Think and Grow Rich for Women: Using Your Power to Create Success and Significance
A review by George Kennedy
It is a fair assumption that the average upwardly-mobile and successful American born in the last 75 years has read all or portions of Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich.” Embedded in our thinking was likely the assumption Hill’s wealth-building principles and the steps to success were gender neutral.
Sharon Lechter, author, philanthropist and founder/CEO Pay Your Family First, purposefully followed the chapter outline of Hill’s original book. The distinguishing feature of “Think and Grow Rich for Women” is Lechter addresses each of Hill’s “13 proven steps to riches” through the eyes and experiences of more than one-hundred successful women from all walks of life: women for women.
For his original work, Napoleon Hill interviewed five hundred of the world’s most successful men in an era when the American success model was male. Lechter readily acknowledges the specific steps to riches and success in Hill’s original work are gender neutral. However, the central thesis of “Think and Grow Rich for Women” is her belief that, “as women, we fundamentally approach those principles with different beliefs, different attitudes and different strengths and weaknesses.” This acknowledgement makes this a “must read.”
The women of the 21st century may find Hill’s original version of Think and Grow Rich does not address a real and enduring concern for almost every woman wanting to create a life of success and significance: competing priorities and the guilt that flows from the inevitable balancing act women struggle with. Lechter wades right into this debate. Her guidance suggests that “rather than focusing on how much time was spent on professional endeavors versus personal life,…consider that achieving balance may be the wrong goal. All we can do is make the best choices we can, guided by our values, priorities, and ambitions.” Lechter goes on to write, “You are ONE whole person living ONE big life. Why demand of yourself that you need to build two separate lives? Rather than feel guilty about a lack of balance, commit to start feeling great about your work accomplishments each day and then share them with your family.” If anything characterizes my mother, a woman of the mid- to-late-decades of the last century, this would have been mantra for her.
Jean Chatzky, American financial journalist, says “It’s not about having it all. It’s about having what you value most.” At the end of the day, there is no all-encompassing formula; it is always about choices – and choice is personal.
The Afterword in “Think and Grow Rich for Women” is titled “The Men Who Are True Champions For Women.” Here, I found a place for myself. To paraphrase from the contribution of Mark Victor Hanson, cocreator of ChickenSoup for the Soul and One Minute Millionaire, women throughout the world are destined to take more of the leadership role civilization’s destiny requires. Knowing and applying the life-changing principles Lechter describes can only enhance their chances for success.
Dr. James Blair (JB) Hill, Napoleon Hill’s grandson offers the most succinct assessment of Think and Grow Rich for Women when, referring to Lechter’s book, he writes “it adds value and breadth to Napoleon Hill’s life work.”
Women looking for inspiration, and the men that love and support them, should read this book.
