125+ Best Napoleon Hill Quotes: Exclusive Selection

Oliver Napoleon Hill was an American self-help author. He is known best for his book Think and Grow Rich which is among the 10 best selling self-help books of all time. Hill’s works insisted that fervid expectations are essential to improving one’s life. Profoundly inspirational Napoleon Hill quotes will challenge the way you think, change the way you live and transform your whole life.

Famous Napoleon Hill Quotes

It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.

Do not wait; the time will never be just right. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along. 

No man can succeed in a line of endeavor which he does not like.

Don’t wait. The time will never be just right. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.

Success in its highest and noblest form calls for peace of mind and enjoyment and happiness which come only to the man who has found the work that he likes best.

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

Before success comes in any man’s life, he’s sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That’s exactly what the majority of men do.

Unfed worry soon dies of starvation.

Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.

Every adversity contains the seed of an equivalent benefit.

Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.

Fears are nothing more than a state of mind. Napoleon Hill

The ladder of success is never crowded at the top.

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way. 

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water’s edge.

No man ever achieved worthwhile success who did not, at one time or other, find himself with at least one foot hanging well over the brink of failure.

More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than has been taken from the earth.

You might well remember that nothing can bring you success but yourself.

No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person’s enemies say about him.

Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to cut all sources of retreat. Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win  essential to success.

One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat.

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.

Success requires no explanations, failure permits no alibis.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.

Tell the world what you intend to do, but first show it

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.

The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.

Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.

The world has the habit of making room for the man whose actions show that he knows where he is going.

It has always been my belief that a man should do his best, regardless of how much he receives for his services, or the number of people he may be serving or the class of people served.

There is no such thing as something for nothing. Napoleon Hill

Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat.

Until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy.

The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail.

Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.

Edison failed 10, 000 times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times.

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent.

It takes half your life before you discover life is a do it yourself project.

Nature will not tolerate idleness or vacuums of any sort. All space must be and is filled with something.

If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.

Your only limitation is the one which you set up in your own mind.

You give before you get.

Life is all about service. Service is the channel through which you add Value to the world, and for which the world rewards and honours you. The greater your value added to the world, the higher your reward.

One must marry one’s feelings to one’s beliefs and ideas. That is probably the only way to achieve a measure of harmony in one’s life.

We are the Masters of our fate, the Captains of our Souls, because we have the power to control our thoughts. Napoleon Hill

The world has the habit of making room for the man whose actions show that he knows where he is going.

An intangible impulse of thought can be transmuted into its physical counterpart. Napoleon Hill

The best way to sell yourself to others is first to sell the others to yourself. Napoleon Hill

If you fail to control your own mind, you may be sure that you will control nothing else. Napoleon Hill

When your desires are strong enough you will appear to possess superhuman powers to achieve.

That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity Napoleon Hill

There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it.

One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Napoleon Hill

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.

Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one when success is almost within reach. Napoleon Hill

Your ability to use the principle of autosuggestion will depend, very largely, upon your capacity to concentrate upon a given desire until that desire becomes a burning obsession.

When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once again toward your coveted goal. Napoleon Hill

Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you ready or not, to put this plan into action.

A great many years ago I purchased a fine dictionary. The first thing I did with it was to turn to the word ‘impossible,’ and neatly clip it out of the book. That would not be an unwise thing for you to do. Napoleon Hill

Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire.

Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success. Napoleon Hill

War grows out of the desire of the individual to gain an advantage at the expense of his fellow man.

No one ever is defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality. Napoleon Hill

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.

Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plan with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches. Napoleon Hill

More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than has been taken from the earth.

One must realize that all who accumulated great fortunes, first did a certain amount of dreaming, hoping, wishing, desiring, and planning before they acquired money. Napoleon Hill

All achievements, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea.

We who desire to accumulate riches, should remember that the real leaders of the world always have been men who harnessed, and put into practical use, the intangible, unseen forces of unborn opportunity Napoleon Hill

Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent.

