“Man’s only limitation, within reason, lies in his development and use of his imagination.”
– Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill wrote his book “Think and Grow Rich” almost 100 years ago (1937) and his principles are still as valid today as they were back then.
It is one of the best books ever written and if you want to be successful in life, this is THE ONE to read!
This book was written during a period of 20-years (before internet and cheap flights etc….), whilst Napoleon was researching and interviewing 500 of the most successful people in the world. The likes of: Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Charles M. Schwab, Andrew Carnegie etc. Andrew Carnegie was the inspirational source behind the idea but unfortunately he did not live to see the finished work of Napoleons great efforts.
My intention here is to give you a short summary of what his principles are but also my personal reflections followed with some action points, but before we start, let’s read one of Hill’s famous quotes on success:
“No one may achieve success without first knowing precisely what he wants. Study any person who is known to be a permanent success and you will find that he has a Definite Major Goal; he has a plan for the attainment of this goal; he devotes the major portion of his thoughts and his efforts to the attainment of this purpose.”
– Napoleon Hill
Hill’s main principles for success:
- Burning Desire
- Faith
- Autosuggestion
- Specialized Knowledge
- Imagination
- Organized Planning
- Decision
- Persistence
- Power of the Mastermind
- The Mystery of Sex Transmutation
- The Subconscious Mind
- The Brain
- The Sixth Sense
Principle 5: Imagination
Mr Hill divides imagination into two parts:
Synthetic Imagination: Through this faculty, one may arrange old concepts, ideas, or plans into new combinations. This faculty creates nothing. It merely works with the material of experience, education, and observation with which it is fed. It is the faculty used most by the inventor, with the exception of the ones who draw upon the creative imagination, when he cannot solve his problem through synthetic imagination.
Creative Imagination: Through the faculty of creative imagination, the finite mind of man has direct communication with Infinite Intelligence. It is the faculty through which “hunches” and “inspirations” are received. It is by this faculty that all basic, or new ideas are handed over to man.
Imagination is they key to any success as everything we ever accomplish starts with a single idea. Hill is very clear that this is not specific to any one person, sector, race, geographical area etc. There are no boundaries and we can all use our imagination both in our own favor and to serve others. One can only start where one stands and regardless of where that is, there is an abundance of opportunities if one uses his or her creative faculties.
“If you do not see great riches in your imagination, you will never see them in your bank balance.”
My reflections and take on the principle of Imagination:
We can all just close our eyes and see whatever we want. Some ideas might feel more far fetched than others but at the same time we know that there are few limitations within us. Thanks to the internet we are bombarded with extraordinary people and their accomplishments. I don’t think there is any reason to think that we as individuals can’t accomplish whatever it is that we think about. We have no other limitations than the ones we impose on ourselves.
Sure there might be things that seem “impossible” but only until someone does it and all of a sudden, the impossible has become possible! We can all be that person who makes it possible. Of course it will take a lot (and more), hence why most people would say it is impossible just because they would never do it themselves.
I am trying to constantly use my imagination using both faculties. When I am alone as well as when spending time with certain friends with whom I have a great creative connection and ideas and solutions just flow without effort. The creative imagination that Hill is talking about is harder to achieve and I personally think that one has to be extremely grounded and aware of ones body and emotions to reach this level of imagination. Most of us use our previous experiences to imagine things and most likely that means we impose limitations to our thinking.
Most of us who live today have access to so much information via our phones and computers. When Hill wrote his book after decades of research, there were no mobile phones with internet! The motion pictures were more or less new… Us having access to a mastermind via Mr Google is truly unique and if used wisely, we have all the information we can possibly need to accomplish anything we wish. The internet and social media in particular (where we see all kinds of amazing accomplishments taking place) has expanded our creativity to a level I don’t think even Mr Hill could have imagined, had he still been alive.
Your brain is the most precious asset you have, nurture it, challenge it and consistently use it’s power of imagination to picture what and how things could be and how you could live your life if you truly wanted to (make sure you have a big enough why).
If anyone else can do it, so can you, because if you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand!
Actions to take:
- Set your visions and goals – Click here
- Vision Board – why you must have one
- Vision Board – how to create one
- Brainwash yourself it works wonder and I use this every day!
- Burning Desire – why?
- Create momentum by using this simple process on a daily basis
– Jakob
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