Napoleon Hill's Master Key (1954) - Complete Series

- How do you do? I'm very happy to have this personal visit with you. Won't you to be seated, please. And now, may I request that you forget all your problems and just relax while I bring you the master key with which you may unlock the door to any opportunity that your mind can conceive. Right here at the beginning of our visit, I'm going to make you a promise. If you will decide definitely what you want most during your entire lifetime and write it down on paper so that I can read it, I will give

you the master key with which you may open the door to the attainment of your desires, whatever they may be. The exact moment when I will deliver this master key to you will depend entirely upon when you are ready to receive it. This is the first of 13 messages that I will deliver to you. Now in each message, I will describe the master key in terms that you will understand if you are ready to understand. And now I shall give you the first cue as to the nature of the great master key which has been

responsible for all the great successes in every calling in every part of the world. Please listen carefully to what I have to say because you may discover the secret of the master key in this first visit. You may get your first cue as to the nature of the great master key when I tell you that psychologists have discovered a natural law which is the very foundation of all personal successes. And I can describe it to you in one short sentence so you can understand it, whatever the mind can conceive and believe the mind can achieve.

Isn't that a profound statement? You will notice that it says nothing about the need for education, but simply that whatever your mind can conceive and believe your mind can achieve. Now, if you want evidence that the mind can achieve whatever the mind can conceive without the benefit of formal education, you'll have to remember that Thomas A. Edison conceived the idea of becoming an inventor and live to become the world's greatest scientists in the field of invention with only three months of common school education. When I first heard Andrew Carnegie describe this natural law which makes

it possible for you and I and everyone else to write his own price tag in life and attain it, I became so enthused over it that I began to search for the power back of it. And my curiosity led me finally to the discovery of the master key which I should have reveal to you if you are ready to receive it. My search led me to the study of the spiritual forces with which all of us are blessed. And it was in this field that came upon a clue which has enabled me to help millions

of people to find their earthly destinies. I wanna describe my discovery in the simplest terms possible because it will reveal to you why it is true that whatever the mind can conceive and believe the mind can achieve regardless of how many times you may have failed in the past or how lofty or aims and hopes maybe. I got my first fleeting glimpse of the profound law which provides the means by which we may choose our own purpose in life and attain it while I was being coached by Andrew Carnegie during the organization of the science

of success philosophy. I had just finished telling Mr. Carnegie that I feared he had chosen the wrong person to give the world first practical philosophy of personal success because of my youth, my lack of education and my lack of finances. Well, at this point, Mr. Carnegie delivered a lecture that I shall never forget because it changed my entire life and paved the way for my helping you change the lives of millions of people some of them not yet born. Let me call your attention to a great power which is under your control, said Mr. Carnegie,

A power which is greater than poverty, greater than the lack of education greater than all of your fears and superstitions combined. It is the power to take possession of your own mind and direct it to whatever ends you may desire. This profound power, Mr. Carnegie continued, is the gift of the creator and it must have been considered the greatest of all of his gifts to men because it is the only thing over which man has the complete and unchallengeable right of control and direction. When you speak of your poverty and lack of education, Mr. Carnegie

explained, you are simply directing your mind power to attract these on desirable circumstances because it is true that whatever your mind feeds upon your mind attracts to you. Now you see why it is important that you recognize that all success begins with definite there's a purpose with a clear picture in your mind of precisely what you want from life. Then Mr. Carnegie continued his speech with a description of a great universal truth which made it such an impact upon my mind that I began then and there to give myself a new outlook on life. And

I set up for myself the goals of far above my previous achievements that it shocked my friends and relatives when they heard about it. Everyone said, Mr. Carnegie comes to the earth blain blessed with the privilege of controlling his mind power and directing it to whatever ends he may choose, but, he continued, everyone brings over with him at birth the equivalent of two sealed envelopes. One of which is clearly labeled the riches you may enjoy if you take possession of your own mind and direct it to the ends of your own choice. And the other

is labeled, the penalties you must be if you neglect to take possession of your mind and direct it. And now let me reveal to you, said Mr. Carnegie, the contents of those two sealed envelopes. In the one labeled riches is this list of blessings. One, sound health, two, peace of mind, three, a labor of love of your own choice, four, freedom from fear and worry, five, a positive mental attitude, six, material riches of your own choice and quantity. In the sealed envelope labeled penalties, Mr. Carnegie continued, is this list of the prices one must pay

if are neglecting to take possession of his own mind. One, ill health, two, fear and worry, three, indecision and doubt, four, frustration and the discouragement throughout life, five, poverty and want, six, and a whole flock of evils consisting of envy, greed, jealousy, anger, hatred and superstition. Now, my mission in life is to help you and everyone who needs my help to open up and use the contents of the sealed envelope labeled riches and the starting point from what you must take off if you wish to write your own ticket from here on out for the

remainder of your life, I will describe for you in these simple instructions. One, procure a neat pocket size notebook or something on the order of this one here, loose leaf affair. And on the page one, write down a clear description of your major desire in life, the one circumstance or position or thing, which you will be willing to accept as your idea of success. And remember, before you begin writing that your only limitations are those which you set up in your own mind or permit others to set up for you. And two, on page two

of your notebook, write down a clear statement of precisely what you intend to give in return for that which you desire from life. And then start and write where you stand now to begin giving and three, memorize both of your statements, what you desire and what you intend to give in return for it and repeat them at least a dozen times daily and always end your statements with this expression of gratitude for the blessings with which you were gifted at birth. I ask not, oh divine providence for more riches but moral wisdom with which to

accept and use wisely the riches I received at birth in the form of the power to control and direct my mind to whatever ends I desire. If you are not too successful or self satisfied to accept and express this profound prayer, if you accept it and express it in the same spirit of humble sincerity in which I pass it on to you a new and a better world will reveal itself to you. A world in which you will see reflected the circumstances and the things which you yourself have created. Next, I will give you a

description of the second principle of success through the application of which you may make use of the education and experience of other people and get the necessary help you may need in attaining your definite major purpose in life. And now let me close this our first visit with my favorite expression of gratitude. Oh divine providence, I asked not for more riches, but moral wisdom with which to make wiser use of the riches you gave me the birth consisting in the power to control and direct my own mind to whatever ends I desire. We come now

to the second of the 17 principles which lead to the master key with which you may open the door to the attainment of your definite major purpose in life. This principle of success is called the master mind principle. I want you to understand the nature of the mastermind principle because you must use it before you can take possession of the master key. An understandable definition of the mastermind is this, it consists of two or more people who work in perfect harmony for the attainment of a definite purpose. Now, here are some interesting facts about the

master mind which give you an idea of how important it is and how necessary that you embrace this principle and make use of it in attaining success in your chosen occupation. First of all, it is the principle through which you may borrow and use the education, the experience, the influence, and perhaps the capital of other people in carrying out your own plans in life. It is the principle through which you can accomplish in one year more than you could accomplish without it in a lifetime if you depended entirely upon your own efforts for success. And

I have heard well informed Bible students say that the first known application of the master mind was that which existed between the Nazarene and his 12 disciples. Of one fact I am absolutely sure, when you form a true master mind alliance with others and work with them in a spirit of perfect harmony, you can draw freely upon the spiritual forces within you in carrying out your plans and desires. I also know that the master mind principle can give you absolute protection against failure provided always that your purpose in using this principle is beneficial to all

whom you influence. In my research while organizing the science of success, I had the collaboration of practically every outstanding successful man this country has produced during the past 50 years. And I can tell you definitely that their success was due in the main to their knowledge and application of the master mind principle. I wish also to call your attention to the fact that our great American way of life and our unmatchable system of free enterprise has been built upon the master mind principle. The greatest document ever conceived by the mind of man is a perfect

example of the master mind principle in action. It is the declaration of independence and the best evidence of the importance of maintaining perfect harmony in a master mind alliance may be found in the fact that the 56 men who signed the declaration of independence knew full well that it might turn out to be either a license of freedom for all mankind or a death warrant which would cause each of the signers to be hanged. Now, let us see how the master mind principle has brought success to people whom we all know. First consider when Kate

Smith began her career as a singer. She had difficulty in earning enough from her singing to pay living expenses and she perhaps never would have made to her singing pay if she had not discovered and applied the master mind principle which gave her access to the master key to success when she formed a master mind alliance with Ted Collins. And according to a report I saw in Reader's Digest, Kate Smith has earned upwards of $30 million and she is still in the upper brackets of income. Two, I remember when Edgar Bergen and that cute little

block of wood known as Charlie McCarthy used to play anywhere they could get an engagement and I rather suspect that often, all they got for their services was a meal. But Edgar Bergen is a smart man in the field of entertainment. So he formed a master mind alliance which introduced him and Charlie to millions of people by radio and television. And I suspect he is not concerned about money any longer. And you may be surprised when I tell you that the great Ford industrial empire started with the formation of a master mind alliance between Henry

