From Thought to Reality

During the COVID lockdown, I started reading books. I hadn’t been much of a reader before that time. I began exploring different books, and after some time, I realized that everyone was recommending Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. After a couple of months of procrastination, I finally decided to read it and see what it was all about.

In the introduction to the book, there is a part that says, “There is a secret that has been mentioned no more than a few hundred times. You may receive it in the first or the last chapter—if you are ready for it.”

Surprisingly, the secret didn’t come to me while reading the book or even right after finishing it—it came to me a couple of years later. Before sharing the secret with you, I would like to tell you an interesting story.

A long time ago, there was an actor named Bruce Lee. Some of you may have heard of him and watched his movies. He was known for his incredible martial arts films. A couple of years before achieving his dreams, he was working in a restaurant. Apparently, working there was not part of his dream. This became evident from a note he wrote, titled My Definite Chief Aim, which he personally signed.

If you read the second chapter of Think and Grow Rich, you will see that Bruce Lee followed the exact formula laid out in the book. When I came across his Definite Chief Aim, I realized what the secret was. As Napoleon Hill mentioned, you should read your writing at least twice a day to reinforce your vision and keep your mind focused on achieving it. Doing so keeps your mind engaged with your aim, and you must think about it at least twice a day.

From my understanding of Napoleon Hill’s book, the process unfolds as follows: When you have a dream, goal, or desire—anything you wish to accomplish in life—it first exists as an idea or a thought. It is in your mind, and some may even believe it already exists in the physical world because they are thinking about it. However, let’s assume it is not yet in the physical realm since you cannot see or touch it. But when you write it down on paper, you bring the thought into reality.

This is the very first step discussed in the book, as demonstrated by Bruce Lee. The next step is to develop a burning desire for its achievement. R. H. Jarrett, in his little red book It Works!, referred to something you earnestly desire. You must think about it frequently throughout the day while actively working toward it.

The secret is: Think and Grow Rich is mostly about how you think about your goals. More importantly, it is about how you think about yourself. 

Bob Proctor, in The Secret documentary, pointed to his brain and said, “If you can see it here, you can hold it in your hands.”