Jacob Jans.Com

Napoleon Hill got it wrong. The author of the best-selling business-self-help book “Think and Grow Rich” missed out on the key element to success. He missed out on the single most important difference between those who succeed and those who do not.

And all of his insights, teachings, lessons, formulas, and stories are worthless without this one thing that he missed.

It is such an obvious omission that it’s like a glaring pimple, about to explode. It’s like a volcano ready to burst.

The fact is, if all you do is ‘think’…you won’t grow rich. You’ll grow old and die.

That’s obvious. BUT, the obvious isn’t always so obvious when applied to specific situations. So, an example is in order.

One of Napoleon Hill’s extremely insightful laws of success is: “Whatever the Mind of Man Can Conceive and Believe It Can Achieve.”

And he is absolutely right. If you think of something, and truly believe it to be possible, you will be able to succeed at doing it. But, that won’t get you anywhere. Imagination and belief are nothing without one more thing.

Think about it. Imagine two people. They’re identical twins. Both want to be extremely muscular body builders. Both get this burning desire in their head to become world champion body builders, and both strongly believe it to be possible. In their minds, they already are incredibly strong. Able to win championships. It’s just a matter of time.

Or is it? One of them spends all his time planning his strategy. He spends hours thinking about the proper ways to weight lift. He spends weeks devising perfect weight-lifting routines. He spends years perfecting those routines in his head. He studies the great body builders of history. He reads volumes of information on how to weight lift. He desires more than anything to become the ultimate body builder.

The other twin got bumped on the head when he was young. He’s not very smart. He doesn’t do a lot of reading, but he asks his brother a lot of questions. And then, every day he goes to the gym and lifts weights.

Which of the twins are more likely to become a successful body builder?

The answer is so obvious, and yet every day this same story plays out. Millions of people with a burning desire to be successful spend all of their time thinking and none of their time acting.

If you want to be successful, go ahead and follow Napoleon Hill’s advice. But, add to it one idea: Action. If you want to grow rich, you must Think and Act.

Thomas Edison didn’t just think about ten thousand variations on the light bulb. He built ten thousand variations on the light bulb, until one worked! Henry Ford didn’t just think about building an affordable car, he actually built one. Sergey Brin didn’t just think about how to build the world’s best search engine. He actually did it. Bill Gates didn’t need to know how to create a good operating system to be successful. His actions made that unnecessary. George W. Bush might have thought about killing hundreds of thousands of people in the middle east, but it was his actions that caused it to happen. And it will be action, not thought, that stops him.

Now. I’m not saying you shouldn’t listen to Napoleon Hill. In fact, you probably should gobble up all his knowledge as quickly as you can.

Because, as he says, thoughts are things.

Do you want to use your thoughts or do you want to twist them around in your head until you body deteriorates into dust and bone?