Think and Grow Rich is a book I’ve thought for a long time that I should read. After all, there have been 15 million copies of it sold, and it is about how our wealth (or lack of it) relates to our thinking. You’d think I’d like it, being that I’m all about how our thought governs our experience. Well, we read it for our book group last night, and we all agree: save yourself the trouble.

Napoleon Hill is very verbose and circles back over and over again to the same material. One friend called reading it “a slog.” I agree. Written in 1937, the content is dated and much of what it says already has been assimilated culturally. Also, a lot of it feels like human will, almost like self-hypnosis, which, unlike the author, I don’t recommend.

I’ll summarize my positive take aways from the book for you. Here are the sum total of the notes that I took:

• have definiteness of purpose, full of desire
• seek expert advice before giving up
• convert defeat into stepping stones
• translate your dream into organized thought
• belief + burning desire = makes real
• indecision breeds doubt and is therefore the seedling of fear (so avoid it)
• Six basic fears: poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love, old age, death
• Who do you think is the greatest person living, and in what way are they superior to yourself? What qualities do you admire and want to emulate?
• Have a mental cabinet full of people (famous, known, or past) that you look up to, and when you need advice, turn to them in your mind (what would Jesus do; what would Gandhi recommend to me in this situation, how would Mary Baker Eddy be thinking about this, what would Aunt Rosemary say, etc). You’ll get good answers pretty quick.

There you have it! I saved you a whole, cumbersome read, so now you can focus on making those ideas practical in your life! You’re welcome.