You may know Napoleon Hill from his book Think and Grow Rich. That timeless classic teaches how to use your mind to get the results you want.
Many people don’t know that Napoleon Hill wrote another book that wasn’t released until well after his death.
Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success is Hill’s work that came out of the vault just a few years ago. Building on the success of his best known work, Hill tackles essential skills, mindsets, and habits that you need to be successful in life.
The first part of this book is mostly autobiographical and tells the inspirational story of Hill’s rise to good fortunes after pulling himself out of very difficult times. Along this journey, he reveals the specific strategies he took that helped him be successful.
The last two thirds of the book contains the manuscript of an interview Hill conducts with the Devil. Yes, that Devil. Due to Hill’s ability to think for himself and be master of his own domain, the Devil grants him an unlimited “ask me anything” style discussion.
As the reader, you get to listen and learn what makes the Devil tick. Why is this important? Because he wants you to fail. He wants you to be miserable. By knowing his tactics and subtle tricks, you can strengthen yourself and reach your own potential.
Hill is ahead of his time as he calls out societal patterns and social norms that, at the time, seemed benign and commonplace but are actually hugely detrimental to an individual’s ability to succeed in life.
He does make potentially controversial stands on several topics (I’ll let you read to see what those are) but all wrapped in the framework of how can we best control our own thoughts and actions to get the results we want and deserve in life.
Hill sums it up best:
“Fear is the tool of the man-made devil. Self-confident faith in one’s self is both the man-made weapon which defeats the devil and the man-made tool which builds a triumphant life. And it is more than that. It is the link to the irresistible forces of the universe which stands behind a man who does not believe in failure and defeat as being anything but temporary experiences.”
If you are having doubts about how to reach your goals in business and life, this book is for you.
If you want a great example of how your thoughts and decisions can pull you out of failure and give you the success you deserve, this book is for you.
I found Outwitting the Devil a truly inspirational read. But instead of just inspiring you, it includes golden nuggets of mindsets and patterns you can follow to reach the success you want.
You can get a copy of the book here.