“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” – Napoleon H
ill

Think & Grow Rich was the very first Personal Development book I read and the very first book to ever blow me away. It's truly been a game changer for me.

This book has taught me some powerful lessons about life and making money. Right now I'm going through it again for the 3rd time cover to cover, while every now and then I've turned to it just for reference. It never ceases to amaze me how every time I read it I learn something new.

Think & Grow Rich is the book that most millionaires and billionaires have read at least once in their life. I know Bob Proctor has carried one with him his whole life since first reading it. This alone says how powerful this 1937 book is and how relevant it's still today.

Here are four powerful lessons I learned from Think & Grow Rich…

1. Everything in the physical world started with a thought

This is the #1 most life-changing concept I learned in Think & Grow Rich and probably the most important concept I’ve ever learned.

This concept says that everything that has ever been created by man in the physical world started with a thought. Not sure how to grasp this idea? Let me give you an example. When a chair was first invented, do you think it just magically appeared to a person? Of course not! The inventor of the chair first imagined in his mind an object made out of wood that would allow a person to sit wherever they please. This inventor then went to work and eventually created the object he first saw in his mind.

Just like an inventor creates objects by first imagining it in his mind, so we create the life we live. Finding the perfect partner, becoming an olympic athlete or creating wealth all starts with an idea, which is a thought.

Like the quote stated at the beginning of this article, whatever you can imagine in your mind and believe that is possible, then you can achieve it!

2. You can achieve whatever you want if you have a burning desire for it

I’ve seen many people start following a dream they have and shortly after quit for some reason or another. I know I’ve been in the same position plenty of times in my life, however after reading Think & Grow Rich I realised that for me to succeed in something I have to have a desire so strong for it that I’ll do whatever it takes to succeed.

A true story I found fascinating on this is Henry Ford’s burning desire to have whatever he wants. At one time he instructed his engineers to invent a v12 engine. His engineers then kept coming to him over the next few months to tell him that they weren’t getting anywhere. Henry told them to keep working on it and come back to him when they figured it out. Again his engineers came to Henry and told him that it was no point continuing as it was impossible to make a v12 engine. Henry asserted to them “I want it and I’ll have it.” Shortly after this moment, where they almost gave up, they discovered the secret to the v12 engine.

How awesome is that sorry? This comes to show that if you want something with a burning desire and work UNTIL you achieve it, then it’s inevitable that you will achieve it.

3. Failures do not mean you’ve failed (be persistent)

Many people quit because of perceived “failures”. Just because they failed so many times they decide that it’s not going to work – or that it’s not for them.

Failure is not final. Failures should be seen as opportunities for learning what went wrong in order to try a different approach. If you see failures as learning lessons and you have plenty of them, then it means every failure you have is getting you one step closer to your goal.

A great story to illustrate this is Thomas Edison’s journey of creating the electrical lightbulb. Firstly, he knew in his mind what he wanted to create in the physical universe. Second, he had a burning desire for it and, knowing that failure is not final, he was able to get through 10,000 different attempts (or failures) UNTIL he reached his goal. How many people do you know that would give up on the second, third or even fourth try and say that it’s impossible?

To succeed in anything, you must be persistent UNTIL you achieve your goal.

4. Have an unwavering faith

This is probably one of my most favourite chapters in the book. And that’s probably because I often find myself living in and out of faith. I know it’s something I must continue working on.

Again, many people set out to achieve something in their lives and at first their dreams are exciting but as soon as they run into obstacles or they buy into the disbelief of their friends and family, they lose faith and quit. Achieving your dreams requires an unwavering faith. But what is faith? Faith is a strong belief, an absolute certainty (with no hesitation) that YOU WILL achieve what you want.

Let me give you an example from my life. When I first started this online business, You Deserve Freedom, back in 2011, I started it in partnership with a direct selling company in Personal Development. When I saw the business presentation I was totally blown away. Up until then I had only ever made $25 per hour at the most in a job and this opportunity showed me that it was possible to make up to $16,000 USD profit per sale. It seemed so unrealistic to me at the time but I got started anyways. It took me 5 months to make my first sale of $900 USD profit, which was awesome because I’d never make money on the internet before that. But I still didn’t know how I’d be able to make the bigger sales other people were making or if it really was possible. Over the next few months I ended up making more sales including a $5000 profit sale while in a cafe in Rome. When I hit this $5000 goal, I decided that it was absolutely possible to make one of the “big” sales. I finally cultivated the faith I needed. It was about one month later that almost out of the blue I made a $14,500 USD profit sale – my first 5 figure week ever! I know that if I hadn’t cultivated an unwavering faith, then I certainly wouldn’t have been able to achieve this goal.

Just like the faith I had to achieve this goal or the faith Henry Ford and Thomas Edison had to achieve their goals, you too can achieve your goals by cultivating an unwavering faith.

Conclusion

You may have started to notice how powerful this book is and why it’s been dubbed “the millionaire’s bible”. But this book isn’t just for millionaires. This book was written around money because it’s the one thing everyone has in common. Plenty of people have used the success formula in this book to succeed in other areas from sports to church ministry.

If you have dreams and you’re serious about achieving them, then this book is a must read. And when I say a must read, I mean going to your local bookshop this week, buying it, reading it and applying it 😉 Trust me, you won't regret it!

Did you get value? Is so, I would greatly appreciate it if you commented below and shared on Facebook.

Alex Ford
Digital Marketing Trainer
Email: [email protected]
Have Questions? – Ask me on Messenger

If you enjoyed this post on Lessons From Think & Grow Rich, feel free to share.