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Think and Grow Rich
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
THE MAN WHO "THOUGHT" HIS WAY INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH THOMAS A. EDISON
TRULY, "thoughts are things," and powerful things at that, when they
are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING
DESIRE for their translation into riches, or other material objects. A
little more than thirty years ago, Edwin C. Barnes discovered how true
it is that men really do THINK AND GROW RICH. His discovery did not
come about at one sitting. It came little by little, beginning with a
BURNING DESIRE to become a business associate of the great Edison. One
of the chief characteristics of Barnes' Desire was that it was
definite. He wanted to work with Edison, not for him. Observe,
carefully, the description of how he went about translating his DESIRE
into reality, and you will have a better understanding of the thirteen
principles which lead to riches.
When this DESIRE, or impulse of thought, first flashed into his mind
he was in no position to act upon it. Two difficulties stood in his
way. He did not know Mr. Edison, and he did not have enough money to
pay his railroad fare to Orange, New Jersey. These difficulties were
sufficient to have discouraged the majority of men from making any
attempt to carry out the desire. But his was no ordinary desire! He
was so determined to find a way to carry out his desire that he
finally decided to travel by "blind baggage," rather than be defeated.
(To the uninitiated, this means that he went to East Orange on a
freight train).
He presented himself at Mr. Edison's laboratory, and announced he had
come to go into business with the inventor. In speaking of the first
meeting between Barnes and Edison, years later, Mr. Edison said, "He
stood there before me, looking like an ordinary tramp, but there was
something in the expression of his face which conveyed the impression
that he was determined to get what he had come after. I had learned,
from years of experience with men, that when a man really DESIRES a
thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future on a
single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win. I gave
him the opportunity he asked for, because I saw he had made up his
mind to stand by until he succeeded. Subsequent events proved that no
mistake was made." Just what young Barnes said to Mr. Edison on that
occasion was far less important than that which he thought. Edison,
himself, said so! It could not have been the young man's appearance
which got him his start in the Edison office, for that was definitely
against him. It was what he THOUGHT that counted.
If the significance of this statement could be conveyed to every
person who reads it, there would be no need for the remainder of this
book. Barnes did not get his partnership with Edison on his first
interview. He did get a chance to work in the Edison offices, at a
very nominal wage, doing work that was unimportant to Edison, but most
important to Barnes, because it gave him an opportunity to display his
"merchandise" where his intended "partner" could see it.
Months went by. Apparently nothing happened to bring the coveted goal
which Barnes had set up in his mind as his DEFINITE MAJOR PURPOSE. But
something important was happening in Barnes' mind. He was constantly
intensifying his DESIRE to become the business associate of Edison.
Psychologists have correctly said that "when one is truly ready for a
thing, it puts in its appearance."
Barnes was ready for a business association with Edison, moreover, he
was DETERMINED TO REMAIN READY UNTIL HE GOT THAT WHICH HE WAS SEEKING.
He did not say to himself, "Ah well, what's the use? I guess I'll
change my mind and try for a salesman's job." But, he did say, "I came
here to go into business with Edison, and I'll accomplish this end if
it takes the remainder of my life." He meant it! What a different
story men would have to tell if only they would adopt a DEFINITE
PURPOSE, and stand by that purpose until it had time to become an
all-consuming obsession! Maybe young Barnes did not know it at the
time, but his bulldog determination, his persistence in standing back
of a single DESIRE, was destined to mow down all opposition, and bring
him the opportunity he was seeking.
When the opportunity came, it appeared in a different form, and from a
different direction than Barnes had expected. That is one of the
tricks of opportunity. It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back
door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or
temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize
opportunity. Mr. Edison had just perfected a new office device, known
at that time, as the Edison Dictating Machine (now the Ediphone). His
salesmen were not enthusiastic over the machine. They did not believe
it could be sold without great effort. Barnes saw his opportunity. It
had crawled in quietly, hidden in a queer looking machine which
interested no one but Barnes and the inventor.
Barnes knew he could sell the Edison Dictating Machine. He suggested
this to Edison, and promptly got his chance. He did sell the machine.
In fact, he sold it so successfully that Edison gave him a contract to
distribute and market it all over the nation. Out of that business
association grew the slogan, "Made by Edison and installed by Barnes."
