My Favorite Quotes from Think and Grow Rich
Timeless wisdom from Napoleon Hill's 1937 classic
"The starting point of all achievement is desire. The finishing point is that brand of knowledge which leads to understanding—understanding of self, understanding of others, understanding of the laws of nature, recognition and understanding of happiness." - Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich (p. 255)
I started reading Think and Grow Rich in July 2024, making my way through it fairly slowly because I was also reading manuscripts for work and building up my business. Now that we are in July 2025, I think this is a good time to share about this book and look back at my main take-aways. TAGR is a classic and I know I will return to these notes which highlight my favorite quotes and takeaways—things that resonate with what I already know as well.
This book was published in 1937 and it's interesting to think about how many of these beliefs and paradigms are common knowledge in popular culture now—such as the power of positive thinking, the power of the subconscious, etc. I wonder how much of that influence has roots in this book, which had sold more than 20 million copies by Hill's death in 1970 and over 100 million copies by 2015 (Raptis Rare Books, 2022), is considered the most read self-help book of all time (Napoleon Hill Foundation, 2018).
Chapter 1: Introduction - The Power of Readiness
"When one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance" (p. 15).
This quote from psychologists that Hill references really resonates. Barnes was ready for a business association with Edison, and moreover, he was determined to remain ready until he got that which he was seeking.
"Barnes literally thought himself into a partnership with the great Edison! He thought himself into a fortune. He had nothing to start with, except the capacity to know what he wanted and the determination to stand by that desire until he realized it. He had no money to begin with. He had little education. He had no influence. But he did have initiative, faith, and the will to win. With these intangible forces, he made himself number one man with the greatest inventor who ever lived" (p. 16).
"When Henley wrote the prophetic lines 'I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul,' he should have informed us that we are the masters of our fate, the captains of our souls because we have the power to control our thoughts. He should have told us that the ether in which this little earth floats, in which we move and have our being, is a form of energy, moving at an inconceivably high rate of vibration, and that the ether is filled with a form of universal power, which adapts itself to the nature of the thoughts we hold in our minds; and influences us, in natural ways, to transmute our thoughts into their physical equivalent" (p. 24).
Chapter 2: Desire - The Foundation of Achievement
"Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence, which does not recognize failure, will bring riches" (p. 32).
Hill provides six definite practical steps for transmuting desire into financial equivalent, which I found incredibly actionable and specific.
One of my favorite quotes from this chapter:
"Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success" (p. 35).
And this beautiful passage about dreams:
"The greatest achievement was, at first, and for a time, but a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn. The bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul, a wakening angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of reality" (p. 37).
Hill also offers this encouragement:
"You have been disappointed, you have undergone defeat during the depression, you have felt the great heart within you crushed until it bled. Take courage, for these experiences have tempered the spiritual metal of which you are made—they are assets of incomparable value" (p. 37).
"No one is ready for a thing, until he believes he can acquire it. The state of mind must be belief, not hope or wish. Open-mindedness is essential for belief" (p. 39).
Chapter 3: Faith - The Visualization of Desire
"Faith is a state of mind which may be induced, or created, by affirmation or repeated instructions to the subconscious mind, through the principle of autosuggestion" (p. 52).
"The emotions of faith, love and sex, when mixed with any thought impulse, give it greater action than any of these emotions can do singly" (p. 53).
"Faith is the element, the 'chemical' which, when mixed with prayer, gives one direct communication with infinite intelligence" (p. 55).
One of the most empowering quotes from the entire book:
"There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge" (p. 71).
Chapter 4: Autosuggestion - Mastering the Subconscious
"Man may become the master of himself, and of his environment, because he has the power to influence his own subconscious mind, and through it, gain the cooperation of infinite intelligence" (p. 79).
Chapter 5: Specialized Knowledge - The Power of Application
"Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action, and directed to a definite end" (p. 81).
Chapter 6: Imagination - The Workshop of the Mind
"Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes. Ideas are products of the imagination" (p. 102).
Chapter 8: Decision - Conquering Procrastination
"Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth. Everyone has a flock of opinions, ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept them" (p. 162).
"Keep your eyes and ears wide open—and your mouth closed, if you wish to acquire the habit of prompt decision" (p. 163).
