Kimbro’s classic offers timeless advice for blacks to prosper

Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich is one of the most powerful books ever written on the subject of wealth creation. Published during the Great Depression, the 1937 classic has sold more than 30 million copies and is still considered an informative source for building a prosperous life. In it, Hill offers readers solid guidance on creating prosperity, beginning with having a “definite major purpose,” and taking control of their thoughts.

By following his advice, readers can certainly accumulate material riches, however; Hill’s advice is intended to help readers to manifest prosperity in every aspect of their lives; including their relationships, health, career and overall well being. He contends that having lots of money without also having peace, happiness and a passion for living is void of true prosperity. And anyone, he strongly believed, regardless of race, gender, educational level or socioeconomic background, could create a prosperous life if they applied and lived by the principles outlined in his book.

Hill had apparently come to believe that, despite the horrendous racism and bigotry faced by African-Americans in this country, they, too, could also benefit from his teachings. After he died at the age of 87 in 1970, an unfinished manuscript with his message of self-confidence and affirmative outlook, but with black America as its target audience, was discovered.

Enter Dennis Kimbro, a young lecturer for the Napoleon Hill Foundation who was eager to discover the wealth secrets of successful African Americans. Kimbro was tapped to adapt and update Hill’s manuscript, which argues that such barriers as racism, discrimination, and lack of opportunity should not be self-defeating obstacles.

Like Hill, who interviewed many of the country’s richest men to distill their wealth secrets; Kimbro interviewed several of the nation’s richest blacks to determine how, despite the multiple obstacles facing them, they managed to create wealthy lives.

Kimbro’s version of Think and Grow Rich is a must read for blacks who recognize that while real, racism is a distraction that they should not allow to limit them; and by tapping their inner wisdom and resources, they can achieve anything they believe in.

The book is an empowering jolt that helps readers to realize their inner treasure and that by changing their thoughts, they change their life. Success is a choice, Kimbro emphasizes; and encourages readers to consider that their thoughts are far more powerful than they realize.

“The problem isn’t that you’re poor, the problem is not that you are impoverished and live below the poverty line. The problem is that you don’t have a strategy to overcome your poverty,” Kimbro said. “The greatest gift that your Creator has ever given you, is the ability to change your mind. When are you going to change your mind?”

For readers unfamiliar with success principles and the notion that thoughts determine what happens in your life, Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice may feel unrealistic. For those who are familiar with or at least willing to consider that their thoughts are more than powerless ideas floating around in their head, the book could be a game changer.