The business alliance has been in operation for more than thirty
years. Out of it Barnes has made himself rich in money, but he has
done something infinitely greater, he has proved that one really may
"Think and Grow Rich." How much actual cash that original DESIRE of
Barnes' has been worth to him,
I have no way of knowing. Perhaps it has brought him two or three
million dollars, but the amount, whatever it is, becomes insignificant
when compared with the greater asset he acquired in the form of
definite knowledge that an intangible impulse of thought can be
transmuted into its physical counterpart by the application of known
principles. 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 but 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. Now, let us look at a different
situation, and study a man who had plenty of tangible evidence of
riches, but lost it, because he stopped three feet short of the goal
he was seeking.
THREE FEET FROM GOLD
One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when
one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this
mistake at one time or another.
An uncle of R. U. Darby was caught by the "gold fever" in the
gold-rush days, and went west to DIG AND GROW RICH. He had never heard
that more gold has been mined from the brains of men than has ever
been taken from the earth. He staked a claim and went to work with
pick and shovel. The going was hard, but his lust for gold was
definite.
After weeks of labor, he was rewarded by the discovery of the shining
ore. He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. Quietly, he
covered up the mine, retraced his footsteps to his home in
Williamsburg, Maryland, told his relatives and a few neighbors of the
"strike." They got together money for the needed machinery, had it
shipped. The uncle and Darby went back to work the mine.
The first car of ore was mined, and shipped to a smelter. The returns
proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars
of that ore would clear the debts. Then would come the big killing in
profits. Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle!
Then something happened! The vein of gold ore disappeared! They had
come to the end of the rainbow, and the pot of gold was no longer
there! They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again
-- all to no avail. Finally, they decided to QUIT.
They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars, and
took the train back home. Some "junk" men are dumb, but not this one!
He called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little
calculating. The engineer advised that the project had failed, because
the owners were not familiar with "fault lines." His calculations
showed that the vein would be found JUST THREE FEET FROM WHERE THE
DARBYS HAD STOPPED DRILLING! That is exactly where it was found!
The "Junk" man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine, because
he knew enough to seek expert counsel before giving up. Most of the
money which went into the machinery was procured through the efforts
of R. U. Darby, who was then a very young man. The money came from his
relatives and neighbors, because of their faith in him. He paid back
every dollar of it, although he was years in doing so. Long afterward,
Mr. Darby recouped his loss many times over, when he made the
discovery that DESIRE can be transmuted into gold. The discovery came
after he went into the business of selling life insurance.
Remembering that he lost a huge fortune, because he STOPPED three feet
from gold, Darby profited by the experience in his chosen work, by the
simple method of saying to himself, "I stopped three feet from gold,
but I will never stop because men say 'no' when I ask them to buy
insurance." Darby is one of a small group of fewer than fifty men who
sell more than a million dollars in life insurance annually. He owes
his "stickability" to the lesson he learned from his "quitability" in
the gold mining business.
Before success comes in any man's life, he is sure to meet with much
temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a
man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to QUIT. That is
exactly what the majority of men do.
More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has
ever known, told the author their greatest success came just one step
beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them. Failure is a
trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great
delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.
A FIFTY-CENT LESSON IN PERSISTENCE
Shortly after Mr. Darby received his degree from the "University of
Hard Knocks," and had decided to profit by his experience in the gold
mining business, he had the good fortune to be present on an occasion
that proved to him that "No" does not necessarily mean no.
One afternoon he was helping his uncle grind wheat in an old fashioned
mill.
The uncle operated a large farm on which a number of colored sharecrop
farmers lived. Quietly, the door was opened, and a small colored
child, the daughter of a tenant, walked in and 23 24 took her place
near the door. The uncle looked up, saw the child, and barked at her
roughly, "what do you want?"
Meekly, the child replied, "My mammy say send her fifty cents." "I'll
not do it," the uncle retorted, "Now you run on home." "Yas sah," the
child replied. But she did not move. The uncle went ahead with his
work, so busily engaged that he did not pay enough attention to the
child to observe that she did not leave. When he looked up and saw her
still standing there, he yelled at her, "I told you to go on home! Now
go, or I'll take a switch to you."
The little girl said "yas sah," but she did not budge an inch.
The uncle dropped a sack of grain he was about to pour into the mill
hopper, picked up a barrel stave, and started toward the child with an
expression on his face that indicated trouble.
Darby held his breath. He was certain he was about to witness a
murder. He knew his uncle had a fierce temper. He knew that colored
children were not supposed to defy white people in that part of the
country. When the uncle reached the spot where the child was standing,
she quickly stepped forward one step, looked up into his eyes, and
screamed at the top of her shrill voice, "MY MAMMY'S GOTTA HAVE THAT
FIFTY CENTS!"
The uncle stopped, looked at her for a minute, then slowly laid the
barrel stave on the floor, put his hand in his pocket, took out half a
dollar, and gave it to her.
