The Secret of Success: Andrew Carnegie vs. Napoleon Hill. Debunking Think and Grow Rich

Andrew Carnegie was the embodiment of the American dream. 

He was born in 1835 in the Scottish town of Dunfermline. After the bankruptcy of his father's weaving workshop, the Carnegie family moved to the United States. When Andrew was 13, he started working at a cotton factory, two years later he became a telegraph operator, and three years later he joined the Pennsylvania Railroad, where he quickly made a career. Carnegie invested his first significant profits from oil production in metallurgical and steel plants. In a few decades, Carnegie became one of the richest men in the world. In 1901, he sold Carnegie Steel for about $300 million (over $10 billion today). Believing that "he who dies so rich will die disgraced", 1 Carnegie gave more than 90% of his fortune to charity before his death in 1919.

Carnegie was a controversial figure and was often the target of attacks. The author of a 1920 article describes his behavior as "a mad quest for money" and "an example of colossal greed." He condemns Carnegie for a long-running conflict with a business partner and considers his charitable programs "largely a sop to his personal vanity!", arguing that donations should be made anonymously. The author concludes his criticism with the words: "Poor old man Carnegie!" 2

Who is this harsh critic, so confidently delivering moral slaps to the greatest philanthropist of his time?

That's Napoleon Hill, ladies and gentlemen.

Perhaps, just a few months after Carnegie's death, Hill still didn’t know that twelve years earlier, Carnegie had played a key role in his life.

Later, Hill began publishing books in which he thanked Carnegie for his personal mentorship back in 1908, for revealing the secret of wealth, and for offering to conduct a study of success, which became his life's work. With each new work, Carnegie's ideological contribution increased. In the first book, Carnegie Hill called the secret of wealth harmonious cooperation between people, which creates a "collective mind". In the second, he described six steps to turn a desire into money, which he learned from Carnegie: write the desired amount, date, retribution, and action plan on a piece of paper and read it aloud twice a day. Later, Hill published a book of conversations with Carnegie.

But Hill forgot to tell his readers something.

Andrew Carnegie was not only a successful businessman, but also a talented writer. He wrote eight popular books and more than sixty major articles published in the leading publications of the time. As historian George Swetnam notes, Carnegie "was the first great American industrialist to be a writer, and the greatest writer of all principal industrialists." 3 With a simple, clear, and concise yet somewhat moralizing style, Carnegie wrote about business, politics, peace, morality, work, and travel.

According to Swetnam, Carnegie's literary successes forced other businessmen to publish articles and books, for which they began to hire ghostwriters. If this is true, then Carnegie contributed to the development of ghostwriting in a rather original way.

Andrew Carnegie also delivered motivational speeches and lectures on how to achieve success and become wealthy. Among his published lectures and articles are The Road to Business Success (1885), The Gospel of Wealth (1889), How to Win Fortune (1890), Wealth and Its Uses (1895), and Business (1896).

Carnegie did not need intermediaries to communicate with the public and never asked Hill to convey the secret of wealth to readers or conduct years-long research on the causes of success — he personally said and wrote everything he deemed necessary.

The Way to Success: Andrew Carnegie's Advice

Understand your aspirations

Speaking to students at the liberal arts Union College in 1895, Carnegie said that he divided young people into four categories depending on what they wanted most: modest competence, wealth, fame, and service to humanity. 4

People who want wealth have to work to live a quiet and happy family life in the suburbs. Usually, such people choose a quiet professional career. Second, they are determined to get rich and become millionaires, so they go into business. The third, full of "noble ambition," are motivated by fame and choose a profession that allows them to gain a reputation. The fourth choose to serve humanity: they are motivated not by money or fame, but by the desire to live up to their own moral principles. "Self-abnegation is its watchword."

For those who want to become millionaires, only business is suitable, but business is not for everyone. However, living in abundance is already a form of wealth.

