Think & Grow Rich: My Summary

Think & Grow Rich is one of, if not THE, most well recognized "How To Be Successful" books ever written.

Introducing how ideas like visualization, optimism, and focused determination can help you acquire and sustain a lifestyle of wealth.

I've read the book about three times now. Every time I read it, it has a bit more to say. However, you have to take everything in this book with a grain of salt. It was written back in 1937.

This is the first, of two, Napoleon Hill book summaries I'll be posting. If you like what you read here, then I highly suggest you buy the book. I edited the thoughts pretty heavily in comprising this summary.

If you are looking for a way to get yourself out of a slump or just a unique way to view and attack the world, this book may have the answers.

My summary of Napolean Hill's Think & Grow Rich.

Thoughts are things.

When mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their realization, they become powerful things.

One idea is all that one needs to achieve success.

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.

One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Know enough to seek expert counsel before giving up. Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the average man’s familiarity with the word “impossible”. Riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose with little or no hard work. Success comes to those who become success conscious. Failure comes to those who indifferently allow themselves to become failure conscious.

Desire: The starting point of all achievement and the first step towards riches

Choose a definite goal, place all your energy, all your willpower, all your effort, everything, to back that goal.

A great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnumbered his own. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded his soldiers, and gave them orders to burn the ships that carried them there. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, “You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We have no choice: win or perish.”

Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success.

Wishing will not bring riches, but desiring riches with a state of mind that become an obsession, the planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches.

Six ways to turn desires into reality

1. Fix your mind on the exact desire being as specific as possible.

2. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return.

3. Establish a definite date when you intended to possess your desires.

4. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin immediately putting this plan into action.

5. Write out a clear and concise statement of the above.

6. Read your written statement aloud twice a day.

The object is to want money and to become so determined to have it that you convince yourself you will have it.

Don’t let anyone influence your decisions. To win the big stakes in this changed world, you must catch the spirit of the great pioneers o the past, whose dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value, the spirit which serves as the life-blood of our own country, to develop and market our talents.

A burning desire to be and to do is the starting point from which the dreamer must take off. Remember that all who succeed in life get off to a bad start and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they “arrive”.

There is a difference between wishing for a thing and being ready to receive it. No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must be belief, not merely a hope or wish. Open-mindness is essential for belief. Closed minds do not inspire faith, courage, and belief.

Faith: Visualization of, and belief in, attainment of desire, the second step toward riches.

Faith is a state of mind which may be induced, or created, by affirmation or repeated instructions to the subconscious mind, through the principle of autosuggestion. Repetition of affirmation of orders to your subconscious mind is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith.

All thoughts that have been emotionalized (given feeling) and mixed with faith, begin immediately to translate themselves into their physical equivalent or counterpart. The emotions of faith, love, and sex, when mixed with any thought impulse, give it greater action than any of these emotions can do singly. The subconscious mind will translate into its physical equivalent a thought impulse of a negative or destructive nature, just as readily as it will act upon thought impulses of a positive or constructive nature.

There are millions of people who believe themselves “doomed” to poverty and failure, because some stranger force over which they believe they have no control. They are the creators of their own misfortunes because of their negative belief, which is picked up by the subconscious mind, and translated into its physical equivalent.

There is nothing to hinder you from “deceiving” your subconscious mind when giving it instructions through autosuggestion.

To make this “deceit” more realistic, conduct yourself just as you would if you were already in possession of the material thing which you are demanding, when you call upon your subconscious mind. It is essential for you to encourage the positive emotions as dominating forces of your mind while discouraging negative emotions.

Faith is the “eternal elixir” which gives life, power, and action to thoughts.

It is a well-known fact that one comes, finally, to believe whatever one repeats to one’s self, whether the statement be true or false. Every man is what he is because of the dominating thoughts which he permits to occupy his mind.

Thoughts which are mixed with any of the feelings of emotions constitute a magnetic force which attracts other similar or related thoughts.

