I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this easier to read than other works by Napoleon Hill. And I took more away from it than I would have if I had only listened to this lecture series. But I don't know that his practical advice fits with our modern world. The principles he discusses are useful and are certainly still being touted everywhere today but the application looks a little different. It felt a bit dated and honestly, bored me a little at times.

I can forgive the repetitive nature of these segments because the original format probably necessitated some amount of repetition. But it doesn't fit in a book like this. It made me skim parts. At the end of the day, I'm glad I read this; I just don't know how much I'd recommend it to other people. I think there are works out there that accomplish the same idea and are easier to read.

I find that most lifestyle or advice books are common sense and offer little in the way of actual, useful information. This one, however, was full of not only common-sense items, but very useful information as well as a unique look at life and how the most successful people look at opportunities and failings.

This book is a transcript of a radio program that Napoleon Hill gave to a tiny town many decades ago, but the message he delivers is still as poignant today as it was back then. This is a powerful read and it give not only sound advice, but ways to implement that advice into your everyday life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy to read. All opinions are my own.

I love reading books about habits. This one is no exception. Very practical advice! If you want great tips on what habits make a person great, read this book!

I heard other books at a younger stage in life, that I should have listened to them then..by reading this book the first thing I did was go and get a copy of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill and send it to my 20 yr old son for a 21st bday present. I believe the lessons even though their are older are timeless and true to this day. The same is just as easy to say for the Success Habits, these are habits that apply now and can be worked into everyone's life to see the fruit grow.

Not Always Sage Advice

Transcribed from a series of radio talks in Paris Missouri in an undisclosed year, Success Habits is a self-help set of principles to guide us to greater life success. It acts as a set of rules to live by that will guarantee peace of mind, quality of purpose, and a prosperous life. The standout principle of Cosmic Habit Force cements his teaching into a required series of habits that must be regularly and consistently executed without fail.
I often wonder if Hill would be at the top of his game if her were alive today? At the very least his school would require a huge overhaul. Though his work has been immortalized and though he has worked with some of history’s most impressive luminaries, I cannot help but wonder at the juvenile delivery of his simplistic principles. His work is the epitome of simple but not easy however hearing the same principles put forth by others in the same field tends to resonate more perhaps because of the way Hill presents himself.
He seems full of his own ego and maybe it partly has to do with the translation of these radio talks to print but Hill seems to loves him some him. Curiously, egotism is a big no-no in his book yet Hill is ripe with it. Maybe hard to see in one’s own self.
I may not so much disagree with what he is saying but with the way he says it. Perhaps the way he frames and defines certain notions needs to be better explained because when he makes a statement such as “an introvert fixes his mind on his own selfish interests, and takes very little interest in other people” I could not disagree more. I wonder how he defines an introvert because his definition and mine could not be further apart. Nonetheless, this statement is a complete turn-off and a red flag, not something I would think Hill would want associated with his work.
There are other principles of his work that I find questionable such as his idea that idle time is always bad. I disagree. Sometimes idle time is exactly what is required to recharge creative juices and for those of us that suffer the ill effects of the monkey mind and inability to disconnect, Hill’s advice to always be in perpetual motion towards a goal seems like bad advice. Also, an acceptance of a life circumstance even while working to change the outcome is prudent opposed to Hills assertion to non-acceptance. Some things are unchangeable and to rail against that is counterproductive. His son’s hearing issues are a good example. What if his attempts made no difference?
Read it if you are into the genre to get an expanded view of the topic but do beware to take some things with a grain of salt.

BRB Rating: Read It

I think this book would be better suited as an audiobook. It was very "preachy" and I think it would have held my attention better actually hearing the words spoken vs having to translate his speech and how he might have emphasized words and such. While this book has good advice, I think that it would reach a broader audience by using the "habits" in the speeches and updating them to have more modern day examples. I do not believe some of the things he mentioned are still relevant and most people do not like to hear about Bible stories and "the Creator".

Loved this book. Napoleon Hill's teaching is as timely today as it was when he was lecturing 50 years ago.

Napoleon Hill is the author of the uber-popular book called Think and Grow Rich. It was one of the first books I read when I finally began putting my financial life in order in my mid-twenties, and I found in tremendously helpful. (It’s worth mentioning, though, that Hill may have been somewhat of a charlatan. He claims to have worked with hundreds of successful men in his time like Thomas Edison and, most notably, Andrew Carnegie. He even claims to have briefly taught Hitler, yikes. But historians say that there is no record of these meetings. Like, anywhere. 🤷 REGARDLESS, I still think his books are worth reading.)

Success Habits is basically a very short version of Think and Grow Rich. It’s a collection of radio addresses given in Paris, Missouri in the 1950s, and it hits the high points of his philosophies on finance, mental attitude, spiritual growth, and, of course, success.

The book is divided into 16 sections, but Hill actually covers only 8 topics: definiteness of purpose (i.e., finding your master life purpose), accurate thinking, applied faith, fifteen major causes of failure, persistence and decisiveness, self-discipline, pleasing personality, and cosmic habit force.

Before you begin reading this book, you have to mentally prepare yourself for some old-timey writing. Hill can be long-winded and repetitive. He also tends to over-explain his points, and he talks about women in, well, the same way everyone talked about women in his time: as housewives and secretaries, barely worthy of being addressed (which is why he never bothers to use a “she” pronoun when addressing his audience, boo).

But if you can see beyond these small annoyances, you’ll find a lot of concrete and helpful suggestions for getting your mental life in order. The gist of his philosophy is that you need to focus the power of your mind on the things you want in order to achieve them. It’s very similar to the philosophy of Tony Robbins in Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!.

What I like best about this book is its emphasis on grit, perseverance, and hard work. I also like how Hill encourages people to focus on the things they want and not on the things they fear. As someone with a phobia list a mile long, I can appreciate this point. I also really enjoyed reading Hill’s various lists—sometimes if only for their enormous entertainment value. (I’m looking at you, “Twenty-five Traits of a Pleasing Personality”). For example:

*** Nine basic human motives are love, sex, material wealth, self-preservation, freedom, personal expression and recognition, immortality or life after death, revenge, and fear.

*** Fifteen major causes of failure are purposelessness, physical deformities at birth, meddlesome curiosity in other people’s affairs, lack of major life purpose, inadequate schooling, lack of self-discipline, lack of ambition, ill health, unfavorable environmental influences during childhood, lack of persistence, negative mental attitude, lack of emotional control, the desire for something for nothing (gambling), procrastination, and giving in to fear.

*** Seven basic fears are poverty, criticism, bad health, loss of love, old age, loss of liberty, and death.

*** Twenty-five traits of a pleasing personality are a positive mental attitude, flexibility, a pleasing voice, a pleasing facial expression, tolerance, a sense of humor, common courtesy, the habit of going the extra mile, gracefulness, temperance, sexual magnetism (yass, queen), and the list goes on.

I found a lot to love about Success Habits. Think and Grow Rich is definitely more comprehensive and better organized, but this is still a nice introduction to Hill’s philosophies. It’s worth a look.

Thought it was an interesting read. Definitely made me think about how I can build better habits to achieve success!