THE POWER OF CONCENTRATION/PART 1
LESSON I. CONCENTRATION
FINDS THE WAY
Everyone
has two natures. One wants us to advance and the other wants to pull us back.
The one that we cultivate and concentrate on decides what we are at the end.
Both natures are trying to gain control. The will alone decides the issue. A
man by one supreme effort of the will may change his whole career and almost
accomplish miracles. You may be that man. You can be if you Will to be, for
Will can find a way or make one.
I
could easily fill a book, of cases where men plodding along in a matter-of-fact
way, were all at once aroused and as if awakening from a slumber they developed
the possibilities within them and from that time on were different persons. You
alone can decide when the turning point will come. It is a matter of choice
whether we allow our diviner self to control us or whether we will be
controlled by the brute within us. No man has to do anything he does not want
to do. He is therefore the director of his life if he wills to be. What we are
to do, is the result of our training. We are like putty, and can be completely
controlled by our will power.
Habit
is a matter of acquirement. You hear people say: "He comes by this or that
naturally, a chip off the old block," meaning that he is only doing what
his parents did. This is quite often the case, but there is no reason for it,
for a person can break a habit just the moment he masters the "I
will." A man may have been a "good-for-nothing" all his life up
to this very minute, but from this time on he begins to amount to something.
Even old men have suddenly changed and accomplished wonders. "I lost my
opportunity," says one. That may be true, but by sheer force of will, we
can find a way to bring us another opportunity. There is no truth in the saying
that opportunity knocks at our door but once in a lifetime. The fact is,
opportunity never seeks us; we must seek it. What usually turns out to be one
man's opportunity, was another man's loss. In this day one man's brain is
matched against another's. It is often the quickness of brain action that determines
the result. One man thinks "I will do it," but while he
procrastinates the other goes ahead and does the work. They both have the same
opportunity. The one will complain of his lost chance. But it should teach him
a lesson, and it will, if he is seeking the path that leads to success.
Many
persons read good books, but say they do not get much good out of them. They do
not realize that all any book or any lesson course can do is to awaken them to
their possibilities; to stimulate them to use their will power. You may teach a
person from now until doom's day, but that person will only know what he learns
himself. "You can lead him to the fountain, but you can't make him
drink."
One
of the most beneficial practices I know of is that of looking for the good in
everyone and everything, for there is good in all things. We encourage a person
by seeing his good qualities and we also help ourselves by looking for them. We
gain their good wishes, a most valuable asset sometimes. We get back what we
give out. The time comes when most all of us need encouragement; need buoying
up. So form the habit of encouraging others, and you will find it a wonderful
tonic for both those encouraged and yourself, for you will get back encouraging
and uplifting thoughts.
Life
furnishes us the opportunity to improve. But whether we do it or not depends
upon how near we live up to what is expected of us. The first of each month, a
person should sit down and examine the progress he has made. If he has not come
up to "expectations" he should discover the reason, and by extra
exertion measure up to what is demanded next time. Every time that we fall
behind what we planned to do, we lose just so much for that time is gone
forever. We may find a reason for doing it, but most excuses are poor
substitutes for action. Most things are possible. Ours may be a hard task, but
the harder the task, the greater the reward. It is the difficult things that
really develop us, anything that requires only a small effort, utilizes very
few of our faculties, and yields a scanty harvest of achievement. So do not
shrink from a hard task, for to accomplish one of these will often bring us
more good than a dozen lesser triumphs.
I
know that every man that is willing to pay the price can be a success. The
price is not in money, but in effort. The first essential quality for success
is the desire to do—to be something. The next thing is to learn how to do it;
the next to carry it into execution. The man that is the best able to
accomplish anything is the one with a broad mind; the man that has acquired
knowledge, that may, it is true, be foreign to this particular case, but is,
nevertheless, of some value in all cases. So the man that wants to be
successful must be liberal; he must acquire all the knowledge that he can; he
must be well posted not only in one branch of his business but in every part of
it. Such a man achieves success.
