The book was inspired by a suggestion from Scottish-American business magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. While its title implies that the book deals with how to attain monetary wealth, the author explains that the philosophy taught in the book can be used to help people succeed in all lines of work and to do or be almost anything they want.
The book was first published during the Great Depression. At the time of Hill's death in 1970, Think and Grow Rich had sold more than 20 million copies and by 2011 over 70 million copies had been sold worldwide. It remains the biggest seller of Napoleon Hill's books. Business week magazine's Best-Seller List ranked it the sixth best-selling paperback business book 70 years after it was published. Think and Grow Rich is listed in John C. Maxwell's A Lifetime "Must Read" Books List.
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
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.
Example.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
THE MAN WHO "THOUGHT" HIS WAY INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH THOMAS A. EDISON
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, or other material objects.
A little more than thirty years ago, Edwin C. Barnes discovered how true it is that men really do THINK AND
GROW RICH. His discovery did not come about at one sitting. It came little by little, beginning with a
BURNING DESIRE to become a business associate of the great Edison.
One of the chief characteristics of Barnes' Desire was that it was definite. He wanted to work with Edison, not
for him. Observe, carefully, the description of how he went about translating his DESIRE into reality, and you
will have a better understanding of the thirteen principles which lead to riches.
When this DESIRE, or impulse of thought, first flashed into his mind he was in no position to act upon it.
Two difficulties stood in his way. He did not know Mr. Edison, and he did not have enough money to pay his
 |
| Thomas Edison and Edwin Barnes |
railroad fare to Orange, New Jersey.
These difficulties were sufficient to have discouraged the majority of men from making any attempt to carry
out the desire. But his was no ordinary desire! He was so determined to find a way to carry out his desire that
he finally decided to travel by "blind baggage," rather than be defeated. (To the uninitiated, this means that he
went to East Orange on a freight train).
He presented himself at Mr. Edison's laboratory, and announced he had come to go into business with the
inventor. In speaking of the first meeting between Barnes and Edison, years later, Mr. Edison said, "He stood
there before me, looking like an ordinary tramp, but there was something in the expression of his face which
conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what he had come after. I had learned, from years of
experience with men, that when a man really DESIRES a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire
future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win. I gave him the opportunity he asked
for, because I saw he had made up his mind to stand by until he succeeded. Subsequent events proved that no
mistake was made."
Just what young Barnes said to Mr. Edison on that occasion was far less important than that which he thought.
Edison, himself, said so! It could not have been the young man's appearance which got him his start in the
Edison office, for that was definitely against him. It was what he THOUGHT that counted.
If the significance of this statement could be conveyed to every person who reads it, there would be no need
for the remainder of this book.
Barnes did not get his partnership with Edison on his first interview. He did get a chance to work in the
Edison offices, at a very nominal wage, doing work that was unimportant to Edison, but most important to
Barnes, because it gave him an opportunity to display his "merchandise" where his intended "partner" could
see it.
Months went by. Apparently nothing happened to bring the coveted goal which Barnes had set up in his mind
as his DEFINITE MAJOR PURPOSE. But something important was happening in Barnes' mind. He was
constantly intensifying his DESIRE to become the business associate of Edison.
Psychologists have correctly said that "when one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance."
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