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  • The Power of Concentration, by Theron Q. Dumont

  • The Power of Concentration

  • By THERON Q. DUMONT Author of "Personal Magnetism"; "Practical

  • Memory Training"; "Mental Therapeutics"; "Successful

  • Salesmanship"; "Master Mind"; etc., etc.

  • TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • INTRODUCTION. It is of the utmost value to learn how to

  • concentrate. To make the greatest success of anything you must be

  • able to concentrate your entire thought upon the idea you are

  • working on. The person that is able to concentrate utilizes all

  • constructive thoughts and shuts out all destructive ones. The

  • greatest man would accomplish nothing if he lacked concentration.

  • LESSON 1. CONCENTRATION FINDS THE WAY. Our two natures; one wants

  • to advance; the other wants to pull us back. The one we

  • concentrate on and develop determines what we will become. How

  • you may change your whole career and accomplish miracles. We can

  • be completely controlled by our concentrated thought. How can you

  • make an "opportunity". One man's opportunity is usually another

  • man's loss. A very beneficial practice. Why we get back what we

  • give out. A wonderful encouraging tonic. Every man that is

  • willing to put forth the necessary effort can be a success. The

  • man that is best prepared to do things. How to make your services

  • always in demand. How to reach the top. The man selected to

  • manage is not usually a genius. He does not possess any more

  • talent than others. What he does possess that others do not. Why

  • a few succeed and so many fail.

  • LESSON 2. THE SELF-MASTERY. SELF-DIRECTION POWER OF

  • CONCENTRATION. Very few men possess the power to concentrate as

  • they should. The cause of poor concentration. A very good

  • practice. Concentration means strength of mind. The person unable

  • to concentrate never accomplished a great deal. How many weaken

  • their powers of concentration. How concentration can only be

  • developed. How to control your every thought, wish and plan. What

  • concentration is. The person that is able to concentrate gains

  • the Power to control others. Concentration makes the will and

  • intellect act in unison. Why some people are not magnetic. When a

  • powerful personal influence is generated. How to become

  • influential. The cause of spasmodic, erratic concentration. How

  • to centralize your attention. A quick way to develop

  • concentration. The development of physical and mental

  • concentration. How to learn a valuable lesson. One of the best

  • ways to influence another. A good exercise. The real benefit of

  • physical culture usually lost sight of. How to hold the

  • facilities at work.

  • LESSON 3. HOW TO GAIN WHAT YOU WANT THROUGH CONCENTRATION. The

  • mistake made by those that do not understand the power of mental

  • attraction. How to get what you want. We are not living in a

  • "fairy age." Not the age for a "dreamer." The secret of getting

  • what you concentrate on. How a messenger in a bank became its

  • president. "Power to him who power exerts."

  • LESSON 4. CONCENTRATION, THE SILENT FORCE THAT PRODUCES RESULTS

  • IN ALL BUSINESS. The power of thought. An experiment showing the

  • power of thought. By concentrated thought you can make yourself

  • what you please. How to greatly increase your efficiency. The

  • face reflects how a person has spent his life. How to awaken

  • possibilities within, you never dreamed of. How to inspire

  • confidence in those you deal with. The value of concentrating

  • your thoughts in the proper channels. How to attract the good

  • things without a, great effort. By concentration you can

  • revolutionize your life and gain happiness greater than you can

  • imagine.

  • LESSON 5. HOW CONCENTRATED THOUGHT LINKS ALL HUMANITY TOGETHER.

  • How you may become successful. The barriers to success can be

  • controlled. How to realize your fondest ambitions. How to

  • overcome destructive forces. How to become the master of

  • circumstances. Through concentration you can mold your

  • environment. You can get what you want. Sowing the thought seeds

  • of success. Mind forces that are hardly dreamed of at present. A

  • method for removing unfavorable conditions. Concentration makes

  • you happy and gives you plenty to do.

  • LESSON 6. THE TRAINING OF THE WILL TO DO. The great secret of any

  • accomplishment. Everything Is possible today. The inner energy

  • that controls all conscious acts. How you can become a genius. A

  • mighty force at your disposal. Rules that will make you a "man"

  • among men. The spirit that wins. Concentration develops

  • determination and perseverance. Some special instructions. What

  • will power is. You have as strong a will as anyone. You determine

  • your own fate. The importance of learning to use your will.

  • LESSON 7. THE CONCENTRATED MENTAL DEMAND. The attitude of the

  • mind affects the expression of the face. The wonderful power of

  • the concentrated mental demand. How to desire something and

  • exclude all distracting thoughts. The silent force of wonderful

  • power within all of us. How to make plans work out. The mightiest

  • power in the world is free for you to use. The motive power which

  • supplies the energies necessary for achievement.

  • LESSON 8. CONCENTRATION GIVES MENTAL POISE. The man that can

  • concentrate is well poised. What you must do to be successful

  • today. Concentration that is dangerous. How to make those you

  • come in contact with feel as you do. The man that becomes a power

  • in the world. You can control your life and actions. Successful

  • lives are the concentrated lives. Why people do not get what they

  • "concentrate" on.

  • LESSON 9. CONCENTRATION CAN OVERCOME BAD HABITS. Habit is but a

  • powerful enemy and wonderful ally of concentration. Most people

  • are controlled through the power of habit. Most people are

  • imitators and copiers of their past selves. All physical

  • impressions are the carrying out of the actions of the will and

  • intellect. How everyone could be made happier and successful.

  • Some wonderful maxims. Habit the deepest law of human nature. How

  • to overcome undesirable habits. Some special instructions by Dr.

  • Oppenheim.

  • LESSON 10. BUSINESS RESULTS GAINED THROUGH CONCENTRATION. A

  • successful business not the result of chance. Failure not caused

  • by luck. The intense desire that is necessary to make a business

  • a success. Those that achieve permanent success deserve it. The

  • man that is able to skilfully manage his business. How to realize

  • your ambition. The successful business attitude. Your opinion

  • should be as good as any one else. How many ruin their judgment.

  • The man that gets the best results. A successful business not

  • hard to build up; may be built up In a few years now whereas

  • formerly it took a lifetime. How to do more and better work. How

  • to attract the ideas thought out by others. Many attract forces

  • and Influences that they should not. Broaden the visions of those

  • you come in contact with.

  • LESSON 11. CONCENTRATE ON COURAGE. Lack of courage creates

  • financial, as well as mental and moral difficulties. The man

  • without courage attracts all that is contemptible, weakening,

  • demoralizing and destructive. It is just as easy to be courageous

  • as cowardly. Courage concentrates the mental forces on the task

  • at hand. Cowardice dissipates both mental and moral forces. How

  • to banish doubts. No one knows what they can do until they try.

  • Once you understand the law everything is possible. How to build

  • up courage to do as you wish. Difficulties soon melt away before

  • the courageous.

  • LESSON 12. CONCENTRATE ON WEALTH. No one was intended to be poor.

  • Through wealth we can uplift ourselves and humanity. Uncongenial

  • and unpleasant conditions are not conducive to proper thought.

  • First step toward acquiring wealth. Most men of all ages have

  • been comparatively rich. Wealth not altogether the result of

  • being industrious. No one can become wealthy from his earnings.

  • Why some have to be taught such painful lessons. How many attract

  • poverty instead of riches. Why it is necessary to give a fair

  • exchange for what we receive. How to make your society not only

  • agreeable to others but sought after.

  • LESSON 13. YOU CAN CONCENTRATE, BUT WILL YOU? All have the

  • ability to concentrate. More ability not used than is used.

  • Sometimes only a trifle keeps one from becoming a success. The

  • fault is all your own. How to discover the cause if you are not

  • making good. Make conditions favorable and do not expect them to

  • shape themselves. Stumbling blocks but stepping stones. Hard

  • Passages can be bridged if you just concentrate on them. Why more

  • people do not succeed. Don't be afraid of a rebuff. The man that

  • knows no such thing as failure. Be ready for an opportunity when

  • it comes, No circumstances can keep the determined man from

  • succeeding.

  • LESSON 14. ART OF CONCENTRATING WITH PRACTICAL EXERCISE. A daily

  • habit will wonderfully increase your concentration. Seeing

  • yourself as you would like to be. Instruction of the greatest

  • importance. The great creative spirit of the universe. Why things

  • manifest as they do. The cosmic intelligence. A most desired

  • state. How to receive messages from the universal mind. How to

  • develop power, unknown to you before. Make your mind a powerful

  • transmitter of thought. The best time to practice concentration

  • exercises. How to rejuvenate every cell of your brain and body.

  • An exercise that will give you a self-poised manner. Instead of a

  • nervous strained appearance. Concentrating on the powers within.

  • Concentration will save your energy. How to keep from getting

  • irritable or nervous. The Eastern way of concentrating. Exercise

  • in controlling desires.

  • LESSON 15. CONCENTRATE SO YOU WILL NOT FORGET. Why people forget.

  • An easy way to remember. How to deepen your impression. Exercise

  • in Memory Concentration.

  • LESSON 16. HOW CONCENTRATION CAN FULFILL YOUR DESIRE. The desire

  • to do implies the ability to do. Man has within him the power to

  • gratify his every wish. If you have been unable to satisfy your

  • longings, it is time you learn how to use your God-given powers.

  • Priceless knowledge and unlimited possibilities within you that

  • Is foreign to most people. How to concentrate on what you want

  • and get it. The miraculous help we apparently receive at times.

  • How one man started a business on thirteen cents and in six years

  • built up a business that pays him $6,000 a year. When you put

  • forth the necessary concentrated effort you will receive great

  • help from unknown sources.

  • LESSON 17. IDEALS DEVELOP BY CONCENTRATION. Your happiness and

  • success depends upon your ideals. A valuable lesson. Through

  • concentration we can work out our ideals In physical life. What a

  • different world this would be if we would build the right kind of

  • ideals. Every time you change your ideal you think differently.

  • Life is one continuous unfoldment. You can be happy every step of

  • its way or miserable as you please. How our grandest thoughts

  • come to us.

  • LESSON 18. MENTAL CONTROL THROUGH CREATION. An inventor's vision.

  • Why It is easy to project your thoughts to another. How your

  • mental powers can draw to you forces of a helpful nature. The big

  • business man must possess mental power of control. How to make a

  • friend or relative succeed. How to generate enthusiasm and the

  • spirit of success. Your environment is either helpful or harmful.

  • Mental starvation. How to instil your thoughts and ideas into

  • others. Influence that must be shaken off before you can advance.

  • Our attitude has more to do with success than you realize.

  • LESSON 19. A CONCENTRATED WILL DEVELOPMENT. A most effective and

  • practical method of developing the Will. Practical exercises.

  • Will training without exercises. Will-power can overcome big

  • obstacles. The Will to win. Man an unknown quality until his

  • powers are developed. Ability plentiful, but organizing,

  • initiative and creative power not so plentiful. The driving force

  • within.

  • LESSON 20. CONCENTRATION REVIEWED. Those unable to concentrate

  • will generally suffer from poverty and unhappiness, The best

  • instructor will only help you to the extent you put it into

  • practice. Gaining the mastery of your work, life powers and

  • forces. Concentrate the dominant quality that makes men

  • successful. Everyone can learn to concentrate better. An

  • experiment to try. Final instructions.

  • INTRODUCTORY

  • We all know that in order to accomplish a certain thing we must

  • concentrate. It is of the utmost value to learn how to

  • concentrate. To make a success of anything you must be able to

  • concentrate your entire thought upon the idea you are working

  • out.

  • Do not become discouraged, if you are unable to hold your thought

  • on the subject very long at first. There are very few that can.

  • It seems a peculiar fact that it is easier to concentrate on

  • something that is not good for us, than on something that is

  • beneficial. This tendency is overcome when we learn to

  • concentrate consciously.

  • If you will just practice a few concentration exercises each day

  • you will find you will soon develop this wonderful power.

  • Success is assured when you are able to concentrate for you are

  • then able to utilize for your good all constructive thoughts and

  • shut out all the destructive ones. It is of the greatest value to

  • be able to think only that which will be beneficial.

  • Did you ever stop to think what an important part your thoughts,

  • concentrated thoughts, play in your life? This book shows their

  • far-reaching and all-abiding effects.

  • These lessons you will find very practical. The exercises I have

  • thoroughly tested. They are arranged so that you will notice an

  • improvement from the very start, and this will give you

  • encouragement. They point out ways in which you can help

  • yourself.

  • Man is a wonderful creature, but he must be trained and developed

  • to be useful. A great work can be accomplished by every man if he

  • can be awakened to do his very best. But the greatest man would

  • not accomplish much if he lacked concentration and effort. Dwarfs

  • can often do the work of giants when they are transformed by the

  • almost magic power of great mental concentration. But giants will

  • only do the work of dwarfs when they lack this power.

  • We accomplish more by concentration than by fitness; the man that

  • is apparently best suited for a place does not always fill it

  • best. It is the man that concentrates on its every possibility

  • that makes an art of both his work and his life.

  • All your real advancement must come from your individual effort.

  • This course of lessons will stimulate and inspire you to achieve

  • success; it will bring you into perfect harmony with the laws of

  • success. It will give you a firmer hold on your duties and

  • responsibilities.

  • The methods of thought concentration given in this work if put

  • into practice will open up interior avenues that will connect you

  • with the everlasting laws of Being and their exhaustless

  • foundation of unchangeable truth.

  • As most people are very different it is impossible to give

  • instructions that will be of the same value to all. The author

  • has endeavored in these lessons to awaken that within the soul

  • which perhaps the book does not express. So study these lessons

  • as a means of awakening and training that which is within

  • yourself. Let all your acts and thoughts have the intensity and

  • power of concentration.

  • To really get the full benefit of these lessons you should read a

  • page, then close the book and thoughtfully recall its ideas. If

  • you will do this you will soon cultivate a concentrated mental

  • habit, which will enable you to read with ordinary rapidity and

  • remember all that you read.

  • LESSON I. CONCENTRATION FINDS THE WAY

  • Everyone has two natures. One wants us to advance and the other

  • wants to pull us back. The one that we cultivate and concentrate

  • on decides what we are at the end. Both natures are trying to

  • gain control. The will alone decides the issue. A man by one

  • supreme effort of the will may change his whole career and almost

  • accomplish miracles. You may be that man. You can be if you Will

  • to be, for Will can find a way or make one.

  • I could easily fill a book, of cases where men plodding along in

  • a matter-of-fact way, were all at once aroused and as if

  • awakening from a slumber they developed the possibilities within

  • them and from that time on were different persons. You alone can

  • decide when the turning point will come. It is a matter of choice

  • whether we allow our diviner self to control us or whether we

  • will be controlled by the brute within us. No man has to do

  • anything he does not want to do. He is therefore the director of

  • his life if he wills to be. What we are to do, is the result of

  • our training. We are like putty, and can be completely controlled

  • by our will power.

  • Habit is a matter of acquirement. You hear people say: "He comes

  • by this or that naturally, a chip off the old block," meaning

  • that he is only doing what his parents did. This is quite often

  • the case, but there is no reason for it, for a person can break a

  • habit just the moment he masters the "I will." A man may have

  • been a "good-for-nothing" all his life up to this very minute,

  • but from this time on he begins to amount to something. Even old

  • men have suddenly changed and accomplished wonders. "I lost my

  • opportunity," says one. That may be true, but by sheer force of

  • will, we can find a way to bring us another opportunity. There is

  • no truth in the saying that opportunity knocks at our door but

  • once in a lifetime. The fact is, opportunity never seeks us; we

  • must seek it. What usually turns out to be one man's opportunity,

  • was another man's loss. In this day one man's brain is matched

  • against another's. It is often the quickness of brain action that

  • determines the result. One man thinks "I will do it," but while

  • he procrastinates the other goes ahead and does the work. They

  • both have the same opportunity. The one will complain of his lost

  • chance. But it should teach him a lesson, and it will, if he is

  • seeking the path that leads to success.

  • Many persons read good books, but say they do not get much good

  • out of them. They do not realize that all any book or any lesson

  • course can do is to awaken them to their possibilities; to

  • stimulate them to use their will power. You may teach a person

  • from now until doom's day, but that person will only know what he

  • learns himself. "You can lead him to the fountain, but you can't

  • make him drink."

  • One of the most beneficial practices I know of is that of looking

  • for the good in everyone and everything, for there is good in all

  • things. We encourage a person by seeing his good qualities and we

  • also help ourselves by looking for them. We gain their good

  • wishes, a most valuable asset sometimes. We get back what we give

  • out. The time comes when most all of us need encouragement; need

  • buoying up. So form the habit of encouraging others, and you will

  • find it a wonderful tonic for both those encouraged and yourself,

  • for you will get back encouraging and uplifting thoughts.

  • Life furnishes us the opportunity to improve. But whether we do

  • it or not depends upon how near we live up to what is expected of

  • us. The first of each month, a person should sit down and examine

  • the progress he has made. If he has not come up to "expectations"

  • he should discover the reason, and by extra exertion measure up

  • to what is demanded next time. Every time that we fall behind

  • what we planned to do, we lose just so much for that time is gone

  • forever. We may find a reason for doing it, but most excuses are

  • poor substitutes for action. Most things are possible. Ours may

  • be a hard task, but the harder the task, the greater the reward.

  • It is the difficult things that really develop us, anything that

  • requires only a small effort, utilizes very few of our faculties,

  • and yields a scanty harvest of achievement. So do not shrink from

  • a hard task, for to accomplish one of these will often bring us

  • more good than a dozen lesser triumphs.

  • I know that every man that is willing to pay the price can be a

  • success. The price is not in money, but in effort. The first

  • essential quality for success is the desire to do--to be

  • something. The next thing is to learn how to do it; the next to

  • carry it into execution. The man that is the best able to

  • accomplish anything is the one with a broad mind; the man that

  • has acquired knowledge, that may, it is true, be foreign to this

  • particular case, but is, nevertheless, of some value in all

  • cases. So the man that wants to be successful must be liberal; he

  • must acquire all the knowledge that he can; he must be well

  • posted not only in one branch of his business but in every part

  • of it. Such a man achieves success.

  • The secret of success is to try always to improve yourself no

  • matter where you are or what your position. Learn all you can.

  • Don't see how little you can do, but how much you can do. Such a

  • man will always be in demand, for he establishes the reputation

  • of being a hustler. There is always room for him because

  • progressive firms never let a hustler leave their employment if

  • they can help it.

  • The man that reaches the top is the gritty, plucky, hard worker

  • and never the timid, uncertain, slow worker. An untried man is

  • seldom put in a position of responsibility and power. The man

  • selected is one that has done something, achieved results in some

  • line, or taken the lead in his department. He is placed there

  • because of his reputation of putting vigor and virility into his

  • efforts, and because he has previously shown that he has pluck

  • and determination.

  • The man that is chosen at the crucial time is not usually a

  • genius; he does not possess any more talent than others, but he

  • has learned that results can only be produced by untiring

  • concentrated effort. That "miracles," in business do not just

  • "happen." He knows that the only way they will happen is by

  • sticking to a proposition and seeing it through. That is the only

  • secret of why some succeed and others fail. The successful man

  • gets used to seeing things accomplished and always feels sure of

  • success. The man that is a failure gets used to seeing failure,

  • expects it and attracts it to him.

  • It is my opinion that with the right kind of training every man

  • could be a success. It is really a shame that so many men and

  • women, rich in ability and talent, are allowed to go to waste, so

  • to speak. Some day I hope to see a millionaire philanthropist

  • start a school for the training of failures. I am sure he could

  • not put his money to a better use. In a year's time the science

  • of practical psychology could do wonders for him. He could have

  • agencies on the lookout for men that had lost their grip on

  • themselves; that had through indisposition weakened their will;

  • that through some sorrow or misfortune had become discouraged. At

  • first all they need is a little help to get them back on their

  • feet, but usually they get a knock downwards instead. The result

  • is that their latent powers never develop and both they and the

  • world are the losers. I trust that in the near future, someone

  • will heed the opportunity of using some of his millions in

  • arousing men that have begun to falter. All they need to be shown

  • is that there is within them an omnipotent source that is ready

  • to aid them, providing they will make use of it. Their minds only

  • have to be turned from despair to hope to make them regain their

  • hold.

  • When a man loses his grip today, he must win his redemption by

  • his own will. He will get little encouragement or advice of an

  • inspiring nature. He must usually regain the right road alone. He

  • must stop dissipating his energies and turn his attention to

  • building a useful career. Today we must conquer our weakening

  • tendencies alone. Don't expect anyone to help you. Just take one

  • big brace, make firm resolutions, and resolve to conquer your

  • weaknesses and vices. Really none can do this for you. They can

  • encourage you; that is all.

  • I can think of nothing, but lack of health, that should interfere

  • with one becoming successful. There is no other handicap that you

  • should not be able to overcome. To overcome a handicap, all that

  • it is necessary to do is to use more determination and grit and

  • will.

  • The man with grit and will, may be poor today and wealthy in a

  • few years; will power is a better asset than money; Will will

  • carry you over chasms of failure, if you but give it the chance.

