How to Prosper in Hard Times Audiobook by Napoleon Hill Part 1

this is audible penguin audio presents how to prosper in hard times blueprints for abundance by the greatest motivation teachers of all time by Napoleon Hill James Alan Joseph Murphy George s claisen and others read by Joel Pitino's [Music] the optimist Creed by Christian Larson promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind to talk health happiness and prosperity to every person you meet to make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them to look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true to think only of the best to work only for the best and to expect only the best to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future to wear a cheerful expression at all time and give a smile to every living creature you meet to give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others to be too large for worry too noble for anger too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble to think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world not in loud word but in great deeds to live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you how to attract money by Joseph Murphy your right to be rich it is your right to be rich you are here to lead the abundant life and be happy radiant and free you should therefore have all the money you need to lead a full happy prosperous life there is no virtue in poverty the latter is a mental disease and it should be abolished from the face of the earth you are here to grow expand and unfold spiritually mentally and materially you have the inalienable right to fully develop and express yourself along all lines you should surround yourself with beauty and luxury why be satisfied with just enough to go around when you can enjoy the riches of the infinite in this audio book you will learn to make friends with money and you will always have a surplus your desire to be rich is a desire for a fuller happier more wonderful life it is a cosmic urge it is good and very good begin to see money in its true significance as a symbol of exchange it means to you freedom from want Beauty luxury abundance and refinement as you listen to this chapter you are probably saying I want more money I am worthy of a higher salary than I am receiving I believe most people are inadequately compensated one of the causes many people do not have more money is that they are silently or openly condemning it they refer to money as filthy lucre or love of money is the root of all evil etc another reason they do not prosper is that they have a sneaky subconscious feeling there is some virtue in poverty this subconscious pattern may be due to early childhood training superstition or it could be based on a false interpretation of the Scriptures there is no virtue in poverty it is a disease like any other mental disease if you were physically ill you would think there was something wrong with you you would seek help or do something about the condition at once likewise if you do not have money constantly circulating in your life there is something radically wrong with you money is only a symbol it has taken many forms as a medium of exchange down through the centuries such as salt beads and trinkets of various kinds in early times man's wealth was determined by the number of sheep or oxen he had it is much more convenient to write a check than to carry some sheep around with you to pay your bills God does not want you to live in a hovel or go hungry God wants you to be happy prosperous and successful God is always successful in all his undertakings whether he makes a star or a cosmos you may wish to take a trip around the world study art in foreign countries go to college or send your children to a superior school you certainly wish to bring your children up in lovely surroundings so that they might learn to appreciate beauty order symmetry and proportion you were born to succeed to win to conquer all difficulties and have all your faculties fully developed if there is financial lack in your life do something about it get away immediately from all superstitious beliefs about money do not ever regard money as evil or filthy if you do you cause it to take wings and fly away from you remember that you lose what you condemned suppose for example you found gold silver lead copper or iron in the ground would you pronounce these things evil God pronounced all things good the evil comes from man's darkened understanding from his uh Neelu 'men mind from his false interpretation of life and his misuse of divine power uranium LED or some other metal could have been used as a medium of exchange we use paper bills checks etc surely the piece of paper is not evil neither is the cheque physicists and scientists know today that the only difference between one metal and another is the number and rate of motion of the electrons revolving around a central nucleus they are now changing one metal into another through a bombardment of the atoms in the powerful cyclotron God under certain conditions becomes mercury it will only be a little while until gold silver and other metals will be made synthetically in the laboratory I cannot imagine seeing anything evil in electrons neutrons protons and isotopes the piece of paper in your pocket is composed of electrons and protons arranged differently there number and rate of motion is different that is the only way the paper differs from the silver in your pocket some people will say oh people kill for money they steal for money it has been associated with countless crimes but that does not make it evil a man may give another 50 dollars to kill someone he has misused money in using it for a destructive purpose you can use electricity to kill someone or light the house you can use water to quench the baby's thirst or use it to drown the child you can use fire to warm the child or burn it to death another illustration would be if you brought some earth from your garden put it in your coffee cup for breakfast that would be your evil yet the earth is not evil neither is the coffee the earth is displaced it belongs in your garden similarly if a needle we're stuck in your thumb it would be your evil the needle or pin belongs in the pin cushion not in your thumb we know the forces or the elements of nature are not evil it depends on our use of them whether they bless or hurt us a man said to me one time I am broke I do not like money it is the root of all evil love of money to the exclusion of everything else will cause you to become lopsided and unbalanced you are here to use your power or authority wisely some men crave power others crave money if you set your heart on money and say that is all I want I'm going to give all my attention to amassing money nothing else matters you can get money and attain a fortune but you have forgotten that you are here to lead a balanced life man does not live by bread alone for example if you belong to some cult or religious group and become fanatical about it excluding yourself from your friends society and social activities you will become unbalanced inhibited and frustrated nature insists on a balance if all your time is devoted to external things and possessions you will find yourself hungry for peace of mind harmony love joy or perfect health you will find you cannot buy anything that is real you can amass a fortune or have millions of dollars this is not evil or bad love of money to the exclusion of everything else result in frustration disappointment and disillusionment in that sense it is the root of your evil by making money your sole aim you simply made a wrong choice you thought that was all you wanted but you found after all your efforts that it was not only the money you needed what you really desired was true place peace of mind and abundance you could have millions if you wanted them and still have peace of mind harmony perfect health and divine expression everyone wants enough money and not just enough to go around he wants abundance and to spare he should have it the urges desires and impulses we have for food clothing homes better means of transportation expression procreation and abundance are all god-given divine and good but we may misdirect these impulses desires and urges resulting in evil or negative experiences in our lives man does not have an evil nature there is no evil nature in you it is God the universal wisdom or life seeking expression through you for example a boy wants to go to college but he does not have enough money he sees other boys in the neighborhood going off to college and the university his desire increases he says to himself I want an education to such a youth may steal and embezzle money for the purpose of going to college the desire to go to college was basically and fundamentally good he misdirected that desire or urge by violating the laws of society the cosmic law of harmony or the Golden Rule then he finds himself in trouble however if this boy knew the laws of mind and is unqualified capacity through the use of the spiritual power to go to college he would be free and not in jail who put him in jail he placed himself there the policeman who locked him up in prison was an instrument of the man-made laws which he violated he first imprisoned himself in his mind by stealing and hurting others fear and a guilt consciousness followed this is the prison of the mind followed by the prison walls made of bricks and stones money is a symbol of God's opulence beauty refinement and abundance and it should be used wisely judiciously and constructively to bless humanity in countless ways it is merely a symbol of the economic health of the nation when your blood is circulating freely you are healthy when money is circulating freely in your life you are economically healthy when people begin to hoard money to put it away in tin boxes and become charged with fear there's economic illness the crash of 1929 was a psychological panic it was fear seizing the minds of people everywhere it was a sort of negative hypnotic spell you are living in a subjective and objective world you must not neglect the spiritual food such as peace of mind love beauty harmony joy and laughter knowledge of the spiritual power is the means to the Royal Road to riches of all kinds whether your desires spiritual mental or material the student of the laws of mind or the student of the spiritual principle believes and knows absolutely that regardless of the economic situation stock market fluctuation depression strikes war other conditions or circumstances he will always be amply supplied regardless of what form money may take the reason for this is he abides in the consciousness of wealth the student has convinced himself in his mind that wealth is forever flowing freely in his life and that there is always a divine surplus should there or tomorrow and all the students present holdings become valueless as the German Marx did after the first world war he would still attract wealth and be cared for regardless of the form the new currency took wealth is a state of consciousness it is a mind conditioned to divine supply forever flowing the scientific thinker looks at money or wealth like the tide it goes out but it always comes back the tides never fail neither will man supply when he trusts a tireless changeless immortal presence which is omnipresent and flows ceaselessly the man who knows the workings of the subconscious mind is never therefore worried about the economic situation stock market panics devaluation or inflation of currency since he abides in the consciousness of God's eternal supply such a man is always supplied and watched over by an overshadowing presence behold the birds of the air for they sow not neither do they reap get your heavenly Father feedeth them are you not much better than they as you consciously commune with the divine presence claiming and knowing that it leads and guides you in all your ways that it is a lamp unto your feet and the light on your path you will be divinely prospered and sustained beyond your wildest dreams here is a simple way for you to impress your subconscious mind with the idea of constant supply or wealth quiet the wheels of your mind relax let go immobilize the attention get into a sleepy drowsy meditative state of mind this reduces effort to the minimum then in a quiet relaxed passive way reflect on the following simple truths ask yourself where do ideas come from where does wealth come from where did you come from where did your brain in your mind come from you will be led back to the one source you find yourself on a spiritual working basis now it will no longer insult your intelligence to realize that is a state of mind take this little phrase repeat it slowly four or five minutes three or four times a day quietly to yourself particularly before you go to sleep money is forever circulating freely in my life and there is always a divine surplus as you do this regularly and systematically the idea of wealth will be conveyed to your deeper mind and you will develop a wealth consciousness idle mechanical repetition will not succeed in building the consciousness of wealth begin to feel the truth of what you affirm you know what you are doing and why you are doing it you know your deeper self is responsive to what you consciously accept as true in the beginning people who are in financial difficulties do not get results with such affirmations as I am wealthy I am prosperous I am successful such statements may cause their conditions to get worse the reason is the subconscious mind will only accept a dominant of two ideas or the dominant mood of feeling when they say I am prosperous their feeling of lack is greater and something within them says no you are not prosperous you are broke the feeling of lack is dominant so that each affirmation calls forth the mood of lack and more lack becomes theirs the way to overcome this for beginners is to affirm what the conscious and subconscious mind will agree on then there will be no contradiction our subconscious mind accepts our beliefs feelings convictions and what we consciously accept as true a man could engage the cooperation of the subconscious mind by saying I am prospering every day I am growing in wealth and in wisdom every day every day my wealth is multiplying I am advancing growing and moving forward financially these and similar statements would not create any conflict in the mind for instance if a salesman has only ten cents in his pocket he could easily agree that he would have more tomorrow if he sold a pair of Jews tomorrow there's nothing within him which says as sales could not increase he could use statements such as my sales are increasing every day I am advancing and moving forward he would find that these would sound psychologically acceptable to his mind and produce desirable fruit the spiritually advanced student who quietly knowingly and feelingly says I am prosperous I am successful I am wealthy gets wonderful results also why would this be true when they think feel or say I am prosperous they mean God is all supply or infinite riches and what is true of God is true of them when they say I am wealthy they know God is infinite supply the inexhaustible treasure house and what is true of God is therefore true of them for God is within them many men get wonderful results by dwelling on three abstract ideas such as health wealth and success health is a divine reality or quality of God wealth is of God it is eternal and endless success is of God God is always successful in all his undertakings the way they produce remarkable results is to stand before a mirror as they shave and repeat for five or ten minutes health wealth and success they do not say I am healthy or I am successful they create no opposition in their minds they are quiet and relaxed thus the mind is receptive and passive then they repeat these words amazing results follow all they are doing is identifying with truths that are eternal changeless and timeless you can develop a wealth consciousness put the principles enunciated and elaborated on in this audio book to practice and your desert will rejoice and blossom as the rose I work with a young boy in Australia many years ago who wanted to become a physician and surgeon but he had no money nor had he graduated from high school for expenses he used to clean out doctors offices wash windows and do auto repair jobs he told me that every night is he went to sleep he used to see a diploma on a wall with his name in big bold letters he used to clean and shine the diplomas in the medical building where he worked it was not hard for him to engrave the diploma in his mind and develop it there I do not know how long he continued this imagining but it must have been for some months results followed as he persisted one of the doctors took a great liking to this young boy and after training him in the art of sterilizing instruments giving hypodermic injections and other miscellaneous first-aid work he became a technical assistant in his office the doctor sent him to high school and also to college at his expense today this man is a prominent doctor in Montreal Canada he had a dream a clear image in his mind his wealth was in his mind wealth is your idea desired talent urge for service capacity to give to mankind your ability for usefulness to society and your love for Humanity in general this young boy operated a great law unconsciously trailered says having seen the end you have willed the means to the realization of the end the end in this boy's case was to be a physician to imagine see and feel the reality of being a doctor now to live with that idea sustain it nourish it and to love it until through his imagination it penetrated the layers of the subconscious becoming a conviction paved the way to the fulfillment of his dreams he could have said I have no education I do not know the right people I am too old to go to school new I have no money it would take years and I'm not intelligent he would then be beaten before he started his wealth was in his use of the spiritual power within him which responded to his thought the means or the way in which our prayer is answered is always hidden from us except that occasionally we may intuitively perceive a part of the process my ways of past finding out the ways are not known the only thing has to do is to imagine and accept the end in his mind and leave its unfoldment to the subjective wisdom within