Think & Grow Rich – Chapter 2 Summary

We start our review of Think and Grow Rich by Napleon Hill at what is actually Chapter 2, since the introduction is actually Chapter 1. The theme of Chapter 2 is “Desire” and this is where the meat of the book really begins.

Thoughts are things -  and they are powerful…

But that is only true if they are mixed with:

1. Definiteness of Purpose
2. Persistence
3. And a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches or other material objects

Edwin C. Barnes

We’re told the story of Edwin C. Barnes who had a definite purpose of working with Thomas A Edison (not FOR him). We’re told that as we listen to the description of how he went about translating his DESIRE into reality, we’ll have a better understanding of the 13 principles that lead to riches.

One of the first things I see repeated is the emphasis on the DESIRE. Napoleon Hill (NH) describes that Mr. Barnes’ desire was ‘not ordinary’. He was so determined to find a way to make his desire come true, that he did whatever it took. A quote of Thomas Edison in the story made me sit up – “I had learned, from years of experience with men, that 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.“ Thomas Edison said that what Mr. Barnes thought was much more important than what he said.

Mr. Barnes had to still wait a good while to see his desire turn to reality, but during the time of working for Edison, the Desire was constantly intensifying. He never gave up, never resigned himself to a thought of “oh well, what’s the use? I guess this is as far as I will go…”. He was prepared to stand by his DESIRE until it became a all-consuming obsession. Edwin Barnes discovered that his PERSISTENCE in standing on his single DESIRE was destined to mow down all opposition, and bring him the opportunity he was seeking.

Three Feet From Gold

NH states that one of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. All of us do this! This is emphasized in a very poignant story about a gentleman who caught “gold fever” and went west to “Dig and grow rich”. He found the gold, and the mine was assessed as one of the richest of the time. They invested in the machinery to extract the gold, but very soon the vein of gold just disappeared. They kept drilling, never found more gold, and QUIT.

The junk dealer had a hunch, however, and hired a mining engineer who determined there was a fault line through the vein. After working through some calculations, the engineer concluded that the vein continued… THREE FEET FROM WHERE THE ORIGINAL OWNER STOPPED DRILLING!!! The story concludes that the junk dealer extracted millions of dollars in ore from the mine because he had the wisdom to seek EXPERT COUNSEL before giving up.

The lesson is to NOT QUIT. NH describes that more than 500 of the most successful men he has spoken to told him that their greatest success came just ONE STEP BEYOND the point at which defeat had overtaken them.

NOT My Grandfather’s Story

NH explains that a person needs only one sound idea to achieve success. The lesson of this chapter is that whatever that idea is, the one seeking success with that idea must have a BURNING DESIRE to see that idea succeed.

He also writes here to bust the old way of thinking that riches come from hard work, like we’ve all been told. I remember that my Grandfather gave to me a Horatio Alger story when I was young. He didn’t explain it at the time and I never read it. I looked up Horatio Alger on Wikipedia and found this: “best known for his many formulaic juvenile novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of respectable middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty.” I conclude that it’s the old Horatio Alger type of mentality that we’re trying to overcome. Where I agree with all the elements described about his stories, the things that are missing are the IDEA and DESIRE. So the boys achieved “middle-class security and comfort”, but our aims are higher. Let’s leave Horatio Alger behind and aim for the moon; if we miss we may HIT THE STARS!

Success Conscious

The object of T&GR is to help all who seek it, to learn the art of changing their minds from FAILURE CONSCIOUSNESS to SUCCESS CONSCIOUSNESS. NH is aware that some who read this book will believe that no one can THINK AND GROW RICH. These are people who cannot think in terms of riches, because their thought habits have been steeped in poverty, want, misery, failure, and defeat. Millions of people look at the successful in history, like Henry Ford, and envy him because of his good fortune, or luck, or genius, or whatever it is that they credit for their fortunes.

By the way… did you know that we have the V-8 engine because of Henry Ford’s tenacity in the face of his engineer’s opinion of its impossibility

Principle 1: DESIRE

We become magnetized with the dominating thoughts which we hold in our minds. This is the beginning of what people call the “Law of Attraction”, because these “magnetic thoughts” seem to attract us to the people and the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts.

