Can You Really Just Think And Grow Rich

Singapore
February 20, 2007 1:01pm CST
Napoleon Hill wrote a book entitled "Think and Grow Rich" in 1937 after interviewing prominent people of the time such as Thomas Edison (light bulbs) Alexander Graham Bell (telephone), Henry Ford etc and distilled 13 PRINCIPLES of SUCCESS amongst which are the power of the subconcious mind, our sixth sense, working with a burning desire to succeed and so on. An Australian company made a film called "The Secret" and is based mainly on these principles (Visit Google Video and search for "The Secret" to watch part of it.) Can one really be rich by applying what they call "The Power of Attraction" or as one narrator in the film called "Thoughts Become Things" That is by thinking positive thoughts good things will happen? Conversely, if you think negative thoughts bad things will happen. What do you think. Is it that simple?
2 responses
@clownfish (3272)
• United States
20 Feb 07
Hi! I don't believe it is that simple. I won't get into my opinion about Mr. Hill, but if you want some real, practical, do-able advice about money, read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki - or any of his books. He explains why most people don't manage their money well - most of it is because they weren't taught - and how to manage it better. I would go with someone who has some ideas that actually work, like Mr. Kiyosaki. :-)
• Singapore
21 Feb 07
Thanks. But you have to be rich first before you can learn to manage it right?
@clownfish (3272)
• United States
21 Feb 07
No. The rich don't start out rich (most of the time), they get rich by doing wise things with their money. Things that other people don't do. The people in this book didn't start out rich. Robert Kiyosaki didn't start out rich, he learned how to handle his money and became rich. Really, the book is worth a look. :-)
@fxfriski (209)
• Singapore
25 Feb 07
My first mentor is Robert T. Kiyosaki, his teachings is practical, straight forward and sometimes profound. It took me two years to figure out what he is trying to tell me. (Okay, I admit I am slow...) Just to comment on the comments by Whisperer, Yes you need to be rich first before you can be rich. Most people will associate "Rich" with currency and gold. But the term "Rich", "Wealth", "Assets" can refer to a bunch of many things. E.g. A wealth of ideas? Assets can refer to family member and so forth. Robert says you need to have an abundance mindset, meaning you need to be "Rich" in the mind first before you can be "Rich" in the real world. Robert also says that Getting Rich is SIMPLE, but the process of doing is it NOT EASY. Although it might seem like I am playing with words here. But Simplicity and Difficulty is too far apart to be used interchangably. I would keep an open mind to ideas, from either Robert or Napolean Hill (although I have not read his book, I did however get his message) Forgive my bad english.
@fxfriski (209)
• Singapore
25 Feb 07
Wah... you really squeezed a great deal of questions into one discussion. And seriously it would be easier to discuss if it is seperated. "Think and Grow Rich", I have a summary of the book and have never read it. What is "Grow Rich" to you? Is it having a lot of money for a life time? An hour? a day? a year? many years? Does winning a lottery or inheritance qualify for "Grow Rich"? There are many formulas for getting rich, most of them will work fine with many testimonials, yet there will be a majority who will fail with the same formula. The biggest reason for it is the psychology or mindset. Since mindset or psychology takes up 80% of your probability of "Grow Rich". It makes sense if you focus more on it. The actual picture out there is different, majority will focus on the strategies and such which takes up only 20% and maybe... just maybe they will get lucky. (Like buying lottery?) To answer your second part... Law of Attraction. Also known to me as "The Power of Focus", what you focus on, you see, feel and get. A very simple experiment, have you ever been suffered a small cut and not feel the pain? However if you see the cut, you feel the pain? If you do research, you might find many cases that work and many that don't. There will always be factors that affect the outcome. Majority however should work the way the "Law of Attraction" states. And to address the third part of your discussion, "Positive Thinking". I am not an avid fan of positive thinking, don't get me wrong, I am no pessimist either. I prefer optimism over pessimism. However being a realist I am, I am not overly optimistic. Just because I think positively that there are no weeds in my garden, doesn't mean the weeds will not grow if nobody tends to the garden. Last question, "Is it that simple?". Simplicity or Difficulty? Is it simple? Y-E-S, is it EASY? N-O