Think and Grow Rich Summary: Key Ideas and Takeaways

THE ALCHEMIST'S BLUEPRINT: A DEFINITIVE MASTERCLASS ON THE 13 STEPS TO RICHES

Instructor: Napoleon Hill (Persona) Subject: The Transmutation of Desire into Gold Duration: Lifetime Mastery

You stand now at the threshold of a new existence. If you are reading these words, it is because the status quo no longer satisfies the hunger of your soul. You are seeking the key—the secret—that has been utilized by the Carnegies, the Rockefellers, and the Fords of this world to accumulate fortunes so vast they defy the imagination.

Let us begin with the most fundamental truth, the bedrock upon which this philosophy stands: Truly, thoughts are things, and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches.

Do not mistake this for mere poetry. This is physics. This is psychology. The ether in which this little earth floats, in which we move and have our being, is a form of energy moving at an inconceivably high rate of vibration, and that ether is filled with a form of universal power which adapts itself to the nature of the thoughts we hold in our minds.

The starting point of all achievement is Desire. But I do not speak of a wish. I do not speak of a hope. A wish has no power; it is a passive vapor. I speak of a pulsating, Definite Chief Aim—a desire so strong it transcends everything else. It must be a Burning Desire. You must want it as the drowning man wants air.

Most men go through life as "drifters." They have no central purpose. They are tossed by the winds of circumstance because they have not staked their claim on what they want. Nature abhors a vacuum; if you do not fill your mind with a Definite Chief Aim, the world will fill it for you with mediocrity and fear.

To transform this desire from a mere abstract thought into its concrete, monetary equivalent, you must follow the Six Specific Steps. There is no deviation permitted here. Read them, memorize them, and burn them into your consciousness:

1. Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. It is not sufficient merely to say, "I want plenty of money." Be definite as to the amount. There is a psychological reason for definiteness which acts upon the Subconscious Mind.

1. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire. There is no such reality as "something for nothing." You must define the service or value you will render.

1. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire. A goal without a timeline is merely a dream.

1. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action. Action provides the friction required to generate the heat of success.

1. Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.

1. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning. As you read—see and feel and believe yourself already in possession of the money.

This is the preamble to your greatness. Now, we must analyze the machinery of the mind that will make this possible.

| Step Order | Principle | Function | |------------|-----------|----------| | 1 | Desire | The Starting Point of All Achievement | | 2 | Faith | Visualization of, and Belief in, Attainment of Desire | | 3 | Autosuggestion | The Medium for Influencing the Subconscious Mind | | 4 | Specialized Knowledge | Personal Experiences or Observations | | 5 | Imagination | The Workshop of the Mind | | 6 | Organized Planning | The Crystallization of Desire into Action | | 7 | Decision | The Mastery of Procrastination | | 8 | Persistence | The Sustained Effort Necessary to Induce Faith | | 9 | Power of the Master Mind | The Driving Force | | 10 | The Mystery of Sex Transmutation | The Switching Station of Creative Energy | | 11 | The Subconscious Mind | The Connecting Link | | 12 | The Brain | A Broadcasting and Receiving Station for Thought | | 13 | The Sixth Sense | The Door to the Temple of Wisdom |

Having established your Definite Chief Aim, we must now address the soil in which this seed will grow. A seed thrown onto concrete will wither; a seed planted in fertile soil will multiply a thousandfold. The "soil" is your Subconscious Mind, and the tools to till it are Faith, Autosuggestion, Specialized Knowledge, and Imagination.

Faith & Autosuggestion: The Chemistry of the Mind

Faith is the head chemist of the mind. When Faith is blended with the vibration of thought, the Subconscious Mind instantly picks up the vibration, translates it into its spiritual equivalent, and transmits it to Infinite Intelligence, as in the case of prayer.

Do not misunderstand me: Faith is not merely a religious term in this context. It is a state of mind which may be induced, or created, by affirmation or repeated instructions to the Subconscious Mind, through the principle of Autosuggestion.

You may say, "Mr. Hill, I have no faith. I am a skeptic." I tell you, faith is a muscle. It is developed through the voluntary repetition of orders to your Subconscious Mind. This brings us to the most critical, yet most misunderstood step: Autosuggestion.

Autosuggestion is the agency of communication between that part of the mind where conscious thought takes place and that which serves as the seat of action for the Subconscious Mind. Through the dominating thoughts which you permit to remain in your conscious mind (whether these thoughts be negative or positive is immaterial), the principle of autosuggestion voluntarily reaches the subconscious mind and influences it with these thoughts.

The Subconscious Mind recognizes and acts upon only thoughts which have been well-mixed with emotion or feeling. Plain, unemotional words do not influence the subconscious mind. You will get no results from strictly intellectual affirmations. You must learn to "emotionalize" the words you speak.

A Master Script for Autosuggestion

To program your mind for wealth, you must feed it a diet of conviction. Here is a script I command you to adapt to your specific Desire. Read this aloud, morning and night, with vibration in your voice and belief in your heart:

"By the first day of [Date], I will have in my possession $[Amount] which will come to me in various amounts from time to time during the interim.