oftentimes the question is asked what should I do after meditating on the end and accepting my desire in consciousness the answer is simple you will be compelled to do whatever is necessary for the unfoldment of your ideal the law of the subconscious is compulsion the law of life is action and reaction what we do is the automatic response to our inner movements of the mind inner feeling and conviction a few months ago as I went to sleep I imagined I was reading one of my most popular books magic of faith in French I began to realize and imagine this book going into all french-speaking nations for several weeks I did this every night falling asleep with the imaginary French edition of magic of faith in my hands just before Christmas 1954 I received a letter from a leading publisher in Paris France enclosing a contract drawn up asking me to sign it giving him permission to publish and promote abroad to all french-speaking countries the French edition of magic of faith you might ask me what did I do about the publishing of this book after prayer I would have to say nothing the subjective wisdom took over and brought it to pass in its own way which was a far better way than any method I could consciously desire all of our external movements motions and actions follow the inner movements of the mind interaction precedes all outer action whatever steps you take physically or what you seem to do objectively will all be part of a pattern which you are compelled to fulfill accepting the end wills the means to the realization of the end believe that you have it now and you shall receive it we must cease denying our good realize that the only thing that keeps us from the riches that lie all around us is our mental attitude or the way we look at God in the world in general no believe and act on the positive assumption that there is no reason why you cannot have B and do whatever you wish to accomplish through the great laws of God your knowledge of how your mind works is your Savior and Redeemer thought and feeling are your destiny you possess everything by right of consciousness the consciousness of health produces health the consciousness of wealth produces wealth the world seems to deny or oppose what you pray for your senses sometimes mock and laugh at you if you say to your friend you are opening up a new business for yourself he may proceed to give you all the reasons why you are bound to fail if you are susceptible to his hypnotic spell he may instill fear of failure in your mind as you become aware of the spiritual power which is one and indivisible and responds to your thought you will reject the darkness and ignorance of the world and know that you possess all the equipment power and knowledge to succeed to walk on the royal road to riches you must not place obstacles and impediments on the pathway of others neither must you be jealous or envious of others actually when you entertain these negative states of mind you are hurting and injuring yourself because you are thinking and feeling it the suggestion as can be said you give to another you are giving to yourself this is the reason that the law of the golden rule is a cosmic divine law I'm sure you have heard men say that fellow has a racket he's a racketeer he is getting money dishonestly he is a fakir I knew him when he had nothing he is crooked a thief and a swindler if you analyze the man who talks like that he is usually in want or suffering from some financial or physical illness perhaps his former college friends went up the ladder of success and excelled him now he is bitter and envious of their progress in many instances this is the cause of his downfall thinking negatively of these classmates and condemning their wealth causes the wealth and prosperity he is praying for to vanish and flee away he is condemning the things he is praying for he is praying to ways on the one hand he is saying God is prospering me and in the next breath silently or audibly he is saying I resent that fellow's wealth always make it a special point to bless the other person and rejoice in his prosperity and success when you do you bless and prosper yourself if you go into the bank and see your competitor across the street deposit twenty times more than you do or you see him deposit ten thousand dollars rejoice and be exceedingly glad to see God's abundance being manifested through one of his sons you are then blessing and exalting what you are praying for what you bless you multiply what you condemn you lose if you are working in a large organization and you are silently thinking and resenting the fact that you are underpaid that you are not appreciated and that you deserve more money and greater recognition you are subconsciously severing your ties with that organization you are setting a law in motion then the superintendent or manager says to you we have to let you go you dismissed yourself the manager was simply the instrument through what your own negative mental state was confirmed in other words he was a messenger telling you what you can see this true about yourself it was an example of the law of action and reaction the action was the internal movement of your mind the reaction was the response of the outer world to conform to your inner thinking perhaps as you listen to this you are thinking of someone who is prospered financially by taking advantage of others by defrauding them in selling them unsound investments in property etc the answer to this is obvious because if we rob a cheat or defraud another we do the same to ourselves in reality in this case we are actually hurting or robbing from ourselves we are in a mood of lack in the first place which is bound to attract loss to us the loss may come in many ways it may come in loss of health prestige peace of mind social status sickness in the home or in business it may not necessarily come in loss of money we must not be short-sighted and think that the loss has to come just in dollars and cents isn't it a wonderful feeling to place your head on the pillow at night and feel you're at peace with the whole world and that your heart is full of goodwill toward all there are some people who have accumulated money the wrong way as by tramping on others trickery deceit in chicanery what is the price sometimes it is mental and physical disease guilt complexes insomnia or hidden fears as one man said to me yes I rode roughshod over others I got what I wanted but I got cancer doing it he realized he had attained his wealth in the wrong way you can be wealthy and prosperous without hurting anyone many men are constantly robbing themselves they steal from themselves peace of mind health joy inspiration happiness and the laughter of God they may say they have never stolen but is it true every time we resent another or are jealous or envious of another's wealth or success we are stealing from ourselves there are the thieves and robbers which Jesus cast out of the temple like wise you must cast them out incisively and decisively do not let them live in your mind cut their heads off with the fire - right thought and feeling I remember in the early days of the war reading about a woman in Brooklyn New York who went around from store to store buying up all the coffee she could she knew it was going to be rationed she was full of fear that there would not be enough for her she bought as much as she could and stored it in the cellar that evening she went to church services when she came home burglars had broken down the door stolen not only to coffee but silverware money jewelry and other things this good woman said what they all say why did this happen to me when I was at church I never stole from anyone is this true was she not in the consciousness of lack and fear when she began to hoard supplies of coffee her mood and fear of lack was sufficient to bring about loss in her home and possessions she did not have to put her hand on the cash register or rob a bank her fear of lack produced lack this is the reason that many people who are what society calls good citizens suffer loss they are good in the worldly sense ie they pay their taxes they obey the laws vote regularly and are generous to charities but they are resentful of others possessions their wealth or social position if they would like to take money when no one was looking such an attitude as definitely and positively a state of lack and may cause the person who indulges in such mental state to attract charlatans or knaves who may swindle or cheat them in some business transaction before the outer thief rob says we have first robbed ourselves there must be an inner thief before the outer one appears a man can have a guilt complex and be accusing himself constantly I knew such a man he was very honest as a teller in a bank he never stole any money but he had an illicit romance he was supporting another woman and denying his family he lived in fear that he would be discovered a deep sense of guilt resulted fear follows guilt fear causes a contraction of the muscles and mucous membranes acute sinusitis developed medication only gave him temporary relief i explained to this client the cause of his trouble and told him the cure was to give up his outside affair he said he couldn't she was his soul mate and that he had tried he was always condemning and accusing himself one day he was accused by one of the officials of the bank of half embezzled some money it looked serious for him as the evidence was circumstantial he became panic-stricken and realized that the only reason he was wrongfully accused was that he had been accusing and condemning himself he saw how mind operates in as much as he was always accusing himself on the inner plain he would be accused on the outer he broke off the relationship immediately with the other woman due to the shock of being accused of embezzling and began to pray for divine harmony and understanding between himself and the bank official he began to claim there is nothing hidden that is not revealed the peace of God reigned supreme and the minds and hearts of all concerned truth prevailed the whole matter was dissolved in the light of truth another young man was discovered as the culprit the bank teller knew that only through prayer was he saved from a jail sentence the great law is as you would that men should think about you think you about them in the same manner as you would that men should feel about you feel you also about them in like manner say from your heart I wish for every man who walks the earth what I wish for myself the sincere wish of my heart is there for Peace Love joy abundance and God's blessings to all men everywhere rejoice and be glad in the progression advancement and prosperity of all men whatever you claim is true for yourself claim it for all men everywhere if you pray for happiness and peace of mind let your claim be peace and happiness for all do not ever try and deprive another of any joy if you do you deprive yourself when the ship comes in for your friend it comes in for you also if someone is promoted in your organization be glad and happy congratulate him rejoice in his advancement and recognition if you are angry or resentful you are demoting yourself do not try and withhold from another his god-given birthright to happiness 6 as chief minh abundance and all good things jesus said so up for yourselves treasures in heaven where the moth and the rust does not consume and where thieves cannot break through and steal hatred and resentment rot and corrode the heart causing us to become full of scars impurities toxins and poisons the treasures of heaven are the truths of God which we possess in our soul fill your minds with peace harmony faith joy honesty integrity loving kindness and gentleness then you will be sowing for yourself treasures in the heavens of your own mind if you are seeking wisdom regarding investments or if you're worried about your stocks or bonds quietly claim infinite intelligence governs and watches over all my financial transactions and whatsoever I do shall prosper do this frequently and you will find that your investments will be wise moreover you will be protected from loss as you will be prompted to sell your securities or holdings before any loss accrues to you let the following prayer be used daily by you regarding your home business and possessions the overshadowing presence which guides the planets on their course and causes the Sun to shine watches over all my possessions home business and all things that are mine God is my fortress and vault all my possessions are secure in God it is wonderful by reminding yourself daily of this great truth and by observing the laws of love you will always be guided watched over and prospered in all your ways you will never suffer from loss for you have chosen the most high as your counselor and guide the envelope of God's love surrounds and folds and encompasses you at all times you rest in the everlasting arms of God all of us should seek an inner guidance for our problems if you have a financial problem repeat this before you retire at night now I shall sleep in peace I have turned this matter over to the god wisdom within it knows only the answer as the Sun rises in the morning so will my answer be resurrected I know the Sun Rise never fails then go off to sleep do not fret fuss or fume over a problem night brings counsel sleep on it your intellect cannot solve all your problems pray for the light that is to come remember the dawn always comes then the shadows flee away let your sleep every night be a contented bliss you are not a victim of circumstances except you believe you are you can rise and overcome any circumstance or condition you will have different experiences as you stand on the rock of spiritual truth steadfast and faithful to your deeper purposes and desires in large stores the management employees store detectives to prevent people from stealing they catch a number every day trying to get something for nothing all such people are living in the consciousness of lack and limitation and are stealing from themselves attracting at the same time all manner of loss these people lack faith in God and the understanding of how their minds work if they would pray for true place divine expression and supply they would find work then buy honesty integrity and perseverance they would become a credit to themselves and society at large jesus said for ye have the poor always with you but me ye have not always the poor states of consciousness are always with us in this sense that no matter how much wealth you now have there is something you want with all your heart it may be a problem of health perhaps a son or daughter needs guidance or harmony is lacking in the home at that moment you are poor we could not know what abundance was except we were conscious of lack I have chosen twelve and one of you is a devil whether it be the king of England or the boy in the slums we are all born into limitation and into the race belief it is through these limitations we grow we could never discover the inner power except through problems and difficulties these are our poorest states which Pradas in seeking the solution we could not know what joy was except we could shed a tear of sorrow we must be aware of poverty to Sieg liberation and freedom and descend into God's opulence the poor states such as fear ignorance worry lack and pain are not bad when they cause you to seek the opposite when you get into trouble and get kicked around from pillar to post when you ask negative heart-rending questions such as why are all these things happening to me why does there seem to be a jinx following me light will come into your mind through your suffering pain or misery you will discover the truth would set you free sweet are the uses of adversity like a toad ugly and venomous yet wears a precious jewel on its head through dissatisfaction we are led to satisfaction all those studying the laws of life have been dissatisfied with something they have had some problem or difficulty which they could not solve or they were not satisfied with the man-made answers to life's riddles they have found their answer in the god presence within themselves the pearl of great price the precious jewel the Bible says I sought the Lord and I found him and he delivered me from all my fears when you realize your ambition or desire you will be satisfied for only a period of brief time then the urge to expand will come again this is life seeking to express itself at higher levels through you when one desire is satisfied another comes etc to infinity you are here to grow life is progression it is not static you are here to go from glory to glory there is no end there is no end to God's glory we are all poor in the sense we are forever seeking more light wisdom happiness and greater joy out of life God is infinite and never in eternity could you exhaust the glory beauty and wisdom which is within this is how wonderful you are in the absolute state all things are finished but in the relative world we must awaken to that glory which was ours before the world was no matter how wise you are you are seeking more wisdom so you are still poor no matter how intelligent you are in the field of mathematics physics or astronomy you are only scratching the surface you are still poor the journey is ever onward upward and Godward it is really an awakening process whereby you realize creation is finished when you know God does not have to learn grow expand or unfold you begin to gradually awaken from the dream of limitation and become alive in God as the scales of fear ignorance race belief and mass hypnosis fall from your eyes you begin to see as God sees the blind spots are removed then you begin to see the world as God made it for we begin to see it through God's eyes now you say behold the kingdom of heaven is at hand feed the poor within you clothe the naked ideas and give them form by believing in the reality of the idea trusting the great fabricator within to close it in form and objectify it now your word idea shall become flesh or take form when you are hungry poor States you seek food when worried you seek peace when you are sick you seek health when you are weak you seek strength your desire for prosperity is the voice of God in you telling you that abundance is yours therefore through your poor state you find the urge to grow to expand to unfold to achieve and to accomplish your desires a pain in your shoulder is a blessing