a definite chief aim by napolean hill

8/7/2019 A Definite Chief Aim by Napolean Hill

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TTHHEE

LLAAWWOOFF

SSUUCCCCEESSSS IN SIXTEEN LESSONS

Teaching, for the First Time in theHistory of the World, the True Philos-ophy upon which all Personal Successis Built.

BYNAPOLEON HILL

1 9 2 8

Ebook version Abundance Prosperity, 2006, All Rights Reserved


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COPYRIGHT, 1928, BY

NAPOLEON HILL

______

Printed in the U.S.A.

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Lesson Two

A DEFINITE CHIEF AIM

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The best rose bush, after

all, is not that which has

the fewest thorns, but

that which bears the fin-

est roses.

-Henry van Dyke

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THE LAW OF SUCCESS

Lesson Two

A DEFINITE CHIEF AIM

"You Can Do It i f You Believe You Can!"

YOU are at the beginning of a course of

philosophy which, for the first t ime in the history ofthe world, has been organized from the known factorswhich have been used and must always be used bysuccessful people.

Literary style has been completely subordinatedfor the sake of stat ing the principles and lawsincluded in this course in such a manner that they may

be quickly and easi ly assimilated by people in everywalk of l i fe .

Some of the principles described in the course arefamiliar to al l who will read the course. Others arehere stated for the f irst t ime. I t should be kept inmind, from the f irst lesson to the last , that the valueof the philosophy l ies entirely in the thoug ht st imuli i twil l produce in the mind of the student, and notmerely in the lessons themselves.

Stated in another way, this course is intended as a

mind st imulant that wil l cause the student to organize

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and direct to a DEFINITE end the forces of his or hermind, thus harnessing the stupendous power whichmost people waste in spasmodic, purposeless thought.

Singleness of purpose is essential for success, no

matter what may be one 's idea of the definit ion ofsuccess. Yet singleness of purpose is a quali ty whichmay, and generally does, cal l for thought on manyall ied subjects.

This author traveled a long distance to watch JackDempsey train for an oncoming batt le . I t was observedthat he did not rely entirely upon one form ofexercise, but resorted to many forms. The punching

bag helped him develop one set of muscles, and alsotrained his eye to be quick. The dumb-bells trainedsti l l another set of muscles. Running developed themuscles of his legs and hips. A well balanced foodration supplied the materials needed for buildingmuscle without fat . Proper sleep, relaxation and resthabits provided st i l l other quali t ies which he musthave in order to win.

The student of this course is , or should be,engaged in the business of training for success in the

batt le of l ife . To win there are many factors whichmust have at tention. A well organized, aler t andenergetic mind is produced by various and sundrystimuli , al l of which are plainly described in theselessons.

I t should be remembered, however, that the mindrequires, for i ts development, a variety of exercise,

just as the physical body, to be properly developed,calls for many forms of systematic exercise.

Horses are trained to certain gaits by trainers whohurdle-jump them over handicaps which cause them todevelop the desired steps, through habit and

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repeti t ion. The human mind must be trained in asimilar manner, by a variety of thought- inspir ingstimuli .

You will observe, before you have gone very far

into this philosophy, that the reading of these lessonswill superinduce a f low of thoughts covering a widerange of subjects. For this reason the student shouldread the course with a note-book and pencil at hand,and follow the practice of recording these thoughts or"ideas" as they come into the mind .

By following this suggestion the student wil lhave a collection of ideas, by the t ime the course has

been read two or three t imes, suff icient to transformhis or her entire l ife-plan.

By following this practice i t wil l be noticed, verysoon, that the mind has become l ike a magnet in that i twil l at tract useful ideas r ight out of the "thin air ," touse the words of a noted scientist who hasexperimented with this principle for a great number ofyears.

You will do yourself a great injust ice if youundertake this course with even a remote feeling thatyou do not stand in need of more knowledge than younow possess. In truth, no man knows enough about anyworth-while subject to enti t le him to feel that he hasthe last word on that subject .

In the long, hard task of trying to wipe out someof my own ignorance and make way for some of theuseful truths of l i fe , I have often seen, in my

imagination, the Great Marker who stands at thegateway entrance of l i fe and writes "Poor Fool" on the

brow of those who believe they are wise, and "PoorSinner" on the brow of those who believe they aresaints.

Which, translated into workaday language, means

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that none of us know very much, and by the verynature of our being can never know as much as weneed to know in order to l ive sanely and enjoy l ifewhile we l ive.

Humili ty is a forerunner of success!Unti l we become humble in our own hearts we are

not apt to profi t greatly by the experiences andthoughts of others.

Sounds l ike a preachment on morali ty? Well ,what if i t does?

Even "preachments," as dry and lacking ininterest as they generally are, may be beneficial i f

they serve to ref lect the shadow of our real selves sowe may get an approximate idea of our smallness andsuperficial i ty.

Success in l ife is largely predicated upon ourknowing men!

The best place to study the man-animal is in yourown mind, by taking as accurate an inventory as

possible of YOURSELF. When you know yourselfthoroughly ( if you ever do) you will also know muchabout others.

To know others, not as they seem to be, but asthey really are, study them through:

1-The posture of the body, and the way they walk.2-The tone of the voice, i ts quali ty, pi tch, volume.3-The eyes, whether shif ty or direct .4-The use of words, their t rend, nature and quali ty.

