Think & Grow Rich – Chapter 3 Summary

Chapter 3: FAITH is the head chemist of the mind…

In the next chapter of Think and Grow Rich (T&GR) we learn of the principle of Faith.

Now, I’ll be honest, this was a difficult chapter on which to write a summary for reasons I’ll explain at the end of this summary. But the core of this principle is important, so let’s dive in…

Napoleon Hill on Faith

Napoleon Hill (NH) defines Faith in this way:
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 auto-suggestion.

So much of what all these principles rest on are the actions of the subconscious. Now, the definition of “subconscious” in the dictionary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subconscious) is “existing in the mind but not immediately available to consciousness”. The subconscious, or unconscious mind, never sleeps, like your conscious mind, so it is always at work. The idea that your subconscious mind has an effect on your behavior was developed out of the work of Freud and Jung around the turn of the 20^th century. The concept has been expanded further in the self-help community to harness the power of the subconscious to influence a person’s life and real-world outcomes.

Given that definition, NH builds on the notion of the subconscious mind and the ability to make things happen in the conscious world by exercising the subconscious. Because it is taken that the subconscious mind has actually more influence on the real world and our life than our conscious mind, which can be easily distracted. NH writes that you can convince the subconscious mind that you believe you will receive that for which you ask, and it will act upon that belief. NH describes that your subconscious mind will pass that belief back to you in the form of “Faith”, along with definite plans for acquiring that which you desire.

Therefore, according to NH, the most effective way to manifest your desires in the material world is through the subconscious. The way to voluntarily influence the subconscious mind is through auto-suggestion, and repetition of affirmation of orders to that subconscious mind. The mechanism is described in this way: “…any impulse of thought which is repeatedly passed to the subconscious mind is, finally, accepted and acted upon by the subconscious mind, which proceeds to translate that impulse into its physical equivalent, by the most practical procedure available.”

Now, the object of this chapter, Faith, is described as the mechanism or element that determines the action of your subconscious mind. By giving your subconscious mind ‘instructions’ through auto-suggestion you can affect the end result of the real world results. NH describes that “…a mind dominated by positive emotions becomes a favorable abode for the state of mind known as ‘faith’. A mind so dominated may, at will, give the subconscious mind instructions, which it will accept and act upon immediately.”

So, “Faith” is the “eternal elixir” which gives life, power, and action to the impulse of thought.” This “Faith” is the starting point of all accumulation or riches, or the accomplishment of any desire. The operative method of influencing and gaining ‘faith” is through the process of auto-suggestion. 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. This principle may be constructed through a arrangement of positive thought stated in writing, memorized, and repeated, until they become part of the working equipment of the subconscious faculty of your mind.

Formula for developing Faith

NH presents a formula to follow that I will summarize here, and which is the most effective part of these principle:

You must know that you have the ability to achieve the object of yoru definite purpose in life. Demand of yourself perfect persistence, continuous action toward its attainment. Promise yourself to render that action.
Realize that the dominant thoughts in your mind will eventually reproduce themselves in outward, physical action, and gradually transform themselves into physical reality. To this end, concentrate your thoughts for thirty minutes daily on the task of thinking of the person you intend to become, creating in your mind a clear mental picture of that person.
Using the principle of auto-suggestion, devote ten minutes a day to demanding of yourself the development of SELF-CONFIDENCE.
Clearly write down a description of your DEFINITE CHIEF AIM in life, and never stop trying until you have developed sufficient self-confidence for its attainment.
Because no wealth or position can endure unless it’s built on truth and justice, you must not engage in any transaction unless all involved will benefit. Because I serve others, they will be attracted to likewise serve me. I must always keep a positive attitude toward others because a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success.

Now, sign your name to this formula, commit it to memory, and repeat it aloud once a day with full FAITH that it will gradually influence your THOUGHTS and ACTIONS so you will become a self-reliant and successful person.

When you have faith in your ability to accomplish what you want, it not only firmly plants ideas in your subconscious, and it works then to reinforce itself.

When you have faith in your abilities, part of what you must have faith is that your ideas will come to fruition, and your conscious mind won’t be resistant. When your conscious doesn’t resist, your subconscious mind can send creative ideas to your conscious mind more easily. The more you see the power of your faith working in your life, the easier it is for you to act on faith the next time.

Will it work for you? You will never know unless you relax your resistance and just have faith that it will.

Another look at Faith

At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that this was a difficult one to write. Let me explain what I mean by that.

I am a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, a Christian, and my worldview aligns firmly with the plain statements in the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Many of the concepts defined in Think and Grow Rich and other books like The Secret do not start and end in the same philosophical place that the Christian worldview does. These differences could be the subject of many separate essays, but that is not my purpose here. I need to here clarify the differences in what Napoleon Hill calls ‘faith’ and faith as we see in the scriptures of the Bible. When Napoleon Hill describes that the ‘religionists’ especially when he talks about Jesus’ “achievements” I know he really doesn’t know who Jesus Himself and classical orthodox Christianity doctrine claims he is.

That being said, I need to explain that I am not one of the Christian community who will decry these concepts with a knee-jerk reaction. I conclude that there a number of fundamental tenets about the ‘law of attraction’ that the church would do well to heed, not only because they reflect truth that the Creator has built into this world, but because they could very well help to advance the cause of Christ in the world.

Now, onto the definitions of faith…

I find that the definition of “faith” that NH puts forth is one that, whether he intended or not, the world has applied to every use of the word. NH’s notion of faith is a mysterious force that is generated from inside us through auto-suggestion and acts as the mechanism that determines the action of your subconscious mind.

The Biblical definition of faith, one that we see demonstrated again and again in the Hebrew and Christian testaments, is a gift of God Himself. Because we are fallen creatures and rebellious against our Creator God, we do not have faith. Moreover we are incapable of generating faith for ourselves through any means. For this reason, it is a gift that God himself give to us, not for the purpose of simply getting what we want in life, but so we may begin to even to comprehend our condition before Him and the solution He has provided through Jesus.

Biblical faith is also very much a matter of confidence based on evidence, as opposed to simply an emotion that one must muster up from nothing. Examples of this pattern are Moses before Pharaoh – God instructed Moses to perform certain actions through which God would bring the plagues as evidence to Egypt. Exodus 14:4 and 14:18 explain that all this was so “the Egyptians will KNOW that I am the LORD.” All of Jesus’ miracles were not because he came here to simply perform miracles, feed people and heal diseases, but His miracles were specifically evidence intended to give us confidence that He was who He claimed to be – The one true God made Man for the purpose of redeeming us back from our broken and rebellious nature…and from certain, eternal separation from Him.

So, I know this has been more than a summary of T&GR, but these issues are critical in my mind and it is important to clarify for my friends. If you are not a Christian, I trust that you are a tolerant person who will tolerate my descriptions above, moreover that it may have been educational to you. At any rate I thank you for sticking in there with me as I walk through the book.

See you for next chapter…on auto-suggestion.