Ford and his wife. At the beginning of his career, Henry Ford was shy and lacking self-confidence. It was Mrs. Ford who inspired Henry Ford with a faith and the courage to go ahead with the perfection of his horseless carriage. Although his relatives and neighbors generally tried to discourage him from wasting his time with the contraption as they call it. Four, the federation of the states known as the United States of America is the richest and the most powerful nation civilization has yet produced. And the secret of our strength and riches consists in our form of

government through which all our states function in a spirit of harmony based on the master mind principle through is central federal government located at Washington. And not only a word to you personally if you work for a salary or wages, you have a marvelous opportunity to promote yourself into a higher income and a more responsible position by forming a master mind alliance with your associate workers including the management. In my next visit, I will give you further instructions on how to apply the master mind principles so as to increase your own income and promote yourself

to a higher position with the full cooperation of your management. Yes, that is correct. I will show you how to write your own price tag, fix your own wages, establish your own working hours and give yourself financial independence. But, right now I want you to do three things before our next visit. First, decide definitely where you wish to be and what you wish to be doing during the next three years. And second decide how much money you desire to be making and what you are going to do to earn it. And third, form a master

mind alliance with at least one person in your immediate family and at least one other person among those to whom you are selling your services. By taking these three steps, you will have gone a long way toward appropriating the great master key to success. There is no such thing as something for nothing. Everything including your personal success has a price that must be paid. And the only price you are requested to pay for the present is the effort necessary to do three simple things that I have suggested. Now, before you begin to take the three

steps I have suggested, there is one important fact I wish to you do remember and it is this, control your mental attitude and make yourself friendly and agreeable with everyone with whom you are closely associated if you expect friendly cooperation in return. Indifference cannot create a master mind alliance for you. A negative mental attitude can bring you nothing but failure. Remember always, you are where you are and what you are because of your mental attitude in which you relate yourself to other people. Remember also, your mental attitude is the one and the only thing over

which you have complete control. Success is something which has to be planned and success is something which has to be earned in advance. True, there is such a thing as luck, but just remember that luck is something you can create for yourself if you know the rules and follow them just as I give them to you. Remember too that success in the higher brackets of achievement is something that can be had only by taking others along with you. And the best definition of success which I know is this, success is the knowledge with which to

get whatever you want from life without violating the rights of others and by helping others to acquire it. There is a known formula for the attainment of success and it is as definite and certain as are the rules of mathematics or the principles of science. My purpose in these visits is to bring you that formula in simpler terms that you can understand and apply but I can never give you that for which you are not ready. If you are ready to advance into the higher brackets of success you will recognize this fact by your willingness

to follow the simple instructions I shall give you as we go along. This thing called success is a very profound and interesting thing because the line of demarcation between success and failure is so slight that it is often hard to tell where I one ends and the other begins. For example, in my association with the late Henry Ford, I recognized that he had thousands of people working for him who had much more education than he, more magnetic personalities, more ability to make friends and a much better chance of succeeding than Mr. Ford had when he

was working for wages. But Mr. Ford had one simple quality the others who worked for him did not possess. The same quality I will clearly describe for you in my future visits with you. Meanwhile, I would be interested in knowing if you can describe this one simple quality Henry Ford possessed, which made him the greatest industrialist this nation has ever produced. In my next visit, I will give you a definite clue as to the success quality, which helped Henry Ford spread his influence throughout the world and to make himself richer than Chris's despite the fact

that he had only a meager common school education. Until then, please be of good cheer, will you? And just remember, that's your only real limitation is the one you accept and the set up in your own mind. Well, this brings us to the success principle which has marked the turning point of every person who has promoted himself or herself from the lower brackets of success to the higher planes of achievement, where one acquires everything he desires. This principle is called the habit of going the extra mile which means the habit of rendering more service and

better service than one is expected to render and doing it in a positive mental attitude. I'm going to tell you all I know about this magic principle of self advancement because it is the one rule you must follow if you expect to write your own price tag and be sure of getting it. Let me describe this success principle for you in a brief formula, which you can easily remember. I call it the QQMA formula which means the quality of service you render, plus the quantity of service you render plus the mental attitude in which you

render service determines the space you occupy in your chosen calling and the compensation you'll get from your services. If you wanna examine carefully the people whom you know to be unusually successful, you will discover that they follow the QQMA formula although they may do so unconsciously. Now, I wish to give you a big advantage over those who follow this formula unconsciously. I wish to show you how to make use of it deliberately with purpose of forethought. So you may make the principle pay off in a big way and do it quickly. Now, I should tell

you some of the benefits you will enjoy it by following the habit of going the extra mile. One, this habit will bring you to this favorable attention of those who can and will provide you with opportunities to promote yourself into a better circumstance. Two, it will place back of you that great natural law of increasing returns through which the service you render will bring back greater than average compensations. And three, following this habit will make you indispensable in your chosen occupation or calling therefore, it will place you in a position to write your own ticket.

And four, this habit will help you to excel in your line of work because each time you render service you endeavor to do a better job than you did previously. And five, if you work for or a salary or wages this habit will give you preference when work is slack and others are laid off. And six, it will help you to benefit by the law of contrast because the others around you will not be going the first mile let alone the second mile. And seven, following this habit of doing your very best in all of

your efforts and doing it in a pleasing mental attitude will improve your personality and make you like my others and eight, it will so help you to develop a keen or alert imagination because you will be continuously seeking new and better ways of rendering useful service. Nine, it will inspire you to move on your own personal initiative instead of waiting to be told what to do. A habit which is the first step in leadership in all callings. The habit of going the extra mile definitely develops a greater self-reliance and gives one more courage to move

ahead without the fear of criticism from others. And here is one thing it does which if it benefited you in no other way but justify you in adopting it. It helps you to master the destructive habit of procrastination. The one habit which heads the list of causes of failure. 12, going the extra mile influences other people to respect your integrity and inspire them to go out of their way to cooperate with you in a friendly spirit. And 13, the habit helps you to develop definiteness of purpose which is the starting point of all personal success.

And it stops you from drifting through life without knowing what you want or where you are going. And number 14, and here is the grand payoff which this habit gives you. It provides you with the one and only excuse for asking for a promotion to a better station in life or a higher pay. Obviously, if you are doing no more than you are being paid for, then you are receiving pay for all to which you are entitled and you have not a single excuse for asking for more pay or a better position. You understand this

point and appreciate its significance, do you not? 15, last but not least, the habit of going the extra mile conditions your mind to maintain a master mind alliance with others. Ever so often, I hear people complain about they're not receiving favorable breaks in their relations with others. I never hear this sort of complaint from one of my students of the science of success, nor from anyone who has ever read any book that I have written because all of my students have learned the secret of how to create their own favorable breaks. They do it by

following the habit of going the extra mile. I can tell you frankly, I have never received a major favorable break during my entire life that did not come from having applied the principle of going the extra mile. Sometimes I hear people complain also that their positions are such that they are not permitted to go the extra mile. And to my counsel to these people is always the same, change positions and to market your services where it pays to go the extra mile. I am sincere in giving this advice because I know that no one can

do better than earn a mere living unless and until he begins going the extra mile. During my business career, I suppose I have employed but at one time or another, at least a score of private secretaries, all of whom followed the habit of going the extra mile, but I have never been able to keep but one of those secretaries for more than a year, because invariably they promoted themselves into better paying jobs elsewhere and they did so with my full blessings. The one exception is my present chief secretary who has been with me for over

10 years. I married her to make sure I wouldn't lose her of course, there were other considerations too. The reason I know definitely that the habit of going the extra mile is a sound procedure is the fact that I have checked this principle as I did all of the other 16 success principles to make sure they were in harmony with natural laws. I can give you a fine example of how nature forces man to go the extra mile in order that he may produce the food with which to exist. The farmer, for example, must follow

the habit of clearing the ground, fencing it, plowing it and planting the seed at the right season of the year. All of which he must do in advance without compensation of any kind. If he does his part of the work properly he then hands the job over to nature, sits down and waits for her to do her part and within a brief period, nature, germinates the seed the farmer plants, matures it and yields back to him the seed he planted, plus perhaps an increase of a hundred times that amount to compensate him for having gone

the extra mile. Thus, we see that the law of increasing returns comes to the aid of the man who goes the extra mile. And this principle applies the same in rendering service in a job as it does in the views of a farmer. If the farmer did not follow the habit of going the extra mile, the human race would starve to death in one season. And I am sure you will agree that any time we can copy mother nature's habits we will not go wrong in doing so. You'll now have a possession of the third

principle of personal achievement which brings you three steps near the secret by which you may take possession of the master key to success. In order that you may test the magic power of this third principle, I'm going to offer you a suggestion which may bring you such overwhelming success that you will not need to attend further visits with me. My suggestion is this, first, start tomorrow in whatever occupation you are engaged to render some form of useful service to someone near you which you are not expected to render and for which you neither expect nor

ask for compensation. And two, render this service in a pleasing mental attitude which will show clearly that you enjoy doing it. And three, follow this practice seven days in succession and then notice what a changed atmosphere you will enjoy in your association with those nearest you. In carrying out these instructions, do not make known your plan to anyone, but go ahead and do it in the most natural way possible. By the end of the seventh day, you will find yourself so much happier and so much better liked by those around you that you will never

desire to give up the habit. Then you will be within easy reach of the supreme secret of success, which comes with the master key to success. In my fourth visit with you, I will give you a very definite clue as to the means by which you may appropriate and use the great master key. And in this same clue, I will introduce you to the source of a form of power which does not recognize the word impossible and helps you to transmute all failures and defeats and all adversities into assets of great benefit to you. And

now until our next visit, may I remind you that if you believe it, you can do it. We come now to the fourth success principles where I shall introduce you to your greatest asset and where this introduction, the master key to success will be within your easy reach. I say this is your greatest asset with which you may tap and draw upon the supreme power which created you and runs this entire universe. The name of this principle is applied faith and I want you to remember it as not something I am bringing to you, but

it is something you already possess although you may not have made use of it in the past. Now, let me tell you what applied faith is and what you can do with it. Applied faith is the mental attitude where in it you may clear your mind of all fears and doubts and direct it to the attainment of whatever you desire in life. In our first visit, I told them and do that you and I, and every person we're blessed with the privilege of complete control over but one thing, and that is the exclusive right to

take possession of our own minds and direct them to the attainment of whatever we desire in life. Applied faith is a mental attitude we must cultivate and maintain before we can take complete possession of our minds. It is the means by which we may break the seal of that envelope I mentioned in our first visit and take full possession of the six forms of riches we get in return for taking possession of our minds and using them. Those six riches were, as you may remember, sound health, peace of mind, a labor of love of your

own choice, freedom from fear and worry, a positive mental attitude and material riches of your own choice and quantity. We are now this very moment standing in front of the gateway, which can be opened only with the great master key to success. And I'm giving you the closest clue I have yet to mention as to how you may take possession of this key. In order that you make condition your mind to embrace and use applied faith, you must understand that there are two ways in which you can use faith. You can put it into reverse

gear and use it in a negative way by allowing your mind as well upon the circumstances and the things you do not want such as poverty, ill health, failure, defeat and this is precisely what the majority of people do which explains why the majority of people go through life in misery and want. Or, you can take possession of your mind and direct it to think of the six riches which came over with you in that sealed envelope. And you will attract these riches to bless and serve you all through your life. Isn't it a strange

fact that most people make a negative application of their great power of faith by thinking about and believing in poverty, ill health, fear, failure and defeat when it would be so easy for them just to change their thinking over to these circumstances and things they desire. Now, let me give you a description of the one thing which represents the main difference between a successful person and a failure. Please listen carefully and think for yourself as I speak because failure to recognize the truth I am about to give you is the starting point of most failures.