Through these open windows you may l i teral ly "walk

right into a man's soul" and take a look at the REALMAN!

Going a step further , i f you would know menstudy them:

When angry

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When in loveWhen money is involvedWhen eating (alone, and unobserved, as they be-

l ieve)

When writ ingWhen in troubleWhen joyful and tr iumphantWhen downcast and defeatedWhen facing catastrophe of a hazardous natureWhen trying to make a "good impression" on othersWhen informed of another 's misfortuneWhen informed of another 's good fortune

When losing in any sort of a game of sportWhen winning at sportWhen alone, in a meditat ive mood.

Before you can know any man, as he really is ,you must observe him in al l the foregoing moods, and

perhaps more, which is practically the equivalent ofsaying that you have no r ight to judge others at sight .Appearances count, there can be no doubt of that , butappearances are often deceiving.

This course has been so designed that the studentwho masters i t may take inventory of himself and ofothers by other than "snap-judgment" methods. Thestudent who masters this philosophy will be able tolook through the outer crust of personal adornment,clothes, so-called culture and the l ike, and down deepinto the heart of al l about him.

This is a very broad promise!

I t would not have been made if the author of thisphilosophy had not known, from years ofexperimentation and analysis, that the promise can bemet. Some who have examined the manuscripts of this

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NO person is "Educated"

who has not at least a

"Speaking Acquaintance"

with the Law of

Compensation, as it is

described by Emerson.

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course have asked why i t was not called a course inMaster Salesmanship. The answer is that the word"salesmanship" is commonly, associated with themarketing of goods or services, and i t would,

therefore, narrow down and circumscribe the realnature of the course. I t is t rue that this is a course inMaster Salesmanship, providing one takes a deeper-than-the-average view of the meaning ofsalesmanship.

This philosophy is intended to enable those whomaster i t to "sell" their way through l ife successfully,with the minimum amount of resistance and fr ict ion.

Such a course, therefore, must help the studentorganize and make use of much truth which isoverlooked by the majori ty of people who go throughlife as mediocres.

Not al l people are so consti tuted that they wish toknow the truth about al l matters vi tal ly affecting l ife .One of the great surprises the author of this coursehas met with, in connection with his researchactivit ies, is that so few people are wil l ing to hear thetruth when i t shows up their own weaknesses.

We prefer i l lusions to reali t ies!New truths, i f accepted at al l , are taken with the

proverbial grain of salt . Some of us demand more thana mere pinch of sal t ; we demand enough to pickle newideas so they become useless.

For these reasons the Introductory Lesson of thiscourse, and this lesson as well , cover subjects

intended to pave the way for new ideas so those ideaswill not be too severe a shock to the mind of thestudent.

The thought the author wishes to "get across" hasbeen quite plainly stated by the editor of the American

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Magazine, in an editorial which appeared in a recentissue, in the following words:

"On a recent rainy night, Carl Lomen, thereindeer king of Alaska, told me a true story. I t has

stuck in my crop ever since. And now I am going topass i t a long.

" 'A certain Greenland Eskimo, ' said Lomen, 'wastaken on one of the American North Polar expedit ionsa number of years ago. Later , as a reward for fai thfulservice, he was brought to New York City for a shortvisi t . At al l the miracles of sight and sound he wasfi l led with a most amazed wonder. When he returned

to his native vil lage he told stories of buildings thatrose into the very face of the sky; of street cars, whichhe described as houses that moved along the trai l ,with people l iving in them as they moved; ofmammoth bridges, ar t if icial l ights, and al l the otherdazzling concomitants of the metropolis.

" 'His people looked at him coldly and walkedaway. And forthwith throughout the whole vil lage hewas dubbed "Sagdluk," meaning "the Liar ," and thisname he carr ied in shame to his grave. Long beforehis death his o riginal name was entirely forgotten.

" 'When Knud Rasmussen made his tr ip fromGreenland to Alaska he was accompanied by aGreenland Eskimo named Mitek (Eider Duck). Mitekvisi ted Copenhagen and New York, where he sawmany things for the f irst t ime and was greatlyimpressed. Later , upon his return to Greenland, he

recalled the tragedy of Sagdluk, and decided that i twould not be wise to tel l the truth. Instead, he wouldnarrate stories that his people could grasp, and thussave his reputation.

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" 'So he told them how he and Doctor Rasmussenmaintained a kayak on the banks of a great r iver , theHudson, and how, each morning, they paddled out fortheir hunting. Ducks, geese and seals were to be had

a-plenty, and they enjoyed the visi t immensely." 'Mitek, in the eyes of his countrymen, is a very

honest man. His neighbors treat him with rare respect . '"The road of the truth-tel ler has always been

rocky. Socrates sipping the hemlock, Christ crucif ied,Stephen stoned, Bruno burned at the stake, Gali leoterr if ied into retraction of his starry truths - forevercould one follow that bloodly trai l through the pages

of history."Something in human nature makes us resent the

impact of new ideas."

We hate to be disturbed in the beliefs andprejudices that have been handed down with thefamily furniture. At maturi ty too many of us go intohibernation, and l ive off the fat of ancient fet ishes. Ifa new idea invades our, den we r ise up snarl ing fromour winter sleep.