In a lecture to Cornell University students in 1896, Carnegie said that a businessman is someone who works for himself or owns a share of a company and risks his own earnings, rather than working solely for a salary. A businessman must be a good judge of character, possess organizational and executive talent, and make decisions quickly and wisely — abilities that are rare. 5 6

Professional consciousness tends to narrow, but a businessman "must have an all-round judgment based upon knowledge of many subjects." 7 "There may be room for a foolish man in every profession — foolish as a child beyond the range of his particular specialty, and yet successful in that — but no man ever saw a foolish business man successful. If he is without sound, all-around judgment he must fail." 8

Take Advantage of Education

In his 1890 article How to Win Fortune Carnegie writes that most of the factories, plants, and business firms that were thriving in the United States at the time were created by former clerks and mechanics. The founders of these businesses were naturally capable and persistent. They "were trained in that sternest but most efficient of all schools — poverty." Similarly, among the heads of the major banks in New York City in 1890, there was not a single college graduate. While students studied the conflicts of the past and dead languages, poor teenagers began their business training in practice, gaining years of experience before students. 9

In the 1890s, the situation began to change. Graduates of polytechnic and scientific schools began to compete with experienced mechanics without theoretical training. They were more likely to take up management positions. Their advantage is openness to new ideas and lack of prejudice. A practicing mechanic is prone to a narrow view of things, while a person with a scientific education looks at the world more broadly and makes better use of opportunities to improve production. Therefore, a practically oriented higher education that favors a career gives an advantage. "Take two men of equal natural ability, energy, and the same ambition and characteristics, and the man who has received the best, widest, most suitable education has the advantage over the other, undoubtedly". 10

Lay a Strong Foundation

In 1885, Carnegie delivered a lecture on achieving career success to the students of Curry Commercial College. 11 The very first conditions necessary for success, he said, are to avoid alcohol, refrain from stock market speculation, and never engage in indorsing others. A passion for alcohol almost always ruins a career, speculators die poor, and indorsing for amounts you don’t have can destroy your business reputation and prospects before you even begin. If you don’t drink, don’t speculate, and don’t indorse others, you have already avoided the greatest dangers on the path of a young person and can start thinking about how to rise higher.

Become Self-Supporting

The first question that arises for a poor young person is: what do I need to learn to do for the community in order to earn a living? "It does not matter what the young man likes or dislikes, he always has to keep in view the main point: Can I attain such a measure of proficiency in the branch preferred as will certainly enable me to cam a livelihood by its practice?" 12

"Begin, if necessary, with a corporation, always keeping your eye open for a chance to become involved in a business of your own. Remember, every business can be made successful, as it addresses some essential need in the community. It plays a vital role, whether it’s manufacturing a product or distributing it as a merchant does, or whether it’s the banker whose job is to manage and invest capital. There is no area of business in which success is unattainable." 13

Spend Less Than You Earn

Making money for yourself and not relying on the charity of others is crucial, but it's not everything. Savings for unforeseen events, illness, or an economic crisis will help maintain your self-respect during tough times.

"The bee predominates in the future millionnaire." 14 A clear sign of a future partner and millionaire is that they always spend less than they earn. Save as soon as you start earning. Wait for the opportunity to safely invest your savings or use them to obtain credit for a business you are confident in.

If you're a businessman and hire people, pay attention to young employees who spend less than they earn, because someone who can save is a valuable worker.

Set High Goals

Start your business career from the lowest position, even if you have a higher education, and immediately set high goals — aim to become a partner or the leader of an important firm. ""My place is at the top." Be king in your dreams." Only those who work conscientiously and persistently have high ambitions. 15

Be patient: the road to partnership is long, as trust is earned over the years. You will be tested to see if you are smart enough, judicious enough, hardworking enough, and honest enough, because no abilities are worth anything without honesty. 16

To reach the top, work hard and do not get distracted by other matters, except for marriage. Once you receive a few promotions or become a partner in a firm and earn enough — marry a woman with good common sense. "Common sense is the most uncommon and most valuable quality in man or woman." 17

Embrace Your Chance

There are times when the market develops at a rapid pace, like in the 1860s–1880s in the USA — during such periods, capable people without higher education started businesses that became leaders in their industries. These favorable periods are followed by times when starting a business without significant capital becomes much more difficult.