The child took the money and slowly backed toward the door, never
taking her eyes off the man whom she had just conquered. After she had
gone, the uncle sat down on a box and looked out the window into space
for more than ten minutes. He was pondering, with awe, over the
whipping he had just taken. Mr. Darby, too, was doing some thinking.
That was the first time in all his experience that he had seen a
colored child deliberately master an adult white person. How did she
do it? What happened to his uncle that caused him to lose his
fierceness and become as docile as a lamb? What strange power did this
child use that made her master over her superior? These and other
similar questions flashed into Darby's mind, but he did not find the
answer until years later, when he told me the story.
Strangely, the story of this unusual experience was told to the author
in the old mill, on the very spot where the uncle took his whipping.
Strangely, too, I had devoted nearly a quarter of a century to the
study of the power which enabled an ignorant, illiterate colored child
to conquer an intelligent man.
As we stood there in that musty old mill, Mr. Darby repeated the story
of the unusual conquest, and finished by asking, "What can you make of
it? What strange power did that child use, that so completely whipped
my uncle?"
The answer to his question will be found in the principles described
in this book. The answer is full and complete. It contains details and
instructions sufficient to enable anyone to understand, and apply the
same force which the little child accidentally stumbled upon.
Keep your mind alert, and you will observe exactly what strange power
came to the rescue of the child, you will catch a glimpse of this
power in the next chapter. Somewhere in the book you will find an idea
that will quicken your receptive powers, and place at your command,
for your own benefit, this same irresistible power. The awareness of
this power may come to you in the first chapter, or it may flash into
your mind in some subsequent chapter. It may come in the form of a
single idea. Or, it may come in the nature of a plan, or a purpose.
Again, it may cause you to go back into your past experiences of
failure or defeat, and bring to the surface some lesson by which you
can regain all that you lost through defeat.
After I had described to Mr. Darby the power unwittingly used by the
little colored child, he quickly retraced his thirty years of
experience as a life insurance salesman, and frankly acknowledged that
his success in that field was due, in no small degree, to the lesson
he had learned from the child.
Mr. Darby pointed out: "every time a prospect tried to bow me out,
without buying, I saw that child standing there in the old mill, her
big eyes glaring in defiance, and I said to myself, 'I've gotta make
this sale. ' The better portion of all sales I have made, were made
after people had said 'NO'."
He recalled, too, his mistake in having stopped only three feet from
gold, "but," he said, "that experience was a blessing in disguise. It
taught me to keep on keeping on, no matter how hard the going may be,
a lesson I needed to learn before I could succeed in anything." This
story of Mr. Darby and his uncle, the colored child and the gold mine,
doubtless will be read by hundreds of men who make their living by
selling life insurance, and to all of these, the author wishes to
offer the suggestion that Darby owes to these two experiences his
ability to sell more than a million dollars of life insurance every
year. Life is strange, and often imponderable! Both the successes and
the failures have their roots in simple experiences. Mr. Darby's
experiences were commonplace and simple enough, yet they held the
answer to his destiny in life, therefore they were as important (to
him) as life itself. He profited by these two dramatic experiences,
because he analyzed them, and found the lesson they taught. But what
of the man who has neither the time, nor the inclination to study
failure in search of knowledge that may lead to success? Where, and
how is he to learn the art of converting defeat into stepping stones
to opportunity?
In answer to these questions, this book was written. The answer called
for a description of thirteen principles, but remember, as you read,
the answer you may be seeking, to the questions which have caused you
to ponder over the strangeness of life, may be found in your own mind,
through some idea, plan, or purpose which may spring into your mind as
you read.
One sound idea is all that one needs to achieve success. The
principles described in this book, contain the best, and the most
practical of all that is known, concerning ways and means of creating
useful ideas. Before we go any further in our approach to the
description of these principles, we believe you are entitled to
receive this important suggestion.... WHEN RICHES BEGIN TO COME THEY
COME SO QUICKLY, IN SUCH GREAT ABUNDANCE, THAT ONE WONDERS WHERE THEY
HAVE BEEN HIDING DURING ALL THOSE LEAN YEARS. This is an astounding
statement, and all the more so, when we take into consideration the
popular belief, that riches come only to those who work hard and long.
When you begin to THINK AND GROW RICH, you will observe that riches
begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little
or no hard work. You, and every other person, ought to be interested
in knowing how to acquire that state of mind which will attract
riches. I spent twenty-five years in research, analyzing more than
25,000 people, because I, too, wanted to know "how wealthy men become
that way. Without that research, this book could not have been
written.