The Eskimos, at least , had some excuse. Theywere unable to visualize the star t l ing pictures drawn

by Sagdluk. Their simple lives had been too longcircumscribed by the brooding arct ic night .

But there is no adequate reason why the averageman should ever close his mind to fresh "slants" onlife. He does, just the same. Nothing is more tragic -or more common - than mental inert ia . For every ten

men who are physically lazy there are ten thousandwith stagnant minds. And stagnant minds are the

breeding places of fear .

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An old farmer up in Vermont always used to windup his prayers with this plea: "Oh, God, give me anopen mind!" If more people followed his example theymight escape being hamstrung by prejudices. And

what a pleasant place to l ive in the world would be.

Every person should make i t his business togather new ideas from sources other than theenvironment in which he daily l ives and works.

The mind becomes withered, stagnant, narrow andclosed unless i t searches for new ideas. The farmershould come to the ci ty quite often, and walk among

the strange faces and the tal l buildings. He will goback to his farm, his mind refreshed, with morecourage and greater enthusiasm.

- The ci ty man should take a tr ip to the countryevery so often and freshen his mind with sights newand different from those associated with his dailylabors.

Everyone needs a change of mental environmentat regular periods, the same as a change and variety offood are essential . The mind b ecomes more aler t , moreelast ic and more ready to work with speed andaccuracy after i t has been bathed in new ideas, outsideof one 's own f ield of daily labor.

As a student of this course you will temporari lylay aside the set of ideas with which you perform yourdaily labors, and enter a f ield of entirely new (and insome instances, heretofore unheard-of) ideas.

Splendid! You will come out, at the other end ofthis course, with a new stock of ideas which will makeyou more eff icient , more enthusiast ic and more

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courageous, no matter in what sort of work you may beengaged.

Do not be afraid of new ideas! They may mean toyou the difference between success and fai lure.

Some of the ideas introduced in this course wil lrequire no further explanation or proof of theirsoundness because they are familiar to practicallyeveryone. Other ideas here introduced are new, andfor that very reason many students of this philosophymay hesitate to accept them as sound.

Every principle described in this course has beenthoroughly tested by the author, and the majori ty of

the principles covered have been tested by scores ofscientists and others who were quite capable ofdist inguishing between the merely theoretic and the

practical .For these reasons al l pr inciples here covered are

known to be workable in the exact manner claimed forthem. However, no student of this course is asked toaccept any statement made in these lessons withouthaving f irst sat isf ied himself or herself , by tests,experiments and analysis, that the statement is sound.

The major evil the student is requested to avoid isthat of forming opinions without definite FACTS asthe basis, which brings to mind Herbert Spencer 'sfamous admonit ion, in these words

"There is a principle which is a bar against al l

information; which is proof against al l argument; and

which cannot fai l to keep a man in everlast ing

ignorance. This principle is contempt prior toexamination."

I t may be well to bear this principle in mind whenyou come to study the Law of the Master Mind described in these lessons. This law embodies an

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BY and Large, there is no

such thing as "Something

for Nothing." In the long

run you get exactly that for

which you pay, whether

you are buying an

automobile or a loaf of

bread.

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entirely new principle of mind operation, and, for thisreason alone, i t wil l be diff icult for many students toaccept i t as sound unti l af ter they have experimentedwith i t .

When the fact is considered, however, that theLaw of the Master Mind is believed to be the real

basis of most of the achievements of those who areconsidered geniuses, this Law takes on an aspectwhich calls for more than "snap-judgment" opinions.

I t is believed by many scientif ic men whoseopinions on the subject have been given the author ofthis philosophy, that the Law of the Master Mind is

the basis of practically al l of the more importantachievements result ing from group or co-operativeeffort .

The late Dr. Alexander Graham Bell said hebelieved the Law of the Master Mind, as i t has beendescribed in this philosophy, was not only sound, butthat al l the higher inst i tut ions of learning would soon

be teaching that Law as a part of their courses inpsychology.

Charles P. Steinmetz said he had experimentedwith the Law and had arr ived at the same conclusionas that stated in these lessons, long before he talked tothe author of the Law of Success philosophy about thesubject .

Luther Burbank and John Burroughs made similarstatements 1

Edison was never interrogated on the subject , but

other statements of his indicate that he would endorsethe Law as being a possibil i ty, i f not in fact a reali ty.

Dr. Elmer Gates endorsed the Law, in aconversation with this author more than f if teen yearsago. Dr. Gates is a scientist of the highest order ,ranking along with Steinmetz, Edison and Bell .

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The author of this philosophy has talked to scoresof intel l igent business men who, while they were notscientists , admitted they believed in the soundness ofthe Law of the Master Mind. I t is hardly excusable,

therefore, for men of less abil i ty to judge suchmatters, to form opinions as to this Law, withoutserious, systematic investigation.

Let me lay before you a brief outl ine of what this

lesson is and what i t is intended to do for you! Having prepared myself for the practice of law I

will offer this introduction as a "statement of my

case." The evidence with which to back up my casewill be presented in the sixteen lessons of which thecourse is composed.