In his article and while speaking before the students of Cornell University, Carnegie acknowledged that by the 1890s, accumulating wealth had become more difficult. 18 The most favorable time for accumulating great fortunes had passed: the rich were becoming poorer, the poor were becoming wealthier, and thus wealth is naturally redistributed. 19

Carnegie always emphasized that the best conditions for advancing young people exist in the United States. Everyone has a chance to rise, except for those lacking qualifications, diligence, or integrity, as smart workers and reliable partners are always in short supply.

Attract Attention

A person who has all the chances of becoming a millionaire can be seen even during their studies. "It is the career of the exceptional student which illustrates the pathway to success." 20

The exceptional student, who through his abilities, work ethic, and discretion, attracts the attention of professors and can receive recommendations for employment from them. In his free hours, he dedicates time to studying, capable of solving tasks that exceed the average level of difficulty. His expenses do not exceed his income, and he does not have a large inheritance, which motivates him to work.

You don't need to worry about the exceptional student — when he enters the uncertain sea of business, he won't drown but will swim, because "he was not bom to be drowned, and you see him breast the waves year after year imtil he is at the head of a great business." 21

If you have already found a job, think about what you can do for your employer beyond what is required to attract his attention and set yourself on the path to future partnership. Attracting attention is the first condition for success: propose a profitable idea or fix a mistake that will save the company money.

To find an opportunity to stand out, focus on the company's affairs. Avoid distractions that young people often enjoy, and work harder than others. "Does not work for salary alone; it is not solely an affair of "hire and salary" with him; he is not that kind of young man; he is working for the success of the business." 22 "The man who has made an improvement should always have an eye upon obtaining an interest in the business rather than an increase of salary." 23

If you have already become a junior partner, an important condition is to refuse orders that could harm the owners or the business. To become a partner, you must know your part of the company better or at least as well as the owner—only then can you argue with them. Take responsibility, show that ignoring an order was beneficial for the firm. If you cannot defend the firm's interests as your own, you won't be able to become a partner. If your boss doesn't appreciate this, change companies.

If you prove that you provide exceptional services to your employer, the path to advancement is guaranteed. Drawing attention with exceptional services is the decisive step: from this point on, how far you rise depends solely on you. If your employer does not value you, smarter employers will recruit you as an exceptionally talented individual. 24

Realize the Value of Work

"I congratulate poor young men upon being born to that ancient and honourable degree which renders it necessary that they should devote themselves to hard work" — said Carnegie to the students of the Curry Commercial College in 1885 25. Wealthy heirs are deprived of the motivation to work, so one should not pity the poor young man who works hard, but rather the son of wealthy parents who idles away his time. What should be inherited by children are not money, but good health and education.

В коледжі Каррі Карнегі сказав студентам, що їхні головні конкуренти не діти власників бізнесу, а ті, хто бідніший за них. Ці хлопці почали працювати раніше і стараються більше, бо їхні батьки не можуть оплатити навчання в коледжі. В Union College: "Poverty an incentive to great achievement. Surplus wealth allows merely an elaboration of the simple needs of life." 26 Більшість видатних людей — вчителів, мучеників, винахідників, державних діячів, поетів та підприємців — виросли в бідності, досвід якої зробив їх наполегливими та здібними.

«Neither capital, nor influence, nor college learning, nor all combined have proved able to contend in business successfully against the energy and indomitable will which spring from all-conquering poverty» — пише Карнегі в статті 1890 року «Як здобути багатство», маючи на увазі, що бідні завзяті як голодні вовки.

