Although Barnes had no clue how to materialize his thoughts (because he did not know Edison personally), he still had a positive perspective on it. He had to face a lot of obstacles in his journey, but he never thought of giving up. Eventually, he managed to sell Edison’s dictating machine so successfully that he became a major distributor of it. Their business became famous as “Made by Edison and Installed by Barnes.”

His hard work paid off handsomely and helped him to become a rich man. Opportunity had come to Barnes in an unexpected way. 

Opportunity comes to one in the form of a temporary defeat or misfortune. 

Barnes had nothing when he started, except the fact that he knew what he wanted and had a strong determination to follow it. 

Besides Edwin Barnes, Hill also talks about Darby. Darby and his uncle borrowed money so that they could buy machinery to mine gold. They were successful at first, but as they started digging ‘fault lines’, they couldn't find any gold thereafter. After several unsuccessful attempts, they gave up and sold all their machinery to a man who collected junk. 

The junkman who bought the equipment from Darby decided to take expert advice. He then went on to dig the same place where Darby had left off and found gold only after digging 3 feet deeper into the ground. If Darby had tried harder, he would have tasted success too. 

A lot of people tend to give up when they face failure, not understanding that it is just a temporary defeat. Giving up should never be an option.

“Failure is nature’s plan to prepare you for great responsibilities”. -Napoleon Hill

One of the main drawbacks for a person is the word “Impossible”. He is very well aware of the things which cannot be done or the rules that cannot be followed. 

According to the author, failure comes to those who allow themselves to become failure conscious. To become successful, a person has to follow the rules of successful people and abide by them under every circumstance. This book teaches the art of changing our mindsets from failure consciousness to success consciousness.

“Keep your mind fixed on what you want in life; Not on what you don’t want”. -Napoleon Hill

Desire: The Turning Point Of All Achievements

The first step towards riches is having the desire in them.

 It is the starting point of everything. Anyone can achieve anything they want if they have a keen, pulsating desire. 

Barnes’ desire was not just a hope, and it was not a wish. It was his  keen desire that was definite.

Hoping and wishing cannot bring us fortune. Desire in the form of obsession, definite plans to acquire it, and backing those plans with persistence, can bring us fortune.

Barnes, from the previous chapter, succeeded because he chose a definite goal and placed all his energy, effort, and willpower towards achieving it. He did not become Edison's partner on the very first day of his arrival. He was content to start with a low-level work which took him a step forward towards his goal.

To others, he was just a person working for Edison, but he himself always thought of being Edison's partner. He reached his goal because it was the only thing that he ever wanted. He left no stones unturned to achieve his goal.

Napoleon has shared six steps to transmute desire into its financial equivalent:

1. Fix the exact amount of money you desire.
2. Ascertain clearly what you intend to give in return for your desired money because there is no reality such as “something for nothing”.
3. Think of a definite date by when you want to achieve it.
4. Create a definite plan and begin immediately irrespective of whether you are ready or not.
5. Write all of the above points in a clear concise statement.
6. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once at bedtime, and once in the morning.
7.  
   

These six steps were also approved by Thomas A Edison as the essentials for attaining any definite goal.

People who are afraid of new ideas are doomed before they start.

Tolerance and an open mind are the only requirements for a dreamer in today's world to be successful. 

Christopher Columbus, the great navigator, and explorer had dreamt of an unknown world. He risked his life and discovered it. 

Copernicus dreamt of astronomy and revealed it by formulating a model for the Universe.

Henry Ford dreamt of a horseless carriage. He started with whatever tools he had, without waiting for the favourable opportunity. The world knows him as the founder of The Ford Motor Company.

Thomas Edison dreamt of an electric lamp and invented it in spite of failing more than 10,000 times. Lincoln dreamt of freedom for black people and worked towards it, to turn it into reality. 

The Wright Brothers dreamt of flying a machine in the air and today the world can see the evidence of how strong their dreams were.

All the greatest achievements were at first only a dream. Dreams are not born out of laziness or lack of ambition. Hill says that this world is filled with opportunities. 

One only needs to kindle the mind with the fire of hope, faith, courage, and tolerance. 

Belief is a state of mind and when one believes in something, he is ready to receive it. Belief comes with an open mindset. A closed mindset does not support faith, courage, and belief.

“Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.” -Napoleon Hill

After this, Hill shares that his son was born with no physical ears and hence, according to the doctors, the child would be deaf and mute for all his life. He, as a father, refused to accept this truth and challenged the doctor’s opinions. 