  • The men that have risen to the highest positions have usually had

  • to gain their victories against big odds. Think of the hardships

  • many of our inventors have gone through before they became a

  • success. Usually they have been very much misunderstood by

  • relatives and friends. Very often they did not have the bare

  • necessities of life, yet, by sheer determination and resolute

  • courage, they managed to exist somehow until they perfected their

  • inventions, which afterwards greatly helped in bettering the

  • condition of others.

  • Everyone really wants to do something, but there are few that

  • will put forward the needed effort to make the necessary

  • sacrifice to secure it. There is only one way to accomplish

  • anything and that is to go ahead and do it. A man may accomplish

  • almost anything today, if he just sets his heart on doing it and

  • lets nothing interfere with his progress. Obstacles are quickly

  • overcome by the man that sets out to accomplish his heart's

  • desire. The "bigger" the man, the smaller the obstacle appears.

  • The "smaller" the man the greater the obstacle appears. Always

  • look at the advantage you gain by overcoming obstacles, and it

  • will give you the needed courage for their conquest.

  • Do not expect that you will always have easy sailing. Parts of

  • your journey are likely to be rough. Don't let the rough places

  • put you out of commission. Keep on with the journey. Just the way

  • you weather the storm shows what material you are made of. Never

  • sit down and complain of the rough places, but think how nice the

  • pleasant stretches were. View with delight the smooth plains that

  • are in front of you.

  • Do not let a setback stop you. Think of it as a mere incident

  • that has to be overcome before you can reach your goal.

  • LESSON II. THE SELF-MASTERY: SELF-DIRECTION POWER OF

  • CONCENTRATION

  • Man from a psychological standpoint of development is not what he

  • should be. He does not possess the self-mastery, the

  • self-directing power of concentration that is his by right.

  • He has not trained himself in a way to promote his self-mastery.

  • Every balanced mind possesses the faculties whose chief duties

  • are to engineer, direct and concentrate the operations of the

  • mind, both in a mental and physical sense. Man must learn to

  • control not only his mind but his bodily movements.

  • When the controlling faculties (autonomic) are in an untrained

  • condition, the impulses, passions, emotions, thoughts, actions

  • and habits of the person suffer from lack of regulation, and the

  • procedure of mental concentration is not good, not because the

  • mind is necessarily weak in the autonomic department of the

  • faculties, but because the mind is not properly trained.

  • When the self-regulating faculties are not developed the

  • impulses, appetites, emotions and passions have full swing to do

  • as they please and the mind becomes impulsive, restless,

  • emotional and irregular in its action. This is what makes mental

  • concentration poor.

  • When the self-guiding faculties are weak in development, the

  • person always lacks the power of mental concentration. Therefore

  • you cannot learn to concentrate until you develop those very

  • powers that qualify you to be able to concentrate. So if you

  • cannot concentrate one of the following is the cause:

  • 1. "Deficiency of the motor centers." 2. "An impulsive and emotional mind."

  • 3. "An untrained mind."

  • The last fault can soon be removed by systematic practice. It is

  • easiest to correct.

  • The impulsive and emotional state of mind can best be corrected

  • by restraining anger, passion and excitement, hatred, strong

  • impulses, intense emotions, fretfulness, etc. It is impossible to

  • concentrate when you are in any of these excited states.

  • These can be naturally decreased by avoiding such food and drinks

  • as have nerve weakening or stimulating influences, or a tendency

  • to stir up the passions, the impulses and the emotions; it is a

  • very good practice to watch and associate with those persons that

  • are steady, calm, controlled and conservative.

  • Correcting the deficiency of the motor centers is harder because

  • as the person's brain is undeveloped he lacks will power.

  • To cure this takes some time. Persons so afflicted may benefit by

  • reading and studying my course, "The Master Mind."[*]

  • [*] To be published by Advanced Thought Publishing Co., Chicago,

  • Ill.

  • Many have the idea that when they get into a negative state they

  • are concentrating, but this is not so. They may be meditating,

  • though not concentrating. Those that are in a negative state a

  • good deal of the time cannot, as a rule, concentrate very well;

  • they develop instead abstraction of the mind, or absence of mind.

  • Their power of concentration becomes weaker and they find it

  • difficult to concentrate on anything. They very often injure the

  • brain, if they keep up this state. To be able to concentrate you

  • must possess strength of mind. The person that is feeble-minded

  • cannot concentrate his mind, because of lack of will. The mind

  • that cannot center itself on a special subject, or thought, is

  • weak; also the mind that cannot draw itself from a subject or

  • thought is weak. But the person that can center his mind on any

  • problem, no matter what it is, and remove any unharmonious

  • impressions has strength of mind. Concentration, first, last and

  • all the time, means strength of mind.

  • Through concentration a person is able to collect and hold his

  • mental and physical energies at work. A concentrated mind pays

  • attention to thoughts, words, acts and plans. The person who

  • allows his mind to roam at will will never accomplish a great

  • deal in the world. He wastes his energies. If you work, think,

  • talk and act aimlessly, and allow your brain to wander from your

  • subject to foreign fields, you will not be able to concentrate.

  • You concentrate at the moment when you say, "I want to, I can, I

  • will."

  • Some Mistakes Some People Make. If you waste your time reading

  • sensational stories or worthless newspaper items, you excite the

  • impulsive and the emotional faculties, and this means you are

  • weakening your power of concentration. You will not be a free

  • engineer, able to pilot yourself to success.

  • Concentration of the mind can only be developed by watching

  • yourself closely. All kinds of development commence with close

  • attention. You should regulate your every thought and feeling.

  • When you commence to watch yourself and your own acts and also

  • the acts of other people, you use the faculties of autonomy, and,

  • as you continue to do so, you improve your faculties, until in

  • time you can engineer your every thought, wish and plan. To be

  • able to focalize the mind on the object at hand in a conscious

  • manner leads to concentration. Only the trained mind can

  • focalize. To hold a thought before it until all the faculties

  • shall have had time to consider that thought is concentration.

  • The person that cannot direct his thoughts, wishes, plans,

  • resolutions and studies cannot possibly succeed to the fullest

  • extent. The person that is impulsive one moment and calm the next

  • has not the proper control over himself. He is not a master of

  • his mind, nor of his thoughts, feelings and wishes. Such a person

  • cannot be a success. When he becomes irritated, he irritates

  • others and spoils all chances of any concerned doing their best.

  • But the person that can direct his energies and hold them at work

  • in a concentrated manner controls his every work and act, and

  • thereby gains power to control others. He can make his every move

  • serve a useful end and every thought a noble purpose.

  • In this day the man that gets excited and irritable should be

  • looked upon as an undesirable person. The person of good breeding

  • now speaks with slowness and deliberation. He is cultivating more

  • and more of a reposeful attitude. He is consciously attentive and

  • holds his mind to one thing at a time. He shuts out everything

  • else. When you are talking to anyone give him your sole and

  • undivided attention. Do not let your attention wander or be

  • diverted. Give no heed to anything else, but make your will and

  • intellect act in unison.

  • Start out in the morning and see how self-poised you can remain

  • all day. At times take an inventory of your actions during the

  • day and see if you have kept your determination. If not, see that

  • you do tomorrow. The more self-poised you are the better will

  • your concentration be. Never be in too much of a hurry; and,

  • remember, the more you improve your concentration, the greater

  • are your possibilities. Concentration means success, because you

  • are better able to govern yourself and centralize your mind; you

  • become more in earnest in what you do and this almost invariably

  • improves your chances for success.

  • When you are talking to a person have your own plans in mind.

  • Concentrate your strength upon the purpose you are talking about.

  • Watch his every move, but keep your own plans before you. Unless

  • you do, you will waste your energy and not accomplish as much as

  • you should.

  • I want you to watch the next person you see that has the

  • reputation of being a strong character, a man of force. Watch and

  • see what a perfect control he has over his body. Then I want you

  • to watch just an ordinary person. Notice how he moves his eyes,

  • arms, fingers; notice the useless expenditure of energy. These

  • movements all break down the vital cells and lessen the person's

  • power in vital and nerve directions. It is just as important for

  • you to conserve your nervous forces as it is the vital forces. As

  • an example we see an engine going along the track very smoothly.

  • Some one opens all the valves and the train stops. It is the same

  • with you. If you want to use your full amount of steam, you must

  • close your valves and direct your power of generating mental

  • steam toward one end. Center your mind on one purpose, one plan,

  • one transaction.

  • There is nothing that uses up nerve force so quickly as

  • excitement. This is why an irritable person is never magnetic; he

  • is never admired or loved; he does not develop those finer

  • qualities that a real gentleman possesses. Anger, sarcasm and

  • excitement weaken a person in this direction. The person that

  • allows himself to get excited will become nervous in time,

  • because he uses up his nerve forces and his vital energies. The

  • person that cannot control himself and keep from becoming excited

  • cannot concentrate.

  • When the mind can properly concentrate, all the energy of every

  • microscopic cell is directed into one channel and then there is a

  • powerful personal influence generated. Everyone possesses many

  • millions of little trembling cells, and each one of these has a

  • center where life and energy are stored up and generated. If this

  • energy is not wasted but conserved and controlled, this person is

  • influential, but when it is the opposite, he is not influential

  • or successful.

  • Just as it is impossible for a steam engine to run with all its

  • valves open, so is it impossible for you to waste your energy and

  • run at your top speed. Each neuron in the gray layers of the

  • brain is a psychic center of thought and action, each one is

  • pulsating an intelligent force of some kind, and when this force,

  • your thoughts and motions, are kept in cheek by a conservative,

  • systematic and concentrated mind, the result will be magnetism,

  • vitality and health. The muscles, bones, ligaments, feet, hands

  • and nerves, etc., are agents for carrying out the mandates of the

  • mind. The sole purpose of the volitional faculties is to move the

  • physical mechanism as the energy travels along the wires of

  • nerves and muscles. Just for that reason, if you throw a

  • voluntary control over these messages, impulses, thoughts,

  • emotions, physical movements and over these physical instruments

  • you develop your faculties of self-mastery and to the extent you

  • succeed here in proportion will you develop the power of

  • concentration.

  • Any exercise or work that excites the mind, stimulates the

  • senses, calls the emotions and appetites into action, confuses,

  • terrifies or emotionalizes, weakens the power of concentration.

  • This is why all kind of excitement is bad. This is the reason why

  • persons who drink strong drinks, who allow themselves to get into

  • fits of temper, who fight, who eat stimulating food, who sing and

  • dance and thus develop their emotions, who are sudden, vehement

  • and emotional, lack the power to concentrate. But those whose

  • actions are slower and directed by their intelligence develop

  • concentration. Sometimes dogmatic, wilful, excitable persons can

  • concentrate, but it is spasmodic, erratic concentration instead

  • of controlled and uniform concentration. Their energy works by

  • spells; sometimes they have plenty, other times very little; it

  • is easily excited; easily wasted. The best way to understand it

  • is to compare it with the discharge of a gun. If the gun goes off

  • when you want it to, it accomplishes the purpose, but if it goes

  • off before you are ready for it, you will not only waste

  • ammunition, but it is also likely to do some damage. That is just

  • what most persons do. They allow their energy to explode, thus

  • not only wasting it but endangering others. They waste their

  • power, their magnetism and so injure their chance of success.

  • Such persons are never well liked and never will be until they

  • gain control over themselves.

  • It will be necessary for them to practice many different kinds of

  • concentration exercises, and to keep them up for some time. They

  • must completely overcome their sudden, erratic thoughts, and

  • regulate their emotions and movements. They must from morning to

  • night train the mind to be steady, and direct and keep the

  • energies at work.

  • The lower area of the brain is the store house of the energy.

  • Most all persons have all the dynamic energy they need if they

  • would concentrate it. They have the machine, but they must also

  • have the engineer, or they will not go very far. The engineer is

  • the self-regulating, directing power. The person that does not

  • develop his engineering qualities will not accomplish much in

  • life. The good engineer controls his every act. All work assists

  • in development. By what you do you either advance or degenerate.

  • This is a good idea to keep always in mind. When you are

  • uncertain whether you should do something or not, just think

  • whether by doing it you will grow or deteriorate, and act

  • accordingly.

  • I am a firm believer in "work when you work, and play when you

  • play." When you give yourself up to pleasure you can develop

  • concentration by thinking of nothing else but pleasure; when your

  • mind dwells on love, think of nothing but this and you will find

  • you can develop a more intense love than you ever had before.

  • When you concentrate your mind on the "you" or real self, and its

  • wonderful possibilities, you develop concentration and a higher

  • opinion of yourself. By doing this systematically, you develop

  • much power, because you cannot be systematic without

  • concentrating on what you are doing. When you walk out into the

  • country and inhale the fresh air, studying vegetation, trees,

  • etc., you are concentrating. When you see that you are at your

  • place of business at a certain time each morning you are

  • developing steadiness of habit and becoming systematic. If you

  • form the habit of being on time one morning, a little late the

  • next, and still later the following one, you are not developing

  • concentration, but whenever you fix your mind on a certain

  • thought and hold your mind on it at successive intervals, you

  • develop concentration.

  • If you hold your mind on some chosen object, you centralize your

  • attention, just like the lens of the camera centralizes on a

  • certain landscape. Therefore always hold your mind on what you

  • are doing, no matter what it is. Keep a careful watch over

  • yourself, for unless you do your improvement will be very slow.

  • Practice inhaling long, deep breaths, not simply for the

  • improvement of health, although that is no small matter, but also

  • for the purpose of developing more power, more love, more life.

  • All work assists in development.

  • You may think it foolish to try to develop concentration by

  • taking muscular exercises, but you must not forget that the mind

  • is associated with muscle and nerve. When you steady your nerves

  • and muscles, you steady your mind, but let your nerves get out of

  • order and your mind will become erratic and you will not possess

  • the power of direction, which, in other words, is concentration.

  • Therefore you understand how important exercises that steady the

  • nerves and muscles are in developing concentration.

  • Everyone is continually receiving impulses that must be directed

  • and controlled if one is to lead a successful life. That is the

  • reason why a person must control the movements of his eyes, feet,

  • fingers, etc.; this is another reason why it is important to

  • control his breathing. The slow, deep, prolonged exhalations are

  • of wonderful value. They steady the circulation, the heart

  • action, muscles and nerves of the mind. If the heart flutters,

  • the circulation is not regular, and when the lung action is

  • uneven, the mind becomes unsteady and not fit for concentration.

  • This is why controlled breathing is very important as a

  • foundation for physical health.

  • You must not only concentrate your mind, but also the action of

  • the eyes, ears and fingers. Each of these contain miniature minds

  • that are controlled by the master engineer. You will develop much

  • quicker if you thoroughly realize this.

  • If you have ever associated with big men, or read their

  • biographies, you will find that they usually let the others do

  • the talking. It is much easier to talk than it is to listen.

  • There is no better exercise for concentration than to pay close

  • attention when some one is talking. Besides learning from what

  • they have to say, you may develop both mental and physical

  • concentration.

  • When you shake hands with some one just think of your hand as

  • containing hundreds of individual minds, each having an

  • intelligence of its own. When you put this feeling into your hand

  • shake it shows personality. When you shake hands in a listless

  • way, it denotes timidity, lack of force and power of personality.

  • When the hand grip is very weak and stiff, the person has little

  • love in his nature, no passion and no magnetism. When the hand

  • shake is just the opposite, you will find that the nature is

  • also. The loveless person is non-magnetic and he shows that he is

  • by his non-magnetic hand shake. When two developed souls shake

  • hands, their clasps are never light. There is a thrill that goes

  • through both when the two currents meet. Love arouses the

  • opposite currents of the positive and negative natures. When

  • there is no love, life loses its charm. The hand quickly shows

  • when love is being aroused. This is why you should study the art

  • of hand shaking and develop your social affections. A person that

  • loves his kind reflects love, but a person that hates reflects

  • hate. The person with a bad nature, a hateful disposition, evil

  • thoughts and feeling is erratic, freakish and fitful. When you

  • allow yourself to become irritable, watch how you breathe and you

  • will learn a valuable lesson. Watch how you breathe when you are

  • happy. Watch your breathing when you harbor hate. Watch how you

  • breathe when you feel in love with the whole world and noble

  • emotions thrill you. When filled with good thoughts, you breathe

  • a plentiful supply of oxygen into your lungs and love fills your

  • soul. Love develops a person, physically, mentally and socially.

  • Breathe deeply when you are happy and you will gain life and

  • strength; you will steady your mind and you will develop your

  • power of concentration and become magnetic and powerful.

  • If you want to get more out of life you must think more of love.

  • Unless you have real affection for something, you have no

  • sentiment, no sweetness, no magnetism. So arouse your love

  • affections by your will and enter into a fuller life.

  • The hand of love always magnetizes, but it must be steady and

  • controlled. Love can be concentrated in your hand shake, and this

  • is one of the best ways to influence another.

  • The next time you feel yourself becoming irritable, use your will

  • and be patient. This is a very good exercise in self-control. It

  • will help you to keep patient if you will breathe slowly and

  • deeply. If you find you are commencing to speak fast, just

  • control yourself and speak slowly and clearly. Keep from either

  • raising or lowering your voice and concentrate on the fact that

  • you are determined to keep your poise, and you will improve your

  • power of concentration.

  • When you meet people of some consequence, assume a reposeful

  • attitude before them. Do this at all times. Watch both them and

  • yourself. Static exercises develop the motor faculties and

  • increase the power of concentration. If you feel yourself getting

  • irritable, nervous or weak, stand squarely on your feet with your

  • chest up and inhale deeply and you will see that your

  • irritability will disappear and a silent calm will pass over you.

  • If you are in the habit of associating with nervous, irritable

  • people, quit it until you grow strong in the power of

  • concentration, because irritable, angry, fretful, dogmatic and

  • disagreeable people will weaken what powers of resistance you

  • have.

  • Any exercises that give you better control of the ears, fingers,

  • eyes, feet, help you to steady your mind; when your eye is

  • steady, your mind is steady. One of the best ways to study a

  • person is to watch his physical movements, for, when we study his

  • actions, we are studying his mind. Because actions are the

  • expressions of the mind. As the mind is, so is the action. If it

  • is uneasy, restless, erratic, unsteady, its actions are the same.

  • When it is composed, the mind is composed. Concentration means

  • control of the mind and body. You cannot secure control over one

  • without the other.

  • Many people who seem to lack ambition have sluggish minds. They

  • are steady, patient and seemingly have good control, but this

  • does not say they are able to concentrate. These people are

  • indolent, inactive, slow and listless, because they lack energy;

  • they do not lose control because they have little force to

  • control. They have no temper and it therefore cannot disturb

  • them. Their actions are steady because they possess little

  • energy. The natural person is internally strong, energetic and

  • forceful, but his energy, force and strength, thoughts and

  • physical movements are well under his control.

  • If a person does not have energy, both mental and physical, he

  • must develop it. If he has energy which he cannot direct and hold

  • to a point he must learn to do so. A man may be very capable,

  • but, unless he Wills to control his abilities, they will not do

  • him any good.

  • We hear so much talk about the benefit of physical culture, but

  • the real benefit of this is really lost sight of. There is

  • nothing that holds the faculties at work in a sustained and

  • continuous manner as static exercises do. For, as stated before,

  • when you learn to control the body, you are gaining control over

  • the mind.

  • LESSON III. HOW TO GAIN WHAT YOU WANT THROUGH CONCENTRATION

  • The ignorant person may say, "How can you get anything by merely

  • wanting it? I say that through concentration you can get anything

  • you want. Every desire can be gratified. But whether it is, will

  • depend upon you concentrating to have that desire fulfilled.

  • Merely wishing for something will not bring it. Wishing you had

  • something shows a weakness and not a belief that you will really

  • get it. So never merely wish, as we are not living in a "fairy

  • age." You use up just as much brain force in "vain imaginings" as

  • you do when you think of something worth while.

  • Be careful of your desires, make a mental picture of what you

  • want and set your will to this until it materializes. Never allow

  • yourself to drift without helm or rudder. Know what you want to

  • do, and strive with all your might to do it, and you will

  • succeed.

  • Feel that you can accomplish anything you undertake. Many

  • undertake to do things, but feel when they start they are going

  • to fail and usually they do. I will give an illustration. A man

  • goes to a store for an article. The clerk says, "I am sorry, we

  • have not it." But the man that is determined to get that thing

  • inquires if he doesn't know where he can get it. Again receiving

  • an unsatisfactory answer the determined buyer consults the

  • manager and finally he finds where the article can be bought.

  • That is the whole secret of concentrating on getting what you

  • want. And, remember, your soul is a center of all-power, and you

  • can accomplish what you will to. "I'll find a way or make one!"

  • is the spirit that wins. I know a man that is now head of a large

  • bank. He started there as a messenger boy. His father had a

  • button made for him with a "P" on it and put it on his coat. He

  • said, "Son, that 'P' is a reminder that some day you are to be

  • the president of your bank. I want you to keep this thought in

  • your mind. Every day do something that will put you nearer your

  • goal." Each night after supper he would say, "Son, what did you

  • do today?" In this way the thought was always kept in mind. He

  • concentrated on becoming president of that bank, and he did. His

  • father told him never to tell anyone what that "P" stood for. A

  • 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

  • your best. If you have a "quick temper," you can quickly gain

  • control over it by simple rule of counting backwards. To count

  • backwards requires concentration, and you thus quickly regain a

  • calm state. In this way you can break the "temper habit."