In planning to acquire your share of the riches, let no one influence you to scorn the dreamer Napoleon Hill

All the breaks you need in life wait within your imagination, Imagination is the workshop of your mind, capable of turning mind energy into accomplishment and wealth.

Our only limitations are those we set up in our own minds. Napoleon Hill

Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to conceive.

If the thing you wish to do is right, and you believe in it, go ahead and do it! Put your dreams across, and never mind what ‘they’ say if you meet with temporary defeat, for ‘they,’ perhaps, do not know that every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success. Napoleon Hill

Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.

 A burning desire to be, and to do is the starting point from which all dreamers must take off. Dreams are not born of indifference, laziness, or lack of ambition Napoleon Hill

No man is ever whipped until he quits in his own mind.

Remember, too, that all who succeed in life get off to a bad start, and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they ‘arrive.’ The turning point in the lives of those who succeed, usually comes at the moment of some crisis, through which they are introduced to their ‘other selves. Napoleon Hill

Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.

Handicaps can be converted into stepping stones on which one may climb toward some worthy goal, unless they are accepted as obstacles, and used as alibis. Napoleon Hill

The starting point of all achievement is desire.

There is a difference between wishing for a thing and being ready to receive it. No one is ready for a thing, until he believes he can acquire it. Napoleon Hill

There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.

I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and in myself Napoleon Hill

First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.

When you begin to think and grow rich, you will observe that riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work Napoleon Hill

It is always your next move.

A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created. Napoleon Hill

The battle is all over except the shouting when one knows what is wanted and has made up his mind to get it, whatever the price may be.

It is essential for you to encourage positive emotions as dominant forces of your mind, and discourage and eliminate negative emotions Napoleon Hill

You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for.

Without doubt, the most common weakness of all human beings is the habit of leaving their minds open to the negative influence of other people. Napoleon Hill

If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water’s edge.

One becomes, finally, to believe whatever one repeats to one’s self, whether the statement be true or false. Every man is what he is because of the dominating thoughts which he permits to occupy his mind Napoleon Hill

A goal is a dream with a deadline.

Mind control is the result of self-discipline and habit. You either control your mind or it controls you. There is no half way compromise. Napoleon Hill

The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job.

If you are influenced by the opinions of others, you will have no desire of you own. Napoleon Hill

Nature cannot be tricked or cheated. She will give up to you the object of your struggles only after you have paid her price.

Too many people refuse to set high goals for themselves, or even neglect selecting a career, because they fear the criticism of relatives and ‘friends’ who may say ‘Don’t aim so high, people will think you are crazy Napoleon Hill

No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person’s enemies say about him.

Recognize that negative influences often work on you through your subconscious mind, therefore they are difficult to detect, and keep your mind closed against all people who depress or discourage you in any way. Napoleon Hill

Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.

So subtle and deeply rooted is the emotion of fear that one may go through life burdened with it, never recognizing its presence. Napoleon Hill

Fears are nothing more than a state of mind.

Criticism will plant fear in the human heart, or resentment, but it will not build love or affection. Napoleon Hill

Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.

The number one reason people fail in life is because they listen to their friends, family and neighbors. Napoleon Hill

We begin to see, therefore, the importance of selecting our environment with the greatest of care, because the environment is the mental feeding ground out of which the food that goes into our minds is extracted.

Enthusiasm is contagious, and the person who has it, under control, is generally welcome in any group of people. Napoleon Hill

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.

People who lack sex energy will never become enthusiastic nor inspire others with enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is one of the most important requisites in salesmanship, no matter what one is selling. Napoleon Hill

Understand this law and you will then know, beyond room for the slightest doubt, that you are constantly punishing yourself for every wrong you commit and rewarding yourself for every act of constructive conduct in which you indulge.

The time to nurse an idea is at the time of its birth. Every minutes it lives gives it a better chance of surviving. Napoleon Hill

The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.

There is no standard price on ideas. The creator of ideas makes his own price, and, if he is smart, gets it