Any thought, idea, plan, or purpose which one holds in one’s mind attracts a host of its relatives, adds these “relatives” to its own force, and grows until it becomes the dominating, motivating master of the individual in whose mind it has been housed. Any idea, plan or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought. This is why you are asked to write out a statement of your major purpose, or definite chief aim, commit it to memory, and repeat it, in audible words, day after day, until these vibrations of sound have reached your subconscious mind.

Self Confidence Formula: Repeat the following

1. I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my definite purpose in life; therefore, I demand of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment, and I here and now promise to render such action.

2. I realize the dominating thoughts of my mind will eventually reproduce themselves in outward, physical action, and gradually transform themselves into physical reality; therefore, I will concentrate my thoughts for thirty minutes daily, upon the task of thinking of the person I intend to become, thereby creating in my mind a clear mental picture.

3. I know through the principle of autosuggestion, any desire that I persistently hold in my mind will eventually seek expression through some practical means of attaining the object back of it; therefore, I will devote ten minutes daily to demanding of myself the development of self-confidence.

4. I have clearly written down a description of my definite chief aim in life, and I will never stop trying, until I shall have developed sufficient self-confidence for its attainment.

5. I fully realize that no wealth or position can long endure, unless built upon truth and justice; therefore, I will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom it affects. I will succeed by attracting to myself the forces I wish to use, and the cooperation of other people. I will induce others to serve me, because of my willingness to serve others. I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, and cynicism, by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and in myself. I will sign my name to this formula, commit it to memory, and repeat it aloud once a day, with full faith that it will gradually influence my thoughts and actions so that I will become a self-reliant and successful person.

The subconscious mind makes no distinction between constructive and destructive thought impulses.

Autosuggestion: the medium for influencing the subconscious mind and the third step towards riches.

Autosuggestion is self-suggestion. Nature has so built man that he has absolute control over the material which reaches his subconscious mind, through his five senses, although this is not meant to be construed as a statement that man always exercises this control. In the great majority of instances, he does not exercise it, which explains why so many people go through life in poverty.

Autosuggestion is the agency of control through which an individual may voluntarily feed his subconscious mind on thoughts of a creative nature, or, by neglect, permit thoughts of a destructive nature to find their way into this rich garden of the mind.

Your subconscious mind recognizes and acts only upon thoughts which have been well-mixed with emotion or feeling. Plain, unemotional words do not influence the subconscious mind.

Your ability to use the principle of autosuggestion will depend, very largely, upon your capacity to concentrate upon a given desire until that desire becomes a burning obsession.

Consider the possibility of playing a perfectly legitimate “trick” on your subconscious mind, by making it believe, because you believe it, that you must have the amount of money you are visualizing, that this money is already awaiting your claim, that the subconscious mind must hand over to your practical plans for acquiring the money which is yours. Hand over the thought suggested in the preceding paragraph to your imagination, and see what your imagination can, or will do, to create practical plans for the accumulation of money through the transmutation of your desire.

Be on the alert for these plans, and when they appear, put them into action immediately. When the plans appear, they will probably “flash” into your mind through the sixth sense, in the form of an “inspiration”. Treat it with respect, and act upon it as soon as you receive it.

When visualizing the money you intend to accumulate, see yourself rending the service, or delivering the merchandise you intend to give in return for this money.

Three steps to stimulate your subconscious mind:

1. Go into some quiet spot where you will not be disturbed, sloe your eyes, and repeat out loud, the written statement of the amount of money you intend to accumulate, the time limit for its accumulation, and a description of the service or merchandise you intend to give in return for the money.

2. Repeat this program night and morning until you can see the money you intend to accumulate.

3. Place a written copy of your statement where you can see it night and morning, and read it just before retiring, and upon arising until it has been memorized.

Remember, you are applying the principle of autosuggestion, for the purpose of giving orders to your subconscious mind. Remember, your subconscious mind will act only upon instructions which are emotionalized.

Skepticism, in connection with all new ideas, is characteristic of all human beings.

Specialized Knowledge: the personal experiences or observations and the fourth step towards riches.

There are two kinds of knowledge. One is general, the other is specialized. General knowledge, no matter how great in quantity or variety it may be, is of but little use in the accumulation of money.