  • It will do you a lot of good to think over what you said and

  • thought the last time you were angry. Persevere until you see

  • yourself as others see you. It would do no harm to write the

  • scene out in story form and then sit in judgment of the character

  • that played your part.

  • Special Instructions to Develop the Will To Do. This is a form of

  • mental energy, but requires the proper mental attitude to make it

  • manifest. We hear of people having wonderful will power, which

  • really is wrong. It should be said that they use their will power

  • while with many it is a latent force. I want you to realize that

  • no one has a monopoly on will power. There is plenty for all.

  • What we speak of as will power is but the gathering together of

  • mental energy, the concentration power at one point. So never

  • think of that person as having a stronger will than yours. Each

  • person will be supplied with just that amount of will power that

  • he demands. You don't have to develop will power if you

  • constantly make use of all you have, and remember the way in

  • which you use it determines your fate, for your life is moulded

  • to great extent by the use you make of your will. Unless you make

  • proper use of it you have neither independence nor firmness. You

  • are unable to control yourself and become a mere machine for

  • others to use. It is more important to learn to use your will

  • than to develop your intellect. The man that has not learned how

  • to use his will rarely decides things for himself, but allows his

  • resolutions to be changed by others. He fluctuates from one

  • opinion to another, and of course does not accomplish anything

  • out of the ordinary, while his brother with the trained will

  • takes his place among the world's leaders.

  • LESSON VII. THE CONCENTRATED MENTAL DEMAND

  • The Mental Demand is the potent force in achievement. The

  • attitude of the mind affects the expression of the face,

  • determines action, changes our physical condition and regulates

  • our lives.

  • I will not here attempt to explain the silent force that achieves

  • results. You want to develop your mental powers so you can effect

  • the thing sought, and that is what I want to teach you. There is

  • wonderful power and possibility in the concentrated Mental

  • Demand. This, like all other forces, is controlled by laws. It

  • can, like all other forces, be wonderfully increased by

  • consecutive, systematized effort.

  • The mental demand must be directed by every power of the mind and

  • every possible element should be used to make the demand

  • materialize. You can so intently desire a thing that you can

  • exclude all distracting thoughts. When you practice this

  • singleness of concentration until you attain the end sought, you

  • have developed a Will capable of accomplishing whatever you wish.

  • As long as you can only do the ordinary things you will be

  • counted in the mass of mediocrity. But just as quick as you

  • surpass others by even comparatively small measure, you are

  • classed as one of life's successes. So, if you wish to emerge

  • into prominence, you must accomplish something more than the

  • ordinary man or woman. It is easy to do this if you will but

  • concentrate on what you desire, and put forth your best effort.

  • It is not the runner with the longest legs or the strongest

  • muscles that wins the race, but the one that can put forth the

  • greatest desire force. You can best understand this by thinking

  • of an engine. The engine starts up slowly, the engineer gradually

  • extending the throttle to the top notch. It is then keyed up to

  • its maximum speed. The same is true of two runners. They start

  • off together and gradually they increase their desire to go

  • faster. The one that has the greatest intensity of desire will

  • win. He may outdistance the other by only a fraction of an inch,

  • yet he gets the laurels.

  • The men that are looked upon as the world's successes have not

  • always been men of great physical power, nor at the start did

  • they seem very well adapted to the conditions which encompassed

  • them. In the beginning they were not considered men of superior

  • genius, but they won their success by their resolution to achieve

  • results in their undertakings by permitting no set-back to

  • dishearten them; no difficulties to daunt them. Nothing could

  • turn them or influence them against their determination. They

  • never lost sight of their goal. In all of us there is this silent

  • force of wonderful power. If developed, it can overcome

  • conditions that would seem insurmountable. It is constantly

  • urging us on to greater achievement. The more we become

  • acquainted with it the better strategists we become, the more

  • courage we develop and the greater the desire within us for

  • self-expression in activity along many lines.

  • No one will ever be a failure if he becomes conscious of this

  • silent force within that controls his destiny. But without the

  • consciousness of this inner force, you will not have a clear

  • vision, and external conditions will not yield to the power of

  • your mind. It is the mental resolve that makes achievement

  • possible. Once this has been formed it should never be allowed to

  • cease to press its claim until its object is attained. To make

  • plans work out it will, at times, be necessary to use every power

  • of your mind. Patience, perseverance and all the indomitable

  • forces within one will have to be mustered and used with the

  • greatest effectiveness.

  • Perseverance is the first element of success. In order to

  • persevere you must be ceaseless in your application. It requires

  • you to concentrate your thoughts upon your undertaking and bring

  • every energy to bear upon keeping them focused upon it until you

  • have accomplished your aim. To quit short of this is to weaken

  • all future efforts.

  • The Mental Demand seems an unreal power because it is intangible;

  • but it is the mightiest power in the world. It is a power that is

  • free for you to use. No one can use it for you. The Mental Demand

  • is not a visionary one. It is a potent force, which you can use

  • freely without cost. When you are in doubt it will counsel you.

  • It will guide you when you are uncertain. When you are in fear it

  • will give you courage. It is the motive power which supplies the

  • energies necessary to the achievement of the purpose. You have a

  • large store house of possibilities. The Mental Demand makes

  • possibilities realities. It supplies everything necessary for the

  • accomplishment, It selects the tools and instructs how to use

  • them. It makes you understand the situation. Every time you make

  • a Mental Demand you strengthen the brain centers by drawing to

  • you external forces.

  • Few realize the power of a Mental Demand. It is possible to make

  • your demand so strong that you can impart what you have to say to

  • another without speaking to him. Have you ever, after planning to

  • discuss a certain matter with a friend, had the experience of

  • having him broach the subject before you had a chance to speak of

  • it? Have you ever, in a letter, made a suggestion to a friend

  • that he carried out before your letter reached him? Have you ever

  • wanted to speak to a person who, just then walked in or

  • telephoned. I have had many such responses to thought and you and

  • your friends have doubtless experienced them, too.

  • These two things are neither coincidences nor accidents, but are

  • the results of mental demand launched by strong concentration.

  • The person that never wants anything gets little. To demand

  • resolutely is the first step toward getting what you want.

  • The power of the Mental Demand seems absolute, the supply

  • illimitable. The mental demand projects itself and causes to

  • materialize the conditions and opportunities needed to accomplish

  • the purpose. Do not think I over estimate the value of the Mental

  • Demand. It brings the fuller life if used for only righteous

  • purposes. Once the Mental Demand is made, however, never let it

  • falter. If you do the current that connects you with your desire

  • is broken. Take all the necessary time to build a firm

  • foundation, so that there need not be even an element of doubt to

  • creep in. Just the moment you entertain "doubt" you lose some of

  • the demand force, and force once lost is hard to regain. So

  • whenever you make a mental demand hold steadfastly to it until

  • your need is supplied.

  • I want to repeat again that Power of Mental Demand is not a

  • visionary one. It is concentrated power only, and can be used by

  • you. It is not supernatural power, but requires a development of

  • the brain centers. The outcome is sure when it is given with a

  • strong resolute determination.

  • No person will advance to any great extent, until he recognizes

  • this force within him. If you have not become aware of it, you

  • have not made very much of a success of your life. It is this

  • "something" that distinguishes that "man" from other men. It is

  • this subtle power that develops strong personality.

  • If you want a great deal you must demand a great deal. Once you

  • make your demand, anticipate its fulfillment. It depends upon us.

  • We are rewarded according to our efforts. The Power of Mental

  • Demand can bring us what we want. We become what we determine to

  • be. We control our own destiny.

  • Get the right mental attitude, then in accordance with your

  • ability you can gain success.

  • And every man of AVERAGE ability, the ordinary man that you see

  • about you, can be really successful, independent, free of worry,

  • HIS OWN MASTER, if he can manage to do just two things.

  • First, remain forever dissatisfied with what he IS doing and with

  • what he HAS accomplished.

  • Second, develop in his mind a belief that the word impossible was

  • not intended or him. Build up in his mind the confidence that

  • enables the mind to use its power.

  • Many, especially the older men, will ask:

  • "How can I build up that self-confidence in my brain? How can I,

  • after months and years of discouragement, of dull plodding,

  • suddenly conceive and carry out a plan for doing something that

  • will mike life worth while and change the monotonous routine?

  • "How can a man get out of a rut after he has been in it for years

  • and has settled down to the slow jog-trot that leads to the

  • grave?"

  • The answer is the thing can be done, and millions have done it.

  • One of the names most honored among the great men of France is

  • that of Littre, who wrote and compiled the great French

  • dictionary--a monument of learning. He is the man whose place

  • among the forty immortals of France was taken by the great

  • Pasteur, when the latter was elected to the Academy.

  • Littre BEGAN the work that makes him famous when he was more than

  • sixty years old.

  • LESSON VIII. CONCENTRATION GIVES MENTAL POISE

  • You will find that the man that concentrates is well poised,

  • whereas the man that allows his mind to wander is easily upset.

  • When in this state wisdom does not pass from the subconscious

  • storehouse into the consciousness. There must be mental quiet

  • before the two consciousnesses can work in harmony. When you are

  • able to concentrate you have peace of mind.

  • If you are in the habit of losing your poise, form the habit of

  • reading literature that has a quieting power. Just the second you

  • feel your poise slipping, say, "Peace," and then hold this

  • thought in mind and you will never lose your self-control.

  • There cannot be perfect concentration until there is peace of

  • mind. So keep thinking peace, acting peace, until you are at

  • peace with all the world. For when once you have reached this

  • state there will be no trouble to concentrate on anything you

  • wish.

  • When you have peace of mind you are not timid or anxious, or

  • fearful, or rigid and you will not allow any disturbing thought

  • to influence you. You cast aside all fears, and think of yourself

  • as a spark of the Divine Being, as a manifestation of the "One

  • Universal Principle" that fills all space and time. Think of

  • yourself thus as a child of the infinite, possessing infinite

  • possibilities.

  • Write on a piece of paper, "I have the power to do and to be

  • whatever I wish to do and be." Keep this mentally before you, and

  • you will find the thought will be of great help to you.

  • The Mistake of Concentrating on Your Business While Away. In

  • order to be successful today, you must concentrate, but don't

  • become a slave to concentration, and carry your business cares

  • home. Just as sure as you do you will be burning the life forces

  • at both ends and the fire will go out much sooner than was

  • intended.

  • Many men become so absorbed in their business that when they go

  • to church they do not hear the preacher because their minds are

  • on their business. If they go to the theater they do not enjoy it

  • because their business is on their minds. When they go to bed

  • they think about business instead of sleep and wonder why they

  • don't sleep. This is the wrong kind of concentration and is

  • dangerous. It is involuntary. When you are unable to get anything

  • out of your mind it becomes unwholesome as any thought held

  • continuously causes weariness of the flesh. It is a big mistake

  • to let a thought rule you, instead of ruling it. He who does not

  • rule himself is not a success. If you cannot control your

  • concentration, your health will suffer.

  • So never become so absorbed with anything that you cannot lay it

  • aside and take up another. This is self-control.

  • Concentration Is Paying Attention to a Chosen Thought. Everything

  • that passes before the eye makes an impression on the

  • subconscious mind, but unless you pay attention to some certain

  • thing you will not remember what you saw. For instance if you

  • walked down a busy street without seeing anything that attracted

  • your particular attention, you could not recall anything you saw.

  • So you see only what attracts your attention. If you work you

  • only see and remember what you think about. When you concentrate

  • on something it absorbs your whole thought.

  • Self-Study Valuable. Everyone has some habits that can be

  • overcome by concentration. We will say for instance, you are in

  • the habit of complaining, or finding fault with yourself or

  • others; or, imagining that you do not possess the ability of

  • others; or feeling that you are not as good as someone else; or

  • that you cannot rely on yourself; or harboring any similar

  • thoughts or thoughts of weakness. These should be cast aside and

  • instead thoughts of strength should be put in their place. Just

  • remember every time you think of yourself as being weak, in some

  • way you are making yourself so by thinking you are. Our mental

  • conditions make us what we are. Just watch yourself and see how

  • much time you waste in worrying, fretting and complaining. The

  • more of it you do the worse off you are.

  • Just the minute you are aware of thinking a negative thought

  • immediately change to a positive one. If you start to think of

  • failure, change to thinking of success. You have the germ of

  • success within you. Care for it the same as the setting hen

  • broods over the eggs and you can make it a reality.

  • You can make those that you come in contact with feel as you do,

  • because you radiate vibrations of the way you feel and your

  • vibrations are felt by others. When you concentrate on a certain

  • thing you turn all the rays of your vibrations on this. Thought

  • is the directing power of all Life's vibrations. If a person

  • should enter a room with a lot of people and feel as if he were a

  • person of no consequence no one would know he was there unless

  • they saw him, and even if they did, they would not remember

  • seeing him, because they were not attracted towards him. But let

  • him enter the room feeling that he was magnetic and concentrating

  • on this thought, others would feel his vibration. So remember the

  • way you feel you can make others feel. This is the law. Make

  • yourself a concentrated dynamo from which your thoughts vibrate

  • to others. Then you are a power in the world. Cultivate the art

  • of feeling, for as I said before you can only make others feel

  • what you feel.

  • If you will study all of the great characters of history you will

  • find that they were enthusiastic. First they were enthusiastic

  • themselves, and then they could arouse others' enthusiasm. It is

  • latent in everyone. It is a wonderful force when once aroused.

  • All public men to be a success have to possess it. Cultivate it

  • by concentration. Set aside some hour of the day, wherein to hold

  • rapt converse with the soul. Meditate with sincere desire and

  • contrite heart and you will be able to accomplish that which you

  • have meditated on. This is the keynote of success.

  • "Think, speak and act just as you wish to be, And you will be

  • that which you wish to be."

  • You are just what you think you are and not what you may appear

  • to be. You may fool others but not yourself. You may control your

  • life and actions just as you can control your hands. If you want

  • to raise your hand you must first think of raising it. If you

  • want to control your life you must first control your thinking.

  • Easy to do, is it not? Yes it is, if you will but concentrate on

  • what you think about.

  • For he only can That says he will.

  • How can we secure concentration? To this question, the first and

  • last answer must be: By interest and strong motive. The stronger

  • the motive the greater the concentration.--Eustace Miller, M. D.

  • The Successful Lives Are the Concentrated Lives. The utterly

  • helpless multitude that sooner or later have to be cared for by

  • charity, are those that were never able to concentrate, and who

  • have become the victims of negative ideas.

  • Train yourself so you will be able to centralize your thought and

  • develop your brain power, and increase your mental energy, or you

  • can be a slacker, a drifter, a quitter or a sleeper. It all

  • depends on how you concentrate, or centralize your thoughts. Your

  • thinking then becomes a fixed power and you do not waste time

  • thinking about something that would not be good for you. You pick

  • out the thoughts that will be the means of bringing you what you

  • desire, and they become a material reality. Whatever we create in

  • the thought world will some day materialize. That is the law.

  • Don't forget this.

  • In the old days men drifted without concentration but this is a

  • day of efficiency and therefore all of our efforts must be

  • concentrated, if we are to win any success worth the name.

  • Why People Often Do Not Get What They Concentrate On. Because

  • they sit down in hopeless despair and expect it to come to them.

  • But if they will just reach out for it with their biggest effort

  • they will find it is within their reach. No one limits us but

  • ourselves. We are what we are today as the result of internal

  • conditions. We can control the external conditions. They are

  • subject to our will.

  • Through our concentration we can attract what we want, because we

  • became enrapport with the Universal forces, from which we can get

  • what we want.

  • You have watched races no doubt. They all line up together. Each

  • has his mind set on getting to the goal before the others. This

  • is one kind of concentration. A man starts to think on a certain

  • subject. He has all kinds of thoughts come to him, but by

  • concentration he shuts out all these but the one he has chosen.

  • Concentration is just a case of willing to do a certain thing and

  • doing it.

  • If you want to accomplish anything first put yourself in a

  • concentrating, reposeful, receptive, acquiring frame of mind. In

  • tackling unfamiliar work make haste slowly and deliberately and

  • then you will secure that interior activity, which is never

  • possible when you are in a hurry or under a strain. When you

  • "think hard" or try to hurry results too quickly, you generally

  • shut off the interior flow of thoughts and ideas. You have often

  • no doubt tried hard to think of something but could not, but just

  • as soon as you stopped trying to think of it, it came to you.

  • LESSON IX. CONCENTRATION CAN OVERCOME BAD HABITS

  • Habits make or break us to a far greater extent than we like to

  • admit. Habit is both a powerful enemy and wonderful ally of

  • concentration. You must learn to overcome habits which are

  • injurious to concentration, and to cultivate those which increase

  • it.

  • The large majority of people are controlled by their habits and

  • are buffeted around by them like waves of the ocean tossing a

  • piece of wood. They do things in a certain way because of the

  • power of habit. They seldom ever think of concentrating on why

  • they do them this or that way, or study to see if they could do

  • them in a better way. Now my object in this chapter is to get you

  • to concentrate on your habits so you can find out which are good

  • and which are bad for you. You will find that by making a few

  • needed changes you can make even those that are not good for you,

  • of service; the good habits you can make much better.

  • The first thing I want you to realize is that all habits are

  • governed consciously or unconsciously by the will. Most of us are

  • forming new habits all the time. Very often, if you repeat

  • something several times in the same way, you will have formed the

  • habit of doing it that way. But the oftener you repeat it the

  • stronger that habit grows and the more deeply it becomes embedded

  • in your nature. After a habit has been in force for a long time,

  • it becomes almost a part of you, and is therefore hard to

  • overcome. But you can still break any habit by strong

  • concentration on its opposite.

  • "All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of

  • habits--practical, emotional, and intellectual--systematically organized, for our weal or woe, and bearing

  • us irresistibly toward our destiny whatever the latter may

  • be."

  • We are creatures of habits, "imitators and copiers of our past

  • selves." We are liable to be "bent" or "curved" as we can bend a

  • piece of paper, and each fold leaves a crease, which makes it

  • easier to make the fold there the next time. "The intellect and

  • will are spiritual functions; still they are immersed in matter,

  • and to every movement of theirs, corresponds a movement in the

  • brain, that is, in their material correlative." This is why

  • habits of thought and habits of willing can be formed. All

  • physical impressions are the carrying out of the actions of the

  • will and intellect. Our nervous systems are what they are today,

  • because of the way they have been exercised.

  • As we grow older most of us become more and more like automatic

  • machines. The habits we have formed increase in strength. We work

  • in our old characteristic way. Your associates learn to expect

  • you to do things in a certain way. So you see that your habits

  • make a great difference in your life, and as it is just about as

  • easy to form good habits as it is bad, you should form only the

  • former. No one but yourself is responsible for your habits. You

  • are free to form the habits that you should and if everyone could

  • realize the importance of forming the right kind of habits what a

  • different world this would be. How much happier everyone would

  • be. Then all instead of the few might win success.

  • Habits are formed more quickly when we are young, but if we have

  • already passed the youthful plastic period the time to start to

  • control our habits is right now, as we will never be any younger.

  • You will find the following maxims worth remembering.

  • First Maxim:

  • "We must make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy."

  • Second Maxim:

  • "In the acquisition of a new habit as in the leaving off of an

  • old one, we must take care to launch ourselves with as strong and

  • decided an initiative as possible."

  • The man that is in the habit of doing the right thing from

  • boyhood, has only good motives, so it is very important for you

  • that you concentrate assiduously on the habits that reinforce

  • good motives. Surround yourself with every aid you can. Don't

  • play with fire by forming bad habits. Make a new beginning today.

  • Study why you have been doing certain things. If they are not for

  • your good, shun them henceforth. Don't give in to a single

  • temptation for every time you do, you strengthen the chain of bad

  • habits. Every time you keep a resolution you break the chain that

  • enslaves you.

  • Third Maxim:

  • "Never allow an exception to occur till the new habit is securely

  • rooted in your life." Here is the idea, you never want to give

  • in, until the new habit is fixed else you undo all that has been

  • accomplished by previous efforts. There are two opposing

  • inclinations. One wants to be firm, and the other wants to give

  • in. By your will you can become firm, through repetition. Fortify

  • your will to be able to cope with any and all opposition.

  • Fourth Maxim:

  • "Seize the very first possible opportunity to act on every

  • resolution you make, and on every emotional prompting you may

  • experience in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain."

  • To make a resolve and not to keep it is of little value. So by

  • all means keep every resolution you make, for you not only profit

  • by the resolution, but it furnishes you with an exercise that

  • causes the brain cells and physiological correlatives to form the

  • habit of adjusting themselves to carry out resolutions. "A

  • tendency to act, becomes effectively engrained in us in

  • proportion to the uninterrupted frequency with which the actions

  • actually occur, and the brain `grows' to their use. When a

  • resolve or a fine glow of feeling is allowed to evaporate without

  • bearing fruit, it is worse than a chance lost."

