I'd already read Think and Grow Rich twice and figured I understood Napoleon Hill's whole philosophy. This manuscript, written the same year and locked away by his own family for decades because they thought it was too controversial to publish, turned out to be the sharper, more uncomfortable version of everything the famous book only hinted at.
Written in 1938, Published in 2011
Hill wrote this as a follow-up to Think and Grow Rich, structured as an imagined interview where Hill interrogates "the Devil" himself about why so many people fail to achieve success and happiness despite wanting it. His family and publisher considered it too dark and potentially controversial for its time — some material reads as directly critical of organized religion and education systems — and it sat in a locked drawer until Hill's foundation finally released it decades after his death. That history alone makes it a genuinely different reading experience than his more polished, publisher-approved earlier work.
The Interview Format Is the Whole Point
Rather than a standard advice book, Hill frames the entire text as a transcribed conversation in which he directly questions a personification of fear, doubt, and self-sabotage about its own methods for keeping people small. This device is genuinely effective — hearing your own worst habits of mind explained from the "other side," as a deliberate strategy for keeping you unfulfilled, lands very differently than the same ideas delivered as a straightforward lecture.
"Drifting" Is the Concept That Actually Stuck With Me
The book's central idea is the concept of "drifting" — living reactively without a defined purpose, letting circumstances and other people's opinions dictate your choices — versus deliberately choosing a definite chief aim and acting from it. Hill argues drifting isn't a neutral, safe default; it's the primary mechanism through which people waste entire lives, and reading his specific breakdown of the small daily choices that constitute drifting was uncomfortably recognizable in ways the more abstract goal-setting language in his other work never quite achieved for me.
The Uncomfortable Sections on Institutions
This is genuinely worth knowing before you buy: parts of the book are sharply critical of organized religion and formal education as systems that, in Hill's framing, sometimes reinforce fear and conformity rather than genuine independent thought. Whether or not you agree with these specific critiques, they're presented forcefully and are likely the actual reason the manuscript was shelved for so long. Readers sensitive to criticism of these institutions should know this going in rather than being caught off guard mid-book.
How This Compares to Think and Grow Rich
If you've read Hill's more famous work, this reads as a darker, more psychologically confrontational companion piece rather than a simple repeat of the same material. Think and Grow Rich focuses more on principles for building wealth and achievement; this book digs specifically into the internal psychological mechanisms — fear, hypnotic rhythm of habit, drifting — that Hill believed sabotage people before they ever get to apply those achievement principles in the first place. I'd genuinely recommend reading Think and Grow Rich first if you haven't, since this book assumes some familiarity with his broader framework.
An Honest Note on Dated Language
Written in 1938, some of the language and framing feels dated by modern standards, and a few specific examples reference a very different era. The core psychological insights about self-sabotage and drifting have aged remarkably well regardless, but approach the period-specific illustrations with the historical context in mind rather than expecting entirely contemporary framing throughout.
Who Should Read This
Anyone who's read and appreciated Think and Grow Rich and wants the more psychologically direct, confrontational companion text, or anyone specifically struggling with a sense of drifting through life without clear direction, will find this genuinely provocative in a useful way.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Genuinely unique interview format makes self-sabotage concepts land differently
- The "drifting" concept is a sharp, immediately applicable diagnostic tool
- Historically fascinating as a suppressed manuscript finally released decades later
- More psychologically direct and confrontational than Hill's other well-known work
Cons:
- Sharp institutional criticism may be uncomfortable or off-putting for some readers
- Some 1938-era language and examples feel dated
- Best read after Think and Grow Rich rather than as a first Hill book
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to read Think and Grow Rich first?
It's not strictly required, but this book assumes some familiarity with Hill's broader philosophy and reads as a companion piece rather than a standalone introduction.
Why was this book unpublished for so long?
Hill's family and publisher considered the content, particularly its criticism of religion and education, too controversial for release during his lifetime; it was finally published by his foundation decades after his death.
Final Verdict
This isn't a comfortable, feel-good read, and that's exactly why it's more useful than a lot of tidier motivational books. It names the specific mechanism of self-sabotage directly, rather than dancing around it.
Rating: 9.0/10 — The uncomfortable, sharper companion to Hill's more famous work.