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In return for this money, I will give the most efficient service of which I am capable, rendering the fullest possible quantity, and the best possible quality of service in the capacity of [Describe your service/product].

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I believe that I will have this money in my possession. My faith is so strong that I can now see this money before my eyes. I can touch it with my hands. It is now awaiting transfer to me at the time, and in the proportion that I deliver the service I intend to render in return for it.

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I am awaiting a plan by which to accumulate this money, and I will follow that plan instantly when it is received."

Repeat this until the words become a part of your blood and bone.

Specialized Knowledge & Imagination: The Tools of the Architect

Once the mind is primed with Faith, it requires material to work with. This brings us to Specialized Knowledge.

There are two kinds of knowledge: general and specialized. General knowledge, no matter how great in quantity or variety it may be, is of but little use in the accumulation of money. The faculties of the great universities possess most of the general knowledge known to civilization, yet most of the professors are poor. Why? Because they specialize in teaching knowledge, but they do not specialize in the organization and use of knowledge.

Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action and directed to a definite end. You do not need to know everything; you only need to know how to get the knowledge you need. Henry Ford once sued a newspaper for calling him "ignorant." In court, he proved that while he might not know general history, he had a row of electric push-buttons on his desk that could summon men who could answer any question he had regarding his business. That is the power of Specialized Knowledge—knowing where to find what you need to fulfill your purpose.

But knowledge alone is static. It requires the spark of Imagination (Step 5) to give it life.

The Imagination is literally the workshop wherein are fashioned all plans created by man. The impulse, the desire, is given shape, form, and action through the aid of the imaginative faculty.

We possess two forms of imagination:

• Synthetic Imagination: This faculty arranges old concepts, ideas, or plans into new combinations. It creates nothing new; it merely works with the material of experience, education, and observation.

• Creative Imagination: Through this faculty, the finite mind of man has direct communication with Infinite Intelligence. It is the faculty through which "hunches" and "inspirations" are received.

It is your duty to cultivate your imagination. It acts like a muscle; it grows stronger through use. Take your Definite Chief Aim and bring it into your Workshop. Visualize it. Twist it. Combine it with your Specialized Knowledge. It is in this workshop that you will forge the Plans that lead to riches.

We move now from the abstract to the concrete, from the mental workshop to the physical battlefield. The bridges between your mind and your money are Organized Planning, Decision, and Persistence.

Organized Planning: The Crystallization of Desire

You have a Desire. You have Faith. You have imagined the outcome. Now, you must build the vehicle. Everything created by man begins in the form of an impulse of thought. This impulse is projected into the imagination, where it is created and organized into plans.

But here is the warning: You are engaged in an undertaking of major importance to you. To be sure of success, you must have plans which are faultless. You cannot do this alone.

This introduces the Master Mind principle (which we will deepen in Part III, but applies practically here). You must ally yourself with a group of as many people as you may need for the creation and carrying out of your plan.

1. Form a Master Mind Alliance: Find people with the specialized knowledge you lack.
2. Compensation: Decide what you offer these members in return for their cooperation (it does not always have to be money).
3. Meet Regularly: Meet with your alliance at least twice a week until the plan is perfected.
4. Harmony: Maintain perfect harmony. If you fail in this, you will fail in the undertaking.

If your first plan fails, replace it with a new one. If that fails, replace it again. Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the incandescent light bulb. He did not lack desire; he simply had to find the plan that worked. Temporary defeat should mean only one thing: the certain knowledge that there is something wrong with your plan.

Decision: The Mastery of Procrastination

Analysis of over 25,000 men and women who had experienced failure disclosed the fact that Lack of Decision was near the head of the list of the 30 major causes of failure.

Procrastination, the opposite of decision, is a common enemy which practically every man must conquer. The majority of people who fail to accumulate money sufficient for their needs are, generally, easily influenced by the opinions of others. They permit the newspapers and the gossiping neighbors to do their thinking for them.

Study the records of any man who achieved great success, and you will observe that he had this ability: He reached decisions promptly, and changed them slowly, if, and when he changed them at all.

Contrast this with the failure: He reaches decisions, if at all, very slowly, and changes them frequently, and quickly.

If you are influenced by the opinions of others, you will have no desire of your own. Keep your own counsel. When you begin to put into operation the principles described here, reach your own decisions and follow them. Take no one into your confidence, excepting the members of your Master Mind group, and be very sure in your selection of this group that you choose only those who will be in complete sympathy and harmony with your purpose.

Persistence: The Sustained Effort

Here lies the graveyard of ambition. Persistence is an essential factor in the procedure of transmuting desire into its monetary equivalent. The basis of persistence is the Power of Will.

Will-power and desire, when properly combined, make an irresistible pair. Men who accumulate great fortunes are generally known as cold-blooded and sometimes ruthless. Often they are misunderstood. What they have is sheer will-power, which they mix with persistence, and place back of their desires to insure the attainment of their objectives.