in disguise it tells you to do something about it at once if there were no pain and no indication of trouble your arm might fall off on the street your pain is God's alarm system telling you to seek his peace and his healing power and move from darkness to light when cold you build a fire when you are hungry you eat when you are in lack enter into the mood of opulent and plenty imagine the end rejoice in it having imagined the end and felt it as true you have willed the means to the realization of the end when you are fearful and worried feed your mind with the great truths of God that have stood the test of time and will last forever you can receive comfort by meditating on the great Psalms for example the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want God is my refuge my salvation whom shall I fear God is an ever-present help in time of trouble my God in him will I trust he shall cover me with his feathers and under his wings shall I rest one with God is a majority if God before me who can be against me I do all things through Christ would strengthen me let the healing vibrations of these truths flood your mind and heart then you will crowd out of your mind all your fears doubts and worries through this meditative process imbibe another great spiritual truth a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance a merry heart had a continual feast a merry heart doeth good like a medicine a broken spirit dry as a bone therefore I put the in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God within thee begin now to stir up the gift of God by completely rejecting the evidence of senses the tyranny and despotism of the race mind and give complete recognition to the spiritual power within you as the only cause the only power and the only presence know that it is a responsive and beneficent power draw nigh unto it and it will draw nigh unto you turn to it devotedly with assurance trust and love it will respond to you as love peace guidance and prosperity it will be your comforter guide counselor and your heavenly Father you will then say God is love I have found him and he truly has delivered me from all my fears furthermore you will find yourself in green pastures where abundance and all of God's riches flow freely through you say to yourself freely and joyously during the day I walk in the consciousness of the presence of God all day long his fullness flows through me at all times filling up all the empty vessels in my life when you are filled full of the feeling of being what you longed to be your prayer is answered are all the vessels full in your life look under health wealth love and expression are you fully satisfied on all levels is there something lacking in one of these for all that you seek no matter what it is comes under one of these classifications if you say all I want is truth or wisdom you are expressing the desire of all men everywhere that is what everyone wants even though he or she me worded differently truth or wisdom is the overall desire of every man this comes under the classification of expression you wish to express more and more of God here and now through your lack limitation and problems you grow in God's light can you discover yourself there is no other way whereby you could discover yourself if you could not use your powers two ways you would never discover yourself neither would you ever do Sal ah governing you if you were compelled to be good or compelled to love that would not be love you would then be an automaton you have freedom to love because you can give it or retain it if compelled to love there is no love aren't you flattered when some woman tells you she loves you and wants you she has chosen you from all the men in the world she does not have to love you if she were forced to love you you would not be flattered or happy about it you have freedom to be a murderer or a holy man this is the reason we praise such men as Lincoln and others they decided to choose the good we praise them for their choice if we believe that circumstances conditions events age race religious training or early environment can preclude the possibility of our attaining a happy prosperous life we are thieves and robbers all that is necessary to express happiness and prosperity is to feel happy and prosperous the feeling of wealth produces wealth states of consciousness manifests themselves this is why it is said all that ever came before me feeling our thieves and robbers feeling is the law and the law is the feeling your desire for prosperity is really the promise of God saying that his riches are yours accept this promise without any mental reservation Quimby likened prayer to that of a lawyer pleading the case before the judge this teacher of the laws of mind said he could prove the defendant was not guilty as charged but that the person was a victim of Lies and false beliefs you are the judge you render your own verdict then you are set free the negative thoughts of lack poverty and failure are all faults they are all lies there is nothing to back them up you know there is only one spiritual power one primal cause and you therefore cease giving power to conditions circumstances and opinions of men give all power to the spiritual power within you knowing that it will respond to your thought of abundance and prosperity recognizing the supremacy of the spirit within and the power of your own thought or men image is the way to opulent freedom and constant supply except the abundant life in your own mind your mental acceptance and expectancy of wealth has its own mathematics and mechanics of expression as you enter into the mood of opulence all things necessary for the abundant life will come to pass you are now the judge arriving at a decision in the courthouse of your mind you have like Quimby produced indisputable evidence showing how the laws of your mind work and you are now free from fear you have executed and chopped the heads off all the fear and superstitious thoughts in your mind fear is the signal for action it is not really bad it tells you to move to the opposite which is faith in God and all positive values let this be your daily prayer write it in your heart God is the source of my supply that supply is my supply now his riches flow to me freely copiously and abundantly I am forever conscious of my true worth I give of my talents freely and I am wonderfully divinely compensated thank you Father the road to riches ridges are of the mind let us suppose for a moment that a physician's diploma was stolen together with his office equipment I am sure you would agree that his wealth was in his mind he could still carry on diagnosed disease prescribe operate and lecture on materia medica only his symbols were stolen he could always get additional supplies his riches were in his mental capacity knowledge to help others and his ability to contribute to humanity in general you will always be wealthy when you have an intense desire to contribute to the good of mankind your urge for service ie to give of your talents to the world will always find a response in the heart of the universe I know a man in New York during the financial crisis of 1929 who lost everything he had including his home and all his life's savings I met him after a lecture which I had given at one of the hotels in the city this is what he said I lost everything I made a million dollars in four years I will make it again all I have lost is a symbol I can again attract the symbol of wealth in the same way as honey attracts flies I followed the career of this man for several years to discover the key to his success the key may seem strange to you yet it is a very old one the name he gave the key was change water into wine he read this passage in the Bible and he knew it was the answer to perfect health happiness peace of mind and prosperity wine in the Bible always means the realization of your desires urges plans dreams propositions of your desires etc in other words it is the things you wish to accomplish achieve and bring forth water in the Bible usually refers to your mind or consciousness water takes the shape of any vessel into which it is poured likewise whatever you feel and believe is true will become manifest in your world thus you are always changing water into wine the Bible was written by a lumen men it teaches practical everyday psychology and a way of life one of the cardinal tenants of the Bible is that you determine mold fashion and shape your own destiny through right thought feeling and beliefs it teaches you that you can solve any problem overcome any situation and that you are born to succeed to win into triumph in order to discover the Royal Road to riches and receive the strength and security necessary to advance in life you must cease viewing the Bible in the traditional way that same man who was in a financial crisis used to say to himself frequently during the days when he was without funds I can change water into wine these words meant to him I can exchange the poverty ideas in my mind for the realization of my present desires or needs which are wealth and financial supply his mental attitude water was once I made a fortune honestly I will make it again wine his regular affirmation consisted of I attracted the symbol money once I am attracting it again I know this and feel it is true wine this man went to work as a salesman for a chemical organization ideas for the better promotion of their products came to him he passed them on to his organization it was not long until he became vice-president within 4 years the company made him president his constant mental attitude was I can change water into wine look upon the story in john of changing water into wine in a figurative way and say to yourself as this chemical salesman did I can make the invisible ideas urges dreams and desires of mind visible because I have discovered a simple universal law of mind the law he demonstrated is the law of action and reaction it means your external world body circumstances environment and financial status are always a perfect reflection of your inner thinking beliefs feelings and convictions this being true you can now change your inner pattern of thought by dwelling on the idea of success wealth and peace of mind as you busy your mind with these latter concepts these ideas will gradually seep into your mentality like seeds planted in the ground as all seeds thoughts and ideas grow after their kind so will your habitual thinking and feeling manifest and prosperity success and peace of mind wise thought action is followed by right action reaction you can acquire riches when you become aware of the fact that prayer is a marriage feast the feast is a psychological one you meditate mentally eat of on your good or your desire until you become one with it I will now cite a case history from my files relating how a young girl performed her first miracle in transforming water into wine she operated a very beautiful hair salon her mother became ill and she had to devote considerable time at home neglecting her business during her absence two of her assistants embezzled funds she was forced into bankruptcy losing her home and finding herself deeply in debt she was unable to pay hospital bills for her mother and she was now unemployed I explained to this woman the magic formula of changing water into wine again we made it clear to her that wine means answered prayer or the objectification of her ideal she was quarreling with the outside world she said look at the facts I have lost everything it is a cruel world I cannot pay my bills I do not pray for I have lost hope she was so absorbed and engrossed in the material world that she was completely oblivious to the internal cause of her situation as we talked she began to understand that she had to resolve the quarrel in her mind no matter what your desire or your ideal is as you listen to this book you will also find some thought or idea in your mind opposed to it for example your desire may be for health perhaps or a several thoughts such as these in your mind simultaneously I can't be healed I have tried but it's no use it's getting worse I don't know enough about spiritual mind healing as you study yourself don't you have a tug of war in your mind like this girl you find environment and external affairs challenging your desire of expression wealth and peace of mind true prayer is a mental marriage feast and it teaches us all how to resolve the mental conflict in prayer you write what you believe in your own mind Emerson said a man is what he thinks all day long by your habitual thinking you make your own mental laws of belief by repeating a certain train of thought you establish definite opinions and beliefs in the deeper mind called the subconscious then such mental acceptances beliefs and opinions direct and control all the outer actions to understand this and begin to apply it is the first step in changing water into wine or changing lack and limitation into abundance and opulence the man who is unaware of his own inner spiritual powers is therefore subject to race beliefs lack and limitation now and perform your first miracle as this beauty operator did you can do it if you merely read the Bible as a historical event you will miss the spiritual mental scientific view of the laws of mind with which we are concerned in this audio book let us take this passage and the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee ax and the mother of Jesus was there Galilee means your mind or consciousness Cana means your desire the marriage is purely mental or the subjective embodiment of your desire this whole beautiful drama of Prayer is a psychological one in which all the characters are mental states feelings and ideas within you one of the meanings of Jesus is illumined reason the mother of Jesus means the feeling moods or emotions which possess us and both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage your disciples are your inner powers and faculties enabling you to realize your desires when they wanted wine the mother of jesus saith unto him they have no wine wine as we have stated represents the answered prayer or the manifestation of your desire and ideals in life you can now see this is an everyday drama taking place in your own life when you wish to accomplish something as this girl did namely finding work supply and a way out of your problem suggestions of lack come to you such as there is no hope all is lost I can't accomplish it it is hopeless this is the voice from the outside world saying to you they have no wine or look at the facts this is your feeling of lack limitation or bondage speaking how do you meet the challenge of circumstances and conditions by now you are getting acquainted with the laws of mind which are as follows as I think and feel inside so is my outside world ie my body finances environment social position and all phases of my external relationship to the world and man your internal mental movement and imagery govern control and direct the external plane in your life the Bible says as he thinketh in his heart so is he the heart is a Chaldean word meaning the subconscious mind in other words your thought must reach subjective levels by engaging the power of your subliminal self thought and feeling are your destiny thought charged with feeling and interest is always subjective fide and becomes manifest in your world prayer is a marriage of thought and feeling or your idea and emotion this is what the marriage feast relates any idea or desire of the mind felt is true comes to pass whether it is good bad or indifferent knowing the law now that what you imagine and feel in your mind you will express manifest or experience in the outside enables you to begin to discipline your mind when the suggestion of lack fear doubt or despair they have no wine come to your mind immediately reject it mentally by focusing your attention at once on the answered prayer or the fulfillment of your desire the statement given in the Bible from John to mine Howard is not yet come and woman what have I to do with thee our figurative idiomatic oriental expressions as we paraphrase the quotation woman means the negative feeling that you indulge in these negative suggestions have no power of reality because there is nothing to back them up a suggestion of lack has no power the power is resident in your own thought and feeling what does God mean to you God is the name given to the one spiritual power God is the one invisible source from which all things flow when your thoughts are constructive and harmonious the spiritual power being responsive to your thought flows as harmony health and abundant practice the wonderful discipline of completely rejecting every thought of lack by immediately recognizing the availability of the spiritual power and its response to your constructive thoughts and imagery then you will be practicing the truth found in these words woman what have I to do with thee we quoted mine hour is not yet come this means that while you have not yet reached a conviction or positive state of mind you know you are on the way mentally because you are engaging your mind on the positive ideals goals and objectives in life whatever the mind dwells upon it multiplies magnifies and causes it to grow until finally the mind becomes qualified with the new state of consciousness you are then conditioned positively here as before you were conditioned negatively the spiritual man in prayer moves from the mood of lack to the mood of confidence peace and Trust in the spiritual power within himself since his trust and faith are in the spiritual power his mother mood and feeling registers a feeling of triumph or victory this will bring about the solution or the answer to your prayer the waterpots in the story from the Bible refer to the mental cycles that man goes through in order to bring about the subjective realization of his desire the length of time may be a moment hour week or month depending on the faith and state of consciousness of the student in prayer we must cleanse our mind of false beliefs fear doubt and anxiety by becoming completely detached from the evidence of senses and the external world in the peacefulness and quietude of your mind wherein you have stilled the wheels of your mind meditate on the joy of the answered prayer until that inner certitude comes whereby you know that you know when you have succeeded in being one with your desire you have succeeded in