Successful people in all occupations, all professions and all callings have one trait which distinguishes them from the failures. It is their capacity for belief. The failures sees a hole in the donut but do not see the donut around the hole. The successes see the hole also, but they see the donut around the hole. Thomas A. Edison believed that he could perfect an incandescent electric lamp and despite the fact that he failed over 10,000 times before he was crowned with success, he made his belief uncover the secret for which he was searching. I'll give one guess

as to how many times the average person must fail before he quits. Fails because of the lack of capacity for belief. How many times can you meet with defeat before you give up the goals and quit. Henry Ford believed he could build a self propelled vehicle which would take the place of the horse and buggy. And despite the ridicule of relatives and neighbors and the lack of finances, he transmitted his belief into an industrial empire which changed the entire American way of life. Mind you, Ford did this with very little education and no operating capital

to begin with. Right here, let me ask you a question which may well change your entire life. You perhaps have an idea or a plan which would be useful to other people but you have done nothing about it because you lack the self-confidence to give you a start. In other words, you are now where Henry Ford was before he built the first model of he is world famous automobile. Mr. Ford broke through that wall of fear which may now be holding you back and put his idea into operation by making use of the master mind

principle I mentioned in our second visit through an alliance with his wife. Now, the question I wish to ask you is this, why don't you form a master mind alliance with someone and begin putting your ideas to them for you. Believe is truly a magic word because it is the beginning of all successes. It is the very foundation of civilization. It is the one quality you must develop before you can make use of the great master key to success. To be successful, you must become a person with a great capacity for our beliefs and the

place to start believing is with yourself. You should begin by recognizing that you were born with the privilege of control over your own mind. You should also recognize that by the application of the master key to success, which I am passing on to you through these visits you can take full possession of your mind and make it yield you whatever you demand in life. Observe I use the word demand, not beg. The creator never intended for you to beg for anything. If he had, he would not have blessed you with full control over your own

mind. If your life is not what you want it to be, you can change it. As a matter of fact, you can do anything within reason that you desire to do if you embrace the principle of applied faith and keep it directed to the attainment of the things you want and all the things you do not want. I should know what I'm talking about because I was handicapped at birth by the four horsemen which keep most people in bondage all the days of their lives, poverty, fear, illiteracy and a superstition. Theoretically, I had not the

slightest foundation for hope that I could ever escape the influences of these four curses, but I did escape and now I am devoting my entire life to helping other people to gain deliverance from these four basic enemies of mankind. I have discovered the master key which gives one deliverance from all the evils one does not want and opens wide the gateway to the riches which the creator intended every person to enjoy on this earth. Applied faith is the only means by which the master key can be appropriated and used, therefore, I give you these instructions

through which you may create a mental attitude which is favorable for all the expressions of faith. One, know what you want and believe that you can and will get it. Two, give expressions of gratitude many at times daily for having received that what you want even before you actually get physical possession of. Possession starts first in the mind but please remember this. Third, keep your mind open for hunches from within. And when you are inspired to action, do not wait but move on your own personal initiative at once. Remember, there can be no application of

applied faith without action. Fourth, when overtaken by defeat as you may be many times, remember that man's faith is tested many times before he is crowned with final victory and accept your defeat as nothing more than a challenge to keep on trying. And five, a burning desire for the things or circumstances you want is the starting point of all applied faith. Be definite, believe and act and keep on acting if at first you meet with a defeat. Six, when doubt creeps into your mind remember that whatsoever a man believeths that shall he also reap. Remember,

faith is not something you get faith is something you already have, but you may be using it in reverse gear by believing in the circumstances and things you do not want, the things you fear. Remember also that faith is guidance only it is not a power which will bring you what you want but a power that can guide you to go after what you want and get it. Remember too, that your faith is limited only by your own capacity to believe. You can do whatever you make up your mind to do. I believed that I

could give the world a practical philosophy of success which would free men and women from their fears and limitations. I stood firmly back of that belief through 20 odd years of effort and this all my beliefs give freedom to millions of people. Do the things that and you shall have the power. May I paraphrase this great truth by saying believe and you shall receive. And now until our next two visit, will you please remember that your life is exactly what you make it by your own mental attitude. For our fifth visit, our subject is a

pleasing personality. Your personality determines whether people are attracted to you or shy away from you. It is the show window in which you display your character to the world and it is the one thing which distinguishes you from all other human beings. It is your trademark by which people recognize you. And it is the thing which determines your success or failure in selling yourself through life. Therefore, you should see your personality just as others see it. So you may improve it to where it needs improvement. Your personality consists of more than 30 different factors, traits

and characteristics. Because of the limit of time I can devote to this visit with you, I can mention all of the more important of your traits of personality, but before I begin to describe these traits, I want you to know that every trait which goes into your personality is under your control and you can improve it so it will be whatever you want it to be. Let us start with the most important trait of your personality, your mental attitude. This is a trait with which you attract people to you and cause them to like you

are repel them and cause them to dislike you. Your mental attitude must be positive if you attract people to you. How do other people know whether your mental attitude is positive or negative you may ask. Well, the answer is easy. First of all, other people tune in and pick up your mental attitude by telepathy without your saying a word or making a move. But there are other ways they can tell whether your mental attitude is negative or positive. You disclose this information by the tone of your voice whether it is pleasant or harsh, by the

expression on your face whether it is soft and pleasing or harsh and scowling, by the courtesy and consideration you show other people or the lack of these. So you see, there is no escape from revealing to others the exact nature of your personality. The next most important trait of your personality consists of your flexibility of your mental attitude or your lack of it. If you have flexibility, you adjust yourself to all the circumstances in your relations with others without losing your composure or allowing yourself to become irritable or angry. Just remember, if you have flexibility

of your mental attitude, it will be impossible for anyone to make you angry or to irritate you without your consent or cooperation. Now this is worth knowing isn't it? You cannot control the actions of other people which might justify you in becoming irritated by them but you can control your reaction to all such circumstances by exercising your trait of flexibility. And you will observe that all people in the higher brackets of success have this flexibility and they do control their reaction to the influences of other people. The third most important trait of a pleasing personality

is the ability to control and direct your emotion of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is one of the means by which you can give forcefulness to your words but you must be able to turn it on and off at will as definitely, as you can turn on and off water at the spigot. Uncontrolled enthusiasm often makes people boresome. It also may open wide the window to one's mind through which other people may enter and influence one in ways he does not wish to be influenced. The fourth most important trait of a pleasing personality is a sincerity of purpose.

The person who is not sincere in all relationships with others is soon detected and rejected because no one is attracted to the person who does endeavors to deceive others. Sincerity is one quality of guarantee which cannot be successful faked not even by the most astute rascal or the most efficient actor because insincere to evermore carries with it some warning sign which other people recognize. You have only to go back into your own experience with insincere people to prove the truth of what I have stated. There are 26 other important traits which give one a pleasing

personality but I do not have time to give them to you in this visit. Now let us turn our attention to some of the common habits which destroy your pleasing personality. Please check yourself as I describe these negative habits and you may make discoveries about yourself sufficient to enable you to rebuild your entire personality so it will become a master salesman in your behalf. One, one of the most destructive habits which make one's personality objectionable is that of breaking in and running away with the conversation when others are speaking. And two, sarcasm expressed by insinuations

and wisecracks which are not so wise is near the head of the list of habits which give one a negative personality. And third, vanity expressed by either words or actions is sure to make one unpopular. And four, in difference in listening while others are speaking is sure to be noticed and resented. It is more profitable to be a good listener than it is to be a good talker because one is always apt to learn something while listening to others but never learns anything from hearing himself talk. Five, the attempt flatter where a flattery is obviously

not deserved will bring quick resentment from others. Also, it will put them on notice if they are wise that they flattler wants something he perhaps should not get. And six, the habit of finding fault with the world at large and the people in general is never a popular habit. And it is no part of a pleasing personality. It is far better to direct conversation through the circumstances and things which are right than to complain of those, which one believes to be wrong. And seven, one of the very worst habits which destroy a pleasing personality is

that a open land directly challenging those with whom one may not agree where there is no obvious reason for doing so, except they desire to be on the opposite side. And eight, the habit of volunteering unsolicited advice to others who have not requested it can make one on intolerable bore. Free advice usually is considered to be worth just what it costs which is nothing but the patience with which to listen to it. And nine, the habit of speaking of one's physical ailments, worries and personal problems may be tolerated by others but this habit will never

make one welcome or pleasing. If you wish to make yourself welcome in your relations with others, managed to talk about things which interest and concern those to whom you are speaking. You will never be boresome to person to whom you are speaking of himself and the things which interested him, a truth which all master salesman understand and respect. And 10, the habit of endeavoring to convey an impression of superiority through the use of words and topics unfamiliar to others is a surefire destroyer of popularity. If you wish to sell yourself to others successfully you must

negotiate with them on their own level, through terms, which they understand. And 11, envy of those who are successful is a trait which destroys a pleasing personality. The truly great men and women have all been known to be generous, sympathetic and joyous in connection with the good fortunes of others. And 12, slovenliness in body posture and in clothing never attracts but always repels others. Clothes make not the man as has been said but they surely gave him might a good start if they are appropriate and properly worn. Carelessness in body carriage on posture is immediately

traceable to a negative mental attitude. If you are free from these 12 common habits which make one on popular, you probably have a very pleasing personality. There are five other negative habits which make one unpopular which I have not had the time to mention. Remember this please, if you are not liked by other people you may be sure there is a reason which you can detect and correct. It is unnatural for one person to dislike another without a cause. Before you can make full use of the master key to success, you will need to make

your personality pleasing. This will require courage on your part and honesty with yourself. A pleasing personality stands near the hit of the list of assets, which make one truly rich. I was impressed with this truth many years ago when I heard Andrew Carnegie say that he paid his right hand master mind ally Charles M. Schwab, $75,000 a year for the services he rendered directly. But he often gave Mr. Schwab the bonus at the end of the year of a million dollars for the influence he exerted on his associate workers because of his pleasing personality. You

see therefore, Andrew Carnegie who has been said to have been the greatest judge of man this nation has ever known, placed a value on a pleasing personality, more than 10 times as much as he valued the personal services of his right hand man. Perhaps this will give you a clue that may help you up the market value of your personality. And now, until we meet again, may I wish you health, wealth and peace of mind. This visit brings us to the sixth principle of success without which the five principles I have given you previously would

