I read Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich a few years ago and loved it. The book introduced me to a number of life-changing concepts, so I was hardly surprised when I later learned it is the bestselling success book of all time. There was, however, one thing I didn’t take away from the book: a clear understanding of what Napoleon Hill refers to as the “hidden secret” in his book.

If you have read Think and Grow Rich you will know there are numerous mentions of this hidden secret. In fact, Napoleon Hill offers the following teaser in the book’s introduction:

“In every chapter of this book, mention has been made of the money-making secret which has made fortunes for more than five hundred exceedingly wealthy whom I carefully analyzed over a long period of years.”

I was therefore very happy when I recently received a copy of Brian Kim’s e-book The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich. Would my curiosity finally be satisfied? I hoped so, but I must admit I was also worried that the secret Brian would identify would be a big let-down. I believe my thoughts were: “Please don’t be the Law of Attraction!”

What’s the Book About?

Brian doesn’t waste any time in his book, identifying what the secret is at the very start of Chapter 1. I’m happy to say it is not the Law of Attraction.

As previously noted, the secret is said to appear in every chapter of Think and Grow Rich. Brian is understandably keen to prove the secret he has identified is what Napoleon Hill had in mind. He devotes the second chapter to going through Think and Grow Rich chapter by chapter, pinpointing exactly where the secret is mentioned. Assuming you have read the book, you should find some satisfaction to going “Aha! That’s where it is!” I think you will also be more than convinced that Brian has indeed correctly identified the hidden secret.  The rest of the book goes into detail about how you can use the secret to obtain whatever it is you desire in life.

One thing I noticed is that there is some repetition in the book. However, I think this was a conscious decision on Brian’s part to make sure the reader fully comes to grip with the message of the book. As he says in the book, one common fault of success books is they ‘pump’ you up and that’s where it ends. The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich is designed to forever change you way you approach a goal or desire.

Why Buy the Book

I highly recommend this e-book to people who have read Think and Grow Rich. If you haven’t read this classic, Brian has included a copy of this book in PDF format free with the purchase of his book.

Now, those of you who have read Think and Grow Rich may be wondering whether or not this book is worth your hard-earned cash. “Can Brian Kim really tell me anything new about success that Napoleon Hill hasn’t?” is what you may be thinking.

Well, the book succeeded in satisfying my curiosity about what Napoleon Hill refers to as the hidden secret, but it also did far more than this. I believe the book’s real value is that it helps everything you have read about self-improvement and personal development come together and click into place.

Think of success as a puzzle. We are all familiar with many of the pieces of this puzzle, principles such as courage, confidence, hard work, persistence, etc….. What is not so clear to many of us is how these pieces fit together to form the puzzle. Brian has done an incredible job in this book of giving the reader both the big picture, as well as a detailed process for making your deepest desires become reality.

The book is a healthy 122 pages, and Brian has also generously included two bonuses: a special report called The Three Biggest Mistakes People Make When Using the Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich and a workbook that accompanies the book bundled up as a special offer for Pick The Brain readers.

Click here to access the special offer for Pick The Brain readers and get The Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich by Brian Kim and the bonuses today.

What can four letters tell you about someone (including yourself)? It turns out quite a lot.

“The Personality Puzzle” is the new e-book from Pick The Brain contributor Hunter Nuttall. Back in August we published Hunter’s first article for this blog: Introverts And Extraverts: Can’t We Just Get Along? If you enjoyed this article (and it seems many of you did – it received 90+ comments and 1119 votes on Digg), this book will be of immense interest to you.

What’s the book about?

“Sometimes I just don’t understand human behavior.”- C-3PO

“The Personality Puzzle” aims to help you understand what “makes people tick” via the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI originated from the ideas of revolutionary Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. His work was continued by an American mother and daughter team, Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, and resulted in the MBTI being published in 1962. The MBTI did gain some popularity in the 1980s, but according to Hunter the usefulness of it is grossly underestimated.

What’s so good about the book?