Knowledge will not attract money, unless it is organized, and intelligently directed, through practical plans of action, to the definite end of accumulation of money.

An educated man is not, necessarily, one who has an abundance of general or specialized knowledge. An educated man is one who has so developed the faculties of his mind that he may acquire anything he wants, or its equivalent, without violating the rights of others.

The accumulation of great fortunes calls for power and power is acquired through highly organized and intelligently directed specialized knowledge, but that knowledge does not necessarily, have to be in the possession of the man who accumulates the fortune.

Specialized knowledge is among the most plentiful and the cheapest forms of service which may be had.

First, decide what specialized knowledge you require and its purpose.

Sources of knowledge are:

- One’s experience and education

- Experience and education available through cooperation of others

- Colleges and universities

- Public libraries

- Special training courses

Successful men never stop acquiring specialized knowledge related to their major purpose, business, or profession.

Anything acquired without effort or cost is unappreciated. Humans only value things that have a price. The free schools and libraries do not impress people because they are free.

Success and failure are largely the results of habit. Business associations are vital factors, both in failure and in success.

Back of all ideas is specialized knowledge. Capability means imagination, the one quality needed to combine specialized knowledge with ideas, in the form of organized plans designed to yield riches.

Imagination: the workshop of the mind and the fifth step toward riches.

The imagination is literally the workshop wherein are fashioned all plans created by man. It has been said that man can create anything which he can imagine.

Man’s only limitation, within reason, lies in his development and use of his imagination.

The imaginative faculty functions in two forms:

1. Synthetic Imagination: Ability to arrange old concepts, ideas, or plans into new combinations. This creates nothing. It merely works with the material of experience, education, and observation with which it is fed.

2. Creative Imagination: The finite mind of man has direct communication with the “infinite intelligence”. It is through this faculty that one individual may “tune in” or communicate with the subconscious minds of other men.

Both the synthetic and creative faculties of imagination become more alert with use.

Center your attention, for the time being, on the development of the synthetic imagination, because this is the faculty which you will use more often in the process of converting desire into money. Transformation of the intangible impulse, of desire, into the tangible reality, of money, calls for the use of a plan, or plans. These plans must be formed with the aid of the imagination, and mainly, with the synthetic faculty.

You can build a fortune through the aid of laws which are immutable. But first, you must become familiar with these laws and learn to use them.

Ideas can be transmuted into cash through the power of definite purpose plus plans. Riches are never the result of hard work alone. Riches come in response to definite demands, based upon the application of definite principles, and not by chance or luck.

The story of practically every great fortune starts with the day when a creator of ideas and a seller of ideas got together and worked in harmony.

Ideas are intangible forces, but they have more power than the physical brains that give birth to them. They have the power to live on, after the brain that creates them has returned to dust.

Organized Planning: the crystallization of desire into action and the sixth step toward riches.

Ally yourself with a group of as many people as you may need for the creation and carrying out of your plan or plans for the accumulation of money. Before forming your “Master Mind” alliance, decide what advantages and benefits you may offer the individual members of your group, in return for their cooperation. No intelligent person will either request or expect another to work without adequate compensation, although this may not always be in the form of money. Arrange to meet with the members of your “Master Mind” group at least twice a week, and more often if possible, until you have jointly perfected the necessary plan or plans for the accumulation of money. Maintain perfect harmony between yourself and every member of your “Master Mind” group.

No individual has sufficient experience, education, native ability, and knowledge to ensure the accumulation of a great fortune, without the cooperation of other people.

You may originate your own plans, either in whole or in part, but see that those plans are checked and approved by the members of your Master Mind group.

If your first plan does not work, replace it with a new plan. Continue until you find a plan that works. Temporary defeat is not permanent failure. Temporary defeat should mean only one thing, the certain knowledge that there is something wrong with your plan.

No follower of this philosophy can reasonably expect to accumulate a fortune without experiencing “temporary defeat” When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goals.

Decide at the outset whether you intend to become a leader in your chosen calling, or remain a follower. The difference in compensation is vast.

