In this oft-referenced self-help classic, Napoleon Hill promises to share the secret of the wealthiest people of his time (this book was published in 1937). At Andrew Carnegie's bidding, he spent 20 years interviewing and studying over 500 people, including Henry Ford, John Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Marshall Field, Charles Schwab, and Alexander Graham Bell.

Did I discover the "secret" that will launch me to world-renowned success? Unfortunately, not that I'm aware. Do I have a better understanding of the psychology behind success or failure? Yes. I also realize how important it is to set a high goal, review it daily, and constantly work toward it.

Quick summary: "Anybody can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan plus a burning desire for wealth are the only dependable means of accumulating it."

The book contains a lot of practical advice on being successful, but it's mainly focused on the psychological motivation behind it. Although most of it's sound, there are some sections that are of questionable scientific validity, and some pure pseudoscience. For example, Hill believes that all human brains are connected by the "vibrating energy of thought", and that people can connect to the "Infinite Intelligence" - a cosmic force permeating all matter and energy.

Other nonsense presented as fact: telepathy, clairvoyance, ESP, precognition. These parts reminded me of some of the pseudoscience in The Power of Positive Thinking. At first I was concerned about Hill's mental state and ability to separate fact from fantasy when he described his imaginary meetings with a group of notable dead and living men he called his "Invisible Counselors". On second thought, however, I can see how imagining the advice that great people might give could help you make better decisions.

Here are the 13 Steps to Riches presented in the book, supposedly containing the great secret to wealth:

13 Steps to Riches
1. Desire
Have a burning desire for something definite (money, etc.).
Create a plan to obtain a definite amount of money through the sale of specific goods and services by a set date.
"See and feel and believe yourself already in possession of the money."

2. Faith
Believe in your idea.
Your self-confidence will influence your thoughts and actions.

3. Autosuggestion
Concentrate on your desire and faith, and your subconscious will create practical plans for obtaining your desire/money.

4. Specialized knowledge
Use your expertise and imagination to come up with ideas that earn far more than any job.

5. Imagination
Hard work and honesty alone won't make you rich.
Ideas become money through a definite purpose plus a definite plan.
Form definite plans to turn your ideas into money.

6. Organized planning
Create a practical plan for acquiring money.
Provide great service and convince others that you're worth the money you demand.
Follow the QQS Formula for service:
- Quality: be efficient, and increase in efficiency
- Quantity: give all the service you can, and improve through practice and experience
- Spirit: be agreeable and harmonious with others

7. Decision
Make decisions quickly and definitely; change them slowly.
Base decisions on your desire and your own opinions (not others').

8. Persistence
Have the willpower to follow your desire and plans despite obstacles and criticism.

9. Master Mind
Surround yourself with like-minded, intelligent people. This is your brain trust or think tank.
With your Master Mind group, coordinate your knowledge and effort to attain your desire.

10. Sex transmutation
Channel your sexual energy into creative energy.
Limit yourself to a moderate amount of sex and use your remaining energy to drive creativity and enthusiasm.

11. Subconscious mind
Plant your desires in your subconscious for it to work toward 24/7.
Fill your mind with positive emotions so that negative ones can't enter.

12. The brain
Send thoughts with your subconscious, receive thoughts with your creative imagination, and use autosuggestion.

13. Sixth Sense
Meditate to become attuned to inspiration and creative imagination.

Other notes
Don't expect poverty; demand riches.
The only thing you can absolutely control in life is your thoughts. Control your mind through self-discipline and habit.
Don't use the basic fears as excuses; overcome them through positive thinking - fears of poverty, criticism, illness, loss of love, old age, and death. Don't worry and don't be susceptible to negative influences.

My favorite part of the book was the poem in the Desire chapter: "My Wage" by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse:

I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;

For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.

Unlike Good to Great I don't necessarily see this book as a must-read for business. I thoroughly enjoyed it myself and found a lot of the advice useful for life and self-belief, but as far as a business bible I wouldn't swear on it. What I did find enjoyable was sdespite some of the outdated advice, most of the "self worth" and envisioning/thinking goals into existence are still relevant and while people may disagree with the actual effectiveness of them they do help bolster one's self esteem, which is always important.

It was a fun little exploration into business books but I do not base my decisions on it.