Risk Wisely

With $50-100 [or $2-4000 in today's money], you can buy shares in a business and become a shareholder, but it's not always worth doing. Personal experience and statistics show that 95% of those who try to run a business on their own will eventually fail. This also applies to stock investments: often, uninformed people invest in shares of companies that are valued based on fictitious worth.

In the 1890s, capital was poorly compensated, and owning real estate brought the most profit. "As I have said to workingmen and to ministers, college professors, artists, musicians, and physicians, and all the professional classes: Do not invest in any business concerns whatever; the risks of business are not for such as you. Buy a home for yourself first; and if you have any surplus, buy another lot or another house, or take a mortgage upon one, or upon a railway, and let it be a first mortgage, and be satisfied with moderate interest", 27 Carnegie says to the students of Union College.

Create a Useful Product

"A young man's labour or service to the community creates wealth just in proportion as his service is useful to the community, as it either saves or improves upon existing methods." 28 It is necessary to create a product that allows people to save time and effort. Your invention should improve people's quality of life — for this, you will be rewarded. The more people benefit from your product, the wealthier you will become.

In his 1920 autobiography, Andrew Carnegie writes that the real secret to success is to create the best product and be able to sell it. 29 While others were building bridges out of brittle iron, which often collapsed from impacts or bad weather, Carnegie's company began constructing bridges out of steel. At first, they had to convince customers that it was worth paying more, but soon the results spoke for themselves: not a single steel bridge collapsed.

Promote the Development of Humanity

There are three stages of development for a young person: acquiring material wealth, fulfilling spiritual needs, and serving humanity.

"Of course there are better, higher aims than saving. As an end, the acquisition of wealth is ignoble in the extreme; I assume that you save and long for wealth only as a means of enabling you the better to do some good in your day and generation." 30 "The successful man of affairs soon rises above the mere desire to make money as the chief end of his labours; that is superseded by thoughts of the uses he performs." 31

Carnegie believed that the majority of great wealth should be given to charity at the end of life — for research, libraries, universities — to promote the progress of humanity. Leaving a large inheritance to children is not advisable, as it may make them idle, and only work allows one to become a worthy person. 32 33

Exceed the Average Level

Speaking to students at Cornell University in 1896, Carnegie said: "A secret of success is simply honest work, ability, and concentration. There is no question about there being room at the top for exceptional men in any profession. These have not to seek patronage; the question is, rather, how can their services be secured, and, as with every profession, so in every line of business, there is plenty of room at the top. Your problem is, how to get there. The answer is simple: conduct your business with just a little more ability than the average man in your line. If you are only above the average, your success is secured, and the degree of success is in ratio to the greater degree of ability and attention which you give above the average." 34

The one who fails is the one who risks recklessly, does not calculate all the means to achieve the goal, does not learn, does not move forward gradually, lacks sufficient qualifications, and relies on luck.

Diligent work means working harder and better than others. Among the necessary qualities are a broad worldview, the ability to work with people, and the ability to make quick, sound decisions.

Concentration on one area of activity is the key to success: if you trade coffee, trade coffee; if you trade sugar, trade sugar; only mix these products when you're drinking coffee with sugar.

"Put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket, is the true doctrine the most valuable rule of all." Failures are most often experienced by those who cannot concentrate on one area of activity. 35 Concentration allows one to master their craft, acquire necessary skills, and invest more effort and expertise than others, thus enabling them to exceed the average level, which is the true sign of success.

Strive for leadership in your chosen field — apply every improvement, buy the best equipment and use it most effectively, hire the best people — exceptional students, talented young individuals with high ambitions, who are willing to work longer and better than others. Promote them if they do more than what is required of them. 36

Do these advice apply to you if you seek not wealth, but sufficiency, fame, or serving humanity? Certainly. Regardless of what you desire most, choose one field of activity and perform your duties fully, and even a little more. If you don’t deceive yourself, you will achieve success no matter which path you choose. 37

"When, therefore, the yoimg man, in any position or in any business, explains and complains that he has not opportunity to prove his ability and to rise to partnership, the old answer still holds true," said Carnegie, before quoting Shakespeare:

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,

But in ourselves, that we are imderlings." 38

Key Differences Between Carnegie's and Hill's Ideas

Where Should You Start Your Career?

