MJ is contrarian purely for effect. In reality, what he preaches in this book is in no way opposed to the 4HWW or positive thinking.
For instance, he grades different types of systems (rental, computer, HR) on their level of passivity, in a chapter called "Divorce Wealth From Time", and he references going into "startup mode" and working 7 days a week versus pursuing more automation and passivity and barely working at all.
As far as positive thinking, he outright says that it is a useful tool, but not a complete system. Napoleon Hill says this himself. Part of Napoleon Hill's formula is that you have to be willing to work with total commitment to reach your goals. The importance of positive thinking is illustrated in MJ's book when he describes a gas station attendant that exclaims that he'll never be able to afford a Lamborghini. MJ says that the kids biggest problem is his "choice of perception". Absolutely, if you don't believe something is possible and you're deserving of positive outcomes, then you won't be willing to work for them.
I don't want to fault MJ for using controversy to gain attention. There's nothing wrong with that and he's not the best writer in the world, so hey, whatever works.
The core message of the book is not eye-opening to me, but might be for the intended audience, and it is always nice to get new ways of visualizing or verbalizing the things we already be believe. The message is this: expose your self to big numbers — no one gets rich multiplying by 24 or 7, you need massive scale and massive impact to acquire massive wealth, so build systems that you can control and are exposed to large factors.
For instance, he grades different types of systems (rental, computer, HR) on their level of passivity, in a chapter called "Divorce Wealth From Time", and he references going into "startup mode" and working 7 days a week versus pursuing more automation and passivity and barely working at all.
As far as positive thinking, he outright says that it is a useful tool, but not a complete system. Napoleon Hill says this himself. Part of Napoleon Hill's formula is that you have to be willing to work with total commitment to reach your goals. The importance of positive thinking is illustrated in MJ's book when he describes a gas station attendant that exclaims that he'll never be able to afford a Lamborghini. MJ says that the kids biggest problem is his "choice of perception". Absolutely, if you don't believe something is possible and you're deserving of positive outcomes, then you won't be willing to work for them.
I don't want to fault MJ for using controversy to gain attention. There's nothing wrong with that and he's not the best writer in the world, so hey, whatever works.
The core message of the book is not eye-opening to me, but might be for the intended audience, and it is always nice to get new ways of visualizing or verbalizing the things we already be believe. The message is this: expose your self to big numbers — no one gets rich multiplying by 24 or 7, you need massive scale and massive impact to acquire massive wealth, so build systems that you can control and are exposed to large factors.