The facts out of which this course has beenprepared have been gathered through more thantwenty-f ive years of business and professionalexperience, and my only explanation o f the rather freeuse of the personal pronoun throughout the course isthat I am writ ing from f irst-hand experience .

Before this Reading Course on the Law ofSuccess was published the manuscripts were submittedto two prominent universi t ies with the request thatthey be read by competent professors with the objectof el iminating or correcting any statements thatappeared to be unsound, from an economic viewpoint .

This request was complied with and themanuscripts were carefully examined, with the result

that not a single change was made with the exceptionof one or two sl ight changes in wording.

One of the professors who examined the manu-

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scripts expressed himself , in part , as follows: "I t is atragedy that every boy and gir l who enters high schoolis not eff iciently dri l led on the f if teen major parts ofyour Reading Course on the Law of Success. I t is

regrettable that the great universi ty with which I amconnected, and every other universi ty, does notinclude your course as a part of i ts curr iculum."

Inasmuch as this Reading Course is intended as amap or blueprint that wil l guide you in the at tainmentof that coveted goal called "Success," may i t not bewell here to define success?

Success is the development of the power with

which to get whatever one wants in l i fe withoutinterfering with the rights of others.

I would lay part icular stress upon the word"power" because i t is inseparably related to success.We are l iving in a world and during an age of intensecompeti t ion, and the law of the survival of the f i t testis everywhere in evidence. Because of these facts al lwho would enjoy enduring success must go about i tsat tainment through the use of power.

And what is power? Power is organized energy or effort . This course

is properly called the Law of Success for the reasonthat i t teaches how one may organize facts andknowledge and the facult ies, of one 's mind into a unitof power.

This course brings you a definite promise,namely:

That through i ts mastery and application you canget whatever you want, with but two qualifying words

- "within reason."

This qualif ication takes into consideration youreducation, your wisdom or your lack of i t , your

physical endurance, your temperament, and al l of the

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other quali t ies mentioned in the sixteen lessons of thiscourse as being the factors most essential in theattainment of success.

Without a single exception those who have

attained unusual success have done so, ei therconsciously or unconsciously, through the aid of al l ora port ion of the f if teen major factors of which thiscourse is compiled. If you doubt this statement, thenmaster these sixteen lessons so you can go about theanalysis with reasonable accuracy and analyze suchmen as Carnegie, Rockefeller , Hil l , Harriman, Fordand others of this type who have accumulated great

fortunes of material wealth, and you will see that theyunderstood and applied the principle of organizedeffort which runs, l ike a golden cord of indisputableevidence, throughout this course.

Nearly twenty years ago I interviewed Mr.Carnegie for the purpose of writ ing a story about him.During the interview I asked him to what he at tr ibutedhis success . With a merry l i t t le twinkle in his eyes hesaid:

"Young man, before I answer your question wil lyou please define your term 'success '?"

After wait ing unti l he saw that I was somewhatembarrassed by his request he continued: "By successyou have reference to my money, have you not?" Iassured him that money was the term by which most

people measured success, and he then said: "Oh, well -if you wish to know how I got my money - i f that is

what you call success - I wil l answer your question bysaying that we have a master mind here in our

business, and that mind is made up of more than ascore of men who consti tute my personal staff of

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superintendents and managers and accountants andchemists and other necessary types. No one person inthis group is the master mind of which I speak, but thesum total of the minds in the group, co-ordinated,

organized and directed to a defini te end in a spir i t ofharmonious co-operation is the power that got mymoney for me. No two minds in the group are exactlyalike, but each man in the group does the thing that heis supposed to do and he does i t better than any other

person in the world could do i t ."Then and there the seed out of which this course

has been developed was sown in my mind, but that

seed did not take root or germinate unti l later . Thisinterview marked the beginning of years of researchwhich led, f inally, to the discovery of the principle of

psychology described in the Introductory Lesson asthe "Master Mind."

I heard al l that Mr. Carnegie said, but i t took theknowledge gained from many years of subsequentcontact with the business world to enable me toassimilate that which he said and clearly grasp andunderstand the principle back of i t , which was nothingmore nor less than the principle of organized ef fort upon which this course on the Law of Success isfounded.

Carnegie 's group of men consti tuted a "MasterMind" and that mind was so well organized, so wellco-ordinated, so powerful , that i t could haveaccumulated mill ions of dollars for Mr. Carnegie in

practically any sort of endeavor of a commercial orindustr ial nature. The steel business in which thatmind was engaged was but an incident in connectionwith the accumulation of the Carnegie wealth. Thesame wealth could have been accumulated had the

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IF you can run a losing

race without blaming

your loss on someone

else, you have bright

prospects of success

further down the road in

life.

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"Master Mind" been directed in the coal business orthe banking business or the grocery business, for thereason that back of the mind was power - that sort of

power which you may have when you shall have

organized the facult ies of your own mind and al l iedyourself with other well organized minds for theattainment of a defini te chief aim in l ife .

A careful check-up with several of Mr. Carnegie 'sformer business associates, which was made after thiscourse was begun, proves conclusively not only thatthere is such a law as that which has been called the"Master Mind," but that this law was the chief source

of Mr. Carnegie 's success.Perhaps no man was ever associated with Mr.

