Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill: My Honest Review After Hating Self-Help Books

I finished Think and Grow Rich at 6:42am on a Tuesday and I confess I was sitting on my kitchen floor. My coffee was cold. I had been awake since 5am because I could not sleep thinking about money.

I started reading Think and Grow Rich on my small balcony. It was Saturday. My neighbor was playing loud music. I had 20 dollars in my bank account. I thought this book was going to be scammy rich guy talk, you know? Like those Instagram guys. But I had bought it for 2 dollars at a used bookstore. So I said let me try. I read the first chapter. Then I stayed there for 2 hours. The sun moved. My legs were numb. I had to stand up and walk for 10 minutes because I could not feel my feet. That never happened before.

Think and Grow Rich was written in 1937 by Napoleon Hill. It is not a novel. It is about 13 principles to get rich. He studied 500 rich people like Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. He says rich starts in your head. Not in your wallet. He talks about desire, faith, autosuggestion. It sounds weird at first. But then it clicks.

The Part That Changed How I Think About Money

Look, let's be honest. I hate self-help books. Most are just "wake up at 5am and you will be a millionaire". This one is different. Think and Grow Rich says you need a burning desire. Not a wish. A desire. Like you cannot live without it.

I was on my balcony. Thinking about my debt. I realized I never had a real desire. I had wishes. I wish I had money. But I never sat down and wrote how much and by when. Chapter 2 made me do that. I grabbed a napkin. I wrote my number. And a date. I still have that napkin on my fridge. To be honest, that one exercise was worth the whole book.

He also talks about the Mastermind group. That is two or more people working together. I always tried to do everything alone. This book made me text my cousin. We now meet every Sunday for 30 minutes to talk about goals. It is awkward. But it helps.

My Unpopular Opinion That Will Make People Angry

Here is my hot take that will get me hate in the comments. I think half of this book is useless. Yes, I said it. The middle chapters about transmutation of sex energy? What? I read that part three times. Still did not get it.

I think Napoleon Hill repeats the same idea for 200 pages. Desire, faith, think, repeat. The first 5 chapters and the last 2 chapters are gold. The middle 8 chapters drag so much. I almost quit on chapter 9. I went to make a sandwich and stayed in the kitchen for 40 minutes avoiding the book. So if you read Think and Grow Rich, skip the boring middle if you need to. You will not miss much.

Also, and people will kill me for this. The stories about Edison and Ford are more interesting than Hill himself. Hill talks about himself a lot. I wanted more real stories. Less theory. The stories are what made me keep reading.

Scorecard: My Honest Numbers

Plot / Ideas: 4.5/5 - Think and Grow Rich has 13 principles and 3 of them will change your life. The other 10 you will forget. But those 3 are worth it.

Characters / Stories: 4/5 - Not real characters, but the real people stories like Edison, Ford, and that guy who quit 3 feet from gold. Those stories are unforgettable. I think about the gold story every week.

Writing: 3.5/5 - It is from 1937. So English is old. Some sentences are super long. I had to read twice. But it is simple if you go slow. No fancy words.

Pacing: 3/5 - Starts strong. Then super slow in the middle. Then strong again at the end. I read the last chapter standing in my kitchen. Could not sit.

My Verdict on Think and Grow Rich

If you love modern money books like Rich Dad Poor Dad or Atomic Habits, you will love Think and Grow Rich. It is the grandpa of all of them. If you hate old books and want quick TikTok tips, you will hate this. It is slow. It makes you write things. It makes you think.

I give Think and Grow Rich 4 stars. Not 5 because the middle part almost made me quit and the writing is old. But I still have my napkin on my fridge. And I still meet my cousin every Sunday. So it worked.

Would I read it again? Yes. But only chapters 1, 2, 3, 13 and 14. I will skip the middle. Would I recommend it? Yes. Especially if you are broke and feel stuck like I was on my balcony. Read it with a pen. Not just eyes.

So, what team are you? Team Desire, the people who write their goal and read it every morning, or Team Action, the people who think just thinking is not enough and you need to work nonstop?

If you read Think and Grow Rich, tell me in the comments which principle hit you hardest. For me it was Desire and the Mastermind. I need to know if I am the only one who hated chapter 11 about sex energy.

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