Oliver Napoleon Hill (October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American self-help author and con man which collapsed after investors accused Hill of malfeasance. After the film's production, money from Corianton Corporation moved "freely into one of [Hill's] separate enterprises". Hill claimed to have been an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt during this time, and to have coined Roosevelt's famous phrase "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself".
Think and Grow Rich
In 1937, Hill published the bestselling book Think and Grow Rich, which became Hill's best-known work. Hill's new wife Rosa Lee Beeland contributed substantially to the authoring and editing of Think and Grow Rich. Hill's biographers would later say this book sold 20 million copies over 50 years, although as Richard Lingeman remarks in his brief biography, "Alice Payne Hackett's 70 Years of Best Sellers suggests the number was considerably less." a rewrite of a 1925 manuscript. Hill identified freedom, democracy, capitalism, and harmony as being among the foundations to his "Philosophy of Achievement". He asserted that without these foundations, great personal achievements would not be possible.
Hill claimed his philosophy was superior to those of others and that its principles were responsible for the successes of Americans. Hill blamed failure on such emotions as fear and selfishness.
A "secret" of achievement was discussed in Think and Grow Rich, but Hill did not explicitly identify this secret in the book, insisting that readers would benefit most if they discovered it for themselves.
In the introduction, Hill states of the "secret" that Andrew Carnegie "carelessly tossed it into my mind" and that it inspired Manuel L. Quezon of the Philippine Islands to "gain freedom for his people". Although he mentions a "burning desire for money" repeatedly throughout the book, he suggests that avarice is not his "secret" at all.
Hill returned to the topic of a secret in a 1967 book, where he explicitly stated:
He presents the notion of a "Definite Major Purpose" as a challenge to his readers to ask themselves: "In what do I truly believe?" According to Hill, "98%" of people have few or no strong beliefs, which made their achieving success unlikely.
Hill declares that the life story of his son Blair is an inspiration to him, claiming that despite being born without ears, Blair had grown up able to hear and speak almost normally. Hill reports that his son, during his last year of college, read chapter two of the manuscript of Think and Grow Rich, discovered Hill's secret "for himself", and then inspired "hundreds and thousands" of people who could neither hear nor speak.
From 1952 to 1962, Hill taught his Philosophy of Personal Achievement—Lectures on Science of Success in association with W. Clement Stone. During 1960, Hill and Stone co-authored the book Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude. Norman Vincent Peale is quoted saying that Hill and Stone "have the rare gift of inspiring and helping people" and that he owes "them both a personal debt of gratitude for the helpful guidance I have received from their writings."
The book is listed in John C. Maxwell's A Lifetime "Must Read" Books List.
Hill claimed insight into racism, slavery, oppression, failure, revolution, war, and poverty, asserting that overcoming these difficulties using his "Philosophy of Achievement" was the responsibility of every human. and that he had then interviewed many successful people of the time. The authenticity of many of Hill's claims has been widely disputed. Napoleon Hill's collaboration with Andrew Carnegie has remained unsupported by any evidence. who Hill said then introduced him to Alexander Graham Bell, Elmer R. Gates, Thomas Edison, and Luther Burbank.
Endorsements for The Law of Success were allegedly sent in by William H. Taft, Cyrus H. K. Curtis, Thomas Edison, Luther Burbank, E. M. Statler, Edward W. Bok, and John D. Rockefeller.
Alleged spirit visitations
Hill openly described visits from spirits in chapter 12 of his book Grow Rich! With Peace of Mind (1967). He described them as unseen friends, unseen watchers, strange beings, and the Great School of Masters that had been guarding him, and who maintain a "school of wisdom". Hill states that the "Master" spoke to him audibly, revealing secret knowledge. Hill further insists that the Masters "can disembody themselves and travel instantly to any place they choose to acquire essential knowledge or to give knowledge directly, by voice, to anyone else."
Grow Rich! With Peace of Mind was allegedly influenced by Hill's spirit voices; Hill cites the "Master", writing: "Much of what he said already has been presented to you in the chapters of this book or will follow in other chapters." In Chapter 14 of his book Think and Grow Rich (1937), he openly talks about his "invisible counselors" with whom he discusses various areas of his life. Hill refers to these meetings with his counselors as being real because he consistently told himself they were real, a principle he refers to as "autosuggestion". Hill does admit the talks were only real to him because of his imagination but professes his belief that the "dominating thoughts and desires" of one's mind make those thoughts real.
Death
Napoleon Hill died aged 87 on November 8, 1970. His estimated net worth at the time of his death was about $1 million Author and historian Mitch Horowitz has noted Hill's popularization of a “Sixth Sense" as a creative faculty of the subconscious mind.
Hill has been seen as inspiring later self-help works, such as Rhonda Byrne's The Secret. Gizmodo has called him "the most famous conman you've probably never heard of".