Few books have the potential to put Christians in a theological chokehold, quite like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This book is more than just a best-seller. It’s the entrepreneur’s gospel, the self-help holy grail, the self-improvement manifesto, and, believe it or not, the sacred scripture of a 1930s secret cult. It has influenced millions of people and celebrities all around the world, giving credit to this book and its concepts for changing their lives. There are a lot of very good and true things to say about challenging ourselves to become more motivated and successful. There’s no doubt that Think and Grow Rich contains valuable insights about motivation and success—concepts that have genuinely helped many, including Christians. But is that all there is to this man and this book? Is there more lurking behind these motivational messages? I believe the answer is an emphatic yes. By the end of this video, I hope to convince you of the deeper, more complex reality behind the man and the message.
It took me months to put this video together. To prepare, I re-read Think and Grow Rich, watched the film adaptation (yes, that’s a thing), and followed the Napoleon Hill Institute on Instagram, engaging with their content regularly. I dove into Hill’s other works, consumed documentaries and videos about him, and I was also an avid follower of the New Thought beliefs held by Napoleon Hill, so I see him and this book with different eyes.
I think it’s either crazy or awesome (or both) that you all like staring at a screen, listening to my face talk for over two hours. It takes a LOT of work, sometimes months, to put these videos together
“The Law of Attraction is JEWISH Kabbalah Witchcraft”
Timestamps:
0:00- Intro
05:02- Part 1: Who is Napoleon Hill?
47:21- Part 2: Think and Grow Rich
1:26:14- Part 3: What is Napoleon Hill’s Spirituality?
1:58:57- Part 4: But… This WORKS/HELPS me!
2:17:41- Conclusion
Napoleon Hill is arguably the most influential business writer of the past century, he’s almost single-handedly responsible for the core ideas behind the billion dollar self-help / business coaching community. He originated the idea of “masterminds”, and his story, at first blush is the stuff of American legend. However under scrutiny, his convenient story looks more like the delusional ramblings of a Con-man.