Think and Grow Rich was a landmark business and self-help book that came out way back in 1937 by Napoleon Hill.
It’s been a staple and icon ever since.
Does it really work today?
I want to talk to you about this timeless book.
It just crosses all time and crosses all technology across as all these different things.
Obviously, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you have read this book.
If you haven’t yet, do it!
It was one of the first great books that I read on creating wealth in my life and what one of the challenges is.
The challenge is that some people checked out and went,
Oh yeah, well, you can just sit around and and hang out on the couch and think about becoming rich, and it’ll happen today.
Yeah, right. They missed the point.
Today, I want to just chunk down 5 very important principles that were talked about in Think and Grow Rich that absolutely do work.
Let’s dive in, my friends!
Why We Need These Think And Grow Rich Principles
Napoleon studied successful people in careers, business, and leadership.
He walked away with a different understanding of how the world works.
We can be these same people, my friends.
We have the ability to create influence and jobs.
It’s used to create value in the marketplace and therefore get compensated for that.
And there’s a lot of stuff that goes into that.
With that comes a lot of responsibility.
So when we think about this whole concept of thinking growing rich, it’s the principles in the book then Napoleon talks about doing the work.
Nowhere in the book does he actually say, think, and you will grow rich.
It’s a great title and marketing, but it’s all those different types of things we’ll talk about today you need to change to make your dreams come true.
But you’ve got to do it.
You’ve got to eliminate some habits.
You’ve got to embrace some uncertainty.
Deal with some fear.
Rewire some neuro associations in your brain.
Becoming “Rich”
You’ve got to do a lot of work, my friend, in order to become “rich.”
When I talk about being rich, it’s about happy, healthy, wealthy, and wise.
It’s not about just about income.
There are plenty of miserable millionaires.
I would call it a “miserable millionaire” mindset.
That’s a true thing.
I know a lot of people that are miserable.
They’ve got a lot of money.
But who cares?
It’s possible to be miserable broke or rich, so isn’t this the main thing to avoid?
How about we change that? How about we work on some different things?
#1 Desire
The first principle Napoleon talks about is desire. Remember this.
If you want to think and grow rich. you’ve got to have the desire.
You have gotta want it.
What does that mean?
You’ve got to have that burning fire inside.
You’ve got to have a desire to do things differently.
Thrive on challenges.
When I was 23 and I bought my first business as a dead-broke drain cleaner, trying to run calls, trying to learn, trying to figure it out, it was no fun.
There was nothing about it that I loved.
I wasn’t that great of a technician.
But I wanted to be in business.
I struggled along, but I had a desire that I could get better.
I had a desire to learn what I needed to succeed.
There wasn’t even a vision at that time of the future, just a drive to succeed.
I had the desire, but I was missing the next steps.
#2 Faith
You want to make sure that you’re very clear about faith.
You’ve got to have faith.
If you’re going to create amazing things in the world, you’ve got to have the vision.
You’ve got to have faith in God or spirit or your higher power that you will show up for every day.
Well, you’ve gotta have faith that things will happen when you set a budget and you set a goal and decide who you want to be.
You’ve got to have faith in your team.
Have faith in the world.
And you’ve got to have faith in yourself too.
If you believe that you were put here for a reason, then maybe it’s time to start living out that reason at a higher level.
Maybe it’s time to stop wasting some time of your God-given talent.
You’re an incredible person.
You’re an incredible human being.
I know you’ve got greatness, and we want to let it out.
We want you to grow it.
#3 Autosuggestion
Then we use the power of autosuggestion.
Napoleon talks about this in the book.
It’s so important.
Visualization, meditation, creating an image in your mind, praying to God, whatever it is for you specifically is this use of autosuggestion.
Essentially, you’re talking yourself into backing up that faith.
Finding Affirmations
Ever heard the idea that if you force yourself to smile and tell yourself everything is going to be OK it will be?
These are affirmations.
Sayings and thoughts about the world.
They’ll change your mindset, your very brain function for the better.
I liked the words: Happy, healthy, wealthy and wise.
When I see those, that’s what I feel is rich.
If I’m happy, I’ve got a good relationship with my team, my lovely Christy, my family, and my friends.
That’s happiness to me.
If I don’t have my health, I don’t have anything.
If I’m wealthy, that’s bigger than just money.
Yes, I want to make a lot of money.
Yes, I want to create all the things that I want when it comes to physicality in the world and go places and have experiences.
Certainly, that takes a certain level of income, but that’s not what it’s all about.
