good deal of fun was made of it by his associates. And they tried
to find out what it stood for, but they never did until he was
made president and then he told the secret.
Don't waste your mental powers in wishes. Don't dissipate your
energies by trying to satisfy every whim. Concentrate on doing
something really worth while. The man that sticks to something is
not the man that fails.
"Power to him who power exerts." - Emerson.
Success to-day depends largely on concentrating on the Interior
law of force, for when you do this you awaken those thought
powers or forces, which, when used in business, insures permanent
results.
Until you are able to do this you have not reached your limit in
the use of your forces. This great universe is interwoven with
myriads of forces. You make your own place, and whether it is
important depends upon you. Through the Indestructible and
Unconquerable Law you can in time accomplish all right things and
therefore do not be afraid to undertake whatever you really
desire to accomplish and are willing to pay for in effort.
Anything that is right is possible. That which is necessary will
inevitably take place. If something is right it is your duty to
do it, though the whole world thinks it to be wrong. "God and one
are always a majority," or in plain words, that omnipotent
interior law which is God, and the organism that represents you
is able to conquer the whole world if your cause is absolutely
just. Don't say I wish I was a great man. You can do anything
that is proper and you want to do. Just say: You can. You will.
You must. Just realize this and the rest is easy. You have the
latent faculties and forces to subdue anything that tries to
interfere with your plans.
"Let-the-troubles-and-responsibilities-of-life-come-thick-and-fas
t. I-am-ready-for-them. My-soul-is-unconquerable.
I-represent-the-Infinite-law-of-force,-or-of-all-power.
This-God-within-is-my-all-sufficient-strength-and-ever-present-he
lp-in-time-of-trouble.
The-more-difficulties-the-greater-its-triumphs-through-me.
The-harder-my-trials,-the-faster-I-go-in-the-development-of-my-in
herent-strength. Let-all-else-fail-me.
This-interior-reliance-is-all-sufficient. The-right-must-prevail.
I-demand-wisdom-and-power-to-know-and-follow-the-right.
My-higher-self-is-all-wise. I-now-draw-nearer-to-it."
LESSON IV. CONCENTRATION, THE SILENT FORCE THAT PRODUCES RESULTS
IN ALL BUSINESS
I want you first to realize how powerful thought is. A thought of
fear has turned a person's hair gray in a night. A prisoner
condemned to die was told that if he would consent to an
experiment and lived through it he would be freed. He consented.
They wanted to see how much blood a person could lose and still
live. They arranged that blood would apparently drop from a cut
made in his leg. The cut made was very slight, from which
practically no blood escaped. The room was darkened, and the
prisoner thought the dropping he heard was really coming from his
leg. The next morning he was dead through mental fear.
The two above illustrations will give you a little idea of the
power of thought. To thoroughly realize the power of thought is
worth a great deal to you.
Through concentrated thought power you can make yourself whatever
you please. By thought you can greatly increase your efficiency
and strength. You are surrounded by all kinds of thoughts, some
good, others bad, and you are sure to absorb some of the latter
if you do not build up a positive mental attitude.
If you will study the needless moods of anxiety, worry,
despondency, discouragement and others that are the result of
uncontrolled thoughts, you will realize how important the control
of your thoughts are. Your thoughts make you what you are.
When I walk along the street and study the different people's
faces I can tell how they spent their lives. It all shows in
their faces, just like a mirror reflects their physical
countenances. In looking in those faces I cannot help thinking
how most of the people you see have wasted their lives.
The understanding of the power of thought will awaken
possibilities within you that you never dreamed of. Never forget
that your thoughts are making your environment, your friends, and
as your thoughts change these will also. Is this not a practical
lesson to learn? Good thoughts are constructive. Evil thoughts
are destructive. The desire to do right carries with it a great
power. I want you to thoroughly realize the importance of your
thoughts, and how to make them valuable, to understand that your
thoughts come to you over invisible wires and influence you.
