I must have listened to the audiobook of The Science of Personal Achievement a hundred times. Back then, I spent endless hours driving, wanted to make good use of my time, and improved my English along the way.
Napoleon Hill shares his examples with incredible enthusiasm, vivid detail, and raw energy. He probably made up most of those stories on the spot. But you know what? It doesn't matter to me at all.
Yuval Noah Harari hits the nail on the head: humans run on narratives. We need stories to believe in something bigger and to push past our own limits. I don't believe in God, but I believe in the principles Hill lays out in that audiobook. Whether his anecdotes are historically accurate or pure fiction is beside the point. What counts is the impact: I stand fully behind about 80% of his core ideas.
