Think and Grow Rich

"Stephen Covey stole all of his material from Napoleon Hill," said the young lady - with prejudice. That young lady was a good friend of mine.  She had a commanding presence, a commanding opinion and I interpreted it as a command to run right out and pick up Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich.  Which I did - with urgency.

That was in 2002.  Since then I'm not sure more than a month goes by that I don't open up the book and look for guidance.  I feel a strong need to nut myself out right now, because after reading this essay you will come to that conclusion on your own anyhow.  Napoleon Hill is one of my closest friends. 

Under the tutelage of Andrew Carnegie and over a period of twenty-five years, Napoleon interviewed and analyzed five-hundred plus men of great wealth.  His quest - to find out how these men amassed their fortunes.  Napoleon condensed his laborious research into thirteen principles.  These thirteen principles make up Think and Grow Rich.

It seems that I can learn something on every page written in this book.  But there is one principle that stands out.  Looking back, I noticed that this chapter is marked with more notes and highlighter than all of the others.  This principle is so important to me that in 2003, I made it one of my core values.

The reason that I chose Think and Grow Rich to illustrate what I've learned from a particular book, can be found in the title of Chapter 6: Imagination. 

Napoleon - "Imagination is the workshop of the soul wherein is shaped all the plans for individual achievement."

Why imagination Dave?  Well, for the first forty years on this planet, I lived in one dwelling...my left brain.  To me, creativity and imagination were only words in the dictionary.  In my organized and analytical life, they did not compute.  One day I was crawling around in the attic and noticed light coming from under a door that I never knew existed.  I opened the door to the brilliant bright light of my right brain.  The warmth drew me in.  Occasionally I'll turn around and stick a toe over the threshold of that door to make sure my left brain is still there, but I've never gone back.

Napoleon Hill taught me how to assemble a group of people who could help and guide me with life and business issues.  The fact that every single person in my group is dead, doesn't seem to hinder the help in anyway.  Napoleon himself assembled a group and called it his imaginary council.  Some of his crew consisted of Abe Lincoln, Andrew Carnegie, Tom Edison and Henry Ford.  Napoleon's purpose for the imaginary council was to ask the individuals to help him rebuild his character. Before bed he would close his eyes and imagine the council gathered together.  He asked each to help him build the characteristic in which they were noted for.  Edison, who was actually still alive at this time, sat next to Napoleon and helped him with faith.  Lincoln assisted with justice and tolerance.  Ford helped him with persistence and self-confidence.

My imaginary council meetings take place in a cabin overlooking a lake in Maine.  It is Fall time there, year round.  There are ten folks in my crew.  Prior to sitting down at a huge oak table in front of a glowing fireplace, four of us usually ride up through the back roads on motorcycles.  Once everyone is together, I ask for help with a problem.  At times I receive direct responses and other times I do not. 

After I had held a few sessions early on, the content of the book began to take on new meaning. It felt while reading, that I was conversing directly with Napoleon.  Imagination is a wondrous universe.  And there is no better spaceship than a book to journey through it.  Open a book today, meet a friend, seek guidance and begin an adventure.

www.daverothacker.com

Comments

[Rosa Say]

Dave, there is a similar “who is on your board of directors” exercise that I have done in different seminars over the years (Stephen Covey and the Gallup Organization are two which come to mind) but they have always been merely interesting to me, and I had never taken them that seriously until the first time you had mentioned your lakeside cabin in Maine for you always make this sound so extraordinarily powerful (and Dave, why Maine?)

Nuts about the power of our values as I am, I also take big liberties with what would be considered a ‘value’ and I love your including imagination in your list. Imagination *is* freedom and liberty… as Vincent Van Gogh had said (page 209 in Abounding Grace Dave) “Do not quench your inspiration and your imagination; do not become the slave of your model.”

[dave]

We love the upper Northeast country. It is so beautiful.

Van Gogh's quote sounds so year 2010ish, doesn't it? I love it Rosa!