Carnegie who knew him better than did Mr. C. M.Schwab. In the following words Mr. Schwab has veryaccurately described that "subtle something" in Mr.Carnegie 's personali ty which enabled him to r ise tosuch stupendous heights.

"I never knew a man with so much imagination,l ively intel l igence and inst inctive comprehension. Yousensed that he probed your thoughts and took stock ofeverything that you had ever done or might do. Heseemed to catch at your next word before i t wasspoken. The play of his mind was dazzling and hishabit of close observation gave him a store ofknowledge about innumerable matters.

"But his outstanding quali ty, from so r ich anendowment, was the power of inspir ing other men.

Confidence radiated from him. You might be doubtfulabout something and discuss the matter with Mr.Carnegie. In a f lash he would make you see that i t wasright and then absolutely believe i t ; or he might set t le

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your doubts by pointing out i ts weakness. This quali tyof at tracting others, then spurring them on, arose fromhis own strength.

"The results of his leadership were remarkable.

Never before inn history of industry, I imagine, wasthere a man who, without understanding his businessin i ts working detai ls , making no pretense of technicalknowledge concerning steel or engineering, was yetable to build up such an enterprise.

"Mr. Carnegie 's abil i ty to inspire men rested on

something deeper than any faculty of judgment."

In the last sentence Mr. Schwab has conveyed a

thought which corroborates the theory of the "MasterMind" to which the author of this course hasattr ibuted the chief source of Mr. Carnegie 's power.

Mr. Schwab has also confirmed the statement thatMr. Carnegie could have succeeded as well in anyother business as he did in the steel business. I t isobvious that his success was due to his understandingof his own mind and the minds of other men, and notto mere knowledge of the steel business i tself .

This thought is most consoling to those who havenot yet at tained outstanding success, for i t shows thatsuccess is solely a matter of correctly applying lawsand principles which are available to al l ; and theselaws, let us not forget , are fully described in theSixteen Lessons of this course.

Mr. Carnegie learned how to apply the law of the"Master Mind." This enabled him to organize the

facult ies of his own mind and the facult ies of othermen's minds, and co-ordinate the whole behind aDEFINITE CHIEF AIM.

Every strategist , whether in business or war or in-

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dustry or other call ings, understands the value oforganized, co-ordinated effort . Every mili tarystrategist understands the value of sowing seeds ofdissension in the ranks of the opposing forces,

because this breaks up the power of co-ordinationback of the opposit ion. During the late world warmuch was heard about the effects of propaganda, andit seems not an exaggeration to say that thedisorganizing forces of propaganda were much moredestructive than were al l the guns and explosives usedin the war.

One of the most important turning-points of the

world war came when the al l ied armies were placedunder the direction of the French General , Foch. Thereare well informed mili tary men who claim that thiswas the move which spelled doom for the opposingarmies.

Any modern rai lroad bridge is an excellentexample of the value of organized ef fort , because i tdemonstrates quite simply and clearly how thousandsof tons of weight may be borne by a comparativelysmall group of steel bars and beams so arranged thatthe weight is spread over the entire group.

There was a man who had seven sons who werealways quarrel ing among themselves. One day hecalled them together and informed them that he wishedto demonstrate just what their lack of co-operativeeffort meant. He had prepared a bundle of seven st ickswhich he had carefully t ied together . One by one he

asked his sons to take the bundle and break i t . Eachson tr ied, but in vain. Then he cut the str ings andhanded one of the st icks to each of his sons and askedhim to break i t over his knee. After the st icks had al l

been broken, with ease, he said:

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"When you boys work together in a spir i t ofharmony you resemble the bundle of st icks, and noone can defeat you; but when you quarrel amongyourselves anyone can defeat you one at a t ime."

There is a worth-while lesson in this story of theman and his seven quarrelsome sons, and i t may beapplied to the people of a community, the employeesand employers in a given place of employment, or tothe state and nation in which we l ive.

Organized ef fort may be made a power, but i t mayalso be a dangerous power unless guided withintel l igence, which is the chief reason why the

sixteenth lesson of this course is devoted largely todescribing how to direct the power of organized effortso that i t wil l lead to success ; that sort of successwhich is founded upon truth and just ice and fairnessthat lead to ult imate happiness .

One of the outstanding tragedies of this age ofstruggle and money-madness is the fact that so few

people are engaged in the effort which they l ike best.One of the objects of this course is to help eachstudent f ind his or her part icular niche in the world'swork, where both material prosperi ty and happiness inabundance may be found. For this purpose a CharacterAnalysis Chart accompanies the sixteenth lesson. Thischart is designed to help the student take inventory ofhimself and f ind out what latent abil i ty and hiddenforces l ie sleeping within him.

This entire course is intended as a st imulus with

which to enable you to see yourself and your hiddenforces as they are, and to awaken in you the ambitionand the vision and the determination to cause you togo forth and claim that which is r ightfully yours.

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A GOOD Encyclopaedia

contains most of the

known facts of the world,

but they are as useless as

Sand Dunes until

organized and expressed

in terms of action.

