Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) was an American self-help author and motivational speaker, best known for his iconic work “Think and Grow Rich,” published in 1937. Born in Wise County, Virginia, Hill overcame numerous challenges throughout his life, including poverty and family instability. He began his career as a journalist before dedicating himself to the study of success principles. Commissioned by industrialist Andrew Carnegie, Hill spent over 20 years interviewing successful individuals, distilling their strategies into the principles outlined in his seminal book. “Think and Grow Rich” remains a classic in the self-help genre, emphasizing the power of positive thinking, goal-setting, and perseverance. Hill’s teachings have had a lasting impact on personal development and continue to inspire countless individuals seeking success and fulfillment.
Napoleon Hill Quotes
1. “Do not 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.”
— Napoleon Hill
2. “If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way.”
— Napoleon Hill
3. “A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
— Napoleon Hill
4. “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
— Napoleon Hill
5. “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.”
— Napoleon Hill
6. “Our only limitations are those we set up in our own minds.”
— Napoleon Hill
7. “The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.”
— Napoleon Hill
8. “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.”
— Napoleon Hill
9. “Action is the real measure of intelligence.”
— Napoleon Hill
10. “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.”
— Napoleon Hill
11. “When your desires are strong enough, you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve.”
— Napoleon Hill
12. “The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.”
— Napoleon Hill
13. “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”
— Napoleon Hill
14. “Tell the world what you intend to do, but first show it.”
— Napoleon Hill
15. “Set your mind on a definite goal and observe how quickly the world stands aside to let you pass.”
— Napoleon Hill
16. “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
— Napoleon Hill
17. “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.”
— Napoleon Hill
18. “Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”
— Napoleon Hill
19. “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”
— Napoleon Hill
20. “If you are not learning while you’re earning, you are cheating yourself out of the better portion of your compensation.”
— Napoleon Hill
21. “Plan your work and work your plan.”
— Napoleon Hill
22. “When you are able to maintain your own highest standards of integrity – regardless of what others may do – you are destined for greatness.”
— Napoleon Hill
23. “You either control your mind or it controls you.”
— Napoleon Hill
24. “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.”
— Napoleon Hill
25. “Set your target and keep trying until you reach it.”
— Napoleon Hill
26. “You can do it if you believe you can.”
— Napoleon Hill
27. “Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.”
— Napoleon Hill
28. “Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.”
— Napoleon Hill
29. “First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”
— Napoleon Hill
30. “More gold had been mined from the mind of men than the earth itself.”
— Napoleon Hill
31. “A positive mind finds a way it can be done; a negative mind looks for all the ways it can’t be done.”
— Napoleon Hill
32. “Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing. ”
— Napoleon Hill
33. “The starting point of all achievement is desire.”
— Napoleon Hill
34. “You may be hurt if you love too much, but you will live in misery if you love too little.”
— Napoleon Hill
35. “Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you can’t control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward.”
— Napoleon Hill
36. “Focus on the possibilities for success, not on the potential for failure.”
— Napoleon Hill
37. “Burn the boats as you enter the island and you will take the island.”
— Napoleon Hill
38. “Start going the extra mile and opportunity will follow you.”
— Napoleon Hill
39. “Life is a game board. Time is your opponent. If you procrastinate, you will lose the game. You must make a move to be victorious.”
— Napoleon Hill
40. “Time is valuable, and when it is gone, it is gone. Time is wealth, and unlike money, when it is gone, you cannot replace it.”
— Napoleon Hill
41. “Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.”
— Napoleon Hill
42. “Control your own mind, and you may never be controlled by the mind of another.”
— Napoleon Hill
43. “You can be anything you want to be if only you believe with sufficient conviction and act in accordance with your faith; for whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
— Napoleon Hill
44. “Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.”
— Napoleon Hill
45. “Failure cannot cope with persistence.”
— Napoleon Hill
46. “Life is a mirror of your consistent thoughts.”
— Napoleon Hill
47. “Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.”
— Napoleon Hill
48. “Achieve self-mastery over your thoughts, and constantly direct them toward your goals and objectives. Learn to focus your attention on the goals that you want to achieve and on finding ways to achieve those goals.”
— Napoleon Hill
49. “Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.”
— Napoleon Hill
50. “Success is good at any age, but the sooner you find it, the longer you will enjoy it.”
— Napoleon Hill
51. “You have a brain and mind of your own. Use it, and reach your own decisions.”
— Napoleon Hill
52. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade and sell it to all of those who get thirsty from complaining.”
— Napoleon Hill
53. “O Divine Providence, I ask not for more riches but more wisdom with which to make wiser use of the riches you gave me at birth, consisting in the power to control and direct my own mind to whatever ends I might desire.”
— Napoleon Hill
54. “Willpower and desire, when properly combined, make an irresistible pair.”