"Tell the world what you intend to do, but first show it. This is the equivalent of saying that 'deeds, and not words, are what count most'" (p. 164).
Chapter 9: Persistence - The Sustained Effort for Success
"With persistence will come success" (p. 178).
"Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage" (p. 179).
"The time to nurse an idea is at the time of its birth. Every minute it lives, gives it a better chance of surviving" (p. 185).
Chapter 10: The Master Mind - The Driving Force
"No two minds ever come together, without, thereby creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to a third mind" (p. 187).
Chapter 11: The Mystery of Sex Transmutation
This chapter particularly resonated with me because physical transmutation of creative energy has been a powerful learning curve in my later 20s.
"The emotion of sex has back of it the possibility of three constructive potentialities: (1) the perpetuation of mankind, (2) the maintenance of health as a therapeutic agency, (3) the transformation of mediocrity into genius through transmutation" (p. 203).
"Seldom does an individual enter upon highly creative effort in any field of endeavor before the age of 40... The years between 40 and 50 are, as a rule, the most fruitful. Man should approach this age, not with fear and trembling, but with hope and eager anticipation" (p. 219).
"Reformation comes, if at all, through the heart, or the emotional side of man, not through his head, or reasoning side" (p. 219).
💗 And here's the quote that really struck me, appearing on page 222 (which I think is no coincidence—222 is my angel-love number, and I met my husband in 2022): 💗
"Memories of love never pass. They linger, guide, and influence long after the source of stimulation has faded. There is nothing new in this. Every person, who has been moved by genuine love, knows that it leaves enduring traces upon the human heart. The effect of love endures, because love is spiritual in nature" (p. 222).
"There should be no disappointment over love, and there would be none if people understood the difference between the emotions of love and sex. The major difference is that love is spiritual, while sex is biological... Love is, without question, life's greatest experience. It brings one into communion with infinite intelligence" (p. 223).
Chapter 12: The Subconscious Mind - The Connecting Link
"The subconscious mind is the intermediary, which translates one's prayers into terms which infinite intelligence can recognize, presents the message, and brings back the answer in the form of a definite plan or idea for procuring the object of the prayer" (p. 234).
Chapter 13: The Brain - A Broadcasting Station
"The subconscious mind is the 'sending station' of the brain, through which vibrations of thought are broadcast. The creative imagination is the 'receiving set,' through which the vibrations of thought are picked up from the ether" (p. 238).
Chapter 14: The Sixth Sense - The Door to Wisdom
"This much the author does know—that there is a power, or a first cause, or an intelligence, which permeates every atom of matter, and embraces every unit of energy perceptible to man—that this infinite intelligence converts acorns into oak trees, causes water to flow downhill in response to the law of gravity, follows night with day, and winter with summer, each maintaining its proper place and relationship to the other" (p. 246).
"My experience has taught me that the next best thing to being truly great, is to emulate the great, by feeling and action, as nearly as possible" (p. 247).
"The starting point of all achievement is desire. The finishing point is that brand of knowledge which leads to understanding—understanding of self, understanding of others, understanding of the laws of nature, recognition and understanding of happiness" (p. 255).
Chapter 15: How to Outwit the Six Ghosts of Fear
"Criticism is the one form of service, of which everyone has too much. Everyone has a stock of it, which is handed out, gratis, whether called for or not. One's nearest relatives are often the worst offenders" (p. 268).
"Life is energy, if it is anything. Neither energy nor matter can be destroyed. Of course, life cannot be destroyed. Life, like other forms of energy, may pass through various processes of transition or change, but it cannot be destroyed. Death is merely transition" (p. 277).
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed reading Think and Grow Rich because I was able to recognize timeless principles that continue to influence personal development thinking today, and I was happily surprised to see them so clearly written and studied in the 1930s. The quotes I shared display the concepts that most resonated with me—the power of desire, the importance of faith, the role of the subconscious mind, and especially the spiritual nature of love and its transformative power. The synchronicity of finding that particular quote about love on page 222 felt like a beautiful confirmation of the book's message about the universe responding to our readiness and awareness.
I hope you enjoyed this post, dear reader. Please share it with others you think will enjoy these timeless insights from Napoleon Hill's classic work.
P.S. In other news, my first book process is processing. 🧚🏻
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