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Think & Grow Rich
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FOREWORD
WHAT DO YOU WANT MOST?
Is It Money, Fame, Power,
Contentment, Personality,
Peace of Mind, Happiness?
The Thirteen
Steps to Riches described in this book offer the shortest dependable
philosophy of individual achievement ever presented for the benefit of the
man or woman who is searching for a definite goal in life.
Before beginning the book you will profit greatly if you recognize the fact
that the book was not written to entertain. You cannot digest the contents
properly in a week or a month. After reading the book thoroughly, Dr. Miller
Reese Hutchison, nationally known Consulting Engineer and long-time
associate of Thomas A. Edison, said— "This is not a novel. It is a textbook
on individual achievement that came directly from the experiences of
hundreds of America's most successful men. It should be studied, digested,
and meditated upon. No more than one chapter should be read in a single
night. The reader should underline the sentences which impress him most.
Later, he should go back to these marked lines and read them again. A real
student will not merely read this book, he will absorb its contents and make
them his own. This book should be adopted by all high schools and no boy or
girl should be permitted to graduate without having satisfactorily passed an
examination on it. This philosophy will not take the place of the subjects
taught in schools, but it will enable one to organize and apply the
knowledge acquired, and convert it into useful service and adequate
compensation without waste of time. Dr. John R. Turner, Dean of the College
of The City of New York, after having read the book, said— "The very best
example of the soundness of this philosophy is your own son, Blair, whose
dramatic story you have outlined in the chapter on Desire." Dr. Turner had
reference to the author's son, who, born without normal hearing capacity,
not only avoided becoming a deaf mute, but actually converted his handicap
into a priceless asset by applying the philosophy here described. After
reading the story (starting on page 52), you will realize that you are about
to come into possession of a philosophy which can be transmuted into
material wealth, or serve as readily to bring you peace of mind,
understanding, spiritual harmony, and in some instances, as in the case of
the author's son, it can. help you master physical affliction. The author
discovered, through personally analyzing hundreds of successful men, that
all of them followed the habit of exchanging ideas, through what is commonly
called conferences. When they had problems to be solved they sat down
together and talked freely until they discovered, from their joint
contribution of ideas, a plan that would serve their purpose. You, who read
this book, will get most out of it by putting into practice the Master Mind
principle described in the book. This you can do (as others are doing so
successfully) by forming a study club, consisting of any desired number of
people who are friendly and harmonious. The club should have a meeting at
regular periods, as often as once each week. The procedure should consist of
reading one chapter of the book at each meeting, after which the contents of
the chapter should be freely discussed by all members. Each member should
make notes, putting down ALL IDEAS OF HIS OWN inspired by the discussion.
Each member should carefully read and analyze each chapter several days
prior to its open reading and joint discussion in the club. The reading at
the club should be done by someone who reads well and understands how to put
color and feeling into the lines. By following this plan every reader will
get from its pages, not only the sum total of the best knowledge organized
from the experiences of hundreds of successful men, but more important by
far, he will tap new sources of knowledge in his own mind as well as acquire
knowledge of priceless value FROM EVERY OTHER PERSON PRESENT. If you follow
this plan persistently you will be almost certain to uncover and appropriate
the secret formula by which Andrew Carnegie acquired his huge fortune, as
referred to in the author's introduction.
TRIBUTES
TO THE AUTHOR
From Great American Leaders
"THINK AND GROW RICH" was 25 years in the making. It is Napoleon Hill's
newest book, based upon his famous Law of Success Philosophy. His work and
writings have been praised by great leaders in Finance, Education, Politics,
Government.
Supreme Court of the United States Washington, D. C.
Dear Mr. Hill:— I have now had an opportunity to finish reading your Law of
Success textbooks and I wish to express my appreciation of the splendid work
you have done in the organization of this philosophy. It would be helpful if
every politician in the country would assimilate and apply the 17 principles
upon which your lessons are based. It contains some very fine material which
every leader in every walk of life should understand. I am happy to have had
the privilege of rendering you some slight measure of help in the
organization of this splendid course of "common sense" philosophy.
Sincerely yours
(Former President and former Chief Justice of the United States)
KING OF THE 5 AND 10 CENT STORES
"By applying many of the 17 fundamentals of the Law of Success philosophy we
have built a great chain of successful stores. I presume it would be no
exaggeration of fact if I said that the Woolworth Building might properly be
called a monument to the soundness of these principles."
F. W. WOOLWORTH
A GREAT STEAMSHIP MAGNATE
"I feel greatly indebted for the privilege of reading your Law of Success.
If I had had this philosophy fifty years ago, I suppose I could have
accomplished all that I have done in less than half the time. I sincerely
hope the world will discover and reward you."