be useless. It is the of self discipline. Self discipline as I am presenting it to you here has reference not only to your mastery of negative habits, which stand in the way of your success, but more particularly to your development and enforcement of the positive habits you will need in order to avail yourself of the six assets you brought over with you in that sealed envelope I mentioned in our first visit. Now, let me give you a list of the more important things over which you will have to exercise self-discipline before you can embrace and

use the great master key to riches. One, you will have to gain mastery over your tongue by acquiring the habit of thinking first, and then speaking after you are sure that's what you say will benefit you and not injure others. A lose tongue often as one's greatest liability. Two, you will have to exercise self discipline and mastering the common tendency to strike back at those at whom you have a cause real or imaginary for a grievance. You must remember that everything you'll do to or for another you do to or for yourself because your every

thought and every act which benefits are injures another person comes back to you in kind, greatly multiplied. So if you feel that you must slander another person, do not speak it, but write it. Write it in the sense near the water's edge then move away from it until the tides have flown. Three, you will have to exercise self discipline over all of your emotions, particularly your emotions of love, hate, fear, and sex. These are the big four of your emotions, and they can make you or break you according to the extent of discipline you exercise

over them. Four, your mental attitude need is discipline and control at all times. Lacking this discipline, it can, and it often does drive away friends, destroy opportunities to get ahead, brings on physical and mental illness, develops stomach ulcers and makes peace of mind impossible. Five, I have reserved the emotion of sex for special mention because the failure to exercise self-discipline over this emotion probably heads the list of all the causes of personal failure. The emotion of sex is the most powerful of all emotions. And it is nature's great creative instrument with which all species of

living things are perpetuated. The proper means of self-discipline of the emotion of sex is transmutation, the control and direction of this great emotional feeling toward the attainment of worthy purposes such as the fulfillment of one's major in life. The great leaders, artists, writers, industrialists and professional people have learned the art of sex transmutation through the proper system of self-discipline because of the delicacy of the subject of sex emotion, I am limited as to the information I can give you about it on this visit, but I have covered the subject to much more in detail in

some of my books. And six, your stomach also needs discipline through the proper habits of dieting and fasting because information on dieting and fasting should come from your own doctor. I will not go into details concerning them except to call your attention to the need for knowledge on this subject. Personally, I attribute my sound physical health mainly through the habits of dieting and fasting which I have developed through the years. And seven, you will need to exercise self-discipline in relation to religion and politics because our country, which is the most acceptable form of society civilization

has yet produced is made up of people of varying beliefs in connection with both of these subjects. To be happy and prosperous in our country, we must learn to live and to let live to give others the privileges we ask and demand for ourselves. And this often calls for strict discipline over self. Eight, but I have reserved until the last, my reference to the most important circumstances over which you must exercise the strictest of self discipline if you are to embrace and use the great master key to riches. I have reference to your profound privilege

of taking possession of your own mind and directing it to whatever ends you may desire. You cannot take possession of your own mind or directed to delve ends without a practical system. I have devoted the better portion of my past life to the revelation and presentation of such a system. And I know that this system works because it has been successfully used by many millions of people throughout the world. This system is not only practical and workable, but it is so simple that anyone who is ready for it may master it and use it successfully.

It's used, does not call for a genius nor a great amount of formal education. It calls only for the will to take possession of one's own mind and the definite purpose to which the mind is to be directed. Self disciplined by Thomas A. Edison made him the world's greatest inventor who revealed to mankind during the first half of the 20th century more of nature secrets than had been uncovered during the entire previous history of civilization. Self discipline carried Wilbur and Orville Wright through a multitude of failures and enable them finally to give the world its

first practical airplane, an achievement which has made the world smaller and change the entire trend of civilization. Self-discipline helped Helen Keller to triumph over deafness, blindness and dumbness. A combination of affliction such as most people never experience. Self-discipline helped me to carry on through years of heart-aching, discouragement and defeat and give the world the first practical philosophy of success based on the knowhow gained by hundreds of men and women who spent a lifetime by the trial and error method in discovery of the principles which lead to personal success. Self-discipline is among the top ranking features

of all the great religions including of course, the Christian faith. And there are some people who believe that our major purpose on earth is that of developing wisdom through struggle and the self-discipline. One thing is certain, no one ever becomes very wise without the aid of self-discipline and no one ever finds peace of mind and happiness without the strict exercise of self-discipline. Self-discipline is the only means of transmuting sorrow into faith. It is the only means by which we may transmute hatred of others into the milder emotion of sympathy for them. It is the only

means by which we may reveal and profit by the seed of an equivalent benefit which comes with every adversity and every defeat. It is the only means by which we may shut out of our minds the deadly effects of past experiences of suffering and unpleasantness. And it is the means by which we may discover that other self we carry around with us, that self, which has great capacity for our belief, and that does not become influenced by failure and defeat. Self-disciplined can give us freedom from the fear of death, the most difficult to master up

all of our fears. It can free us from the disease of hypochondria, the fear of imaginary illness with which so many people suffer and sometimes die. Self-discipline is the means by which we may think our own thoughts, live our own lives as we wish to live them and remain forever free from the evils or fears and limitations which we have inherited from the dark ages before the dawn of civilization. The creator never gives one an asset or a benefit without passing along with it the means by which it may be embraced and used. Self-discipline therefore,

is the means by which the creator provided us with a method of embracing and using the only thing over which we have unchallengeable control, the power of our own thoughts. And to now, until our next visit may I remind you that the habit of taking the line of least resistance makes all rivers and some men crooked. Well, this brings us to the seventh visit and I hope to hand you the master key to success before I finish, because my subject will lead to so near to the master key that you will be apt to recognize

it. As I have suggested in previous visits, a positive mental attitude can clear away all obstacles which stand between you and your major purpose in life. Because of the importance of the subject of our visit, I shall not only tell you that a positive mental attitude heads the entire list of the 12 great riches in life but I am going to give you explicit instructions as to what you must do to keep your mind positive. In all of the success books I have written I have never suggested to my readers what they should do without

clearly telling them how to do it. Are you ready? If you are already this visit may bring the most important change in your life you have ever experienced. One, learn to adjust yourself to other people's state of mind and difficulties so as to get along peacefully with them and to refrain from taking notice of trivial circumstances in your relations with other people by refusing to allow them to become controversial incidents. Great people always avoid small incidents of controversy when possible. Two, establish for yourself a definite fixed system of conditioning your mind at the beginning of

each day. So you will keep it positive under all circumstances. Three, learn the art of selling yourself to other people by indirection, such as asking leading questions which will bring out the sort of reactions from others which you desire and do not permit yourself to be drawn into argument over unimportant subjects. Four, adopt the habit of having a good heart and laugh every time you become irritated or angry and it will help you if you begin each day with one minute of hardy laughing. This will change the chemistry of your brain and start you out

with a positive mental attitude. However, you had better get out of sight when you would take your laughing exercise. Five, start each day with an expression of gratitude for all the adversities, defeats, failures you have experienced in the past and the search for the seed of an equivalent benefit these have yielded you through the passing of time. Then give thanks for the blessings you expect to receive during the day. Six, learn to concentrate your attention on the can-do portion of all of your problems and desires and start action where you stand in carrying out this

portion. No matter what may be your problem or your desire there is always something you can do right now that will help you. Find out what this something is and do it. Seven, learn to transmute all unpleasant circumstances into immediate action which calls for a positive mental attitude and make this a fixed habit. For example, when you are angry, switch your mind to some sort of action in connection with your hobby or your major purpose in life. And keep it busy with that subject for five minutes. Eight, recognize that every circumstance which influences your life,

whether it is a pleasant or unpleasant circumstance is grist for your mill of life. And if so use it to make it to make it pay you dividends in one form or another remembering meanwhile that's your strength draws out of your struggles. Follow this instruction, as you will soon learn that there is no such thing as an unprofitable experience. Nine, look upon your life as a continuous process of education of learning from all your experiences, good and bad. And to be always on the alert for gains of wisdom which come to you a little at

a time in both your pleasant and unpleasant experiences. 10, make the world over to fit your own pattern if you choose, but begin with yourself in some sort of self-improvement which will make you more open-minded and patient and generous in your relations with others. 11, express gratitude twice daily for your recognition of the fact that you have been given complete control over your own mind and ask for guidance in order that you may use this profound gift wisely in all your thoughts and acts. 12, go out of your way daily to comment enthusiastically on the

good qualities of those with whom you live and work but do not mention their negative qualities, then, observe those benefit to yourself how quickly others will begin to concentrate on your good qualities. Remember, I'm still talking about how to keep your mind positive. And 13, accept all criticism of yourself as an occasion for self examination, to determine how much of it is justified and you will be sure to mix startling discoveries about yourself, which will help you to the remainder of your life. 14, do not except from life or anyone else anything you do not

desire. And remember that Mahatma Gandhi proved himself to be more powerful than the great British military forces by this a simple method of passive resistance. 15, remember always that there are two kinds of circumstances which cause you to worry, those you can do something about and those you can do nothing about. Nothing that is except to use passive resistance and refuse to permit them to worry you. 16, keep your mind eternally engaged in thinking of that which you desire most, your major purpose in life. So no time will be left for you to waste on

thinking of that which you do not want. And let me digress your, while I tell you we are not rubbing elbows with the great master key of success this very moment. And 17, if you should ever be so unfortunate as to feel sorry for yourself, look around until you find someone who is worse off than yourself and start where you stand to give him help. Make this procedure a habit and you have witnessed one of the great miracles of life because that which you do two are for another you do to or for yourself. And