If your thoughts are of a high nature, you become connected with
people of the same mental caliber and you are able to help
yourself. If your thoughts are tricky, you will bring tricky
people to deal with you, who will try to cheat you.
If your thoughts are right kind, you will inspire confidence in
those with whom you are dealing.
As you gain the good will of others your confidence and strength
will increase. You will soon learn the wonderful value of your
thoughts and how serene you can become even when circumstances
are the most trying.
Such thoughts of Right and Good Will bring you into harmony with
people that amount to something in the world and that are able to
give you help if you should need it, as nearly everyone does at
times.
You can now see why it is so important to concentrate your
thoughts in the proper channels. It is very necessary that people
should have confidence in you. When two people meet they have not
the time to look each other up. They accept each other according
to instinct which can usually be relied on.
You meet a person and his attitude creates a suspicion in you.
The chances are you cannot tell why, but something tells you,
"Have no dealings with him, for if you do, you will be sorry."
Thoughts produce actions. Therefore be careful of your thoughts.
Your life will be molded by the thoughts you have. A spiritual
power is always available to your thought, and when you are
worthy you can attract all the good things without a great effort
on your part.
The sun's rays shine down on our gardens, but we can plant trees
that will interfere with the sun light. There are invisible
forces ready to help you if you do not think and act to intercept
these. These forces work silently. "You reap what you sow."
You have concentrated within powers that if developed will bring
you happiness greater than you can even imagine. Most people go
rushing through life, literally driving away the very things they
seek. By concentration you can revolutionize your life,
accomplish infinitely more and without a great effort.
Look within yourself and you will find the greatest machine ever
made.
How to Speak Wisely. In order to speak wisely you must secure at
least a partial concentration of the faculties and forces upon
the subject at hand. Speech interferes with the focusing powers
of the mind, as it withdraws the attention to the external and
therefore is hardly to be compared with that deep silence of the
subconscious mind, where deep thoughts, and the silent forces of
high potency are evolved. It is necessary to be silent before you
can speak wisely. The person that is really alert and well poised
and able to speak wisely under trying circumstances, is the
person that has practiced in the silence. Most people do not know
what the silence is and think it is easy to go into the silence,
but this is not so. In the real silence we become attached to
that interior law and the forces become silent, because they are
in a state of high potency, or beyond the vibratory sounds to
which our external ears are attuned. He who desires to become
above the ordinary should open up for himself the interior
channels which lead to the absolute law of the omnipotent. You
can only do this by persistently and intelligently practicing
thought concentration. Hold the thought:
In-silence-I-will-allow-my-higher-self-to-have-complete-control.
I-will-be-true-to-my-higher-self.
I-will-live-true-to-my-conception-of-what-is-right.
I-realize-that-it-is-to-my-self-interest-to-live-up-to-my-best.
I-demand-wisdom-so that-I-may-act-wisely-for-myself-and-others.
In the next chapter I will tell you of the mysterious law, which
links all humanity together, by the powers of co-operative
thought, and chooses for us companionship and friends.
LESSON V. HOW CONCENTRATED THOUGHT LINKS ALL HUMANITY TOGETHER
It is within your power to gratify your every wish. Success is
the result of the way you think. I will show you how to think to
be successful.
The power to rule and attract success is within yourself. The
barriers that shut these off from you are subject to your
control. You have unlimited power to think and this is the link
that connects you with your omniscient source.
Success is the result of certain moods of mind or ways of
thinking. These moods can be controlled by you and produced at
will.
You have been evolved to what you are from a lowly atom because
you possessed the power to think. This power will never leave
you, but will keep urging you on until you reach perfection. As
you evolve, you create new desires and these can be gratified.
The power to rule lies within you. The barriers that keep you
from ruling are also within you. These are the barriers of
ignorance.
Concentrated thought will accomplish seemingly impossible results
and make you realize your fondest ambitions. At the same time
that you break down barriers of limitation new ambitions will be
awakened. You begin to experience conscious thought
constructions.
