Short Summary Outwitting the Devil is an interview-style conversation between Napoleon Hill and the devil. In it, Hill asks the devil a series of questions. Throughout the conversation, Hill uncovers tricks and tools to “outwit” the devil and live a life of spiritual, mental, and physical freedom.
We all have two sides to ourselves: a fear-driven side and an empowering side. The empowering side is our “other self," which is driven by faith. Napoleon Hill describes a time when he faced financial hardship and was in deep despair, guided by fear and ready to give up. But then, his “other self” surfaced during an emergency.
Hill describes his “other self” as giving him orders, such as driving to Philadelphia to get funding for his research project. Whenever his fearful persona appeared, his “other self” would command him to ignore his thoughts. Hill fully surrendered to his “other self,” as if his empowering side had taken over and controlled him.
Driven by his “other self,” Hill checked into an expensive hotel rather than choosing cheap logging during his trip. His “other self” was absolutely certain about what he was doing: He was getting funding to publish his research on the philosophy of personal achievement.
With the certainty his “other self” gave him, any doubts, including Hill’s self-admitted inferiority complex, didn’t matter anymore. His “other self” was in charge, guiding him with 100% certainty and belief. When you have an almost blind belief in yourself, it’s like a superpower. You become unstoppable. Even the worst of circumstances won’t hold you back. This absolute belief is something that can be seen in many contemporary success stories as well.
People like Napoleon Hill and many other successful individuals had to believe in themselves before others did. This is an important reminder about the power of the “other self,” which is driven by faith and not fear. It gives us certainty and belief during times of hardship, uncertainty, and lack of recognition from others.
According to Napoleon Hill, the “old self,” fear-driven, will follow you everywhere you go. The only way for it to gain control is through one’s thoughts, which is why the doors to one's mind should be closely guarded, not permitting any thoughts that seek to limit oneself. This illustrates the importance of controlling one's self-talk, making sure limiting and worrisome thinking is cut off before the “old self” takes over, belittling us and making us feel fearful and doubtful.
Maybe another way of thinking about the “old self” and “other self” is in the form of contraction versus expansion. The “old self” makes us contract and shrink. The “other self” makes us expand.
Hill points out that happiness is mankind's highest aim. Happiness is not something we have to wait for; it is ours for the taking. We must give ourselves permission to be happy today, not someday in the future. Happiness does not come from external achievement.
Circumstances outside of our control, such as periods of economic growth or recessions (or the Great Depression in the case of Hill), shouldn’t impact our happiness. We can choose to be happy today.
According to Hill, one of the main tools the devil uses to outwit human beings is fear, more specifically, the fear of poverty, criticism, health problems, loss of love, aging, and death. In “Outwitting the Devil,” fear of poverty and fear of death are portrayed as the biggest human fears.
The greatest weapon of the devil is the habit of drifting. According to Hill’s interview with the devil, drifting means being influenced by outside circumstances. A drifter is someone who doesn’t think for himself, or in other words, doesn’t control his own mind. This can probably be interpreted as the devil's putting his negative thoughts in a vacant place if one does not control one’s mind.
By controlling our thinking and, most importantly, by thinking for ourselves, we avoid drifting. Most people in the world are drifters: They don’t know what they want from life. Hill puts great emphasis on the idea of thoughts. Thoughts are how people are unsuspectingly controlled by the devil, which is why thinking for yourself and controlling your thinking are so important, according to Napoleon Hill.
In Napoleon Hill’s interview with the devil, the devil admits that he can control 98 percent of people because he begins controlling their thoughts from a young age. The devil does this by controlling those closest to children, such as their parents and teachers.
Napoleon Hill is likely referring to the fact that children are often not encouraged to think for themselves. As parents and teachers, we may impose our own limitations and fears onto children from a young age.
According to Napoleon Hill, drifting is very similar to the habit of procrastination. The combination of laziness and indifference creates the perfect storm: We don’t think for ourselves or take proactive steps to take charge of our lives.
Failure is another trick of the devil: When people encounter a setback or failure, they begin drifting because their self-confidence and enthusiasm take a hit. According to the Devil’s confession to Napoleon Hill, one of the greatest strengths of strong men (“non-drifters) is keeping one's morale, self-confidence, and imagination intact despite facing repeated failure. This is a quality that many inventors and entrepreneurs possessed that Napoleon Hill researched, including Henry Ford and Thomas Edison.