One of the best aspects of Hunter’s e-book is the way he combines psychological research and real-world examples. Here are just a few of things you will discover in “The Personality Puzzle”:

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You may have noticed a recent backlash against productivity in some parts of the personal development community. If you have found yourself second guessing the value of this subject, it may be worth going back to a very simple question: “why be productive?”

The first idea in The Little Book of Productivity, the new e-book written by Scott Young, is to understand the reasons for wanting to get more done in less time. Many of you will be familiar with Scott’s work from his regular contributions to Pick The Brain over the past year and his own self-titled blog, Scott H Young.

Of course everyone will have their own individual reasons for wanting to be productive. Personally, productivity is a subject I have taken an interest in due to the pressures of working two jobs and being the father of two boys under the age of two. I need to be able to get things done quickly and efficiently. As Scott points out, by becoming aware of these reasons you will be naturally motivated to stay productive instead of slipping into lazy habits.

There are many more excellent ideas in this book, including timeboxing, sprinting theory, Hofstadter’s Rule and operant conditioning. And that is exactly what The Little Book of Productivity is: a book of ideas. Scott’s book looks at 99 ideas related to productivity, with each idea taking up one page.

The book is very well organized (as you would hope a productivity book would be) and covers the following topics:

• Beating Procrastination
• Becoming Organized
• Staying Energized
• Getting Things Finished
• Automate Your Routine
• Productivity Hacks
• Doing the Right Work

Returning to my first point in this review – the backlash against productivity – I would like to point out that a book such as this doesn’t pretend to be answering life’s big questions. But there are plenty of other books for that. The Little Book of Productivity does, however, hope to improve your life. And as I’m sure you will agree, sometimes it only takes one idea to do this.

If you are interested in The Little Book of Productivity you can purchase a copy for $9.95 USD by clicking the following button:

If you would like to know more about this e-book, Scott has made the first chapter available to read for free here.

I’m excited to announce I have just finished my first e-book, A Year of Change.

This e-book includes my best articles from my first year of blogging both on Pick The Brain and my own personal blog, The Change Blog. During this year I married, became a first-time father and relocated from Australia to Canada. Perhaps more importantly, during this time I underwent a personal transformation that changed both how I see my life and the world in which we live.

To grab yourself a copy of this free e-book, you simply need to sign up to my monthly newsletter, The Change Blog Newsletter.

I pack this newsletter full of inspiring and useful personal growth material. And I guarantee your information will be kept private and not shared.

Peter Clemens is Editor of Pick The Brain. 

Bill Strickland is an amazing man. However, instead of me telling you why, I would like to invite you to watch the above video from TED in which Bill shares his astonishing tale of redemption through arts, music and unlikely partnerships (with subtle accompaniment by longtime friend Herbie Hancock).

Competition

Bill Strickland has recently released a book, Make the Impossible Possible. I have read the book, and loved it, so I am very excited to have 15 copies of it to give away. All you have to do to be in the running to win a copy is to leave a comment below. Share your thoughts about the video, or tell us one thing you once believed to be impossible that you have since discovered is possible.

Find Out More

If you would like to learn more about Bill Strickland, see also:

• BillStrickland.org
• Manchester Bidwell
• TED Speakers: Bill Strickland

Note: Each week PickTheBrain reviews a book or product related to self improvement. This review represents the honest opinion of the author, but we’d like to disclose that PickTheBrain receives a small referral commission on orders.

An interesting product I’ve been using for the past several months is the Paraliminals series from Learning Strategies. The best way to describe Paraliminals is a combination of guided meditation and neuro-linguistic programming. It’s best experienced with stereo head phones because it works by playing two different audio tracks simultaneously.

The experience is difficult to explain, but the two soundtracks compliment each other in such a way that it’s impossible to concentrate on either but your brain is able to absorb both. One voice usually tells a story, relevant to the theme of the session while the other repeats affirmative messages. The sessions cover a wide range of self improvement topics, including health, relationships, personal charisma, and motivation.

Behind the audible voice tracks are soothing nature sounds accompanied by binaural beats. The real power of the program is the binaural beats, which work by using two complimentary frequencies that interfere with each other to create pulsating phantom frequencies.

