Let's talk about your mentor... (My thoughts on Think and Grow Rich Chapter 5 - Specialized Knowledge)

If you haven’t yet, check out my review of “Think and Grow Rich” Chapter 5 (link here). Napoleon Hill talks about “Specialized Knowledge”. He goes into a discussion of how thinking and growing rich requires you to have specialized knowledge and put it into use. He then suggests getting a mentor. Nothing particularly special, not too controversial.

However, what’s most interesting is that specialized knowledge was never the main source of Thinking and Growing Rich. Rather, it was about collaboration with others who have specialized knowledge, using it for your own vision and purpose. There’s actually something deeper going on.​

Thinking and Growing Rich has nothing to do with thinking and, believe it or not, it has nothing to do with Growing Rich. Rather, it has everything to do with mastering the art of collaborating with others.

When Napoleon Hill was talking about “Specialized Knowledge,” you didn’t need to possess the knowledge, someone else could. And if you got a bunch of people who were smarter than you to solve a problem, you could get them to think and make yourself rich. Except…why do those really smart people need you?

Because you know how to get them to collaborate with each other. You know how they all work on a fundamental psychological and existential level. You are the glue that holds them together. You are able to work with smart people, narcissistic people, slow people, lazy people, critical people, greedy people, all types and sorts. You know how to get all of them motivated towards your goal even when they have their own personal needs and wants. That’s how you “Think and Grow Rich.”

As you can imagine, “collaborating” can easily lead to “manipulating.” And if you can “manipulate” many people to funnel money into your pocket in a disproportionate way, you’ve become rich…but at what cost?​

That’s why I’m working on this problem. How does one grow rich in an ethical way? How do High Performers maintain a close connection to a Higher Power? These are the questions that keep me up at night. But if I’m being honest, these are the questions few take the time to ask, let alone answer.

You interested in helping me answer this question?