The First Step to Riches is Desire

According to Napoleon Hill--author of Think and Grow Rich--

the first step to riches is desire.  

Desire, he states in his book, is the starting point of all achievement.  

So, I'm off to read this chapter of the book and I'll be back later to report. 

 Until then, here are a number of quotations that reflect upon the meaning of desire (some of which you may disagree - and if that is the case please leave your thoughts in the comments section at the end of this post);

"The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man." - Madame de Stael 

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

"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." - 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." - 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." - 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." - Napoleon Hill

"The starting point of all achievement is desire." - Napoleon Hill

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

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." - Bill Cosby

"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others." - Ayn Rand

"Do not ever say that the desire to "do good" by force is a good motive. Neither power-lust nor stupidity are good motives." - Ayn Rand

"A desire presupposes the possibility of action to achieve it; action presupposes a goal which is worth achieving." - Ayn Rand

"Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire." - Confucius

"The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence." - Confucius

"The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear." - Socrates

"It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal." - Helen Keller

"If you're bored with life - you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things - you don't have enough goals." - Lou Holtz 

"The desire of gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"It is my desire, in the office of a Christian minister, to do nothing which I cannot do with my whole heart. Having said this, I have said all." - Ralph Waldo Emerson 

"All personal achievement starts in the mind of the individual. Your personal achievement starts in your mind. The first step is to know exactly what your problem, goal or desire is." - W. Clement Stone

"When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it." - W. Clement Stone 

"The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear." - Brian Tracy 

"Plant the seed of desire in your mind and it forms a nucleus with power to attract to itself everything needed for its fulfillment." - Robert Collier

OK, I'm back and I'm happy to report that there really isn't anything revealed in this chapter that you probably don't already KNOW. But I'm sad to report that there are a number of things revealed in this chapter that you probably aren't DOING!  

When you see something that you want or need you can HOPE to get it, you can WISH to get it or you can carry out a BURNING DESIRE get it.  The key here is the "carry out part".  

"The method," according to Hill "by which DESIRE for riches can be transmuted into its financial equivalent, consists of six definite, practical steps..."  In the book, Hill goes on to describe these steps in detail.  I've paraphrased them below:

1. Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire.

2. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire.

3. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you desire.

4. Create a plan for carrying out your desire and put it into action.

5. Write a mission statement based on items 1 - 4 above.

6. Read this mission statement to yourself everyday.

See, I told you.  You've heard it all before.  But how many of us actually apply these steps to getting the things we want out of life?

Here's a little experiment that will illustrate the importance of carrying out a burning desire to get something.  Imagine that you are hungry and that there is an apple vendor down the block selling apples.  Close your eyes and hope (or wish) that when you open them an apple will be on the table in front of you.  I need not ask if you were able to procure your desire through this method.   But I bet even a young child with a few pennies in his piggy bank knows what it will take and will come up with a plan to get that shiny apple!

About the Author  

RC Bonay is an engineer with a passion for writing and drawing. He started reading comic books at an early age and soon discovered he had a flair for telling stories of his own. As he grew, he dreamed of following in the footsteps of comic book legend, Stan Lee. His passion ebbed and his dream faded as it became necessary to pursue a more traditional lifestyle in order to raise his growing family. The dream was rekindled as the youngest of his four children blossomed into young adulthood. 

RC’s vision is best summed up by his mottos; 

“The world would be a better place if we all just learned to draw.” 

“Learn from the best, forget it all, and just write.”