Think & Grow Rich is Utter Crap Compared To This Book

[RazvanRogoz]

That's a way to see it.

I judge people by their results. I'm not very familiar with Hill's personal life. I know actually few facts about it.

But when you teach someone about getting rich, you should be rich yourself. Not by teaching, but by actually applying the concepts.

I like NH. I'm not just sold out on his ideas.

If someone teaches me about becoming a great boxer, I want that person to actually be a great boxer, not a researcher of great boxers.

And everyone defines success in his own way.

As far as I'm concerned, Viktor Frankl who wrote Man's Search for Meaning is a far more successful person than Hill was.

Why?

Because he spent a couple of years in a extermination camp and lived to tell about it. Because he gave birth to the idea of logotherapy. Because he actually used the lessons taught in his book to survive.

I'm not aware why NH didn't achieved financial success (or lost his money). I've heard that his pursuit for knowledge ruined almost every other part of his life. I've also heard that he was more focused on teaching people how to get out of the recession than to watch his own interests.

It doesn't really matter.

Here are the ideas with which I disagree:
1. Positive Mental Attitude - Yes, a positive mental attitude is good but it doesn't really matter if you are a positive person when your house burns down. My dearest mentor told me once "I've seen grumpy rich people and I've seen happy rich people. No matter how you are, optimistic or pessimistic, keep working until you get results"

2. Visualization. Sorry, but no matter how cool is to visualize, this doesn't work for me. Every time I visualize I waste time and I do nothing that day. I'd rather write down my thoughts or express them in any other way (drawing, painting, writing a story) than to visualize.

I hate gurus and I hate absolute truths. No one is 100% right. Not MJ, not NH, not Tony Robbins, no one. For all I'm concerned, I want to take the good parts from everyone in particular and ignore the bad ones.

For example, MJ wrote a great book. But it's still a commercial book. It makes it look to easy to get rich. It's not.

NH gave the perfect principles about having a fulfilling and successful life. But when it comes to the financial side, I'm a little skeptical about using what he told me. I've read TAGR several times and I've listened to the 30 minutes version over 100 times for 100 days in a row.

Tony Robbins is a cool guy but he forgets one thing - the dark side in all of us. It would be fun to get motivated and hyped up as he tries to induce in us ... but in the real world, following his advice to the key is difficult. This didn't stopped me to study him for a long while.

Earl Nightingale from what I can say is the best. He says it as it is. But his material is very outdated and many of his materials (with the exception of the strangest secret) apply to a certain cultural climate.

Dan Pena ... well, he was rich, I don't know how rich he is anymore. If you want to get rich, study Pena. But you'll trade your wife, kids, life for money. Not a good deal.

Jim Rohn ... I like this guy but I never realized what he actually does. He's a motivational speaker. (He was, may God rest his soul). So what? What are his results? Why is he qualified to teach me about money (actually, he doesn't teach a lot about money but rather a framework for living). Anyway, he's one on my favorite side.

Chris Howard ... I've learned NLP from this guy. I have nothing bad to say about him. If you want to learn NLP, he can help you.

T Harv Eker ... If I were 60 and with an IQ of 100, maybe I would like him. I've lost my time watching "The Seminar of the Century". 60 minutes (first DVD only) that I'll never get back.

Zig Ziglair ... I like him but I don't like his near obsession to religion. I am a faithful person but my relationship with God is personal. I don't want to hear about Him on every page, on every principle, in every product.

And many more. I've read a lot. Some for pleasure, some for necessity. Therefore I've developed a critical eye when reading.

Razvan

 

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[Vigilante]

Like any book, there are excellent takeaways and part crap in TAGR. Keep the good parts, discard the parts that don't work for you... but read everything you can get your hands on and you will be better off for it. Reading deepens knowledge.

 

[Russ H]

Tony Robbins is a cool guy but he forgets one thing - the dark side in all of us. It would be fun to get motivated and hyped up as he tries to induce in us ... but in the real world, following his advice to the key is difficult. This didn't stopped me to study him for a long while.

Yes, a positive mental attitude is good but it doesn't really matter if you are a positive person when your house burns down. My dearest mentor told me once "I've seen grumpy rich people and I've seen happy rich people. No matter how you are, optimistic or pessimistic, keep working until you get results"

Interesting point.

I'd have to say that my 3 biggest roadblocks to success were:

1. Smoking weed

2. A crappy attitude

3. Fear

Overcoming fear is the biggie. Having a positive outlook on things can help w/that, but it takes more. LOTS more.