the mental marriage or the union of your feeling with your idea I am you wish to be married one with two health harmony success and achievement in your mind at this moment every time you pray you are trying to perform the marriage feast of Cana realization of your desire or ideas you want to be mentally identified with the concept of peace success well-being and perfect health they filled them up to the brim the six waterpots represent your own mind in the spiritual and mental creative act you must fill your mind to the brim meaning you must become filled full of the feeling of being what you longed to be when you succeed in filling your mind with the ideal you wish to accomplish or Express you are full to the brim then you cease praying about it for you feel it's reality in your mind you know it is a finished state of consciousness you are at peace about it and he saith unto them draw out now and bear unto the governor of the feast whatever is impregnated in our subconscious mind is always objectified on the screen of space consequently when we enter a state of conviction that our prayer is answered we have given the command bare unto the governor of the feast you are always governing your mental feast during the day thousands of thoughts suggestions opinions sights and sounds reach your eyes and ears you can reject them as unfit for mental consumption or entertain them as you choose your conscious reasoning intellectual mind is the governor of the feast when you consciously choose to entertain meditate feast upon and imagine your heart's desire as true it becomes a living embodiment and a part of your mentality so that your deeper self gives birth or expression to it in other words what is impressed subjectively is expressed objectively your sense or conscious mind sees the objectification of your good when the conscious mind becomes aware of water made into wind it becomes aware of the answer prayer water might be called also the invisible formless spiritual power unconditioned consciousness wine is conditioned consciousness or the mind giving birth to its beliefs and convictions the servants which draw the water for you represent the mood of peace confidence and faith according to your faith or feeling your good is attracted or drawn to you imbibe cherish fall in love with these spiritual principles which are discussed in this audio book in the first recorded miracle of Jesus you are told that prayer is a marriage feast or the mind uniting with its desire love is the fulfilling of the law love is really an emotional attachment a sense of oneness with your good you must be true to that what you love you must be loyal to your purpose or to your ideal we are not being true to the one we love when we are flirting or mentally entertaining other marriages with fear doubt worry anxiety or false beliefs love is a state of oneness a state of fulfillment when this simple drama was explained to the beauty operator mentioned about she became rich mentally she understood this drama and she put it into practice in her life this is how she prayed she knew that the water her own mind would flow and fill up all the empty vessels in response to her new way of thinking and feeling at night this client became very quiet and still relaxed her body and began to use constructive imagery the steps she used are as follows first step she began to imagine the local bank manager was congratulating her on her wonderful deposit in the bank she kept imagining that for about five minutes the second step in her imagination she heard her mother saying to her I am so happy about your wonderful new position she continued to hear her say this is a happy joyous way for about three to five minutes the third step vividly she imagined the writer was in front of her performing for marriage ceremony this woman heard me saying as the officiating Minister I now pronounce you man and wife completing this routine she went off to sleep feeling filled full sensing and feeling within herself the joy of the answered prayer nothing happened for three weeks in fact things got much worse but she persevered refusing to take no for her answer she knew that in order to grow spiritually she too had to perform her first miracle by changing her fear to faith her mood of lack to a mood of opulence and prosperity by changing consciousness water into the conditions circumstances and experiences she wished to express consciousness awareness being this principle spirit or whatever name you give it is the cause of all it is the only presence and power the spiritual power or spirit within us is the cause and substance of all things all things birds trees stars Sun Moon Earth gold silver and platinum are its manifestations it is the cause and substance of all things there is none else understanding this she knew that water consciousness could become supply in the form of money to place or true expression for herself health for her mother as well as companionship and fullness of life she saw this simple yet profound truth in the twinkling of an eye and said to me I accept my good she knew that nothing is hidden from us all of God is within us waiting for our discovery and inquiry in less than a month this young girl got married the writer performed the ceremony I pronounced the words she heard me say over and over again in her meditative relaxed state I now pronounce you man and wife her husband favorite check for $24,000 as a wedding present as well as a trip around the world her new expression as a beauty operator was to beautify her home and garden and make the desert of her mind rejoice and blossom as the rose she changed water into wine water or her consciousness became charged or conditioned by her constant true happy imagery these images when sustained regularly systematically and with faith in the developing powers of the deeper mind will come out of the darkness subconscious mind into light objectified on the screen of space there is one important rule do not expose this newly developed film to the shattering light of fear doubt despondency and worry whenever worry or fear knocks at your door immediately turn to the picture you developed in your mind and say to yourself a beautiful picture is being developed now in the dark house of my mind mentally pour on that picture your feeling of joy faith and understanding you know you have operated a psychological spiritual law for what is impressed shall be expressed it is wonderful the following is a sure certain way for developing and manifesting all the material riches and supply you need all the days of your life if you apply this formula sincerely and honestly you should be amply rewarded on the external plane I will illustrate this by telling you of a man who came to see me in London in desperate financial straits he was a member of the Church of England and had studied the working of the subconscious mind to some extent I told him to say frequently during the day God is the source of my supply and all my needs are met at every moment of time and point of space think also of all the animal life in this world and in all the galaxies of space which are now being taken care of by an infinite intelligence notice how nature is lavish extravagant and bountiful think of the of the sea which are all being sustained as well as the birds of the air he began to realize that since he was born he had been taken care of fed by his mother clothed by his father and watched over by tender loving parents this man got a job and was paid in a wonderful way he reasoned that it was illogical to assume that the principle of life which gave him life and always took care of him would suddenly cease to respond to him he realized that he had cut off his own supply by resenting his employer self-condemnation criticism of himself and by his own sense of unworthiness he had psychologically severed the cord which joined him to the infinite source of all things the indwelling spirit or life principle called by some consciousness or awareness man is not fed like the birds he must consciously commune with the indwelling power and presence and receive guidance strength vitality and all things necessary for the fulfillment of his needs this is the formula which he used to change water into the wine of abundance and financial success he realized God or the spiritual power within him was the cause of all furthermore he realized that if he could sell himself the idea that wealth was his by divine right he would manifest abundance of supply the affirmation he used was God is the source of my supply all my financial and other needs are met at every moment of time and point of space there is always a divine surplus this simple statement repeated frequently knowingly and intelligently conditioned his mind to a prosperity consciousness all he had to do was to sell himself this positive idea in the same way a good salesman has to sell himself on the merits of his product such a person is convinced of the integrity of his company the high quality of the product the good service which it will give the customer and the fact that the price is right etc I told him whenever negative thoughts came to his mind which would happen not to fight them quarrel with them in any way but simply go back to the spiritual mental formula and repeat it quietly and lovingly to himself negative thoughts came to him in avalanches at times in the form of a flood of negativity each time he met them with the positive firm loyal conviction God supplies all my needs there is a divine surplus in my life he said as he drove his car and went through his day's routine that a host of sundry miscellaneous negative concepts crowded his mind from time to time such as there is no hope you are broke each time such negative thoughts came he refused their mental admission by turning to the eternal source of wealth health and all things which he knew to be his own spiritual awareness definitely and positively he claimed God is the source of my supply and that supply is mine now or there is a divine solution God's wealth is my wealth and other affirmative positive statements which charged his mind with hope faith expectancy and ultimately a conviction in an ever flowing fountain of riches supplying all his needs copiously joyously and endlessly the negative flood of thoughts came to him as often as 50 times in an hour each time he refused to open the door of his mind to these gangsters assassins and thieves which he knew would only robbed him of peace wealth of success and all good things instead he opened the door of his mind to the idea of God's eternal life principle of supply flowing through him as wealth health energy power and all things necessary to lead a full and happy life here as he continued to do this the second day not so many thieves knocked at his door the third day the flow of negative visitors was less the fourth day they came intermittently hoping for admission but receiving the same mental response no entrance I accept only thoughts and concepts which activate heal bless and inspire my mind he reconditioned his consciousness or mind to a wealth consciousness the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me this conveys to your mind the negative thoughts such as fear lack worry anxiety came but they received no response from his mind he was now immune God intoxicated and seized by a divine faith in an ever expanding consciousness of abundance and financial supply this man did not lose everything neither did he go into bankruptcy he was given extended credit his business improved new doors opened up and he prospered remember always in the prayer process you must be loyal to your ideal purpose and objective many people fail to realize wealth and financial success because they pray two ways they affirm God is their supply and that they are divinely prospered but a few minutes later they deny their good by saying I can't pay this bill I can't afford this that or the other things or they say to themselves a jinx is following me I can't ever make ends meet I never have enough to go around all such statements are highly destructive and neutralized your positive prayers this is what is called praying two ways you must be faithful to your plan or your goal you must be true to your knowledge of the spiritual power cease making negative marriages ie uniting with negative thoughts fears and worries prayer is like a captain directing the course of his ship you must have a destination you must know where you are going the captain of the ship knowing the laws of navigation regulates his course accordingly if the ship is turned from its course by storms or unruly waves he calmly redirects it along its true course you are the captain on the bridge and you are giving the orders in the way of thoughts feelings opinions beliefs moods and mental tones keep your eye on the beam you go where your vision is cease therefore looking at all the obstacles delays and impediments that would cause you to go off your course be definite and positive decide where you are going know that your mental attitude is the ship which will take you from the mood of lack and limitation to the mood and feeling of opulence into the belief in the inevitable law of good working for you Quimby who was a doctor a wonderful student and teacher of the mental and spiritual laws of mind said man acts as he is acted upon what moves you now what is it that determines your response to life the answer is as follows your ideas beliefs and opinions activate your mind and condition you to the point that you become as Quimby stated an expression of your beliefs this illustrates the truth of Quimby statement man is belief expressed another popular statement of Quimby's was our minds mingle like atmospheres and each person has his identity in that atmosphere when you were a child you were subject to the moods feelings beliefs in general mental atmosphere of the home the fears anxieties superstitions as well as the religious faith and convictions of the parents were impressed on your mind let us say the child had been brought up in a poverty-stricken home in which there was never enough to go around financially speaking he heard constantly the complaint of lack and limitation you could say like Salter in his conditioned reflex therapy that the child was conditioned to poverty the young man may have a poverty complex based on his early experiences training and beliefs but he can rise above any situation and become free this is done through the power of prayer I knew a young boy age 17 who was born in a place called Hell's Kitchen in New York he listened to some lectures I was giving in Steinway Hall New York at the time this boy realized that he had been the victim of negative destructive thinking and that if he did not redirect his mind along constructive channels the world mind with its fears failures hates and jealousies would move in and control him man acts as he's acted upon it stands to reason as Quimby knew that if man will not take charge of his own house mind the propaganda false beliefs fears and worries of the phenomenal istic world will act as a hypnotic spell over him we are immersed in the race mind which believes in sickness death misfortune accident failures disease and diverse disasters follow the biblical injunctions come out from among them then and be separate identify yourself mentally and emotionally with the eternal verities which have stood the test of time this young man decided to think and plan for himself he decided to take the royal road to riches by accepting God's abundance here and now and to fill his mind with spiritual concepts and perceptions he knew as he did this he would automatically crowd out of his mind all negative patterns he adopted a simple process called scientific imagination he had a wonderful voice but it was not cultivated or developed I told him the image he gave attention to in his mind would be developed in his deeper mind and come to pass he understood this to be a law of mind a law of action and reaction ie the response of the deeper mind to the mental picture held in the conscious mind this young man would sit down quietly in his room at home relax his whole body then vividly imagine himself singing before a microphone he would actually reach out for the feel of the instrument he would hear me congratulate him on his wonderful contract and tell him how magnificent his voice was by giving his attention and devotion to this mental image regularly and systematically a deep impression was made on his subconscious mind a short time elapsed and an Italian voice instructor in New York gave him free lessons several times a week because he saw his possibilities he got a contract which sent him abroad to sing in the salons of Europe Asia South Africa and other places his financial worries were over for he also received a wonderful salary his hidden talent and ability to release them were his real riches these talents and poseurs within all of us are god-given let us release them did you ever say to yourself how can I be more useful to my fellow creature how can I contribute more to humanity a minister friend of mine told me that in his early days he and his church suffered financially his technique or process was the simple prayer which worked wonders for him God reveals to me better ways to present the truths of God to my fellow creature money poured in the mortgage was paid in a few years and he had never worried about money sense as you listen to this chapter you have now learned that the inner feelings moods and beliefs of man always control and govern his external world the inner movements of the mind control the outer movements to change the outside you must change the inside as in heaven so on earth whereas in my mind or consciousness so is it in my body circumstances and environment the Bible says there is nothing hidden that shall not be revealed for example if you are sick you are revealing a mental and emotional pattern which is the cause if you are upset or if you receive tragic news notice how you reveal it in your face eyes gestures tonal qualities also in your gait and posture as a matter of fact your whole body reveals your inner distress you of course through mental discipline and prayer remain absolutely poised serene and calm refusing to betray your hidden feelings or mental states you could order the muscles of your body to relax be quiet and be still they would have to obey you your eyes face