The Major Attributes of Leadership:

- Unwavering Courage: No follower wishes to be dominated by a leader who lacks self-confidence and courage.

- Self-Control: The man who cannot control himself can never control others.

- A Keen Sense of Justice: Without a sense of fairness and justice, no leader can comment and retain the respect of his followers.

- Definiteness of Decision: The man who wavers in his decisions, shows that he is not sure of himself, cannot lead others successfully.

- Definiteness of Plans: A leader who moves by guesswork, without practical, definite plans, is comparable to a ship without a rudder. Sooner or later he will land on the rocks.

- The Habit of Doing More Than Paid For: One of the penalties of leadership is the necessity to willingly do more than required.

- A Pleasing Personality: Follower will not respect a leader who does not grade high on all the factors of a pleasing personality.

- Sympathy and Understanding: The successful leader must be in sympathy with his followers. He must understand them and their problems.

- Mastery of Detail: Successful leadership calls for mastery of the details of the leader’s position.

- Willingness to Assume Full Responsibility: If one of his followers makes a mistake, and shows himself in competent, the leader must consider that it is he who failed.

- Cooperation: Leadership calls for power and power calls for cooperation.

Ten major causes of failure in leadership

1. Inability to organize details. The successful leader must be the master of all details connected with his position. That means, or course, that he must acquire the habit of relegating details to capable lieutenants.

2. Unwillingness to render humble services. Truly great leaders are willing, when occasion demands, to perform any sort of labor which they would ask another to perform.

3. Expectation of pay for what they “know” instead of what they do with what they know.

4. Fear of competition from followers. The able leader trains understudies in order to better delegate and increase efficiencies. It is an eternal truth that men receive more pay for their ability to get others to perform, than they could possibly earn by their own efforts.

5. Lack of imagination.

6. Selfishness. The really great leader claims none of the honors.

7. Intemperance.

8. Disloyalty.

9. Emphasis on authority. If a leader is a real leader, he will have no need to advertise that fact except by his conduct – his sympathy, understanding, fairness, and a demonstration that he knows his job.

10. Emphasis of title. The competent leader requires no “title” to give him the respect of his followers.

The 31 Major Causes of Failure

1. Poor genetics. This is the only one of the 31 major causes of failure which may not be easily corrected by any individual.

2. Lack of a well-defined purpose in life. There is no hope of success for the person who does not have a central purpose, or definite goal at which to aim.

3. Lack of ambition to aim above mediocrity. We offer no hope for the person who is so indifferent as not to want to get ahead in life, and who is not willing to pay the price.

4. Insufficient education. Education consists, not so much of knowledge, but of knowledge effectively and persistently applied.

5. Lack of self-discipline. Before you can control conditions, you must first control yourself.

6. Ill health. No person may enjoy outstanding success without good health.

7. Unfavorable environmental influences during childhood. Most people who have criminal tendencies acquire them as the result of bad environment, and improper associates during childhood.

8. Procrastination. The time will never be “just right”. Start where you stand and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.

9. Lack of persistence. Failure cannot cope with persistence.

10. Negative personality. A negative personality will not induce cooperation.

11. Lack of controlled sexual urge.

12. Uncontrolled desire for “something for nothing”.

13. Lack of a well-defined power of decision. Men who fail to reach decisions or change them quickly will fail.

14. One or more of the six basic fears.

15. Wrong selection of a mate in marriage. Unless this relationship is harmonious, failure is likely to follow.

16. Over-caution. The person who takes no chances generally has to take whatever is left when others are through choosing.