This is just for me, BTW. I'm sure that readers of this will be able to point at dozens of successful people who smoke, are afraid, and have a crappy attitude.

Just not me. When I worked on those 3 things, my life changed. A lot.

-Russ H.

 

[deSeingalt]

I have it in audio form.

For Tagr fans, remember than NH almost died broke.

Clement Stone saved him by offering a sales training job for the last years of his life.

I've read Tagr several times. I'm not saying that his principles are not effective.

But just as I wouldn't take advice about dating from a guy who's been single all his life, so I'm a little skeptical about taking success lessons from a guy that almost died broke.

The principles are good, especially in TAGR. On the other hand, NH can't be considered a successful person, at least financially wise.

Razvan

I dont understand this misconception. Hill did exactly what he wanted to do, he dedicated his life to writing and personal success, his TaGR sold 20 million copies, thats just one of his books and its still in print. He inspired millions and still does. How did he die broke? He achieved his goal, he never had intentions to be a millionaire, if he dedicated his life to accumulation of material wealth I have no doubt in my mind that he would get it.
Taken directly from the book:

Nearly twenty years ago I interviewed Mr. Carnegie for the purpose of writing a story about him. During the interview I asked him to what he attributed his success. With a merry little twinkle in his eyes he said:
"Young man, before I answer your question will you please define your term 'success'?"
After waiting until he saw that I was somewhat embarrassed by his request he continued: "By success you have reference to my money, have you not?" I assured him that money was the term by which most people measured success, and he then said: "Oh, well -if you wish to know how I got my money - if that is what you call success - I will answer your question by saying that we have a master mind here in our business, and that mind is made up of more than a score of men who constitute my personal staff of superintendents and managers and accountants and chemists and other necessary types. No one person in this group is the master mind of which I speak, but the sum total of the minds in the group, co-ordinated, organized and directed to a definite end in a spirit of harmonious co-operation is the power that got my money for me. No two minds in the group are exactly alike, but each man in the group does the thing that he is supposed to do and he does it better than any other person in the world could do it."

 

[nico]

TaGR was my first real "success" book, so maybe I'm biased. But it's the book that turned me on to all the other books, and without it I likely wouldn't have read any of them down the line, including MJ's book.

It IS a classic and you can trace most of the "success" genre back to it. That said, the language is outdated, and the book hard to read and just not that well written.

But let's not forget all the progress that's happened in the writing and media space in the 80 years since Hill's book. There are SO many more books to learn from, so much more understanding of marketing, psychology, how to write to a broad audience, etc. MJ's book is miles better technically, but let's not forget it was written many decades later in a totally different context. Today we stand on the shoulders of the giants of the past.

 

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[livebig]

Hello fellow fastlaners,

I used to think Napoleon Hill's Think & Grow Rich (T&GR) was a great book because that's what I was told from gurus and people who KNEW better than I. I tried to read it many times and while it was an ok book, nothing ever seemed to click just right with that book. It was like giving someone a hot rod with half an engine.

I persisted and tried to focus more on the book. I had to be missing something. How could all of these people be wrong? They were authorities. Clearly, I wasn't getting something.

I absolutely LOVED MJ's book, and it's a great eye-opener and motivator. (I can't talk about life changing books without discussing his book.) I have found another one of Napoleon Hill's books that is truly and absolutely phenomenal and I recommend that everyone on these boards read it. It seems that some of the things that MJ has discussed in his book is in the book I found, but repetition is the mother of skill.

Napoleon Hill's Law of Success: The 21st Century Edition http://www.amazon.com/Law-Success-2...?ie=UTF8&qid=1321734811&sr=8-5&tag=acleint-20 is really amazing. It was written in 1928, but surprisingly, it is just as relevant today as it was over 80 years ago. Basically, there are 17 chapters that each contain a requirement to being successful such as creating a savings habit, or having an imagination.

The book is much more lengthy than T&GR, but that's the joy of it because Napoleon Hill is able to talk at length about each of the skills that one must master to be successful. The book is only $6.61 on Amazon. Make this the absolute best investment you've spent on your fast lane education.

I must say, the first chapter is tough to get through, but after you finish the first chapter, things really start to heat up. Commit one hour a day to reading and mastering this material and it will completely change your life.

 

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[Theo]

Think and grow rich was pretty much the first book I read that put me on the path I am today.