Here take notice of a very significant truth, viz: The business
depression started in 1929, and continued on to an all time record of
destruction, until sometime after President Roosevelt entered office.
Then the depression began to fade into nothingness. Just as an
electrician in a theatre raises the lights so gradually that darkness
is transmuted into light before you realize it, so did the spell of
fear in the minds of the people gradually fade away and become faith.
Observe very closely, as soon as you master the principles of this
philosophy, and begin to follow the instructions for applying those
principles, your financial status will begin to improve, and
everything you touch will begin to transmute itself into an asset for
your benefit.
Impossible? Not at all! One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the
average man's familiarity with the word "impossible." He knows all the
rules which will NOT work. He knows all the things which CANNOT be
done. This book was written for those who seek the rules which have
made others successful, and are willing to stake everything on those
rules.
A great many years ago I purchased a fine dictionary. The first thing
I did with it was to turn to the word "impossible," and neatly clip it
out of the book. That would not be an unwise thing for you to do.
Success comes to those who become SUCCESS CONSCIOUS.
Failure comes to those who indifferently allow themselves to become
FAILURE CONSCIOUS. The object of this book is to help all who seek it,
to learn the art of changing their minds from FAILURE CONSCIOUSNESS to
SUCCESS CONSCIOUSNESS.
Another weakness found in altogether too many people, is the habit of
measuring everything, and everyone, by their own impressions and
beliefs. Some who will read this, will believe that no one can THINK
AND GROW RICH.
They cannot think in terms of riches, because their thought habits
have been steeped in poverty, want, misery, failure, and defeat. These
unfortunate people remind me of a prominent Chinese, who came to
America to be educated in American ways. He attended the University of
Chicago. One day President Harper met this young Oriental on the
campus, stopped to chat with him for a few minutes, and asked what had
impressed him as being the most noticeable characteristic of the
American people. "Why," the Chinaman exclaimed, "the queer slant of
your eyes. Your eyes are off slant!"
What do we say about the Chinese?
We refuse to believe that which we do not understand. We foolishly
believe that our own limitations are the proper measure of
limitations. Sure, the other fellow's eyes are "off slant," BECAUSE
THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AS OUR OWN.
Millions of people look at the achievements of Henry Ford, after he
has arrived, and envy him, because of his good fortune, or luck, or
genius, or whatever it is that they credit for Ford's fortune. Perhaps
one person in every hundred thousand knows the secret of Ford's
success, and those who do know are too modest, or too reluctant, to
speak of it, because of its
simplicity. A single transaction will illustrate the "secret"
perfectly. A few years back, Ford decided to produce his now famous
V-8 motor. He chose to build an engine with the entire eight cylinders
cast in one block, and instructed his engineers to produce a design
for the engine. The design was placed on paper, but the engineers
agreed, to a man, that it was simply impossible to cast an
eight-cylinder gas engine block in one piece. Ford said, "Produce it
anyway."
"But," they replied, "it's impossible!"
"Go ahead," Ford commanded, "and stay on the job until you succeed no
matter how much time is required."
The engineers went ahead. There was nothing else for them to do, if
they were to remain on the Ford staff. Six months went by, nothing
happened.
Another six months passed, and still nothing happened. The engineers
tried every conceivable plan to carry out the orders, but the thing
seemed out of the question; "impossible!" At the end of the year Ford
checked with his engineers, and again they informed him they had found
no way to carry out his orders. "Go right ahead," said Ford, "I want
it, and I'll have it."
They went ahead, and then, as if by a stroke of magic, the secret was
discovered. T he Ford DETERMINATION had won once more! This story may
not be described with minute accuracy, but the sum and substance of it
is correct. Deduce from it, you who wish to THINK AND GROW RICH, the
secret of the Ford millions, if you can. You'll not have to look very
far.
Henry Ford is a success, because he understands, and applies the
principles of success. One of these is DESIRE: knowing what one wants.
Remember this Ford story as you read, and pick out the lines in which
the secret of his stupendous achievement have been described. If you
can do this, if you can lay your finger on the particular group of
principles which made Henry Ford rich, you can equal his achievements
in almost any calling for which you are suited.
YOU ARE "THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE, THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR SOUL,"
BECAUSE...
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. If the poet had told us of this great truth, we would know
WHY IT IS that we are the Masters of our Fate, the Captains of our
Souls. He should have told us, with great emphasis, that this power
makes no attempt to discriminate between destructive thoughts and
constructive thoughts, that it will urge us to translate into physical
reality thoughts of poverty, just as quickly as it will influence us
to act upon thoughts of riches. He should have told us, too, that our
brains become magnetized with the dominating thoughts which we hold in
our minds, and, by means with which no man is familiar, these
"magnets" attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of
life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts.