The starting point of all accumulation is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat. If you find yourself lacking in persistence, this weakness may be remedied by building a stronger fire under your desires.

You will be tested. There is a "Hidden Guide" whose duty is to test men through all sorts of discouraging experiences. Those who pick themselves up after defeat and keep on trying arrive; and the world cries, "Bravo! I knew you could do it!" The Hidden Guide lets no one enjoy great achievement without passing the Persistence Test.

Those who "can't take it" simply do not make the grade.

We arrive now at the high court of the philosophy. These steps deal with the intangible, the psychic, and the connection between the finite mind of man and the Infinite Intelligence of the Universe.

The Master Mind: The Psychic Force

We spoke of the Master Mind in planning, but you must understand its deeper power. The Master Mind is defined as: "Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose."

There is a psychic phase to this. No two minds ever come together without, thereby, creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to a third mind.

When a group of individual brains are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance becomes available to every individual brain in the group. This explains how men like Andrew Carnegie, who knew very little about the technical manufacture of steel, could build an empire. He surrounded himself with a Master Mind group that understood the industry. He harnessed their mind power, and in doing so, accessed a power far greater than the sum of its parts.

Warning: Perfect harmony is not a luxury; it is a necessity. If there is bickering, doubt, or competition within the group, the Master Mind connection is severed, and the power dissipates.

The Subconscious Mind: The Connecting Link

The Subconscious Mind (Step 11) is a field of consciousness in which every impulse of thought that reaches the objective mind through any of the five senses is classified and recorded. It works day and night.

You cannot entirely control your subconscious mind, but you can voluntarily hand over to it any plan, desire, or purpose you wish transformed into concrete form. This is why the Autosuggestion and Habit are so vital.

The subconscious mind feeds upon the thoughts you nurture. If you fail to plant desires in your subconscious mind, it will feed upon the thoughts which reach it as the result of your neglect—fear, poverty, and doubt. You are the gardener. You must keep the weeds out and the flowers of desire blooming.

The Brain & The Sixth Sense

Step 12, The Brain, is the broadcasting and receiving station for thought. Through the medium of the ether, in a fashion similar to how a radio operates, every human brain is capable of picking up vibrations of thought which are being released by other brains.

When your brain is stimulated to a high rate of vibration—through the emotions of sex (Step 10, the transmutation of sexual energy into creative energy), love, or intense desire—it becomes more receptive to the thoughts of others and to the vibrations of the ether.

This high vibration leads us to the final step: The Sixth Sense (Step 13).

This is the apex of the philosophy. The Sixth Sense is that portion of the Subconscious Mind which has been referred to as the Creative Imagination. It is the "receiving set" through which ideas, plans, and thoughts flash into the mind. These flashes are often called "hunches" or "inspiration."

The Sixth Sense is not something you can take off a shelf and use immediately. It comes only after the mastery of the other 12 principles. Through the Sixth Sense, you will be warned of impending dangers in time to avoid them, and notified of opportunities in time to embrace them.

We have built the structure. We have primed the engine. But there is one thing that can dismantle it all in an instant: Fear.

Before you can put this philosophy into successful use, your mind must be prepared to receive it. The preparation is not complete until you have cleared your mind of the three negatives: Indecision, Doubt, and Fear.

Indecision crystallizes into Doubt, and the two blend to become Fear.

You must rigorously examine yourself for the Six Basic Fears:

1. The Fear of POVERTY (The most destructive; it paralyzes the faculty of reason).
2. The Fear of CRITICISM (It robs man of his initiative and destroys his power of imagination).
3. The Fear of ILL HEALTH (A bottomless pit of hypochondria).
4. The Fear of LOSS OF LOVE OF SOMEONE (Jealousy and insanity).
5. The Fear of OLD AGE (Acceptance of decline).
6. The Fear of DEATH (The unknown).

You must master these ghosts. You must stare them down. Remember this final synthesis: Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.

Life is a checkerboard, and the player opposite you is Time. If you hesitate before moving, or neglect to move promptly, your men will be wiped off the board by Time. You are playing against a partner who will not tolerate Indecision!

To commence your journey from where you sit right now to the fortune that awaits you, execute these ten commands:

1. Write your Definite Chief Aim statement immediately. Do not sleep until it is on paper.
2. Memorize the Affirmation Script provided in Part I.
3. Identify 3 people who could form the nucleus of your Master Mind alliance. Contact them this week.
4. Audit your fears. Which of the Six Ghosts is haunting you? Name it and dismiss it.
5. Set a specific hour each day for "Creative Silence" to listen to your imagination.
6. Analyze your Specialized Knowledge. What do you lack? Who has it?
7. Commit to the "extra mile." Render more service than you are paid for, starting tomorrow.
8. Burn your bridges. Cut off all sources of retreat. Make success your only option.
9. Practice Sexual Transmutation. Channel your physical urges into your creative work.
10. NEVER QUIT. 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.

The ladder of success is never crowded at the top. The way is open. The method is proven. The only variable remaining is YOU.

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