Carnegie believed that one should start from the lowest position. In Hill's view, one should come up with something to immediately take a leadership position or earn a high salary.

"This idea of starting at the bottom and working one's way up may appear to be sound, but the major objection to it is this — too many of those who begin at the bottom never manage to lift their heads high enough to be seen by OPPORTUNITY, so they remain at the bottom. It should be remembered, also, that the outlook from the bottom is not so very bright or encouraging. It has a tendency to kill off ambition.", 39 — пише Гілл. The young person looking for a job for the first time is advised to approach the employer with a marketing plan that includes suggestions for improving the business, which would allow the candidate to take a position one or two levels higher.

Carnegie was convinced that one should go through the entire career path to better understand people and business. When you start from the very bottom, you have the opportunity to learn the company's operations from the inside and propose solutions that will attract the employer's attention and help you climb the career ladder.

What Should You Concentrate Your Thoughts On?

According to Hill, in order to become rich, one must concentrate thoughts on money — imagining it, feeling it, hearing the rustle of bills. You need to convince your subconscious that you are already a wealthy person.

Carnegie teaches that you need to "concentrate your energy, thought, and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged." 40 You need to work harder and longer than others, without jumping from one task to another, focusing on the work, not the money. Solutions that bring profit and contribute to salary growth can only be found when you concentrate on the work itself.

What Motivates the Most?

Hill often repeats that thoughts of wealth are the most motivating, which is why he advises the first step is to instill in yourself an obsessive desire to become rich and think about money until your subconscious believes that you are already wealthy. Carnegie believed that "Poverty an incentive to great achievement." 41 It is the awareness of one's own poverty that drives upward movement, and for this, one must focus all their energy and thoughts on work.

What is the Most Important Ability?

In a lecture to Cornell University students in 1896, Carnegie reiterated that lasting success is impossible without judgment, honesty in business dealings, good habits, and common sense. Rash and dishonest individuals quickly lose trust.

Hill often repeats the word "obsession," while Carnegie emphasizes "judgment." The obsession with the desire to become rich, which Hill considered a necessary condition for success, and the judgment, which Carnegie believed was essential for a long business career, are two completely different approaches."

Is It Easy to Become Rich?

According to Hill, becoming rich is easy: no harder than resigning yourself to poverty. "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," 42 — Hill writes.

Carnegie did not consider poverty a misfortune but acknowledged that becoming wealthy is hard and requires the poor to work tirelessly. The hard work driven by poverty serves as a source of personal growth and the development of qualities that foster success: resilience, initiative, and the drive to achieve goals. 43 44

Can Money Be the Goal?

Hill repeatedly stated that money is the ultimate goal. According to him, wealth provides unlimited respect and power: "A man is considered less than the dust of the earth, unless he can display a fat bank account; but if he has money — NEVER MIND HOW HE ACQUIRED IT — he is a "king" or a "big shot"; he is above the law, he rules in politics, he dominates in business, and the whole world about him bows in respect when he passes." 45

Carnegie viewed wealth as a means to an end, with the goal being the improvement of people's lives. For example, he said, Ezra Cornell earned money because he wanted to create a university. Carnegie himself donated billions of dollars [in today's money] to charity. Success in business gave him the opportunity to fully realize himself, step away from his work, and focus on causes he considered equally important.

Should You Risk Everything You Have?

Hill says: Implant in yourself an obsessive desire to get rich, one so great that you would stake everything for it. Burn all bridges. "Win or perish!"

