I must have been 17 or 18 the first time I read "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. I must have read it at least a half dozen times or more in my life time. My father also read this book more than a few times. I still have my ragged old copy in a box somewhere around the house. When I was young, I read stacks of books on self improvement, or success or books on writing and speaking. These things were important to me when I was young.
I never did get rich and I never could quite figure out if it was because I just did not have the right stuff or because through the years my priorities and outlook on life kept changing. Those who know me know that money and material objects mean very little to me. I love things that keep life simple or those objects that are connected to a memory.
Still, every time I read that book I found words to live by, that have nothing to do with money, things that have enriched my life in other ways. Maybe that was really what Hill meant by "Think and Grow Rich". Let me say this here and now. No book can replace the Bible but I do believe that we can still find wisdom and sources of inspiration from everyday people.
This is a poem in his book. I'm not 100% sure if Hill is the author of the poem but it is inspiring nonetheless!
“If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will
It’s all in the state of MIND.
If you think you’re outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles, don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man
But soon or later the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!”
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