Nature chose to send him a child without ears, but it could not force him to accept this harsh reality. He only desired that his son should not be deaf and mute and he never receded from that desire. He was sure of finding a solution to this disorder.

He believed the only limitations for a person are set up in his own mind.

We tend to underestimate our own ability to achieve great things which limits the actions we take. It is difficult to achieve a goal if we start to limit ourselves. People with a limited mindset tend to work within their limit of comfort zone. No matter how difficult it is to reach a goal, if you start believing in it, you can achieve it.

He started to plant in his son’s mind that every adversity brings equal advantage with it. He kept on trying different ways, only to know that all this time, his son was able to hear faint voices. Finally, after 24 years, he got a hearing device that changed nature’s error and his son was finally able to hear like everyone else. 

The author had a persistent desire to change his child's practical inability and he knew that nothing is impossible for a person who has a desire with an enduring faith. His approach consisted of 3 important facts. 

1. He mixed the desire of his son’s hearing with faith and passed it to his son's mind. 
2. Secondly, he communicated this desire to his son in every way possible through continuous efforts. 
3. Thirdly, his son believed him. 
4.  
   

The power of desire mixed with faith is very strong. It can lift people from their lows to highs. 

The power of the human mind is very enigmatic because it has the ability to use any circumstance to transform desire into its physical counterpart.

Faith, Visualization & Belief

This chapter talks about the second step towards riches.

 The author shows us how important it is to have an unwavering faith along with an intense desire to achieve our goals. 

The unshakeable belief in it and the ability to achieve it is immensely essential. Faith works on a subconscious level and helps one to move towards one’s goal. 

Faith can be created by repeated instructions to the subconscious mind by something called Auto-Suggestion, i.e., any thought which is repeatedly passed onto the subconscious mind is finally accepted and acted upon by it. It further translates the thought into its physical equivalent in the most practical way possible. 

Thoughts with not only positive emotions but also negative emotions are passed onto the subconscious mind. Hence if you think negatively, those beliefs will take over your mind and block the positive thoughts, which in turn will cause a hindrance in overcoming your current situation and achieving your goals.  

If a person has failed and believes that he has no control over it, then he is solely responsible for his misfortune because his subconscious mind picks up this negative belief and translates it into its physical equivalent.

If a man repeats a lie, again and again, he will eventually accept that lie is the truth. A person is a reflection of his dominating thoughts which he allows his mind to occupy. Any man can deceit his subconscious mind by giving himself repeated instructions. 

This can be made realistic by behaving as if he has already possessed what he desires.

Hence, every person is what he is, only because of the dominating thoughts that he allows to occupy his mind. Thoughts that have emotions carry a magnetic force that attracts similar and related thoughts from the cosmos (both constructive and destructive).  

According to Hill, when you take into account your mental assets and liabilities, you will know that the lack of self-confidence can be your greatest weakness. 

The best way to induce self-confidence is to commit it to your memory and read it aloud daily. This will gradually influence your thoughts and actions and will ultimately help you in becoming successful.

For example, Mahatma Gandhi did not have battleships, soldiers, money, or warfare materials. All he had was power. Power created out of faith and the ability to transplant it into the minds of 200 million people unanimously. 

Even the strongest military power couldn’t achieve what Gandhi achieved with faith. Similarly, the giant organisation, United Steel States, was created in one man's mind. His faith, desire, imagination, and persistence were the real powers that went into it.

Our only limitations are the ones that we create in our minds. Both riches and poverty are the outcomes of thought.

Auto-Suggestion: The Medium For Influencing The Subconscious Mind

This chapter explains the third step to riches.

Auto-Suggestion (also self-suggestion), is the act of constantly suggesting to your mind that you can achieve anything just by envisioning it. By doing this, you can trigger your subconscious mind to deliver you the plans by which you can achieve your goal.

Faith and auto-suggestion work together. You can use faith to strengthen the thoughts you want to implant in your subconscious mind. On the other hand, you can use auto-suggestion to develop your faith to achieve what you desire.

The next step is to mix emotion and faith with your words to get desirable results.

A person's subconscious mind recognises and acts upon only those thoughts that are mixed with their emotions. 

Your ability to use auto-suggestion solely depends on how obsessed you are about a given desire.

Specialized Knowledge, Personal Experiences, Or Observations

In this chapter, the author talks about the power of knowledge, which is the fourth step towards riches. 

To begin with, there are two types of knowledge: 

1. General
2. Specialised

Colleges and universities provide general knowledge on many subjects but it generally lacks practical application. If one wants to achieve his goal, he should have specialised knowledge of that field. 

