Fill Your Mind to Get Ideas
As I continue to offer ways to help you build a better mindset for money, I must offer sources to help you fill your mind with thoughts, ideas, and concepts that will eventually help you learn a better way to generate income, helping you progress to financial independence.
This is not an easy task. However, the more you learn, the easier it will be to get around the obstacles you face along your path to success.
There are many good sources to read to get your mind going in the right direction to build a better mindset for money. One such resource is the book, Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill.
The idea for this book grew out of a chance meeting for an interview that Napoleon Hill had, as a magazine reporter, with Andrew Carnegie, who had become wealthy in the steel industry. The interview occurred in 1908 and became the start of a close friendship. What was to be a short interview turned into a discussion over several hours. Andrew was excited about what motivated people to become rich, and he saw in Napoleon a chance to share that excitement with the public.
This book was the result of a challenge given to him by Andrew Carnegie, during that interview, to find out how many of the wealthy people of his day had come by their riches. The challenge was to interview as many people as possible over the next 20 years to determine the process these people had gone through to become wealthy.
At the core of his research findings was the generation of successful ideas, which came from desire and visualization.
The findings revealed in this book show that there is a process to follow along with an awareness of what will work and what will not work.
If you believe you can, you will learn to generate ideas, set specific goals, and build a plan to work through the struggles.
Those who have succeeded are willing to share how they got there. Fill your mind with what they share, and you will be inspired to get ideas of your own.
The Man Behind the Project
Andrew Carnegie came to America from Scotland at the age of 13, with his parents. Reading his story, you will find that he worked hard but the generosity of a neighbor, Colonel James Anderson, who opened his private library to local working boys, fed his curious mind and helped his rapid progress in his working career.
Though Carnegie eventually made millions in the steel business, his philanthropy brought him many accolades. One of the most prominent contributions he made was the purchase of buildings to be used for public libraries. We have all benefited from that effort to give us access to knowledge that could help us grow in mind and fortune!
Born in 1835 and died in 1919, Andrew Carnegie was a visionary and became wealthy with hard work and educated investments. He was deeply involved with the American Industrial Revolution.
When Andrew challenged Napoleon Hill to do the research for what became the book, Think and Grow Rich, he was convinced there was a formula for individual success and growth. Napoleon Hill noted what Andrew told him, “He believed the formula should be taught in all public schools and colleges and expressed the opinion that if it were properly taught it could so revolutionize the entire education system that the time spent in school could be reduced to less than half.” (See page 14 in the book.)
I know many who wished that school time could be shortened!
Though Andrew Carnegie died in 1919, eleven years after their first meeting, Napoleon Hill went on to interview over 500 self-made millionaires, including Henry Ford and Charles M. Schwab. As you can imagine, that would be a lot of data to sort through manually. However, Napoleon’s dedication to the task, the challenge by Andrew Carnegie, led to Think and Grow Rich being published in 1937, with many printings since then.
Quotes from Think and Grow Rich
In the eyes of many this book is old. However, the truth is timeless. Napoleon Hill’s expressions may sound dated, but the message is not to be ignored.
From page 18, “…all achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea!”
From page 20, “…when one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance.”
On page 22, he reflects on how the internal process of taking a thought into a belief works, “…definite knowledge that an intangible impulse of thought can be transmuted into material rewards…”, “…and the determination to stand by that desire until he realized it.”
On page 27, “One sound idea is all that one needs to achieve success.” Then, “Success comes to those who become success conscious.”
An often-quoted phrase is on page 32, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.”
Since my goal is to help you build a better mindset for money and build a good source of income to help you reach financial independence, I must include this quote on page 35, “Every human being who reaches the age of understanding of the purpose of money, wishes for it. Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind, that becomes an obsession. Then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches.”
Few Seek the Road to Riches
Through Napoleon Hill’s research and interviews with people who had become rich through ideas and effort, he was able to summarize traits and observations.
For instance, on page 36, he notes, “Six Ways to Turn Desires into Gold.” At the center of that recap is the need for setting specific goals so our subconscious mind can help us see opportunities when they appear.
Sometimes we are intimidated by those around us who are smarter or more talented. However, Napoleon notes, “Life’s battles don’t always go to the strongest or faster man. But soon(er) or late(r) the man who wins is the man Who Thinks He Can!” (See page 57)
Prepare Your Mind for Riches
You can accept your present plight of financial limitations, or you can seek a way to build a better future. Progress is up to you and how you prepare your mind.
Napoleon includes further explanations and summaries that will be valuable for you to understand. Then, you can make some plans for progress.
He includes, “Specialized knowledge” (See page 75), “The Major Attributes of Leadership” (See page 105), “10 Major Causes of Failure in Leadership” (See page 107), “Sell Your Skills to the Market!” (See page 111), “Career Moves” (See page 115).
On page 118, he asks, “What Is Your QQS Rating?” Quality of Service, Quantity of Service, and Spirit of Service. Then, he adds, “Think of your mind as capital.”
Would you not want to know “The Thirty-One Major Causes of Failure”? On page 121, he asks, “…how many of these causes of failure stand between you and success?” Maybe you need to make some changes in your mind and in your habits.
He does follow up with a discussion of how to overcome many of these causes of failure. Then, he adds a questionnaire for self-analysis. He wants you to reflect and be honest with yourself and your current state of mind. He truly wants you to succeed!
Condition Your Mind
There must be internal conditioning to prepare you for material success.
Condition your mind to make better decisions. He notes, “Success requires no explanation” and “Failure permits no alibis”. Then, you must become “the master of procrastination.”
In Chapter IX, he talks about how to build persistence and your “power of will”.
Your state of mind regarding what will make you happy is important, as well. He notes, “Happiness is found in Doing not merely in Possessing”.
As for the creation of ideas that can lead you to riches, Napoleon talks about that on page 198, “How to Energize Your Subconscious Mind for Creative Effort.” This is important to know since you must be ready to “capture those ideas when they come.”
Make Yourself Aware of Emotions
Emotions can be both positive and negative. On page 200, he adds, “Make Your Positive Emotions Work for You”. He then adds a list of both “positive emotions” and “negative emotions”.
On page 202, he makes one of my favorite references to “The Secret of Effective Prayer”, noting “The subconscious mind is the intermediary.”
In Chapter XV, “The Six Ghosts of Fear”, he notes you have “three enemies: indecision, doubt, and fear.” He adds “The Six Basic Fears”:
- Poverty
- Criticism
- Ill health
- Loss of love of someone
- Old age
- Death
Then, he qualifies, “Fears are nothing more than states of mind.” Later, he adds, “…every human being has the ability to completely control his own mind.”
A Summary Is Not the Whole Picture
I encourage you to read Think and Grow Rich. I have only offered a summary of thoughts. Read the book to get the whole picture.
In closing, I want to add another quote that Napoleon included, which was a poem from an unknown author:
“I worked for a menial hire, only to learn dismayed, that any wage I had asked of Life, Life would have willingly paid.”
As Napoleon Hill found in his research, success was found in getting ideas, building desire, and pursuing with persistence, you must want it to get it!