The beats affect brainwave patterns and help bring the mind to a state of focused relaxation. If you’ve ever used a guided relaxation program, where the instructor takes you through the process of relaxing each part of the body, then you’ll recognize the feeling of your body being totally relaxed while the mind remains alert.

The benefit of Paraliminals is that it allows you to reach this state much more quickly and helps to block out distractions. I’ve found myself using Paraliminals as a substitute for naps.

Instead of going to sleep and waking up groggy, I lay down for 20 minutes and listen to one of the CDs. There are a wide range of topics covered in the Ultimate You series, so I can usually find something that matches my goals for the near future. After listening to the program I get up relaxed, refreshed, and motivated to take action.

Does It Work?

I don’t think anyone is silly enough to believe that listening to a CD will somehow take the work out of success. If you approach Paraliminals with this attitude then you’ll probably be disappointed. That being said, I think those who have a strong desire to bring about positive improvements will find Paraliminals to be a helpful tool.

The biggest benefit that I’ve experienced with the program is the ability to reach focused relaxation in a matter of minutes. Instead of having to find an isolated place and exert effort to clear my mind, Paraliminals puts the process on autopilot. I can just lay back and listen.

If you’re interested in learning more, I’ve put together a page with more information about my experience with Paraliminals. I’ve also gone to the trouble of negotiating a significant discount, available only to PickTheBrain readers. Check out the Paraliminals page for all the details.

Note: Each week PickTheBrain reviews a book or product related to self improvement. This review represents the honest opinion of the author, but we’d like to disclose that we receive a small commission on orders.

Some of you might recall when PickTheBrain first mentioned Happier, after Tal-Ben Shahar’s appearance on The Daily Show a few months back. It was exciting to see that self improvement is spreading to Harvard classrooms and being legitimized by academia and the mainstream media.

After finally finishing the book, my overall impression is a good one. Although I wouldn’t put it in the same league as The Magic of Thinking Big, it is definitely a worthwhile book that introduced me to some new ideas and gave me a lot to think about.

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Note: This post is the first edition of a weekly series where PickTheBrain will review a book or product relevant to self improvement. This review represents the honest opinion of the author, but we would like to disclose that we receive a small referral commission on orders.

A wise man is the master of his own mind
A fool is a slave to his
-Publilius Syrus

David Schwartz uses the above quote to close his classic work, The Magic of Thinking Big. It’s an excellent summary of the book’s contents.

The focus of The Magic of Thinking Big is the different thought patterns that repeatedly lead to success. It explains how your mind works and how you can harness it to achieve success instead of allowing it to torture you.

This isn’t another batch of quick fixes, Schwartz was a PhD and Professor of Psychology and Georgia State University. His advice is rooted in psychology and personal experience and he draws on an enormous number of practical anecdotes to illustrate his points.

I’m going to come right out and say that I love this book. It isn’t just one the best self improvement books I’ve read, it’s one of the best books period. Schwartz is a skilled writer and his prose is a pleasure to read. Perhaps because the book was published over 50 years ago, it lacks the fast food information feel of many modern books.

To give you an idea of the contents, here are brief summaries of a few chapters and aspects I found most valuable.

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One area that I plan to cover more frequently in the future is books. Specifically, books that are relevant to self improvement. I have my own favorites of course, but before I start spouting opinions I want find out what books others have found worth reading.

• What books have influenced your thought the most?
• What books have changed your life?
• What books do you strongly recommend to others?

I’m really interested in the results. This should be great for building a killer reading list.

Note: Rather than doing a straight review of The 4 Hour Work Week (I’m sure you’ve read a few already) I’ve compiled some suggestions for how to apply the information it contains.

When Tim Ferriss came out with the promise of the The 4-Hour work Week you probably scoffed, “Impossible! Who does this guy think he is, tearing down our cultural institutions and promoting delusions of world travel and perpetual semi-retirement!” This was natural. All new ideas are initially resisted. It’s hard to accept a concept that radically opposes everything you’ve been taught about money, employment, and the ideal lifestyle. The book prompted me reevaluate my direction, and from what I’ve read, it had the same effect on many others.

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