18, choose some person whom you consider to be the sort of person you would like to be. Then go to work and emulate that person in every way possible. Great people have always been hero worshipers but they picked the right sort of people to emulate. 19, cultivate your tone of voice so that your words have a pleasing musical sound. And remember that the sound of your voice is an open window through which other people look into your very soul. It will be a profitable investment if you will get a tape recording machine and record samples

of your voice daily while you practice the art of expressing yourself through a friendly sounding voice. If you are engaged in selling this practice will quickly be off in monetary dividends. 20, last but by no means the least, write out this sentence and paste it in a prominent place where you work and on a mirror where you see yourself in your home. Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. The 20 instructions I have just given you I've come from my own personal experiences over more than 40 years. And they represent also,

my observations are more than 500 successful people who helped me to organize the science of success philosophy. I claim no copyright on these great truths and I want you to possess them because I know they can bless you the remainder of your life if you are ready to accept them and put them into action. Remember also that you are the only person who can provide you with a positive mental attitude. What are you going to do about it? On your answer to this question, rest your entire future. Our eighth visit brings us to the subject

of enthusiasm which may be liken to steam in a boiler which one it is controlled and turned on starts the wheels of machinery into action. Someone has said that knowledge is power. That is only a half-truth, for knowledge becomes power only when it is put into action for the attainment of a definite objective. Enthusiasm is one of the more powerful means by which we may put into action our education, experience and knowledge. Spoken words without enthusiasm are often ineffective and sometimes they can be actually boresome. As you of course know, if you have noticed the

effect a speaker without enthusiasm has on his listeners. I have known lecturers to hold audiences spellbound for two hours yet when members of the audience were asked to the speaker had said they could not remember, but what they did remember was that the speaker got their attention and held it. And now let me explain why enthusiasm has such a powerful impact upon the minds of those who come under its influence. To begin with, I believe you'll will be interested in knowing that your brain and every other person's brain is both a broadcasting station and the

receiving station which sends out thought vibrations and picks up those sent out by other people. When you turn on your enthusiasm, you step up the vibrations of thoughts which go out from your brain so that they reach out and affect other people more quickly. As a matter of fact, you can send out thoughts which have been so stepped up with silent enthusiasm, that they will reach out and influence other people to whom you direct your thoughts. This is a fact which has been known to psychologists for ages, and it is also known to most master

salesman who used this method to condition the minds of their prospects and buyers before they ever talk with them. You must have observed that the enthusiasm is very contagious. That it engages the attention of those who come under its influence and that causes them to respond in a similar spirit of enthusiasm. I once heard Andrew Carnegie say that if you turn loose one man who thought in terms of intense enthusiasm in an industrial plant employing thousands of people, this man's enthusiasm would very quickly reach and influence every person in the plant. And he said that

it made not the slightest difference whether the enthusiasm was negative or positive, constructive or destructive. Then Mr. Carnegie went on to explain that in his selection of employees for promotion to bigger jobs the first thing he looked for was a man's capacity to express himself in terms of intense enthusiasm. He said that enthusiasm is one of the most important traits necessary for leadership. The most successful lawyers are not necessarily those who know most about the legal profession but they are those who know how to influence courts and juries with their belief in their cases and

have a great capacity for expressing themselves with enthusiasm. When you are introduced to another person you have a marvelous opportunity to sell yourself favorably to that person. By the extent of the enthusiasm you express in accepting the introduction. When you shake hands with another person you have also a fine opportunity to make a favorable impression by the warmth of enthusiasm you put into that handshake. If there is anything which leaves me flattened and unfavorably impressed when I'm introduced it's an extended hand which feels like a piece of cold ham and that acknowledges the introduction with

a cold canned, pleased to meet you with no signs of enthusiasm back of it. Right here let me give you a brief course in salesmanship which may be a value to you the remainder of your life. When you meet anyone on whom you wish to make a favorable impression when it is you have not previously met or someone with whom you are already acquainted, do these things. One, turn on your enthusiasm and so modulate your voice with it that you definitely me make the other person feel you are happy to communicate with him. Two, when

you shake his hand, take a firm grip on it and give it a quick firm squeeze at the end of each word you express in your greetings. For example, say, how do you do? I am so very glad to meet you. Do not gross the hand however, as I have known some people to do. Three, then if you begin and the conversation be sure that you direct it to some subject of interest to the other person. And four, follow through by eagerly asking questions which will keep attention focused upon the other person. Then when you

are ready to have the other person hear what you have to say about yourself or your interests or your business, he will have been prepared to listen attentively. For many years, I taught master salesmanship. And the first important thing I endeavored to teach my students was the importance of a one, speaking with enthusiasm and two, selling the prospective buyer himself before trying to sell him anything else. I have often told my students of salesmanship that the best possible way for one to sell himself to others is to first sell the others to themselves. That counsel

was sound when I began training salesman over 30 years ago and it is still sound. When I was a youngster in school I discovered that the teachers from whom I learned the most were those who expressed the greatest enthusiasm in their teaching. And I have heard an experienced doctor say that the enthusiasm he carries into the sick room with him has more to do with helping to bring about a cure than all the medicine he can prescribe. And now, let me give you another interesting sidelight on the effects of enthusiasm. I have noticed that enthusiasm

not only influences others who come under its effect but it also very distinctly influences and it benefits those who follow the habit of expressing it in their thoughts and deeds. Enthusiasm is an expression of a positive mental attitude and it has long been known to doctors that a positive mental attitude stands high on the list of influences which give one sound health. I have heard it said, for example, that only one thing causes stomach ulcers and that is worry or a negative mental attitude. And only one thing can cure stomach ulcers and that is a

positive mental attitude. It seems that disease germs cannot live and thrive in the bloodstream of one whose mind is always positive. I have still another very important observation concerning the power of enthusiasm which I wish to give you. I have observed that prayer is expressed with intense enthusiasm bringing much quicker and more satisfactory results. Now, you can try this for yourself and be convinced. I began experimenting with this idea many years ago, and from my experiences, I gathered the information which caused me to change my method up prior entirely. I now use the prayer I

recommended to you on previous visits with the gratifying results that I get quicker and more favorable action from my priors than I did when I express them in a spirit which lacked enthusiasm. I suggest that a very practical way to begin learning to express yourself with enthusiasm will be the father of the habit of reading a lot for 10 minutes daily, putting all the enthusiasm at your command into your reading. You will be surprised in a short while at how much this will help you in speaking with enthusiasm in your ordinary conversations. I would suggest

also that you adopt the habit of practicing enthusiasm in your conversations with your family on your business associates. Incidentally, this habit will make you more popular with those who are close to you. You can enjoy the benefits of enthusiasm if you are interested enough to develop a technique by which do acquire this habit. So you will follow it in a natural unaffected tone of voice. If you follow my suggestion that you read for 10 minutes daily as a means of acquiring the habit of enthusiasm, I recommend that you write down a list of 10 subjects,

things or circumstances in which you have the keenest interests and use this list for your practice purposes. You will have no difficulty in reading in a tone of enthusiasm in connection with the things that you like best. And finally, if you have it not already picked up some useful ideas as to how the habit of enthusiasm can be developed or what causes one to be enthusiastic, let me give you an example of which may provide you with an interesting cue. You'll perhaps remember when you were courting the person of your choice or being courted as

the case may be you need to know what to tell you how or why to be enthusiastic. Of course not because the motive of love or affection to care of this without effort on your part. Just remember that enthusiasm is always easily expressed when one is inspired by a burning desire for something or an emotive associated with one's closest interests. Where there is no motive, there is apt to be no enthusiasm. Remember also that the three basic motives which has been said practically rule the world are one, the emotion of love, two, the emotion of

sex, three, the desire for financial gain. A combination of all three of these motives, it has been claimed, can convert a mediocre person into a genius. And I leave the thought with you for consideration. And now until our next visit, I ask that you try the habit of moving with enthusiasm in all of your daily work and see how much better you will be. We come now to the ninth visit where we shall analyze the ninth principle of success which is personal initiative. Personal initiative is the dynamo which starts the faculty of imagination into action.

In the process of translating one's definite major purpose into its physical or financial equivalent. If you aim for success above mediocrity, you will need to learn to act on your own personal initiative because your success is something which you must achieve for yourself without someone telling you what to do or how to do it. Incidentally, Cyrus H. K. Curtis, the former owner of the Saturday Evening Post and one of my collaborators in organizing the science of success philosophy was responsible for a motto on personal initiative of such great importance that I want you to have

it. Said he, "There are two kinds of men who never amount to much, those who cannot do as they are told and those who can do nothing else." Of course, Mr. Curtis's implication is very clear. He implied that those who amount to something worthwhile in life are those who move on their own personal initiative without being told what to do or why they should do it. The men who stand out in the minds of the public as the greatest successes from the days of George Washington onto the present are those who chores their own occupation,

business or profession, and moved on their own personal initiative in achieving their purpose. And those who are getting ahead most rapidly today no matter in what position they began are those who promote themselves to a higher place in life by acting on their own personal initiative. The habit of personal initiative not only inspires one to move on his own responsibility but it also influences him to carry it through until he completes that which he undertakes in a manner of pleasing to all concerned because he knows that a winner never quits and a quitter never wins.

And right here is an appropriate place to say something I perhaps should have said before, namely, that a big success is made up of a great number of little circumstances each of which is so small and seemingly insignificant that most people pass it by as not worthy of notice. Some may think for example that the habit of personal initiative is it unimportant but we have only to take a look at the record of some of our greatest successes to recognize that personal initiative was an important factor without which they never would have achieved success. For

example, no one told F.W. Woolworth to start a five and 10 cent store. The idea was his own. He acted on his own personal initiative in putting his ideas to action and to live to see it yield him a fortune well above $100 million. My distinguished business associate W. Clement Stone started his insurance business on his own personal initiative with an operating capital of only a 100 dollars but he followed through on that same personal initiative and made his humble beginning yield an annual gross income of many millions of dollars and it was that same

habit of acting on his own personal initiative of doing the thing he wanted to do which inspired Mr. Stone to join forces with me in taking the science of success philosophy to millions of people throughout the world and undertaking, which it is believed may help more people to find their places in the world than as any other influence during the past hundred years. The habit of personal initiative was the chief trait which helped Henry J. Kaiser to build a great industrial empire and raise himself to a higher position in the industrial world. It was this

trait of personal initiative which inspired Mr. Kaiser to pile up such an enormous record in the building of ships during World War II despite the fact that he had never built ships before. One day when I was lecturing to one of my classes I mentioned Henry J. Kaiser's wonderful record in building ships more cheaply and quickly than experienced ship builders had been able to do when one of my students spoke up and said Mr. Kaiser has having been a friend of Jesse Jones of the federal reserve bank did not hurt his chances of success in

it, did it? Well for a moment it looked as if that question had placed me on a spot but I soon recovered my composure and came back with this reply. No, in knowing Mr. Jones did not hurt his chances, but think of the thousands of industrialists many of whom may also have known Mr. Jones but did not use their personal initiative in getting his financial help. Personal initiative is one quality which inspires one to form friendships and to make contact with people who can be an aid to them in times of need. It was my

