Think and Grow Rich
Napoleon Hill's 1937 wealth-by-mindset bible โ the root system of every 'manifest your money' video on TikTok.
Origin
Napoleon Hill claimed Andrew Carnegie had commissioned him to interview 500 of America's most successful men and distill the formula for wealth. Most biographers now agree that meeting never quite happened the way Hill described, and Hill's own track record outside the books was a string of failed ventures and con-adjacent schemes. None of that hurt the sales. The book lays out 13 principles โ desire, faith, autosuggestion, specialized knowledge, decision, persistence โ built on the slogan 'Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.' It has sold somewhere north of 100 million copies.
Modern usage
The direct ancestor of [[the-secret]] and [[manifesting]] โ visualization, 'vibration,' and belief as causal forces. Quoted endlessly by motivational speakers (Tony Robbins, Bob Proctor, Earl Nightingale all built on it) and by every hustle-culture YouTuber who tells you the only thing between you and a Lamborghini is your mindset. Critics point out the book quietly drops every counter-example; fans don't care.
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