Book-a-Week Nonfiction Challenge: Book 5

I think I need to think about my plan for this one going forward. It asks that you read this at least three times, stating that you might not understand or get anything out of it the first time. I understand that idea in principle, if the ideas are complex, but if you're writing a book it should probably still be useful to people who only plan on reading it once. It's not a short read that you can come back to all the time, especially if you aren't yet sure if it's the best book of its kind, and it's very boring in style. On top of that, most chapters asked that you go back and reread a previous chapter before continuing, so you've already read it twice by the time you get to the end for the first time. Reading it three times would be like reading it six times, so I'm questioning its effectiveness.

The book gives you six steps which could be useful, and I'm going to try them out to see.
Besides trying to make you more self-aware, I don't know that the chapters besides the last one, and chapter 2 (which contains the six steps) are particularly valuable to everyone.

Maybe that makes me one of those "unsuccessful" people who missed the point or isn't willing to put in the work, but I feel like I put in way too much work just to get out of it the few things that I did.

ده مش واحد من الكتب الفنكوشية عن الثراء، أو النجاح ماليا وأنت نايم ومغطيها.

ده دستور الفلوس، وتقريبا فيه كل حاجة، من أول سستمة الدماغ، لحد الكوارث اللي بتقف بينك وبين الإزدهار.

كل سطر باين فيه المجهود وسنوات خبرة طويلة، والكتاب ينضح بالذكاء والحكمة والعملية.

اقرأه بقدر رغبتك في الغِنى، وطبّق ما بداخله بقدر إيمانك.

I originally read this book as part of a business mentorship program. I admit, I had some mental blockage when I started reading it, and only because I had personal fears and doubts about finances that I have since addressed by self-educating (see other recommended financial books on my list) and seeking assistance from qualified professionals with a good frame of reference for what I needed advice on (I love my financial advisor, Jason!). My picture of growing "rich" in the beginning was, like, Scrooge McDuck sitting on a mound of moneybags grasping fistfulls of cash, or a snakey ass backwards crooked business guy who favors profit over all else at the expense of humanity and the environment. Of course I don't want to be that way, who does?! This book helped me detatch from some emotional and fear based patterns I discovered within, and helped me get OK with making and managing money. This is an instruction manual for creating a prosperity based mentality and then putting it to good use. There are step by step instructions and exercises involved, and as usual, what you put into it is what you'll get out of it.

اكتب هدفك الماليّ أمامك
اقرأه أوّل اليوم ووسطه وآخره
خطط لهدفك الماليّ واسع إليه
ردّد هدفك بصوت عال يوميًا
خصّص عشر دقائق لتخيّل هدفك
تخيّل الهدف والذبذبات ستجذبه لك

يغرف كتّاب التنمية البشريّة من آنية هراء واحد


ملاحظات شخصيّة على كتب التنمية البشريّة
https://youtu.be/SedBOG9u93w

شخصيًا لا أميل للكتب التي تقوم بسرد القواعد البديهية لأي عمل. وفي الحقيقة لا أدري إن كانت فعلًا بديهية أم أن هناك فعلًا من لا يبذل جهد للتوصل إلى هذه القواعد بمفرده.
عمومًا ما يميز الكتاب هو ذكره للكثير من التجارب، التي تصلح لاستخدامها في سياقات متعددة.

One of the best books I've ever read. It kept me thinking the whole time about the ideas that I've encountered in this book. It talks about the new philosophy of enlightenment with practical applications of it.
The book talks mainly about accumulating riches, but it could be replaced by any other gaol that one desires.
This book will probably affect your life greatly if you're not already familiar with the new age of enlightenment.
If I have to criticize it, it'll be about one thing only: that the author used too many stories of famous, successful people; when he could maximally use two to prove the same point. Other than that; it's a great book on all levels and I highly recommend it.

P.S. it's a super positive book; hence, not recommended for sad people.

Hill accidentally hits on a very biblical theme here - "you become like what you worship" - and then works off the assumption that everyone can and should become very rich.

At times, I was tracking with him, but he totally lost me with his chapters on "sex transmutation" (using sexual energy to make money) and the "invisible counselors" (using imaginary meetings with successful people, such as Abraham Lincoln or Thomas Edison, to gain insight into making money).