  • If you keep your resolutions you form a most valuable habit. If

  • you break them you form a most dangerous one. So concentrate on

  • keeping them, whether important or unimportant, and remember it

  • is just as important for this purpose to keep the unimportant,

  • for by so doing you are forming the habit.

  • Fifth Maxim:

  • "Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous

  • exercise every day."

  • The more we exercise the will, the better we can control our

  • habits. "Every few days do something for no other reason than its

  • difficulty, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may

  • find you not unnerved or untrained to stand the test. Asceticism

  • of this sort is like the insurance which a man pays on his house

  • and goods. The tax does him no good at the time, and possibly may

  • never bring him a return, but if the fire does come, his having

  • paid it will be his salvation from ruin. So with the man who has

  • daily insured himself to habits of concentrated attention,

  • energetic volation, and self-denial in unnecessary things. "He

  • will stand like a tower when everything rocks around him and his

  • softer fellow-mortals are winnowed like chaff in the blast."

  • The young should be made to concentrate on their habits and be

  • made to realize that if they don't they become walking bundles of

  • injurious habits. Youth is the plastic state, and should be

  • utilized in laying the foundation for a glorious future.

  • The great value of habit for good and evil cannot be

  • overestimated. "Habit is the deepest law of human nature." No man

  • is stronger than his habits, because his habits either build up

  • his strength or decrease it.

  • Why We Are Creatures of Habits. Habits have often been called a

  • labor-saying invention, because when they are formed they require

  • less of both mental and material strength. The more deeply the

  • habit becomes ingrained the more automatic it becomes. Therefore

  • habit is an economizing tendency of our nature, for if it were

  • not for habit we should have to be more watchful. We walk across

  • a crowded street; the habit of stopping and looking prevents us

  • from being hurt. The right kind of habits keeps us from making

  • mistakes and mishaps. It is a well known fact that a chauffeur is

  • not able to master his machine safely until he has trained his

  • body in a habitual way. When an emergency comes he instantly

  • knows what to do. Where safety depends on quickness the operator

  • must work automatically. Habits mean less risk, less fatigue, and

  • greater accuracy.

  • "You do not want to become a slave to habits of a trivial nature.

  • For instance, Wagner required a certain costume before he could

  • compose corresponding parts of his operas. Schiller could never

  • write with ease unless there were rotten apples in the drawer of

  • his desk from which he could now and then obtain an odor which

  • seemed to him sweet. Gladstone had different desks for his

  • different activities, so that when he worked on Homer he never

  • sat among habitual accompaniments of his legislative labors."

  • In order to overcome undesirable habits, two things are

  • necessary. You must have trained your will to do what you want it

  • to do, and the stronger the will the easier it will be to break a

  • habit. Then you must make a resolution to do just the opposite of

  • what the habit is. Therefore one habit must replace another. If

  • you have a strong will, you can tenaciously and persistently

  • concentrate on removing the bad habit and in a very short time

  • the good habit will gain the upper hand. I will bring this

  • chapter to a close by giving Doctor Oppenheim's instructions for

  • overcoming a habit:

  • "If you want to abolish a habit, and its accumulated circumstances as well, you must grapple with

  • the matter as earnestly as you would with a physical enemy.

  • You must go into the encounter with all tenacity of determination,

  • with all fierceness of resolve--yea, even with a passion

  • for success that may be called vindictive. No human enemy can

  • be as insidious, so persevering, as unrelenting as an unfavorable

  • habit. It never sleeps, it needs no rest.

  • "It is like a parasite that grows with the growth of the

  • supporting body, and, like a parasite, it can best be killed by

  • violent separation and crushing.

  • When life is stormy and all seems against us, that is when we

  • often acquire wrong habits, and it is then, that we have to make

  • a gigantic effort to think and speak as we should; and even

  • though we may feel the very reverse at that moment the tiniest

  • effort will be backed up by a tremendous Power and will lift us

  • to a realization never felt before. It is not in the easy,

  • contented moments of our life that we make our greatest progress,

  • for then it requires, no special effort to keep in tune. But it

  • is when we are in the midst of trials and misfortunes, when we

  • think we are sinking, being overwhelmed, then it is important for

  • us to realize that we are linked to a great Power and if we live

  • as we should, there is nothing that can occur in life, which

  • could permanently injure us, nothing can happen that should

  • disturb us. So always remember you have within you unlimited

  • power, ready to manifest itself in the form which fills our need

  • at the moment. If, when we have something difficult to solve, we

  • would be silent like the child, we can get the inspiration when

  • it comes; we will know how to act, we will find there is no need

  • to hurry or disturb ourselves, that it is always wiser to wait

  • for guidance from within, than to act on impulse from Without.

  • LESSON X. BUSINESS RESULTS THROUGH CONCENTRATION

  • A successful business is not usually the result of chance.

  • Neither is a failure the result of luck. Most failures could be

  • determined in advance if the founders had been studied. It is not

  • always possible to start a money-making business at the start.

  • Usually a number of changes have to be made. Plans do not work

  • out as their creators thought they would. They may have to be

  • changed a little, broadened it may be, here and there, and as you

  • broaden your business you broaden your power to achieve. You gain

  • an intense and sustained desire to make your business a success.

  • When you start a business you may have but a vague notion of the

  • way you will conduct it. You must fill in the details as you go

  • along. You must concentrate on these details. As you straighten

  • out one after another, others will require attention. In this way

  • you cover the field of "the first endeavor" and new opportunities

  • open up for you.

  • When you realize one desire, another comes. But if you do not

  • fulfill the first desire, you will not the second. The person

  • that does not carry his desires into action is only a dreamer.

  • Desire is a great creative force, if it is pure, intense and

  • sustained. It is our desires that keep stirring us up to action

  • and they will strengthen and broaden you if you make them

  • materialize.

  • Every man who achieves success deserves it. When he first started

  • out he did not understand how to solve the problems that

  • afterwards presented themselves, but he did each thing as it came

  • up in the very best way that he could, and this developed his

  • power of doing bigger things. We become masters of business by

  • learning to do well whatever we attempt. The man that has a

  • thorough knowledge of his business can of course direct it much

  • more easily and skillfully than the man who lacks that knowledge.

  • The skilled business director can sit in his private office and

  • still know accurately what is actually being done. He knows what

  • should be done in any given time and if it is not accomplished he

  • knows that his employees are not turning out the work that they

  • should. It is then easy to apply the remedy.

  • Business success depends on well-concentrated efforts. You must

  • use every mental force you can master. The more these are used

  • the more they increase. Therefore the more you accomplish today

  • the more force you will have at your disposal with which to solve

  • your problems tomorrow.

  • If you are working for someone else today and wish to start in a

  • business for yourself, think over carefully what you would like

  • to do. Then when you have resolved what you want to do, you will

  • be drawn towards it. There is a law that opens the way to the

  • fulfillment of your desires. Of course back of your desire you

  • must put forward the necessary effort to carry out your purpose;

  • you must use your power to put your desires into force. Once they

  • are created and you keep up your determination to have them

  • fulfilled you both consciously and unconsciously work toward

  • their materialization. Set your heart on your purpose,

  • concentrate your thought upon it, direct your efforts with all

  • your intelligence and in due time you will realize your ambition.

  • Feel yourself a success, believe you are a success and thus put

  • yourself in the attitude that demands recognition and the thought

  • current draws to you what you need to make you a success. Don't

  • be afraid of big undertakings. Go at them with grit, and pursue

  • methods that you think will accomplish your purpose. You may not

  • at first meet with entire success, but aim so high that if you

  • fall a little short you will still have accomplished much.

  • What others have done you can do. You may even do what others

  • have been unable to do. Always keep a strong desire to succeed in

  • your mind. Be in love with your aim and work, and make them, as

  • far as possible, square with the rule of the greatest good to the

  • greatest number and your life cannot be a failure.

  • The successful business attitude must be cultivated to make the

  • most out of your life, the attitude of expecting great things

  • from both yourself and others. It alone will often cause men to

  • make good; to measure up to the best that is in them.

  • It is not the spasmodic spurts that count on a long journey, but

  • the steady efforts. Spurts fatigue and make it hard for you to

  • continue.

  • Rely on your own opinion. It should be as good as anyone's else.

  • When once you reach a conclusion abide by it. Let there be no

  • doubt, or wavering in your judgment. If you are uncertain about

  • every decision you make, you will be subject to harassing doubts

  • and fears which will render your judgment of little value. The

  • man that decides according to what he thinks right and who learns

  • from every mistake acquires a well balanced mind that gets the

  • best results. He gains the confidence of others. He is known as

  • the man that knows what he wants, and not as one that is as

  • changeable as the weather. The man of today wants to do business

  • with the man that he can depend upon. Uncertainties in the

  • business world are meeting with more disfavor. Reliable firms

  • want to do business with men of known qualities, with men of

  • firmness, judgment and reliability.

  • So if you wish to start in business for yourself your greatest

  • asset, with the single exception of a sound physique, is that of

  • a good reputation.

  • A successful business is not hard to build if we can concentrate

  • all our mental forces upon it. It is the man that is unsettled

  • because he does not know what he wants that goes to the wall. We

  • hear persons say that business is trying on the nerves, but it is

  • the unsettling elements of fret and worry and suspense that are

  • nerve-exhausting and not the business. Executing one's plans may

  • cause fatigue, enjoyment comes with rest. If there has not been

  • any unnatural strain, the recuperative powers replace what energy

  • has been lost.

  • By attending to each day's work properly you develop the capacity

  • to do a greater work tomorrow. It is this gradual development

  • that makes possible the carrying out of big plans. The man that

  • figures out doing something each hour of the day gets somewhere.

  • At the end of each day you should be a step nearer your aim. Keep

  • the idea in mind, that you mean to go forward, that each day must

  • mark an advance and forward you will go. You do not even have to

  • know the exact direction so long as you are determined to find

  • the way. But you must not turn back once you have started.

  • Even brilliant men's conceptions of the possibilities of their

  • mental forces are so limited and below their real worth that they

  • are far more likely to belittle their possibilities than they are

  • to exaggerate them. You don't want to think that an aim is

  • impossible because it has never been realized in the past. Every

  • day someone is doing something that was never done before. We are

  • pushing ahead faster. Formerly it took decades to build up a big

  • business, but today it is only but a matter of years, sometimes

  • of months.

  • Plan each day's activities carefully and you can reach any height

  • you aim at. If each thing you do is done with concise and

  • concentrated thought you will be able to turn out an excellent

  • quality and a large quantity of work. Plan to do so much work

  • during the day and you will be astonished to see how much more

  • you will do, than on other days, when you had not decided on any

  • certain amount. I have demonstrated that the average business

  • working force could do the same amount of work in six hours that

  • they now do in eight, without using up any more energy. Never

  • start to accomplish anything in an indecisive, indefinite,

  • uncertain way. Tackle everything with a positiveness and an

  • earnestness that will concentrate your mind and attract the very

  • best associated thoughts. You will in a short time find that you

  • will have extra time for planning bigger things.

  • The natural leader always draws to himself, by the law of mental

  • attraction, ideas in his chosen subject that have ever been

  • conceived by others. This is of the greatest importance and help.

  • If you are properly trained you benefit much by others' thoughts,

  • and, providing you generate from within yourself something of

  • value, they will benefit from yours. "We are heirs of all the

  • ages," but we must know how to use our inheritance.

  • The confident, pushing, hopeful, determined man influences all

  • with whom he associates, and inspires the same qualities in them.

  • You feel that his is a safe example to follow and he rouses the

  • same force within you that is pushing him onward and upward.

  • One seldom makes a success of anything that he goes at in a

  • listless, spiritless way. To build up a business you must see it

  • expanding in your mind before it actually takes tangible shape.

  • Every great task that has ever been accomplished has first been

  • merely a vision in the mind of its creator. Detail after detail

  • has had to be worked out in his mind from his first faint idea of

  • the enterprise. Finally a clear idea was formed and then the

  • accomplishment, which was only the material result of the mental

  • concept, followed.

  • The up-to-date business man is not content to build only for the

  • present, but is planning ahead. If he does not he will fall

  • behind his competitor, who is. What we are actually doing today

  • was carefully thought out and planned by others in the past. All

  • progressive businesses are conducted this way. That is why the

  • young business man of today is likely to accomplish more in a few

  • years than his father did in all his life. There is no reason why

  • your work or business should fag you out. When it does there is

  • something wrong. You are attracting forces and influence that you

  • should not, because you are not in harmony with what you are

  • doing. There is nothing so tiring as to try to do the work for

  • which we are unfitted, both by temperament and training.

  • Each one should be engaged in a business that he loves; be should

  • be furthering movements with which he is in sympathy. He will

  • then only do his best work and take intense pleasure in his

  • business. In this way, while constantly growing and developing

  • his powers, he is at the same time rendering through his work,

  • genuine and devoted service to humanity.

  • Business success is not the result of chance, but of scientific

  • ideas and plans carried out by an aggressive and progressive

  • management. Use your mental forces so that they will grow and

  • develop. Remember that everything you do is the result of mental

  • action, therefore you can completely control your every action.

  • Nothing is impossible for you. Don't be afraid to tackle a

  • difficult proposition. Your success will depend upon the use you

  • make of your mind. This is capable of wonderful development. See

  • that you make full use of it, and not only develop yourself but

  • your associates. Try to broaden the visions of those with whom

  • you come in contact and you will broaden your own outlook of

  • life.

  • Are You Afraid of Responsibilities? In order for the individual

  • soul to develop, you must have responsibilities. You must

  • manifest the omnipotence of the law of supply. The whole world is

  • your legitimate sphere of activity. How much of a conqueror are

  • you? What have you done? Are you afraid of responsibility, or are

  • you ever dodging, flinching, or side stepping it. If you are, you

  • are not a Real Man. Your higher self never winces, so be a man

  • and allow the powers of the higher self to manifest and you will

  • find you have plenty of strength and you will feel better when

  • you are tackling difficult propositions.

  • LESSON XI. CONCENTRATE ON COURAGE

  • Courage is the backbone of man. The man with courage has

  • persistence. He states what he believes and puts it into

  • execution. The courageous man has confidence. He draws to himself

  • all the moral qualities and mental forces which go to make up a

  • strong man. Whereas, the man without courage draws to himself all

  • the qualities of a weak man, vacillation, doubt, hesitancy, and

  • unsteadiness of purpose. You can therefore see the value of

  • concentration on courage. It is a most vital element of success.

  • The lack of courage creates financial, as well as mental and

  • moral difficulties. When a new problem comes, instead of looking

  • upon it as something to be achieved, the man or woman without

  • courage looks for reasons why it cannot be done and failure is

  • naturally the almost inevitable result. This is a subject well

  • worthy of your study. Look upon everything within your power as a

  • possibility instead of as merely a probability and you will

  • accomplish a great deal more, because by considering a thing as

  • impossible, you immediately draw to yourself all the elements

  • that contribute to failure. Lack of courage destroys your

  • confidence in yourself. It destroys that forceful, resolute

  • attitude so important to success.

  • The man without courage unconsciously draws to himself all that

  • is contemptible, weakening, demoralizing and destructive. He then

  • blames his luck when he does not secure the things he weakly

  • desires. We must first have the courage to strongly desire

  • something. A desire to be fulfilled must be backed by the

  • strength of all our mental forces. Such a desire has enough

  • commanding force to change all unfavorable conditions. The man

  • with courage commands, whether be is on the battlefield or in

  • business life.

  • What is courage? It is the Will To Do. It takes no more energy to

  • be courageous than to be cowardly. It is a matter of the right

  • training in the right way. Courage concentrates the mental forces

  • on the task at hand. It then directs them thoughtfully, steadily,

  • deliberately, while attracting all the forces of success, toward

  • the desired end. Cowardice on the other hand, dissipates both our

  • mental and moral forces, thereby inviting failure.

  • As we are creatures of habits, we should avoid persons that lack

  • courage. They are easy to discover because of their habits of

  • fear in attacking new problems. The man with courage is never

  • afraid.

  • Start out today with the idea that there is no reason why you

  • should not be courageous. If any fear-thoughts come to you cast

  • them off as you would the deadly viper. Form the habit of never

  • thinking of anything unfavorable to yourself or anyone else. In

  • dealing with difficulties, new or old, hold ever the thought, "I

  • am courageous." Whenever a doubt crosses the threshold of your

  • mind, banish it. Remember, you as master of your mind control its

  • every thought, and here is a good one to often affirm, "I have

  • courage because I desire it; because I need it; because I use it

  • and because I refuse to become such a weakling as cowardice

  • produces."

  • There is no justification for the loss of courage. The evils by

  • which you will almost certainly be overwhelmed without it are far

  • greater than those which courage will help you to meet and

  • overcome. Right, then, must be the moralist who says that the

  • only thing to fear is fear.

  • Never let another's opinion affect you; he cannot tell what you

  • are able to do; he does not know what you can do with your

  • forces. The truth is you do not know yourself until you put

  • yourself to the test. Therefore, how can someone else know? Never

  • let anyone else put a valuation on you.

  • Almost all wonderful achievements have been accomplished after it

  • had been "thoroughly" demonstrated that they were

  • impossibilities. Once we understand the law, all things are

  • possible. If they were impossibilities we could not conceive

  • them.

  • Just the moment you allow someone to influence you against what

  • you think is right, you lose that confidence in yourself that

  • inspires courage and carries with it all the forces which courage

  • creates. Just the moment you begin to swerve in your plan you

  • begin to carry out another's thought and not your own. You become

  • the directed and not the director. You forsake the courage and

  • resolution of your own mind, and you therefore lack the very

  • forces that you need to sustain and carry out your work. Instead

  • of being self-reliant you become timid and this invites failure.

  • When you permit yourself to be influenced from your plan by

  • another, you are unable to judge as you should, because you have

  • allowed another's influence to deprive you of your courage and

  • determination without absorbing any of his in return so you are

  • in much the same predicament, as you would be in if you turned

  • over all your worldly possessions to another without getting

  • "value received."

  • Concentrate on just the opposite of fear, want, poverty,

  • sickness, etc. Never doubt your own ability. You have plenty, if

  • you will just use it. A great many men are failures because they

  • doubt their own capacity. Instead of building up strong mental

  • forces which would be of the greatest use to them their fear

  • thoughts tear them down. Fear paralyzes energy. It keeps us from

  • attracting the forces that go to make up success. Fear is the

  • worst enemy we have.

  • There are few people that really know that they can accomplish

  • much. They desire the full extent of their powers, but alas, it

  • is only occasionally that you find a man that is aware of the

  • great possibilities within him. When you believe with all your

  • mind and heart and soul that you can do something, you thereby

  • develop the courage to steadily and confidently live up to that

  • belief. You have now gone a long way towards accomplishing it.

  • The chances are that there will be obstacles, big and little, in

  • your way, but resolute courage will overcome them and nothing

  • else will. Strong courage eliminates the injurious and opposing

  • forces by summoning their masters, the yet stronger forces that

  • will serve you.

  • Courage is yours for the asking. All you have to do is to believe

  • in it, claim it and use it. To succeed in business believe that

  • it will be successful, assert that it is successful, and work

  • like a beaver to make it so. Difficulties soon melt away before

  • the courageous. One man of courage can fire with his spirit a

  • whole army of men, whether it be military or industrial, because

  • courage, like cowardice, is contagious.

  • The man of courage overcomes the trials and temptations of life;

  • he commands success; he renders sound judgment; he develops

  • personal influence and a forceful character and often becomes the

  • mentor of the community which he serves.

  • How to Overcome Depression and Melancholia. Both of the former

  • are harmful and make you unhappy. These are states that can be

  • quickly overcome through concentrating more closely on the higher

  • self, for when you do you cut off the connection with the harmful

  • force currents. You can also drive away moods by simply choosing

  • and fully concentrating on an agreeable subject. Through will

  • power and thought control we can accomplish anything we want to

  • do. There is wonderful inherent power within us all, and there is

  • never any sufficient cause for fear, except ignorance.

  • Every evil is but the product of ignorance, and everyone that

  • possesses the power to think has the power to overcome ignorance

  • and evil. The pain that we suffer from doing evil are but the

  • lessons of experience, and the object of the pain is to make us

  • realize our ignorance. When we become depressed It is evidence

  • that our thought faculties are combining improperly and thereby

  • attracting the wrong force-currents.

  • All that it is necessary to do is to exercise the will and

  • concentrate upon happy subjects. I will only think of subjects

  • worthy of my higher self and its powers.

  • LESSON XII. CONCENTRATE ON WEALTH

  • It was never intended that man should be poor. When wealth is

  • obtained under the proper conditions it broadens the life.

  • Everything has its value. Everything has a good use and a bad

  • use. The forces of mind like wealth can be directed either for

  • good or evil. A little rest will re-create forces. Too much rest

  • degenerates into laziness, and brainless, dreamy longings.

  • If you acquire wealth unjustly from others, you are misusing your

  • forces; but if your wealth comes through the right sources you

  • will be blessed. Through wealth we can do things to uplift

  • ourselves and humanity.