He should have told us, that before we can accumulate riches in great
abundance, we must magnetize our minds with intense DESIRE for riches,
that we must become "money conscious until the DESIRE for money drives
us to create definite plans for acquiring it.
But, being a poet, and not a philosopher, Henley contented himself by
stating a great truth in poetic form, leaving those who followed him
to interpret the philosophical meaning of his lines. Little by little,
the truth has unfolded itself, until it now appears certain that the
principles described in this book, hold the secret of mastery over our
economic fate.
We are now ready to examine the first of these principles. Maintain a
spirit of open-mindedness, and remember as you read, they are the
invention of no one man. The principles were gathered from the life
experiences of more than 500 men who actually accumulated riches in
huge amounts; men who began in poverty, with but little education,
without influence. The principles worked for these men. You can put
them to work for your own enduring benefit.
You will find it easy, not hard, to do.
Before you read the next chapter, I want you to know that it conveys
factual information which might easily change your entire financial
destiny, as it has so definitely brought changes of stupendous
proportions to two people described.
I want you to know, also, that the relationship between these two men
and myself, is such that I could have taken no liberties with the
facts, even if I had wished to do so. One of them has been my closest
personal friend for almost twenty-five years, the other is my own son.
The unusual success of these two men, success which they generously
accredit to the principle described in the next chapter, more than
justifies this personal reference as a means of emphasizing the
far-flung power of this principle. Almost fifteen years ago, I
delivered the Commencement Address at Salem College, Salem, West
Virginia. I emphasized the principle described in the next chapter,
with so much intensity that one of the members of the graduating class
definitely appropriated it, and made it a part of his own philosophy.
The young man is now a Member of Congress, and an important factor in
the present administration. Just before this book went to the
publisher, he wrote me a letter in which he so clearly stated his
opinion of the principle outlined in the next chapter, that I have
chosen to publish his letter as an introduction to that chapter.
It gives you an idea of the rewards to come.
"My dear Napoleon:
"My service as a Member of Congress having given me an insight into
the problems of men and women, I am writing to offer a suggestion
which may become helpful to thousands of worthy people.
"With apologies, I must state that the suggestion, if acted upon, will
mean several years of labor and responsibility for you, but I am
enheartened to make the suggestion, because I know your great love for
rendering useful service.
"In 1922, you delivered the Commencement address at Salem College,
when I was a member' of the graduating class. In that address, you
planted in my mind an idea which has been responsible for the
opportunity I now have to serve the people of my State, and will be
responsible, in a very large measure, for whatever success I may have
in the future. "The suggestion I have in mind is, that you put into a
book the sum and substance of the address you delivered at Salem
College, and in that way give the people of America an opportunity to
profit by your many years of experience and association with the men
who, by their greatness, have made America the richest nation on
earth.
"I recall, as though it were yesterday, the marvelous description you
gave of the method by which Henry Ford, with but little schooling,
without a dollar, with no influential friends, rose to great heights.
I made up my mind then, even before you had finished your speech, that
I would make a place for myself, no matter how many difficulties I had
to surmount. "Thousands of young people will finish their schooling
this year, and within the next few years. Every one of them will be
seeking just such a message of practical encouragement as the one I
received from you. They will want to know where to turn, what to do,
to get started in life. You can tell them, because you have helped to
solve the problems of so many, many people.
"If there is any possible way that you can afford to render so great a
service, may I offer the suggestion that you include with every book,
one of your Personal Analysis Charts, in order that the purchaser of
the book may have the benefit of a complete self-inventory,
indicating, as you indicated to me years ago, exactly what is standing
in the way of success.
"Such a service as this, providing the readers of your book with a
complete, unbiased picture of their faults and their virtues, would
mean to them the difference between success and failure. The service
would be priceless.
"Millions of people are now facing the problem of staging a comeback,
because of the depression, and I speak from personal experience when I
say, I know these earnest people would welcome the opportunity to tell
you their problems, and to receive your suggestions for the solution.
"You know the problems of those who face the necessity of beginning
all over again. There are thousands of people in America today who
would like to know how they can convert ideas into money, people who
must start at scratch, without finances, and recoup their losses. If
anyone can help them, you can.
"If you publish the book, I would like to own the first copy that
comes from the press, personally autographed by you.
"With best wishes, believe me,
"Cordially yours,
"JENNINGS RANDOLPH"