— Napoleon Hill
55. “Education comes from within; you get it by struggle and effort and thought.”
— Napoleon Hill
56. “It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.”
— Napoleon Hill
57. “A positive mental attitude is the right mental attitude.”
— Napoleon Hill
58. “When you begin to think and grow rich, you will observe that riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work.”
— Napoleon Hill
59. “The persistent man with a poor plan stands a better chance of winning than the man with a perfect plan who hesitates and waivers in carrying it out.”
— Napoleon Hill
60. “The ladder of success is never crowded at the top.”
— Napoleon Hill
61. “Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.”
— Napoleon Hill
62. “Remember that it is not the lawyer who knows the most law, but the one who best prepares his case, who wins.”
— Napoleon Hill
63. “No person may enjoy outstanding success without good health.”
— Napoleon Hill
64. “Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.”
— Napoleon Hill
65. “Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent.”
— Napoleon Hill
66. “Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.”
— Napoleon Hill
67. “What is initiative? I’ll tell you: It is doing the right thing without being told.”
— Napoleon Hill
68. “I am thankful for the adversities, which have crossed my pathway, for they taught me tolerance, sympathy, self-control, perseverance and some other virtues I might never have known.”
— Napoleon Hill
69. “Nothing is impossible to the person who backs DESIRE with enduring FAITH.”
— Napoleon Hill
70. “Life reflects your own thoughts back to you.”
— Napoleon Hill
71. “You can always become the person you would have liked to be.”
— Napoleon Hill
72. “Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action.”
— Napoleon Hill
73. “The worst of all human ailments: indecision.”
— Napoleon Hill
74. “The great leaders of business, industry and finance, and the great artists, poets, musicians and writers all became great because they developed the power of self-motivation.”
— Napoleon Hill
75. “Fear is faith in reverse gear.”
— Napoleon Hill
76. “There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.”
— Napoleon Hill
77. “One way to avoid criticism is to do nothing and to be a nobody. The world will then not bother you.”
— Napoleon Hill
78. “The jack-of-all-trades seldom is good at any. Concentrate all of your efforts on one definite chief aim.”
— Napoleon Hill
79. “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.”
— Napoleon Hill
80. “Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.”
— Napoleon Hill
81. “Don’t be afraid of a little opposition. Remember that the ‘Kite’ of success generally rises AGAINST the wind of Adversity, not with it.”
— Napoleon Hill
82. “Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.”
— Napoleon Hill
83. “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!”
— Napoleon Hill
84. “Every human brain is both a broadcasting and receiving station for the vibration of thought.”
— Napoleon Hill
85. “Faith is the head chemist of the mind.”
— Napoleon Hill
86. “Faith is the eternal elixir. It gives life, power, and action to the impulse of thought.”
— Napoleon Hill
87. “If you can’t do great things, do small things in a great way. Don’t wait for great opportunities. Seize common, everyday ones and make them great.”
— Napoleon Hill
88. “If you must let someone down, be sure it isn’t the friend who helped you up when you were down.”
— Napoleon Hill
89. “Every time a man rises from defeat, he becomes mentally and emotionally stronger. Thus, in time, one may actually find his self – his true, inner self – through temporary defeat.”
— Napoleon Hill
90. “Enthusiasm is the steam that drives the engine.”
— Napoleon Hill
91. “Within every setback or obstacle or disadvantage there is the seed of an equal or opposite or greater advantage or benefit.”
— Napoleon Hill
92. “Everyone enjoys doing the kind of work for which he is best suited.”
— Napoleon Hill
93. “Within every adversity is an equal and opposite benefit.”
— Napoleon Hill
94. “Imagination is the most marvelous, miraculous, inconceivably powerful force the world has ever known.”
— Napoleon Hill
95. “Faith and Fear make poor bedfellows. Where one is found, the other cannot exist.”
— Napoleon Hill
96. “Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach.”
— Napoleon Hill
97. “Success in its highest and noblest form calls for peace of mind and enjoyment and happiness which come only to the man who has found the work that he likes best.”
— Napoleon Hill
98. “Success in life depends upon happiness, and happiness is found in no other way than through SERVICE that is rendered in a spirit of love.”
— Napoleon Hill
99. “One who has loved truly can never lose entirely.”
— Napoleon Hill
100. “The Master Mind principle: Two or more people actively engaged in the pursuit of a definite purpose with a positive mental attitude, constitute an unbeatable force.”
— Napoleon Hill
101. “The habit of taking the line of least resistance makes all rivers and some men crooked.”
— Napoleon Hill
102. “Through some strange and powerful principle of mental chemistry which she has never divulged, nature wraps up in the impulse of strong desire, that something which recognizes no such word as impossible, and accepts no such reality as failure.”