 

[Skys]

Interesting point.

I'd have to say that my 3 biggest roadblocks to success were:

1. Smoking weed

2. A crappy attitude

3. Fear

Overcoming fear is the biggie. Having a positive outlook on things can help w/that, but it takes more. LOTS more.

This is just for me, BTW. I'm sure that readers of this will be able to point at dozens of successful people who smoke, are afraid, and have a crappy attitude.

Just not me. When I worked on those 3 things, my life changed. A lot.

-Russ H.

He, lets shake hands. Me too! Another big one is reading too much of these crappy self improvement books without taking any real action. Also, there is barely any intelligence to be found in most motivational, self help books. You can spend 2 hours getting skilled in a program like Excel and it would do you more good then reading another 'you can do it' book.

On the other hand, there is a place and time for them. I am pretty sure Bill gates does not have any post-its on his mirror that says: You are rich.

 

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[verial]

Most people don't know that Napolean Hill was in poverty his whole life and that "Think and Grow Rich" was written for a MLM company.

I have briefly laid out what I think is wrong with his mindset in a previous blogpost but the short of it is that whereas MJ's book teaches you how to WORK to get money, Hill's book essentially says THINKING alone will bring money to you.

This is why his book is so appealing: It hints that you needn't put in effort yet can make big bucks. Lazy people buy his book because it matches with their already unsuccessful beliefs.

 

[nico]

I have briefly laid out what I think is wrong with his mindset in a previous blogpost but the short of it is that whereas MJ's book teaches you how to WORK to get money, Hill's book essentially says THINKING alone will bring money to you.

Have you even read the book? That's exactly what it DOESN'T say. One of the core messages of the book is to stop making excuses, get off your butt and take ACTION. If anyone is guilty of omiting the action step from Hill's work, it's the "The Secret" crowd.

Dan Kennedy (the copy writing guru) did a good job of dissecting why Hill remained poor most of his life. Hill basically spent his life trying to sell the book and the mindset itself, which just wasn't a very good market. Then W. Clement Stone came, took the same ideas and applied them to a business that DID have a good market - insurance. And became very, very rich, more or less "saving" Hill in his elder years.

 

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[Aimegit de moncu]

Jim Rohn ... I like this guy but I never realized what he actually does. He's a motivational speaker. (He was, may God rest his soul). So what? What are his results? Why is he qualified to teach me about money (actually, he doesn't teach a lot about money but rather a framework for living). Anyway, he's one on my favorite side.

Come on, you don't really know what you are talking about. Jim Rohn was not a guru like everyone else in this industry. He was a succesful businessman who finaly came to give seminars. He walked the talk unlike many self proclaimed guru. His material works, this is not some BS like hundreds of books on motivation.

 

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[RazvanRogoz]

I have it in audio form.

For Tagr fans, remember than NH almost died broke.

Clement Stone saved him by offering a sales training job for the last years of his life.

I've read Tagr several times. I'm not saying that his principles are not effective.

But just as I wouldn't take advice about dating from a guy who's been single all his life, so I'm a little skeptical about taking success lessons from a guy that almost died broke.

The principles are good, especially in TAGR. On the other hand, NH can't be considered a successful person, at least financially wise.

Razvan

 

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[Twiki]

You can spend 2 hours getting skilled in a program like Excel and it would do you more good then reading another 'you can do it' book.

Yay! A wise man once said: Learning how to step thru the Pivot Table Wizard is worth 10,000 affirmations.

On the other hand, I think the reason most people prefer "you can do it" material is because it is more satisfying to hold onto a dream, vs. running the numbers and realizing that your dream would just be a very expensive hobby.

 

[Torobaro]

I have it in audio form.

For Tagr fans, remember than NH almost died broke.

Clement Stone saved him by offering a sales training job for the last years of his life.

I've read Tagr several times. I'm not saying that his principles are not effective.

But just as I wouldn't take advice about dating from a guy who's been single all his life, so I'm a little skeptical about taking success lessons from a guy that almost died broke.

The principles are good, especially in TAGR. On the other hand, NH can't be considered a successful person, at least financially wise.

Razvan

Clement Stone became a millionaire and he acknowledges his success to NH

"Stone ran $100 into millions with a strong desire to succeed and by putting into practice the principles in the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill"
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/05/business/clement-stone-dies-at-100-built-empire-on-optimism.html

 

[livebig]

Absolutely, and that's something that's missing often in the pursuit of money. If you lose your character or get your wealth dishonestly, what have you really gained?