Carnegie says that when the poor try to get rich, he doesn't have the safety net of wealthy parents: "It is necessary that he make his own way in the world. He is not yet a millionnaire, but is only going to be one. He has no rich father, or, still more dangerous, rich mother, who can, and will, support him in idleness should he prove a failure; he has no life-preserver, and therefore must sink or swim."

Similarly, Carnegie said about entrepreneurs: they risk everything and have no safety net in the form of a salary. "The business man pure and simple plunges into and tosses upon the waves of human affairs without a life-preserver in the shape of salary; he risks all." 46 The circumstances of life have turned out in such a way that the person has no other choice but to work harder than others.

Carnegie did not advise the poor to take unnecessary risks, especially when investing small savings. No burning bridges or putting everything on the line — only proven methods of saving and growing money. A businessman takes the greatest risks, but his decisions must be well thought out.

What is the Value of Higher Education?

Hill advised starting with business or providing personal services, many of which were professional, but he underestimated the value of higher education. In the 1930s, in the United States, one could become an accountant, lawyer, or financier without a college degree, but over time, professional standards became increasingly strict. Today, a person without higher education has much more limited opportunities than someone with a degree.

Unlike Hill, Carnegie understood the value of higher education. "Take two men of equal natural ability, energy, and the same ambition and characteristics, and the man who has received the best, widest, most suitable education has the advantage over the other, undoubtedly." 47 48

When Carnegie wrote this, there was only one business school in the United States — the Wharton School, which existed at the University of Pennsylvania for only nine years. Today, it is hard to find an owner or leader of a large business, for example, from the Fortune 500 list, who does not hold an MBA. Notably, Warren Buffett and Elon Musk studied at the Wharton School of Business.

Is There a Universal Secret to Wealth?

Hill assured that Carnegie had revealed to him the universal formula for wealth. Anyone — whether a teacher, doctor, priest, or businessman — can become rich by thinking in the right way, because money can not only be earned but also received as a gift or investment, though Hill mostly used examples from business.

Carnegie believed that only those who engage in business can become rich. In 1896, he delivered a lecture to Cornell University students, addressing those whom he described as «those who would sail the uncertain sea of business, and devote themselves to making money, a great fortime, so that you shall be millionnaires». In his view, a professional career is suited for those who seek prosperity, not wealth.

How Many Successful People?

Carnegie believed that a person could become successful through different life paths and achieve what they desire most: prosperity, wealth, fame, or service. In the context of discussing business and risky investments in the stocks of new companies, Carnegie noted that statistics show that in the first business venture, 95% of entrepreneurs fail. 49

According to Hill, if you haven’t become rich, you haven’t been successful. In his first book The Laws of Business, Hill stated that his research showed 95% of people are unsuccessful. In Think and Grow Rich, Hill wrote that 98% of people are unsuccessful, and only 2% achieve success in their careers, business, and accumulate wealth.

What Is the Secret to Success?

The word "secret" appears 26 times in the preface to Think and Grow Rich, while the word "formula" appears nine times, including in phrases like "magic formula" and "the Carnegie formula."

Carnegie's secret to success, according to Hill: write down the amount of money you desire; set a deadline for receiving it; decide what you are willing to give in return; create a plan of action "and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action"; "read your written statement aloud, twice daily" to convince your subconscious that you are already wealthy. 50

Carnegie never mentioned writing down an amount on a piece of paper and reading it aloud twice a day to create the illusion of wealth. He believed that high ambitions were necessary, but he did not consider self-deception useful for achieving success. Carnegie repeatedly referred to the secret of success as honest work, above-average ability, and concentration on a single field of activity. Regardless of whether you seek wealth, abundance, fame, or to serve society, you will achieve success if you do more than the average people in your field.

Who Is Napoleon Hill?

"He is to the educational world what Andrew Carnegie is to the steel business, what Vanderbilt is to the banking business, and what Rockefeller is to the oil business," Hill wrote about himself in an advertisement for his school, which sold its own cheap shares to students at a high price. 51 The conclusion of this story is thoroughly described in the headline of a 1918 Chicago Daily Tribune article, which reported "two warrants out for modest Napoleon Hill. 52

Hill's modesty grew year by year.

