Interviewing Napoleon Hill of

In 1908 Andrew Carnegie offered a broke young reporter a 20-year job with zero pay — and secretly timed his answer with a stopwatch. Over 60 seconds and the offer was gone. Napoleon Hill said yes in 29. Twenty years and 500 interviews later, that decision became Think and Grow Rich, the best-selling success book of all time.

Today I sit down with Napoleon himself (1883–1970). He answers only in his own published words: where success actually begins, the difference between wishing and a definite chief aim, the six steps that turn desire into money, why most affirmations never work (and the one ingredient that makes them work), the Master Mind — and the imaginary council he held every night for years, until it scared him into stopping.

I also show you the artifacts from my collection: a signed first edition of Think and Grow Rich, one of the first ads for the book, his cheques, his typewriter and his glasses.

Get a free physical copy of Think and Grow Rich (I wrote the foreword for this edition) plus two unpublished Napoleon Hill books — just cover shipping → https://TAGRsecrets.com

New here? Round Pegs Square Holes is a show where I interview the thinkers who shaped my life and are no longer here. Start here: https://youtu.be/nTpKBUFy94I

Napoleon's answers are his own published words, voiced with AI.


CHAPTERS
0:00 The 29-second decision that created Think and Grow Rich
0:39 Meet Napoleon Hill (1883–1970)
1:11 Three days with Andrew Carnegie
2:45 Law of Success → Think and Grow Rich (signed first edition)
3:34 Where success begins: thoughts are things
4:24 Wishing vs. a definite chief aim
6:17 How I became a state champ — and made $1M in a year
8:45 The six steps that turn desire into money
9:44 Bruce Lee's definite chief aim (1969)
11:04 Auto-suggestion: the keystone chapter
12:28 The exact nightly procedure
14:47 Why most affirmations never work
16:46 The Master Mind and the third mind
17:34 Henry Ford in the courtroom
19:18 The invisible counselors — the ritual that scared him
21:58 Your homework: the statement + the self-confidence formula
23:46 Artifacts: first ads, cheques, his typewriter, his glasses
25:26 Free copy of Think and Grow Rich → TAGRsecrets.com


WHO IS NAPOLEON HILL?
Napoleon Hill (1883 – 1970) was an American author and a founding voice of the personal-success genre. Born in a one-room cabin in Wise County, Virginia, he started writing at 13 as a "mountain reporter" for small-town newspapers. In 1908 steel magnate Andrew Carnegie challenged him to organize the world's first philosophy of personal achievement, a study of America's most successful men that took him 20 years. He published The Law of Success in 1928 and, in 1937, distilled it into Think and Grow Rich, one of the best-selling self-help books of all time and the book that shaped generations of success teachers, from Earl Nightingale to his longtime associate W. Clement Stone. He passed away in November 1970.


WHO IS RUSSELL BRUNSON?
Over 20+ years Russell Brunson has built a following of over a million entrepreneurs, sold hundreds of thousands of copies of his books — DotCom Secrets, Expert Secrets and Traffic Secrets — and popularized the sales funnel. He is the co-founder of ClickFunnels. As of 2026 his training and software have helped over 2,925 people into the Two Comma Club.


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