4 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
American author — whose Think and Grow Rich (1937) is one of the best-selling self-help books of all time (100M+ copies) — who built his success philosophy on claimed interviews with Andrew Carnegie — despite evidence that many of his claims were fabricated.
Malcolm Gladwell's 2008 argument — that extraordinary success depends on hidden advantages (birth dates, cultural legacies, 10,000 hours of practice) rather than individual merit — the best-selling popular examination of the social context of success.
Essay exploring the Nova Effect — the phenomenon where sudden, extreme positive events (jackpots, unexpected successes) paradoxically reduce long-term wellbeing — as a framework for understanding why luck and windfall are more complex than simple gain.
Napoleon Hill's 1937 success philosophy — synthesizing 13 principles (desire, faith, autosuggestion, etc.) claimed to be derived from interviews with 500 successful people including Carnegie — one of the best-selling books of all time at 100M+ copies.