In 1925, he published a series of brochures titled Law of Success, in which he thanked Carnegie for his personal mentorship, the secret to success, which lay in the ability to cooperate with people, and for the suggestion to conduct the research. The series of eight brochures, which were meant to save people from poverty, would cost nearly $600 in today's money. 53

As Hill's official biographers write, "Law of Success might well have been discarded as the ravings of a lunatic but for the fact that much of Hill's most improbable conjecture was spun from the musings of men like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell". 54 This was the main secret behind the success of Hill's books and articles — he hid behind the authority of almost all the most famous Americans, who were unaware of his existence. 55 He never interviewed Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, or Henry Ford, and he was not an advisor to U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.

Hill believed that there was no difference between real and imagined conversations with prominent figures, as long as these conversations were useful to the reader. For him, the line between fiction and fact didn’t exist: official biographers of Hill write that when he worked as a journalist, he invented news: "Napoleon soon became a prolific source of stories. His writing was unpolished, if not crude, but he compensated with unbounded verve and a vivid imagination. Indeed, he later recalled that when news was scarce and there weren’t stories to tell, he simply made them up." 56

As Matt Novak notes, by most accounts, the book Think and Grow Rich, published in 1937, is a product of Hill’s and his then-wife Rosa Lee Beeland’s minds. 57 According to official biographers, "Rosa Lee typed every page of every draft of the manuscript. Along the way she challenged him to streamline and clarify disjointed thoughts, to cut entire passages in which he wandered too far from his theme, to rewrite paragraphs, pages, and even entire chapters until his thoughts were clearly and concisely expressed." 58 Rosa Lee's involvement made the book easier to digest and increased its readership.

In Think and Grow Rich, Hill promised to reveal Carnegie's secret and the results of his own 25-year study, during which he claimed to have carefully examined the experiences of 25,000 people. In reality, Hill gathered information about famous individuals from the press and books, and he did not do so as thoroughly as he claimed. "Andrew Carnegie, who began as an ordinary laborer in the steel mills, but managed, despite his humble beginning, to make these principles yield him a fortune of considerably more than one hundred million dollars," 59 Hill writes about Carnegie, who started at a cotton factory and amassed a fortune that significantly exceeded three hundred million dollars.

In his lectures and articles, Carnegie shared his own business experience, which spanned over thirty years, as well as his observations of the careers and businesses of many people he knew. He began giving motivational speeches after he became wealthy.

Napoleon Hill never became a millionaire. He did not have a successful business, only dozens of failed projects and numerous accusations of fraud, including twice being charged with embezzling charitable donations. He offers his readers his ideas about the path to success, inspired by the quasi-religious movement of the early 20th century, "New Thought," which popularized the materialization of desires, unwavering self-belief, positive motivation, and tuning into the vibrations of others' minds.

The obsessive desire to become wealthy, famous, and influential gave Hill little more than extraordinary persistence: he never gave up and, until the end of his life, almost became wealthy twice. His greatest financial success came from the Law of Success series and the book Think and Grow Rich. These works were based on a fabricated study by a man who could not boast of his own wealth, which ultimately made Hill the founder of the so-called "successful success".

In 1970, Napoleon Hill died poor.