Hill defines definiteness of purpose as the absence of procrastination, hesitation, and being indefinite. When you are clear about your purpose and goal and follow them with intention, you have a definiteness of purpose.
According to Napoleon Hill, self-mastery is one of the most important keys to freedom. He describes the lack of self-mastery as the most destructive form of indefiniteness. Also, without self-mastery, one can’t master others. Self-mastery includes mastery over what one eats. Taking good care of one’s body and health exemplifies successful self-mastery, as Hill portrays in “Outwitting the Devil.”
Napoleon Hill emphasizes the idea of learning from adversity. This includes understanding the difference between temporary defeat and failure and realizing that every kind of adversity comes with some hidden advantage, which we can use to our benefit. According to Hill, failure is a man-made circumstance. In this sense, failure is only “real” or final once it has been accepted as permanent.
This highlights the idea, which is common in contemporary self-help literature, that failure is just a form of feedback and that success cannot be achieved without failure.
Our environment heavily influences our thinking. You may have heard things like, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Napoleon Hill was ahead of his time in pointing out the importance of controlling one’s environment and filtering what we let into our lives.
This includes being cautious of the news and media we consume and who we associate with. Are there toxic people in our lives who are holding us back or who don’t believe in us? Then maybe it’s time to reduce contact or cut ties. By controlling our environment, we control how our environment influences our thoughts, which allows us to gain more control over our thinking (aka, being non-drifters).
Napoleon Hill views time as penalizing negative thoughts and rewarding positive ones. With time, the detrimental effects of negative thinking are magnified and manifested. Equally, time rewards those who are in control of their thinking habits and let their “other self” guide their actions.
Hill points out the difference between caution and fear. In “Outwitting the Devil,” the devil reveals to Napoleon Hill that non-drifters are cautious people. Like controlling one’s environment, choosing one's associates with caution is important.
Whenever doubtful or fearful thoughts arise, don't listen to them. Cut off this negative train of thought and focus on your bigger vision and purpose. Visualize what the end result will look like. Feel the certainty surrounding it. Act as if it has already happened. It is already done. There is no need for doubt, fear, or worry. Then, focus with 100% intent on getting there.
Step into your "other self". Your other self always wins. It has no doubts or fear. It doesn't care about setbacks, failures, or challenges. Your other self will get what it wants and is absolutely ruthless about it. Feel what it's like to be your "other self.” Whenever you slip into your old self, notice it and consciously step back into your "other self.”
Keep your morale, self-confidence, and imagination intact in the face of failure. Whenever something happens that doesn't go your way, imagine the end result. Vividly visualize that you've already achieved what you want. Brush off any doubt, fear, or worry, and focus on your vision and your vision only.
Outwitting the Devil is an innovative book by none other than Napoleon Hill, one of the most respected pioneers of personal development. While Napoleon Hill is mostly known for his book Think and Grow Rich, Outwitting the Devil provides a more intimate view into Napoleon Hill’s mind.
It reveals a spiritual side to Hill, which shines through in his conversations with the devil. There are some great gold nuggets hidden in the book. It reminds us to be mindful of our thinking and not let negative thoughts bring us down. We shouldn’t let adversity or failure affect us. All of us could use a little more of our “other self.”
The interview-style format of the book is intriguing. However, some of the portrayals of the devil’s tricks and the language used seemed a bit simplistic, cliché, and even cringy at times. With Hill critiquing the education system as well as certain forms of religious leadership as parts of the devil’s secret plan to control the minds of 98 percent of the world, he certainly stirred up some controversy at the time.
It is remarkable that he seemed to have been ahead of his time in certain areas, such as pointing out health concerns from poor dieting habits and how this can lead to a person losing control over their life. Some people who hold certain religious beliefs about the devil, good and evil, church, and concepts discussed in the book may feel offended or misrepresented. Hill’s book is certainly controversial but nevertheless worth a read.
This summary of Outwitting the Devil is for anyone who feels lost in life. If you don’t feel like you’re in control of your own fate and haven’t found your purpose yet, this book provides hope. If you are religious, you might want to skip this book as it may not align with your religious ideas.
The manuscript for J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” was rejected 12 times before it was finally accepted by Christopher Little, a relatively obscure London literary agent. The popular 1998 pop single “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” by Eiffel 65 was mostly ignored for the first year. Nobody seemed to like the song or care about it. Then in 1999, when Eiffel 65 had almost forgotten about the song, it was played on the radio and became a top ten hit on the U.S. Billboard and a chart-topper in many European countries. This shows the importance of perseverance and self-belief.