Think and Grow Rich

Decision: The Mastery of Procrastination

Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
Napoleon Hill

The Seventh Step toward Riches

ACCURATE analysis of over 25,000 men and women who had experienced failure, disclosed the fact that LACK OF DECISION was near the head of the list of the 30 major causes of FAILURE. This is no mere statement of a theory-it is a fact. PROCRASTINATION, the opposite of DECISION, is a common enemy which practically every man must conquer.

You will have an opportunity to test your capacity to reach quick and deﬁnite DECISIONS when you ﬁnish reading this book, and are ready to begin putting into ACTION the principles which it describes.


One of Henry Ford’s most outstanding qualities is his habit of reaching decisions quickly and deﬁnitely, and changing them slowly. This quality is so pronounced in Mr. Ford, that it has given him the reputation of being obstinate. It was this quality which prompted Mr. Ford to continue to manufacture his famous Model “T” (the world’s ugliest car), when all of his advisors, and many of the purchasers of the car, were urging him to change it.

Perhaps, Mr. Ford delayed too long in making the change, but the other side of the story is, that Mr. Ford’s ﬁrmness of decision yielded a huge fortune, before the change in model became necessary. There is but little doubt that Mr. Ford’s habit of deﬁniteness of decision assumes the proportion of obstinacy, but this quality is preferable to slowness in reaching decisions and quickness in changing them.

The majority of people who fail to accumulate money sufﬁcient for their needs, are, generally, easily inﬂuenced by the “opinions” of others. They permit the newspapers and the “gossiping” neighbors to do their “thinking” for them. “Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth. Everyone has a ﬂock of opinions ready to be wished upon anyone who will accept them. If you are inﬂuenced by “opinions” when you reach DECISIONS, you will not succeed in any undertaking, much less in that of transmuting YOUR OWN DESIRE into money.

If you are inﬂuenced by the opinions of others, you will have no DESIRE of your own. Keep your own counsel, when you begin to put into practice the principles described here, by reaching your own decisions and following them. Take no one into your conﬁdence, EXCEPT the members of your “Master Mind” group, and be very sure in your selection of this group, that you choose ONLY those who will be in COMPLETE SYMPATHY AND HARMONY WITH YOUR PURPOSE.






Let one of your ﬁrst decisions be to KEEP A CLOSED MOUTH AND OPEN EARS AND EYES. As a reminder to yourself to follow this advice, it will be helpful if you copy the following epigram in large letters and place it where you will see it daily.


This is the equivalent of saying that “deeds, and not words, are what count most.”



Lincoln’s decision to issue his famous Proclamation of Emancipation, which gave freedom to the colored people of America, was rendered with full understanding that his act would turn thousands of friends and political supporters against him. He knew, too, that the carrying out of that proclamation would mean death to thousands of men on the battleﬁeld. In the end, it cost Lincoln his life. That required courage.



But, the greatest decision of all time, as far as any American citizen is concerned, was reached in Philadelphia, July 4, 1776, when ﬁfty-six men signed their names to a document, which they well knew would bring freedom to all Americans, or leave every one of the ﬁfty-six hanging from a gallows!




Its purpose, rather, is to give greater attention to the astounding POWER that was the real cause of his victory. It is nothing short of tragedy that the writers of history have missed, entirely, even the slightest reference to the irresistible POWER, which gave birth and freedom to the nation destined to set up new standards of independence for all the peoples of the earth. I say it is a tragedy, because it is the self-same POWER which must be used by every individual who surmounts the difﬁculties of Life, and forces Life to pay the price asked.

Let us brieﬂy review the events which gave birth to this POWER. The story begins with an incident in Boston, March 5, 1770. British soldiers were patroling the streets, by their presence, openly threatening the citizens. The colonists resented armed men marching in their midst. They began to express their resentment openly, hurling stones as well as epithets, at the marching soldiers, until the commanding ofﬁcer gave orders, “Fix bayonets…..Charge!”

The battle was on. It resulted in the death and injury of many. The incident aroused such resentment that the Provincial Assembly, (made up of prominent colonists), called a meeting for the purpose of taking deﬁnite action. Two of the members of that Assembly were, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams-LONG LIVE THEIR NAMES! They spoke up courageously, and declared that a move must be made to eject all British soldiers from Boston.



Richard Henry Lee became an important factor in this story by reason of the fact that he and Samuel Adams communicated frequently (by correspondence), sharing freely their fears and their hopes concerning the welfare of the people of their Provinces. From this practice, Adams conceived the idea that a mutual exchange of letters between the thirteen Colonies might help to bring about the coordination of effort so badly needed in connection with the solution of their problems. Two years after the clash with the soldiers in Boston (March `72), Adams presented this idea to the Assembly, in the form of a motion that a Correspondence Committee be established among the Colonies, with deﬁnitely appointed correspondents in each Colony, “for the purpose of friendly cooperation for the betterment of the Colonies of British America.”