17. Wrong selection of associates in business. We emulate those with whom we associate most closely.

18. Superstition and prejudice. Men who succeed keep open minds and are not afraid of change.

19. Wrong selection of a vocation. No man can succeed in a line of endeavor which he does not like.

20. Lack of concentrated effort. The jack-of-all-trades seldom is good at one.

21. The habit of indiscriminate spending. Without money, one must take what is offered and be glad to get it.

22. Lack of enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm one cannot be convincing.

23. Intolerance. The person with a closed mind on any subject seldom gets ahead.

24. Intemperance. The most damaging forms of intemperance are connected with eating, drinking, and sex.

25. Inability to cooperate with others.

26. Possession of power that was not acquired through self-effort. Quick riches are more dangerous than poverty.

27. Intentional dishonesty. There is no hope for the person who is dishonest by choice.

28. Egotism and vanity.

29. Guessing instead of thinking. Most people are too indifferent or lazy to acquire facts with which to think accurately.

30. Lack of capital. Without sufficient reserve of capital to absorb the shock of their mistakes, and to carry them over until they have established a reputation.

31. Under this, name any particular cause of failure from which you have suffered that has not been included in the foregoing list.

You should know all of your weaknesses in order that you may either bridge them or eliminate them entirely. You should know your strength in order that you may call attention to it when selling your services.

One can only move forward, stand still, or move backwards in life.

One’s object should be to go forward. Annual self-analysis will disclose whether advancement has been made, and if so, by how much. Your annual self-analysis should be made at the end of each year, so you can include in your New Year’s resolutions any improvements which the analysis indicates should be made.

Self-Analysis Questionnaire for Personal Inventory

1. Have I attained the goal which I established as my objective for this year?

2. Have I delivered service of the best possible quality of which I was capable, or could I have improved any part of this service?

3. Have I delivered service in the greatest possible quantity of which I was capable?

4. Has the spirit of my conduct been harmonious and cooperative at all times?

5. Have I permitted the habit of procrastination to decrease my efficiency, and if so, to what extent?

6. Have I improved my personality, and if so, in what ways?

7. Have I been persistent in following my plans through to completion?

8. Have I reached decisions promptly?

9. Have I permitted any one of more of the six basic fears to decrease my efficiency?

10. Have I been either over-cautious or under-cautious?

11. Has my relationship with my associates in work been pleasant or unpleasant?

12. Have I dissipated any of my energy through lack of concentration of effort?

13. Have I been open-minded and tolerant with all subjects?

14. In what way have I improved my ability to render service?

15. Have I been intemperate in any of my habits?

16. Have I expressed, either openly or secretly, any form of egotism?

17. Has my conduct toward my associates been such that is has induced them to respect to me?

18. Have my opinions and decisions been based upon guesswork or analysis and thought?

19. Have I followed the habit of budgeting my time, my expenses, and my income, and have I been conservative in these budgets?

20. How much time have I devoted to unprofitable effort which I might have used to better advantage?

21. How may I re-budget my time and change my habits so I will be more efficient during the coming year?

22. Have I been guilty of any conduct which was not approved by my conscience?

23. In what ways have I rendered more service and better service than I was paid to render?

24. Have I been unfair to anyone?

25. If I had been the purchaser of my own services for the year, would I be satisfied?

26. Am I in the right vocation?

27. Has the purchaser of my services been satisfied with the service I have rendered?

28. What is my present rating on the fundamental principles of success?

There is but one dependable method of accumulating and legally holding riches, and that is by rendering useful service.

Decision: the mastery of procrastination and the seventh step toward riches.

Procrastination, the opposite of decision, is a common enemy which practically every man must conquer.

People who fail to accumulate money, without exception, have the habit of reaching decisions very slowly and changing these decisions quickly and often. These people are generally easily influenced by the opinions of others. If you are influenced by opinions, you will not succeed. Close friends and relatives, while not meaning to do so, often handicap one through “opinions” and sometimes through ridicule, which is meant to be humorous.

You have a brain of your own, use it and reach your own decisions. Keep your eyes and ears wide open and your mouth shut.

Those who reach decisions promptly known what they want and generally get it. The world has a habit of making room for the man whose words and actions show that he knows where he is going.

Definiteness of decision always requires courage, sometimes very great courage.

Persistence: the sustained effort necessary to induce faith and the eighth step toward riches.

The basis of persistence is the power of will. Will-power and desire make an irresistible pair. Few carry on despite all opposition, these few attain their goals.

