Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Think and Grow Rich is one of the best-selling books of all time. Hill's works examined the power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success. "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" is one of Hill's hallmark expressions. This is a motivational book written by Napoleon Hill and inspired by a suggestion by American billionaire Andrew Carnegie. It was published in 1937 at the end of the Great Depression.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The text of Think and Grow Rich! is founded on Hill's earlier work, The Law of Success, the result of more than twenty years of research based on Hill's close association with a large number of individuals who achieved great wealth during their lifetimes.

At Andrew Carnegie's bidding, Hill studied the characteristics of these achievers and developed 15 "laws" of success intended to be applied by anybody to achieve success. Think and Grow Rich! condenses these laws further and provides the reader with 13 principles in the form of a philosophy of personal achievement.

Reflected in these principles is the importance of cultivating a burning desire, faith, autosuggestion, and persistence in the attainment of one's goals. Hill also discusses the importance of overcoming many of the common fears that can adversely affect one's thinking and potential.

In his introduction, Hill refers to the "Carnegie Secret", a conception which he reports is the foundation of all success and appears to be the premise of the book. Hill promises to indirectly describe this "secret" in every chapter, but never states it plainly, believing the use of the secret is only available to those who possess a "readiness" for it, a disposition Hill describes as essential to the concept itself.