A focused breakdown of Think & Grow Rich principles in relation to new founders and startups:

Principles That Most Directly Help New Founders

1. Burning Desire (Definiteness of Purpose)
   Crucial for founders to crystallize a clear, passionate goal, fueling motivation and direction amid uncertainty.

2. Faith
   Builds confidence and resilience to overcome early doubts, setbacks, and external skepticism common in startups.

3. Persistence
   Encourages grit and long-term effort, essential for navigating the inevitable challenges and pivots during startup growth.

4. Organized Planning
   Translates vision into actionable steps—founders benefit from planning that balances flexibility and execution.

5. Specialized Knowledge
   Highlights the importance of gaining expertise or building teams with skills critical to the startup’s niche or technology.

6. The Mastermind
   Emphasizes surrounding yourself with mentors, advisors, and collaborators—a key to navigating unfamiliar startup challenges.

7. Autosuggestion
   Self-affirmation to maintain positivity and focus, which helps founders manage stress and maintain productive mindsets.

---

Principles Most Outdated or Less Relevant for Modern Startups

1. The Sixth Sense
   This vague concept of a “hunch” or spiritual insight lacks actionable grounding or evidence in modern entrepreneurship.

2. Romance of Riches
   The notion that desire alone controls outcomes overlooks systemic factors like timing, competition, capital, and market dynamics.

3. Faith Without Testing
   Hill’s encouragement of faith to the point of ignoring contrary evidence conflicts with today’s data-driven, lean startup methodologies emphasizing rapid experimentation and iteration.

4. Overemphasis on Individual Willpower Alone
   The “lone hero” mindset downplays team dynamics, user feedback, and collaborative innovation crucial for startups.

5. Organizational Hierarchies and Titles
   Examples and advice focused on formal corporate roles feel disconnected from the flat, agile, and cross-functional teams that define startups.

Summary Table

Beneficial Principles	Outdated Principles
Burning Desire	Sixth Sense
Faith	Romanticized view of wealth
Persistence	Faith without empirical testing
Organized Planning	Lone-wolf success mindset
Specialized Knowledge	Corporate hierarchy focus
Mastermind	Overreliance on mindset over data
Autosuggestion

---

In essence, Hill’s mindset and planning principles remain powerful for founders, but modern startups must counterbalance idealistic faith with data, teamwork, and fast iteration to succeed.

---

1. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sushant-futureblink_unpopular-opinion-think-and-grow-rich-has-activity-7172191897472491520-IirJ
2. https://paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html
3. https://renminds.org/2025/07/15/the-adaptable-educators-book-review-think-and-grow-rich-by-napoleon-hill/

=====

We are here to help. 

We found a simple yet effective way to turn your ambitions into achievements with our Grow Rich 365 Challenge & Community. For $10 a month or $100/year, you’ll get daily action prompts, live weekly calls, an engaged mastermind community, and proven tools to build focus, overcome hurdles, and scale your business and mindset. Don’t just learn success—live it, every single day. Get details and a 7-day FREE trial here: https://www.skool.com/grow-rich-365-8272