Think and Grow Rich Summary: The 13 Principles, 6 Steps & the ‘Secret’

This Think and Grow Rich summary distills Napoleon Hill’s 1937 classic — one of the best-selling personal-success books ever written — into its 13 principles, its famous six-step method, and the “secret” Hill talks about but never quite spells out. Hill’s central claim is that wealth starts in the mind: a burning desire, backed by faith, a definite plan, and relentless persistence, is what turns thought into money. It’s the book that seeded a century of success literature.

What is the main point of Think and Grow Rich?

The main point of Think and Grow Rich is that “thoughts are things” — what you consistently think about, desire intensely, and believe you can achieve tends to become your reality. Hill argues that riches begin with a definite purpose and a burning desire, not with talent or luck. Master your own mind, he says, and the money follows.

The 13 principles of Think and Grow Rich

Hill organizes the book around 13 principles he claims to have distilled from studying Andrew Carnegie and hundreds of successful people:

• Desire — a definite, burning want, not a vague wish.
• Faith — genuine belief that you’ll succeed.
• Autosuggestion — repeating your goal to program your subconscious.
• Specialized knowledge — expertise aimed at your goal.
• Imagination — the workshop where plans are formed.
• Organized planning — turning desire into concrete action.
• Decision — deciding quickly and changing slowly.
• Persistence — the sustained effort most people quit too early to reach.
• The Master Mind — a group of trusted minds working toward your aim.
• Sex transmutation — channeling drive and energy into your work.
• The subconscious mind — feeding it the right thoughts.
• The brain — broadcasting and receiving ideas.
• The sixth sense — Hill’s most mystical principle, a kind of intuition.

What are the 6 rules of Think and Grow Rich?

The “six rules” are Hill’s six-step method for turning desire into money. Follow them exactly, he says, and you activate the whole system:

• Fix the exact amount of money you desire.
• Decide precisely what you’ll give in return for it.
• Set a definite date to acquire it.
• Create a definite plan and start now, ready or not.
• Write out all four in a clear statement.
• Read that statement aloud twice a day — seeing, feeling, and believing you already have the money.

What is the secret of Think and Grow Rich?

Hill hints at a “secret” throughout the book but never states it outright — he insists you have to recognize it yourself. Read plainly, the secret is definiteness of purpose fused with burning desire and unshakable belief: decide exactly what you want, want it badly enough, and act as if it’s already yours. The mystery is a device to make you engage, not a hidden formula.

The famous quote

The line everyone remembers sums up the whole book: “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” It’s the seed of decades of goal-setting and “law of attraction” thinking that followed.

An honest look

Read it with a critical eye. Think and Grow Rich is a product of 1937, and it mixes genuinely useful ideas — clear goals, planning, persistence, surrounding yourself with sharp people — with mysticism and pseudoscience like “vibrations” and the sixth sense. Some of Hill’s backstory, including the scale of his Carnegie collaboration, has never been verified. Keep the practical psychology of purpose and persistence; take the metaphysics with a large grain of salt.

The real takeaway

Strip away the 1937 mysticism and you’re left with something durable: decide exactly what you want, put a number and a date on it, make a plan, and refuse to quit. That combination of definiteness and persistence is why the book still sells and why its DNA runs through almost every goal-setting system since.

The verdict

Think and Grow Rich is a foundational text more than a modern how-to. It’s worth reading to see where the entire success-and-mindset genre began — just filter the woo and keep the parts about desire, planning, and persistence.

Think and Grow Rich FAQ

What is the main point of Think and Grow Rich?

That wealth begins in the mind. Hill argues “thoughts are things” — a burning desire backed by faith, a definite plan, and persistence turns thought into money. The book is a system for programming your own mind toward a specific financial goal.

What are the 6 rules of Think and Grow Rich?

They’re Hill’s six steps to turn desire into money: fix the exact amount you want, decide what you’ll give for it, set a definite date, make a plan and start now, write all four in a statement, and read it aloud twice daily while believing you already have it.

What are the 13 steps of Think and Grow Rich?

Desire, faith, autosuggestion, specialized knowledge, imagination, organized planning, decision, persistence, the Master Mind, sex transmutation, the subconscious mind, the brain, and the sixth sense. Each is a principle Hill claims separates the rich from everyone else.

What is the secret of Think and Grow Rich?

Hill never names it directly — by design. Read plainly, the secret is definiteness of purpose combined with burning desire and belief: know exactly what you want, want it intensely, and act as if it’s already yours. He hides it to make you engage with the idea.

Is Think and Grow Rich worth reading?

Yes, as a foundational classic. Its goal-setting and persistence advice still holds up, but it’s from 1937 and mixes in mysticism and unverified claims. Read it critically: keep the psychology of purpose and effort, and leave the metaphysics.

Get the book: Find Think and Grow Rich on Amazon →
As an Amazon Associate, Millionaires Books earns from qualifying purchases.

More on wealth and mindset: our money mindset books and best books to build wealth.