  • Wealth is many persons' goal. It therefore stimulates their

  • endeavor. They long for it in order to dress and live in such a

  • way as to attract friends. Without friends they would not be so

  • particular of their surroundings. The fact is the more attractive

  • we make ourselves and our surroundings the more inspiring are

  • their influences. It is not conducive to proper thought to be

  • surrounded by conditions that are uncongenial and unpleasant.

  • So the first step toward acquiring wealth is to surround yourself

  • with helpful influences; to claim for yourself an environment of

  • culture, place yourself in it and be molded by its influences.

  • Most great men of all ages have been comparatively rich. They

  • have made or inherited money. Without money they could not have

  • accomplished what they did. The man engaged in physical drudgery

  • is not likely to have the same high ideals as the man that can

  • command comparative leisure.

  • Wealth is usually the fruit of achievement. It is not, however,

  • altogether the result of being industrious. Thousands of persons

  • work hard who never grow wealthy. Others with much less effort

  • acquire wealth. Seeing possibilities is another step toward

  • acquiring wealth. A man may be as industrious as he can possibly

  • be, but if he does not use his mental forces he will be a

  • laborer, to be directed by the man that uses to good advantage

  • his mental forces.

  • No one can become wealthy in an ordinary lifetime, by mere

  • savings from earnings. Many scrimp and economize all their lives;

  • but by so doing waste all their vitality and energy. For example,

  • I know a man that used to walk to work. It took him an hour to go

  • and an hour to return. He could have taken a car and gone in

  • twenty minutes. He saved ten cents a day but wasted an hour and a

  • half. It was not a very profitable investment unless the time

  • spent in physical exercise yielded him large returns in the way

  • of health.

  • The same amount of time spent in concentrated effort to overcome

  • his unfavorable business environment might have firmly planted

  • his feet in the path of prosperity.

  • One of the big mistakes made by many persons of the present

  • generation is that they associate with those who fail to call out

  • or develop the best that is in them. When the social side of life

  • is developed too exclusively, as it often is, and recreation or

  • entertainment becomes the leading motive of a person's life, he

  • acquires habits of extravagance instead of economy; habits of

  • wasting his resources, physical, mental, moral and spiritual,

  • instead of conserving them. He is, in consequence, lacking in

  • proper motivation, his God-given powers and forces are

  • undeveloped and he inevitably brings poor judgment to bear upon

  • all the higher relationships of life, while, as to his financial

  • fortunes, he is ever the leaner; often a parasite, and always, if

  • opportunity affords, as heavy a consumer as he is a poor

  • producer.

  • It seems a part of the tragedy of life that these persons have to

  • be taught such painful lessons before they can understand the

  • forces and laws that regulate life. Few profit by the mistakes of

  • others. They must experience them for themselves and then apply

  • the knowledge so gained in reconstructing their lives.

  • Any man that has ever amounted to anything has never done a great

  • deal of detail work for long periods at any given time. He needs

  • his time to reflect. He does not do his duties today in the same

  • way as yesterday, but as the result of deliberate and

  • concentrated effort, constantly tries to improve his methods.

  • The other day I attended a lecture on Prosperity. I knew the

  • lecturer had been practically broke for ten years. I wanted to

  • hear what he had to say. He spoke very well. He no doubt

  • benefited some of his hearers, but he had not profited by his own

  • teachings. I introduced myself and asked him if he believed in

  • his maxims. He said he did. I asked him if they had made him

  • prosperous. He said not exactly. I asked him why. He answered

  • that he thought he was fated not to experience prosperity.

  • In half an hour I showed that man why poverty had always been his

  • companion. He had dressed poorly. He held his lectures in poor

  • surroundings. By his actions and beliefs he attracted poverty. He

  • did not realize that his thoughts and his surroundings exercised

  • an unfavorable influence. I said: "Thoughts are moving forces;

  • great powers. Thoughts of wealth attract wealth. Therefore, if

  • you desire wealth you must attract the forces that will help you

  • to secure it. Your thoughts attract a similar kind of thoughts.

  • If you hold thoughts of poverty you attract poverty. If you make

  • up your mind you are going to be wealthy, you will instil this

  • thought into all your mental forces, and you will at the same

  • time use every external condition to help you."

  • Many persons are of the opinion that if you have money it is easy

  • to make more money. But this is not necessarily true. Ninety per

  • cent of the men that start in business fail. Money will not

  • enable one to accumulate much more, unless he is trained to seek

  • and use good opportunities for its investment. If he inherits

  • money the chances are that he will lose it. While, if he has made

  • it, he not only knows its value, but has developed the power to

  • use it as well as to make more if he loses it.

  • Business success today depends on foresight, good judgment, grit,

  • firm resolution and settled purpose. But never forget that

  • thought is as real a force as electricity. Let your thoughts be

  • such, that you will send out as good as you receive; if you do

  • not, you are not enriching others, and therefore deserve not to

  • be enriched.

  • The man that tries to get all he can from others for nothing

  • becomes so selfish and mean that he does not even enjoy his

  • acquisitions. We see examples of this every day. What we take

  • from others, will in turn, be taken from us. All obligations have

  • to be met fairly and squarely. We cannot reach perfection until

  • we discharge every obligation of our lives. We all realize this,

  • so why not willingly give a fair exchange for all that we

  • receive?

  • Again I repeat that the first as well as the last step in

  • acquiring wealth is to surround yourself with good

  • influences--good thought, good health, good home and business

  • environment and successful business associates. Cultivate, by

  • every legitimate means, the acquaintance of men of big caliber.

  • Bring your thought vibrations in regard to business into harmony

  • with theirs. This will make your society not only agreeable, but

  • sought after, and, when you have formed intimate friendships with

  • clean, reputable men of wealth, entrust to them, for investment,

  • your surplus earnings, however small, until you have developed

  • the initiative and business acumen to successfully manage your

  • own investments. By this time you will, through such

  • associations, have found your place in life which, if you have

  • rightly concentrated upon and used your opportunities, will not

  • be among men of small parts. With a competence secured, you will

  • take pleasure in using a part of it in making the road you

  • traveled in reaching your position easier for those who follow

  • you.

  • There is somewhere in every brain the energy that will get you

  • out of that rut and put you far up on the mountain of success if

  • you can only use the energy.

  • You know that gasoline in the engine of an automobile doesn't

  • move the car until the spark comes to explode the gasoline.

  • So it is with the mind of man. We are not speaking now of men of

  • great genius, but of average, able citizens.

  • Each one of them has in his brain the capacity to climb over the

  • word impossible and get into the successful country beyond.

  • And hope, self-confidence and the determination to do something

  • supply the spark that makes the energy work.

  • LESSON XIII. YOU CAN CONCENTRATE, BUT WILL YOU?

  • All have the ability to concentrate, but will you? You can, but

  • whether you will or not depends on you. It is one thing to be

  • able to do something, and another thing to do it. There is far

  • more ability not used than is used. Why do not more men of

  • ability make something of themselves? There are comparatively few

  • successful men but many ambitious ones. Why do not more get

  • along? Cases may differ, but the fault is usually their own. They

  • have had chances, perhaps better ones than some others that have

  • made good.

  • What would you like to do, that you are not doing? If you think

  • you should be "getting on" better, why don't you? Study yourself

  • carefully. Learn your shortcomings. Sometimes only a mere trifle

  • keeps one from branching out and becoming a success. Discover why

  • you have not been making good--the cause of your failure. Have

  • you been expecting someone to lead you, or to make a way for you?

  • If you have, concentrate on a new line of thought.

  • There are two things absolutely necessary for success--energy and

  • the will to succeed. Nothing can take the place of either of

  • these. Most of us will not have an easy path to follow so don't

  • expect to find one. The hard knocks develop our courage and moral

  • stamina. The persons that live in an indolent and slipshod way

  • never have any. They have never faced conditions and therefore

  • don't know how. The world is no better for their living.

  • We must make favorable conditions and not expect them to shape

  • themselves. It is not the man that says, "It can't be done," but

  • the man that goes ahead in spite of adverse advice, and shows

  • that "it can be done" that "gets there" today. "The Lord helps

  • those that help themselves," is a true saying. We climb the road

  • to success by overcoming obstacles. Stumbling blocks are but

  • stepping stones for the man that says, "I can and I Will." When

  • we see cripples, the deaf and dumb, the blind and those with

  • other handicaps amounting to something in the world, the

  • able-bodied man should feel ashamed of himself if he does not

  • make good.

  • There is nothing that can resist the force of perseverance. The

  • way ahead of all of us is not clear sailing, but all hard

  • passages can be bridged, if you just think they can and

  • concentrate on how to do it. But if you think the obstacles are

  • unsurmountable, you will not of course try, and even if you do,

  • it will be in only a half-hearted way--a way that accomplishes

  • nothing.

  • Many men will not begin an undertaking unless they feel sure they

  • will succeed in it. What a mistake! This would be right, if we

  • were sure of what we could and could not do. But who knows? There

  • may be an obstruction there now that might not be there next

  • week. There may not be an obstruction there now that will be

  • there next week. The trouble with most persons is that just as

  • soon as they see their way blocked they lose courage. They forget

  • that usually there is a way around the difficulty. It's up to you

  • to find it. If you tackle something with little effort, when the

  • conditions call for a big effort, you will of course not win.

  • Tackle everything with a feeling that you will utilize all the

  • power within you to make it a success. This is the kind of

  • concentrated effort that succeeds.

  • Most people are beaten before they start. They think they are

  • going to encounter obstacles, and they look for them instead of

  • for means to overcome them. The result is that they increase

  • their obstacles instead of diminishing them. Have you ever

  • undertaken something that you thought would be hard, but

  • afterwards found it to be easy? That is the way a great many

  • times. The things that look difficult in advance turn out to be

  • easy of conquest when once encountered. So start out on your

  • journey with the idea that the road is going to be clear for you,

  • and that if it is not you will clear the way. All men that have

  • amounted to anything have cleared their way and they did not have

  • the assistance that you will have today.

  • The one great keynote of success is to do whatever you have

  • decided on. Don't be turned from your path, but resolve that you

  • are going to accomplish what you set out to do. Don't be

  • frightened at a few rebuffs, for they cannot stop the man that is

  • determined--the man that knows in his heart that success is only

  • bought by tremendous resolution, by concentrated and

  • whole-hearted effort.

  • "He who has a firm will," says Goethe, "molds the world to

  • himself."

  • "People do not lack strength," says Victor Hugo; "they lack

  • Will."

  • It is not so much skill that wins victories as it is activity and

  • great determination There is no such thing as failure for the man

  • that does his best. No matter what you may be working at, at the

  • present time, don't let this make you lose courage. The tides are

  • continually changing, and tomorrow or some other day they will

  • turn to your advantage if you are a willing and are an ambitious

  • worker. There is nothing that develops you and increases your

  • courage like work. If it were not for work how monotonous life

  • would at last become!

  • So I say to the man that wants to advance, "Don't look upon your

  • present position as your permanent one. Keep your eyes open, and

  • add those qualities to your makeup that will assist you when your

  • opportunity comes. Be ever alert and on the watch for

  • opportunities. Remember, we attract what we set our minds on. If

  • we look for opportunities, we find them.

  • If you are the man you should be, some one is looking for you to

  • fill a responsible position. So when he finds you, don't let your

  • attention wander. Give it all to him. Show that you can

  • concentrate your powers, that you have the makeup of a real man.

  • Show no signs of fear, uncertainty or doubt. The man that is sure

  • of himself is bound to get to the front. No circumstances can

  • prevent him.

  • LESSON XIV. THE ART OF CONCENTRATING BY MEANS OF PRACTICAL

  • EXERCISES

  • Select some thought, and see how long you can hold your mind on

  • it. It is well to have a clock at first and keep track of the

  • time. If you decide to think about health, you can get a great

  • deal of good from your thinking besides developing concentration.

  • Think of health as being the greatest blessing there is, in the

  • world. Don't let any other thought drift in. Just the moment one

  • starts to obtrude, make it get out.

  • Make it a daily habit of concentrating on this thought for, say,

  • ten minutes. Practice until you can hold it to the exclusion of

  • everything else. You will find it of the greatest value to

  • centralize your thoughts on health. Regardless of your present

  • condition, see yourself as you would like to be and be blind to

  • everything else. You will find it hard at first to forget your

  • ailments, if you have any, but after a short while you can shut

  • out these negative thoughts and see yourself as you want to be.

  • Each time you concentrate you form a more perfect image of

  • health, and, as you come into its realization, you become

  • healthy, strong and wholesome.

  • I want to impress upon your mind that the habit of forming mental

  • images is of the greatest value. It has always been used by

  • successful men of all ages, but few realize its full importance.

  • Do you know that you are continually acting according to the

  • images you form? If you allow yourself to mould negative images

  • you unconsciously build a negative disposition. You will think of

  • poverty, weakness, disease, fear, etc. Just as surely as you

  • think of these will your objective life express itself in a like

  • way. Just what we think, we will manifest in the external world.

  • In deep concentration you become linked with the great creative

  • spirit of the universe, and the creative energy then flows

  • through you, vitalizing your creations into form. In deep

  • concentration your mind becomes attuned with the infinite and

  • registers the cosmic intelligence and receives its messages. You

  • become so full of the cosmic energy that you are literally

  • flooded with divine power. This is a most desired state. It is

  • then we realize the advantages of being connected with the

  • supra-consciousness. The supra-consciousness registers the higher

  • cosmic vibrations. It is often referred to as the wireless

  • station, the message recorded coming from the universal mind.

  • There are very few that reach this stage of concentration. Very

  • few even know that it is possible. They think concentration means

  • limitation to one subject, but this deeper concentration that

  • brings us into harmony with the Infinite is that which produces

  • and maintains health.

  • When you have once come in contact with your supra-consciousness

  • you become the controller of your human thoughts. That which

  • comes to you is higher than human thoughts. It is often spoken of

  • as Cosmic Consciousness. Once it is experienced it is never

  • forgotten. Naturally it requires a good deal of training to reach

  • this state, but once you do, it becomes easier each time to do,

  • and in the course of time you can become possessed of power which

  • was unknown to you before. You are able to direct the expression

  • of almost Infinite Power while in this deeper state of

  • concentration.

  • Exercises In Concentration. The rays of the sun, when focused

  • upon an object by means of a sun glass, produce a heat many times

  • greater than the scattered rays of the same source of light and

  • heat. This is true of attention. Scatter it and you get but

  • ordinary results. But center it upon one thing and you secure

  • much better results. When you focus your attention upon an object

  • your every action, voluntary and involuntary, is in the direction

  • of attaining that object. If you will focus your energies upon a

  • thing to the exclusion of everything else, you generate the force

  • that can bring you what you want.

  • When you focus your thought, you increase its strength. The

  • exercises that follow are tedious and monotonous, but useful. If

  • you will persist in them you will find they are very valuable, as

  • they increase your powers of concentration.

  • Before proceeding with the exercises I will answer a question

  • that just comes to me. This person says after he works all day he

  • is too tired to practice any exercise. But this is not true. We

  • will say he comes home all tired out, eats his supper and sits

  • down to rest. If his work has been mental, the thought which has

  • been occupying his mind returns to him and this prevents him from

  • securing the rest he needs.

  • It is an admitted fact that certain thoughts call into operation

  • a certain set of brain cells; the other cells, of course, are not

  • busy at that time and are rested. Now if you take up something

  • that is just different from what you have been doing during the

  • day, you will use the cells that have not done anything and give

  • those that have had work to do a rest. So you should regulate the

  • evenings that you have and call forth an entirely different line

  • of thought so as not to use the cells which you have tired out

  • during the day. If you will center your attention on a new

  • thought, you relieve the old cells from vibrating with excitement

  • and they get their needed rest. The other cells that have been

  • idle all day want to work, and you will find you can enjoy your

  • evenings while securing needed rest.

  • When once you have learned to master your thoughts, you will be

  • able to change them just as easily as you change your clothes.

  • Remember, the real requisite of centering is to be able to shut

  • out outside thoughts--anything foreign to the subject. Now, in

  • order to control your intention first gain control over the body.

  • This must be brought under direct control of the mind; the mind

  • under the control of the will. Your will is strong enough to do

  • anything you wish, but you must realize that it is. The mind can

  • be greatly strengthened by being brought under the direct

  • influence of the will. When the mind is properly strengthened by

  • the impulse of the will it becomes a more powerful transmitter of

  • thought, because it has more force.

  • The Best Time to Concentrate Is after reading something that is

  • inspiring, as you are then mentally and spiritually exalted in

  • the desired realm. Then is the time you are ready for deep

  • concentration. If you are in your room first see that your

  • windows are up and the air is good. Lie down flat on your bed

  • without a pillow. See that every muscle is relaxed. Now breathe

  • slowly, filling the lungs comfortably full of fresh air; hold

  • this as long as you can without straining yourself; then exhale

  • slowly. Exhale in an easy, rhythmic way. Breathe this way for

  • five minutes, letting the Divine Breath flow through you, which

  • will cleanse and rejuvenate every cell of brain and body.

  • You are then ready to proceed. Now think how quiet and relaxed

  • you are. You can become enthusiastic over your condition. Just

  • think of yourself as getting ready to receive knowledge that is

  • far greater than you have ever received before. Now relax and let

  • the spirit work in and through you and assist you to accomplish

  • what you wish.

  • Don't let any doubts or fears enter. Just feel that what you wish

  • is going to manifest. Just feel it already has, in reality it

  • has, for just the minute you wish a thing to be done it manifests

  • in the thought world. Whenever you concentrate just believe it is

  • a success. Keep up this feeling and allow nothing to interfere

  • and you will soon find you have become the master of

  • concentration. You will find that this practice will be of

  • wonderful value to you, and that rapidly you will be learning to

  • accomplish anything that you undertake.

  • It will be necessary to first train the body to obey the commands

  • of the mind. I want you to gain control of your muscular

  • movements. The following exercise is especially good in assisting

  • you to acquire perfect control of the muscles.

  • Exercise 1

  • Sit in a comfortable chair and see how still you can keep. This

  • is not as easy as it seems. You will have to center your

  • attention on sitting still. Watch and see that you are not making

  • any involuntary muscular movements. By a little practice you will

  • find you are able to sit still without a movement of the muscles

  • for fifteen minutes. At first I advise sitting in a relaxed

  • position for five minutes. After you are able to keep perfectly

  • still, increase the time to ten minutes and then to fifteen. This

  • is as long as it is necessary. But never strain yourself to keep

  • still. You must be relaxed completely. You will find this habit

  • of relaxing is very good.

  • Exercise 2

  • Sit in a chair with your head up and your chin out, shoulders

  • back. Raise your right arm until it is on the level with your

  • shoulder, pointing to your right. Look around, with head only,

  • and fix your gaze on your fingers, and keep the arm perfectly

  • still for one minute. Do the same exercise with left arm. When

  • you are able to keep the arm perfectly steady, increase the time

  • until you are able to do this five minutes with each arm. Turn

  • the palm of the hand downward when it is outstretched, as this is

  • the easiest position. If you will keep your eyes fixed on the

  • tips of the fingers you will be able to tell if you are keeping

  • your arm perfectly still.

  • Exercise 3

  • Fill a small glass full of water, and grasp it by the fingers;

  • put the arm directly in front of you. Now fix the eyes upon the

  • glass and try to keep the arm so steady that no movement will be

  • noticeable. Do this first for one moment and then increase it to

  • five. Do the exercise with first one arm and then the other.

  • Exercise 4

  • Watch yourself during the day and see that your muscles do not

  • become tense or strained. See how easy and relaxed you can keep

  • yourself. See how poised you can be at all times. Cultivate a

  • self-poised manner, instead of a nervous, strained appearance.

  • This mental feeling will improve your carriage and demeanor. Stop

  • all useless gestures and movements of the body. These mean that

  • you have not proper control over your body. After you have

  • acquired this control, notice how "ill-at-ease" people are that

  • have not gained this control. I have just been sizing up a

  • salesman that has just left me. Part of his body kept moving all

  • the time. I just felt like saying to him, "Do you know how much

  • better appearance you would make if you would just learn to speak

  • with your voice instead of trying to express what you say with

  • your whole body?" Just watch those that interview you and see how

  • they lack poise.

  • Get rid of any habit you have of twitching or jerking any part of

  • your body. You will find you make many involuntary movements. You

  • can quickly stop any of these by merely centering your attention

  • on the thought, "I will not."

  • If you are in the habit of letting noises upset you, just

  • exercise control; when the door slams, or something falls, etc.,

  • just think of these as exercises in self-control. You will find

  • many exercises like this in your daily routine.

  • The purpose of the above exercises is to gain control over the

  • involuntary muscular movement, making your actions entirely

  • voluntary. The following exercises are arranged to bring your

  • voluntary muscles under the control of the will, so that your

  • mental forces may control your muscular movements.

