Definiteness of Purpose

Hill's Think and Grow Rich built the doctrine from interviews with successful men, which is a design that cannot distinguish a cause of success from a feature of people who succeeded. What survives with evidence is the goal-setting finding that specific difficult goals outperform vague intention, which is narrower and better supported than the claim made here.

In practice

• A person with one stated objective allocates time differently from one with nine, which is measurable and is not the claim.
• A biography that finds singular purpose in every successful subject has sampled only the successful.

Possible explanations

The explanation offered is that a single overriding goal directs attention and effort, and filters opportunities. Goal-setting research supports a narrower version in which specific, difficult goals raise performance when the person is committed.

In its favour

Specific goals do outperform vague encouragement in controlled studies, so the directional advice matches a real finding.

Against it

The book's evidence is interviews with successful men, which cannot distinguish a cause of success from a feature of those who succeeded, and the author's account of his sources has been questioned.

Standing

From a self-help tradition whose evidence is testimonial and selected on success, and whose author's reporting of his sources has been questioned. Goal-setting research supports a much narrower version.

Subject

Creativity & Work

Essay

The success literature and its sceptics