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and moral advantages to the ci ty of Shelby such as areenjoyed by but few other ci t ies of i ts size in America.The plan has worked so effectively and sosatisfactori ly that a movement is now under way to

extend i t into other ci t ies throughout America.That you may gain a st i l l more concrete vision of

just how this principle of organized ef fort can bemade powerful , stop for a moment and al low yourimagination to draw a picture of what would l ikely bethe result i f every church and every newspaper andevery Rotary Club and every Kiwanis Club and everyAdvert ising Club and every Woman's Club and every

other civic organization of a similar nature, in yourcity, or in any other ci ty in the United States, shouldform an al l iance for the purpose of pooling their

power and using it for the benefit of al l members ofthese organizations.

The results which might easi ly be at tained bysuch an al l iance stagger the imagination I

There are three outstanding powers in the worldof organized ef fort . They are: The churches, theschools and the newspapers. Think what might easi lyhappen if these three great powers and molders of

public opinion should al ly themselves together for thepurpose of bringing about any needed change inhuman conduct. They could, in a single generation, somodify the present standard of business ethics, forexample, that i t would practically be business suicidefor anyone to try to transact business under any

standard except that of the Golden Rule. Such anall iance could be made to produce suff icient influenceto change, in a single generation, the business, socialand moral tendencies of the entire civil ized world.

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Such an al l iance would have suff icient power to force upon the minds of the oncoming generations anyideals desired.

Power is organized ef fort , as has already been

stated! Success is based upon power!That you may have a clear conception of what is

meant by the term "organized effort" I have made useof the foregoing i l lustrat ions, and for the sake offurther emphasis I am going to repeat the statementthat the accumulation of great wealth and theattainment of any high stat ion in l ife such asconsti tute what we ordinari ly call success , are based

upon the vision to comprehend and the abil i ty toassimilate and apply the major principles of thesixteen lessons of this course.

This course is in complete harmony with theprinciples of economics and the principles of AppliedPsychology. You will observe that those lessons,which depend, for their practical application, uponknowledge of psychology, have been supplementedwith suff icient explanation of the psychological

principles involved to render the lessons easi lyunderstood.

Before the manuscripts for this course went to thepublisher they were submitted to some of the foremostbankers and business men of America, that they mightbe examined, analyzed and cri t icized by the mostpractical type of mind. One of the best known bankersin New York City returned the manuscripts with the

following comment:"I hold a master 's degree from Yale, but I would

will ingly exchange al l that this degree has brought mein return for what your course on the Law of Successwould have brought me had I been afforded the privi-

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lege of making i t a part of my training while I wasstudying at Yale.

"My wife and daughter have also read themanuscripts, and my wife has named your course ` the

master key-board of l i fe ' because she believes that al lwho understand how to apply i t may play a perfectsymphony in their respective call ings, just as a pianistmay play any tune when once the key-board of the

piano and the fundamentals of music have beenmastered."

No two people on earth are exactly al ike, and forthis reason no two people would be expected to at tain

from this course the same viewpoint . Each studentshould read the course, understand i t and thenappropriate from its contents whatever he or she needsto develop a well round ed personali ty.

Before this appropriat ion can be properly made i twil l be necessary for the student to analyze himself ,through the use of the questionnaire that comes withthe sixteenth lesson of the course, for the purpose off inding out what his deficiencies may be. Thisquestionnaire should not be f i l led out unti l the studentthoroughly masters the contents of the entire course,for he wil l then be in posit ion to answer the questionswith more accuracy and understanding of himself .Through the aid of this questionnaire an experiencedcharacter analyst can take inventory of one 's facult iesas easi ly and as accurately as a merchant caninventory the goods on his shelves.

This course has been compiled for the purpose ofhelping the student f ind out what are his or her naturaltalents, and for the purpose of helping organize,coordinate and put into use the knowledge gained from

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experience. For more than twenty years I have beengathering, classifying and organizing the material thathas gone into the course. During the past fourteenyears I have analyzed more than 16,000 men and

women, and al l of the vital facts gathered from theseanalyses have been carefully organized and woveninto this course. These analyses brought out manyinterest ing facts which have helped to make thiscourse practical and usable. For example, i t wasdiscovered that ninety-f ive per cent of al l who wereanalyzed were fai lures, and but f ive per cent weresuccesses. (By the term "fai lure" is meant that they

had fai led to f ind happiness and the ordinarynecessi t ies of l i fe without struggle that was almostunbearable.) Perhaps this is about the proportion ofsuccesses and fai lures that might be found if al l the

people of the world were accurately analyzed. Thestruggle for a mere existence is terr if ic among peoplewho have not learned how to organize and direct theirnatural talents, while the at tainment of thosenecessi t ies, as well as the acquir ing of many of theluxuries, is comparatively simple among those whohave mastered the principle of organized ef fort .

One of the most star t l ing facts brought to l ight bythose 16,000 analyses was the discovery that theninety-f ive per cent who were classed as fai lures werein that class because they had no defini te chief aim inli fe , while the f ive per cent consti tut ing the successfulones not only had purposes that were defini te , but they

had, also, defini te plans for the at tainment of theirpurposes.

Another important fact disclosed by theseanalyses was that the ninety-f ive per cent consti tut ing

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the fai lures were engaged in work which they did notl ike, while the f ive per cent consti tut ing thesuccessful ones were doing that which they l iked best .I t is doubtful whether a person could be a fai lure

while engaged in work which he l iked best . Anothervital fact learned from the analyses was that al l of thefive per cent who were succeeding had formed thehabit of systematic saving of money, while the ninety-f ive per cent who were fai lures saved nothing. This isworthy of serious thought.