There is a difference between knowledge and education. Knowledge itself is a form of power. 

Thus, one must never stop gaining knowledge. Knowledge can be acquired through public libraries, colleges, and practical experiences.

Despite the importance of specialised knowledge, Hill says that it is not possible for an individual to have all the education, experience, and ability to accumulate riches single-handedly. He needs a Master Mind group, i.e., a group of people who have the expertise and knowledge who can help us in achieving our goals. 

During the world war, a Chicago newspaper published several articles where Henry Ford was called an “ignorant pacifist”. Mr. Ford sued the newspaper for trying to defame him. During the court trials, Mr. Ford was asked to answer certain questions that were beyond his knowledge. Questions that might have proved that Ford was ignorant towards his business.

After getting tired of answering those silly questions, Ford finally said that he had the option to call upon any person from his mastermind group to answer those questions for him. So in reality, there wasn’t any requirement for him to muddle his mind with general knowledge because he had people who could supply him with that knowledge as and when he needed it.

This made everyone in the court realise that he was not an ignorant man but a man of education, who knew where to get a piece of knowledge from when he needed it. With the help of this very MasterMind group, Henry Ford knew he could change the whole auto-mobile industry. 

People sometimes face inferiority complexes because their schooling was limited. They should remember that a man who can direct and organise a MasterMind group is just as educated as any other man in the group.

A person must first decide what kind of specialised knowledge is required. The goal he wants to achieve will help him to determine the kind of knowledge he should acquire. 

After a piece of knowledge is acquired, it must be organised and put into practical application for a definite purpose. Application of knowledge is very important. The author says that a school might not be the best place to learn because it does not teach its students how to organise and apply the knowledge that they acquire. 

Implementation of ideas and knowledge is actually what matters the most.

Successful men never stop acquiring specialised knowledge which is related to their business. Unsuccessful people usually think that the time to acquire knowledge ends when their school ends. One can only adapt to the changing times when he combines his thirst for knowledge with his imagination.

The author believed that a person who refuses to compromise with unfavourable circumstances is an asset whose value cannot be measured.

Imagination: The Workshop Of the Mind

This unit talks about imagination, which is the fifth step towards riches. 

Imagination is like a workshop where desires are given shape and form. It is a very crucial tool to convert your thoughts into actionable ideas. 

The author says that a person can achieve anything that he imagines. However, this power of imagination usually declines when it is not put into regular use. People who have just started using their imagination in a very basic way have to reach new heights to develop this faculty.

There are two types of imaginations: 

1.Synthetic
2.Creative

Synthetic imagination involves rearranging old ideas, plans, and concepts in a new way. It doesn’t create anything new. Instead, it just works on the materials of education, experience, and observation.

Creative imagination involves working with one’s subconscious mind and generating new ideas. This imagination helps us to procure plans, which ultimately helps us achieve our goals. It is functional only when the conscious mind is spurred by a strong emotional desire. It allows us to receive vibrations from the mind of others. It also helps us to tune in or connect with other people's subconscious minds.

Desire is just an abstract thought and holds no value unless it’s transformed into its physical equivalent. To transform these desires into reality, a plan is required which can be formed with the help of synthetic imagination.

Many years ago, a doctor sold an old kettle, a wooden spoon, and a secret formula to a drug store clerk for $500. It was a good deal for the retiring doctor. However, he was unaware of the fact that this actually was a life-changing deal for him. The clerk was very sure that he just did not purchase the kettle and spoon but also an idea with it. He used the secret formula to create a sugary soda beverage in the name of ‘Coca-Cola’.  

The clerk became super successful with the aggressively marketed beverage and created employment beyond imagination. This gave business opportunities to people all across the globe, while all of this just started with an idea.

Hence adding imagination to one’s specialised knowledge is immensely important if one wants to grow rich.

Organized Planning: The Crystallization Of Desire Into Action

This chapter explains why planning is the most important part of any business and the sixth step towards riches. 

If a plan doesn't work then one should think of a new one. No matter how many times your plans fail, you should keep thinking of a new one until one works for you. Many people fail because of the lack of persistence to come up with a new plan when the existing one fails. 

They fail to understand that it is just a temporary defeat, and it only means that the plan is wrong and it needs to be fixed. Even the most successful people cannot succeed until their plan is practical and workable. While planning, one must prepare himself for temporary defeat and be ready with a modified plan.

Thomas Edison was also defeated 10,000 times before he successfully invented the light bulb. In the case of successful men, we often see their victory and overlook their temporary defeats which they faced.

