“Think and Grow Rich” — Overrated?
What if I told you that believing that you’re rich is necessary step towards being rich.
That’s how the book begins its first chapter.
For a rational millennial, I consider myself to be, such a statement was a serious turnoff.
Throwback
Since last year, I was on a personal mission to make reading books a daily habit. I have been fairly successful reading books across genres in the past few months.
“Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill was one of those books which grabbed my attention. It was making its appearance in my life from all corners, to online reading list compilation, friend’s bookshelf and, of course, Amazon Kindle suggestions.
Amidst much hype and fanfare, I finally bought this book. It took me months before I could complete my in-progress books and start with this.
One fine evening, a few weeks before I started writing this article, I had started to read the book.
Oh, boy! the first chapter itself was a shocker.
Return to present
Initial chapters were all about faith and how writing down your aims and shouting them aloud daily will help you.
Well, it doesn’t seem like a piece of horrible advice, after all, I’m sure it would work if implemented well.
It was the tone of sounding it miraculous or godly made it ridiculous in the first glance.
Let me repeat, first glance, as I went ahead reading, it was layered with multiple advice and relevant stories as I would expect from a self-help book.
A recurring issue, I had, was the godly tone, something on the lines of “Universe will align to ensure your desires are fulfilled.”
Looking back, it’s possible that I got the tone entirely wrong or I’m exaggerating, but that was the opinion I formed as I read the book.
My opinion was supported by a few online blogs and a couple of my friends.
Further chapters were filled with more stories and excerpts from the lives of business magnates, filling the reader’s mind with hope and motivation to work towards a bigger target. Stories of Henry Ford, Coca-Cola struck a familiar chord and kept me motivated enough to read further.
There was a chapter targeted at personal branding, how to get employed and become a leader instead of a follower. One of the chapters dealt with how homeschooling and alternative forms of education apart from mainstream college can be considered to make a future.
Such chapters made me think, what exactly is the aim of the book?
Why is there a prevalent theme of getting employed across all the chapters?
This made me look back into the history of this book and I’ve my interpretations about the same.
History
The book was first published in 1937 in the United States.
For those who aren’t entirely aware of this time frame, the world was heading into the second world war. The United States has been witnessing, what’s now called, The Great Depression. It started in the late ’20s and affected lives of common American in a manner earlier unheard of.
An average American struggled to meet his/her ends.
The unemployment rate was at a high of 20%.
Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession.
The Dust bowl resulted in serious damage to the agriculturally dependent Prairies and turn migration of close to 500,000 people.
This combined effect has resulted in further regression of economic conditions.
Promoted as a personal development and self-improvement book, it hit the right note.
Now I tried putting myself in shoes of a broken, individual, looking for jobs and would want to elevate himself and his family from the poor economic condition.
Once I started to empathize with such an individual and read the book through his lens, my perspective towards the book as gradually changed.
Later Chapters
Gradually, the book has evolved into a step-by-step guide for self-evaluation and development.
The chapters on “Persistence”, “Organised Planning” have introduced me to some timeless principles as I saw why Think and Grow Rich is considered a prime example of a self-help book.
Recurring examples of how Henry Ford has risen and persisted throughout his life in becoming the well-respected entrepreneur has a certain universal appeal.
As earlier mentioned, this was written primarily for American reader and I could feel a hint of nationalism in certain chapters, which looked at from an average American’s perspective, does a good job at unifying country and motivating individuals.
Nothing summarized the intentions of the book more than the following line
Poverty needs no plan. It needs no one to aid it, because it’s bold and ruthless
Riches are shy and timid. They have to be “attracted.”
What’s the final word?
The book had phases which left me questioning the book’s success, but the high points of the book more than compensate for it.
It’s a long, testing read but some of the pieces of advice are timeless and would definitely be revisited by me from time-to-time.
Should you read it? Yeah, why not? It is a great book. That being said, I did warn you of phases which will test you.
Is it overrated? As a piece of literature, some parts of the book make you feel that. The tone may not appeal at certain points but considering the potential of the book to impact one’s life, it’s not overrated.
I have faced hiccups while reading this book, but I do have several takeaways and would refer a few points again at various points of my life
I hope even you would pick up the book and read.
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