Weak desires bring weak results, just as small amounts of fire make only a small amount of heat. If you find yourself lacking in persistence, this may be remedied by building larger desires.

To get results, you must apply all of the rules until their application becomes a fixed habit with you. In no other way can you develop the necessary “money consciousness”.

Few people take the punishment of defeat as an urge to try harder. These people never learn to accept life’s reverse gear. If one does not possess persistence, one does not achieve noteworthy success in any calling.

You can train yourself to be persistent:

- Definiteness of purpose: Knowing what one wants is the first and most important step towards development of persistence. A strong motive forces one to surmount many difficulties.

- Desire: It is comparatively easy to acquire and to maintain persistence in pursuing the object of intense desire.

- Self-reliance: Belief in one’s ability to carry out a plan encourages one to follow the plan through with persistence.

- Definiteness of plans: organized plans, even though they may be weak and entirely impractical, encourage persistence.

- Accurate knowledge: knowing that one’s plans are sound, based upon experience or observation, encourages persistence; “guessing” instead of “knowing” destroys persistence.

- Cooperation: sympathy, understanding, and harmonious cooperation with others tend to develop persistence.

- Will-Power: the habit of concentrating one’s thoughts upon the building of plans for the attainment of a definite purpose leads to persistence.

- Habit: the mind absorbs and becomes a part of the daily experiences upon which it feeds.

Many people believe that material success is the result of favorable “breaks”. There is an element of ground for this belief, but those depending entirely upon luck are nearly always disappointed. The only “break” anyone can afford to rely upon is a self-made “break”. These come through the application of persistence. The starting point is definiteness of purpose.

How to develop persistence:

1. Have a definite purpose backed by burning desire for its fulfillment

2. Have a definite plan expressed in continuous action

3. Have a mind closed tightly against all negative influences

4. Have a friendly alliance who will encourage you to follow through with both plans and purpose

There is a magnificent reward for all who learn to take these four steps. It is the privilege of writing one’s own ticket, and of making life yield whatever price is asked.

Power of the mastermind: the driving force and ninth step toward riches.

Power is essential for success. Power may be defined as “organized and intelligently directed knowledge.” Power, as a term is here used, refers to organized effort, sufficient to enable and individual to transmute desire into its monetary equivalent. Organized effort is produced through the coordination of effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite end, in a spirit of harmony.

If power is “organized knowledge”, lust us examine the sources of knowledge:

- Infinite intelligence. This source of knowledge may be contacted through the procedure described in another chapter, with the aid of creative imagination.

- Accumulated experience. The accumulated experience of man may be found in any well-equipped public library.

- Experiment and research. This is the source to which one must turn when knowledge is not available.

Examination of the three major sources of knowledge will readily disclose the difficulty an individual would have, if he depended upon his efforts alone, in assembling knowledge and expressing it through definite plans in terms of action.

The “Master Mind” may be defined as: “Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.”

Economic advantages may be created by any person who surrounds himself with the advice, counsel, and personal cooperation of a group of men who are willing to lend him wholehearted aid, in a spirit of perfect of harmony. “No two minds ever come together without, thereby, creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to a third mind.”

The human mind is a form of energy, a part of it being spiritual in nature.

When the minds of two people are coordinated in a spirit of harmony, the spiritual units of energy of each mind form an affinity, which constitutes the “psychic” phase of the Master Mind.

Man’s brain may be compared to an electric battery It is a well-known fact that a group of electric batteries will provide more energy than a single battery. It is also a well-known fact that an individual battery will provide energy in proportion to the number and capacity of the cells it contains. The brain functions in a similar fashion. A group of brains coordinated in a spirit of harmony will provide more thought energy than a single brain, just as a group of electric batteries will provide more energy than a single battery. When a group of individual brains are coordinated and function in harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance becomes available to every individual brain in the group.

Men take on the nature and the habits and the power of thought of those with whom they associate in a spirit of sympathy and harmony.

Poverty and riches often change places. When riches take the place of poverty, the change is usually brought about through well-conceived and carefully executed plans. Poverty needs no plan. It needs no one to aid it, because it is bold and ruthless. Riches are shy and timid. They have to be “attracted”.