and lips would not betray any sign of grief anger or despondency on the other hand with a little discipline through prayer and meditation you could reverse the entire picture even though you had received disturbing news regardless of its grave nature you could show an exhibit joy peace relaxation and a vibrant buoyant nature no one would ever know that you were the recipient of so-called bad news regardless of what kind of news you received today you could go to the mirror look at your face lips eyes and your gestures as you tell yourself and imagine you have heard the news of having received a vast fortune dramatize it feel it thrill to it and notice how your whole body responds to the inner thrill you can reverse any situation through prayer busy your mind with the concepts of peace success wealth and happiness identify yourself with these ideas mentally emotionally and pictorially get a picture of yourself as you want to be retain that image sustain it with joy faith and expectancy finally you will succeed in experiencing its manifestation I say to people who consult me regarding financial lack to marry wealth some see the point others do not as all Bible students know your wife is what you are mentally joined to United with or had one with in other words what you conceive and believe you give it conception if you believe the world is cold cruel and harsh that it is a dog-eat-dog way of life that is your concept you are married to it and you will have children or issue by that marriage the children from such a mental marriage or believe we'll be your experiences conditions and circumstances together with all other events in your life all your experiences and reactions to light will be the image and likeness of the ideas which fathered them look at the many wives the average man is living with such as fear doubt anxiety criticism jealousy and anger these play havoc with his mind marry wealth by claiming feeling and believing God supplies all my needs according to his riches in glory or take the following statement and repeat it over and over again knowingly until your consciousness is conditioned by it or it becomes a part of your meditation I am divinely expressed and I have a wonderful income do not say this in a parrot-like fashion but know that your train of thought is being engraved in your deeper mind and it becomes a conditioned state of consciousness let the phrase become meaningful to you poor life love and feeling on it making it alive one of my class students recently opened a restaurant he phoned me saying he got married to a restaurant he meant that he had made up his mind to be very successful diligent and persevering and to see that his business prospered this man's wife mental was his belief in the accomplishment of his desire or wish identify yourself with your aim in life and cease mental marriages with criticism self condemnation anger fear and worry give attention to your chosen ideal being full of faith and confidence in the inevitable law of prosperity and success you will accomplish nothing by loving your ideal one minute and denying it the next minute this is like mixing acid and an alkali for you will get an inert substance in going along the royal road to riches you must be faithful to your chosen ideal your wife we find illustrations in the Bible relating to these same truths for example Eve came out of Adam's rib your rib is your concept desire idea plan goal or aim in life Eve means the emotion feeling nature or the inner tone in other words you must mother the idea the idea must be mothered loved and felt as true in order to manifest your aim in life the idea is the father the emotion is the mother this is the marriage feast which is always taking place in your mind whose Fenske spoke of the third element which entered in or was formed following the union of your desire and feeling he called it the neutral element we may call it peace for God is peace the Bible says and the government shall be on his shoulders in other words let divine wisdom be your guide let the subjective wisdom within you lead guide and govern you in all your ways turn over your request to this indwelling presence knowing in your heart and soul that it will dissipate the anxiety heal the wound and restore your soul to equanimity and tranquility open your mind and heart and say God is my pilot he leads me he prospers me he is my counselor let your prayer be night and morning I am a channel through which God's riches flows ceaselessly copiously and freely write that prayer in your heart inscribe it in your mind keep on the beam of God's glory the man who does not know the inner workings of his own mind is full of burdens anxieties and worries for he has not learned how to cast his burden on the indwelling presence and go free the Zen monk was asked by his disciple what is truth he replied in a symbolic way by taking the bag off his back and placing it on the ground the disciple then asked him master how does it work the Zen monk still silent placed the bag on his back and walked on down the road singing to himself the bag is your burden or your problem you cast it on the subjective wisdom which knows all and has the know-how of accomplishment it knows only the answer placing the bag again on his back means though I still have the problem I now have mental rest and relief from the burden because I have invoked the divine wisdom on my behalf therefore I sing the song of triumph knowing that the answer to my prayer is on the way and I sing for the joy that is set before me it is wonderful every at the beginning doth set forth good wine and when men have well drunk then that which is worse but thou has kept the good wine until now this is true of every man when he first enters a knowledge of the laws of mind he sets out with high spirits and ambitions he is the new broom which sweeps cleaned and he is full of good intentions oftentimes he forgets the source of power he does not remain faithful to the principle within him which is scientific and effectual that would lift him out of his negative experiences and set him on the high road to freedom and peace of mind he begins to indulge mentally and emotionally with ideas and thoughts extraneous to his announced aim and goal in other words he is not faithful to his ideal or wife know that the subjective or deep self within you will accept your requests and being the great fabricator it will bring it to pass in its own way all you do is release your requests with faith and confidence in the same way you would cast a seed on the ground or mail a letter to a friend knowing the answer would come did you ever go between two great rocks and listen to the echo of your voice this is the way the life principle within you answers you will hear the echo of your own voice your voice is your inner mental movement of the mind your inner psychological journey where you feasted mentally on an idea until you were full then you rested knowing this law and how to use it be sure you never become drunk with power arrogance pride or conceit use the law to bless heal inspire and lift up others as well as yourself man misuses the law by selfishly taking advantage of his fellow man if you do you hurt and attract loss to yourself power security and riches are not to be obtained externally they come from the treasure house of eternity within we should realize that the good one is always present for God is the eternal now regardless of present circumstances you can prove your good is ever present by detaching yourself mentally from the problem going on the hi watch and go about your father's business to go on the hi watch is to envision your good to dwell on the new concept of yourself to become married to it and sustain the happy mood by remaining faithful full of faith every step of the way knowing that the wine of joy the answered prayer is on the way now is the day of salvation the kingdom of heaven is at hand thou has kept the good wine until now you can this moment travel psychologically in your mind and enter mentally through divine imagination into any desired state the wealth health or invention you wish to introduce are all invisible first everything comes out of the invisible you must subjectively possess riches before you can objectively possess wealth the feeling of wealth produces wealth for wealth is a state of consciousness a state of consciousness is how you think feel believe and what you mentally give consent to a teacher in California receiving over five or six thousand dollars a year looked in a window at a beautiful ermine coat that was priced at eight thousand dollars she said it would take me years to save that money I could never afford it oh how I wanted she listened to our lectures on Sunday mornings by ceasing to marry these negative concepts she learned that she could have a coat car or anything she wished without hurting anybody on the face of the earth I told her to imagine she had the coat on to feel it's beautiful fur and to get the feel of it on her she began to use the power of her imagination prior to sleep at night she put the imaginary coat on fondled it caressed it like a child does with her doll she continued to do this and finally felt the thrill of it all she went to sleep every night wearing imaginary code and being so happy and possessing it three months went by and nothing happened she was about to waver but she reminded herself that it is the sustained mood which demonstrates he who persevered to the end shall be saved the solution will come to the person who does not waver but always goes about with the perfume of his presence with him the answer comes to the man who walks in the light that it is done you are always using the perfume of his presence when you sustain the happy joyous mood of expectancy knowing your good is on the way you saw it in the unseen and you know you will see it in the scene the sequel to the teachers drama of the mind is interesting one Sunday morning after our lecture a man accidentally stepped on her toe apologized profusely after where she lived and offered to drive her home she accepted gladly shortly after he proposed marriage gave her a beautiful diamond ring and said to her I saw the most wonderful coat you would simply look radiant wearing it it was the coach he admired three months previously the salesman said over 100 wealthy women looked at the coat admired it immensely but for some reason always selected another garment through your capacity to choose imagine the reality of what you have selected and through faith and perseverance you can realize your goal in life all the riches of heaven are here now within you waiting to be released peace joy love guidance inspiration goodwill and abundance all exists now all that is necessary in order to express God's riches is for you to leave the present now your limitation enter into the mental vision or picture and in a happy joyous mood become one with your ideal having seen and felt your good in moments of high exaltation you know that in a little while you shall see your ideal objectively as you walk through time and space as within so without as above so below as in heaven so on earth in other words you will see your beliefs expressed man is belief expressed how success grows from failure by Napoleon Hill turn back the pages of history back to the very beginning of all that we know of civilization and you will find that the men and women whose names lived after they passed on were those whose efforts were born of struggle hardship and failure men may leave behind them monuments of marble without struggle hardship and failure but those who would build monuments in the hearts of their fellow men where neither the disintegrating forces of the elements nor the degrading hand of man can destroy them must pay the price in sacrifice and struggle ten years ago a baby was born into one of the wealthiest families in America the whole world showered the little fellow with gifts it did not need and could not use one foolish king sent as his offering to the useless collection a gold crib that cost forty thousand dollars I was going to law school in the city where that baby was born therefore I know a considerable amount about the event that bountiful shower of gifts reminded me of the passage in the Bible that reads something along these lines to him that hath it shall be given and to him that hath not it shall be taken away even that which he had nothing more true to human nature was ever said than this like attracts like wealth attracts wealth and poverty attracts poverty it is the way of human nature by and by this little baby grew old enough to be taken on the streets when he was taken out he was flanked by a coterie of servants and private detectives whose business it was to see that no misfortune overtook him never in all this baby's life was he permitted outside the protecting influence of these servants he could not go on the street alone he was watched over with care that would lead one to believe he might have been made of superior clay this little fellow had no cares he experienced no hardships he never knew what struggle meant all he knew was that he was not born to toil he did not have to dress himself he had servants for that purpose he did not have to use his eyes he had servants eyes to use he did not have to use his hands he had servants hands to use in fact he did not have to do anything each winter he went with his army of servants to play in the rolling waters of the warm Gulf of Mexico where he was not bothered with the cold blizzards of the north when he went out to swim he was surrounded by the same army of servants who flanked him and watched a seat at no harm befell him two years ago this little fellow now a boy of 10 years had just returned to the north from his wintering place in Florida he was out in the gardens with his servants when he noticed that the gates were open and he saw beyond the much longed for freedom that every normal child is constantly seeking while the servants vigilance had slackened for a moment he saw his chance and made a run for the street he got outside and into the middle of the street when he was run down and instantly killed by a Ford automobile at the very moment this was happening there were no less than a million little urchins located in the crowded streets of the great cities not one of which could have been run down by an automobile in an open ten acre field because these little unfortunate had learned the art of self-defense out of struggle struggle born of necessity they had learned to get out of the way of automobiles verily do we repeat that out of struggle and hardship come endurance and power servants and private detectives can watch over a baby and possibly keep them from being stolen they can even keep them from being run down by automobiles if they attend to their duties properly but the eternal law of compensation it stole when the little fellow grows up to maturity and commences to take his place among men he pays dearly for the early protection that relieved him of struggle the very first time he is called upon to rely entirely on his own resources because he finds that he has no real resources the strong-armed blacksmith developed his strength out of resistance the greater the resistance the greater his strength by wielding a heavy hammer day in and day out he finally grew a mighty arm that serves him wherever physical strength is needed he developed his strong arm in exactly the same manner that all strength must be developed by overcoming resistance we point with pride to Lincoln as being one of the really great Americans of the past yet how many stopped to consider that his strength both physical and moral grew out of hardship and struggle no doubt Nancy Hanks would have given Lincoln as royal a birth as that of the little boy mentioned before if she had been financially able but if she had done so there is but little doubt that Lincoln would never have risen to the heights to which he attained much of Lincoln's greatness grew out of his early struggles and hardships because out of these grew strength that mighty strength which carried him through one of the most trying crises of this country the most dangerous handicap with which any child could be surrounded is the handicap of money provided it is used to relieve the child of struggle 20 odd years ago I was secretary to a wealthy man whose two sons were away at college it was a part of my duty to make a check out for $100 for each of these boys on the 1st of the month this was their spending money and spend it they did well do I remember how I envied these boys the easy time this monthly remittance provided by and by they returned home with their sheep skins and other things too among them being the capacity for great quantities of whiskey one of those boys is now under the sod and the other is in an in asylum a victim of DTS last year I had the privilege of speaking in the college where one of the boys went to school the principal of the school told me that the $100 check which came monthly for that boy was the influence that undermined him with that check he had money to be a good fellow this led to the drink habit and that led to ruination I can see now that fate dealt me a lucky blow when it placed the great cosmic urge of necessity behind me in my early childhood and forced me to struggle for a schooling and for existence itself that struggle seemed hard then but I know now that it was the strengthening process I needed to prepare me for a man's work in life my own boys are coming along now and in spite of the powerful morale which I have drawn from my own experience and from my observation of the two boys mentioned I see myself inclined to make it easy for my boys when I can this is a common tendency a human sort of tendency perhaps which can lead nowhere but to distress and grief when the child is called upon for the reserve strength that is not there because he has never met with the necessary resistance it may seem like a trite statement but it is nonetheless true on that account to say the only permanent good that can come to a child comes out of what he does for himself the greatest service that can be rendered to any person on earth is the service which causes that person to rely upon himself when you pitch a dime to the beggar you may benefit him temporarily but in the long run you have done him a decided injury because you have taken away from him the necessity