N
apoleon Hill was a journalist in the early 1900s. He grew up in a low-income family in rural Tennessee.
He saw many friends and family members fail to succeed at various businesses and get-rich-quick schemes. This inspired him to study successful people to understand what made them tick.
Hill spent 20 years researching prominent business people of the era. He interviewed people like steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie, railroad executive John Rockefeller, and Coca-Cola president Asa Candler.
After completing his research, Hill wrote a book called “Think and Grow Rich: A Golden-Rule Book for Worldly Success” that outlined his findings on what makes someone a success in life – not just financially, but also in their relationships, faith, and other areas of life.
What are the best Napoleon Hill quotes?
Here are the best books by Napoleon Hill.
Here are some of Napoleon Hill’s greatest motivational phrases on purpose, mastery, self-control, imagination, and initiative… everything you need to succeed (whatever you define success as).
Building a Wealth Mindset: The Ultimate Guide
There’s also a film of Think and Grow Rich correlating with Napoleon Hill’s famous book. Click Think and Grow Rich for the book or Think and Grow Rich movie for the movie.
Best Napoleon Hill Quotes
- “Tell me how you use your spare time, and how you spend your money, and I will tell you where and what you will be in ten years from now.”
- “A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
- “The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.”
- “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.”
- “Put your foot upon the neck of the fear of criticism by reaching a decision not to worry about what other people think, do, or say.”
- “There are no limitations to the mind except those that we acknowledge.”
- “Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.”
- “Most great people have achieved their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”
- “Success comes to those who become success conscious.”
- “When you are able to maintain your own highest standards of integrity – regardless of what others may do – you are destined for greatness.”
- “Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.”
- “When your desires are strong enough, you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve.”
- “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”
- “Perhaps we shall learn, as we pass through this age, that the ‘other self” is more powerful than the physical self we see when we look into a mirror.”
- “Hold a picture of yourself long and steadily enough in your mind’s eye, and you will be drawn toward it.”
- “Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and never the result of selfishness.”
- “Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune or temporary defeat.”
- “Every adversity, every failure, every heartbreak, carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
- “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others succeed.”
- “Success is good at any age, but the sooner you find it, the longer you will enjoy it.”
- “It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.”
- “Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.”
- “When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.”
- “Cherish your vision and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.”
- “A positive mind finds a way it can be done; A negative mind looks for all the ways it can’t be done.”
- “The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”
- “Helen Keller became deaf, dumb, and blind shortly after birth. Despite her greatest misfortune, she has written her name indelibly in the pages of the history of the great. Her entire life has served as evidence that no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as reality.”
- “To win the big stakes in this changed world, you must catch the spirit of the great pioneers of the past, whose dreams have given to civilization all that it has of value, the spirit that serves as the life-blood of our own country – your opportunity and mine, to develop and market our talents.”
- “Deliberately seek the company of people who influence you to think and act on building the life you desire.”
- “You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own environment. You can make your life what you want it to be.”
- “You give before you get.”
- “If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it . . . ”
- “A genius is simply one who has taken full possession of his own mind and directed it toward objectives of his own choosing, without permitting outside influences to discourage or mislead him.”
- “Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent.”
- “I will eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, and cynicism, by developing love for all humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success. I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and in myself.”
- “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.”
- “The ladder of success is never crowded at the top.”
- “If you are not learning while you’re earning, you are cheating yourself out of the better portion of your compensation.”
- “The more you give, the more comes back to you.”
- “Any ideas, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought”
- “If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.”
- “Remember that it is not the lawyer who knows the most law, but the one who best prepares his case, who wins.”
- “Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.”
- “The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.”
- “Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.”
- “If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water’s edge.”
- “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.”
- “Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do. More than five hundred of the most successful men this country has ever known told the author their greatest success came just one step beyond the point at which defeat had overtaken them.”
- “When you have talked yourself into what you want, right there is the place to stop talking and begin saying it with deeds.”
- “Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire brings a small amount of heat.”
- “Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”
- “Plan your work and work your plan.”
- “Those who succeed in an outstanding way seldom do so before the age of 40. More often, they do not strike their real pace until they are well beyond the age of 50.”
- “You can think your way into or out of almost any circumstance, good or bad.”
- “Remember that your dominating thoughts attract,
through a definite law of nature, by the shortest and most
convenient route, their physical counterpart. Be careful what
your thoughts dwell upon.” - “Procrastination is the bad habit of putting of until the day after tomorrow what should have been done yesterday.”
- “If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”
- “No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it.”
- “TELL THE WORLD WHAT YOU INTEND TO DO, BUT FIRST SHOW IT.This is the equivalent of saying “deeds, and not words, are what count most.”
- “Keep you mind fixed on what you want in life: not on what you don’t want.”
- “Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”
- “Everyone faces defeat. It may be a stepping-stone or a stumbling block, depending on the mental attitude with which it is faced.”
- “Life reflects your own thoughts back to you.”
- “If you give up before your goal has been reached, you are a “quitter.” A QUITTER NEVER WINS AND A WINNER NEVER QUITS. Lift this sentence out, write it on a piece of paper in letters an inch high, and place it where you will see it every night before you go to sleep, and every morning before you go to work”
- “If you do not see great riches in your imagination, you will never see them in your bank balance.”
- “Action is the real measure of intelligence.”
- “You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.” - “You become what you think about.”
- “Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth. Everyone has a flock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept them. If you are influenced by “opinions” when you reach DECISIONS, you will not succeed in any undertaking.”
- “To be a star, you must shine your own light, follow your own path, and don’t worry about darkness, for that is when the stars shine brightest.”
- “We refuse to believe that which we don’t understand.”
- “Remember,too,that all who succeed in life get off to a bad start,and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they “arrive”. The turning point in the lives of those who succeed usually comes at some moment of crisis,through which they are introduced to their “other selves”.”
- “Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
- “Neglecting to broaden their view has kept some people doing one thing all their lives.”
Final Thoughts on Best Napoleon Hill Quotes
We must take action in every area of our life. Moving forward without making progress in at least one area is impossible. I define progress as doing more of what you enjoy while doing more than ever.
This means that you should keep trying new things and expanding your horizons.
You should also reach out and make new friends, meet new people, and take other opportunities. Your life will be more prosperous for having reached out and done something outside your comfort zone.
Above all, you must remember that you can always get better. Whether it’s your job, relationship, or health, there is always an opportunity for improvement. You may not know it, but there is always something you can do to improve yourself. The process of becoming better is a continual one.
The more you practice, the better you will get. You’ll feel more alive, energized, and motivated as you improve daily. You’ll also discover new ways to make your life better.
And when you do, you’ll find that you have more than enough power to shape your life and make the changes you want.
Do you want to learn more about “Best Napoleon Hill Quotes,” Check out Building a Wealth Mindset: The Ultimate Guide.
Here are the best books by Napoleon Hill.

James is the editor-in-chief at wealthmindsetschool.com. James is a workaholic and an entrepreneur who has been in the tech industry for over ten years. He has worked with Microsoft, owns multiple websites, and now owns a mattress shop. Furthermore, when he has time left over, he will be in his woodworking shop building furniture as a side hustle. James has a B.S. in Business Management Information Systems and a Master’s in Business Administration from Liberty University. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Executive Leadership, and once he completes that, he will pursue his Ph.D. in Business Administration – Entrepreneurship. James also seeks investment opportunities, putting his money to work instead of himself. James is an active believer that wealth begins with developing a wealth mindset. He now teaches, instructs, and helps others achieve that goal.