personal initiative which influenced Andrew Carnegie to give me an opportunity to organize the science of success philosophy. I now wish to give you an outline of the more important attributes of the person who has sufficient personal initiative to give him leadership in his chosen occupation. One, first of all, the person who follows the habit of personal initiative has a definite major purpose in life and a plan for entertainment. Two, and a master mind alliance with those whose help is essential in achieving his major purpose. Three, he has the necessary resistance and the will to win

to carry him along when the going is hard and he meets with obstacles. Four, he makes decisions promptly when he has the necessary facts on which to base them and changes them slowly if at all. Five, he follows the habit of doing more than he is paid for and he does so in a pleasing positive mental attitude. Six, he accepts full responsibility for everything he undertakes and never passes the book when things go wrong. Seven, he can take friendly criticism without resentment because he has learned to profit by it. Eight, he knows what the nine

basic motives are which inspire all human endeavors and never requests anyone to do anything for him without giving that person an adequate motive for doing so. Nine, he never expresses an opinion about anything unless he has thought the subject through and is prepared to state how he came by his opinion. 10, he follows the habit of listening much and talking only when he had something to say which may benefit himself or others. 11, he has a well developed sense of observation of small details and knows his job from the smallest detail to the greatest. 12,

he never tells anyone to do anything without suggesting why it should be done and how it may be done best. 13, he follows the habit of concentrating his full attention on one thing at a time. 14, his mental attitude is positive at all times when he is in communication with other people. 15, if you ask him a question, he will give you a direct answer even if he has to tell you, he does not know correct answer. 16, last but perhaps most important of all, he never puts off on to the moral that which should

have been done last week because he knows that the habit of procrastination is near the top of the list of the causes of failure. If you can write okay on each of these 16 traits of personal initiative, you are a leader in your field of endeavor. When you come to examine yourself on the subject of personal initiative, just remember that your success or your failure depends very largely on the action you take in connection with your occupation. No one will tell you and what you should do no one will tell you what not to do.

The decision must be your own, and you must follow through and carry out your decision on your own personal initiative. If you work for wages or a salary you should decide to promote yourself through your own personal initiative to the top of the scale in your occupation. And remember that your promotion is entirely in your hands. In my previous visits, I have given you a blueprint of the steps you should take in promoting yourself to whatever station in life you desire. Now, let me give you a brief review of eight principles we have covered previously.

One, definite there's a purpose. By now you should know what you want most from life and you should have a plan for getting it. Here is the most important circumstance of your whole life or you must move on your own personal initiative because no one else can tell you what you should want most. Two, the master mind principle, if you have not already formed a friendly alliance with those who can help you in attaining your major purpose in life, you should move on your own personal initiative and form this alliance at once. Three, going the

extra mile. This is a must if your major purpose is anything above mediocrity. Four, applied faith. This is the principle which gives you power in carrying out your definite major purpose and all minor purposes. Five, a pleasing personality is an asset of priceless value. And it too is something you must acquire through your personal initiative. Six, self discipline. The sixth principle of success is also something you acquire through your personal initiative. Seven, a positive mental attitude, which is the most important of the 12 great riches of life is also the product of your own personal

initiative. Eight, enthusiasm is a state of mind which only you can generate through your personal initiative. You'll see therefore that personal initiative enters into every one of the success principles. And now until our next visit, may I remind you that there are two types of people who never amount to anything, those who will not do what they are told and those who will do nothing else. Our 10th visit brings us to one of the strangest of the 17 principles of success because it is the principle which makes it possible for you to convert into an

asset every adversity, every disappointment, every defeat and every failure you meet with from now on the remainder of your life. Yes, the principle of learning from adversity makes it possible for you to transmute all your past failures and mistakes into an asset which will help you achieve outstanding success in the future. At the very outset of this visit I wish to call your attention to an important fact which may give you immediate possession of the great master key to success, namely, that your positive mental attitude is the only means by which you may convert adversity,

defeats and the failures into assets. It seems to have been intended that everyone should experience adversities, defeats and even failures as a part of nature's method of disciplining people to learn how to take possession of their own minds. But they creator very wisely provided everyone with the means for converting these experiences into benefits of a priceless value. The means being our privilege of maintaining and directing a positive mental attitude. Despite the benefits which we may get from adversities and unpleasant experiences of every nature no one desires to meet with these experiences. If failure or defeat

is just as unpleasant to me now as it was 30 odd years ago, when I was learning about failures and unpleasant experiences in the great university of hard knocks yet I would be something less than fair with you if I had neglected to tell you that my greatest blessings came from my greatest adversities but these blessings never would have been recognized by me if I had not learned the truth, that every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit which is the very herb of this visit with you. Once you learn that adversities

can be made to pay dividends you will acquire the habit of looking for that seed of an equivalent benefit in each such experience with which you meet. Come with me now and I shall give you some examples which prove conclusively that failures, defeats, unpleasant experiences can be converted into stepping stones on which one may rise to great heights of personal achievement. My first illustration concerns the man of whom you may have heard and I have no doubt you have eaten some of the food which he produced and marketed throughout the nation as a result of

an adversity which would have stopped most men cold. The man was Milo C. Jones who owned a small farm near Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin on which he made only a fair living until he was stricken down with double paralysis which deprived him of every portion of his body except his brain. In this hour of his greatest adversity Milo C. Jones used his mind, took possession of it for the first time in his life, perhaps. And out of that mind came the idea of raising hogs and converting them into little pig sausage. And on that same farm

where a previous to that adversity he made only a mere living, he found the seed of an equivalent benefit that compensated him for the loss of the use of his body and lived to see a little big sausage yield him a huge fortune. Isn't it strange that so often people have to be cut down by failure and defeat before they learned that they have minds capable of mastering all of their problems. Isn't it strange why Milo C. Jones did not discover the little pig sausage idea while he had a sound body. My next illustration is

based on an adversity of a man who we all know because he was president of the United States and his name was Franklin D. Roosevelt who was stricken in the prime of his life with polio which destroyed the use of his legs. Instead of sitting on a street corner with a tin cup and some lead pencils as many another might have done under similar circumstances Franklin D. Roosevelt transmuted his affliction into a buildup of his self-reliance and lifted himself to the highest position available to mankind anywhere on this earth. Got that position and held it

until he passed on. Held it longer than had any previous president. Verily, I tell you what all the enthusiasm at my command that you may find in your adversities the necessary challenge to inspire you onto success, such as you never would have known without these experiences. I do not suggest that you look for adversities or expect to meet with them but if you do so, just remember not to fear them. And instead of brooding over them, as most people do, let me suggest that you be different and to convert them into stepping stones on which

you may rise to whatever place in life you have set for yourself. Three, my next illustration is based on you and all the adversities and failures you have ever experienced. I shall not go into details because I do not know the details of any such experiences you may have met with but this much I do know, I have brought to you in this visit the means by which you can convert all your past disappointments and all of your future adversities and failures into a seed of equivalent benefit. You can do this by the simple process

of appropriating and putting to your use the nine success principles I have given you previously. If you do not remember these nine principles, write to me and I will tell you how to get copies of them. Right here, may I remind you of the great importance of following the principle of a positive mental attitude because this is the principle you will need most in converting unpleasant into assets. Four, my next illustration involves a very intimate personal experience of my own which began when my mother passed on. I was eight years of age. I know that

the loss of one's mother at any age usually is regarded as an irreparable loss which offers no possible benefits. But even in the loss of loved ones we may find that there is a seed of an equivalent benefit. I found that seed in one of the most wonderful persons I have ever known, when my father brought home my new mother it was she who inspired me to prepare myself for the opportunity I was to receive later in life. When I met Andrew Carnegie and receive from him the commission to organize the world's first practical philosophy

of personal success. Had it not been for the loss of my mother, I would not not be having this visit with you and my books would not now be serving to help millions of people throughout the world to find their places in life. Just remember this about adversities. Nothing is ever so bad or so unpleasant that it may not yield some benefit if we keep a positive mental attitude toward the experience and make it a habit to look for that seed of an equivalent benefit. This of course involves the application of that important success principle,

personal initiative. Five, now I come to an illustration which involves our great American way of life and all the personal freedom and opportunities we enjoy under our way of life. And it begins with our defeat of the British in 1778 probably every British believe that the loss of the American colonies was an irreparable loss which offered no possible benefits yet you and I know that if we had not defeated the British and made ourselves rich and powerful, the British empire probably would have been wiped out in World Wars one or two. We know also that

although the British empire survived those two Wars, it was our financial help which saved the British from starvation and the bankruptcy. So today every Britisher should give thanks for the defeat of Lord Cornwallis armies because that defeats finally became the means of survival of the British empire. Six, my next illustration brings us face to face with an adversity which involves you and I and every other person now living. An adversity from which we have not as yet availed ourselves of that seed of an equivalent benefit which is to be found in all adversities. I have

referenced to the trend in this and all other countries to rob individuals of their rights of personal freedom, a trend which is in direct violation of the obvious purpose of the creator to give every individual the privilege of freedom of thought and action. There is something definitely you and I can do about this common trend to rob us of our rights of personal freedom. We cannot turn it back entirely by our individual efforts but we can and we should do something about it where it affects us individually and where are we know what we can

do and how we can do it. Of course you will ask, what can I do to influence a world trend? And I shall answer it by saying there is something definite that you can do. You can refuse to accept this common trend and take full possession of your own mind, thus fulfilling your personal responsibility to your creator. Remember, those two sealed envelops I mentioned in a previous visit. One of them is labeled riches you may enjoy by taking possession of your own mind. Very well, you have a responsibility to yourself, your loved ones, your creator,

to take possession of your own mind and to direct it to ends of your own choice. This responsibility is yours, and no one else can rob you of it or fulfill it for you. You also have a responsibility to your country which has given you our great American way of life. Our great system of free enterprise which is so designed as to provide one with every possible motive for taking possession of his own mind and writing his own ticket in life. We should remember that our benefits under the American way of life like every other

blessing we have been given at birth is something we can retain and enjoy only by making the fullest and best use of it. It is definitely a part of the overall plan of the universe to give man the benefit only of those blessings he recognizes, embraces and uses constructively. Tie your arm to your side and take it out of use and nature rebels immediately by causing the arm to atrophy, wither and become useless. Neglect to keep in contact with your friends and to cultivate them and you will lose them. Show indifference to the patrons from

whom you earn your living or the employer who pays your wages. And very soon you find yourself without a market for your services. It is an inevitable law of nature that you lose that which you do not use. And of course, this applies to the use of your own mind the same as to everything else. And we who so often boast that we are citizens of the richest, the greatest and the most powerful nation civilization has yet produced we'll do well to remember this law through which we lose that which we do not properly use.