of struggle I met a man in Lawton Oklahoma on my recent tour of the country who gave me much food for thought I had ridden around with him all afternoon in an automobile before I learned that he was stone blind his dark glasses covered his eyes and not a sign of his affliction was to be seen on his face or detected from his voice he laughingly carried on one of the most interesting conversations I have ever listened to and entertain me so splendidly that I did not notice his blindness afterward I learned of this man's early struggles he had lost his eyes at the age of four several years ago he presented himself at Northwestern University in the city of Chicago for matriculation as a student the officials refused to accept him urging him not to undertake a stiff course such as tried the strength of able-bodied young men and women to the utmost but this young fellow knew no defeat he was persistent finally the university officials asked him how much money he had with which to pay his way through school and he replied thirty-five dollars they told him he would only be wasting his time to start in to try it he went out and walked around the block a time or two and then came back and said now look here let me enter for the first semester and if I do not keep up with my classes and pay my way you can turn me out they consented largely I suspect because they did not have the heart to refuse this young man not only completed the first semester with honors at the head of his classes but he finished the entire course leading all the way through but this is not all he paid his way by taking notes in the lecture rooms transcribing them on the typewriter and selling copies to his fellow students those who had two perfectly good eyes and money in the bank besides rarely does a person ever have opportunity to test the limits of his ability we can accomplish pretty much whatever we make up our minds to accomplish if we are not forced to test our strength through dire necessity through struggle through hardships we seldom discover our possibilities lay it down as a general rule and to sound one at that that real strength comes from struggle hardship adversity and handicaps imposed upon us by causes beyond our immediate control if we could control these causes they would not exist because we would eliminate them thereby depriving ourselves of the most beneficial experience that can come a human being 20 odd years ago I found myself forced to work as a laborer in the coal mines nothing short of necessity would have induced me to perform such work yet out of that very work came experience that has played and is now playing no small part in the very best service I have rendered and will continue to render my fellow men we are in the midst of a great industrial crisis not alone in America but throughout the world and much of our effort is directed toward the elimination of the cause out of which this crisis grew these efforts have not been without visible results something that would not have been possible except for the forced service rendered in the coal mines years ago this brought me close to the people who labor in those mines and gave me a splendid chance to study the conditions under which they word the grievances of which they complain their faults and their virtues now when I presume to write for or about those who perform the most lowly sort of labor I write not as one whose hands were never covered with the grime and dust of honest toil but as one who has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with these men whose voices are now crying out for justice and fair treatment and when I send back the message to the laborers out of which ranks I came urging them to perform more work and better work than actually paid for I know that I'm not leading them astray or counseling them unwisely because it has been this one practice more than any other that has helped me throw off an undesirable unprofitable environment and get into the work that I love the reason why this is a sound practice is obvious it develops greater and greater ability and finally a man just naturally burst out of his cramped environment attracting the attention of men in a more desirable walk of life out of effort and resistance comes strength the greater the effort the greater the compensating strength and the man who foolishly withholds the best service he is capable of rendering because he may not be receiving what it is worth is only prolonging the time of failure I know of no other single quality that has paid me greater dividends and carried me further toward my ultimate goal in life than is the habit of performing more service and better service than is actually paid for but lay stress on that word habit this practice must become a habit and recognition must be gained before the real results begin to show to merely perform better service than is paid for one day and refrain from doing it the other five working days of the week would be something like training one hour a week for a prizefight and resting the remainder of the time out of resistance comes strength a man may be born to the weary treadmill of toil but if he understands that out of toil out of resistance out of effort out of adversity comes strength he will not long remain a victim of this handicap instead he will soon burst the cords of circumstances and environment no matter how strong they may seem and rise to claim his own his own that is born of struggle and hardship a toast to the man who fails as my fingers begin to play upon the keyboard of my typewriter I look and see before me a great army of men whose faces show the lines of care and despair some are in rags having reached the last stage of that long long trail which all men fight to avoid failure others are in better circumstances but the fear of starvation shows plainly on their faces the smile of courage has left their lips and they too seem to have given up the fight the scene shifts I look again and then carried backward into the events of history past and there I see also the failures of the past failures which have meant more to the human race than all the successes recorded in the history of the world I see the homely face of Socrates as he stood at the very end of that trail which men call failure waiting with upturned eyes through those moments that must have seemed like an eternity just before he drank the poisoned em lock I see Christopher Columbus standing in a Spanish dungeon a prisoner in Chains the Trib you paid him for his sacrifice when he set sail on an unknown ocean to discover an unknown world knowing that the chances were greatly in favor of his never returning to his native land I see the face of Thomas Payne the man whom the English sought to capture and put to death as the real instigator of the American Revolution I see him lying in a filthy prison in France waiting calmly under the shadow of the guillotine a reprieve from death in writing as he waited many pages dedicated to the advancement of human Liberty and I see also the face of the man from Galilee suffering on the cross at Calvary the reward for his efforts to interest men in being decent with one another here on earth failures all Oh to be such a failure Oh to go down in history as these men did as being brave enough to place humanity above the individual and principle above pecuniary gain on such failures rest the hopes of the world the test of a man the measure of a real man is in his ability to see with clear eyes all the beauty and the good and all the injustice and the wrong there is in the world and still maintained an even sense of proportion in all things toward all people I bow to the man who can see the imperfections of mankind without becoming cynical who can temper justice with mercy who can see the good there is in men who disagree with him who can work in harmony with those whom he does not admire who exercises self-control and let's reason instead of emotion govern his actions toward others such a man was the immortal Lincoln he was a man with a message when he had sufficient provocation to have become a man with a grievance instead as reward for his greatness the world has erected an everlasting monument to Lincoln's name a monument that the elements can never disintegrate that no deprecating hand can destroy a Monument built in the heart of the people built not of stone but of love sympathy patience tolerance and forgiveness for mankind those gentle qualities that memory attaches to his name and which are now the real test of a man the damaging effects of subterfuge and deceit nothing really seems so very bad until someone tries to cover it up through subterfuge and deceit we may not agree with the man who boldly admits his shortcomings but we cannot withhold from him a certain healthy respect on account of his boldness on the other hand the moment a person resorts to secrecy or deceptive fuge even in connection with matters of small importance that person becomes immediately marked as unworthy of trust if there is a skeleton in the closet which is apt to crawl out to plague one of the most inopportune time a mighty good plan is to voluntarily drag it out and say there it is what are you going to do about it people will forgive most anything unless there is an attempt to cover it up and close it in secrecy in that event forgiveness comes reluctantly if at all many a solid friend has been made by open frankness in connection with matters that within themselves where of small importance while on the other hand lifelong enemies have been made by lack of this frankness if a person is secretive and resorts to deceit and subterfuge in small matters the supposition is that in matters of Greater import the same tactics will prevail deliver more service and better service than you are paid for this simple injunction comes from a man who started at the very bottom in the most lowly sort of labor it constitutes the keynote of almost every public address this may delivers it permeates nearly everything he writes it creeps into his everyday conversation there are many reasons why this is sound counsel only one of which need be mentioned namely every person who forms the habit of delivering this sort of service soon attracts the attention of competitive bidders for his services he stands out above the common crowd like a skyscraper above the ordinary buildings and there is keen competition for his labour give the best service you know how to render regardless of the amount you receive for it and soon much sooner than you might imagine you will become a marked person and greater responsibilities and higher wages will be thrusting themselves upon you deliver the best service as you can not necessarily out of consideration for the purchaser but out of consideration for yourself failure to practice this habit is the chief obstacle that stands between 95% of the people and success but of course this does not apply to you or a desert aimlessness is a sin and it leads straight to poverty misery want and failure a man without a definite constructive purpose in life is simply one of nature's mistakes because she did not intend to create such a being in all probability seven remedies for a lien purse by George s claisen note to the listener the following story is a parable devised by claisen his teaching method was to render financial advice in the form of mythical stories the glory of Babylon indoors down through the ages its reputation comes to us as the richest of cities its treasures as fabulous yet it was not always so the riches of Babylon were the results of the money wisdom of its people they first had to learn how to become wealthy when the good King Sargon returned to Babylon after defeating his enemies the Elamites he was confronted with a serious situation the royal chancellor explained it to the king thus after many years of great prosperity brought to our people because your Majesty built the great irrigation canals and the mighty temples to the gods now that these works are completed the people seem unable to support themselves the laborers are without employment the merchants have few customers the farmers are unable to sell their produce the people have not enough gold to buy food but where has all the gold gone that we spend for all these great improvements demanded the king it has found its way I fear responded the Chancellor into the possession of a few very rich men of our city it filtered through the fingers of most of our people as quickly as the goat's milk goes through the strainer now that the stream of gold has ceased to flow most of our people have nothing to show for their earnings the king was thoughtful for some time then he asked why should so few men be able to acquire all the gold because they know how replied the Chancellor one may not condemn a man for succeeding because he knows how neither may one with justice take away from a man what he has fairly earned to give to men of less ability but why demanded the king should not all the people learn how to accumulate gold and therefore become them Elves rich and prosperous quite possible your excellency but who can teach them certainly not the priests because they know not of money-making who knows best in all our city how to become wealthy Chancellor ask the king by question answers itself your majesty who has amassed the greatest wealth in Babylon well said my able Chancellor it is our CAD he is the richest man in Babylon bring him before me on the morrow upon the following day as the King had decreed arc had appeared before him straight and sprightly despite his threescore years and ten our CAD spoke the king is it true thou art the richest man in Babylon so it is reported your majesty and no man disputes it how became thou so wealthy by taking advantage of opportunities available to all citizens of our good city thou had nothing to start with only a great desire for wealth besides this nothing our CAD continued the King our city is in a very unhappy state because a few men know how to acquire wealth and therefore monopolize it while the mass of our citizens lack the knowledge of how to keep any part of the gold they receive it is my desire that Babylon be the wealthiest city in the world therefore it must be a city of many wealthy men therefore we must teach all the people how to acquire riches tell me our CAD is there any secret to acquiring wealth can it be taught it is practical your majesty that which one man knows can be taught to others the King's eyes glowed our CAD thou speaketh the words I wish to hear wilt thou lend myself to this great kamas wilt thou teach thy knowledge to a school for teachers each of whom shall teach others until there are enough trained to teach these truths to every worthy subject in my domain arquette bowed and said I am the humble servant and whatever of knowledge I possess will I gladly give for the betterment of my fellow man and the glory of my king let your good Chancellor arrange for me a class of 100 men and I will teach them those seven remedies which did fat in my purse then which there was none leaner in all Babylon a fortnight later in compliance with the king's command the chosen hundred assembled in the Great Hall of the temple of learning seated upon colorful rugs in a semicircle our CAD sat beside a small tab erect upon which smoked a sacred lamp sending forth a strange and pleasing odor behold the richest man in Babylon whispered a student nudging his neighbor his Ark had rose he is but a man even as the rest of us as a dutiful subject of our great king our CAD began I stand before you in his service because once I was a poor youth who did greatly desire gold and because I found knowledge that enabled me to acquire it he asked that I impart unto you my knowledge I started my fortune in the humblest way I had no advantage not enjoyed as fully by you and every citizen of Babylon the first storehouse of my treasure was a well-worn purse I loved it's useless emptiness I desired that it be round in full clinking with the sound of gold therefore I sought every remedy for a lean purse I found seven too you who are assembled before me shall I explain the seven remedies for a lean purse which I do recommend to all men who desire much gold each day for seven days will I explain to you one of the seven remedies listen attentively to the knowledge that I will impart debate it with me discuss it among yourselves learn these lessons thoroughly that you may also plant in your own purses the seed of wealth first must each of you start wisely to build a fortune of his own then wilt thou be competent and only to teach these truths to others I shall teach you in simple ways how to fatten your purses this is the first step leading to the temple of wealth and no man may climb and cannot plant his feed firmly upon the first step we shall now consider the first remedy the first remedy start thy purse to fattening our cat addressed a thoughtful man in the second row my good friend at what craft were cast out i replied the man am a scribe and carve records upon the clay tablets even at such labour did I myself earn my first coppers therefore thou has the same opportunity to build a fortune he spoke to a florid-faced man further back pray tell also what dust out to Hearn I bread I responded this man am a meat butcher I do buy the goats the farmers raise and kill them and sell the meat to the housewives and the hides to the sandal makers because thou does also labor and earned thou has every advantage to succeed that I did possess in this way did our CAD proceed to find out how each man labored to earn his living when he had done questioning them he said now my students you can see that there are many trades and Labour's at which men may earn coins each of the ways of earning is a stream of gold from which the worker doth divert by his labors apportioned to his own purse therefore into the purse of each of you flows a stream of coins large or small according to his ability is it not so thereupon they agreed that it was so then continued our CAD if each of you desirous to build for himself a fortune is it not wise to start by utilizing that source of wealth which he already has established to this they agreed then our CAD turned to a humble man who had declared himself an egg merchant if thou select one of the baskets and put into it each morning ten eggs and take out from it each evening nine eggs what will eventually happen it will become in time