The author shares a couple of steps that can be used to construct a practical plan to accomplish a goal.

• You must collaborate with the masterminds to ensure the direction and viability of your plan.
• Before forming alliances you must be clear about what you can offer them in return for their service.
• You must ensure to meet your mastermind group at least twice a week to work on your strategies.
• You must have a friendly relation with your group and maintain harmony.

When defeat comes, it basically signals that your plans are not sound and you need to rebuild them if you want to reach your goal. If you give up before achieving, then you will be labelled as a “quitter”.

There are two types of people - one, who is the Leader and the other who is the Follower. Although there is no harm in being a follower, there is no credit either. Followers cannot expect the amount of compensation to which the leaders are entitled. It will be a mistake on their part if they expect such a payment by just being a follower.

Most great leaders began by being a follower.

The only difference between a successful and an unsuccessful person is that a successful person chooses to be an intelligent follower. An intelligent leader has the biggest advantage in the form of an opportunity to gain knowledge from his leader. This in turn helps him to become an efficient leader.

According to the author, the following qualities are important leadership attributes:

• Unwavering courage - If a leader lacks confidence, he will not be able to dominate his followers.
• Self-control - One who cannot control himself, can never control others. This is why one should have control over his mind and thoughts at all times.
• A keen sense of justice - Without a sense of justice, a leader won't be able to retain the respect of his followers.
• Definiteness of decision - A person who wavers his decision signifies uncertainty and hence, cannot be an effective leader.
• The habit of doing more than paid for - A leader should always be willing to do more than what is required.
• A pleasing personality - A leader calls for respect and hence cannot be careless.
• Sympathy and understanding - A successful leader must understand his followers and their problems.
• Mastery of detail - Successful leadership calls for mastery in every detail.
• Willingness to assume full responsibility -  A successful leader must be willing to take the responsibility for any mistake or shortcoming from his/her followers.
• Cooperation - Leadership calls for power which in turn calls for cooperation. 

There are two types of leadership. One leadership is by consent and the other is by force. 

Leadership by force cannot last long. The employer-employee relationship must be more like a partnership. It is also very important to know what not to do just as much as it is to know what to do. Hence, 10 major causes of failure in leadership are as follows:

• Inability to organise details.
• Unwillingness to render humble service.
• The expectation to pay for what they know instead of what they do.
• Fear of competition from followers.
• Lack of imagination.
• Selfishness.
• Intemperance.
• Disloyalty.
• The emphasis on authority because an efficient leader leads by encouraging and not by instilling fear in the hearts of his followers.
• A man who has too much to make from his title has very little to emphasize on other things.

Hill goes on to explain that there are 30 major reasons for a man's failure. One must go through them regularly to check and avoid them. To avoid them, one must also go through this self-analysis questionnaire. The most important of all the questions are:

• Have I delivered the best quality service?
• Have I delivered it in the greatest quantity without any delay?
• Have I been able to work in peace and harmony?
• Have I been persistent?

A capitalistic society guarantees an opportunity to everyone and provides the best service. The system will give all the rights required but will never allow “something for nothing”.

In a nutshell, this chapter introduces us to three ideas. The first one is checking that the plan created by you is realistic. It is likely that the first plan is not the definite one, but you have to give your best to make it a realistic one. For this, you must seek professional advice.

The second idea is the modification of your plans. It is not important for you to stick to the original plan forever, instead, you should keep changing it until it looks apt. The key here is trial and error. Instead of wasting time in developing a perfect plan or product, you must start trying. The earlier you start the earlier you know what is not working for you.

The third point is about self-introspection and awareness. A plan proves to be a failure when the person who is supposed to carry it out is not ready. Organised planning not only means planning perfectly but also means analysing yourself and being ready to accept the changes required.

Decision: The Mastery Of Procrastination

The seventh step towards riches.

According to the author, one of the main reasons why people fail is because they procrastinate, i.e., the action of delaying or postponing a task. Most people wait before they start a task and thus lose interest and ultimately fail in their objective.

Procrastination is an enemy that every person must learn to conquer. Analysis of successful people shows us that they had the habit of making a decision promptly and changed their decisions rarely.

Hill cites the example of Henry Ford, who was known to make quick decisions and changed them very slowly. He was also labelled as an obstinate, i.e., a person who sticks to the decision he makes. Many advisors and customers said that the car Ford was manufacturing at that time was ugly, but he chose to stick to his original decision. The sales of that particular model were huge and Ford booked huge profits from it.