If you will just realize that through deep concentration you
become linked with thoughts of omnipotence, you will kill out
entirely your belief in your limitations and at the same time
will drive away all fear and other negative and destructive
thought forces which constantly work against you. In the place of
these you will build up a strong assurance that your every
venture will be successful. When you learn thus how to
concentrate and reinforce your thought, you control your mental
creations; they in turn help to mould your physical environment,
and you become the master of circumstances and the ruler of your
kingdom.
It is just as easy to surround your life with what you want as it
is with what you don't want. It is a question to be decided by
your will. There are no walls to prevent you from getting what
you want, providing you want what is right. If you choose
something that is not right, you are in opposition to the
omnipotent plans of the universe and deserve to fail. But, if you
will base your desires on justice and good will, you avail
yourself of the helpful powers of universal currents, and instead
of having a handicap to work against, can depend upon ultimate
success, though the outward appearances may not at first be
bright.
Never stop to think of temporary appearances, but maintain an
unfaltering belief in your ultimate success. Make your plans
carefully, and see that they are not contrary to the tides of
universal justice. The main thing for you to remember is to keep
at bay the destructive and opposing forces of fear and anger and
their satellites.
There is no power so great as the belief which comes from the
knowledge that your thought is in harmony with the divine laws of
thought and the sincere conviction that your cause is right. You
may be able seemingly to accomplish results for a time even if
your cause is unjust, but the results will be temporary, and, in
time, you will have to tear down your thought edifice and build
on the true foundation of Right.
Plans that are not built on truth produce discordant vibrations
and are therefore self-destructive. Never try to build until you
can build right. It is a waste of time to do anything else. You
may temporarily put aside your desire to do right, but its true
vibrations will interfere with your unjust plans until you are
forced back into righteous paths of power.
All just causes succeed in time, though temporarily they may
fail. So if you should face the time when everything seems
against you, quiet your fears, drive away all destructive
thoughts and uphold the dignity of your moral and spiritual life.
"Where There Is A Will There Is A Way." The reason this is so is
that the Will can make a way if given the chance to secure the
assistance of aiding forces. The more it is developed the higher
the way to which it will lead.
When everything looks gloomy and discouraging, then is the time
to show what you are made of by rejoicing that you can control
your moods by making them as calm, serene and bright as if
prosperity were yours.
"Be faithful in sowing the thought seeds of success, in perfect
trust that the sun will not cease to shine and bring a generous
harvest in one season."
It is not always necessary to think of the success of a venture
when you are actually engaged in it. For when the body is
inactive the mind is most free to catch new ideas that will
further the opportunity you are seeking. When you are actually
engaged in doing something, you are thinking in the channels you
have previously constructed and the work does not have to be done
over again.
When you are in a negative mood the intuitions are more active,
for you are not then controlling your thoughts by the will.
Everything we do. should have the approval of the intuition.
When you are in a negative mood you attract thoughts of similar
nature through the law of affinity. That is why it is so
important to form thoughts of a success nature to attract similar
ones. If you have never made a study of this subject, you may
think this is all foolishness, but it is a fact that there are
thought currents that unerringly bring thoughts of a similar
nature. Many persons who think of failure actually attract
failure by their worries, their anxieties, their overactivity.
These thoughts are bound to bring failure. When you once learn
the laws of thought and think of nothing but Good, Truth,
Success, you will make more progress with less effort than you
ever made before.
There are forces that can aid the mind that are hardly dreamed of
by the average person. When you learn to believe more in the
value of thought and its laws you will be led aright and your
business gains will multiply.
The following method may assist you in gaining better thought
control. If you are unable to control your fears, just say to
your faulty determination, "Do not falter or be afraid, for I am
not really alone. I am surrounded by invisible forces that will
assist me to remove the unfavorable appearances." Soon you will
have more courage. The only difference between the fearless man
and the fearful one is in his will, his hope. So if you lack
success, believe in it, hope for it, claim it. You can use the
same method to brace up your thoughts of desire, aspiration,
imagination, expectation, ambition, understanding, trust and
assurance.
