Think and Grow Rich Short Summary

Napoleon Hill took his time to comprehend the traits that successful people possess. The author came up with 13 qualities that separate people who make it in life from those who are mediocre. The characteristics can be summarized into three main ones.

The first trait that people who want to succeed have is their belief in themselves. In his argument, one can have goals, believe in them, and end up achieving them. Successful people have an incredible and strong belief in the goals they set out to achieve. If you want to succeed, you need to persuade yourself that you are on the right path towards prosperity. That way, it is easier to actualize the dreams you have. Everything begins in the subconscious.

When you persuade yourself that you will achieve your goals, you gain the confidence and motivation necessary to follow the goal with actions. Consequently, your actions are aligned with the achievement of life objectives. In other words, it is crucial to believe in yourself and the abilities you have.

Once you make a decision, you should stick to it no matter the circumstances. The author says that most people are stuck in failure because they are not determined enough. On the other hand, those who have amasses much wealth make their decisions fast and have the determination to achieve them. Hill illustrates this trait by using the story of Henry Ford, who had a belief that Model T was going to be a masterpiece. Although people kept telling him to come up with a different model, he ignored them and insisted on developing that model.

The author says that people will always have an opinion on what you decide to do. You should not let what people say to sway you from the objectives you have. Besides, you should only share your ideas with people who are close and ready to encourage.

Thirdly, you should always be open to learning new things. The author later came up with the Mastermind group. It is important to learn from successful people from different backgrounds. Combining powerful ideas from different people can help you get better results. People can achieve more if they are open to sharing their experiences, creative ideas, and important skills. It is more productive to work with people who can help you achieve more rather than relying on your brain.