People who fail to accumulate sufficient money, often get influenced by other people's opinions. They let these opinions do the thinking for them. If one is influenced by several opinions, he will never be able to make his own decisions. Many of our friends and relatives tend to ridicule us so much that it can destroy our self-confidence. 

Every man has got his own brain and should use it. Hill also advises us to keep our eyes and ears wide open and mouths closed.

“If you talk more than you listen then you are depriving yourself of the opportunity to accumulate knowledge.” 

It also discloses your plans to people who will enjoy defeating you. 

One must never forget that every person wants to accumulate wealth. If you talk and disclose your plans, you will be surprised because the other person will put your plan into action before you do and will  beat you.

“Tell the world what you intend to do, but first Show It”. -Napoleon Hill

The value of your decisions depends on whether you have the courage required to undertake those decisions. This courage is a result of desire, decision, faith, persistence, mastermind, and organised planning. Indecision usually begins in youth. No educational system teaches the habit of definite decisions. 

This is the reason why 98% of the people are ready to work for wages and don’t have the power to choose their employer. 

People who make decisions in the spirit of faith, can solve their problems and win spiritual and material wealth. However, one must have the courage to undertake the decision he/she has made.

Persistence: The Sustained Effort Necessary To Induce Faith

The basis of persistence is strong willpower. This is the eighth step to becoming rich.

Will power, when combined with desire makes a strong and irresistible combination. Men with great fortune are generally misunderstood to be ruthless and cold-blooded. 

However, what they have is willpower, along with persistence and a desire to achieve their goal. Lack of persistence is one of the major causes of failure, and is found in the majority of the people nowadays. One can overcome their weaknesses by working towards themselves on a continuous basis. 

Persistence can only be achieved through the intensity of one’s desire. It matters a lot because a small amount of fire can generate large amounts of heat.

Fortune is attracted to those who have deliberately prepared their mind to attract it. Whereas, poverty is attracted to those whose minds are unfavourable to them. If you are not persistent you will lose even before you start. 

You can win only if you are persistent. It is very important to snap out of your mental inertia. A person progresses slowly at first, and then gains speed until he has complete control over his will. No matter how slowly you move, always be persistent.

Most people will tend to quit just after they fail a few times and this is exactly why they do not achieve success.

Remember Darby? 

Even he quitted digging when he was just 3 feet away from gold. 

“I have not failed. I’ve just 10,000 ways that won’t work.” -Napoleon Hill

Persistence can be cultivated by the definiteness of purpose, desire, self-reliance, plans, knowledge, cooperation, willpower, and habit.

People do not take risks because they fear criticism. This fear of criticism is much stronger than their desire for success. 

The author suggests four ways which can make us persistent:

1.A definite purpose along with a burning desire.
2.A definite plan which should be in continuous action.
3.A mind immune tightly against negative and discouraging influences.
4.A friendly alliance which encourages planning.

Power Of The Master Mind: The Driving Force

The ninth step towards riches

Power is essential if one wants to accumulate wealth. However, power is more important for the retention of money after it has been acquired. 

Power may be defined as: “organised and intelligently directed knowledge”.

The sources of organised knowledge are:

• Infinite Intelligence,
• Accumulated Experience, and
• Experiment and Research.

Mastermind is the coordination of knowledge between two or more people to achieve a definite goal. 

There are two characteristics of the masterminds - economic and psychic. 

Having a mastermind group has serious advantages. For example, when a person is surrounded by like-minded people who want to attain a similar goal, he will think and act similarly. Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford also had their own mastermind groups.

A man's brain can be compared to an electric battery. It can absorb the energy from the cosmos, which pervades every atom of matter and fills the entire universe with it. Obviously, a group of electric batteries will produce more energy than a single battery. 

Similarly, a group of brains (working in perfect harmony) will provide more thought energy than a single brain. This energy is created when this alliance becomes available to every individual person in that group.

According to the author, Mahatma Gandhi was the most powerful man who lived on Earth. It was a miracle to bring two hundred million people and make them cooperate together for a limitless time, that too in the spirit of harmony. All this was done without forcing anyone. For a man, it may be difficult to induce just two people to cooperate with him in such a spirit.

The wall street crash of ‘29 revealed that poverty and riches often change places. Hill says that poverty is bold and ruthless and needs no plan. However, riches are timid and shy and need to be attracted.

The Mystery Of Sex

The tenth step towards riches

In this chapter, the author explains that out of all human desires, the desire for sex is the most powerful. Also, how people risk their wealth, life, and reputation to fulfill it. He believes that if a person’s sexual energy is transformed into a creative one, it can help us in boosting our willpower. This chapter explains how we can master our own sexuality and redirect this energy towards attaining our goals.