overflowing why because each day I put in one more egg then I take out our CAD turned to the class with a smile does any man here have a lean purse first they looked amused and they laughed lastly they waved their purses and jest alright he continued now I shall tell thee the first remedy I learned to cure a lean purse do exactly as I have suggested to the egg merchant for every ten coins now places within thy purse take out for use but nine thy purse will start to fatten at once and its increasing weight will feel good in thy hand and bring satisfaction to thy soul derive not what I say because of its simplicity truth is always simple I told the I would tell how I built my fortune this was my beginning I too carried a lean person cursed it because there was not within to satisfy my desires but when I began to take out from my purse but nine parts of ten I put in it began to fatten so will vine now I will tell a strange truth the reason for which I know not when I cease to pay out more than nine-tenths of my earnings I managed to get along just as well I was not shorter than before also ere long did coins come to me more easily than before surely it is a law of the gods that unto Him who keepeth and spend if not a certain part of all his earnings shall gold come more easily likewise him whose purse is empty does gold void which desirous now the most is it the gratification of thy desires of each day a jewel a bit of finery better raiment more food things quickly gone and forgotten or is it substantial belongings gold lands herds merchandise CIM bringing investment the coins doubt take us from thy purse bring the first the coins thou leaveth within it will bring the latter this my students was the first remedy I did discover for my lien purse for each ten coins I put in to spend but nine debate this amongst yourselves if any man proves it untrue tell me upon the morrow when we shall meet again the second remedy control thy expenditures some of your members my students have asked me this how can a man keep one tenth of all hearings in his purse when all the coins he earns are not enough for his necessary expenses so did our CAD address his students upon the second day yesterday how many of the carried lean purses all of us answered the class yet thou do not all earn the same some are much more than others some have much larger families to support yet all persons were equally lean now I will tell thee an unusual truth about men and sons of men it is this that what each of us calls our necessary expenses will always grow to equal our incomes unless we protest to the contrary confuse not thy necessary expenses with thy desires each of you together with your good families have more desires than your earnings can gratify therefore are thy earnings spent to gratify these desires insofar as they will go still thou retain as many ungratified desires all men are burdened with more desires than they can gratify because of my wealth thinkest thou I may gratify every desire tis a fault idea there are limits to my time there are limits to my strength there are limits to the distance I may travel there are limits to what I may eat there are limits to the zest with which I may enjoy I say to you that just as weeds grow in a field wherever the farmer leaves space for their roots even Oh freely do desires grow in men whenever there is a possibility of there being gratified thy desires are a multitude and those that thou mayst gratify our but few study thoughtfully Zion custom habits of living here in may be most often found certain accepted expenses that may wisely be reduced or eliminated let thy motto be 100 percent of appreciated value demanded for each coin spent therefore engrave upon the clay each thing for which thou desirous to spend select those that are necessary and others that are possible through the expenditures of nine-tenths of the income cross out the rest and consider them but a part of that great multitude of desires that must go unsatisfied and regret them not budget then thy necessary expenses touch not the one tenth that is fattening thy purse let this be the great desire that is being fulfilled keep working with I budget keep adjusting it to help thee make it thy first assistant in defending thy fattening purse here upon one of the students wearing a robe of red and gold a rose and said I am a free man I believe that it is my right to enjoy the good things of life therefore do i rebel against the slavery of a budget which determines just how much I may spend and for what I feel it would take much pleasure from my life and make me little more than a pack ass to carry a burden to him arkaid replied who my friend would determine thy budget I would make it for myself responded the protesting one in that case where a pack asked a budget his burden would he include their end jewels and rugs and heavy bars of gold not so he would include hay and grain in a bag of water for the desert trail the purpose of a budget is to help that person it is to assist thee to have that necessities and insofar as attainable by other desires it is to enable the to realize they most cherish to by defending them from by casual wishes like a bright light in a dark cave thy budget shows up the leaks from thy purse and enables thee to stop them and control the expenditures for definite and gratifying purposes this then is the second remedy for a lien purse budget dai expenses that thou mayst have coins to pay for thy necessities to pay for thy enjoyments and to gratify thy worthwhile desires without spending more than nine-tenths of the earnings the third remedy make thy gold multiply behold thy lean purse is fattening thou has disciplined myself to leave therein one tenth of all thou earnest thou has controlled by expenditures to protect thy growing treasure next we will consider means to put thy treasure to labor and to increase gold in a purse is gratifying to own and satisfy it the miserly soul but earns nothing the gold we may retain from our earnings is but to start the earnings it will make shall build our fortunes so spoke our cad upon the third day to his class how therefore may we put our gold to work my first investment was unfortunate for I lost all its tail I will relate later my first profitable investment was alone I made to a man named agar a shield maker once each year did he buy large shipments of bronze brought from across the sea to use in his trade lacking sufficient capital to pay the merchants he would borrow from those who had extra coins he was an honourable man his borrowing he would repay together with a liberal rental as he sold his shields each time I loaned to him I loaned back also the rental he had paid to me therefore not only did my capital increase but it's earning likewise increased most gratifying was it to have these sums returned to my purse I tell you my students a man's wealth is not in the coins he carries in his purse it is in the income he buildeth the golden stream that continually floweth into his purse and keepeth it always bulging that is what every man desirous that is what thou each one of the desirous an income that continuous to come whether that work or travel great income I have acquired so great that I'm called a very rich man my loans to agar were my first training and profitable investment gaining wisdom from his experience I extended my loans and investment as my capital increased from a few sources at first from many sources later flowed into my purse a golden stream of wealth available for such wise uses as I should decide behold from my humble earnings I had begotten a horde of golden slaves each laboring and earning more gold as they labored for me so their children also labored and their children's children until great was the income from their combined efforts Gold increases rapidly when making reasonable earnings as that will see from the following a farmer when his first son was born took ten pieces of silver to a moneylender and asked him to keep it on rental for his son until he became 20 years of age this the moneylender did and agreed the rental should be one-fourth of its value each four years the farmer asked because this sum he had set aside as belonging to a son but the rental be added to the principle when the boy had reached the age of 20 years the farmer again went to the moneylender to inquire about the silver the moneylender explained that because the sum had been increased by compound interest the original 10 pieces of silver had now grown to 30 and one-half pieces the farmer was well pleased and because the son did not need the coins he left them with the moneylender when the son became 50 years of age the father meantime having passed to the other world the moneylender paid the son in settlement 167 pieces of silver thus in fifty years had the investment multiplied itself at rental almost 17 times this then is the third remedy for a lien purse to put each coin to laboring that it may reproduce its kind even as the flocks of the field and help bring to the income a stream of wealth that shall flow constantly into thy purse the fourth remedy guard thy treasures from loss this fortune loves a shining mark golden a man's purse must be guarded with firmness Elsa be lost thus it is wise that we must first secure small amount and learn to protect them before the gods and trust us with larger so spoke ark and upon the fourth day to his class every owner of gold is tempted by opportunities whereby it would seem that he could make large sums by its investment in most plausible projects often friends and relatives are eagerly entering each investment and urge him to follow the first sound principle of investment is security for thy principle is it wise to be intrigued by larger earnings when thy principle may be lost I say not the penalty of risk is probable loss study carefully before parting with the treasure each assurance that it may be safely reclaimed be not misled by thy own romantic desires to make wealth rapidly before thou loan it to any man assured thyself of his ability to repay and his reputation for doing so that thou mayst not unwittingly by making him a present of thy hard-earned treasure before thou entrusted as an investment in any field acquaint thyself with the dangers which may beset it my own first investment was a tragedy to me at the time the guarded savings of a year I didn't trust to a brick maker named oz Moore who was travelling over the FARC's an entire agreed to buy for me the rare jewels of the Phoenicians these we would sell upon his return and divide the profits the Asians were scoundrels and sold him bits of glass my treasure was lost today my training would show me at once the folly of entrusting of brickmaker to buy jewels therefore do I advise thee from the wisdom of my experiences be not too confident of their own wisdom and entrusting their treasures to the possible pitfalls of investments better far consult the wisdom of those experienced in handling money for profit such advice is freely given for the asking and may readily possess a value equal in gold to the some now consider investing in truth such is its actual value if it saved thee from loss this then is the fourth remedy for a lien purse and of great importance if it prevent diapers from being emptied once it has become well filled guard thy treasure from loss by investing only where thy principle is safe where it may be reclaimed if desirable and where thou will not fail to collect a fair rental consult with wise men secure the advice of men experienced and the profitable handling of gold let their wisdom protect thy treasure from unsafe investment the fifth remedy make of thy dwelling a profitable investment if a man set us aside nine parts of his earnings upon which to live and enjoy life and if any part of this nine parts he can turn into a profitable investment without detriment to his well-being then so much faster will his treasures grow so spake our CAD to his class at their fifth lesson all too many of our men of Babylon do raise their families in unseemly quarters they do pay to exacting landlords liberal rentals for rooms where their wives have not a spot to raise the blooms that gladden a woman's heart and their children have no place to play their games except in the unclean alleys no man's family can fully enjoy life unless they do have a plot of ground wherein children can play in the clean earth and where the wife may raise not only blossoms but goodrich herbs to feed her family to a man's heart it brings gladness to eat the figs from his own trees and the grapes of his own vines to own his own domicile and to have it a place he is proud to care for put his confidence in his heart and greater effort behind all his endeavors therefore do I recommend that every man own the Ruth's and shelter a--the him and his northa beyond the ability of any well-intentioned man to own his home hath not our Great King so widely extended the walls of Babylon that within them much land is now unused and may be purchased at sums most reasonable also I say to you my students that the moneylenders gladly consider the desires of men who seek homes and lands for their families readily may they borrow to pay the brick maker and the Builder for such commendable purposes if thou can show a reasonable portion of the necessary sum which now they sell hath provided for the purpose then when the house be built thou canst pay the moneylender with the same regularity and thou didst pay the landlord because each payment will reduce the indebtedness to the moneylender a few years will satisfy his loan then we'll tie heart be glad because thou wilt own in thy own right of valuable property and thy only cost will be the Kings taxes also wilt thou good wife go more often to the river to wash their robes that each time returning she may bring a goatskin of water to pour upon the growing things thus come many blessings to the man who own at his own house and greatly will it reduce his cost of living making available more of his earnings for pleasures and the gratification of his desires this then is the 5th remedy for a lean purse owned I own home the sixth remedy ensure a future income the life of every man from his childhood to his old age this is the path of life and no man may deviate from it unless the gods call him prematurely to the world beyond therefore do I say that it behooves a man to make preparation for a suitable income in the days to come when he is no longer young and to make preparations for his family should he be no longer with them to comfort and support them this lessons shall instruct thee in providing a full purse when time has made the less able to earn so our CAD addressed his class upon the sixth day the man who because of his understanding of the laws of wealth acquired the growing surplus should give thought to those future days he should plan certain investments or provisions that may endure safely for many years yet will be available when the time arrives which he is so wisely anticipated there are diverse ways by which a man may provide with safety for his future he may provide a hiding place and there bury a secret treasure yet no matter with what skill it be hidden it may nevertheless become the loot of thieves for this reason I recommend not this plan a man may buy houses or lands for this purpose if wisely chosen as to their usefulness and value in the future they are permanent in their value and their earnings or their sale will provide well for his purpose a man may loan a small sum to the moneylender and increase it at regular periods the rental which the moneylender adds to this will largely add to its increase I do know a sandal maker named Anson who explained to me not long ago that each week for eight years he had deposited with his moneylender two pieces of silver the moneylender had but recently given him an accounting over which he greatly rejoiced the total of his small deposits with the rental at the customary rate of one-fourth their value for each four years had now become a thousand and forty pieces of silver I did gladly encourage him further by demonstrating to him with my knowledge of the numbers that in 12 years more if he would keep his regular deposits about two pieces of silver each week the moneylender would then owe him four thousand pieces of silver a worthy competence for the rest of his life surely when such a small payment made with regularity death produced such profitable results no man can afford not to insure a treasure for his old age and the protection of his family no matter how prosperous his business and his investment may be I would that I might say more about this in my mind wrest the belief that someday wise thinking men will devise a plan to insure men against death whereby many men pay in but a trifling sum regularly the aggregate making a handsome sum for the family of each member who passes to the beyond this do I see as something desirable in which I could highly recommend but today it is not possible because it must reach beyond the life of any man or any partnership to operate it must be as stable as the king's throne some day do I feel that such a plan shall come to pass and be a great blessing to many men because even the first small payment will make available a snug fortune for the family of a member should he pass on but because we live in our own day and not in the days which are to come we must take advantage of those means and ways of accomplishing our purposes therefore do I recommend to all men that they buy wise and well-thought-out methods do provide against a lean person their mature years for a lean purse to a man no longer able to earn or to a family without its head is a sword tragedy this then is the sixth remedy for a lean purse provide in advance for the needs of that growing age and the protection of thy family the seventh remedy increase thy ability to earn this day do I speak to thee my students of one of the most vital remedies for a lien purse yet I will talk not of gold but of yourselves of the men beneath the robes of many colors who do sit before me I will talk to you of those things within the minds and lives of men which do work for or against their success so did our CAD address his class upon the seventh day not long ago came to me a young man seeking to borrow when I questioned him the cause of his necessity he complained that his earnings were insufficient to pay his expenses thereupon I explained to him