Recommended by: WiseSuit Staff 

In 1908 Napoleon Hill accepted a challenge from Andrew Carnegie to write down success principles and make them available to everyone. He spent the next 20 years studying and interviewing successful people while testing the principles to make himself a success.

In 1927, he published Law of Success. His classic book Think and Grow Rich is based on this more elaborate Law of Success. Note that the title is not Laws of Success, instead it's Law of Success. Hill discovered, and Carnegie reiterated, that although there were 17 principles, there was one secret, one law, to success that formed the foundation of every one of these principles. You'll find it hidden in plain view in every chapter.

Almost all current bestsellers in the personal success genre like 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey were inspired by this seminal work.

Whether or not you have the original, this compilation of 4 volumes does exactly what it's intended to do. It updates the original version by interjecting stories and comments from recent people and events, which makes it more relevant.

This book has helped many on their road to success. Even William Wrigley, Jr., Founder of the Wrigley Company credits his success to Napoleon Hill: "Whatever success I may have attained I owe, entirely, to the application of your 17 fundamental principles of the Law of Success.  I believe I have the honor of being your first student."

So what are the 17 fundamental principles? They are:

1. Definiteness of Purpose
2. Mastermind Alliance
3. Applied Faith
4. Going the Extra Mile
5. Pleasing Personality
6. Personal Initiative
7. Positive Mental Attitude
8. Enthusiasm
9. Self-Discipline
10. Accurate Thinking
11. Controlled Attention
12. Teamwork
13. Adversity and Defeat
14. Creative Vision
15. Maintenance of Sound Health
16. Budgeting Time and Money
17. Cosmic Habit Force

Although Hill interviewed thousands of hugely successful individuals from so many different walks of life, he discovered that they all, in one form or the other, shared this common trait: They each consciously or unconsciously nurtured each of these 17 principles in their lives. 

This is not a book to read once; it's a reference piece to revisit again and again on your path to success. It is a must-have in every success library.

A few quotes from the book:

"When your desires are strong enough you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve."

"Through some strange and powerful principle of mental chemistry which she has never divulged, nature wraps up in the impulse of strong desire, that something which recognizes no such word as impossible, and accepts no such reality as failure."

"Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything."

"The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat."

"Indecision is the seedling of fear."

About the Author:

Napoleon Hill, October 26, 1883-November 8, 1970, was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich, is one of the best-selling books of all time.

Categories:  Leadership ,  Biography,  Personal Growth