According to Hill, sex is both energy and emotion which has three benefits:

1.Perpetuation of mankind,
2.Health maintenance,
3.Transformation of average ability to genius through transmutation.

Transmutation means harnessing the power of sexual energy in making us rich. This can be done by redirecting your thoughts from the physical meaning of sex to creative efforts. This creative force can be in the form of art, literature, music, or even achieving riches. 

Redirected sexual energy is the part of the creative energy behind all wealthy people. There are 10 main stimuli for the human mind, which are: desire for sex, love, desire for wealth, music, friendship, mastermind, auto-suggestion, mutual suffering, fear, and drugs and alcohol.

The author believed that a genius is developed through his sixth sense. The sixth sense can also be called creative imagination. The ideas that come to a person's mind, through the sixth sense is from the following sources:

• Infinite Intelligence.
• Subconscious mind.
• Other people's conscious thoughts.
• Other people's subconscious thoughts.

This chapter explains that creative faculty can be trained to increase our performances only if we exercise it. 

Sex transmutation requires a lot of willpower, persistence, and training.

People who lack sexual energy are never enthusiastic and fail to inspire others. This is the most important requirement in salesmanship. The period of 40 to 60 years is the most productive age of a man. Love is important to induce balance. When love is mixed with sex, it brings calmness and accuracy of our judgements. Some men also mix it with the faith of romance which results in an even more powerful energy. The secret, however, lies in understanding the process of transmutation. All negative emotions can be transformed into positive ones by changing your thoughts. This is the road to becoming a genius.

People who solely carry sexual energy tend to deprive themselves of all the happiness. They are not able to enjoy their wealth and lives. They may achieve success but their actions are distorted and destructive. When the desire is only having sex, a man may steal, cheat, or even murder. However, when a man mixes love with the emotion of sex, he will be able to guide his actions with balance and logic.

Sex is physical and love is spiritual. That is why love associates itself with Infinite Intelligence. When romance is added to this feeling of love and sex, all obstructions between finite mind and infinite intelligence are removed and a genius is born.

Transmutation of sexual energy into creative energy involves two steps:

• Accumulation of sexual energy.
• Redirecting this energy.

This chapter may sound awkward but the concept is very simple. Hill just wanted to put across that sexual desire is one of the strongest human desires and if this willpower is harnessed into productivity and creativity, the results can prove to be life-changing.

The Subconscious Mind

The eleventh step towards riches

The most important idea shared in this chapter is how we can harness our subconscious minds so that our desires take shape into riches. Our subconscious mind is a place where every thought is recorded and can be recalled later. It is possible to voluntarily plant a plan into our subconscious. This can help us in achieving anything we want. 

The author says that our subconscious mind is constantly working, day and night, even when we are sleeping. It conditions largely all our habits, desires, and actions. If one can implant the success into their subconscious, they will develop faith, creativity, and belief which in turn, will help them to achieve their desired goal. 

One good way to plant desires into the subconscious is through visualization and meditation. 

We must have patience and persistence in doing so. When you get a good control over your subconscious, you will see that it cannot be influenced by any undesirable thoughts.

Emotions work as a catalyst to enter your subconscious mind. There are seven major positive and negative emotions. The negative ones get injected on their own however, the positive ones need to be injected through autosuggestion. Hill refers to the subconscious as the “inner audience”. 

He believed that one must speak in a language which our subconscious can understand, otherwise it will not hear our calls. The language which the inner audience can understand is that of emotions.

The major positive emotions are: desire, faith, love, sex, enthusiasm, romance, and hope.

There are many other positive emotions but these are the major ones which are required in a creative effort.

The major negative emotions are: fear, jealousy, hatred, revenge, greed, superstition, and anger.

Both our positive and negative emotions cannot occupy our minds at the same time. One of these dominates over the other. It is your own responsibility to make sure that your mind is constantly occupied with positive emotions. This is only possible if we have good habits. 

For example, you must have seen people pray only when everything else has failed. If you pray with a feeling of fear and doubt, your prayers will go in vain. 

The art of praying is a form of science and not a technique. 

Before your prayer reaches infinite intelligence, it is transformed from its original vibration into a spiritual vibration. Faith is the only fact that gives us a spiritual nature. Faith and fear don't get along. They cannot coexist in one’s mind.