 

[Simon Ashari]

Think and grow rich was actually an abridged version of 'The Law of Success'.

[video=youtube_share;McZ14sD_itU]http://youtu.be/McZ14sD_itU[/video]

A video from 2009.

-Simon

 

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[Rickson9]

'Utter crap' in terms of sales or...?

For some it is easy to be happy. For others it's harder, but that goes without saying...

 

[Scuderia]

Napoleon Hill went broke, reminds me of MJ's paradox of practice.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

reminds me of MJ's paradox of practice.

LOL, ya mean authors getting rich from their books? Not from what they teach in their books?

 

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[GMSI7D]

Most people don't know that Napolean Hill was in poverty his whole life and that "Think and Grow Rich" was written for a MLM company.

I have briefly laid out what I think is wrong with his mindset in a previous blogpost but the short of it is that whereas MJ's book teaches you how to WORK to get money, Hill's book essentially says THINKING alone will bring money to you.

This is why his book is so appealing: It hints that you needn't put in effort yet can make big bucks. Lazy people buy his book because it matches with their already unsuccessful beliefs.

that's a good comment.

but anyway the aim of this book is to allow the reader to find the " hiden secret in think and grow rich " which Napoleon Hill talks about at the beginning of the book.


The real value is in this "hidden secret", not in the principles .

The hidden secret is the steps people must use to achieve anything worhtwhile.

here it is :

Create a strong engine of innergame ( desir + faith ) in order to take action naturally ( plans, action, persistence) until you achieve your goal

let me explain :

engine ---> action---> feedback---> new action (persistence) --> success

"loop until success "

 

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[Vance]

Think and Grow Rich is really the setup for the Law of Success volumes. IMO the latter is a true masterpiece and he was describing what Men throughout the ages had done in the past (mystery schools), unlocking many parts of the mind. Like anything else this can be taken too literally, especially in today's world (think books like "The Secret"). BTW I highly recommend the audiobook "Outwitting the Devil" by Hill which can be found on YouTube for Free. I would absolutely suggest the version without Sharon Lechter who continually interrupts the great parts. You can find it HERE.

Knowledge, as we know, isn't power. Applied knowledge is. But everything starts with the mind. Yes working your a$$ off for a long period of time is a must, but I for one cannot deny that many great ideas I've used in my businesses often came from "somewhere" unknown, as if I was downloading them randomly. That being said, I don't suggest going all new-age and just thinking the Universe will supply you with everything you need. The old saying "God helps those who help themselves" rings more true than ever here.

I would also suggest listening to Earl Nightingale's The Strangest Secret every day for a few weeks. I did that and applied it and it really started to sink in as to how powerful our brains really are. Which in turn tells us how carefully we should treat them. This means putting into your brains (via your eyes and ears) as much quality material as you possibly can, and filtering out the distractions and crap in the world. You should treat these things like a drug, because like it or not they are affecting your subconscious mind continually. People often say "Well it's just music..." or "It's only a little bit of stupid reality TV I watch...", but look at those people on the whole. Are they living the dream? Are they people you look up to as a role model? Not likely. They don't even know what they're doing to themselves. They're controlled sheep.

Try it for a week. See how much you find yourself distracted by something mindless and useless (but not for the company selling you that thing), and how easily you can be hypnotized. Then you'll realize exactly what Hill was talking about with Definite of Purpose and focus. The better you get at it, the more you'll realize just easy the law of attraction can be. It's really a law of eliminating DIStraction.

 

[MotiveInMotion]

Have you even read the book? That's exactly what it DOESN'T say. One of the core messages of the book is to stop making excuses, get off your butt and take ACTION. If anyone is guilty of omiting the action step from Hill's work, it's the "The Secret" crowd.

Dan Kennedy (the copy writing guru) did a good job of dissecting why Hill remained poor most of his life. Hill basically spent his life trying to sell the book and the mindset itself, which just wasn't a very good market. Then W. Clement Stone came, took the same ideas and applied them to a business that DID have a good market - insurance. And became very, very rich, more or less "saving" Hill in his elder years.

I agree with your points, because the book has you lay out a specific process of

a) what you'll do for the money
b) when it'll be achieved
c) how you will deliver it and in what way

Then it speaks on how important it is to do your best every day to fulfill the value to the client or customer.. I think the Secret leaves out action completely, but T & G Rich is pretty spot-on with consistent action and thoughts.

