Think and Grow Rich

Hill’s Preface is a blueprint for the structure and rhetorical techniques of the rest of the book. Hill employs a range of literary devices, from examples to anecdotes, to convey his philosophy. His primary vehicle is the biographical sketch, ranging from the humble beginnings of Andrew Carnegie to the entrepreneurial endeavors of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. By citing real-life success stories, Hill wants to lend credibility to his philosophy and illustrate how it has worked for people from diverse backgrounds. Similarly, Pell emphasizes that in updating Hill’s original work, he has stuck to the same formula: His additions incorporate examples of contemporary achievers like Bill Gates and Arnold Schwarzenegger, to modernize but not alter Hill’s approach. This update is thus crafted to appeal to contemporary readers while not questioning Hill’s core principles.

Hill bolsters the credibility of his findings and the effectiveness of his philosophy in several different ways. First, he mentions his extensive research effort, which involved interviewing over 500 millionaires, including prominent figures like Carnegie, Ford, and Edison. Highlighting the caliber of individuals involved in his research allows Hill to imply that his own work is similarly credentialed. Next, Hill contextualizes his work within the historical backdrop of the Great Depression, portraying Think and Grow Rich as a beacon of hope during challenging economic times and claiming that the book can help people escape Depression era poverty. Third, by characterizing the book as a “road map” (xiii), Hill metaphorically portrays it as a guide tool, implying that its efficacy has scientific and technological principles. Finally, Hill uses the book’s popularity as an argument that its message has resonated with a vast audience: Stating that over 15 million copies of the book have been sold, Hill conjectures that it has provided a pathway for these millions to “escape the poverty” (xiii)—a phrase that conveys a sense of liberation and empowerment.

Hill also uses the cliffhanger techniques of genre fiction to hook readers. Characterizing his ideas as a mysterious secret, Hill hopes to induce readers to engage with the text to determine what this secret actually is. The use of the hyperbolic phrase “magic formula” (xiii) imbues the secret with mystique, hinting at its extraordinary, possibly supernatural, power to generate wealth and success. At the same time, Hill stresses the universal practical applicability of his ideas by stating that the secret has been tested by thousands of people from diverse backgrounds and was found to be broadly relevant and effective. The implication is that benefits extend not only to readers, but also to their families and employees, heightening the book’s potential impact: The vision Hill conjures is of his book reverberating across entire communities, fostering economic upliftment and social advancement. Furthermore, Hill refers to Andrew Carnegie’s belief in the importance of making this “formula” or “secret” accessible. According to Hill, Carnegie’s vision of incorporating this knowledge into mainstream education reflected a desire to democratize success, revolutionizing the US educational system by prioritizing practical skills over academic theory.

Pell also employs metaphors to make his ideas relevant and engaging, and to mesh seamlessly into the rhetorical techniques Hill favored. For instance, in the “Preface to Current Edition,” Pell compares his role as a contributor to the book to that of an “art restorer” (xiv) refurbishing a classic painting. This metaphor emphasizes his approach to updating Hill’s work while preserving its core philosophy; it also indirectly suggests that Hill’s writing is on par with a masterwork piece of visual art that needs to be preserved.