Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Anyone ever read this book? I have read it twice. About 10 years ago and then again about 2 years ago. Both times I took the same thing from the book (it suggests at the beginning that each reader will take something different away from it on how to become successful) I finished the book both times knowing I need to take my sexual energy and re focus it towards business. I know this is a huge problem for me and I have yet to do so, but I will.......anyone else read this and learned anything from it?

We actually had a book-group discussion on this book, up until around Chapter 4 when everyone got incredibly rich, quit the forum, and went to live in Bermuda. :-)

My takeaway is that if you want something badly enough, you`ll get it. Unless you don`t.

It`s not so much that I didn`t like it. It`s a good book, and was the sort of model for all self-help books to come. Rather it`s that it`s an oversimplification, like "The Secret."

I think we do live in a multi-dimensional universe, and that what we do with our physical life is only a small part of our overall consciousness. To that end, the mind and imagination do impact our life and surrounding reality. But I also think it`s vastly more complex than these types of books are proposing.

Consider the story of the man who invested in a gold mine, dug and dug, then ran out of money and stopped. Another man comes along, digs 3 more feet and strikes gold (or oil...I forget which).

The lesson we`re supposed to get is that you should NEVER give up until you reach your goal. On the other hand, we also know that there comes a time when you HAVE TO walk away from a bad investment, or lose everything you have.

So which is it? Do you sink everything you own and can borrow into something that ultimately doesn`t pan out; or, do you hope it`ll pan out despite all evidence to the contrary?

The book never gets into it at all, and holds only that if you "wish hard enough" or hypnotize yourself into believing it`ll happen, then it WILL happen. So another question is how to differentiate between self-hypnosis, determination, or delusion. The book doesn`t get into that either.

Craig, I believe most books like this are fluff, but I found this one to be a little better in that I actually took something away from it......for me personally, I know by doing what the book helped me realize, I will be able to "make lots of money".....it`s just a matter of doing......similiar to knowing cigarettes will kill you but having trouble quitting (I quit 7/16!)

I agree: Because this book was the fore-runner of all other similar books, it has more depth. And it does focus on mostly teaching the reader to fundamentally believe they can do something. It takes a look at the fears and illusions that prevent so many people from accomplishing anything, and for that reason it`s a worthy book. Not great; too simple, but still a book worth reading. :-)

I think one thing that I took away from this book was not the fact that you have to convince yourself your going to succeed no matter what but it`s your planning, if something doesn`t work the first time or the tenth time or in eddison`s case with the light globe 10,000 times you need to change your plan,and keep adjusting that plan until you succeed.

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Life is a sum of all your choices!

http://www.ourfunnel.com

Where I have a problem with this "never stop trying" principle is how to distinguish it from "throwing good mony after bad." There are clearly many instances where you have to stop and walk away. Without some form of clairvoyance, we can`t know that "if only" we`d stuck with something one more time it would`ve succeeded. Too many people go broke and into bankruptcy because they kept trying to beat a dead horse back to life.

I have never read any other Napoleon Hill books, I don`t beleive. Have you?

I think the book really inspired confidence in me.  It helped me to stay focused on the goal of opening a business and not get discouraged when things don`t go smoothly. 
"Anybody can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan, plus a burning desire for wealth, are the only dependable means of accumulating wealth"



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Lisa Liberatore
Baxter Tea Company
www.baxtertea.com