Somewhat surprisingly, the book actually works (this is why so many people love it). But what it works for is worldliness.

I have no DESIRE to finish this book. The way this is written makes me want to throw it down every time I pick it up. I gave up at page 112. Not only is the book FILLED with annoying all-capital words and italicization's, there's a ton of New Age-y HOKUM to boot. This book seems to be the blueprint for self help books. It is so absurdly cliche by this point in time. If wealth is your particular self help interest, you're better off reading about some practical ways to accumulate wealth, rather than some dude who made HIS millions telling you there's some miraculous secret that can only be fulfilled by your DESIRE. Give me a break. It is quite literally impossible for each of the millions of people who believe the crap in this book to make even half the amount of money that the people Hill's referring to in this book had made. Regarding the New Age aspects of this book, as soon as I see words like "vibrations" and "ether," I want to light the pages on fire. A self help book about wealth which includes New Age terms, no practical or logical steps to accumulate wealth, no quantifiable data, nay, ANY scientific rigor whatsoever, is completely disingenuous about being for your benefit. By the way, this amazing SECRET that's mentioned in the first page of the book, is still not revealed by page 112. I'm sure it'll magically reveal itself to you when you make your first billion. This book was a total waste of time.

I don't really know what to say about this book.

There is way too many things that go into being successful. You have to desire more money, think about competition, your target audience, the demand, the supply, the willingness to work hard - you get the point. While there are many examples in the book that showcase all these people who started with a very simple idea and turned it into a fortune. While I will not defend or go against them and their ideas, one could make a point that they were lucky and were blessed with an idea that was marketable and very much in demand. Still, I am sure they worked hard on it.

If you were to fail, who would you "blame"? Is it you, your family, your competition, the consumer? Whatever you think it is, it is you. You didn't desire it enough or you skipped ONE aspect of this book and that is why you don't have a lot of money. You can't have any distractions or you will fail. Basically, if you want wealth, it has to be on your mind when you wake up, eat breakfast, drink coffee, poop, go to bed, and even if you sleep. Life is more than just having immense wealth.

When I mentioned above that luck plays a part in being rich (and Hill doesn't agree in such thing), there was a story about a preacher who wanted $1 mil and because of his speech that was energizing, somebody just walked up to him and told him he will give it to him. A million dollars is not pocket change (especially back in the day) so this story will not fly in the real world where a lot of people are getting by paycheck by paycheck.

There is also a bit with Hill having imaginary conversations with people like Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison to et insights into how their mind works and how to apply it to his life. This went on for many years.

Most of the ideas in this book are practical. However, take it with a grain of salt - just because you want to be rich doesn't mean you will, no matter how much you desire it. You got people who work hard and never get rich and then you have people who yodel in Walmart, end up on social medial, get thousands of retweets and become millionaires. I see the book as more of a think positive type of advice. Don't be negative, focus on the goal, work hard, and crush anything that stands in your way. For example, in the book, Ford wanted V8 engine to be made and his engineers told him it is impossible. He kept pressuring them until they made it possible. Elon Musk is similar with his workers where he pushes them to the limit and they make impossible things happen. One of the things discussed is the idea of a thing not existing and you making it come to life because you pressed on when everything was going against you.

If you want to be rich, you know you have to work hard and desire money more than anything. You don't need a self help book telling you "envision your million dollars in your hands and you will have it". I read this because it is a classic but a lot of ideas in this book are either far from being simple or are outdated. No book in the world will help you in terms of desire, drive, or need if you know yourself to be an average person with average needs. People who become rich are special. If all it took is for us to read a book to be rich, everybody will be living in mansions.

As a last thought - consider a study (google it) that measure happiness in terms of how much money you earn. I will simplify it way too much but it generally talks about how when people earn above $75K, their level of happiness doesn't increase. Anything below 75K and you still think way too much about paying house car, bills, groceries, etc. They think buying expensive things makes them happy but at the end of the day it doesn't. They feel important but realize that their Ferrari will get them to work just as well as somebody's piece of sh*t Honda from the 90s. Anyway, there is more to this study, but there are also different levels of happiness that you might not get if you follow everything in this book and become filthy rich.

Great creation!