References

  1. Carnegie, Andrew. Wealth and Its Uses. From a lecture at Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., January 1895. Reprinted in The Empire of Business, 1902. Available online from Books for Business.
  2. Ritt, Michael J., and Kirk Landers. A Lifetime of Riches: A Biography of Napoleon Hill. Dutton Books, 1995.
  3. Swetnam, George. The Carnegie Nobody Knows. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. Vol. 44, No. 2 (April, 1977), pp. 163-172.
  4. Wealth and Its Uses. Carnegie, 1895.
  5. Carnegie, Andrew. Business. From a Lecture Delivered at Cornell University, January 11, 1896. Reprinted in The Empire of Business, 1902. Available online from Books for Business.
  6. Casson, Herbert N. An Interview Given by Andrew Carnegie. The Goal of Personal Effort. Carnegie, Andrew. Personality in Business: Developing Business Power Through Personality. How Personal Force Dominates in Business, 1916. Publisher: Chicago, New York [etc.].
  7. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  8. An Interview Given by Andrew Carnegie, Casson, 1916.
  9. Carnegie, Andrew. How to Win Fortune, 1890. From The New York Tribune, April 13, 1890. Reprinted in The Empire of Business (1902). Available online from Books for Business.
  10. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  11. Carnegie, Andrew. The Road to Business Success: A Talk to Young Men. Lessons drawn from a long business career, 1885. From an address to students of the Curry Commercial College, Pittsburgh, June 23, 1885. The Empire of Business, 1902. Reprinted from the 1902 edition. Available online from Books for Business.
  12. Wealth and Its Uses. Carnegie, 1895.
  13. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  14. The Road to Business Success. Carnegie, 1885.
  15. Ibіd.
  16. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  17. Wealth and Its Uses. Carnegie, 1895.
  18. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  19. Carnegie, Andrew. The Advantages of Poverty. The Nineteenth Century, March 1891. The Gospel of Wealth and Other Timely Essays. New York, The Century Co., 1900.
  20. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  21. Ibіd.
  22. Ibіd.
  23. How to Win Fortune. Carnegie, 1890.
  24. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  25. The Road to Business Success. Carnegie, 1885.
  26. Wealth and Its Uses. Carnegie, 1895.
  27. Ibіd.
  28. Ibіd.
  29. Carnegie, Andrew. Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, 1920. Available online.
  30. The Road to Business Success. Carnegie, 1885.
  31. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  32. Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel of Wealth. From the "North American Review," June and December, 1889. The Gospel of Wealth and Other Timely Essays by Andrew Carnegie, New York: The Century Co., 1900.
  33. The Advantages of Poverty. Carnegie, 1891.
  34. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  35. How to Win Fortune. Carnegie, 1890.
  36. The Road to Business Success. Carnegie, 1885.
  37. Ibіd.
  38. How to Win Fortune. Carnegie, 1890.
  39. Hill, Napoleon. Think and Grow Rich. A reproduction of the complete 1937 version, originally published by The Ralston Society.
  40. The Road to Business Success. Carnegie, 1885.
  41. Wealth and Its Uses. Carnegie, 1895.
  42. Think and Grow Rich. Hill, 1937.
  43. The Gospel of Wealth. Carnegie, 1889.
  44. Wealth and Its Uses. Carnegie, 1895.
  45. Think and Grow Rich. Hill, 1937.
  46. Business. Carnegie, 1896.
  47. Ibіd.
  48. How to Win Fortune. Carnegie, 1890.
  49. Wealth and Its Uses. Carnegie, 1895.
  50. Think and Grow Rich. Hill, 1937.
  51. Two warrants out for modest Napoleon Hill, 1918. Chicago Daily Tribune. June 4, 1918. URL: Available online.
  52. Ibіd.
  53. A Lifetime of Riches: A Biography of Napoleon Hill. Ritt, Landers, 1995.
  54. Ibіd.
  55. Novak, Matt. The Untold Story of Napoleon Hill, the Greatest Self-Help Scammer of All Time. Gizmodo, 2016. Available online.
  56. A Lifetime of Riches: A Biography of Napoleon Hill. Ritt, Landers, 1995.
  57. The Untold Story of Napoleon Hill, the Greatest Self-Help Scammer of All Time. Novak, 2016.
  58. A Lifetime of Riches: A Biography of Napoleon Hill. Ritt, Landers, 1995.
  59. Think and Grow Rich. Hill, 1937.

Change: Nov. 30, 2024, 1:08 p.m.