Beyond the Hype: The Critical Lens on Think and Grow Rich

Have you read “Think and Grow Rich,” perhaps the most famous self-help book of all time?

If not, “Think and Grow Rich” is a book about success, and the main premise is that each of us builds our life according to our own thinking. In other words, as we think, so it is for us. If we want to be successful, then we must think like successful people.

Napoleon Hill wrote this book after being encouraged by Andrew Carnegie, a super-rich guy known as “The King of Steel.” Carnegie introduced Hill to other successful people, and Hill interviewed them to find out what they had in common. Thanks to Hill and Carnegie, we now have the principles of success laid out in this book.

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While the book talks about accumulating wealth, and it does so in proper ways, it falls short, in my opinion, by not exploring the true value of such goals. I believe we’re all in pursuit of fulfillment, and that’s why we chase our goals. But does becoming rich truly lead to fulfillment?

In the book, money is portrayed as the most important thing in life, and it certainly is for those obsessed with it. However, many people come to this book out of curiosity, at a crossroads in their lives, wondering whether their path should be about their career, art, love, exploring the world, or becoming rich. Reading this book might lead them to pursue something that isn’t in their best interest and could be a waste of their precious time that could be spent on other, more fulfilling goals.

So, it’s important to consider a broader perspective, beyond the book’s scope, when deciding which path in life to take.

There are some potential issues we should be aware of from this broader perspective:

1. Not Going Along the Way

Napoleon Hill rightly emphasizes that our thoughts shape our reality, but what he misses is the obvious conclusion that it’s often easier to change how we view success than to struggle for what we think success is.

If we think that becoming rich and aligning outer circumstances with our desires, is the only way to be fulfilled, we’re making a mistake. Things themselves don’t have built-in meanings; it’s our minds that give them labels.

Plusses and minuses aren’t in things but in our thoughts.

So, changing how we think might be all we need, and it’s much easier to do than spending our whole life struggling to get something we’re not sure will truly make us happy.

Different thinking may be the only thing we need. Not money.

2. What If We Lack Burning Desires?

Hill discovered that there is something that all successful people share, something that is a prerequisite for success, and that is the burning desire. In other words, they want success so badly that they are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Burning desire is therefore promoted as something that is at the cornerstone of success and on which everything else should be built.

“There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.” — N.Hill

But not everyone has such intense desires. I don’t, for example. I have desires, but not as strong as burning desires.

What if we don’t have burning desires?

The book doesn’t explain how to find such intense desires. And should we be worried if we don’t have them?

I believe that accepting our true nature is the way to go. If we have burning desires, we act on them. If we don’t, that’s alright. Maybe we’ll discover those burning desires later on, through different experiences, thinking, or changing our attitudes, but in the meantime, we should accept ourselves as we are now.

It is silly to feel bad about ourselves because famous people have burning desires and we don’t, because we could question whether having such strong desires is conducive to fulfillment, or just to discontent.

Burning desires bring extreme results. Moderate desires bring moderate results. No desires brings calm and peace.

3. Is it All About Money?

It is. And it isn’t.

Throughout this book author talks about money and riches, as if it is the best to desire. Although financial security is a precondition to striving towards higher goals, making money the central focus of life can make us think it’s the only path to fulfillment.

Although I do not want to determine what happiness means to someone, research shows that accumulating money beyond a certain threshold (which most people in Western civilisation have exceeded) does not make us happier. Therefore, we may be better off pursuing something else instead of wealth, something like creativity, love, deep and meaningful relationships, or maybe not pursuing anything at all, but simply being in the present moment.

Final Thoughts: Is This Book Necessary at All?

If someone said that reading “Think and Grow Rich” is unnecessary, they wouldn’t be far from the truth. That’s because if we don’t have those intense burning desires, it’s really hard to succeed. On the other hand, if we do have those strong desires, we’ll succeed with or without this book.

But I recommend “Think and Grow Rich” for a few reasons:

• It emphasises that the quality of our thinking is by far more important than the circumstances we may find ourselves in.
• It offers practical advice for material success.
• It encourages a proactive, organised, and resilient mindset.
• It makes us aware of the excuses we often use to avoid taking action.
• The book provides historical information about successful people from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In the end, I believe “Think and Grow Rich” can help people become better versions of themselves.

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