  • Exercise 5

  • Move your chair up to a table, placing your hands upon it,

  • clenching the fists, keeping the back of the hand on the table,

  • the thumb doubled over the fingers. Now fix your gaze upon the

  • fist for a while, then gradually extend the thumb, keeping your

  • whole attention fixed upon the act, just as if it was a matter of

  • great importance. Then gradually extend your first finger, then

  • your second and so on until you open the rest. Then reverse the

  • process, closing first the last one opened and then the rest, and

  • finally you will have the fist again in the original position

  • with the thumb closed over the finger. Do this exercise with the

  • left hand. Keep up this exercise first with one hand and then the

  • other until you have done it five times with each hand. In a few

  • days you can increase it to ten times.

  • The chances are that the above exercises will at first make you

  • "tired," but it is important for you to practice these monotonous

  • exercises so you can train your attention. It also gives you

  • control over your muscular movement. The attention, of course,

  • must be kept closely on each movement of the hand; if it is not,

  • you of course lose the value of the exercise.

  • Exercise 6

  • Put the right hand on knee, both fingers and thumb closed, except

  • the first finger, which points out in front of you. Then move the

  • finger slowly from side to side, keeping the attention fixed upon

  • the end of the finger. You can make up a variety of exercises

  • like these. It is good training to plan out different ones. The

  • main point you should keep in mind is that the exercise should be

  • simple and that the attention should be firmly fixed upon the

  • moving part of the body. You will find your attention will not

  • want to be controlled and will try to drift to something more

  • interesting. This is just where these exercises are of value, and

  • you must control your attention and see it is held in the right

  • place and does not wander away.

  • You may think these exercises very simple and of no value, but I

  • promise you in a short time you will notice that you have a much

  • better control over your muscular movements, carriage and

  • demeanor, and you will find that you have greatly improved your

  • power of attention, and can center your thoughts on what you do,

  • which of course will be very valuable.

  • No matter what you may be doing, imagine that it is your chief

  • object in life. Imagine you are not interested in anything else

  • in the world but what you are doing. Do not let your attention

  • get away from the work you are at. Your attention will no doubt

  • be rebellious, but control it and do not let it control you. When

  • once you conquer the rebellious attention you have achieved a

  • greater victory than you can realize at the time. Many times

  • afterwards you will be thankful you have learned to concentrate

  • your closest attention upon the object at hand.

  • Let no day go by without practicing concentrating on some

  • familiar object that is uninteresting. Never choose an

  • interesting object, as it requires less attention. The less

  • interesting it is the better exercise will it be. After a little

  • practice you will find you can center your attention on

  • uninteresting subjects at will.

  • The person that can concentrate can gain full control over his

  • body and mind and be the master of his inclinations; not their

  • slave. When you can control yourself you can control others. You

  • can develop a Will that will make you a giant compared with the

  • man that lacks Will Power. Try out your Will Power in different

  • ways until you have it under such control that just as soon as

  • you decide to do a thing you go ahead and do it. Never be

  • satisfied with the "I did fairly well" spirit, but put forward

  • your best efforts. Be satisfied with nothing else. When you have

  • gained this you are the man you were intended to be.

  • Exercise 7

  • Concentration Increases the Sense of Smell. When you take a walk,

  • or drive in the country, or pass a flower garden, concentrate on

  • the odor of flowers and plants. See how many different kinds you

  • can detect. Then choose one particular kind and try to sense only

  • this. You will find that this strongly intensifies the sense of

  • smell. This differentiation requires, however, a peculiarly

  • attentive attitude. When sense of smell is being developed, you

  • should not only shut out from the mind every thought but that of

  • odor, but you should also shut out cognizance of every odor save

  • that upon which your mind, for the time, is concentrated.

  • You call find plenty of opportunity for exercises for developing

  • the sense of smell. When you are out in the air, be on the alert

  • for the different odors. You will find the air laden with all

  • kinds, but let your concentration upon the one selected be such

  • that a scent of its fragrance in after years will vividly recall

  • the circumstances of this exercise.

  • The object of these exercises is to develop concentrated

  • attention, and you will find that you can, through their

  • practice, control your mind and direct your thoughts just the

  • same as you can your arm.

  • Exercise 8

  • Concentration on the Within. Lie down and thoroughly relax your

  • muscles. Concentrate on the beating of your heart. Do not pay any

  • attention to anything else. Think how this great organ is pumping

  • the blood to every part of the body; try to actually picture the

  • blood leaving the great reservoir and going in one stream right

  • down to the toes. Picture another going down the arms to the tips

  • of the fingers. After a little practice you can actually feel the

  • blood passing through your system.

  • If, at any time, you feel weak in any part of the body, will that

  • an extra supply of blood shall go there. For instance, if your

  • eyes feel tired, picture the blood coming from the heart, passing

  • up through the head and out to the eyes. You can wonderfully

  • increase your strength by this exercise. Men have been able to

  • gain such control over the heart that they have actually stopped

  • it from beating for five minutes. This, however, is not without

  • danger, and is not to be practiced by the novice.

  • I have found the following a very helpful exercise to take just

  • before going to bed and on rising in the morning: Say to

  • yourself, "Every cell in my body thrills with life; every part of

  • my body is strong and healthy." I have known a number of people

  • to greatly improve their health in this way. You become what you

  • picture yourself to be. If your mind thinks of sickness in

  • connection with self you will be sick. If you imagine yourself in

  • strong, vigorous health, the image will be realized. You will be

  • healthy.

  • Exercise 9

  • Concentrating on Sleep. What is known as the water method is,

  • although very simple, very effective in inducing sleep.

  • Put a full glass of clear water on a table in your sleeping room.

  • Sit in a chair beside the table and gaze into the glass of water

  • and think how calm it is. Then picture yourself , getting into

  • just as calm a state. In a short time you will find the nerves

  • becoming quiet and you will be able to go to sleep. Sometimes it

  • is good to picture yourself becoming drowsy to induce sleep, and,

  • again, the most persistent insomnia has been overcome by one

  • thinking of himself as some inanimate object--for instance, a

  • hollow log in the depths of the cool, quiet forest.

  • Those who are troubled with insomnia will find these sleep

  • exercises that quiet the nerves very effective. Just keep the

  • idea in your mind that there is no difficulty in going to sleep;

  • banish all fear of insomnia. Practice these exercises and you

  • will sleep.

  • By this time you should have awakened to the possibilities of

  • concentration and have become aware of the important part it

  • plays in your life.

  • Exercise 10

  • Concentration Will Save Energy and Appearance. Watch yourself and

  • see if you are not in the habit of moving your hands, thumping

  • something with your fingers or twirling your mustache. Some have

  • the habit of keeping their feet going, as, for instance, tapping

  • them on the floor. Practice standing before a mirror and see if

  • you are in the habit of frowning or causing wrinkles to appear in

  • the forehead. Watch others and see how they needlessly twist

  • their faces in talking. Any movement of the face that causes the

  • skin to wrinkle will eventually cause a permanent wrinkle. As the

  • face is like a piece of silk, you can make a fold in it a number

  • of times and it will straighten out of itself, but, if you

  • continue to make a fold in it, it will in time be impossible to

  • remove it.

  • By Concentration You Can Stop the Worry Habit. If you are in the

  • habit of worrying over the merest trifles, just concentrate on

  • this a few minutes and see bow needless it is; if you are also in

  • the habit of becoming irritable or nervous at the least little

  • thing, check yourself instantly when you feel yourself becoming

  • so; start to breathe deeply; say, "I will not be so weak; I am

  • master of myself," and you will quickly overcome your condition.

  • Exercise 11

  • By Concentration You Can Control Your Temper. If you are one of

  • those that flare up at the slightest "provocation" and never try

  • to control yourself, just think this over a minute. Does it do

  • you any good? Do you gain anything by it? Doesn't it put you out

  • of poise for some time? Don't you know that this grows on you and

  • will eventually make you despised by all that have any dealings

  • with you? Everyone makes mistakes and, instead of becoming angry

  • at their perpetrators, just say to them, "Be more careful next

  • time." This thought will be impressed on them and they will be

  • more careful. But, if you continually complain about their making

  • a mistake, the thought of a mistake is impressed on them and they

  • will be more likely to make mistakes in the future. All lack of

  • self-control can be conquered if you will but learn to

  • concentrate.

  • Many of you that read this may think you are not guilty of either

  • of these faults, but if you will carefully watch yourself you

  • will probably find that you are, and, if so, you will be greatly

  • helped by repeating this affirmation each morning:

  • "I am going to try today not to make a useless gesture or to

  • worry over trifles, or become nervous or irritable. I intend to

  • be calm, and, no difference what may be the circumstances, I will

  • control myself. Henceforth I resolve to be free from all signs

  • that show lack of self-control."

  • At night quickly review your actions during the day and see how

  • fully you realized your aim. At first you will, of course, have

  • to plead guilty of violation a few times, but keep on, and you

  • will soon find that you can live up to your ideal. After you have

  • once gained self-control, however, don't relinquish it. For some

  • time it will still be necessary to repeat the affirmation in the

  • morning and square your conduct with it in the evening. Keep up

  • the good work until, at last, the habit of self-control is so

  • firmly fixed that you could not break it even though you tried.

  • I have had many persons tell me that this affirmation and daily

  • review made a wonderful difference in their lives. You, too, will

  • notice the difference if you live up to these instructions.

  • Exercise 12.

  • Practice Talking Before a Glass. Make two marks on your mirror on

  • a level with your eyes, and think of them as two human eyes

  • looking into yours. Your eyes will probably blink a little at

  • first. Do not move your head, but stand erect. Concentrate all

  • your thoughts on keeping your head perfectly still. Do not let

  • another thought come into your mind. Then, still keeping the

  • head, eyes and body still, think that you look like a reliable

  • man or woman should; like a person that anyone would have

  • confidence in. Do not let your appearance be such as to justify

  • the remark, "I don't like his appearance. I don't believe he can

  • be trusted."

  • While standing before the mirror practice deep breathing. See

  • that there is plenty of fresh air in the room, and that you are

  • literally feasting on it. You will find that, as it permeates

  • every cell, your timidity will disappear. It has been replaced by

  • a sense of peace and power.

  • The one that stands up like a man and has control over the

  • muscles of his face and eyes always commands attention. In his

  • conversation, he can better impress those with whom he comes in

  • contact. He acquires a feeling of calmness and strength that

  • causes opposition to melt away before it.

  • Three minutes a day is long enough for the practice of this

  • exercise.

  • Look at the clock before you commence the exercise, and if you

  • find you can prolong the exercise for more than five minutes do

  • so. The next day sit in a chair and, without looking at the

  • picture, concentrate on it and see if you cannot think of

  • additional details concerning it. The chances are you will be

  • able to think of many more. It might be well for you to write

  • down all you thought of the first day, and then add to the list

  • each new discovery. You will find that this is a very excellent

  • exercise in concentration.

  • Exercise 13

  • The Control of Sensations. Think how you would feel if you were

  • cool; then how you would feel if you were cold; again, how you

  • would feel if it were freezing. In this state you would be

  • shivering all over. Now think of just the opposite conditions;

  • construct such a vivid image of heat that you are able to

  • experience the sensation of heat even in the coldest atmosphere.

  • It is possible to train your imagination until you do this, and

  • it can then be turned to practical account in making undesirable

  • conditions bearable.

  • You can think of many very good exercises like this. For

  • instance, if you feel yourself getting hungry or thirsty and for

  • any reason you do not wish to eat, do not think of how hungry or

  • thirsty you are, but just visualize yourself as finishing a

  • hearty meal. Again, when you experience pain, do not increase it

  • by thinking about it, but do something to divert your attention,

  • and the pain will seem to decrease. If you will start practicing

  • along this line systematically you will soon gain a wonderful

  • control over the things that affect your physical comfort.

  • Exercise 14

  • The Eastern Way of Concentrating. Sit in a chair with a high back

  • in upright position. Press one finger against the right nostril.

  • Now take a long, deep breath, drawing the breath in gently as you

  • count ten; then expel the breath through the right nostril as you

  • count ten. Repeat this exercise with the opposite nostril. This

  • exercise should be done at least twenty times at each sitting.

  • Exercise 15

  • Controlling Desires. Desire, which is one of the hardest forces

  • to control, will furnish you with excellent exercises in

  • concentration. It seems natural to want to tell others what you

  • know; but, by learning to control these desires, you can

  • wonderfully strengthen your powers of concentration. Remember,

  • you have all you can do to attend to your own business. Do not

  • waste your time in thinking of others or in gossiping about them.

  • If, from your own observation, you learn something about another

  • person that is detrimental, keep it to yourself. Your opinion may

  • afterwards turn out to be wrong anyway, but whether right or

  • wrong, you have strengthened your will by controlling your desire

  • to communicate your views.

  • If you hear good news resist the desire to tell it to the first

  • person you meet and you will be benefited thereby. It will

  • require the concentration of all your powers of resistance to

  • prohibit the desire to tell. After you feel that you have

  • complete control over your desires you can then tell your news.

  • But you must be able to suppress the desire to communicate the

  • news until you are fully ready to tell it. Persons that do not

  • possess this power of control over desires are apt to tell things

  • that they should not, thereby often involving both themselves and

  • others in needless trouble.

  • If you are in the habit of getting excited when you hear

  • unpleasant news, just control yourself and receive it without any

  • exclamation of surprise. Say to yourself, "Nothing is going to

  • cause me to lose my self-control. You will find from experience

  • that this self-control will be worth much to you in business. You

  • will be looked upon as a cool-headed business man, and this in

  • time becomes a valuable business asset. Of course, circumstances

  • alter cases. At times it is necessary to become enthused. But be

  • ever on the lookout for opportunities for the practice of

  • self-control. "He that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that

  • ruleth a city."

  • Exercise 16

  • When You Read. No one can think without first concentrating his

  • thoughts on the subject in hand. Every man and woman should train

  • himself to think clearly. An excellent exercise is to read some

  • short story and then write just an abridged statement. Read an

  • article in a newspaper, and see in how few words you can express

  • it. Reading an article to get only the essentials requires the

  • closest concentration. If you are unable to write out what you

  • read, you will know you are weak in concentration. Instead of

  • writing it out you can express it orally if you wish. Go to your

  • room and deliver it as if you were talking to some one. You will

  • find exercises like this of the greatest value in developing

  • concentration and learning to think.

  • After you have practiced a number of these simple exercises read

  • a book for twenty minutes and then write down what you have read.

  • The chances are that at first you will not remember very many

  • details, but with a little practice you will be able to write a

  • very good account of what you have read. The closer the

  • concentration the more accurate the account will be.

  • It is a good idea when time is limited to read only a short

  • sentence and then try to write it down word for word. When you

  • are able to do this, read two or more sentences and treat

  • similarly. The practice will produce very good results if you

  • keep it up until the habit is fixed.

  • If you will just utilize your spare time in practicing exercises

  • like those suggested you can gain wonderful powers of

  • concentration. You will find that in order to remember every word

  • in a sentence you must keep out every thought but that which you

  • wish to remember, and this power of inhibition alone will more

  • than compensate for the trouble of the exercise. Of course,

  • success in all of the above depends largely upon cultivating,

  • through the closest concentration, the power to image or picture

  • what you read; upon the power, as one writer expresses it, of

  • letting the mountains of which we hear loom before us and the

  • rivers of which we read roll at our feet.

  • Exercise 17

  • Concentration Overcomes Bad Habits. If you have a habit that you

  • want to get rid of, shut your eyes and imagine that your real

  • self is standing before you. Now try the power of affirmation;

  • say to yourself, "You are not a weakling; you can stop this habit

  • if you want to. This habit is bad and you want to break it." Just

  • imagine that you are some one else giving this advice. This is

  • very valuable practice. You, in time, see yourself as others see

  • you. The habit loses its power over you and you are free.

  • If you will just form the mental image of controlling yourself as

  • another person might, you will take a delight in breaking bad

  • habits. I have known a number of men to break themselves of

  • drinking in this way.

  • Exercise 18

  • Watch Concentration. Sit in a chair and place a clock with a

  • second hand on the table. Follow the second hand with your eyes

  • as it goes around. Keep this up for five minutes, thinking of

  • nothing else but the second hand, This is a very good exercise

  • when you only have a few minutes to spare, if you are able to

  • keep every other thought in the stream of consciousness

  • subordinate to it. As there is little that is particularly

  • interesting about the second hand, it is hard to do this, but in

  • the extra effort of will power required to make it successful

  • lies its value. Always try to keep as still as possible during

  • these exercises.

  • In this way you can gain control over nerves and this quieting

  • effect is very good for them.

  • Exercise 19

  • Faith Concentration. A belief in the power to concentrate is of

  • course very important. I purposely did not put this exercise in

  • the beginning where it naturally belongs because I wanted you to

  • know that you could learn to concentrate. If you have practiced

  • the above exercises you have now developed this concentration

  • power to a considerable extent and therefore you have faith in

  • the power of concentration, but you can still become a much

  • stronger believer in it.

  • We will say that you have some desire or wish you want fulfilled,

  • or that you need some special advice. You first clearly picture

  • what is wanted and then you concentrate on getting it. Have

  • absolute faith that your desires will be realized. Believe that

  • it will according to your belief be fulfilled. Never, at this

  • time, attempt to analyze the belief. You don't care anything

  • about the whys and wherefores. You want to gain the thing you

  • desire, and if you concentrate on it in the right way you will

  • get it.

  • A Caution. Never think you will not succeed, but picture what is

  • wanted as already yours, and yours it surely will be.

  • Self-Distrust. Do you ever feel distrust in yourself? If You do,

  • just ask yourself, which self do I mistrust? Then say: my higher

  • self cannot be affected. Then think of the wonderful powers of

  • the higher self. There is a way to overcome all difficulties, and

  • it is a delight for the human soul to do so. Instead of wasting

  • precious thought-force by dreading or fearing a disagreeable

  • interview or event, instead devote the time and concentrated

  • thought in how to make the best of the interview or event and you

  • will find that it will not be as unpleasant as you thought it

  • would be. Most of our troubles are but imaginary, and it is the

  • mental habit of so dreading them that really acts as a magnet in

  • attracting those that really do come. Your evil circumstances are

  • created or attracted by your own negative, fears and wrong

  • thoughts, and are a means of teaching you to triumph over all

  • evils, by discovering that which is inherent within yourself.

  • You will find it helpful in overcoming self-distrust, to stop and

  • think, why you are, concentrating your forces, and by so doing

  • you become more closely attached to the higher self, which never

  • distrusts.

  • LESSON XV. CONCENTRATE SO YOU WILL NOT FORGET

  • A man forgets because he does not concentrate his mind on his

  • purpose, especially at the moment he conceives it. We remember

  • only that which makes a deep impression, hence we must first

  • deepen our impressions by associating in our minds certain ideas

  • that are related to them.

  • We will say a wife gives her husband a letter to mail. He does

  • not think about it, but automatically puts it in his pocket and

  • forgets all about it. When the letter was given to him had he

  • said to himself, "I will mail this letter. The box is at the next

  • corner and when I pass it I must drop this letter," it would have

  • enabled him to recall the letter the instant he reached the mail

  • box.

  • The same rule holds good in regard to more important things. For

  • example, if you are instructed to drop in and see Mr. Smith while

  • out to luncheon today, you will not forget it, if, at the moment

  • the instruction is given, you say to yourself something similar

  • to the following:

  • "When I get to the corner of Blank street, on my way to luncheon,

  • I shall turn to the right and call on Mr. Smith." In this way the

  • impression is made, the connection established and the sight of

  • the associated object recalls the errand.

  • The important thing to do is to deepen the impression at the very

  • moment it enters your mind. This is made possible, not only by

  • concentrating the mind upon the idea itself, but by surrounding

  • it with all possible association of ideas, so that each one will

  • reinforce the others.

  • The mind is governed by laws of association, such as the law that

  • ideas which enter the mind at the same time emerge at the same

  • time, one assisting in recalling the others.

  • The reason why people cannot remember what they want to is that

  • they have not concentrated their minds sufficiently on their

  • purpose at the moment when it was formed.

  • You can train yourself to remember in this way by the

  • concentration of the attention on your purpose, in accordance

  • with the laws of association.

  • When once you form this habit, the attention is easily centered

  • and the memory easily trained. Then your memory, instead of

  • failing you at crucial moments, becomes a valuable asset in your

  • every-day work.

  • Exercise in Memory Concentration. Select some picture; put it on

  • a table and then look at it for two minutes. Concentrate your

  • attention on this picture, observe every detail; then shut your

  • eyes and see how much you can recall about it. Think of what the

  • picture represents; whether it is a good subject; whether it

  • looks natural. Think of objects in foreground, middle ground,

  • background; of details of color and form. Now open your eyes and

  • hold yourself rigidly to the correction of each and every

  • mistake. Close eyes again and notice how much more accurate your

  • picture is. Practice until your mental image corresponds in every

  • particular to the original.

  • Nature is a Wonderful Instructor. But there are very few who

  • realize that when we get in touch with nature we discover

  • ourselves. That by listening to her voice, with that curious,

  • inner sense of ours, we learn the oneness of life and wake up to

  • our own latent powers.

