When there’s one thing I learned on my journey, then it is the tremendous power of our words.
I was 16 when I discovered a very popular book known as “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. Some people may have heard of it already but this book gave me a new insight into my life. While this book’s main intention is to articulate how to get wealthy and financially independent, it has proven to be a lot more important than just that.
At this time, I was determined to get absolutely rich. I even started working on a dropshipping business in order to achieve that goal. But deep down I knew it was wrong. Dropshipping, in my opinion, is about scamming people and stealing their precious money. Deep down I knew that but that idea I grasped made me continue. Actually, this was a month before I realized my dream goal of teaching my wisdom around the world. But, as I said, I wanted to get rich.
At this point, I already was quite spiritual and I felt so much better, but there was one thing that I wanted the most: Wealth. Subsequently, on Christmas, I got various self-help books that talked about personal growth and wealth, more precisely, how to make a lot of money. For weeks I didn’t even touch Napoleon Hills’ book as I was studying a book about designing websites and attracting customers.
I didn’t know anything about “Think and Grow Rich”, I just heard Bob Proctor, one of my idols, talk about it. The book taught me a lot about attaining riches and I am very, very thankful for that. But there was one concept that I instantly fell in love with. But before we go into that I’d like to introduce you to the man behind this method.
Napoleon Hill – What makes him Special
The story of Napoleon Hill is very compelling to a lot of people out there, including me: In 1908 Napoleon Hill reached out to one of the most influential and wealthiest men of his time, Andrew Carnegie. Napoleon was commissioned by a magazine to interview Andrew as they were trying to write an article on wealth.
Hill got the opportunity to spend three hours interviewing Andrew Carnegie. It’s really nerve-wracking thinking about the fact that Napoleon Hill, a very broke man was sitting right next to a billionaire. But that didn’t stop him. In fact, it is quite astonishing what happened during this interview. Well, to be precise, at the end of the interview: When Napoleon tried to cut the end, Carnegie said “Napoleon, this interview isn’t ending. It’s just the beginning. I want you to come home with me.” So he took him home for three entire days.
At the end of these three days, he said “Napoleon, I’m going to ask you a question and I just want a yes or no answer.” And he asked: “Are you prepared to dedicate the rest of your life to an idea for which you will probably receive no compensation for at least 20 years?” What Hill didn’t know was that he had a stopwatch in his hand and he only gave him 60 seconds to answer the question. In 25 seconds, Hill answered: “Yes, I will.” Next, Andrew told him the reason behind his question.
He said: “Now, I want you to go out and gather information. I will give you letters of introduction to very, very successful people.” And he did exactly that. Over his 25 years of dedicated work, he reached out to many, many overly successful people like Andrew himself, Edison, and Henry Ford to find out their secrets of success. Carnegie claimed that it was an absolute crime they were going to their grave with all this knowledge locked up in their bones. That’s why he was looking for someone to organize this sacred information so that people like you and I could learn and master it.
Today, I’m sitting here holding this book in my hands and I swear: This book changes your entire life. He released this book in 1937 and in 50 years 20 million copies had been sold. Additionally to this piece, he wrote a lot more books like the “The Law of Success”. But this one, for sure, has everything you need to live an organized and wealthy life. (By the way, this is no placement!)
As I have already indicated, there is one idea that had a tremendous effect on my journey. This principle is called Auto-Suggestion: While going through this I want you to remember that the most successful people on this planet have used this method to attain this unbelievable success in life. It works. It really does.
Whatever desire you may behold, you will reach it. Napoleon talked about it a lot. In his first chapter, he claimed that you will only succeed if you have a definite desire. Not just a wish or an idea, no. In order to attain these goals and dreams you need to have a burning desire. It’s not enough to say “I will do my best but if it doesn’t work out I will try something else.” Don’t do that. Say “I will succeed in what I desire. No matter what, I will succeed.” This has a remarkable effect on your subconscious mind. Wishing will not bring riches, but desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession will bring riches. This is not an idea, it’s a fact. And as soon as you realize that you will become powerful in a way you could have never imagined.
Because the most important principle that many people, including me, teach is that your subconscious mind can only be programmed by conscious repetition of ones own thoughts and emotions. What does that mean? Well, first of all, if you have no idea what I’m talking about right now, check out this Blog post or my Book “A Single Thought” so you get the idea behind it. Anyway, by repeating specific thoughts we can easily program our subconscious mind and therefore transform our perceived reality. And that’s where Napoleon Hills “Auto-Suggestion” technique comes into play.
The “Auto-Suggestion” Method
You can apply this method to any of your desired wishes even though Napoleon used it in a context of wealth. Lets go through the process:
1) First of all, take a pencil and a little paper sheet and write down your desired wish in form of a statement. It should include a phrase that conveys that your wish is fulfilled, a time limit for its accumulation (optional), and a description of what you will do to attain that wish. (optional). In my opinion it isn’t neccessary to include a specific time frame and a description, because I’m more of a “I will get it no matter what” person. That’s why I don’t really care about the “When?” or “How?”. But if you feel like including those things, be my guest. Your statement should also end with positive affirmations that induce the idea of faith and empowerment. In addition, your statement needs to be filled with desire! If you truly desire the wish you wrote down, continue with the next step.
2) Thereafter, choose a quiet spot, probably your own bedroom, where no one can disturb or interrupt you.
3) Every morning and every night before sleep, go to that spot, close your eyes and repeat ALOUD the written statement. (Talk!) And while you do that, see yourself already in possession of the wish. Imagine the feeling of the wish fulfilled.
4) Repeat the third step every morning and every night before sleep until you can cleary see the desired result in your mind. Continue reading out aloud the written statement until it is manifested.
Example
To give you an idea of how your statement could look like, here is an example that Napoleon Hill used in his book:
“Suppose that you intend to accumulate $50,000 by the first of January, five years hence, that you intend to give personal services in return for the money, in the capacity of a salesman. Your written statement of your purpose should be similar to the following:
By the first day of January 19th, I will have in my possession $50,000, which will come to me in various amounts from time to time during the interim. In return for this money I will give the most efficient service of which I am capable, rendering the fullest possible quantity, and the best possible quality of service in the capacity of salesman of. . . (describe the service or merchandise you intend to sell).
I believe that I will have this money in my possession. My faith is so strong that I can now see this money before my eyes. I can touch it with my hands. It is now awaiting transfer to me at the time, and in the proportion that I deliver the service I intend to render in return for it. I am awaiting a plan by which to accumulate this money, and I will follow that plan, when it is received.”
Conclusion
Napoleon Hill was one of the few people of his time who understood the laws of the universe, enabling him to create unimaginable wealth and a life filled with joy and purpose. Despite his success and influence, he was no different from you. You too have the power to achieve greatness—all it takes is a shift in mindset.
