Think and Grow Rich: The Original, an Official Publication of The Napoleon Hill Foundation

Published in 1937 and never out of print since, Think and Grow Rich is the book most modern wealth advice is quietly copying. Napoleon Hill spent two decades studying the era’s richest people — Carnegie, Ford, Edison, and hundreds more — looking for what they had in common. His answer wasn’t luck or inheritance. It was a way of thinking: a definite goal, a burning desire to reach it, and the discipline to organize an entire life around it.

The book walks through Hill’s thirteen principles, from desire and faith to specialized knowledge, persistence, and the power of a focused mastermind group. Strip away the 1930s language and you’re left with ideas that show up in every goal-setting and habit book written since: clarity beats hustle, belief drives action, and what you repeatedly think about tends to shape what you do.

Key takeaways:

• Wealth starts with a specific, written goal, not a vague wish to “have more money.”
• Desire and persistence matter more than talent or starting capital.
• Surround yourself with people who push you forward; isolation is expensive.

Who it’s for: anyone who has never sat down and seriously defined what wealth means to them, and why. It’s the mindset foundation the rest of your money education gets built on.

The verdict: treat the investing specifics as a museum piece, but take the psychology seriously. Nearly a century later, the core message — that building wealth is a decision you make and then refuse to abandon — still holds up better than most of what’s published today. Start here if your real obstacle is belief, not tactics.