Ah, the 1990s..

It seems like a different age!

Back then I was a copywriter at a newsletter publishing company on Regents Street.

We’d send out promotional packages by post – bulky things that contained pamphlets, letters, return envelopes and even free books.

Then we’d wait eagerly in the mail room the following week to see the first order coupons coming back.

At that time, the direct mail industry was exploding in the UK – and we were right at the forefront of it.

Our company grew so fast, we recruited new staff members almost monthly, most of them in their twenties, some fresh out of University.

Whenever a new person arrived in the office, we’d give them a book called Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Have you ever read it?

I’m sure you’ve at least heard of it, as it’s a classic that’s sold more than 100 million copies since it was first published in 1937.

I first came across this book in the mid-1990s.

Despite its shouty title, dated language and old fashioned worldview, it ignited my entrepreneurial fire.

In fact, I thought it was so amazing that we bought box loads of them at the publishing company.

All new employees were told to read it, along with Dale Carnegie’s classic How To Win Friends & Influence People.

We hoped it would inspire them to strive for better things in their life and careers – and, of course, motivate them to help our business grow.

However, I doubt if many new recruits actually read it…

I mean, would a cool London-based creative twenty-something be caught reading Think and Grow Rich on the tube?

(Bear in mind, this was before Kindles or Smartphones allowed you to read anything you liked in public, guilt-free!)

However, if I were working for that company today I’d still recommend that staff read this book.

Because there’s a lot you can gain from it.

Okay, yes, it was published way back in the Thirties… and some elements are VERY dated.

But the core lessons are timeless.

What Napoleon Hill’s Book Can Teach You In the Digital Age

When Think and Grow Rich was published, the world was in the shadow of the Great Depression.

Hill was an American who was – like millions of others – seriously down on his luck.

After the Wall Street Crash he’d gone broke and sold his home, forcing his wife’s family to pay their expenses.

In 1930 he wrote a book called The Magic Ladder to Success which, ironically, became a commercial failure.

He then tried out all sorts of short-lived business ventures…

But eventually he struck gold with Think and Grow Rich, which became a global bestseller.

Although Hill came from the pre-internet age, I’m sure you can identify with some aspects of his story.

After all, we live in a time of rising living costs, economic uncertainty and social strife in the wake of the Covid pandemic, Brexit and war in Ukraine.

And like Hill, you also strive to make a better life for yourself and your loved ones.

This is why, beneath the old-fashioned language and occasional detours into mysticism, the book contains principles that hold up today.

Let’s take a look at some of them…

1. Purpose

Hill says that you should focus on what you really want from your life.

But a vague idea like “I want to get rich” or “I want to make money online” is not enough.

You need to be specific.

Ask yourself, what is your ultimate goal?

And what do you want your life to look like in real terms, when you achieve it?

For instance, “I want an extra £1,000 a month within the next 6 months, without quitting my job, so that I can cover all my bills and debts.”

Or, “I want to make £70,000 after tax that I can use to pay off my mortgage, so that I can retire comfortably in 5 years’ time.”

When you have a clear earnings goal and an achievable time frame, you can focus all your efforts on it.

This should stop you from chasing random side-quests, getting distracted by shiny tools and becoming bogged down by half-finished projects.

2. Belief

For Hill, belief isn’t about blind positive thinking and hoping that everything will work out.

Instead it’s having conviction that – if you stick with the plan long enough – you will eventually see results.

This prevents you from giving up at the first hurdle.

After all, nothing that’s worthwhile comes easily.

Your sales promotion might fail… your webinar might get disappointing numbers… or you might struggle to get your first followers on social media.

Those setbacks are horrible, but they’re part of the process.

So you need to believe in the long-term plan.

This means accepting knockbacks but focussing on the small successes and celebrating them.

If you can see even a tiny bit of progress – more opened emails, more website clicks, a surge in social media followers – you’re far more likely to keep going.

3. Autosuggestion

Hill’s ‘autosuggestion’ sounds a little mystical, but what he’s really talking about is reframing how you see yourself.

If you tell yourself, “I’m just trying this out,” or “I’m hoping to start a business” you’re building doubt into your self-view.

However, if you think: “I run a newsletter”, “I publish online” you build success into your self-view.

Modern scientific studies also show that affirmations like these help you perform better at tasks and become more resilient to knock-backs.

But you don’t have to perform affirmations in the mirror.

Just be aware of the internal language you use to describe yourself.

Try to think in terms of “I am” or “I have”, rather than “will be” or “hope to be”.

For example, “I am confident” instead of “I will be confident”.

Over time, you will re-condition your mindset, and this will change your behaviour in the real world.

4. Specialised Knowledge

Hill says that to succeed you don’t need to be cleverer than everyone else.

You don’t need to know everything, or learn lots of skills.

You just need to specialise in something.

By narrowing your focus, you can more easily become competent at something new – and even master it.

Just try and get really good at one or two things.

That might be:

• writing email newsletters
• researching Amazon products
• driving visitors to a website from social media
• understanding a specific field or sector.

When you get the hang of one thing, and do it well, you can then move onto something else.

5. Imagination

Imagination is one of those things that a lot of people say they don’t have.

But Hill points out most ‘new’ ideas aren’t new at all.

They’re usually just combinations of old ideas, given a twist, or delivered in a new way.

For example taking a classic offline business model and moving it online… applying a successful product idea to a totally different audience… or adding an extra benefit to a proven service.

This means that it’s possible for anyone to ‘imagine’ a new business.

Rather than waiting for a bolt of lightning to strike you with a genius idea, simply look at what’s out there already and adapt it.

AI makes this easier because you can feed it with existing ideas, research and studies… then ask it to come up with multiple dozens of angles for you!

6. Organised Planning

Hill argues that relying purely on self-motivation will doom you, as even the most driven person will run out of steam.

Instead you need to put in place a proper plan.

That means setting goals, prioritising tasks and scheduling time to carry them out.

In doing this, you’ll overcome those inevitable days where you feel uninspired, demotivated and distracted.

7. Decision-Making

Too many people wait to act until they think everything is perfect.

So they delay, dither and procrastinate.

The secret is to realise that there’s no perfect time to start a business or launch a product…. and there’s no need for everything to be 100% perfect.

Put together something that you can test ASAP, and then get it out there!

Better to tweak and improve it later than to wait so long that you miss the opportunity altogether.

8. Persistence

The biggest threat in the digital age is the endless distraction we face every day.

There are so many calls for your attention on your phone and computer, and so many shiny new tools to try!

Hill recommends that you settle upon a goal and then stick to the plan until you get a result.

9. Masterminds

Hill talks about the benefits of joining a ‘mastermind’ group.

But he doesn’t mean some covert secret society.

He means spending time around people who are building things, achieving goals and doing something significant with their lives.

That could mean following inspirational people on social media… subscribing to smart newsletters.. watching an expert’s video channel… joining webinars… going to events… or being part of online forums and groups.

These are the people who will help you grow.

Read Hill’s Book Today and See For Yourself!

Our world might have changed since 1937….

In fact, it has changed dramatically even since I first read Think & Grow Rich in 1997!

But when you remove the 1930s language, many of the core principles still apply today.

So if you haven’t come across it before, Hill’s book is well worth dipping into.

I’m actually re-reading my old 1990s paperback copy at the moment.

But if you fancy checking it out yourself, I’ve found a free copy online here.

Read it and see what you think!