I have read Napoleon Hill’s, Think and Grow Rich, many times and have listened to the audio book even more. A friend saw me reading my well worn and well marked-up copy and asked why I’m reading it again.  This was a great question. If I’ve read the book before, why read it again? Did I forget everything that was in it? Do I forget everything each time I read it? Is that why I read it the third, fourth… tenth time? No, to me Think and Grow Rich is a book that I seem to gain some new insight from each and every time I read it. The book was written about what Napoleon Hill personally learned from the 500+ most successful men and women of his time. The valuable information within the pages of this book is something that I know I can continue to learn from throughout the rest of my life.

But another reason I re-read this book is because it helps me to refocus. Hill teaches that for one to succeed they must possess a definite purpose; the knowledge of what they want, and a burning desire to achieve it.  What brought me back to read Think and Grow Rich again was a chapter I recently read in The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness by Jeff Oslon.

Chapter 16 in The Slight Edge is titled  “3 Steps to Your Dreams.” In this chapter Olson shares some of the same ideas that Napoleon Hill uses in his teaching. These two men have studied the most successful people of their times. If you have some dreams and goals that you want to achieve, it is well worth your time to learn from these two men. Of course you will learn much more by reading their entire books, but here I’m going to outline some of their thoughts that I think you will find very valuable in helping you achieve your dreams.

In The Slight Edge Olsen outlines three steps in achieving your goals. (1) Write it down; (2) Look at it every day; (3) Start with a plan.

• He teaches that our most critical skill is envisioning and by writing down a specific goal or dream we can begin that process of seeing it in our mind as a reality.
• When we write down our goal we need to be specific with the what and why behind it. In great detail, what is our goal and why is it so important to us?
• As it is said, goals are dreams with a deadline. So we also need to add the when. When are you going to achieve this goal by?
• Write your dreams down; be vivid and very specific; give them a timeline. With this information you have taken a giant step in the process of making your dreams a realization.

• You need to constantly be reminding yourself of where you are going and keeping your focus on your destination. Life has too many distractions and this will help you to stay on your path.
• This will also trigger the subconscious mind to help you recognize the opportunities in life that cross your path that will help you to reach your target.

• Simply come up with a plan to get you started. Olson recognizes that it’s probably not the plan that will help you to get to the end, but you need a plan to start the ball rolling. Writing your plan down and reading it every day as you sit and wait for the world to serve you won’t work. You need a plan and you need to act on this plan.
• “People make the mistake that they can’t start until they have the perfect plan. There is no perfect plan.” – Jeff Olson

There’s a lot from Think and Grow Rich that could build upon what Olson has taught. But I’m just going to refer to a small section in the chapter on Desire where Hill states, “The method by which desire for riches can be transmuted into its financial equivalent consists of six definite, practical steps.” These six steps that he outlines will help us to achieve all of our dreams and goals.

1. Be very specific and fix in your mind exactly what you want.
2. Determine exactly what you are willing to do or give to achieve this dream you desire.
3. Establish a definite date by which you will achieve your goal.
4. Create a definite plan and begin at once.
5. Take the above information and write a clear, concise statement of what you desire, the time frame by which you will achieve it, what you intend to do and give in return to achieve such a goal, and the clear plans you intend to act upon.
6. Finally, read this written statement aloud, twice daily.

If you really want to get on your path to success, read, study and apply what is taught in Think and Grow Rich and The Slight Edge.

Prompt: Dream