— Napoleon Hill
103. “Every company has room for the man who has a definite plan of action which is to the advantage of that company.”
— Napoleon Hill
104. “The number one reason people fail in life is because they listen to their friends, family, and neighbors.”
— Napoleon Hill
105. “If you have a strong belief in yourself, in what you are doing and what you want to do, no adversity is too difficult to overcome.”
— Napoleon Hill
106. “Dreams come true when desire transforms into concrete actions.”
— Napoleon Hill
107. “Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.”
— Napoleon Hill
108. “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.”
— Napoleon Hill
109. “Your deliberate Chief Aim in life should be selected with deliberate care.”
— Napoleon Hill
110. “Happiness may be found only by helping others to find it.”
— Napoleon Hill
111. “There is nothing that belief plus a burning desire cannot make real.”
— Napoleon Hill
112. “Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat.”
— Napoleon Hill
113. “Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.”
— Napoleon Hill
114. “It takes half your life before you discover life is a do-it-yourself project.”
— Napoleon Hill
115. “Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”
— Napoleon Hill
116. “The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job.”
— Napoleon Hill
117. “When riches begin to come they come so quickly, in such great abundance, that one wonders where they have been hiding during all those lean years.”
— Napoleon Hill
118. “Success attracts success and failure attracts failure because of the law of harmonious attraction.”
— Napoleon Hill
119. “Every problem comes with an equal or greater opportunity.”
— Napoleon Hill
120. “Every failure is a blessing in disguise, providing it teaches some needed lesson one could not have learned without it. Most so-called Failures are only temporary defeats.”
— Napoleon Hill
121. “Self-control is solely a matter of thought-control!”
— Napoleon Hill
122. “Enthusiasm, if fueled by inspiration and perseverance, travels with passion and its destination is excellence.”
— Napoleon Hill
123. “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! Strong, deeply rooted desire is the starting point of all achievement.”
— Napoleon Hill
124. “There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.”
— Napoleon Hill
125. “You have absolute control over just one thing, your thoughts. This divine gift is the sole means by which you may control your destiny. If you fail to control your mind, you will control nothing else.”
— Napoleon Hill
126. “One of the most important principles of success is developing the habit of going the extra mile.”
— Napoleon Hill
127. “Keep on keeping on, no matter how hard the going may be.”
— Napoleon Hill
128. “Remember, no more effort is required to aim high in life, to demand abundance and prosperity than is required to accept misery and poverty.”
— Napoleon Hill
129. “Failure is nature’s plan to prepare you for great responsibilities.”
— Napoleon Hill
130. “Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.”
— Napoleon Hill
131. “The turning point in the life of those who succeed usually comes at the moment of some crisis.”
— Napoleon Hill
132. “Sex energy is the creative energy of all geniuses. There never has been, and never will be a great leader, builder or artist lacking in the driving force of sex.”
— Napoleon Hill
133. “Success requires no explanations. Failure permits no alibis.”
— Napoleon Hill
134. “It is strange, but true, that the most important turning points of life often come at the most unexpected times and in the most unexpected ways.”
— Napoleon Hill
135. “The great master key to riches is nothing more or less than the self-discipline necessary to help you take full and complete possession of your own mind.”
— Napoleon Hill
136. “The man of decision cannot be stopped! The man of indecision cannot be started! Take your own choice.”
— Napoleon Hill
137. “Success comes to those who become success-conscious. Failure comes to those who indifferently allow themselves to become failure conscious.”
— Napoleon Hill
138. “I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my Definite Purpose in life, therefore, I demand of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment, and I here and now promise to render such action.”
— Napoleon Hill
139. “If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.”
— Napoleon Hill
140. “Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.”
— Napoleon Hill
141. “The basis of persistence is the Power of Will.”
— Napoleon Hill
142. “The subconscious mind is more susceptible to influence by impulses of thought mixed with ‘feeling’ or emotion, than by those originating solely in the reasoning portion of the mind.”
— Napoleon Hill
143. “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve regardless of how many times you may have failed in the past or how lofty your aims and hopes may be.”
— Napoleon Hill
144. “Practical dreamers do not quit.”
— Napoleon Hill
145. “Are you waiting for success to arrive, or are you going out to find where it is hiding?”
— Napoleon Hill
146. “Your greatness is here and now. Your happiness is here and now.”
— Napoleon Hill
147. “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.”
— Napoleon Hill
148. “Keep your mind fixed on what you want in life: not on what you don’t want.”
— Napoleon Hill
149. “What you think, so you will become.”
— Napoleon Hill
150. “Deliberately seek the company of people who influence you to think and act on building the life you desire.”
— Napoleon Hill
151. “Faith is a state of mind which may be induced, or created, by affirmation or repeated instructions to the subconscious mind, through the principle of auto-suggestion .”
