I read this book a while back but forgot to post my review on this blog.

Of course, heard from TONS of people that this is a must-read. Personally, I didn’t find it all that interesting when I read it. There are other books that have had a much bigger impact on my life.

I like having a record of all of the different books I read and my thoughts on them, so I wanted to share that with you here. If you’re thinking of reading this book, you can also see some of my major takeaways.

My Notes

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.

Translating desire into reality.

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 saw he had made up his mind to stand by until he succeeded.

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.

One sound idea is all that one needs to achieve success.

Three feet from gold

The common cause of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat

Planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches.

1. fix in mind exact amount of money you desire.

2. determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire.

3. Establish a definite date when you will possess the money you desire

4. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.

5. Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.

6. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at night, and once after arising in the morning. As you read, see and feel and believe yourself already in possession of the money.

To all these I wish to convey the thought that all achievement, no matter what may be its nature, or its purpose, must begin with an intense, burning desire for something definite.

Repetition of affirmation of orders to your subconscious mind is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith.

The emotions, or the feeling portion of thoughts, are the factors which give thoughts vitality, life, and action. The emotions of faith, love, and sex, when mixed with any thought impulse, give it greater action than any of these emotions can do singly.

Industrialists and businessmen accumulate great fortunes, by giving before they try to get.

Knowledge will not attract money unless it is organized and intelligently directed, through practical plans of action, to the definite end of accumulation of money. Lack of understanding of this fact has been the source of confusion to millions of people who falsely believe that “knowledge is power.” It is nothing of the sort! Knowledge is only potential power. It becomes power only when, and if, it is organized into definite plans of action and directed to a definite end.

The accumulation of great fortunes calls for power, and power is acquired through highly organized and intelligently directed specialized knowledge, but that knowledge does not necessarily have to be in the possession of the man who accumulates the fortune.

Both success and failure are largely the result of habit

You are engaged in an undertaking of major importance to you. TO be sure of success, you must have pans which are faultless.

You must have the advantage of the experience, education, native ability and imagination of other minds. This is harmony with the methods followed by every person who has accumulated a great fortune.

The world does not pay men for what they know. It pays them for what they do, or induce others to do.

The money which is essential for the conduct of business is as worthless as a sand dune, until it has been mixed with efficient “brains.”

“Thirty major causes of failure”

Failure cannot cope with persistence.

Lack of concentration of effort, persistence, procrastination, self-discipline, well defined goal.

Your value is established entirely by your ability to render useful service or your capacity to induce others to render such service.

There is but one dependable method of accumulating and legally holding riches, and that is by rendering useful service.

America allows every person the opportunity to render useful service, and to collect riches in proportion to the value of the service.

Everything which man creates begins in the form of a thought impulse. Man can create nothing which he does not first conceive in thought. Through the aid of the imagination, thought impulses may be assembled into plans. The imagination, when under control, may be used for the creation of plans or purposes that lead to success in one’s chosen occupation.

Experience with thousands of people has proved that lack of persistence is a weakness common to the majority of men. It may be overcome by effort. The ease with which lack of persistence may be conquered will depend entirely upon the intensity of one’s desire.

With persistence will come success.

The hidden guide lets no one enjoy great achievement without passing the persistence test. THose who can’t take it simply do not make the grade.

Habit. Persistence is the direct result of habit. The mind absorbs and becomes a part of the daily experiences upon which it feeds. Fear, the worst of all enemies, can be effectively cured by forced repetition of acts of courage./