Napoleon Hill was an American author and self-help guru. He is best known for his book Think and Grow Rich (1937), which has sold millions of copies worldwide and is considered a classic in the self-help genre.
Napoleon Hill was born in 1883 in rural Virginia and worked as a journalist and reporter early in his career. In 1908, he was assigned to interview Andrew Carnegie, the steel magnate, and philanthropist, who became his mentor and encouraged him to study the lives of successful people to understand the principles of success.
Napoleon Hill continued to write articles and stories for magazines but also tried his hand at non-fiction. His first book, The Law of Success, was published in 1925.
Hill's most famous book, Think and Grow Rich, was published in 1937 and is based on his interviews with successful people and his observations of their habits and attitudes. Hill outlines a set of principles for achieving success and teaches readers how to develop a positive mental attitude and overcome obstacles.
In addition, to Think and Grow Rich, Hill wrote some other self-help books, including The Law of Success (1928) and Outwitting the Devil (1938, published only in June 2011).
He was also a popular speaker on personal development and gave lectures on the principles of success throughout the United States.
Napoleon Hill died in Greenville, South Carolina, at the age of 87.
Hill's ideas have had a lasting impact on the self-help industry and continue to be significantly influential today. Many of the principles outlined in Think and Grow Rich, such as the importance of setting goals, developing a positive attitude, and persisting in the face of adversity, are still widely taught and followed.