  • Few realize that the simple act of listening and concentrating is

  • our best interior power, for it brings us into close contact with

  • the highest, just as our other senses bring us into touch with

  • the coarser side of human nature. The closer we live to nature

  • the more developed is this sense. "So called" civilization has

  • over developed our other senses at the expense of this one.

  • Children unconsciously realize the value of concentration--for

  • instance: When a Child has a difficult problem to solve, and gets

  • to some knotty point which he finds himself mentally unable to

  • do--though he tries his hardest--he will pause and keep quite

  • still, leaning on his elbow, apparently listening; then you will

  • see, if you are watching, sudden illumination come and he goes on

  • happily and accomplishes his task. A child instinctively but

  • unconsciously knows when he needs help, he must be quiet and

  • concentrate.

  • All great people concentrate and owe their success to it. The

  • doctor thinks over the symptoms of his patient, waits, listens

  • for the inspiration, though quite unconscious, perhaps, of doing

  • so. The one who diagnoses in this way seldom makes mistakes. An

  • author thinks his plot, holds it in his mind, and then waits, and

  • illumination comes. If you want to be able to solve difficult

  • problems you must learn to do the same.

  • LESSON XVI. HOW CONCENTRATION CAN FULFILL YOUR DESIRE

  • "It is a spiritual law that the desire to do necessarily implies

  • the ability to do."

  • You have all read of "Aladdin's Lamp," which accomplished such

  • wonderful things. This, of course, is only a fairy story, but it

  • illustrates the fact that man has within him the power, if he is

  • able to use it, to gratify his every wish.

  • If you are unable to satisfy your deepest longings it is time you

  • learned how to use your God-given powers. You will soon be

  • conscious that you have latent powers within capable when once

  • developed of revealing to you priceless knowledge and unlimited

  • possibilities of success.

  • Man should have plenty of everything and not merely substance to

  • live on as so many have. All natural desires can be realized. It

  • would be wrong for the Infinite to create wants that could not be

  • supplied. Man's very soul is in his power to think, and it,

  • therefore, is the essence of all created things. Every instinct

  • of man leads to thought, and in every thought there is great

  • possibility because true thought development, when allied to

  • those mysterious powers which perhaps transcend it, has been the

  • cause of all the world's true progress.

  • In the silence we become conscious of "that something" which

  • transcends thought and which uses thought as a medium for

  • expression. Many have glimpses of "that something," but few ever

  • reach the state where the mind is steady enough to fathom these

  • depths. Silent, concentrated thought is more potent than spoken

  • words, for speech distracts from the focusing power of the mind

  • by drawing more and more attention to the without.

  • Man must learn more and more to depend on himself; to seek more

  • for the Infinite within. It is from this source alone that he

  • ever gains the power to solve his practical difficulties. No one

  • should give up when there is always the resources of Infinity.

  • The cause of failure is that men search in the wrong direction

  • for success, because they are not conscious of their real powers

  • that when used are capable of guiding them.

  • The Infinite within is foreign to those persons who go through

  • life without developing their spiritual powers. But the Infinite

  • helps only he who helps himself. There is no such thing as a

  • Special "Providence." Man will not receive help from the Infinite

  • except to the extent that he believes and hopes and prays for

  • help from this great source.

  • Concentrate on What You Want and Get It. The weakling is

  • controlled by conditions. The strong man controls conditions. You

  • can be either the conqueror or the conquered. By the law of

  • concentration you can achieve your heart's desire. This law is so

  • powerful that that which at first seems impossible becomes

  • attainable.

  • By this law what you at first see as a dream becomes a reality.

  • Remember that the first step in concentration is to form a Mental

  • Image of what you wish to accomplish. This image becomes a

  • thought-seed that attracts thoughts of a similar nature. Around

  • this thought, when it is once planted in the imagination or

  • creative region of the mind, you group or build associated

  • thoughts which continue to grow as long as your desire is keen

  • enough to compel close concentration.

  • Form the habit of thinking of something you wish to accomplish

  • for five minutes each day. Shut every other thought out of

  • consciousness. Be confident that you will succeed; make up your

  • mind that all obstacles that are in your way will be overcome and

  • you can rise above any environment.

  • You do this by utilizing the natural laws of the thought world

  • which are all powerful.

  • A great aid in the development of concentration is to write out

  • your thoughts on that which lies nearest your heart and to

  • continue, little by little, to add to it until you have as nearly

  • as possible exhausted the subject.

  • You will find that each day as you focus your forces on this

  • thought at the center of the stream of consciousness, new plans,

  • ideas and methods will flash into your mind. There is a law of

  • attraction that will help you accomplish your purpose. An

  • advertiser, for instance, gets to thinking along a certain line.

  • He has formed his own ideas, but he wants to know what others

  • think. He starts out to seek ideas and he soon finds plenty of

  • books, plans, designs, etc., on the subject, although when he

  • started he was not aware of their existence.

  • The same thing is true in all lines. We can attract those things

  • that will help us. Very often we seem to receive help in a

  • miraculous way. It may be slow in coming, but once the silent

  • unseen forces are put into operation, they will bring results so

  • long as we do our part. They are ever present and ready to aid

  • those who care to use them. By forming a strong mental image of

  • your desire, you plant the thought-seed which begins working in

  • your interest and, in time, that desire, if in harmony with your

  • higher nature, will materialize.

  • It may seem that it would be unnecessary to caution you to

  • concentrate only upon achievement that will be good for you and

  • work no harm to another, but there are many who forget others and

  • their rights, in their anxiety to achieve success. All good

  • things are possible for you to have, but only as you bring your

  • forces into harmony with that law that requires that we mete out

  • justice to fellow travelers as we journey along life's road. So

  • first think over the thing wanted and if it would be good for you

  • to have; say, "I want to do this; I am going to work to secure

  • it. The way will be open for me."

  • If you fully grasp mentally the thought of success and hold it in

  • mind each day, you gradually make a pattern or mold which in time

  • will materialize. But by all means keep free from doubt and fear,

  • the destructive forces. Never allow these to become associated

  • with your thoughts.

  • At last you will create the desired conditions and receive help

  • in many unlooked-for ways that will lift you out of the undesired

  • environment. Life will then seem very different to you, for you

  • will have found happiness through awakening within yourself the

  • power to become the master of circumstances instead of their

  • slave.

  • To the beginner in this line of thought some of the things stated

  • in this book may sound strange, even absurd, but, instead of

  • condemning them, give them a trial. You will find they will work

  • out.

  • The inventor has to work out his idea mentally before he produces

  • it materially. The architect first sees the mental picture of the

  • house he is to plan and from this works out the one we see. Every

  • object, every enterprise, must first be mentally created.

  • I know a man that started in business with thirteen cents and not

  • a dollar's worth of credit. In ten years he has built up a large

  • and profitable business. He attributes his success to two

  • things--belief that he would succeed and hard work. There were

  • times when it did not look like he could weather the storm. He

  • was being pressed by his creditors who considered him bankrupt.

  • They would have taken fifty cents on the dollar for his notes and

  • considered themselves lucky. But by keeping up a bold front he

  • got an extension of time when needed. When absolutely necessary

  • for him to raise a certain sum at a certain time he always did

  • it. When he had heavy bills to meet he would make up his mind

  • that certain people that owed him would pay by a certain date and

  • they always did. Sometimes he would not receive their check until

  • the last mail of the day of the extension, and I have known him

  • to send out a check with the prospect of receiving a check from

  • one of his customers the following day. He would have no reason

  • other than his belief in the power of affecting the mind of

  • another by concentration of thought for expecting that check, but

  • rarely has he been disappointed.

  • Just put forth the necessary concentrated effort and you will be

  • wonderfully helped from sources unknown to you.

  • Remember the mystical words of Jesus, the Master: "Whatsoever

  • thing ye desire when ye pray, pray as if ye had already received

  • and ye shall have."

  • LESSON XVII. IDEALS DEVELOPED BY CONCENTRATION

  • Through our paltry stir and strife, Glows the wished Ideal, And

  • longing molds in clay, what life Carves in the marble

  • real.--Lowell.

  • We often hear people spoken of as idealists. The fact is we are

  • all idealists to a certain extent, and upon the ideals we picture

  • depends our ultimate success. You must have the mental image if

  • you are to produce the material thing. Everything is first

  • created in the mind. When you control your thoughts you become a

  • creator. You receive divine ideas and shape them to your

  • individual needs. All things of this world are to you just what

  • you think they are. Your happiness and success depend upon your

  • ideals.

  • You are responsible for every condition you go through, either

  • consciously or unconsciously. The next step you take determines

  • the succeeding step. Remember this; it is a valuable lesson. By

  • concentrating on each step as you go along, you can save a lot of

  • waste steps and will be able to choose a straight path instead of

  • a roundabout road.

  • Concentrate Upon Your Ideals and They Will Become Material

  • Actualities. Through concentration we work out our ideals in

  • physical life. Your future depends upon the ideals you are

  • forming now. Your past ideals are determining your present.

  • Therefore, if you want a bright future, you must begin to prepare

  • for it today.

  • If persons could only realize that they can only injure

  • themselves, that when they are apparently injuring others they

  • are really injuring themselves, what a different world this would

  • be!

  • We say a man is as changeable as the weather. What is meant is

  • his ideals change. Every time you change your ideal you think

  • differently. You become like a rudderless boat on an ocean.

  • Therefore realize the importance of holding to your ideal until

  • it becomes a reality.

  • You get up in the morning determined that nothing will make you

  • lose your temper. This is your ideal of a person of real strength

  • and poise. Something takes place that upsets you completely and

  • you lose your temper. For the time being you forget your ideal.

  • If you had just thought a second of what a well-poised person

  • implies you would not have become angry. You lose your poise when

  • you forget your ideal. Each time we allow our ideals to be

  • shattered we also weaken our will-power. Holding to your ideals

  • develops will-power. Don't forget this.

  • Why do so many men fail? Because they don't hold to their ideal

  • until it becomes a mental habit. When they concentrate on it to

  • the exclusion of all other things it becomes a reality.

  • "I am that which I think myself to be."

  • Ideals are reflected to us from the unseen spirit. The laws of

  • matter and spirit are not the same. One can be broken, but not

  • the other. To the extent that ideals are kept is your future

  • assured.

  • It was never intended that man should suffer. He has brought it

  • upon himself by disobeying the laws of nature. He knows them so

  • cannot plead ignorance. Why does he break them? Because he does

  • not pay attention to those ideals flashed to him from the

  • Infinite Spirit.

  • Life is but one continuous unfoldment, and you can be happy every

  • step of the way or miserable, as you please; it all depends upon

  • how we entertain those silent whisperings that come from we know

  • not where. We cannot hear them with mortal ear, but from the

  • silence they come as if they were dreams, not to you or me alone,

  • but to everyone. In this way the grandest thoughts come to us, to

  • use or abuse. So search not in treasured volumes for noble

  • thoughts, but within, and bright and glowing vision will come to

  • be realized now and hereafter.

  • You must give some hours to concentrated, consistent, persistent

  • thought. You must study yourself and your weaknesses.

  • No man gets over a fence by wishing himself on the other side. He

  • must climb.

  • No man gets out of the rut of dull, tiresome, monotonous life by

  • merely wishing himself out of the rut. He must climb.

  • If you are standing still, or going backward, there is something

  • wrong. You are the man to find out what is wrong.

  • Don't think that you are neglected, or not understood, or not

  • appreciated.

  • Such thoughts are the thoughts of failure.

  • Think hard about the fact that men who have got what you envy got

  • it by working for it.

  • Don't pity yourself, criticise yourself.

  • You know that the only thing in the world that you have got to

  • count upon is yourself.

  • LESSON XVIII. MENTAL CONTROL THROUGH CREATION

  • I attended a banquet of inventors recently. Each inventor gave a

  • short talk on something he thought would be accomplished in the

  • future. Many very much needed things were spoken of. One inventor

  • spoke of the possibilities of wireless telephone. Distance, he

  • said, would shortly be annihilated. He thought we would soon be

  • able to talk to the man in the submarine forty fathoms below the

  • surface and a thousand miles away. When he got through he asked

  • if there were any that doubted what he said. No one spoke up.

  • This was not a case of tactful politeness, as inventors like to

  • argue, but a case where no one present really doubted that the

  • inventor's vision would, in the future, materialize.

  • These shrewd men, some real geniuses, all thought we would in

  • time be able to talk to those a thousand miles away without

  • media. Now, if we can make an instrument so wonderful that we can

  • send wireless messages a thousand miles, is there any reason why

  • we should not through mental control transmit messages from one

  • person to another? The wireless message should not be as easy to

  • send as the projected thought.

  • The day will come when all business will employ highly developed

  • persons to send out influences. These influences will be so

  • dominating that employes will be partly controlled by them and so

  • you will profit more and more by your mental powers and depend on

  • them to draw to you all forces of a helpful nature. You will be

  • constantly sending out suggestions to your employes and friends.

  • They will receive these unconsciously, but in case yours is the

  • stronger personality they will carry them out the same as if you

  • had spoken them.

  • This is being done even today. A finely organized company secures

  • the combined effort of all its men. They may be each doing a

  • different kind of work, but all work to bring about the very best

  • results. The whole atmosphere is impregnated with a high standard

  • of workmanship. Everyone feels he must do his best. He could not

  • be in such surroundings and be satisfied to do anything but his

  • best work.

  • A business will succeed only to the extent that the efforts of

  • all are co-ordinated towards one result. At least one person is

  • needed to direct all toward the desired end. The person at the

  • head does not have to exactly outline to the others what steps to

  • take, but he must possess the mental power of control over

  • others.

  • An up-to-date business letter is not written in a casual,

  • commonplace way today. The writer tries to convey something he

  • thinks the receiver will be interested to know. In this way he

  • awakens a responsive spirit. Sometimes just the addition of a

  • word or two will change a letter of the matter-of-fact style to

  • one that compels a response. It is not always what is actually in

  • a letter, but the spirit which it breathes that brings results.

  • That intangible something that defies analysis is the projected

  • thought of the master that brings back the harvest that it

  • claims.

  • But we should not always claim success for ourselves only. If you

  • are anxious that some friend or relative should succeed, think of

  • this person as becoming successful. Picture him in the position

  • you would like to see him in. If he has a weakness, desire and

  • command that it be strengthened; think of his shortcomings which

  • belong to his negative nature as being replaced by positive

  • qualities. Take a certain part of the day to send him thoughts of

  • an up-building nature. You can in this way arouse his mental

  • powers into activity, and once aroused, they will assert

  • themselves and claim their own.

  • We can accomplish a great deal more than many of us are ready to

  • believe by sending to another our direct, positive and

  • controlling suggestions of leadership, but whether a man is a

  • success or not is greatly determined by the way he acts on the

  • suggestions he receives.

  • We either advance or decline. We never stand still. Every time we

  • accomplish something it gives us ability to do greater things.

  • The bigger the attempt undertaken, the greater the things

  • accomplished in the future. As a business grows, the head of the

  • business also has to grow. He must advance and be ever the

  • guiding influence. By his power to control, he inspires

  • confidence in those associated with him. Often employes are

  • superior to their employers in some qualities, and, if they had

  • studied, instead of neglected their development, they could have

  • been employers of more commanding influence than those whom they

  • serve.

  • Through your mental power you can generate in another enthusiasm

  • and the spirit of success, which somehow furnishes an impetus to

  • do something worth while.

  • In concentrated mental control, there is a latent power more

  • potent than physical force. The person becomes aware that the

  • attitude of the mind has a power of controlling, directing and

  • governing other forces. He has been placed in an attitude capable

  • of acquiring that which he desires.

  • All of us no matter how strong we are, are affected by the mental

  • forces of our environment. There is no one that can remain

  • neutral to influences. The mind cannot be freed from the forces

  • of a place. If the environment of your place of business is not

  • helpful, it will be harmful. That is why a change of position

  • will often do a person a great deal of good.

  • No person was ever intended to live alone. If you are shut up

  • with only your own thoughts you suffer from mental starvation.

  • The mind becomes narrow; the mental powers weaken. Living alone

  • often causes some of the milder forms of insanity. If children do

  • not play with those their own age, but associate with only older

  • people, they will take on the actions of the older people. The

  • same is true of older persons if they associate with people

  • younger than they are. They take on the spirit of youth. If you

  • wish to retain your youth you need the influences of youth. Like

  • attracts like all over the world.

  • The thought element plays a great part in our lives. Every

  • business must not only command physical effort but it must also

  • command thought effort. There must be co-ordination of thought.

  • All employers should aim to secure employes that think along

  • similar lines. They will work in fuller sympathy with each other.

  • They will better understand each other. This enables them to help

  • each other, which would be utterly impossible if they were not in

  • sympathy with each other. It is this that goes to make up a

  • perfect organization, which directs and influences them toward

  • the one end. Instead of each person being a separate unit, each

  • one is like a spoke in a big wheel. Each member carries his own

  • load, and he would not think of shirking. Anyone working in such

  • an atmosphere could not help turning out his best work.

  • All great leaders must be able to inspire this co-operative

  • spirit. They first secure assistance through their mental

  • control. They then make their assistants realize the value of

  • mental control. Soon there is a close bond between them; they are

  • working toward a single purpose. They profit by their combined

  • effort. The result is that they accomplish much.

  • If your business is conducted in the right spirit, you can

  • instill your thoughts and your ideas into your employes. Your

  • methods and ideas become theirs. They don't know it, but your

  • mental forces are shaping their work. They are just as certain to

  • produce results as any physical force in nature.

  • The up-to-date business man of the future is going to take pains

  • to get his employes to think and reason better. He will not want

  • them to become depressed or discouraged. There is time that

  • instead of being wasted he will endeavor to have them use in

  • concentrated effort that will be profitable to both employer and

  • employed. There must be more of the spirit of justice enter into

  • the business of the future.

  • There is a firm I know that will not hire an employe until he has

  • filled out an application blank. No doubt those that fill it out

  • think it is foolishness, but it is not. A capable manager can

  • look over this application blank and pretty nearly tell if this

  • person will fit into his management. The main thing he wants to

  • know is the applicant's capacity for efficient co-operative

  • effort. He wants persons that have faith in themselves. He wants

  • them to realize that when they talk of misfortunes and become

  • blue they are likely to communicate the same depressing influence

  • to others. The up-to-date manager wants to guard against hiring

  • employes who will obstruct his success.

  • You must realize that every moment spent in thinking of your

  • difficulties of the past, every moment spent in bad company is

  • attracting to you all that is bad; is attracting influences that

  • must be shaken off before you can advance.

  • Many firms prefer to hire employes that never worked before so

  • that they have nothing to unlearn. They are then not trained, but

  • have no bad business habits to overcome. They are more easily

  • guided and grasp the new methods more effectively because they

  • are not contrary to what they have already learned. They are at

  • once started on the right road, and as they co-operate readily

  • they receive the mental support of the management in learning the

  • methods that have been perfected. This inspires confidence in

  • themselves and they soon become efficient and, finally, skilled

  • workers.

  • Most big business firms today employ efficiency experts. Each day

  • or week they are in a different department. They earn their money

  • because they familiarize persons with very little business

  • experience with plans that has taken the "expert" years of

  • training and much money to perfect.

  • The attitude we take has a great deal more to do with our success

  • than most of us realize. We must be able to generate those forces

  • that are helpful. There is a wonderful power in the thought

  • rightly controlled and projected and we must through

  • concentration develop this power to the fullest possible extent.

  • We are surrounded by many forces of which we know but little at

  • present. Our knowledge of these is to be wonderfully increased.

  • Each year we learn more about these psychic forces which are full

  • of possibilities of which we are not even dimly conscious. We

  • must believe in mental control, learn more about it, and use it,

  • if we want to command these higher powers and forces which will

  • unquestionably direct the lives of countless future generations.

  • LESSON XIX. A CONCENTRATED WILL DEVELOPMENT

  • New Method. You will find in this chapter a most effective and

  • most practical method of developing the will. You can develop a

  • strong one if you want to. You can make your Will a dynamo to

  • draw to you untold power. Exercises are given which will, if

  • practiced, strengthen your will, just as you would strengthen

  • your muscles by athletic exercises.

  • In starting to do anything, we must first commence with

  • elementary principles. Simple exercises will be given. It is

  • impossible to estimate the ultimate good to be derived from the

  • mental cultivation that comes through these attempts at

  • concentration. Even the simple exercises are not to be thought

  • useless. "In no respect," writes Doctor Oppenheim, "can a man

  • show a finer quality of will-power than in his own private,

  • intimate life." We are all subjected to certain temptations. The

  • Will decides whether we will be just, or unjust; pure of thought;

  • charitable in opinion; forbearing in overlooking other's

  • shortcomings; whether we live up to our highest standard. Since

  • these are all controlled by the Will, we should find time for

  • plenty of exercises for training of the will in our daily life.

  • You, of course, realize that your will should be trained. You

  • must also realize that to do this requires effort that you alone

  • can command. No one can call it forth for you.

  • To be successful in these exercises you must practice them in a

  • spirit of seriousness and earnestness. I can show you how to

  • train your will, but your success depends upon your mastery and

  • application of these methods.