One of the chief objects of this course is to aidthe student in performing his or her chosen work in

such a manner that i t wil l yield the greatest returns inboth money and happiness.

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NO POSITION IN

LIFE CAN BE

SECURE, AND NO

ACHIEVEMENT CAN

BE PERMANENT

UNLESS BUILT

UPON TRUTH AND

JUSTICE.

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A Definite Chief Aim

The key-note of this entire lesson may be foundin the word "definite ."

I t is most appall ing to know that ninety-f ive percent of the people of the world are drif t ing aimlesslythrough l ife , without the sl ightest conception of thework for which they are best f i t ted, and with noconception whatsoever of even the need of such athing as a defini te objective toward which to str ive.

There is a psychological as well as an economicreason for the selection of a defini te chief aim in l ife .Let us devote our at tention to the psychological sideof the question f irst . I t is a well established principleof psychology that a person's acts are always inharmony with the dominating thoughts of his or hermind.

Any defini te chief aim that is deliberately f ixed inthe mind and held there, with the determination to

realize i t , f inally saturates the entire subconsciousmind unti l i t automatically influences the physicalaction of the body toward the at tainment of that

purpose.Your defini te chief aim in l ife should be selected

with deliberate care, and after i t has been selected i tshould be writ ten out and placed where you will see i tat least once a day, the psychological effect of which

is to impress this purpose upon your subconsciousmind so strongly that i t accepts that purpose as a

pattern or blueprint that will eventually dominate youractivit ies in l ife and lead you, step by step, toward theattainment of the object back of that purpose.

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The principle of psychology through which youcan impress your defini te chief aim upon yoursubconscious mind is called Auto-suggestion, orsuggestion which you repeatedly make to yourself . I t

is a degree of self-hypnotism, but do not be afraid ofi t on that account, for i t was this same principlethrough the aid of which Napoleon l if ted himself fromthe lowly stat ion of poverty-str icken Corsican to thedictatorship of France. I t was through the aid of thissame principle that Thomas A. Edison has r isen fromthe lowly beginning of a news butcher to where he isaccepted as the leading inventor of the world. I t was

through the aid of this same principle that Lincolnbridged the mighty chasm between his lowly bir th, ina log cabin in the mountains of Kentucky, and the

presidency of the greatest nation on earth. It wasthrough the aid of this same principle that TheodoreRoosevelt became one of the most aggressive leadersthat ever reached the presidency of the United States.

You need have no fear of the principle ofAutosuggestion as long as you are sure that theobjective for which you are str iving is one that wil l

bring you happiness of an enduring nature. Be surethat your defini te purpose is constructive; that i tsat tainment wil l br ing hardship and misery to no one;that i t wil l br ing you peace and prosperi ty, then apply,to the l imit of your understanding, the principle ofself-suggestion for the speedy at tainment of this

purpose.

On the street corner , just opposite the room inwhich I am writ ing, I see a man who stands there al lday long and sells peanuts. He is busy every minute.When not actually engaged in making a sale he isroasting and packing the peanuts in l i t t le bags. He is

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one of that great army consti tut ing the ninety-f ive percent who have no defini te purpose in l ife . He issel l ing peanuts, not because he l ikes that work betterthan anything else he might do, but because he never

sat down and thought out a defini te purpose thatwould bring him greater returns for his labor. He issel l ing peanuts because he is a drif ter on the sea ofl ife , and one of the tragedies of his work is the factthat the same amount of effort that he puts into i t , i fdirected along other l ines, would bring him muchgreater returns.

Another one of the tragedies of this man's work is

the fact that he is unconsciously making use of theprinciple of self-suggestion, but he is doing i t to hisown disadvantage. No doubt, i f a picture could bemade of his thoughts, there would be nothing in that

picture except a peanut roaster , some l i t t le paper bagsand a crowd of people buying peanuts. This man couldget out of the peanut business if he had the vision andthe ambition f irst to imagine himself in a more

profi table call ing, and the perseverance to hold thatpicture before his mind unti l i t inf luenced him to takethe necessary steps to enter a more profi table call ing.He puts suff icient labor into his work to bring him asubstantial return if that labor were directed towardthe at tainment of a defini te purpose that offered

bigger returns.One of my closest personal fr iends is one of the

best known writers and public speakers of this

country. About ten years ago he caught sight of thepossibil i t ies of this principle of self-suggestion andbegan, immediately, to harness i t and put it to work.He worked out a plan for i ts application that proved to

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be very effective. At that t ime he was neither a writernor a speaker.

Each night, just before going to sleep, he wouldshut his eyes and see, in his imagination , a long

council table at which he placed ( in his imagination)certain well known men whose characterist ics hewished to absorb into his own personali ty. At the endof the table he placed Lincoln, and on ei ther side ofthe table he placed Napoleon, Washington, Emersonand Elbert Hubbard. He then proceeded to talk tothese imaginary f igures that he had seated at hisimaginary council table, something after this manner:

Mr. Lincoln: I desire to build in my owncharacter those quali t ies of patience and fairnesstoward al l mankind and the keen sense of humor whichwere your outstanding characterist ics. I need thesequali t ies and I shall not be contented unti l I havedeveloped them.