The mystery of sex transmutation: the tenth step towards riches.

The meaning of the word “transmute” is, in simple language, “the changing, or transferring of one element, or form of energy, into another”. The emotion of sex brings into being a state of mind. This state of mind is generally associated with the physical, and because of improper influences, to which most people have been subjected in acquiring knowledge of sex, things essentially physical have highly biased the mind.

The emotion of sex has three constructive potentials:

1. The perpetuation of mankind

2. The maintenance of health

3. The transformation of mediocrity into genius through transmutation

Sex transmutation is simple and easily explained. It means the switching of the mind from thoughts of physical expression, to thoughts of some other nature. Sex desire is the most powerful of human desires. When driven by this desire, men develop keenness of imagination, courage, will-power, persistence, and creative ability unknown to them at other times.

The transmutation of sex energy calls for the exercise of will-power, to be sure, but the reward is worth the effort. The desire cannot, and should not be submerged or eliminated. But it should be given an outlet through forms of expression which enrich the body, mind, and spirit of man. If not given this form of outlet, through transmutation, it will seek outlets through purely physical channels.

The men who have accumulated great fortunes and achieved outstanding recognition were motivated by the influence of a woman.

The human mind responds to stimuli, through which it may be “keyed up” to high rates of vibration, known as enthusiasm, creative imagination, intense desire, etc. The stimuli to which the mind responds most freely are:

- Desire for sex

- Love

- Desire for fame, power, and money

- Music

- Friendship

- A Master Mind alliance based upon the harmony of two or more people who ally themselves for spiritual or temporal advancement

- Mutual suffering

- Autosuggestion

- Fear

- Drugs and alcohol

Eight of these stimuli are natural and constructive, two are destructive.

The faculty of creative imagination is the direct link between the finite mind of man and Infinite Intelligence. All so-called revelations, referred to in the realm of religion, and all discoveries of basic or new principles in the field of invention, take place through the faculty of creative imagination.

When brain action has been stimulated, through one or more of the ten mind stimulants, it has the effect of lifting the individual far above the horizon of ordinary thought, and permits him to envision distance, scope, and quality of thoughts not available on the lower plane, such as that occupied while one is engaged in the solution of the problems of business and professional routine.

The human mind responds to stimulation.

When harnessed and transmuted, this driving force is capable of lifting men into that higher sphere of thought which enables them to master the sources of worry and petty annoyance which beset their pathway on the lower plane.

The majority of men never learn that the urge of sex has other possibilities beyond the physical expression. The majority of those who make this discovery do so after having wasted many years at a period when the sex energy is at its height, prior to the age of forty-five to fifty.

The world is ruled, and the destiny of civilization is established, by the human emotions. People are influenced in their actions, not by reason so much as by feelings. The creative faculty of the mind is set into action entirely by emotions, and not by cold reason. The most powerful of all human emotions is that of sex.

The emotion of sex is a virtue only when used intelligently, and with discrimination.

Sex, alone, is a mighty urge to action, but its forces are like a cyclone – uncontrollable. When the emotion of love begins to mix itself with the emotion of sex, the result is calmness of purpose, poise, accuracy of judgment, and balance.

Love, romance, and sex are all emotions capable of driving men to heights of super achievement. Love is the emotion which serves as a safety valve, and ensures balance, poise, and constructive effort. When combined, these three emotions may lift one to an altitude of a genius.

Fortunate is the husband whose wife understands the true relationship between the emotions of love, sex, and romance. When motivated by this holy triumvirate, no form of labor is burdensome, because even the lowliest form of effort takes on the nature of a labor of love.

Man’s greatest motivating force is his desire to please a woman. Take women out of their lives, and great wealth would be useless to most men.

The subconscious mind: the connecting link and the eleventh step towards riches.