Mark well this incident! It was the beginning of the organization of the far-ﬂung POWER destined to give freedom to you, and to me. The Master Mind had already been organized. It consisted of Adams, Lee, and Hancock. “I tell you further, that if two of you agree upon the earth concerning anything for which you ask, it will come to you from My Father, who is in Heaven.”

The Committee of Correspondence was organized. Observe that this move provided the way for increasing the power of the Master Mind by adding to it men from all the Colonies. Take notice that this procedure constituted the ﬁrst ORGANIZED PLANNING of the disgruntled Colonists.

In union there is strength! The citizens of the Colonies had been waging disorganized warfare against the British soldiers, through incidents similar to the Boston riot, but nothing of beneﬁt had been accomplished. Their individual grievances had not been consolidated under one Master Mind. No group of individuals had put their hearts, minds, souls, and bodies together in one deﬁnite DECISION to settle their difﬁculty with the British once and for all, until Adams, Hancock, and Lee got together.

Meanwhile, the British were not idle. They, too, were doing some PLANNING and “Master-Minding” on their own account, with the advantage of having back of them money, and organized soldiery. The Crown appointed Gage to supplant Hutchinson as the Governor of Massachusetts. One of the new Governor’s ﬁrst acts was to send a messenger to call on Samuel Adams, for the purpose of endeavoring to stop his opposition-by FEAR.


Col. Fenton: “I have been authorized by Governor Gage, to assure you, Mr. Adams, that the Governor has been empowered to confer upon you such beneﬁts as would be satisfactory, [endeavor to win Adams by promise of bribes], upon the condition that you engage to cease in your opposition to the measures of the government. It is the Governor’s advice to you, Sir, not to incur the further displeasure of his majesty. Your conduct has been such as makes you liable to penalties of an Mt of Henry VIII, by which persons can be sent to England for trial for treason, or misprision of treason, at the discretion of a governor of a province. But, BY CHANGING YOUR POLITICAL COURSE, you will not only receive great personal advantages, but you will make your peace with the King.”


Clearly, the time had come when Adams was forced to reach instantly, a DECISION which could have cost his life. The majority of men would have found it difﬁcult to reach such a decision. The majority would have sent back an evasive reply, but not Adams! He insisted upon Col. Fenton’s word of honor, that the Colonel would deliver to the Governor the answer exactly as Adams would give it to him. Adams’ answer, “Then you may tell Governor Gage that I trust I have long since made my peace with the King of Kings. No personal consideration shall induce me to abandon the righteous cause of my Country. And, TELL GOVERNOR GAGE IT IS THE ADVICE OF SAMUEL ADAMS TO HIM, no longer to insult the feelings of an exasperated people.”


When Governor Gage received Adams’ caustic reply, he ﬂew into a rage, and issued a proclamation which read, “I do, hereby, in his majesty’s name, offer and promise his most gracious pardon to all persons who shall forthwith lay down their arms, and return to the duties of peaceable subjects, excepting only from the beneﬁt of such pardon, SAMUEL ADAMS AND JOHN HANCOCK, whose offences are of too ﬂagitious a nature to admit of any other consideration but that of condign punishment.”


Great excitement followed. Some weighed the possible consequences of such radicalism. (Old Man Fear). Some expressed grave doubt as to the wisdom of so deﬁnite a decision in deﬁance of the Crown. Locked in that room were TWO MEN immune to Fear, blind to the possibility of Failure. Hancock and Adams. Through the inﬂuence of their minds, the others were induced to agree that, through the Correspondence Committee, arrangements should be made for a meeting of the First Continental Congress, to be held in Philadelphia, September 5, 1774. Remember this date. It is more important than July 4, 1776. If there had been no DECISION to hold a Continental Congress, there could have been no signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Before the ﬁrst meeting of the new Congress, another leader, in a different section of the country was deep in the throes of publishing a “Summary View of the Rights of British America.” He was Thomas Jefferson, of the Province of Virginia, whose relationship to Lord Dunmore, (representative of the Crown in Virginia), was as strained as that of Hancock and Adams with their Governor.

Shortly after his famous Summary of Rights was published, Jefferson was informed that he was subject to prosecution for high treason against his majesty’s government. Inspired by the threat, one of Jefferson’s colleagues, Patrick Henry, boldly spoke his mind, concluding his remarks with a sentence which shall remain forever a classic, “If this be treason, then make the most of it.”