The
secret of success is to try always to improve yourself no matter where you are
or what your position. Learn all you can. Don't see how little you can do, but
how much you can do. Such a man will always be in demand, for he establishes
the reputation of being a hustler. There is always room for him because
progressive firms never let a hustler leave their employment if they can help it.
The
man that reaches the top is the gritty, plucky, hard worker and never the
timid, uncertain, slow worker. An untried man is seldom put in a position of
responsibility and power. The man selected is one that has done something,
achieved results in some line, or taken the lead in his department. He is
placed there because of his reputation of putting vigor and virility into his
efforts, and because he has previously shown that he has pluck and
determination.
The
man that is chosen at the crucial time is not usually a genius; he does not
possess any more talent than others, but he has learned that results can only
be produced by untiring concentrated effort. That "miracles," in
business do not just "happen." He knows that the only way they will
happen is by sticking to a proposition and seeing it through. That is the only
secret of why some succeed and others fail. The successful man gets used to
seeing things accomplished and always feels sure of success. The man that is a
failure gets used to seeing failure, expects it and attracts it to him.
It
is my opinion that with the right kind of training every man could be a
success. It is really a shame that so many men and women, rich in ability and
talent, are allowed to go to waste, so to speak. Some day I hope to see a
millionaire philanthropist start a school for the training of failures. I am
sure he could not put his money to a better use. In a year's time the science
of practical psychology could do wonders for him. He could have agencies on the
lookout for men that had lost their grip on themselves; that had through
indisposition weakened their will; that through some sorrow or misfortune had
become discouraged. At first all they need is a little help to get them back on
their feet, but usually they get a knock downwards instead. The result is that
their latent powers never develop and both they and the world are the losers. I
trust that in the near future, someone will heed the opportunity of using some
of his millions in arousing men that have begun to falter. All they need to be
shown is that there is within them an omnipotent source that is ready to aid
them, providing they will make use of it. Their minds only have to be turned
from despair to hope to make them regain their hold.
When
a man loses his grip today, he must win his redemption by his own will. He will
get little encouragement or advice of an inspiring nature. He must usually
regain the right road alone. He must stop dissipating his energies and turn his
attention to building a useful career. Today we must conquer our weakening
tendencies alone. Don't expect anyone to help you. Just take one big brace,
make firm resolutions, and resolve to conquer your weaknesses and vices. Really
none can do this for you. They can encourage you; that is all.
I can
think of nothing, but lack of health, that should interfere with one becoming
successful. There is no other handicap that you should not be able to overcome.
To overcome a handicap, all that it is necessary to do is to use more
determination and grit and will.
The
man with grit and will, may be poor today and wealthy in a few years; will
power is a better asset than money; Will will carry you over chasms of failure,
if you but give it the chance.
The
men that have risen to the highest positions have usually had to gain their
victories against big odds. Think of the hardships many of our inventors have
gone through before they became a success. Usually they have been very much
misunderstood by relatives and friends. Very often they did not have the bare necessities
of life, yet, by sheer determination and resolute courage, they managed to
exist somehow until they perfected their inventions, which afterwards greatly
helped in bettering the condition of others.
Everyone
really wants to do something, but there are few that will put forward the
needed effort to make the necessary sacrifice to secure it. There is only one
way to accomplish anything and that is to go ahead and do it. A man may
accomplish almost anything today, if he just sets his heart on doing it and
lets nothing interfere with his progress. Obstacles are quickly overcome by the
man that sets out to accomplish his heart's desire. The "bigger" the
man, the smaller the obstacle appears. The "smaller" the man the
greater the obstacle appears. Always look at the advantage you gain by
overcoming obstacles, and it will give you the needed courage for their
conquest.
Do
not expect that you will always have easy sailing. Parts of your journey are
likely to be rough. Don't let the rough places put you out of commission. Keep
on with the journey. Just the way you weather the storm shows what material you
are made of. Never sit down and complain of the rough places, but think how
nice the pleasant stretches were. View with delight the smooth plains that are in
front of you.
Do
not let a setback stop you. Think of it as a mere incident that has to be
overcome before you can reach your goal.
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