Obviously nothing comes without the hustle and this book is great for mindset. Whoever reads books without taking action is missing the whole point anyway!

 

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[GMSI7D]

I have it in audio form.

For Tagr fans, remember than NH almost died broke.

Clement Stone saved him by offering a sales training job for the last years of his life.

I've read Tagr several times. I'm not saying that his principles are not effective.

But just as I wouldn't take advice about dating from a guy who's been single all his life, so I'm a little skeptical about taking success lessons from a guy that almost died broke.

The principles are good, especially in TAGR. On the other hand, NH can't be considered a successful person, at least financially wise.

Razvan

In fact, the author was a researcher about success . He was like a messanger for humanity.

Look this way : When we receive a letter , we don't ask the postman if he applies the things that are written in the letter...

So my opinion is that Napoleon Hill was that postman who searched for answers in order to send them to us.

His job was not to succeed alone in the woods , far from humanity.

 

[X01]

Incredible


Great review.

This is a dumb review! Rich could mean different things to different people. You could be rich in family or rich with friendship. All I know is your mind has to be right for your feet to follow. If anyone has the balls go talk to this guy Morris E. Goodman he will help you understand how you have to have direction and control of your mind before you yield anything of value. As for Napoleon Hill a paradox of practice get the F*ck out of here. You may not have studied the original think and grow rich and the original law of success set. i'm not talking about the 49.95 dollar bullshit from Vieux Publishing.

This One!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Law-of-...077036?hash=item58c32496ac:g:OhcAAOSwpDdVMu~6

And the Original Unedited Think and grow rich if you can find it. You can't tell me that being around Andrew Carnegie for 25yrs didn't have an outstanding impact and change of mindset for hill.

Then you can comment on Napoleon Hill <<<<------ You guys are getting this mixed up with the law of attraction bullshit. Where you wish for a bike and it shows up at your front door step.

As i read on page 26 of The Millionaire Fastlane it reads as follows

"My deep depression sunk me into escapes, but instead of drugs, sex, or alcohol, I lost myself in
books and kept studying fameless millionaires. If I couldn’t be successful, I’d escape into the
lives of those who were by absorbing books of the rich, autobiographies of the successful, and
other rags-to-riches tales."

Ya you may of had depression MJ but you cant tell me that those books where not changing your mindset!You guys read these books but you don't actually study them. Thats why they suck or they didnt help you because it takes time to re-frame your mindset. Just like how MJ jumps out of the shower and meets opportunity at his front door because his mind is tuned to it. As you can see my writing sucks. The End

 

[deSeingalt]

Yes, LoS is truly a classic and helped me alot, I read it time to time to get myself on track and get some inspiration. As a matter of fact, older books, like How to win and influence friends, Law of Success, Zigs sales book and others are really good. They teach something else, how to build character, thats why I like them, its not only about making money.

 

[livebig]

Hill did not die a wealthy man, that is true, as Morpheus said in The Matrix “There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”

Maybe material wealth was not his end goal. I feel that he connected with so many successful people, the ideas that he has given us surely can't hurt (Though, I'm not so sure about that weird sex transmutation stuff) *shivers*

 

[buckmajor]

Awesome! Thanks for the review I was looking . I feel kind of weird, I think I have 'Alpha and Omega' back to front lol. Great feedback yall, learnt a lot here.

 

[Melissmo]

I myself have read a lot of these guru-rated books and after reading them, yup, I thought they were the best, until I also read MJ's book. Why I liked - pre MJ, think and grow rich was because I didn't know any better, at the time everything written seem to make sense, you think about the positive and you make it happen by following up with action; while this IS possible, you have to keep being 'reminded' of doing the action to make it happen. MJ on the other hand was real, he hit the nail on the head. He made it clear about what works and what does not and NOW that my eyes have been opened based on our Fastlane, I KNOW FOR SURE, I WILL BE a Fastlane billionaire, I don't THINK I will be, I KNOW I will be!!!

MJ's book is AWESOME..... I wanna read more books written by him!!! He keeps it REAL!

 

[barbarian]

I see this book is scarce nowasays..

see in amazon:

Available from these sellers.




7 new from $106.67 25 used from $19.60 3 collectible from $89.79


Do you know another sites to acquire it?

 

[CEBenz]

Try here:

http://www.naphill.org/store/books-by-napoleon-hill-and-others/

 

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