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Napoleon Hill: Think and Grow RichNapoleon Hill is a familiar name to many of us through his book Think and Grow Rich, which is one of the most successful books of all time. (Join my Money Angels Book Club to get your free copy.) Hill only died in 1970, so his writing still feels very contemporary and his approach is very modern. 
I find that I am always deeply moved in reading the life stories of people like Napoleon Hill, who began life in abject poverty. When you know this, these people seem more human and vulnerable, just like the rest of us. The wisdom that they shared with the world was hard won for them. I think this is why it has such a ring of truth to it----when they talk about creating wealth and success out of nothing but your own resources, they are telling their own stories. They experienced the greatest of challenges and rose to meet those challenges in exceptional ways. Hill was born in a one-room cabin in Virginia. His mother died when he was only ten and he was a troubled young teenager. However, his independent spirit led him to start working as a reporter for a local paper when he was thirteen, displaying the self-motivation he would later advocate to others. He went on to earn his living as a journalist and put himself though law school. However, it was an assignment to write a series about successful business people that changed his life. He met Andrew Carnegie, who employed him to formulate a philosophy of success and analyse why the majority of people fail to build the lives they wish for. This became his life's work and his great legacy to us. During this time, Hill interviewed no less than 500 self-made millionaires, who shared how they had achieved wealth and success against the odds. Hill's central thesis is that people must be free to believe what they want to believe. This makes anything possible. He loved 'the American way', because the idea of the individual in pursuit of The Dream, tallied with his own approach to life. His philosophy was one of Achievement, regardless of obstacles of race, class, or economic situation. Personal responsibility is a cornerstone of his teachings----we have the power to alter our circumstances and excuses are not relevant. If you can dream of a better life, then you can make it for yourself---regardless. "Whatever your mind can conceive and believe it can achieve," is one of his best known quotes.
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