ROBERT DOLLAR
FAMOUS AMERICAN LABOR LEADER
"Mastery of the Law of Success philosophy is the equivalent of an insurance
policy against failure."
SAMUEL GOMPERS
A FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
"May I not congratulate you on your persistence. Any man who devotes that
much time . . . must of necessity make discoveries of great value to others.
I am deeply impressed by your interpretation of the 'Master Mind' principles
which you have so clearly described."
WOODROW WILSON
A MERCHANT PRINCE
"I know that your 17 fundamentals of success are sound because I have been
applying them in my business for more than 30 years."
JOHN WANAMAKER
WORLD'S LARGEST MAKER OF CAMERAS
"I know that you are doing a world of good with your Law of Success. I would
not care to set a monetary value on this training because it brings to the
student qualities which cannot be measured by money, alone."
GEORGE EASTMAN
A NATIONALLY KNOWN BUSINESS CHIEF
"Whatever success I may have attained I owe, entirely, to the application of
your 17 fundamental principles of the Law of Success. I believe I have the
honor of being your first student."
W.M.. WRIGLEY, JR.
PUBLISHER'S PREFACE
THIS book conveys the experience of more than 500 men of great wealth, who
began at scratch, with nothing to give in return for riches except THOUGHTS,
IDEAS and ORGANIZED PLANS. Here you have the entire philosophy of
moneymaking, just as it was organized from the actual achievements of the
most successful men known to the American people during the past fifty
years. It describes WHAT TO DO, also, HOW TO DO IT! It presents complete
instructions on HOW TO SELL YOUR PERSONAL SERVICES. It provides you with a
perfect system of self-analysis that will readily disclose what has been
standing between you and "the big money" in the past. It describes the
famous Andrew Carnegie formula of personal achievement by which he
accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars for himself and made no fewer
than a score of millionaires of men to whom he taught his secret. Perhaps
you do not need all that is to be found in the book— no one of the 500 men
from whose experiences it was written did— but you may need ONE IDEA, PLAN
OR SUGGESTION to start you toward your goal. Somewhere in the book you will
find this needed stimulus. The book was inspired by Andrew Carnegie, after
he had made his millions and retired. It was written by the man to whom
Carnegie disclosed the astounding secret of his riches— the same man to whom
the 500 wealthy men revealed the source of their riches. In this volume will
be found the thirteen principles of money-making essential to every person
who accumulates sufficient money to guarantee financial independence. It is
estimated that the research which went into the preparation, before the book
was written, or could be written— research covering more than twenty-five
years of continuous effort— could not be duplicated at a cost of less than
$100,000.00. Moreover, the knowledge contained in the book never can be
duplicated, at any cost, for the reason that more than half of the 500 men
who supplied the information it brings have passed on.
Riches cannot always be measured in money!
Money and material things are essential for freedom of body and mind, but
there are some who will feel that the greatest of all riches can be
evaluated only in terms of lasting friendships, harmonious family
relationships, sympathy and understanding between business associates, and
introspective harmony which brings one peace of mind measurable only in
spiritual values!
All who read, understand and apply this philosophy will be better prepared
to attract and enjoy these higher estates which always have been and always
will be denied to all except those who are ready for them.
Be prepared, therefore, when you expose yourself to the influence of this
philosophy, to experience a CHANGED LIFE which may help you not only to
negotiate your way through life with harmony and understanding, but also to
prepare you for the accumulation of material riches in abundance.
THE PUBLISHER.
AUTHOR'S
PREFACE
IN EVERY chapter of this book, mention has been made of the money-making
secret which has made fortunes for more than five hundred exceedingly
wealthy men whom I have carefully analyzed over a long period of years.
The secret was brought to my attention by Andrew Carnegie, more than a
quarter of a century ago. The canny, lovable old Scotsman carelessly tossed
it into my mind, when I was but a boy. Then he sat back in his chair, with a
merry twinkle in his eyes, and watched carefully to see if I had brains
enough to understand the full significance of what he had said to me. When
he saw that I had grasped the idea, he asked if I would be willing to spend
twenty years or more, preparing myself to take it to the world, to men and
women who, without the secret, might go through life as failures. I said I
would, and with Mr. Carnegie's cooperation, I have kept my promise.
This book contains the secret, after having been put to a practical test by
thousands of people, in almost every walk of life. It was Mr. Carnegie's
idea that the magic formula, which gave him a stupendous fortune, ought to
be placed within reach of people who do not have time to investigate how men
make money, and it was his hope that I might test and demonstrate the
soundness of the formula through the experience of men and women in every
calling. He believed the formula should be taught in all public schools and
colleges, and expressed the opinion that if it were properly taught it would
so revolutionize the entire educational system that the time spent in school
could be reduced to less than half. His experience with Charles M. Schwab,
and other young men of Mr. Schwab's type, convinced Mr. Carnegie that much
of that which is taught in the schools is of no value whatsoever in
connection with the business of earning a living or accumulating riches. He
had arrived at this decision, because he had taken into his business one
young man after another, many of them with but little schooling, and by
coaching them in the use of this formula, developed in them rare leadership.
