I was 17 when I first read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill; it was the textbook for one of my courses in school. It was years later before I fully appreciated the value of Hill’s message and the wisdom of the curriculum designer.

I was significantly older when I first met Sharon Lechter, co-author of Three Feet from Gold (with Greg S. Reid) and co-author of the international bestseller Rich Dad, Poor Dad and 14 books in the Rich Dad series. And it didn’t take me anywhere near as long to appreciate her insight, wisdom and courage.

Shortly after Think and Grow Rich was published, Hill wrote a book that was deemed so controversial in 1938 that his family and advisors convinced him to lock it away. That book, Outwitting the Devil: The Secret to Freedom and Success, was finally published in 2011 with annotations by Sharon Lechter.

Hill discusses faith, prayer and achievement as only he can, then he shares a discussion he had with the Devil and relays exactly how the Devil controls humans in a way that locks them into lives of failure, misery and dependence. As a person of faith, I see a void when motivational messages deny the existence of God and traditional Christianity. In Outwitting the Devil, Hill tackles it head on – but even if you aren’t a Christian, whether you follow another religion or no religion at all, you’ll still find plenty of value and enlightenment in Hill’s message.

For example, the Devil tells Hill, “I hate the United States as only the Devil can hate. The cause was born on July 4, 1776, when fifty-six men signed a document which destroyed my chances of controlling the nation.” The Devil goes on to describe how he is attempting to destroy the United States – efforts that are alarming in their familiarity today, even as we remember that Hill wrote this more than 70 years ago.

The Devil admits, however, that “I control the weak, not those who think for themselves.” He tells Hill, “I cannot control you because you have discovered your own mind and you have taken charge of it.”

Sharon’s annotations do more than simply interpret the book for contemporary readers, they showcase the absolute exquisite timing of this publication. For example, she points out that Hill was far ahead of his time in some of his medical and sociological opinions, such as observations on addictions – opinions that have since been proven to be fact.

Was Hill’s interview with the Devil something he hallucinated or just made up? We don’t know, but I am certain God had a hand in this. As we approach the most important presidential election in our country’s history, I urge you to invest a few hours reading or listening to Outwitting the Devil. The message is too important, too clear, too critical for this book or its timing to be an accident.

Jacquelyn Lynn
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