The Brain

The twelfth step towards riches

In this chapter, the author explains how the brain is both the broadcasting and receiving station of thought. The human mind also picks up vibrations of thoughts that are given out by other brains just like when a radio is broadcasting.

The creative imagination is the receiving station of the brain and the subconscious mind is the broadcasting station. 

The brain works like a factor (with over 14 million nerve cells) that controls and guides our day-to-day activity. Hill believed that the greater are the vibrations received by our brain, the higher are the chances that we can achieve our desired goal.

We all know very well that being motivated increases our mental faculties. The important point here is to be comfortable as long as you keep on stimulating your brain to increase its social, creativity, and memory skill performances.

The Sixth Sense: The Door To The Temple Of Wisdom

The thirteenth step towards riches

The 13th principle is the sixth sense which can be applied only when one has mastered all the other twelve principles. 

Hill defines the sixth sense as the part of the subconscious mind that is creative imagination. It is also the receiving set of the brain where ideas, plans, and thoughts flash into. These flashes are sometimes called hunches. 

The sixth sense is beyond description. It can be understood only through mind development which can be attained through meditation. 

It is the mode of connection between the finite mind of man and infinite intelligence. Hence it is both mental and spiritual. It is a point where a man's mind contacts the Universal Mind.

Hill confesses that he has experienced the sixth sense but he fails to understand the mechanics behind it. Sometimes people do things out of their gut feeling and they come out to be right. 

The author talks about the technique of the invisible counsellors. It helped him to be reborn as a new man who is free of superstition and ignorance. However, as time passed, the method became a medium to access the subconscious when he wanted advice on real problems.

Every night Napoleon held a meeting of invisible counsellors, who used to sit around him and Napoleon served as a chairman. These counsellors were the nine men whom the author tried to imitate because he was so impressed with them. 

They were Emerson, Parker, Edison, Darwin, Lincoln, Burbank, Napoleon, Ford, and Carnegie.

He very much knew that people become what they are because of their dominating thoughts. In order to rebuild his character, he wished that each of his counsellors would contribute something.

He desired to acquire the marvellous understanding of nature from Emerson and asked for his assistance in reaching the sources of such knowledge.

From Burbank, he asked for the knowledge that enabled him to harmonize the law of nature. The reason which made cactus shed its thorns and become an edible food. 

From Napoleon, he asked the quality to inspire other people and also the spirit of enduring faith which helped him turn defeat into victory.

He wished to acquire the freedom of thought and expression from Paine.  

From Darwin, he wanted to possess the patience to study the cause and effect without any prejudice. 

From Lincoln, he desired a sense of justice, humour, and human understanding. 

Carnegie could help him by giving a thorough understanding of organized efforts and how effectively they can be used in building an industry.

From Ford, he wanted persistence, determination, and self-confidence which could help him monster poverty and simplify human efforts. 

Lastly, from Edison, he wanted the spirit of faith which helped him discover any secrets of nature.

After several months, the imaginary figures became apparently real and the subconscious mind had started working to its advantage. He owed entirely to his invisible counsellors, for ideas, facts, and knowledge which he received in the form of inspiration. 

Hill believed that one of the best ways to reprogram your subconscious mind is the technique of the invisible counsellors which creates your own imaginary mentor. It is just one of the many visualization techniques to access the subconscious mind. He says that auto-suggestion is the main tool to train the subconscious.

He also says that in spite of not believing in miracles, there somehow seems to be a higher power. The power that can transform things beyond our wildest imagination.

How To Outwit The Six Ghosts Of Fear

In this last chapter, Hill explains that it is difficult to achieve your goal if you fail to analyse three enemies, namely, indecision, doubt, and fear. You will have to study, analyse and understand these enemies thoroughly before being able to clear them out. If any of these enemies are there in your mind, your sixth sense will not work. This unwanted trio is very closely related. Where you will find one, the other two will gradually appear.

Indecision is the root cause of fear. When indecision and doubt blend together they create more fear. This process of blending is very slow which is why they are considered to be very dangerous enemies. They don't make their presence felt. 

Humans fear six things the most. All the other fears can be classified into any of these six fears.

1.Fear of poverty,
2.Fear of criticism,
3.Fear of ill health,
4.Fear of loss of the love of someone,
5.Fear of old age,
6.Fear of death.

1.The fear of poverty: 

The road to poverty and riches travel in two different directions. Riches here can be in any form, spiritual, mental, financial or even material. If one wants to attain riches, he must refuse to accept any situation that can lead to poverty. The fear of poverty will not let him move towards riches. 