Moreover, his coaching made fortunes for everyone of them who followed his
instructions. In the chapter on Faith, you will read the astounding story of
the organization of the giant United States Steel Corporation, as it 12 13
was conceived and carried out by one of the young men through whom Mr.
Carnegie proved that his formula will work for all who are ready for it.
This single application of the secret, by that young man— Charles M. Schwab—
made him a huge fortune in both money and OPPORTUNITY. Roughly speaking,
this particular application of the formula was worth six hundred million
dollars. These facts—and they are facts well known to almost everyone who
knew Mr. Carnegie— give you a fair idea of what the reading of this book may
bring to you, provided you KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT YOU WANT. Even before it had
undergone twenty years of practical testing, the secret was passed on to
more than one hundred thousand men and women who have used it for their
personal benefit, as Mr. Carnegie planned that they should. Some have made
fortunes with it. Others have used it successfully in creating harmony in
their homes. A clergyman used it so effectively that it brought him an
income of upwards of $75,000.00 a year. Arthur Nash, a Cincinnati tailor, used his near-bankrupt business as a "guinea pig"
on which to test the formula. The business came to life and made a fortune
for its owners. It is still thriving, although Mr. Nash has gone. The
experiment was so unique that newspapers and magazines, gave it more than a
million dollars' worth of laudatory publicity. The secret was passed on to
Stuart Austin Wier, of Dallas, Texas. He was
ready for it— so ready that he gave up his profession and studied law. Did
he succeed? That story is told too. I gave the secret to Jennings Randolph,
the day he graduated from College, and he has used it so successfully that
he is now serving his third term as a Member of Congress, with an excellent
opportunity to keep on using it until it carries him to the White House.
While serving as Advertising Manager of the La-Salle Extension University,
when it was little more than a name, I had the privilege of seeing J. G.
Chapline, President of the University, use the formula so effectively that
he has since made the LaSalle one of the great extension schools of the
country. The secret to which I refer has been mentioned no fewer than a
hundred times, throughout this book. It has not been directly named, for it
seems to work more successfully when it is merely uncovered and left in
sight, where THOSE WHO ARE READY, and SEARCHING FOR IT, may pick it up. That
is why Mr. Carnegie tossed it to me so quietly, without giving me its
specific name. If you are READY to put it to use, you will recognize this
secret at least once in every chapter. I wish I might feel privileged to
tell you how you will know if you are ready, but that would deprive you of
much of the benefit you will receive when you make the discovery in your own
way. While this book was being written, my own son, who was then finishing
the last year of his college work, picked up the manuscript of chapter two,
read it, and discovered the secret for himself. He used the information so
effectively that he went directly into a responsible position at a beginning
salary greater than the average man ever earns. His story has been briefly
described in chapter two. When you read it, perhaps you will dismiss any
feeling you may have had, at the beginning of the book, that it promised too
much. And, too, if you have ever been discouraged, if you have had
difficulties to surmount which took the very soul out of you, if you have
tried and failed, if you were ever handicapped by illness or physical
affliction, this story of my son's discovery and use of the Carnegie formula
may prove to be the oasis in the Desert of Lost Hope, for which you have
been searching. This secret was extensively used by President Woodrow
Wilson, during the World War. It was passed on to every soldier who fought
in the war, carefully wrapped in the training received before going to the
front. President Wilson told me it was a strong factor in raising the funds
needed for the war. More than twenty years ago, Hon. Manuel L. Quezon (then
Resident Commissioner of the Philippine Islands), was inspired by the secret
to gain freedom for his people. He has gained freedom for the Philippines,
and is the first President of the free state. A peculiar thing about this
secret is that those who once acquire it and use it, find themselves
literally swept on to success, with but little effort, and they never again
submit to failure! If you doubt this, study the names of those who have used
it, wherever they have been mentioned, check their records for yourself, and
be convinced. There is no such thing as SOMETHING FOR NOTHING! The secret to
which I refer cannot be had without a price, although the price is far less
than its value. It cannot be had at any price by those who are not
intentionally searching for it. It cannot be given away, it cannot be
purchased for money, for the reason that it comes in two parts. One part is
already in possession of those who are ready for it. The secret serves
equally well, all who are ready for it. Education has nothing to do with it.