In this visit, I have brought you what may be a surprise or even a shock by introducing this great principle of profiting by adversity. If you are ready for this principle, you will embrace it at once and never again as long as you live will you brood over unpleasant experiences without knowing full well that your efforts could be better employed by a searching for that seed of an equivalent benefit which is available in those experiences. Now, before I conclude this visit, I shall give you this assignment which if you carry it out sincerely may well

bring you a new birth of opportunity such as you never dreamed of experiencing. Go back into your past experiences, study each adversity and failure you may have experienced and look for that seed of an equivalent benefit you had not before discovered and you may find yourself richer than you believed yourself to be. And now, until our next visit, just remember nothing can be called failure until you accepted as such. We have now gone to our 11th visit where I shall present creative vision, the success principle which is responsible for the building of all of our

plans, aims and purposes. It has been said that the imagination is the workshop where in we fashioned the purposes of our brain and the ideas of our soul. I do not know of a better definition of imagination than this. There are two forms of imagination. First, there is synthetic imagination which consists of organizing and putting together of recognized ideas, concepts and facts arranged in a new combination. Very seldom does anyone create an idea or anything else absolutely new. Nearly everything known to civilization is but a combination of something that is old. Secondly, there is creative

imagination, which operates through the sixth sense and has its base in the subconscious section of the brain and serves as the exclusive medium through which basically new ideas or facts are revealed. Let me give you some examples of synthetic imagination in action. One, Edison's invention of the incandescent electric lamp was the creation of synthetic imagination because it was created by a bringing together in a new combination to old and well known principles. Two, Clarence Saunders, his idea on which he had the big English store system was based was the result of synthetic imagination because he

merely borrowed the self-help cafeteria plan and introduced it into the grocery store business. But, despite the simplicity of the plan it is said to have yielded its organizer $4 million during the first four years after it was put to work. Three, Henry Ford's first automobile was created through synthetic imagination by the simple procedure of bringing together the well-known method of transportation, the horse and buggy and the steam propelled thrashing machine. Both ideas were old, but it remained for Henry Ford to combine them in a new method of use. And he made himself the most distinguished

industrialist of his era by his achievement, not to mention a fabulous fortune. Four, the man who dipped a hunk of ice cream in chocolate placed a stick in it for a handle and called it Eskimo pie used synthetic imagination, and started a new industry which still has a widespread outlet on groceries and yielded him a huge some. Is it safe to assume that the creator of this simple plan of merchandising was well compensated for his use of his synthetic imagination. Five, F.W. Woolworth made use of synthetic imagination by the simple procedure of setting up a

retail store in which a large variety of merchandise retailing at five and 10 cents per item was offered to the public and lived to see his merchandising innovation started a series of similar retail stores which grows annually many millions of dollars in sales and made Woolworth rich in the bargain. Now, I shall give you some examples of creative imagination. One, Edison's invention of the phonograph was the outgrowth of creative imagination because no part of his invention had ever been known or used previously. Two, Senor Marconi his invention of wireless communication was also the outgrowth of

creative imagination because it was based on basically new ideas which never had been used previously. He was the first to discover the means by which the ether could be made to take the place of wires in the transmission of sound. Three, Madam Curie's discovery of radium was also the outgrowth of creative imagination, because no one before her had ever revealed either the actual existence of radium or the method by which it could be recovered or refined. Four, Wilbur and Orville Wright's perfection of the modern airplane was partly the result of creative imagination and partly the

result of synthetic imagination because others previous to their time I had discovered some of the ideas they used successfully but they were the first to coordinate those ideas so they worked. Five, Robert G. LeTourneau made effective use of creative imagination by building heavy dirt removing machinery, which involved ideas never before used although he was practically unskilled in engineering and had very little schooling of any kind. I worked with Mr. LeTourneau for a year and a half during which I saw him in action many times when he was drawing entirely upon the faculty of creative imagination

and receiving his ideas from sources outside of his own immediate education or knowledge. Now, let me give you a few suggestions as to how you may be able to make profitable use of your imagination keeping in mind that the faculty of your imagination like every other faculty of your mind becomes still through disuse and alert through use. One, create a system of merchandising which can be carried on by the operators of gasoline filling stations throughout the nation. And you may make your idea yield you more profit than Clarence Saunders made from his piggly wiggly store

plan. Perhaps the system would consist of items which could be dispensed by coin in the slot machines. Two, create a plan or system which will cause motorists to be as courteous and thoughtful of others on the highway as they are in their own homes. And you may cut down the outrageous death rate by automobile accidents and make yourself both popular and rich. Perhaps you might add to this idea, some plan of engineering by which public highways would be so operated as to force motorist to drive with greater care. And you might also create some practical

plan by which motorists of good reputation would be deputized as auxiliary traffic officers with two-way radios in their cars and authority to give tickets and to make arrest. Three, create a satisfactory substitute for cigarettes. And you may make yourself richer than you need to be. Four, give me an acceptable method for taking these principles of success to children of the graded school age and I will tell you how to make yourself rich both in money and in happiness which comes from contributions of service which benefit posterity by improving the youth. Give me a plan which

will arouse and alert people to recognize and make use of the potential of their own minds and I will give you a job for the remainder of your life that pay, which perhaps you never dreamed of getting. Six, bring me an acceptable storybook, slide it to the interest of children from six to 12 years of age based upon the 17 principles of the science of success. And I will ensure the publication and distribution of the book on a scale which will make you richer than you'll need to be. This idea probably can be best refined

through the mind of a woman who understands children loves them and can speak in terms that will get their attention. And right here in case you have not already recognized the fact I am bringing you very near the point where people sometimes tune in on their creative imagination and to come up with ideas which benefit great numbers of people and to make themselves popular and rich. I'm going to give you these suggestions solely as inspiration intended to introduce you to your faculty of creative imagination. All the good ideas have been used up, did I hear

you say? Quite to the contrary the best ideas are yet to be revealed and put into service of mankind. There are no more opportunities to become rich, did I hear you say? Listen, please, for I have an answer for this one the Napoleon Hill Associates are engaged in the business helping people with sound ideas to bring them forth and give them to the world in return for riches. If you have an idea you think is good, write me about it and I will give you my opinion of it. If you have a sound idea, which

you think will benefit those with whom or for whom you work, write me about it and I will tell you what to do with it. If you have discovered a better way of doing anything write me about it and I will offer you suggestions for are benefiting by your discovery. If you will give me an acceptable plan for influencing married people to adopt and use the master mind principle in their domestic relations, you may benefit many billions of people in homes where harmony does not now prevail and to make for yourself and reputation where the

other king's ransom. If you have a better idea or plan for the use of salesman in anything of selling, your idea may help millions of salesman to increase their incomes and bring you a reward worthy of the value of your idea. If you can create an idea which will help retail store owners to display their merchandise to better advantage so as to increase their sales, write me about your idea and if I believe it's sound, I will tell you what to do with it. I am still talking to you about exercising your faculty of imagination,

but I am limited as to the number of ideas I can give you in so short a time but I will give you some more useful ideas in my next visit. Imagination is a trait which becomes alert only by constant action based on the success principles I have described in these visits you are the one who must supply this action. The rules of accurate thinking are so clear and simple that I often wonder why so few people ever take time to learn the rules since accurate thinking is the very foundation of all successful achievements. In

this visit I shall give you a working description of the rules of accurate thinking which all successful people follow. First of all, accurate thinking is based on two simple fundamentals. They are called inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is used when the necessary facts on which to base your thinking are not available. In this case you act on hypotheses or what you assume the facts to be. Deductive reasoning is used when you have the facts or what appear to be the facts on which to base your thinking. The next step in accurate thinking is

to separate facts from fiction or hearsay evidence and determine whether you are dealing with hypotheses or real facts. When you are sure you have dependable facts on which to base your thinking, you take the second step by separating these facts into two classes. One is the important facts and the other is unimportant facts. When you do this, you may be surprised at the overwhelming lake greater number of unimportant facts you deal with daily than there are important facts. At this point, you're almost sure to want to ask the question, what is an important fact and

how can I distinguish it from an unimportant fact? And I shall give you the answer to this very important question by saying that any important fact is any fact which will aid you to any extent whatsoever in attaining the object of your major purpose in life and all other facts as far as you are concerned are unimportant and you should waste no time with them. After this visit is over, you can employ the next hour to a great benefit to yourself. If you will set down on paper a list of all the facts you deal

with yesterday separating them into two classes important and unimportant. As a matter of fact, you will make a profound discovery regarding accurate thinking if you follow the habit of daily taking inventory of all the facts that claimed your attention during the day putting them down on paper in two separate columns, one labeled important facts and the other labeled unimportant facts. Now, let us turn our attention to the subject of opinions and see to what extent loose on sound opinions are mistaken for accurate thinking. To start with, let us recognize the truth that most opinions are

without value because they are based on bias, prejudice, intolerance, guesswork, hearsay evidence and out and out ignorance. These are harsh words I'm using and they represent the source of most of the tragedies of life which people need with on necessarily. And I would say that of all the tragedies which cause misery and failure, none is more merciless or destructive than those which grow out of the indifference of people who make no attempt to learn how to think accurately. I shall never forget an experience I had with president Woodrow Wilson while I was working for him

during World War I. I asked the president what effect he believed World War I would have on civilization. And his reply was brief, but it was a masterpiece which you should remember as long as you live. "I cannot answer your question," said the president, "because I have no facts on which to base an opinion." If you will remember Woodrow Wilson's 15 word speech every time you were about to express an opinion about anything, the chances are that you will soon get out of the habit of expressing or even having opinions not based on something more

substantial than biases, prejudices, and emotional feelings, which often serve as fathers to facts. You will learn if you observe carefully that the more successful a person is, the less he is inclined to express wild unjustified opinions about anything. Also, you must have observed already that the drifters who are suffering with frustrations because they recognize they are failures usually have an assortment of opinions on about everything you can imagine. When I hear someone expressing a definite opinion about something of which I have definite reason to believe he knows little or nothing I think of an experience