this being the case he was a poor customer for the moneylender as he possessed no surplus earning capacity to repay the loan what you need young man I told him is to earn more coins what does thou to increase thy capacity to earn all that I can do he replied six times within two moons have I approached my master to request my pay be increased but without success no man can go oftener than that we may smile at his simplicity yet he did possess one of the vital requirements to increase his earnings within him was a strong desire to earn more a proper and commendable desire preceding accomplishment must be desire thy desires must be strong and definite general desires are but weak longings for a man to wish to be riches of little purpose for a man to desire five pieces of gold is a tangible desire which he can press to fulfilment after he has backed his desire for five pieces of gold with strength of purpose to secure it next he can find similar ways to obtain ten pieces and then twenty pieces and later a thousand pieces and behold he has become wealthy in learning to secure his one definite small desire he hath trained himself to secure a larger one this is the process by which wealth is accumulated first in small sums then in larger ones as a man learns and becomes more capable desires must be simple and definite they defeat their own purpose should they be too many too confusing or beyond the training to accomplish as a man perfected himself in his calling even so does his ability to earn increase in those days when I was a humble scribe carving upon the clay for a few coppers each day I observed that other workers did more than I and were paid more therefore did I determine that I would be exceeded by none nor did it take long for me to discover the reason for the greater success more interest in my work more concentration upon my task more persistence in my effort and behold few men could carve more tablets in a day than I with reasonable promptness my increased skill was rewarded nor was it necessary for me to go six times to my master to request recognition the more of wisdom we know the more we may earn that man who seeks to learn more of his craft shall be richly rewarded if he is an artisan he may seek to learn the methods and the tools of those most skillful in the same line if he laborious at the law or at healing he may consult in exchange knowledge with others of his calling if he be a merchant he may continually seek better goods that can be purchased in lower prices always do the affairs of man change and improve because keen minded men seek greater skill that they may better serve those upon whose patronage they depend therefore I urge all men to be in the front rank of progress and not to stand still lest they be left behind many things come to make a man's life rich with gainful experiences such things as the following a man must do if he shall respect himself he must pay his debts with all promptness within his power not purchasing that for which he is unable to pay he must take care of his family that they may think and speak well of him he must make a will of record that in case the gods call him proper and honorable division of his property be accomplished he must have compassion upon those who are injured or smitten by misfortune and aid them within reasonable limits he must do deeds of thoughtfulness to those dear to him thus the seventh and last remedy for a lien purse is to cultivate Dai own powers to study and become more skillful to so act as to respect their by shalt thou acquire confidence in myself to achieve that carefully considered desires these then are the seven remedies for a lien purse which out of the experience of a long and successful life I do urge for all men who desire wealth there is more gold in Babylon my students than now dream us of there is abundance for all go thou for it and practice these truths that thou mayest prosper and grow wealthy as is thy right go thou forth and teach these truths that every honorable subject of His Majesty may also share liberally in the ample wealth of our beloved City this is thy king's command after failure what by orson Swett Marden a great many people never really discover themselves until ruins stairs them in the face they do not seem to know how to bring out their reserves until they are overtaken by an overwhelming disaster or until the sight of their blighted prospects and of the wreck of their homes and happiness stirs them to the very center of their beings the real test of character is what a man does after he fails what will he do next what resources what inventiveness will his failure arouse in him will it discover new sources of power will it bring out reserves double is determinate or will it disabled mind said Emerson as that tenacity of purpose which through all changes of companions or parties or fortunes changes never Bates no jot of heart or hope but where ease out opposition and arrives at its port to come up again and rest triumph from defeat that is the secret of the success of every brave and noble life that ever was lived a little boy was asked how he learned to skate oh by getting up every time I fell down he replied this is the spirit that leads men and armies to victory it is not the fall but the not getting up that is defeat perhaps the past has been a bitter disappointment to you and looking it over you may feel that you've been plotting along and mediocrity you may not have succeeded in the particular things you expected to succeed in or you may have lost friends and relatives who were very dear to you you may have lost your business and even your home may have been wrenched from you because you could not pay the mortgage on it or because of sickness and consequent inability to work the new year may present a very discouraging outlook to you yet in spite of any or all of these misfortunes if you refuse to be conquered victory is awaiting you further on the road this is the test of your manhood how much is there left in you after you have lost everything outside of yourself if you lie down now throw up your hands and acknowledge yourself worsted there's not much in you but if with heart undaunted and face turned forward you refuse to give up or to lose faith in yourself if you scorn to be to retreat you will show that the man left in you is bigger than your loss greater than your cross and larger than any defeat you may say that you have failed too often that there is no use in trying that it is impossible for you to succeed and that it is useless for you even to attempt to get on your feet again nonsense there is no failure for a man whose spirit is unconquered no matter how late the hour or how many and repeated his failures success is still possible the evolution of Scrooge the miser in the closing years of his life from a hard narrow heartless money-grubber whose soul was imprisoned in his shining heap of hoarded gold to a generous genial lover of his kind is no mere myth of Dickens brain time and again in the history of our daily lives chronicled in our newspapers recorded in biographies or exhibited before our eyes we see men and women redeeming past failures rising up out of the stupor of discouragement and boldly turning face forward once more there are thousands of people who have lost everything they had in the world who are just as far from failure as they were before their loss because of their uncomfortable spirit stout hearts that never quail in true manhood there's something which rises higher than worldly success or failure no matter what reverses come to him what disappointments or failures a really great man Rises superior to them he never loses his equanimity in the midst of storms and trials to which a weak nature would succumb his serene soul his calm confidence still assert themselves so completely dominating all our conditions that they have no power to harm him what is defeat says Wendell Phillips nothing but the first steps to something higher many a one has finally succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts if he had never met defeat he would never have known any great victory there is something in defeat which puts new determination into a man of medow know there is no failure for the man who realizes his power who never knows when he is beaten there is no failure for the determined endeavor in conquerable will there is no failure for the man who gets up every time he falls who rebounds like a rubber ball who persists when everyone else gives up who pushes on when everyone else turns back light on life's difficulties by James Allen I truth my redeemer come to me lay down thy sin and pain and wild unrest and I will calm thy spirits stormy sea pouring the oil of peace upon my breast friendless and lone lo I abide with thee defeated and deserted cast away what refuge hast thou whither canst thou fly upon my changeless breast thigh burdens lay I am thy certain refuge even I all things are passing I alone can stay low high the great Forsaken am the friend of the Forsaken I whom men despise the weak the helpless and despised defend I gladden aching hearts and weeping eyes rest now in me I am thy sorrows and lovers and friends and wealth pleasures and fame these fail and change and pass into decay but my love does not change and in thy blame I blame thee not nor turn my face away in my calm bazoom hide thy sin and shame forward when a man enters a dark room he is not sure of his movements he cannot see the objects around or properly locate them and is liable to hurt himself by coming into sudden contact with them but let a light be introduced and immediately all confusion disappears every object is seen and there's no more danger of being hurt - the majority life is such a dark room and their frequent hurts their disappointments perplexity sorrows and pains are caused by sudden contact with principles which they do not see and are therefore not prepared to deal with but when the light of wisdom is introduced into the darkened understanding confusion vanishes difficulties are dissolved all things are seen in their true place and proportion and henceforth the man walks open died and unhurt in the clear light of a wise comprehension James Allen bring galoo Ilfracombe England the light that leads to perfect peace this audiobook is intended to be a strong and kingly companion as well as a source of spiritual renewal and inspiration to those who aim at a life well-lived and made strong and serene it will help its listeners to transform themselves into the ideal character they would wish to be and to make their life here that blessed thing which the majority only hope for in some future life our life is what we make it by our own thoughts and deeds it is our own state and attitude of mind which determine whether we are happy or unhappy strong or weak sinful or wholly foolish or wise if one is unhappy that state of mind belongs to himself and is originated within himself it is a state which responds to certain outward happenings but its cause lies within and not in those outward occurrences if one is weak in will his brought himself to and remains in that condition by the course of thought and action which he has chosen and is still choosing if one is sinful it is because he is committed and continues to commit sinful acts if he is foolish it is because he himself does foolish things a man has no character no soul no life apart from his thoughts and deeds what they are that he is as they are modified so does he change he is endowed with will and can modify his character as the carpenter changes the block of wood into a beautiful piece of furniture so can the airing and sin stricken man change himself into a wise and truth loving being each man is responsible for the thoughts which he thinks and the acts which he does for his state of mind and the life which he lives no power no event no circumstance can compel a man to evil and unhappiness he himself is his own compeller he thinks and acts by his own volition no being however wise and great not even the supreme can make him good and happy he himself must choose the good and thereby fine the happy and because of this that when a man wishes and wills he can find the good and the true and enjoy its bliss and peace there is eternal gladness in the courts of truth and holy joy amongst the perfect ones the gates of heaven are forever open and no one is prevented from entering by any will or power but his own but no one can enter the kingdom of heaven so long as he is enamored of and chooses the seductions of Hell so long as he resigns himself to sin and sorrow there is a larger higher nobler diviner life than that of sinning and suffering which is so common in which indeed nearly all are immersed a life of victory over sin and triumph over evil a life wise and happy benign and tranquil virtuous and peaceful this life can be found and lived now and he who lives it is steadfast in the midst of change restful among the restless peaceful the surrounded by strife should death confront him he is calm though assailed by persecution he knows no bitterness and his heart is compassionate and filled with rejoicing in this supremely beautiful life there is no evil sin and sorrow are ended and aching hearts and weeping eyes are no more this life of triumph is not for those who are satisfied with any lower conditions it is for those who thirst of it and are willing to achieve it who are as eager for righteousness as the miser is for gold it is always at hand and is offered to all and blessed are they who accept and embrace it they will enter the world of truth they will find the perfect peace light on facts and hypotheses when freedom of thought and freedom of expression abound there is much controversy and much confusion yet it is from such controversial confusion that the simple facts of life emerge attracting us with their eternal uniformity and harmony and appealing forcibly to us with their invisible simplicity and truth we are living in such an age of freedom and mental conflict never were religious sects so numerous schools philosophical occult and otherwise abound and each is eager for the perpetuation and dominance of its own explanation of the universe the world is in a condition of mental ferment contradiction has reached the point of confusion so that the earnest seeker for truth can find no solid rock of Refuge in the opposing systems which are presented to him and is thereby thrown back upon himself upon those incontrovertible facts of his own being which are ever with him which are indeed himself his life controversy has ranged around hypotheses not around facts fact is fixed and final hypothesis is variable and vanishing in his present stage of development man is not alive to the beautiful simplicity effects nor to the power of satisfaction which is inherent in him he does not perceive the intrinsic loveliness of truth but must add something to it hence when a fact is named the question almost invariably arises how can you explain the fact and then follows a hypothesis which leads to another hypothesis and so on and so on until the fact is altogether lost sight of amid a mass of contradictory suppositions thus arise the sex and controversial schools the clear perception of one fact will lead to the perception of other facts but a supposition while appearing to elucidate a fact does in reality cover it up we cannot realize is the stately splendor of truth' while playing with the gaudy and attractive toys of pretty hypotheses truth is not an opinion nor can any opinion enlarge or adorn it fact and supposition are eternally separate and the cleverest intellectual jugglery while it may entertain and deceive even the elect cannot in the slightest degree alter a fact or affect the future of things as they are because of this the true teacher abandons the devious path of hypothesis and deals only with the simple facts of life fixing the attention of men upon these instead of increasing confusion and intensifying wordy warfare by forcing another assumption upon a world already lost and bewildered in a maze of hypotheses the facts of life are ever before us and can be understood and known if we but abandon our egotism and the blinding delusions which that egotism creates men need not go beyond his own being to find wisdom and the facts of that being afford a sufficient basis on which to erect a temple of knowledge of such beauty and dimensions that it shall at once emancipate and glorify man is and as he thinks so he is a perception and realization of these two facts alone of man's being and thinking lead into a vast avenue of knowledge which cannot stop short of the highest wisdom and perfection one of the reasons why men do not become wise is that they occupy themselves with interminable speculations about a soul separate from themselves that is from their own mind and so blind themselves to their actual nature and being the supposition of a separate soul veils the eyes of man's so that he does not see himself does not know his mentality is unaware of the nature of his thoughts without which he would have no conscious life man's life is actual his thoughts are actual his life is actual to occupy ourselves with the investigation of things that are is the way of wisdom man considered as above beyond and set from mind and thought is speculative and not actual and to occupy ourselves with the study of things that are not is the way a folly man cannot be separated from his mind his life cannot be separated from his thoughts mind thought and life are as inseparable as like radiance and color and are no more in need of another factor to elucidate them than our light radiance and color the facts are all sufficient and contained within themselves the groundwork of all knowledge concerning them man as mind is subject to change he is not something made and finally complete but has within him the capacity for progress by the universal law of evolution he has become what he is and is becoming that which he will be his being is modified by every thought he thinks every experience affects his character every effort he makes changes his mentality herein is the secret of man's degradation and also of his power and salvation if he but utilized this law of change in the right choice of thought to live is to think and act and to think an act is to change well

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Length: 180min 0sec (10800 seconds)

Published: Fri May 12 2017