If you get anxious, angry, discouraged, undecided or worried, it
is because you are not receiving the co-operation of the higher
powers of your mind. By your Will you can so organize the powers
of the mind that your moods change only as you want them to
instead of as circumstances affect you.
I was recently asked if I advised concentrating on what you eat,
or what you see while walking. My reply was that no matter what
you may be doing, when in practice think of nothing else but that
act at the time. The idea is to be able to control your
unimportant acts, otherwise you set up a habit that it will be
hard to overcome, because your faculties have not been in the
habit of concentrating. Your faculties cannot be disorganized one
minute and organized the next. If you allow the mind to wander
while you are doing small things, it will be likely to get into
mischief and make it hard to concentrate on the important act
when it comes.
The man that is able to concentrate is the happy, busy man. Time
does not drag with him. He always has plenty to do. He does not
have time to think over past mistakes, which would make him
unhappy.
If despite our discouragement and failures, we claim our great
heritage, "life and truth and force, like an electric current,"
will permeate our lives until we enter into our "birthright in
eternity."
The will does not act with clearness, decision and promptness
unless it is trained to do so. There are comparatively few that
really know what they are doing every minute of the day. This is
because they do not observe with sufficient orderliness and
accuracy to know what they are doing. It is not difficult to know
what you us doing all the time, if you will just practice
concentration and with a reposeful deliberation, and train
yourself to think clearly, promptly, and decisive. If you allow
yourself to worry or hurry in what you are doing, this will not
be clearly photographed upon the sensitized plate of the
subjective mind, and you therefore will not be really conscious
of your actions. So practice accuracy and concentration of
thought, and also absolute truthfulness and you will soon be able
to concentrate.
LESSON VI. THE TRAINING OF THE WILL TO DO
The Will To Do is the greatest power in the world that is
concerned with human accomplishment and no one can in advance
determine its limits.
The things that we do now would have been a few ages ago
impossibilities. Today the safe maxim is: "All things are
possible."
The Will To Do is a force that is strictly practical, yet it is
difficult to explain just what it is. It can be compared to
electricity because we know it only through its cause and
effects. It is a power we can direct and to just the extent we
direct it do we determine our future. Every time you accomplish
any definite act, consciously or unconsciously, you use the
principle of the Will. You can Will to do anything whether it is
right or wrong, and therefore the way you use your will makes a
big difference in your life.
Every person possesses some "Will To Do." It is the inner energy
which controls all conscious acts. What you will to do directs
your life forces. All habits, good or bad, are the result of what
you will to do. You improve or lower your condition in life by
what you will to do. Your will has a connection with all avenues
of knowledge, all activities, all accomplishment.
You probably know of cases where people have shown wonderful
strength under some excitement, similar to the following: The
house of a farmer's wife caught on fire. No one was around to
help her move anything. She was a frail woman, and ordinarily was
considered weak. On this occasion she removed things from the
house that it later took three men to handle. It was the "Will To
Do" that she used to accomplish her task.
Genius Is But A Will To Do Little Things With Infinite Pains.
Little Things Well Done Open The Door Of Opportunity For Bigger
Things.
The Will accomplishes its greater results through activities that
grow out of great concentration in acquiring the power of
voluntary attention to such an extent that we can direct it where
we will and hold it steadily to its task until our aim is
accomplished. When you learn so to use it, your Will Power
becomes a mighty force. Almost everything can be accomplished
through its proper use. It is greater than physical force because
it can be used to control not only physical but mental and moral
forces.
There are very few that possess perfectly developed and balanced
Will Power, but those who do easily crush out their weak
qualities. Study yourself carefully. Find out your greatest
weakness and then use your will power to overcome it. In this way
eradicate your faults, one by one, until you have built up a
strong character and personality.