Every impulse of thought that reaches the conscious mind through any of the five senses, is classified and recorded, and from which thoughts may be recalled or withdrawn as letters may be taken from a filing cabinet. You may voluntarily plant in your subconscious mind any plan, thought, or purpose which you desire to translate into its physical or monetary equivalent. The subconscious acts first on the dominating desires which have been mixed with emotional feeling, such as faith.

The subconscious mind works day and night and functions voluntarily, whether you make any effort to influence it or not.

You cannot entirely control your subconscious mind, but you can voluntarily hand over to it any plan, desire, or purpose which you wish transformed into concrete form. It is the intermediary through which one may draw upon the forces of Infinite Intelligence at will.

Everything which man creates begins in the form of a thought impulse. Man can create nothing which he does not first conceive in thought. Through the aid of the imagination, thought impulses may be assembled into plans. The imagination, when under control, may be used for the creation of plans or purposes that lead to success in one’s chose occupation.

All thought impulses, intended for transmutation into their physical equivalent, voluntarily planted in the subconscious mind, must pass through the imagination, and be mixed with faith. The mixing of faith with a plan, or purpose, intended for submission to the subconscious mind, may be done only through the imagination.

You are preparing yourself to influence and control the “inner audience” of your subconscious mind, in order to hand over to it the desire for money, which you wish transmuted into its monetary equivalent. It is essential, therefore, that you understand the method of approach to this “inner audience”.

The Seven Major Positive Emotions

1. Desire

2. Faith

3. Love

4. Sex

5. Enthusiasm

6. Romance

7. Hope

Master these seven emotions, they can only be mastered by use, and fill your mind with them. Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time. Form the habit of applying and using the positive emotions.

The Brain: A broadcasting and receiving station for thought and the twelfth step towards riches.

Every human brain is both a broadcasting and receiving station for the vibration of thought. The creative imagination is the receiving set. It is the agency of communication between one’s conscious and the four sources from which one may receive thought stimuli. When stimulated, the mind becomes more receptive to thought which reaches it through outside sources. The subconscious mind is the sending set. Through the subconscious mind, creative imagination, and autosuggestion, you can choose what you broadcast to the world.

The sixth sense: the door to the temple of wisdom and the thirteenth step toward riches.

This principle is the apex of the philosophy. It can be assimilated, understood, and applied only by first mastering the other twelve principles. The sixth sense is that portion of the subconscious mind which has been referred to as the creative imagination. It has also been referred to as the “receiving set” through which ideas, plans, and thoughts flash into the mind. The flashes are sometimes called hunches or inspirations. It cannot be described to a person who has not mastered the other principles of this philosophy, because such a person has no knowledge, and no experience with which the sixth sense may be compared.

Through the aid of the sixth sense, you will be warned of impending dangers in time to avoid them, and notified of opportunities in time to embrace them. The ability to use this power comes slowly, through application of the other principles outlined in this book.

The six ghosts of fear

Before you can put any portion of this philosophy into successful use, your mind, must be prepared to receive it. The preparation is not difficult. It begins with study, analysis, and understanding of three enemies which you shall have to clear out – indecision, doubt, and fear.

Indecision is the seedling of fear. Indecision crystallizes into doubt, the two blend and become fear!

The six basic fears:

1. Poverty

2. Criticism

3. Ill Health

4. Loss of love of someone

5. Old Age

6. Death

Fears are nothing more than states of mind. One’s state of mind is subject to control and direction. Every human has the ability to completely control his own mind. Nature has endowed man with absolute control over but one thing, and that is thought.

Conclusion

In my honest opinion, the later portion of the book starts straying from helpful advice.

I believe desire, faith, self-confidence, autosuggestion, specialized knowledge, imagination, organized planning, self-analysis, decision, and persistence are all good core beliefs for anyone. The rest of it is meh.

If you create a goal (desire), have faith it is attainable and you are the one to do it (self-confidence), keep repeating your goal and ability to yourself (autosuggestion), increase your ability to work torwards your goal (knowledge), creativly think of new ways to acquire your goal (imagination), create a plan using your imagination and knowledge, check your self to make sure it is still possible, make the decision you will do everything you need to reach your goal, and then go and do it, there is no way you don't reach that goal.