It’s about the overall wealth.
And then the wisdom comes from the experience.
Wisdom comes from mistakes.
A Little On Wisdom (Don’t We All Wish We Had More?)
Sometimes what the world calls mistakes, wisdom comes.
Dan Solomon talks about the fact that you’re either winning or you’re learning.
That’s what I want you to realize as you’re going through these struggles.
When you get the power of autosuggestion, you really begin to realize:
I’m strong enough, I’m right for this. And I’m good to go here, create more, and live my dream life.
That doesn’t mean that I put things off today, and I wait.
Certainly, I might wait on certain things financially, but I see where I’m going.
That’s what it’s all about for you.
#4 Specialized Knowledge
Next up is what he called specialized knowledge.
When we think about specialized knowledge, we go:
Oh, he’s talking about college, trade school, developing skills, taking online courses, etc.
All these are great, but we often forget that specialized knowledge comes from experience too.
It’s from learning our way through things.
It comes from messing up and making mistakes.
My buddy, Keith Cunningham, talks about the dumb tax.
We always pay our dumb tax when we do the wrong thing.
But like all taxes, we can use it right to invest in important things or watch it wasted.
Unlike real life taxes, we get more of a say in our own dumb tax.
I paid a lot of dumb tax in 2016-2018.
I took on a partner that wasn’t the right fit.
We’re both great, successful people, but we weren’t meant to run companies together and therefore paid some dumb tax.
It is what it is.
Pay your tax. Move on.
Now we get to have some experiential wisdom.
Now we have some specialized knowledge because I went through that.
None of this comes from sitting on the sidelines.
Guess what? We got to learn a lot. That’s what it’s ultimately all about.
#5 Organized Planning
Then the last thing we want to talk about here is organized planning.
And that’s where massive action comes in.
My friend, Keith Cunningham, also talks about implementing plans, not ideas.
Check out my 3 strategies for implementing plans, not ideas.
When I heard that, my life changed, my team’s life changed, and my clients’ lives changed
I want to implement our plans in my life.
I’m an idea guy and a driven entrepreneur.
If you’re reading this, you have a driven mind too. You’re like me.
What does that mean?
You wake up in the middle of the night with incredible ideas.
You’re kept up before you go to sleep because you’ve got great ideas.
Rein In The Wild Horse
You feel like you can do everything.
That’s all well and good.
But until you run through a process and filter with other people you trust and work with, it’s dangerous.
Figure out your strengths and that of your team mates.
Make a plan, a real plan, and take action.
Don’t just keep coming up with ideas.
I’m meant to own training company based on the trades.
I’m meant to coach leaders, just like you.
It’s even worse when change comes.
Check out these 4 steps for taking control of change triggers.
Personal Connection
I’ve had a lot of trouble in my life.
I’ve had addiction, jail, and all these different things.
It doesn’t mean I’m a bad person.
I couldn’t control my driven mind and my ideas.
There was no filter, no organized planning.
Since them, I’ve learned to meditate, journal, and connect with others.
My mind still drives me crazy, friends.
It’s a blessing and a curse.
But it’s only a curse if I let it become one.
And it’s only a blessing if step into its greatness.
Does this really work?
You better believe it works, but there’s a process of these principles.
You don’t just sit on the couch and think rich.
I remember when I first met Marcus Struab.
He’s a phenomenal guy who wrote a book called, Is It Fun Being You?
We’re still great friends to this day.
And I remember when I first engaged him in coaching.
I was running this plumbing/heating/air conditioning company.
My first impression wasn’t too great.
He’s just a yoga guy.
He’s a Zen guy, and he doesn’t have many team members, and he meets clients at coffee shops and talks them off the ledge or into their greatness.
And I’m like:
You don’t get it, brother. You don’t have the complexities in your life that I do.
He just took it, smiled his smile, and let it go.
Now I embrace everything he taught me about calming my mind and reflecting on myself.
And I love every minute of it.
Final Thoughts
I’m here to wake you up.
I want to be a Marcus Straub to you.
You want to be rich? You want to think and get rich?
Fine. Step up to the plate. Wake up!
Find that desire, the desire to be happy, healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Believe it will happen for you. Believe in a higher power and the power of your team.
Engage in autosuggestion. Tell yourself it’ll happen.
Get off your couch and do something. Pay the dumb tax; get some specialized knowledge.
Take some time to master your mind and plan in an organized way.
It does work, my friends.
I live it, and I want you to live it too.
Until next time, make it a better-than-fantastic week.
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