Chapter 2
FAITH: Visualization and the Attainment of Desire

1 When FAITH is blended “Vibration of thought” is how Hill chose to describe the complex, little understood process by which electrochemical impulses in the brain create and convey “thoughts” and “emotions.” “Vibration” must be understood in a descriptive and metaphoric, as well as “physical” sense here and elsewhere in Hill’s writings. In any event, what is significant is not the imperfection of the words Hill uses in the effort to describe the process—all language is imperfect—but the insight he offers into how thoughts, bolstered by the power of faith, can affect the subconscious mind and create within it new capabilities and powers of communication. It would be a mistake to attempt to understand such terms as “vibration of thought” in a strictly literal sense. The key is to read and re-read such statements, in context, “moving with the flow” of Hill’s ideas. Doing so will soon produce within you the full sense of what Hill means to convey.

2 Understand this truth Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993) and others would go on to popularize this “power of positive thinking,” as did Hill and his later collaborator, friend, and patron, W. Clement Stone, in their book Success through a Positive Mental Attitude (1960). Whenever you listen to a motivational tape or hear a speaker extolling the virtues of positive thinking and a positive mental attitude, you are listening to an echo from Napoleon Hill.

3 All down the ages Neither here nor anywhere else in his book does Hill engage in “religion bashing.” To the contrary, he has strong beliefs about God, or Infinite Intelligence, but he has little regard for dogmatics and sectarians, those who are convinced that they and they alone understand divine intentions and purposes and religious “truth.” To Hill, nothing—no dogma, creed, or teaching—should stand in the way of, or is necessary to, direct communication between the individual and Infinite Intelligence. It is not religion that bothers Hill. It is religionists.

4 Fourth. I have clearly Examples abound of people’s applying Hill’s ideas and principles to attain great success in life. A fascinating instance of someone who followed Hill’s advice by writing down, in the clearest terms, his definite chief aim in life was found a few years ago on a wall in the Planet Hollywood Restaurant located just off Highway 17 Bypass in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Planet Hollywood restaurants were known for their collections of movie and celebrity memorabilia.) On the wall was a handwritten note with the title in red—“My Definite Chief Aim.” Also written in red, at the bottom, was the word “secret,” with the bulk of the note, in blue ink, saying this:

My Definite Chief Aim

I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession $10,000,000. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.

Bruce Lee
Jan. 1969
(secret)

Lee, of course, went on to achieve his goals, becoming the most famous—and richest—martial arts movie star in the world during his time. His success on the screen spawned a worldwide industry of martial arts schools, tournaments, and motion pictures. Unfortunately, he died in 1973 at the age of 33 from an adverse brain reaction to a medication—the same year his most famous film, “Enter the Dragon,” was released. Time magazine wrote of him: “With nothing but his hands, feet and a lot of attitude, he turned the little guy into a tough guy.” He clearly attributed a great deal of credit for his success to his belief in the Think and Grow Rich Philosophy.

5 Observe the words Some sources attribute this poem to W.D. Wintle. Others give the author as “Anonymous.”

6 Let us consider Mohandas K. Gandhi (“Mahatma” is a Hindu title of respect meaning “great-souled”) was born in 1869 and assassinated by an Indian extremist in 1948. Considered the “Father of His Country,” he led the Indian nationalist movement for independence from British rule. His philosophy of nonviolent civil disobedience has been widely influential, especially on the civil rights movement in the United States. Albert Einstein said this about him: “The moral influence which Gandhi has exercised upon thinking people may be far more durable than would appear likely in our present age, with its exaggeration of brute force. We are fortunate and grateful that fate has bestowed upon us so luminous a contemporary, a beacon to generations to come.” To Hill, Gandhi was the modern epitome of the power of an idea—and the human mind—to change the world.

7 Moreover—and Throughout this discussion, Hill uncannily foreshadows modern participatory management, labor-management teams, productivity programs and profit sharing—just about the whole scope of modern management theory and practice.

8 If you have any doubt Napoleon Hill obviously was not superstitious, having no qualms about the number 13. It is certainly possible that he chose it intentionally as an attention-grabber, although, more likely, it was simply the number of the most basic “success” principles he arrived at after distilling his years of research and analysis down to the most elemental level. One can almost hear him emphatically saying, “Well, if 13 is how many principles there are, then 13 they shall be!” While Hill at times exhibits mystical qualities, he is first and foremost a rationalist. He states emphatically in Chapter 13: “ I am not a believer in nor an advocate of ‘miracles,’ for the reason that I have enough knowledge of Nature to understand that Nature never deviates from her established laws. Some of her laws are so incomprehensible that they produce what appear to be ‘miracles.’”

9 Even John Pierpoint Morgan Investment banker J. P. Morgan (1837-1913) is the most powerful figure in the history of American finance. He reshaped the landscape of American industry and manufacturing, reorganizing the railroad industry and serving as the driving force behind the creation of the General Electric and International Harvester corporations, and, as will be seen, the world’s first billion-dollar corporation, U.S. Steel.

10 And still later The federal government sued in an attempt to break up U.S. Steel, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1920 that the corporation was not a monopoly that had restrained trade in violation of anti-trust laws. U.S. Steel in 2001 celebrated the centennial of its founding and was at that time the largest integrated steel producer in the United States, with its headquarters in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

11 “If you had asked Morgan also reportedly told Carnegie when the deal was struck: “Mr. Carnegie, I want to congratulate you on being the richest man in the world.”

12 AFTER IT HAD BEEN Approximately $11 billion in today’s dollars (Consumer Price Index inflation adjustment).