Was Napoleon Hill Wrong? What's Your Opinion?

In the classic "Think And Grow Rich", Napoleon Hill talks about becoming obsessed with your goal. He talks about thinking about your goal all the time?

Was he wrong?

Do you become unbalanced that way?

Is "Think and Grow Rich" a farce? Was Napoleon Hill a scam artist who has made thousands of people unhappy, unbalanced, and unsuccessful from the 13 principles he taught in his book?

:hmm:

 

Sometimes when you tell lies that must sound good for the book/class to work- those lies turn out to be true.

So its not very out of this world to think that some of his believes would work!

 

I am not sure I understand...Do you think Napoleon Hill was lying? (Don't forget, more millionaires, including TR, credit that book to their financial success, more than any other book.)

 

I'm just saying that if he was a scammer- or if he was crazy or completely wrong about some things. That does not automatically mean he is wrong about this thing.

Being obsessive could easily help you in your goal searching but as with everything there is a line.

 

HSRK - Have YOU ever read Think and Grow Rich?

It all starts with THINKING about it.

What you THINK about, you TALK about, what you TALK about - YOU BRING ABOUT.

Napolean Hill's book may be old as the hills, but it is a proven thought, theory and practise. That is why so many people since him re-sell and re-hash his idea's and book in a new way each time. Napolean Hill, Dale Carnegie and Conrad Hilton were all ahead of their time.... :yup:

Personally, I get something new out of each of their books, every time I read them. So no, I don't think his book is full of lies. Not at all.... Was he wrong? NO. Does it lead to one being imbalanced? No... but then again it all depends on how one defines passion and striving for excellence. You do have to sleep, eat, breathe what you want... this I find true for any goal. It depends on how motivated you are. Balance is a highly personal thing. One person's sense of balance will be different for many people.

 

1. No

2. Balance is a myth - it is the "greatest excuse" for staying mediocre there is... However to be happy I believe you gotta stay focused in spurts not every waking minute...

I have a phrase I use with people I coach

Daily Focus + Weekly Recuperation = Monthly Results

 

I don't think it is a matter of being wrong or right.

And as to becoming unbalanced being obsessed with your goal - probably, yes.

But I think most people misunderstand and misuse 'Think and Grow Rich"

It is commonly taken to be a book of instruction - Do this if you want to be successful. That is not what the book is about, as far as I understand it.

The account I have is that Andrew Carnegie challenged Napoleon Hill to study rich people (I believe he said rich people not successful people) and determine what common factors united this group of people. What was it that all these people had in common? The idea was, if the 'rules' could be identified, then anyone following those 'rules' should become rich, too.

It has nothing to do with becoming successful - Napoleon Hill's objective was to find out what a certain group of rich people did to become rich.

If you want to take the recipe for a chocolate cake and hope to make a strawbery tart using the instructions, you will likely be quite disappointed most of the time.

 

Very well stated:thumb:

 

Spidey

From the book itself

In the introduction it says:

"this book offers the shortest dependable philosophy of "individual achievement"

This is not a novel. It is a text book on individual achievement that came directly from the experiences of hundreds of America's most successfull men ~ Thomas Edison

and

"you are about to come into possession of a philosophy which can be transmuted into material wealth, or serve as readily to bring you peace of mind, understanding, spiritual harmony and in some instances as in the case of the authors son, it can help you master physical affliction"

I could be wrong but as I read and continue to read it this book has everything to do with becoming succussful

 

Highschool brings up some interesting points to ponder.

I think the term "obsessed" often has a negative connotation, when in reality, I believe some "obsessions" such as lofty goals that are well thought out and continually acted upon, can indeed be a good thing and lead to very good results.

For example, in World War II, the Allies were obsessed with bringing an end to the war in manner that was victorious their side. I rather like the results of THAT obsession.

I would submit that other modern day examples of "successful" people (Ted Turner, Donald Trump, Bill Gates, etc.) have probably been pretty obsessive about their work and plans!

I would bet that most people who have had any high degree of success in their business have had a healthy level of obsessing about achieving their goals.

I don't think Hill was wrong. I do believe some unbalanced people can remain unbalanced while getting caught up in their obsessions, but that doesn't mean that all obsessions are unhealthy nor lead to one becoming unbalanced.

 

I quite agree that 'successful' and 'rich' are used interchangeably in Think and Grow Rich' but I don't believe they are the synonymous.

From my copy of the book (there have been many issues) the first words are:

"One of the world's most powerful books is in your hands. It gives you a tested plan that makes men rich. It shows you exactly how to use it, and gets you started right now...." That, along with the title, Think and Grow Rich, makes no mention of success, peace of mind, understanding, or spiritual harmony - it speaks of becoming rich.

These other things to which you refer are, in this book, means to an end -- the end is, for this book, to grow rich.

 

I don't think he was lying...he was just giving his opinion. I don't think he was a scam artist. Is there anything other than this statement that would make you think he is a scam artist? just wondering.

 

Not if they read and applied all his principles. His book teaches more balance than probably most others out there. Have you even read his book HSRK? Have you understood it? Cuz if you have I'm not sure that this question would even occur to you.

 

To those of you who have never read my posts before, realize that in my original post that started this thread, I was being sarcastic!!

Have I ever read the book? Of course, more than once...and everytime I have read and applied the principles in "Think and Grow Rich", I have met my income goals...I have recently set an even higher income goal than I have ever set before...I have read "Think and Grow Rich" three times in the past week...I am visualizing myself holding a check for the amount of money of my new goal...The image is starting to take over...meaning, whether I try or not, the image is not leaving my mind, I am obsessing about it, and several "plan" ideas have already come to me in the past few days. Oh, it's going to be fun!!! I love making money!!!...once again, the principles of Napoleon Hill's book will make me rich...:thumb:

 

I think you CAN become unbalanced, but don't have to be. I don't think he was a scam artist. His words on autosuggestion have probably had more of a positive impact (in terms of not just money but also my philosophy) on my personal development than any others.

 

I agree wholeheartedly...:thumb:

 

OH I did not know...I get it know :yup:

 

I think the book has to be taken in the context it was written. It offers interesting ideas to ponder, as well as some gold nuggets of wisdom, however I found it's greatest weakness to be it's lack of relevance to the modern day. It is not a guide to becoming rich (IMO), although it continues to make a bunch of money for booksellers.
I don't think it's the best book out there, but it sure has one of the best reps doesn't it? :tiphat:

 

Considering that there have been hundreds of other successful people who have written books based on the knowledge they gained from "Think and grow rich" I would not consider it to be a "scam".

Dale Carnegie, Bob Proctor, W. Clement Stone, just to name a few.
You also have to consider that the book was written like 80 years ago and since then, we have had the industrial revolution which came about because of positive thinkers like Hill.

 

I have thought A LOT about this very issue lately. I agree that being obsessed with one thing helps you get it done... but does not necessarily make you happy and balanced. I do speak from a recent experience.

BUT....

I also believe that there is a way to be "obsessed" with something and be balanced at the same time. It's a skill...

You see... I believe that balance is not about devoting equal amounts of time and effort to the various parts of your life. It's about clearly knowing how important each part of your life is to you, and then devoting the exact ampunt of time and effort to each that is proportionate to its importance.

So I guess if you want the most important things in your life to flourish, you better obsess on them every day !!


As for Napoleon Hill, I think he did his best with the knowledge and information he collected. Whether it works the same for everybody is another issue. For one, the original seemed to be written for men, and for its time. The world has changed a bit since then.