— Napoleon Hill
152. “Desire backed by faith knows no such word as impossible.”
— Napoleon Hill
153. “But sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.”
— Napoleon Hill
154. “One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat.”
— Napoleon Hill
155. “You cannot entirely control your subconscious mind, but you can voluntarily hand over to it any plan, desire, or purpose which you wish transformed into concrete form.”
— Napoleon Hill
156. “If you neglect to exercise self-control, you are not only likely to injure others, but you are sure to injure yourself!”
— Napoleon Hill
157. “No one can make you jealous, angry, vengeful, or greedy. Unless you let him.”
— Napoleon Hill
158. “You are the sum total of your dominating or most prominent thoughts.”
— Napoleon Hill
159. “It is always your next move.”
— Napoleon Hill
160. “Out of resistance comes strength.”
— Napoleon Hill
161. “Every adversity contains, at the same time, a seed of equivalent opportunity!”
— Napoleon Hill
162. “Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover.”
— Napoleon Hill
163. “If you truly want to succeed, be prepared to go the extra mile.”
— Napoleon Hill
164. “You have within you all the power you need with which to get whatever you want or need in this world.”
— Napoleon Hill
165. “Fear is a habit, so is self-pity, defeat, anxiety, despair, hopelessness and resignation. You can eliminate all of these negative habits with two simple resolves: I can and I will.”
— Napoleon Hill
166. “Remember when your plans fail, that temporary defeat is not permanent failure.”
— Napoleon Hill
167. “Positive mental attitude is the right mental attitude in all circumstances. Success attracts more success while failure attracts more failure.”
— Napoleon Hill
168. “A man who can speak two languages is worth two men.”
— Napoleon Hill
169. “If you can conceive something in your mind and believe it to be true, then you can achieve it.”
— Napoleon Hill
170. “No one can keep you down but yourself.”
— Napoleon Hill
171. “You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for.”
— Napoleon Hill
172. “Both success and failure are largely the results of HABIT!”
— Napoleon Hill
173. “If you fail to control your own mind, you may be sure you will control nothing else.”
— Napoleon Hill
174. “Keep your mind focused on what you want and act accordingly. You will achieve success!”
— Napoleon Hill
175. “Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time.”
— Napoleon Hill
176. “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places. If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way. Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.”
— Napoleon Hill
177. “You give before you get.”
— Napoleon Hill
178. “Fears are nothing more than a state of mind.”
— Napoleon Hill
179. “No one ever is defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.”
— Napoleon Hill
180. “NOTHING which life has to offer is worth the price of worry.”
— Napoleon Hill
181. “The best way to succeed in this world is to act on the advice you give to others.”
— Napoleon Hill
182. “A resourceful person will always make an opportunity fit his or her needs.”
— Napoleon Hill
183. “The Ability to influence people without irritating them is the most profitable art known to man.”
— Napoleon Hill
184. “Every mind needs friendly contact with other minds, for food of expansion and growth.”
— Napoleon Hill
185. “The world has the habit of making room for the man whose actions show that he knows where he is going.”
— Napoleon Hill
186. “Success comes to those who become success conscious.”
— Napoleon Hill
187. “The one who tries to get something for nothing generally winds up getting nothing for something.”
— Napoleon Hill
188. “If you are influenced by the opinions of others, you will have no DESIRE of your own.”
— Napoleon Hill
189. “Persistence is nothing more than Concentrated Effort mixed with Determination and Faith.”
— Napoleon Hill
190. “Indecision, doubt and fear. The members of this unholy trio are closely related; where one is found, the other two are close at hand.”
— Napoleon Hill
191. “Our minds become magnetized with the dominating thoughts we hold in our minds and these magnets attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts.”
— Napoleon Hill
192. “No one is ready for a thing until he believes he can acquire it.”
— Napoleon Hill
193. “It takes more than a college degree to make one a person of education. Any person who is educated is one who has learned to get whatever he wants in life without violating the rights of others.”
— Napoleon Hill
194. “The state of mind must be belief, not mere hope or wish. Open-mindedness is essential for belief. Closed minds do not inspire faith, courage, and belief.”
— Napoleon Hill
195. “Good intentions are useless until they are expressed in appropriate action!”
— Napoleon Hill
196. “The successful leader must plan his work and work his plan.”
— Napoleon Hill
197. “No man ever achieved worthwhile success who did not, at one time or other, find himself with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure.”
— Napoleon Hill
198. “Successful people, in all callings, never stop acquiring specialized knowledge related to their major purpose, business, or profession.”
— Napoleon Hill
199. “The moment you commit and quit holding back, all sorts of unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance will rise up to help you. The simple act of commitment is a powerful magnet for help.”
— Napoleon Hill
200. “Render more service than you are paid for and eventually you will be paid more for less services rendered.”
— Napoleon Hill