Rules for Improvement. A desire arises. Now think whether this
would be good for you. If it is not, use your Will Power to kill
out the desire, but, on the other hand, if it is a righteous
desire, summon all your Will Power to your aid, crush all
obstacles that confront you and secure possession of the coveted
Good.
Slowness in Making Decisions. This is a weakness of Will Power.
You know you should do something, but you delay doing it through
lack of decision. It is easier not to do a certain thing than to
do it, but conscience says to do it. The vast majority of persons
are failures because of the lack of deciding to do a thing when
it should be done. Those that are successful have been quick to
grasp opportunities by making a quick decision. This power of
will can be used to bring culture, wealth and health.
Some Special Pointers. For the next week try to make quicker
decisions in your little daily affairs. Set the hour you wish to
get up and arise exactly at the fixed time. Anything that you
should accomplish, do on or ahead of time. You want, of course,
to give due deliberation to weighty matters, but by making quick
decisions on little things you will acquire the ability to make
quick decisions in bigger things. Never procrastinate. Decide
quickly one way or the other even at the risk of deciding wrong.
Practice this for a week or two and notice your improvement.
The Lack of Initiative. This, too, keeps many men from
succeeding. They have fallen into the way of imitating others in
all that they do. Very often we hear the expression, "He seems
clever enough, but he lacks initiative." Life for them is one
continuous grind. Day after day they go through the same
monotonous round of duties, while those that are "getting along"
are using their initiative to get greater fullness of life. There
is nothing so responsible for poverty as this lack of initiative,
this power to think and do for ourselves.
You Are as Good as Anyone. You have will power, and if you use
it, you will get your share of the luxuries of life. So use it to
claim your own. Don't depend on anyone else to help you. We have
to fight our own battles. All the world loves a fighter, while
the coward is despised by all.
Every person's problems are different, so I can only say "analyze
your opportunities and conditions and study your natural
abilities." Form plans for improvement and then put them into
operation. Now, as I said before, don't just say, "I am going to
do so and so," but carry your plan into execution. Don't make an
indefinite plan, but a definite one, and then don't give up until
your object has been accomplished. Put these suggestions into
practice with true earnestness, and you will soon note
astonishing results, and your whole life will be completely
changed. An excellent motto for one of pure motives is: Through
my will power I dare do what I want to. You will find this
affirmation has a very strengthening effect.
The Spirit of Perseverance. The spirit of "sticktoitiveness" is
the one that wins. Many go just so far and then give up, whereas,
if they had persevered a little longer, they would have won out.
Many have much initiative, but instead of concentrating it into
one channel, they diffuse it through several, thereby dissipating
it to such an extent that its effect is lost.
Develop more determination, which is only the Will To Do, and
when you start out to do something stick to it until you get
results. Of course, before starting anything you must look ahead
and see what the "finish leads to." You must select a road that
will lead to "somewhere," rather than "nowhere." The journey must
be productive of some kind of substantial results. The trouble
with so many young men is that they launch enterprises without
any end in sight. It is not so much the start as the finish of a
journey that counts. Each little move should bring you nearer the
goal which you planned to reach before the enterprise began.
Lack of Perseverance is nothing but the lack of the Will To Do.
It takes the same energy to say, "I will continue," as to say, "I
give up." Just the moment you say the latter you shut off your
dynamo, and your determination is gone. Every time you allow your
determination to be broken you weaken it. Don't forget this. Just
the instant you notice your determination beginning to weaken,
concentrate on it and by sheer Will Power make it continue on the
"job."
Never try to make a decision when you are not in a calm state of
mind. If in a "quick temper," you are likely to say things you
afterwards regret. In anger, you follow impulse rather than
reason. No one can expect to achieve success if he makes
decisions when not in full control of his mental forces.
Therefore make it a fixed rule to make decisions only when at