  • New Methods of Will-Training. Select a quiet room where you will

  • not be interrupted; have a watch to determine the time, and a

  • note-book in which to enter observations. Start each exercise

  • with date and time of day.

  • Exercise 1

  • Time decided on. Select some time of the day when most

  • convenient. Sit in a chair and look at the door-knob for ten

  • minutes. Then write down what you experienced. At first it will

  • seem strange and unnatural. You will find it hard to hold one

  • position for ten minutes. But keep as still as you can. The time

  • will seem long for it will probably be the first time you ever

  • sat and did nothing for ten minutes. You will find your thoughts

  • wandering from the door-knob, and you will wonder what there can

  • be in this exercise. Repeat this exercise for six days.

  • 10 P. M. 2nd Day.

  • Notes. You should be able to sit quieter, and the time should

  • pass more quickly. You will probably feel a little stronger

  • because of gaining a better control of your will. It will brace

  • you up, as you have kept your resolution. 10 P. M. 3rd Day.

  • Notes. It may be a little harder for you to concentrate on the

  • door-knob as perhaps you had a very busy day and your mind kept

  • trying to revert to what you had been doing during the day. Keep

  • on trying and you will finally succeed in banishing all foreign

  • thoughts. Then you should feel a desire to gain still more

  • control. There is a feeling of power that comes over you when you

  • are able to carry out your will. This exercise will make you feel

  • bigger and it awakens a sense of nobility and manliness. You will

  • say, "I find that I can actually do what I want to and can drive

  • foreign thoughts out. The exercise, I can now see, is valuable."

  • 10 P. M. 4th Day.

  • Notes. "I found that I could look at the door-knob and

  • concentrate my attention on it at once. Have overcome the

  • tendency to move my legs. No other thoughts try to enter as I

  • have established the fact that I can do what I want to do and do

  • not have to be directed. I feel that I am gaining in mental

  • strength, I can now see the wonderful value of being the master

  • of my own will-force. I know now if I make a resolution I will

  • keep it. I have more self-confidence and can feel my self-control

  • increasing.

  • 10 P. M. 5th Day.

  • Notes. "Each day I seem to increase the intensity of my

  • concentration. I feel that I can center my attention on anything

  • I wish.

  • 10 P. M. 6th Day.

  • Notes. "I can instantly center my whole attention on the

  • door-knob. Feel that I have thoroughly mastered this exercise and

  • that I am ready for another."

  • You have practiced this exercise enough, but before you start

  • another I want you to write a summary of just how successful you

  • were in controlling the flitting impulses of the mind and will.

  • You will find this an excellent practice. There is nothing more

  • beneficial to the mind than to pay close attention to its own

  • wonderful, subtle activities.

  • Exercise 2

  • Secure a package of playing cards. Select some time to do the

  • exercise. Each day at the appointed time, take the pack in one

  • hand and then start laying them down on top of each other just as

  • slowly as you can, with an even motion. Try to get them as even

  • as possible. Each card laid down should completely cover the

  • under one. Do this exercise for six days.

  • 1st Day.

  • Notes. Task will seem tedious and tiresome. Requires the closest

  • concentration to make each card completely cover the preceding

  • one. You will probably want to lay them down faster. It requires

  • patience to lay them down so slowly, but benefit is lost if not

  • so placed. You will find that at first your motions will be jerky

  • and impetuous. It will require a little practice before you gain

  • an easy control over your hands and arms. You probably have never

  • tried to do anything in such a calm way. It will require the

  • closest attention of your will. But you will find that you are

  • acquiring a calmness you never had before. You are gradually

  • acquiring new powers. You recognize how impulsive and impetuous

  • you have been, and how, by using your will, you can control your

  • temperament.

  • 2nd Day.

  • Notes. You start laying the cards down slowly. You will find that

  • by practice you can lay them down much faster. But you want to

  • lay them down slowly and therefore you have to watch yourself.

  • The slow, steady movement is wearisome. You have to conquer the

  • desire of wanting to hurry up. Soon you will find that you can go

  • slowly or fast at will.

  • 3rd Day.

  • Notes. You still find it hard to go slowly. Your will urges you

  • to go faster. This is especially true if you are impulsive, as

  • the impulsive character finds it very difficult to do anything

  • slowly and deliberately. It goes against the "grain." This

  • exercise still is tiresome. But when you do it, it braces you up

  • mentally. You are accomplishing something you do not like to do.

  • It teaches you how to concentrate on disagreeable tasks. Writing

  • these notes down you will find very helpful.

  • 4th Day.

  • Notes. I find that I am beginning to place the cards in a

  • mathematical way. I find one card is not completely covering

  • another. I am getting a little careless and must be more careful.

  • I command my will to concentrate more. It does not seem so hard

  • to bring it under control.

  • 5th Day.

  • Notes. I find that I am overcoming my jerky movements, that I can

  • lay the cards down slowly and steadily. I feel that I am rapidly

  • gaining more poise. I am getting better control over my will each

  • day, and my will completely controls my movements. I begin to

  • look on my will as a great governing power. I would not think of

  • parting with the knowledge of will I have gained. I find it is a

  • good exercise and know it will help me to accomplish my tasks.

  • 6th Day.

  • Notes. I begin to feel the wonderful possibilities of the will.

  • It gives me strength to think of the power of will. I am able to

  • do so much more and better work now, that I realize that I can

  • control my will action. Whatever my task, my will is concentrated

  • on it. I am to keep my will centered there until the task is

  • finished. The more closely and definitely I determine what I

  • shall do, the more easily the will carries it out. Determination

  • imparts compelling force to the will. It exerts itself more. The

  • will and the end act and react on each other.

  • 7th Day.

  • Notes. Now try to do everything you do today faster. Don't hurry

  • or become nervous. Just try to do everything faster, but in a

  • steady manner.

  • You will find that the exercises you have practiced in

  • retardation have steadied your nerves, and thereby made it

  • possible to increase your speed. The will is under your command.

  • Make it carry out resolutions rapidly. This is how you build up

  • your self-control and your self-command. It is then that the

  • human machine acts as its author dictates.

  • You certainly should now be able to judge of the great benefit

  • that comes from writing out your introspections each day. Of

  • course you will not have the exact experiences given in these

  • examples, but some of these will fit your case. Be careful to

  • study your experiences carefully and make as true a report as you

  • can. Describe your feelings just as they seem to you. Allow your

  • fancies to color your report and it will be worthless. You have

  • pictured conditions as you see them. In a few months, if you

  • again try the same exercises, you will find your report very much

  • better. By these introspections, we learn to know ourselves

  • better and with this knowledge can wonderfully increase our

  • efficiency. As you become used to writing out your report, it

  • will be more accurate. You thus learn how to govern your

  • impulses, activities and weaknesses.

  • Each person should try to plan exercises that will best fit his

  • needs. If not convenient for you to practice exercises every day,

  • take them twice or three times a week. But carry out any plan you

  • decide to try. If you cannot devote ten minutes a day to the

  • experiments start with five minutes and gradually increase the

  • time. The exercises given are only intended for examples.

  • Will Training Without Exercise. There are many people that do not

  • want to take the time to practice exercises, so the following

  • instructions for training the will are given to them.

  • By willing and realizing, the will grows. Therefore the more you

  • will, the more it grows, and builds up power. No matter whether

  • your task is big or small, make it a rule to accomplish it in

  • order to fortify your will. Form the habit of focusing your will

  • in all its strength upon the subject to be achieved. You form in

  • this way the habit of getting a thing done, of carrying out some

  • plan. You acquire the feeling of being able to accomplish that

  • which lies before you, no matter what it is. This gives you

  • confidence and a sense of power that you get in no other way. You

  • know when you make a resolution that you will keep it. You do not

  • tackle new tasks in a half-hearted way, but with a bold, brave

  • spirit. We know that the will is able to carry us over big

  • obstacles. Knowing this despair never claims us for a victim. We

  • have wills and are going to use them with more and more

  • intensity, thus giving us the power to make our resolutions

  • stronger, our actions freer and our lives finer and better.

  • The education of the will should not be left to chance. It is

  • only definite tasks that will render it energetic, ready,

  • persevering and consistent. The only way it can be done is by

  • self-study and self-discipline. The cost is effort, time and

  • patience, but the returns are valuable. There are no magical

  • processes leading to will development, but the development of

  • your will works wonders for you because it gives you

  • self-mastery, personal power and energy of character.

  • Concentration of the Will to Win. The adaptability of persons to

  • their business environment is more a matter of determination than

  • anything else. In this age we hear a good deal of talk about a

  • man's aptitudes. Some of his aptitudes, some of his powers, may

  • be developed to a wonderful extent, but he is really an unknown

  • quality until all his latent powers are developed to their

  • highest possible extent. He may be a failure in one line and a

  • big success in another. There are many successful men, that did

  • not succeed well at what they first undertook, but they profited

  • by their efforts in different directions, and this fitted them

  • for higher things, whereas had they refused to adjust themselves

  • to their environment, the tide of progress would have swept them

  • into oblivion.

  • My one aim in all my works is to try and arouse in the individual

  • the effort and determination to develop his full capacities, his

  • highest possibilities. One thing I want you to realize at the

  • start, that it is not so much ability, as it is the will to do

  • that counts. Ability is very plentiful, but organizing initiative

  • and creative power are not plentiful. It is easy to get employes,

  • but to get someone to train them is harder. Their abilities must

  • be directed to the work they can do. They must be shown how,

  • while at this work, to conserve their energy and they must be

  • taught to work in harmony with others, for most business concerns

  • are dominated by a single personality.

  • Concentrating on Driving Force Within. We are all conscious, at

  • times, that we have somewhere within us an active driving force

  • that is ever trying to push us onward to better deeds. It is that

  • "force" that makes us feel determined at times to do something

  • worth while. It is not thought, emotion or feeling. This driving

  • force is something distinct from thought or emotion. It is a

  • quality of the soul and therefore it has a consciousness all its

  • own. It is the "I will do" of the will. It is the force that

  • makes the will concentrate. Many have felt this force working

  • within them, driving them on to accomplish their tasks. All great

  • men and women become conscious that this supreme and powerful

  • force is their ally in carrying out great resolutions.

  • This driving force is within all, but until you reach a certain

  • stage you do not become aware of it. It is most useful to the

  • worthy. It springs up naturally without any thought of training.

  • It comes unprovoked and leaves unnoticed. Just what this force is

  • we do not know, but we do know that it is what intensifies the

  • will in demanding just and harmonious action.

  • The ordinary human being, merely as merchandise, if he could be

  • sold as a slave, would be worth ten thousand dollars. If somebody

  • gave you a five thousand dollar automobile you would take very

  • good care of it. You wouldn't put sand in the carburetor, or mix

  • water with the gasoline, or drive it furiously over rough roads,

  • or leave it out to freeze at night.

  • Are you quite sure that you take care of your own body, your own

  • health, your only real property, as well as you would take care

  • of a five thousand dollar automobile if it were given to you?

  • The man who mixes whiskey with his blood is more foolish than a

  • man would be if he mixed water with gasoline in his car.

  • You can get another car; you cannot get another body.

  • The man who misses sleep lives irregularly--bolts his food so

  • that his blood supply is imperfect. That is a foolish man

  • treating himself as he would not treat any other valuable piece

  • of property.

  • Do you try to talk with men and women who know more than you do,

  • and do you LISTEN rather than try to tell them what you know?

  • There are a hundred thousand men of fifty, and men of sixty,

  • running along in the old rut, any one of whom could get out of it

  • and be counted among the successful men if only the spark could

  • be found to explode the energy within them now going to waste.

  • Each man must study and solve his own problem.

  • LESSON XX. CONCENTRATION REVIEWED

  • In bringing this book to a close, I again want to impress you

  • with the inestimable value of concentration, because those that

  • lack this great power or, rather that fail to develop it, will

  • generally suffer from poverty and unhappiness and their life's

  • work will most often be a failure, while those that develop and

  • use it will make the most of life's opportunities,

  • I have tried to make these lessons practical and I am sure that

  • many will find them so. Of course the mere reading of them will

  • not do you a great deal of good, but, if the exercises are

  • practiced and worked out and applied to your own individual case,

  • you should be able to acquire the habit of concentration in such

  • measure as to greatly improve your work and increase your

  • happiness.

  • But remember the best instruction can only help you to the extent

  • to which you put it into practice. I have found it an excellent

  • idea to read a book through first, and then re-read it, and when

  • you come to an idea that appeals to you, stop and think about it,

  • then if applicable to you, repeat it over and over, that you will

  • be impressed by it. In this way you can form the habit of picking

  • out all the good things you read and these will have a wonderful

  • influence on your character.

  • In this closing chapter, I want to impress you to concentrate on

  • what you do, instead of performing most of your work

  • unconsciously or automatically, until you have formed habits that

  • give you the mastery of your work and your life powers and

  • forces.

  • Very often the hardest part of work is thinking about it. When

  • you get right into it, it does not seem so disagreeable. This is

  • the experience of many when they first commence to learn how to

  • concentrate. So never think it a difficult task, but undertake it

  • with the "I Will Spirit" and you will find that its acquirement

  • will be as easy as its application will be useful.

  • Read the life of any great man, and you will generally find that

  • the dominant quality that made him successful was the ability to

  • concentrate. Study those that have been failures and you will

  • often find that lack of concentration was the cause.

  • "One thing at a time, and that done will

  • Is a good rule as I can tell."

  • All men are not born with equal powers, but it is the way they

  • are used that counts. "Opportunity knocks at every man's door."

  • Those that are successful hear the knock and grasp the chance.

  • The failures believe that luck and circumstances are against

  • them. They always blame someone else instead of themselves for

  • their lack of success. We get what is coming to us, nothing more

  • or less. Anything within the universe is within your grasp. Just

  • use your latent powers and it is yours. You are aided by both

  • visible and invisible forces when you concentrate on either "to

  • do" or "to be."

  • Everyone is capable of some concentration, for without it you

  • would be unable to say or do anything. People differ in the power

  • to concentrate because some are unable to Will to hold the

  • thought in mind for the required time. The amount of

  • determination used determines who has the strongest will. No

  • one's is stronger than yours. Think of this whenever you go

  • against a strong opponent.

  • Never say "I can't concentrate today." You can do it just the

  • minute you say "I will." You can keep your thoughts from

  • straying, just the same as you can control your arms. When once

  • you realize this fact, you can train the will to concentrate on

  • anything you wish. If it wanders, it is your fault. You are not

  • utilizing your will. But, don't blame it on your will and say it

  • is weak. The will is just the same whether you act as if it were

  • weak or as if it were strong. When you act as if your will is

  • strong you say, "I can." When you act as if it were weak you say,

  • "I can't." It requires the same amount of effort, in each case.

  • Some men get in the habit of thinking "I can't" and they fail.

  • Others think "I can" and succeed. So remember, it is for you to

  • decide whether you will join the army of "I can't" or "I can."

  • The big mistake with so many is that they don't realize that when

  • they say "I can't," they really say, "I won't try." You can not

  • tell what you can do until you try. "Can't" means you will not

  • try. Never say you cannot concentrate, for, when you do, you are

  • really saying that you refuse to try.

  • Whenever you feel like saying, "I can't," say instead, "I possess

  • all will and I can use as much as I wish." You only use as much

  • as you have trained yourself to use.

  • An Experiment to Try. Before going to bed tonight, repeat, "I am

  • going to choose my own thoughts, and to hold them as long as I

  • choose. I am going to shut out all thoughts that weaken or

  • interfere; that make me timid. My Will is as strong as anyone's

  • else. While going to work the next morning, repeat this over.

  • Keep this up for a month and you will find you will have a better

  • opinion of yourself. These are the factors that make you a

  • success. Hold fast to them always.

  • Concentration is nothing but willing to do a certain thing. All

  • foreign thoughts can be kept out by willing that they stay out.

  • You cannot realize your possibilities until you commence to

  • direct your mind. You then do consciously what you have before

  • done unconsciously. In this way you note mistakes, overcome bad

  • habits and perfect your conduct.

  • You have at times been in a position that required courage and

  • you were surprised at the amount you showed. Now, when once you

  • arouse yourself, you have this courage all the time and it is not

  • necessary to have a special occasion reveal it to you. My object

  • in so strongly impressing this on your mind is to make you aware

  • that the same courage, the same determination that you show at

  • certain exceptionable times you have at your command at all

  • times. It is a part of your vast resources. Use it often and

  • well, in working out the highest destiny of which you are

  • capable.

  • Final Concentration Instruction. You now realize that, in order

  • to make your life worthy, useful and happy, you must concentrate.

  • A number of exercises and all the needed instruction has been

  • given. It now remains for you to form the highest ideal that you

  • can in the present and live up to that ideal, and try to raise

  • it. Don't waste your time in foolish reading. Select something

  • that is inspiring, that you may become enrapport with those that

  • think thoughts that are worth while. Their enthusiasm will

  • inspire and enlighten you. Read slowly and concentrate on what

  • you are reading. Let your spirit and the spirit of the author

  • commune, and you will then sense what is between the lines--those

  • great things which words cannot express.

  • Pay constant attention to one and one thing only for a given time

  • and you will soon be able to concentrate. Hang on to that thought

  • ceaselessly until you have attained your object. When you work,

  • let your mind dwell steadily on your task. Think before you speak

  • and direct your conversation to the subject under discussion. Do

  • not ramble. Talk slowly, steadily and connectedly. Never form the

  • hurry habit, but be deliberate in all you do. Assume static

  • attitudes without moving a finger or an eyelid, or any part of

  • your body. Read books that treat of but one continuous subject.

  • Read long articles and recall the thread of the argument.

  • Associate yourself with people who are steady, patient and

  • tireless in their thought, action and work. See how long you can

  • sit still and think on one subject without interruption.

  • Concentrating on the Higher Self. Father Time keeps going on and

  • on. Every day he rolls around means one less day for you on this

  • planet. Most of us only try to master the external conditions of

  • this world. We think our success and happiness depends on us

  • doing so. These are of course important and I don't want you to

  • think they are not, but I want you to realize that when death

  • comes, only those inherent and acquired qualities and conditions

  • within the mentality--your character, conduct and soul

  • growth--will go with you. If these are what they should be, you

  • need not be afraid of not being successful and happy, for with

  • these qualities you can mold external materials and conditions.

  • Study yourself. Find Your Strong Points And Make Them Stronger As

  • Well As Yo Weak Ones And Strengthen Them. Study yourself

  • carefully and you will see yourself as you really are.

  • The secret of accomplishment is concentration, or the art of

  • turning all your power upon just one point at a time.

  • If you have studied yourself carefully you should have a good

  • line on yourself, and should be able to make the proper interior

  • re-adjustments. Remember first, last, and always, Right thinking

  • and right Living necessarily results in happiness, and it is

  • therefore within your power to obtain happiness. Anyone that is

  • not happy does not claim their birthright.

  • Keep in mind that some day you are going to leave this world and

  • think of what you will take with you. This will assist you to

  • concentrate on the higher forces. Now start from this minute, to

  • act according to the advice of the higher self in everything you

  • do. If you do, its ever harmonious forces will necessarily insure

  • to you a successful fulfilment of all your life purposes.

  • Whenever you feel tempted to disobey your higher promptings, hold

  • the thought

  • "My-higher-self-insures-to-me-the-happiness-of-doing-that-which -best-answers-my-true-relations-to-all-others."

  • You possess latent talents, that when developed and utilized are

  • of assistance to you and others. But if you do not properly use

  • them, you shirk your duty, and you will be the loser and suffer

  • from the consequences. Others will also be worse off if you do

  • not fulfil your obligations.

  • When you have aroused into activity your thought powers you will

  • realize the wonderful value of these principles in helping you to

  • carry out your plans. The right in the end must prevail. You can

  • assist in the working out of the great plan of the universe and

  • thereby gain the reward, or you can work against the great plan

  • and suffer the consequences. The all consuming fires are

  • gradually purifying all discordant elements. If you choose to

  • work contrary to the law you will burn in its crucible, so I want

  • you to learn to concentrate intelligently on becoming in harmony

  • with your higher self. Hold the thought: "I-will-live-for-my-best. I-seek-wisdom, self-knowledge,

  • happiness-and-power-to-help-others. I-act-from-the-higher-self, therefore-only-the-best-can-come-to-me. The

  • more we become conscious of the presence of the higher self

  • the more we should try to become a true representative of the

  • human soul in all its wholeness and holiness, instead of wasting

  • our time dwelling on some trifling external quality or defect.

  • We should try to secure a true conception of what we really are so

  • as not to over value the external furnishings. You will then not

  • surrender your dignity or self respect, when others ignorantly

  • make a display of material things to show off. Only the person

  • that realizes that he is a permanent Being knows what the true

  • self is.

The Power of Concentration, by Theron Q. Dumont

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The Power of Concentration - Full AudioBook by Theron Q. Dumont - Self Help & Inspirational (THE POWER OF CONCENTRATION - FULL AudioBook by Theron Q. Dumont - Self Help & Inspirational)

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    Hhart Budha 發佈於 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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