Napolean Hill is well known in the field of self-improvement and teaching principles for engineering success. His previous titles “The Law of Success” and “Think and Grow Rich” were books that foreshadowed his own rise to wealth. He not only benefited handsomely from their circulation, he also stood up to personally exemplify their lessons.
It wasn’t until many years after his death, that another unreleased manuscript was brought out into the light, likely discouraged from being published while its writer was alive. “Outwitting the Devil” is a name that is daunting despite its attempt not to be, and its message lives up to the seriousness of the title and the mystic of its author.
The first part of the book talks about his endeavors in business. He seemed to smash any goal he put his eye on to smithereens. He even appears to switch between industries and form new businesses effortlessly, as his diverse interests manifested into fruition ranging from that of publication to a school of sales.
Eventually though, as the heaviness of the human condition would have it, his rodeo gets rained on. He reveals parts of his life where he had become weak. He had submitted to fear and lost his faith in himself. He does recover, but not before learning about a hidden voice of the human psyche that presented itself to him. Hill claims this element led him out of town with no resources, and ultimately out of his rut. Hill also claims that this voice; one of divine consequence, is present in every person when guidance is needed.
NOTE: This tumultuous part of Napolean Hill’s life finds him submitting all of his decisions to an inner voice. This experience of his stands apart from later parts of the book, which press the value of being deliberate and calculated in your plans. What was the voice in Hill’s head?
What follows after that is unlike anything from Napolean Hill’s other books. It is a one-of-a-kind expose of the causes of all the world’s evil and spiritual strife. It provides a look inside the mind of evil itself, with a shocking amount of detail. The author presents the answers he receives as the key to clarity. He claims, this info allows you to steer clear from the myriad of Trojan horses that darkness uses to seep into your world mentally and physically.
The uniqueness of this book made it challenging to review it. I decided to use the criteria recommended by Rebekah Kohlhepp, from her site “She Seeks Nonfiction”. She lays out some guidelines on what a nonfiction book review may include.
Does it speak to a target audience?
I believe this book’s target audience is Hill’s base of loyal self-improvement readers. It is also aimed at readers of self-improvement material in general. Just like Hill’s previous books, this one does also focus on using the power of your mind to get what you desire. However, this story is also about far more. It is about recovering from life’s pitfalls. It is about defending against deliberate attacks from the “Devil”. It involves accessing survival instincts and habits of strength that the “Devil” wants to rendor dormant. This breaks the target audience wide open to include religious and other readers interested in different dimensions of reality. This book will also tie in ideas about positive mentality that have since been ever more popularized by spiritual and metaphysical genre content creators.
Does it accomplish its goal?
This book stands its ground as a great self improvement book with it’s variety of achievement- based tenets. It also goes above and beyond its goal from a religious and spiritual perspective. It’s like putting out a garbage can fire by running it over with a fire truck and then dumping a swimming pool on top of it. Mr Hill pins down the current operations of evil on Earth against human beings and puts them in the spotlight, of which there is a lot. To highlight just a few of the dangers the book mentions:
- Drifting– “The most common cause of failure in every walk of life” as the book tells. Drifting is a wasteful state of mind that dulls the senses, fogs up your direction and prevents you from pursuing your purpose on this Earth.
- Occupation Choice – Escaping the trap of choosing a career carelessly and therefore living in fear of poverty. This is a highly important long-term decision that shapes people’s lives, and if chosen hastily can keep people in a cycle of fear.
- False Institutions – There are corrupted institutions that are no longer in service to what they were originated for. Among those listed in the book are religion and education. Hills reports that, in practice, these take away your knowledge and spiritual clarity, rather than reinforcing them. To imagine that these groups do the opposite of what they were designed to do, is one of multiple ideas this book presents that are hard to swallow.
Definiteness of a purpose –This is a mindset that is crucial for people to maintain if they want to outwit the “Devil”. It is a decisive and aware state of mind that allows for true consideration of what your goals and actions are. According to the book, any procrastination and wishy-washy attitude is opening the door having your mind weakened and manipulated by an omni-present opposition. Mr. Hill writes:
“We have learned, beyond the question of doubt, that anyone who adopts definiteness of purpose as a policy and uses it in all of his daily experiences cannot be induced to form the habit of drifting” Outwitting the Devil, page 150.
Self-discipline –This starts with the controlling three main appetites,
- the DESIRE for food,
- the DESIRE for expression of sex,
- the DESIRE to express loosely organized opinions
These are the first and foremost appetites that individuals must conquer, and those that take the most work. After that, any inferior appetite is subdued with far less effort, allowing for true focus.
This also book offers many more interesting points of insight. If you want to take “Outwitting the Devil” on its face, it will return a weapon system of threat identification and counter measures.
Hybrid genre:
“Outwitting the Devil” highlights points that are common in self improvement material, like building character and patience in your mentality. At the same time the book takes a bold stance by self-improvement standards, by involving a villain in the equation of self help. The integration of these genres is interesting. It encourages personal reflection as well as skepticism. Is the “Devil”as real as Napolean Hill asserts? Does the “Devil” really have his hands in the most minute of areas in human thought?
Do I like the book?
I like that this book has a positive message to give to humanity. I also found myself liking that it is ambiguous. We live in a society much concerned with hard line scientific approaches and fact checking. However, in this crazy world there is still a place for mysterious information and unpredictable sources. We truly never know what new revelations will be next to catch the attention of science. The type of info in this book can be a reminder of the valuable lesson that sometimes, wisdom comes from surprising places.
In Summary
Although extremely unique and controversial in its presentation, the legacy of Napolean Hill’s books command a respect that requires the reader to approach this text with an open mind. The hard-hitting information expressed in the book may be equivalent to a strike of lightning on the level of biblical literature, designed to answer some of the deepest prayers of the species. Whether that is true, an exaggeration, or, in fact, totally false is up to you. Though, a sound guarantee is that reading this book is an alluring, if not unforgettable experience. All in all, the main theme is to instill faith and power in yourself. This is the reoccurring theme in Hill’s works, and a concept worth practicing. Therefor I find this book highly recommendable.
To buy it: “Outwitting the Devil” by Napolean Hill
Related: Napolean Hill Foundation
Mind of Liberty 