Before we can accumulate riches in great abundance, we must magnetize our minds with intense DESIRE for riches, or whatever else we want to achieve.

Translating DESIRE to RESULTS

NH describes Six definite, practical steps that comprise the method to translate the DESIRES to their physical, financial, or other result:

1. Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you DESIRE. That this needs to be a definite amount will be discussed in a later chapter.
2. Determine EXACTLY what you intend to GIVE in return for this DESIRED amount… because there is no such thing as something for nothing.
3. Establish a DEFINITE DATE when you intend to possess the money you desire.
4. Create a DEFINITE PLAN for carrying out your DESIRE, and BEGIN IT AT ONCE…whether you are ready or not.
5. WRITE out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.
6. READ your written statement aloud, twice daily – once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning. AS YOU READ, SEE AND FEEL AND BELIEVE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MONEY.

Following these six steps must be done in totality, and the sixth step is the most important, for that’s where your BURNING DESIRE will come to your aid.

These instructions will seem impractical to many who aren’t schooled in how the human mind works with these kind of DESIRES. But before you discard them as silly and foolish, you need to know that these very steps were handed down by none other than ANDREW CARNEGIE who used these principles to amass a fortune of more than one hundred million dollars at the turn of the 20^th century. That amount translates to over $300 Billion in current dollars.

Be A Dreamer

NH gives us full latitude to be a DREAMER when it comes to these DESIRES. Great leaders have always had a dream that motivated them. Those who are afraid of new ideas are doomed before they even start. A BURNING DESIRE to be and to do is the starting point from which the dreamer must take off.

There is a difference between WISHING for a thing and being READY TO RECEIVE IT. No one is ready to receive something until he or she believes they can actually acquire it. The state of mind must be BELIEF, not just mere hope or wish.

No more effort is required to aim high in life, to demand abundance and prosperity, than is required to accept misery and poverty.

If you do not see great riches in your imagination, you will never see them in your bank balance.

Finally, do not be afraid to fail! Every failure brings with it the seed of an EQUIVALENT SUCCESS!!

Napoleon Hill’s Personal Triumph

NH narrates the story of his own son who was born without ears or the inward mechanisms for hearing. All the doctors held the opinion that he would be deaf and mute his entire life.

Napoleon Hill had a different DESIRE.

That DESIRE was that his son would hear and his challenge was to translate his own BURNING DESIRE to his son’s own mind. NH dedicated his life to making this DESIRE to reality, even though he had no idea how the handicap could or would be overcome.

Through the years, NH continued to plant in his son’s mind the idea that his affliction was not a liability, but an asset of great value. This he did by wrapping his philosophy in bedtime stories, hoping that in time he would find some plan to overcome the handicap. In time, his son came to believe that he had advantages even over his older brother who did not have such a handicap.

The first triumph came when his son, who wanted to sell newspapers  but was dissuaded by his mother, snuck out a window, borrowed six cents, invested in papers, sold them, and continued this process until late evening. At the end of the day, he had a total profit of forty two cents, which they found tightly clutched in his hand when he finally crawled into bed at night.

NH realized from this lesson that handicaps can be converted into stepping stones on which one can climb to some worthy goal, instead of being accepted as obstacles and used as alibis.

His son made it through High School and found his way to college. During the last week in college, he received a trial electric hearing aid. He hesitated to try it, as a previous model had resulted in failure. Nevertheless, once he decided to try the new model, his lifelong DESIRE for normal hearing became a reality. For the first time in his life he heard practically as well as any person with normal hearing.

As a result of this victory, his son found his mission in helping the millions of deaf people make it through life with more determination. He did extensive research, created a 2-year plan which he presented to the manufacturer of the hearing device that had changed his life. As a result, his son had taken his handicap and translated it into an invaluable benefit to millions of deaf by helping teach them to hear, speak, and generally communicate with the world.

NH concludes this chapter by referencing the next principle, which is FAITH. DESIRE must be match with equivalent FAITH that the desire can be achieved and received.

The impulse of STRONG DESIRE recognizes no such word as “impossible”, and accepts no such reality as failure.

 

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