This fear is the most destructive of all the six fears. It destroys a person's imagination, reasoning ability, enthusiasm, willpower, self-reliability and leads them to uncertainty. 

Man fears poverty because it brings humility and suffering. The symptoms that indicate fear of poverty are Indifference, Indecision, Doubt, Worry, Over-caution, Procrastination, and Expecting poverty instead of demanding riches.

2.The fear of criticism: 

It is a well-known fact that a thief criticises the man from whom he steals. The fear of criticism makes a man criticise his team’s work only to justify his own actions. 

Men and women are all so conscious that they do not find the courage to openly state their belief on a subject because criticism carries punishments (in many countries). Criticism will plant fear in a person's heart which does not let build love and affection. 

The major symptoms of fear of criticism are: 

Self-consciousness, Lack of poise, Personality, Inferiority Complex, Extravagance, Lack of initiative, and Lack of ambition. 

3.The Fear of Ill Health: 

Man fears ill health because his mind has been implanted with terrible thoughts. Thoughts like what may happen if death overtakes him. Also, about the payment factor which ill-health claims. 

Many experiments prove that people can be made ill by mere suggestion. These suggestions are as good as placing a spell on them because it starts in the form of a negative thought impulse. 

The symptoms of the fear of ill health are: 

A.Auto-suggestion - The habit of trying to find symptoms of all kinds of diseases and enjoying imaginary illnesses.

B.Hypochondria - A habit of talking about the disease to an extent until a nervous breakdown occurs. 

C.Exercise - The fear of ill health leads to a habit of exercising and many times results in being overweight because it causes one to avoid outdoor life.

D.Susceptibility - Constantly worrying and preparing for a disease or paying doctor and hospital bills.

E.Self coddling - The habit of using illness as an excuse to cover up laziness or to gain sympathy.

F.Intemperance- The habit of using alcohol and narcotics to eliminate all kinds of pain. 

4.The Fear of Loss Of Love:

This fear has obviously grown because of man's habit of stealing his friend’s wife and taking liberty with her whenever possible. However, now instead of getting her forcefully, he tries to persuade her with material things as bait. Symptoms of fear of loss of love are: Jealousy, Fault finding, and gambling.  

5. The Fear Of Old Age: 

The basic fear of old age is because of the possibility of ill health. Loss of freedom and independence also contribute to it because old age may bring loss of physical and economic freedom. 

The most common symptom of this fear is the habit of a man falsely believing that he has grown too old to imagine and take initiative. 

The habit of being apologetic for turning forty or fifty. Also, the habit to try to dress and present himself as younger than his age makes him a subject of ridicule.

6. The Fear of Death: 

No man has ever known what hell or heaven looks like, also if these places actually exist. However, the thought of not being able to get into heaven and being descended to hell, makes death look so terrible that it tends to instill fear in people’s minds. 

Death is inevitable and the sooner man accepts the fact, the better placed he is. The entire world is made up of energy and matter. Neither of these can be created or destroyed. Similarly, life is energy and it cannot be destroyed by death. It has to go through many processes of transitions, with death being one of them. 

The symptom of this fear is more prevalent amongst the aged. The most common symptoms of fear of death are ill health, poverty, lack of appropriate occupation, disappointment over love, insanity, and religious bindings.

Hill writes that you can overcome fear because it is a state of mind. Hence if you use your willpower you can banish all the negative thoughts from your mind (like worries, doubts, and fears). 

In addition to these six fears, there is one more evil factor that is even more dangerous and destructive, sensitivity to negative influences. 

If a man does not take immediate action to analyse whether he is under the negative influence, it will grow very strong and will become difficult to eliminate. 

If people are not aware of it, they will very easily get influenced by the negativity around them and will ruin their future. So once a person knows this, he has to create protective boundaries to prevent themselves from any negativity. 

So if you know that you can easily get swayed by negative people, you can create a block for them or stay away from them. 

On the other hand, you should create your own mastermind group which can help you pursue your dreams and encourage you. Get along with people who uplift you, inspire you, and bring a positive influence in your personality and mindset. 

Hill believed that a person can surely achieve what he wants if he keeps his fears aside and makes good use of his mind and willpower. 

Conclusion

Through this book, the author has just tried to send across a simple message that a person himself is the master of his own thoughts. As you THINK, so shall you REAP is quite apt if we want to sum up the entire message. A thought is all it takes to start. 

The best place to start is within yourself, whether you want to make millions, bring peace or even change the world. The book shares how desire, faith, and persistence can help one to move to desired goals. In a nutshell, this book is all about how one can change his life and achieve success by developing the right mindset.