Lee’s astounding motion was discussed fervently, and at such length that he began to lose patience. Finally, after days of argument, he again took the ﬂoor, and declared, in a clear, ﬁrm voice, “Mr. President, we have discussed this issue for days. It is the only course for us to follow. Why, then Sir, do we longer delay? Why still deliberate? Let this happy day give birth to an American Republic. Let her arise, not to devastate and to conquer, but to reestablish the reign of peace, and of law. The eyes of Europe are ﬁxed upon us. She demands of us a living example of freedom, that may exhibit a contrast, in the felicity of the citizen, to the ever increasing tyranny.”

Before his motion was ﬁnally voted upon, Lee was called back to Virginia, because of serious family illness, but before leaving, he placed his cause in the hands of his friend, Thomas Jefferson, who promised to ﬁght until favorable action was taken. Shortly thereafter the President of the Congress (Hancock), appointed Jefferson as Chairman of a Committee to draw up a Declaration of Independence.

Long and hard the Committee labored, on a document which would mean, when accepted by the Congress, that EVERY MAN WHO SIGNED IT, WOULD BE SIGNING HIS OWN DEATH WARRANT, should the Colonies lose in the ﬁght with Great Britain, which was sure to follow.



When Jefferson ﬁnished, the document was voted upon, accepted, and signed by the ﬁfty-six men, every one staking his own life upon his DECISION to write his name. By that DECISION came into existence a nation destined to bring to mankind forever, the privilege of making DECISIONS.


Analyze the events which led to the Declaration of Independence, and be convinced that this nation, which now holds a position of commanding respect and power among all nations of the world, was born of a DECISION created by a Master Mind, consisting of ﬁfty-six men. Note well, the fact that it was their DECISION which insured the success of Washington’s armies, because the spirit of that decision was in the heart of every soldier who fought with him, and served as a spiritual power which recognizes no such thing as FAILURE.

Note, also, (with great personal beneﬁt), that the POWER which gave this nation its freedom, is the self-same power that must be used by every individual who becomes self-determining.

This POWER is made up of the principles described in this book. It will not be difﬁcult to detect, in the story of the Declaration of Independence, at least six of these principles; DESIRE, DECISION, FAITH, PERSISTENCE, THE MASTER MIND, and ORGANIZED PLANNING.

Throughout this philosophy will be found the suggestion that thought, backed by strong DESIRE, has a tendency to transmute itself into its physical equivalent. Before passing on, I wish to leave with you the suggestion that one may ﬁnd in this story, and in the story of the organization of the United States Steel Corporation, a perfect description of the method by which thought makes this astounding transformation.

In your search for the secret of the method, do not look for a miracle, because you will not ﬁnd it. You will ﬁnd only the eternal laws of Nature. These laws are available to every person who has the FAITH and the COURAGE to use them. They may be used to bring freedom to a nation, or to accumulate riches. There is no charge save the time necessary to understand and appropriate them. Those who reach DECISIONS promptly and deﬁnitely, know what they want, and generally get it. The leaders in every walk of life DECIDE quickly, and ﬁrmly. That is the major reason why they are leaders. The world has the habit of making room for the man whose words and actions show that he knows where he is going.


It would be beneﬁcial if no college would permit the enrollment of any student, unless and until the student declared his major purpose in matriculating. It would be of still greater beneﬁt, if every student who enters the graded schools were compelled to accept training in the HABIT OF DECISION, and forced to pass a satisfactory examination on this subject before being permitted to advance in the grades.

The habit of INDECISION acquired because of the deﬁciencies of our school systems, goes with the student into the occupation he chooses . . . IF . . in fact, he chooses his occupation. Generally, the youth just out of school seeks any job that can be found. He takes the ﬁrst place he ﬁnds, because he has fallen into the habit of INDECISION. Ninety-eight out of every hundred people working for wages today, are in the positions they hold, because they lacked the DEFINITENESS OF DECISION to PLAN A DEFINITE POSITION, and the knowledge of how to choose an employer.

DEFINITENESS OF DECISION always requires courage, sometimes very great courage. The ﬁfty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence staked their lives on the DECISION to afﬁx their signatures to that document. The person who reaches a DEFINITE DECISION to procure the particular job, and make life pay the price he asks, does not stake his life on that decision; he stakes his ECONOMIC FREEDOM. Financial independence, riches, desirable business and professional positions are not within reach of the person who neglects or refuses to EXPECT, PLAN, and DEMAND these things. The person who desires riches in the same spirit that Samuel Adams desired freedom for the Colonies, is sure to accumulate wealth.

In the chapter on Organized Planning, you will ﬁnd complete instructions for marketing every type of personal services. You will ﬁnd also detailed information on how to choose the employer you prefer, and the particular job you desire. These instructions will be of no value to you UNLESS YOU DEFINITELY DECIDE to organize them into a plan of action.