I had when I stopped a quaker on the streets of Philadelphia and asked him the time of day. He took out his watch, examined it carefully and then in a slow emphatic tone of voice he said, "Well, sir, according to this alleged time piece it appears to be approximately one minute and 10 seconds past 12 o'clock." I was particularly impressed by the care with which this quaker identified the source of his information which he was passing on to me. And I often thought afterward how beneficial it would be if all people who express opinions or

give out information would take the time to identify the source from which they were able to speak. I cannot influence all people to engage in this sort of safe thinking, but I can suggest that you give it consideration in connection with this visit on the subject of accurate thinking. Now, I shall give you a simple rule which may help you avoid being misled by unsound opinions expressed by other people. When you hear someone make a statement which your reasoning cannot accept as being sound or what you question or should for safety to say question for

any reason whatsoever ask a simple forward question. How do you know? Then stand firm on that question on either force the speaker to identify the source from which he got the information he is endeavoring to pass on as facts or reject the statement entirely as if it had not been made and do this no matter who is speaking or what may be his reputation for truth and veracity. Remember you are given as your richest birthright the privilege of controlling your own thoughts. Therefore treat this divine gift with the profound respect to which is entitled and

do not allow anyone to do your thinking for you or to influence your thinking in any matter whatsoever, except by the rules of accurate thinking I am passing on to you. Follow this procedure regardless of what people think or say about your method of thinking. If they wish to call you a cynic or a doubting Thomas let that be their misfortune, but for your own good go right on thinking by rules which will save you from many mistakes and tragedies throughout your life. Now, I will give you seven rules to follow, which if you memorize

them and follow them as a daily habit may bring you top rating as an accurate thinker. One, never accept the opinions of other people as being facts until you have learned the source of those opinions and satisfied yourself of their accuracy. Two, remember that free advice no matter from it is received will bear the closest of examination before it is acted upon as safe. And generally speaking, this sort of advice is worth exactly what it costs. Three, alert yourself immediately when you hear anyone speaking of others in a discourteous or slanderous spirit because this very

fact should put you on notice that what you are hearing is biased to say the very least about it and it may be out and out misstatement. Four, in asking others for information do not disclose to them what you wish the information to be because most people have the bad habit of trying to please under such circumstances. Well measured tactful questions can be of great benefit to you in thinking accurately. Five, remember that anything which exists anywhere throughout the universe is capable of proof and where no such proof is available, it is safer to assume

nothing exists. Six, one of the great unexplainable miracles consist in the fact that both truth and falsehood no matter by what means they may be expressed carry with them a silent invisible means of identifying themselves as such. Therefore, remember this truth and begin developing the necessary intuitive faculty to enable you to sense what is false and what is true. Seven, follow the habit of asking, how do you know, when anyone makes a statement you cannot identify as true. Follow this habit faithfully and you will see many persons squirm and turn red in the face when

you insist upon a direct reply. The most accurate thinkers are the scientists they investigate with open minds and never allow their wishes to become the fathers of facts, but deal with each fact as it is not as they would like it to be. Now, one final word of warning I feel I should leave with you, study yourself carefully and you may discover that your own emotions are your greatest handicap in the business of accurate thinking. It is easy for you to believe that which you wish to believe. And unfortunately, that is precisely what most people

do. This is a method by which many people condemn themselves to eternal failure and defeat. And it is a method which opens wide that sealed envelope which contains the list of penalties they must pay for neglecting to take possession of their minds and use them for constructive ends beneficial to themselves. And now until our next visit, may I say goodbye. The 13th visit brings us to the analysis of a law of nature which is the basis of all of our habits both the good habits and the bad. This law is a vital part of the

17 success principles because it is the means by which you and every other person can put into operation an irresistible power by which your aims and purposes are attained almost automatically by the action of your habits. I have named this law cosmic habit force because it is the law which gives definiteness of action to everything which moves throughout the entire universe. It keeps the stars and planets in their accustomed places and it fixes the life patterns of every living thing from the smallest insects to the largest animal accepting only man who has been given the

means by which he may use this law to establish his own habits and determine his own desires and movements throughout life. Cosmic habit force binds every living thing lower in the scale of intelligence than man with what we call instinct. But man can rise above these fixed patterns by which lower forms of life live and establish his own pattern. This privilege, as I have mentioned in former visits is the only thing over which man has complete power of control and direction. It's interesting to observe that the creator never gives man any form of riches without

sending along with it the means by which man may do whatever he pleases with those riches. In order that you may get the full benefit of this visit on cosmic habit force, it will be necessary for you to review what I've said previously, in connection with the 12th principles of success I have already described particularly the principle of definitive of purpose. Like every other natural law, cosmic habit force has both a positive and a negative potential application. The negative application of this law is called hypnotic rhythm, which means among other possible results it fastens upon

individuals that by our neglect to fix our thoughts upon the things we desire in life and thereby gain the power of cosmic habit force in attaining these desires, the law automatically acts through the negative hypnotic rhythm feature and the fixes our minds on the things we do not desire and attracts to us the physical counterpart of these desires. Understand this principle of the law of cosmic habit force and obviously you will have a better conception as to how essential it is to keep your mind occupied with the life pattern and the things and circumstances you

desire until this pattern is taken over and made permanent by cosmic habit force. Cosmic habit force is the watchdog, so to speak, which looked over your shoulder all through life, examines every thought you release, every act in which you engage and forces upon you the penalties or the rewards in those two sealed envelopes I described a previous visit. When you understand the principle of cosmic habit force it is clear enough that you cannot go through life without using the power of this law to carry out the circumstances and the desires you voluntarily choose or by

your neglect allow the same law to force you to pay the penalties I described. You have the power of choice here the same as in all other things but your neglect to exercise this power brings certain if not always swift retribution upon you. Perhaps you now see why I warned you in a previous visit that the two sealed envelopes were not imaginary but real. And of course, you now understand that you must avail yourself of the benefits of one or be forced to accept the penalties of the other. There is no halfway compromise for any

human being. I'll ponder over this profound truth and you will probably get a more impressive understanding of the power which is available to you through the application of the 17 success principles of the science of success. And you may also acquire a better understanding as to why these 17 principles have spread throughout the world without organized business management behind them. Why is this science of success philosophy is believed to have brought personal success to more people than has any other philosophy designed to help individuals to take possession of their own minds. The nearest to a

description of the law of cosmic habit force I have seen is Emerson's law of compensation in which he so clearly established the truth that nothing ever just happens by luck but every effect has its definite call all be it, we often observe affects the causes of which we cannot isolate or understand. If you will read Emerson's essay on compensation again, in view of what I have said about the law of cosmic habit force, you may get much more from it than you absorb from it previously. Now I shall give you a variety of illustrations as

to how the law of cosmic habit force operates. One, first of all, let me call your attention to the fact that cosmic habit force fixes the habits of the electrons and protons of matter so that their relationship and the chemical behavior always follow the same pattern. Thus, we see that everything throughout the universe comes under the influence of cosmic habit force and everything moves and exists by a pattern which is immutable and enduring except man, who, as I have said, can break the habits established by cosmic habit force which affect him and set up in

their place habits of his own choice. Two, cosmic habit force fixes the pattern of every form of vegetation which growers from the soil of the earth so that each thing reproduces after its own pattern, a grain of wheat always reproduces other grains of wheat but never makes the mistake of producing oats or some other form of growth. An Oak tree always springs from an acre but never from any other cores. The pattern having been permanently fixed in the acre by the law of cosmic habit force. One atom of hydrogen and two atoms of oxygen combined

always produce water, never anything else because the pattern of their chemical reaction has been fixed by cosmic habit force. Three, when the human mind is focused on a definite major purpose, the law of cosmic habit force goes into action immediately and attracts to the individual the material equivalent of that purpose and the procedure is inexorable and never varies. However, hypnotic rhythm, the negative application of the law will adjust as definitely attract to one all the undesirable things and circumstances which the mind is allowed to dwell upon such as poverty, ill, health, failure, fear and other

undesirable things. Four, cosmic habit force expressing itself through the emotion of sex is the means by which every living thing perpetuates its species. Understand this truth and you will better understand the irresistible forces of the profound emotion of sex, the means by which nature creates all living things. You will also better understand why aims and purposes which are expressed orally under the great creative forces of sex emotion are acted upon so rapidly by cosmic habit force. And you will understand why it is so essential to learn how to transmute the emotion of sex into the

carrying out of your aims and purposes. Five, we sometimes hear people speak of successful men as being on the beam by which they mean that those who enjoy success have established a success thought pattern in their minds which cosmic habit force has picked up and carry it out to its logical conclusion. You are on the beam when you take possession of your mind, direct it to delve ends in his spirit of belief in your attainment of those ends and keep your mind busy in carrying out your purpose instead of allowing it to drift to subject

you wish to avoid. You are on the beam when you can truthfully say, I know precisely what I want from life and I have faith I shall get it. You are not all my beam when you have no definite major purpose and you are drifting aimlessly through life. People who are failures also are on the beam but they are on the negative side of the beam because they have neglected to use those riches which came over with them and that sealed envelope. And they have placed themselves under the influence of hypnotic rhythm which is the

negative application of cosmic habit force. There is one word which doctors dread and it is the word fixation which means that a sick person believes in his sickness as something which cannot be cured. Fixations can become a priceless asset by those who have discovered the great master key to success and have learned how to develop fixations in their minds based on the things they desire most in life. Cosmic habit force is the power which makes fixations permanent. You should have a definite fixation based on your major purpose in life but you are the only one

who can create this fixation. You can do it by taking possession of your own mind and keeping it directed toward the attainment of your major purpose. If you will do this by following all the instructions I have given you in these visits, in a short time you will find yourself on the beam and headed directly toward everything you desire and deserve to receive. Lastly, remember that your mental attitude is something you will control outright and you must use self-discipline until you create a thought pattern or thought habits which keep your mental attitude positive at all

times. Your mental attitude is important because it acts as a magnet which attracts to you everything, every circumstance which makes you what you are and where you are. If you wish to keep on the beam that leads to success, be sure that you give cosmic habit force a thought pattern based on the things you want most in life and it will do the rest. And now, let me close this with my favorite expression of gratitude. Oh divine providence, I ask not for more riches but moral wisdom with which to make wiser use of the riches

you gave me birth consisting in the power to control and direct my own mind to whatever ends I desire. (upbeat music)