Long before I was born, the secret had found its way into the possession of
Thomas A. Edison, and he used it so intelligently that he became the world's
leading inventor, although he had but three months of schooling. The secret
was passed on to a business associate of Mr. Edison. He used it so
effectively that, although he was then making only $12,000 a year, he
accumulated a great fortune, and retired from active business while still a
young man. You will find his story at the beginning of the first chapter. It
should convince you that riches are not beyond your reach, that you can
still be what you wish to be, that money, fame, recognition and happiness
can be had by all who are ready and determined to have these blessings. How
do I know these things? You should have the answer before you finish this
book. You may find it in the very first chapter, or on the last page. While
I was performing the twenty year task of research, which I had undertaken at
Mr. Carnegie's request, I analyzed hundreds of well known men, many of whom
admitted that they had accumulated their vast fortunes through the aid of
the Carnegie secret; among these men were: —
HENRY FORD
WILLIAM WRIGLEY JR.
JOHN WANAMAKER
JAMES J. HILL
GEORGE S. PARKER
E. M. STATLER
HENRY L. DOHERTY
CYRUS H. K. CURTIS
GEORGE EASTMAN
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
JOHN W. DAVIS
ELBERT HUBBARD
WILBUR WRIGHT
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
DR. DMTID STARR JORDAN
J. ODGEN ARMOUR
CHARLES M. SCHWAB
HARRIS F. WILLIAMS
DR. FRANK GUNSAULUS
DANIEL WILLARD
KING GILLETTE
RALPH A. WEEKS
JUDGE DANIEL T. WRIGHT
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
THOMAS A. EDISON
FRANK A. VANDERLIP
F. W. WOOLWORTH
COL. ROBERT A. DOLLAR
EDWARD A. FILENE
EDWIN C. BARNES
ARTHUR BRISBANE
WOODROW WILSON
WM. HOWARD TAFT
LUTHER BURBANK
EDWARD W. BOK
FRANK A. MUNSEY
ELBERT H. GARY
DR. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL
JOHN H. PATTERSON
JULIUS ROSENWALD
STUART AUSTIN WIER
DR. FRANK CRANE
GEORGE M. ALEXANDER
J. G. CHAPPLINE
HON. JENNINGS RANDOLPH
ARTHUR NASH
CLARENCE DARROW
These names represent but a small fraction of the hundreds of well known
Americans whose achievements, financially and otherwise, prove that those
who understand and apply the Carnegie secret, reach high stations in life. I
have never known anyone who was inspired to use the secret, who did not
achieve noteworthy success in his chosen calling. I have never known any
person to distinguish himself, or to accumulate riches of any consequence,
without possession of the secret. From these two facts I draw the conclusion
that the secret is more important, as a part of the knowledge essential for
self-determination, than any which one receives through what is popularly
known as "education."
What is EDUCATION, anyway?
This has been answered in full detail. As far as schooling is concerned,
many of these men had very little. John Wanamaker once told me that what
little schooling he had, he acquired in very much the same manner as a
modern loco-motive takes on water, by "scooping it up as it runs." Henry
Ford never reached high school, let alone college. I am not attempting to
minimize the value of schooling, but I am trying to express my earnest
belief that those who master and apply the secret will reach high stations,
accumulate riches, and bargain with life on their own terms, even if their
schooling has been meager.
Somewhere, as you read, the secret to which I refer will jump from the page
and stand boldly before you, IF YOU ARE READY FOR IT! When it appears, you
will recognize it. Whether you receive the sign in the first or the last
chapter, stop for a moment when it presents itself, and turn down a glass,
for that occasion will mark the most important turning-point of your life.
We pass now, to Chapter One, and to the story of my very dear friend, who
has generously acknowledged having seen the mystic sign, and whose business
achievements are evidence enough that he turned down a glass. As you read
his story, and the others, remember that they deal with the important
problems of life, such as all men experience.
The problems arising from one's endeavor to earn a living, to find hope,
courage, contentment and peace of mind; to accumulate riches and to enjoy
freedom of body and spirit.
Remember, too, as you go through the book, that it deals with facts and not
with fiction, its purpose being to convey a great universal truth through
which all who are READY may learn, not only WHAT TO DO, BUT ALSO
HOW TO DO IT! and receive, as well, THE NEEDED STIMULUS TO MAKE A START.
As a final word of preparation, before you begin the first chapter, may I
offer one brief suggestion which may provide a clue by which the Carnegie
secret may be recognized? It is this— ALL ACHIEVEMENT, ALL EARNED RICHES,
HAVE THEIR BEGINNING IN AN IDEA! If you are ready for the secret, you
already possess one 17 18 half of it, therefore, you will readily recognize
the other half the moment it reaches your mind.
THE AUTHOR
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