Introduction
The question I posed came up because there are some similarities between Napoleon Hill’s invisible counselors and Jose Silva’s counselors. Therefore, I wanted to explore both.
I’ve read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill several times and read different editions. The first time I read the book, I hated it and couldn’t figure out what the hype was about. After I read Earl Nightingale’s summary of the book, I read it again. I’m not a cult fan of the book, however I appreciated the content.
Napoleon Hill wrote about invisible counselors. Jose Silva created counselors in your mental lab. Hill wanted to reshape his character, so Hill held nightly Council meetings with the following people, who he called his Invisible Counselors.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Thomas Paine
- Thomas Edison
- Charles Darwin
- Abraham Lincoln
- Luther Burbank
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Henry Ford
- Andrew Carnegie
The Invisible Counselors Nightly Meetings
Just before Napoleon Hill went to sleep, he imagined his invisible counselors sitting with him around a Council Table. He made himself the Chairman of the group. Hill had a definite purpose in hosting these nightly meetings. His purpose was rebuilding his character, representing a composite of his invisible counselors.
For Napoleon Hill, the meetings were real, and he was specific about what he wanted from them. The way he addressed the members depended on the traits of character he wanted to acquire. The meetings were so uncanny that it scared him.
Examples of Nightly Meetings
“Mr Darwin, I wish to acquire from you the marvelous patience and ability to study cause and effect without bias or prejudice so exemplified by you in the field of natural science.
Mr Carnegie, I am already indebted to you for my choice of a life work, which has brought me great happiness and peace of mind. I wish to acquire a thorough understanding of the principles of organized effort, which you used so effectively in the building of a great industrial enterprise.”
Do you see how specific Napoleon Hill was when making requests to his invisible counselors?
The Silva Mind Method: Counselors
I’ve taken the Silva Mind Method course several times. And I have taken several levels of the program. In the basic course, you’re taught how to create counselors, who are like Napoleon Hill’s invisible counselors. In the course, you have a male and female counselor. You call on your counselors for advice. You do this in your mental lab when you’re in the alpha brainwave state.
I have four counselors, three women and a man. And I’ve changed my counselors several times even though I learned that once you choose them, you have to stick with them forever. If they’re not working for me, I get rid of them.
I ask my counselors for advice. I find it helpful if you can visualize and imagine. Visualizing doesn’t necessarily mean seeing your counselors. Some Silva graduates I know use very descriptive language and that’s their form of visualizing. And they get answers from their counselors.
Napoleon Hill vs Jose Silva: Invisible Counselors and Counselors
In the Silva Mind Method program, a couple of instructors mentioned that Napoleon Hill took the Silva course, and I didn’t even question it because of the similarity between invisible counselors and counselors.
I’m in a Think and Grow Rich study group, so I’m rereading the book. I realized the book was first published in 1937. Napoleon Hill was born on October 26, 1883, and died on November 8, 1970. Jose Silva was born on August 11, 1914, and died on February 7, 1999.
According to Wikipedia,
“In 1944, Silva began developing his method, formerly known as Silva Mind Control. He used it on his family members and friends before launching it commercially in the 1960s.” The commercial launch of the program was over two decades after Napoleon Hill had published Think and Grow Rich.
It’s highly unlikely that Napoleon Hill learned about his invisible counselors from Jose Silva. If anything, it would have to be the other way around. It’s possible that Jose Silva came up with the ideas of the counselors independent of Napoleon Hill.
“Everything has been thought of before, but the problem is to think of it again,” says Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Thinking about the Goethe quote, Napoleon Hill thought of invisible counselors, and a few decades later, Jose Silva thought of counselors, a similar concept.
In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill doesn’t clearly walk you through the process of accessing invisible counselors. However, in the Silva Mind Method course, you learn how to access your counselors. Some Silva graduates find it very difficult communicating with their counselors.
Conclusion
Napoleon Hill and Jose Silva both utilized the concept of imaginary counselors for guidance and self-improvement, yet their approaches were distinct. Hill's “invisible counselors” in Think and Grow Rich were people whose traits he wanted to emulate through vivid nightly meetings. In contrast, Silva's method, developed decades later, involved creating personal counselors accessed through a specific mental state, taught in structured courses.
The similarities between their methods likely stem from a shared understanding of the power of visualization and imagination, rather than direct influence. Ultimately, both approaches highlight the quest for wisdom and personal growth.
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