Mr. Washington: I desire to build in my owncharacter those quali t ies of patr iot ism and self-sacrif ice and leadership which were your outstandingcharacterist ics.

Mr. Emerson: I desire to build in my owncharacter those quali t ies of vision and the abil i ty tointerpret the laws of Nature as writ ten in the rocks of

prison walls and growing trees and f lowing brooks andgrowing f lowers and the faces of l i t t le children, whichwere your outstanding characterist ics.

Napoleon: I desire to build in my own character

those quali t ies of self-rel iance and the strategicabil i ty to master obstacles and profi t by mistakes anddevelop strength out of defeat , which were youroutstanding characterist ics.

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Mr. Hubbard: I desire to develop the abil i ty toequal and even to excel the abil i ty that you possessedwith which to express yourself in clear , concise andforceful language.

Night af ter night , for many months, this man sawthese men seated around that imaginary council tableunti l f inally he had imprinted their outstandingcharacterist ics upon his own subconscious mind soclearly that he began to develop a personali ty whichwas a composite of their personali t ies.

The subconscious mind may be l ikened to amagnet, and when i t has been vital ized and thoroughly

saturated with any defini te purpose i t has a decidedtendency to at tract al l that is necessary for thefulf i l lment of that purpose. Like at tracts l ike, and youmay see evidence of this law in every blade of grassand every growing tree. The acorn at tracts from thesoil and the air the necessary materials out of whichto grow an oak tree. I t never grows a tree that is partoak and part poplar . Every grain of wheat that is

planted in the soil at tracts the materials out of whichto grow a stalk of wheat .

I t never makes a mistake and grows both oats andwheat on the same stalk.

And men are subject , also, to this same Law ofAttraction. Go into any cheap boarding house distr ictin any ci ty and there you will f ind people of the samegeneral trend of mind associated together . On theother hand, go into any prosperous community and

there you will f ind people of the same generaltendencies associated together . Men who aresuccessful always seek the company of others who aresuccessful , while men who are on the ragged side of

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DO NOT TELL

THE WORLD

WHAT YOU CAN

DO

SHOW IT!

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l i fe always seek the company of those who are insimilar circumstances. "Misery loves company."

Water seeks i ts level with no f iner certainty thanman seeks the company of those who occupy his own

general status f inancial ly and mentally. A professor ofYale Universi ty and an i l l i terate hobo have nothing incommon. They would be miserable if thrown togetherfor any great length of t ime. Oil and water wil l mix asreadily as wil l men who have nothing in common.

All of which leads up to this statement:That you will at tract to you people who

harmonize with your own philosophy of l ife , whether

you wish i t or not . This being true, can you not seethe importance of vi tal izing your mind with a defini techief aim that wil l at tract to you people who will be ofhelp to you and not a hindrance? Suppose yourdefini te chief aim is far above your present stat ion inl ife . What of i t? I t is your privilege - nay, yourDUTY, to aim high in l ife . You owe i t to yourself andto the community in which you l ive to set a highstandard for yourself .

There is much evidence to just ify the belief thatnothing within reason is beyond the possibil i ty ofattainment by the man whose defini te chief aim has

been well developed. Some years ago Louis VictorEytinge was given a l ife sentence in the Arizona

penitentiary. At the t ime of his imprisonment he wasan al l-around "bad man," according to his ownadmissions. In addit ion to this i t was believed that he

would die of tuberculosis within a year .Eytinge had reason to feel discouraged, if anyone

ever had. Public feeling against him was intense and

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he did not have a single fr iend in the world who cameforth and offered him encouragement or help. Thensomething happened in his own mind that gave him

back his health, put the dreaded "white plague" to rout

and f inally unlocked the prison gates and gave him hisfreedom.

What was that "something"?Just this: He made up his mind to whip the white

plague and regain his health. That was a very defini techief aim . In less than a year from the t ime thedecision was made he had won. Then he extended thatdefini te chief aim by making up his mind to gain his

freedom. Soon the prison walls melted from aroundhim.

No undesirable environment is strong enough tohold the man or woman who understands how to applythe principle of Auto-suggestion in the creation of adefini te chief aim . Such a person can throw off theshackles of poverty; destroy the most deadly diseasegerms; r ise from a lowly stat ion in l ife to power and

plenty.All great leaders base their leadership upon a

defini te chief aim. Followers are wil l ing followerswhen they know that their leader is a person with adefinite chief aim who has the courage to back up that

purpose with action. Even a balky horse knows when adriver with a defini te chief aim takes hold of the reins;and yields to that driver . When a man with a defini techief aim s tar ts through a crowd everybody stands

aside and makes a way for him, but let a man hesitateand show by his actions that he is not sure which wayhe wants to go and the crowd will step al l over histoes and refuse to budge an inch out of his way.

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Nowhere is the lack of a defini te chief aim morenoticeable or more detr imental than i t is in therelat ionship between parent and child. Children sensevery quickly the wavering at t i tude of their parents and

take advantage of that at t i tude quite freely. I t is thesame all through l ife - men with a defini te chief aim command respect and at tention at al l t imes.

So much for the psychological viewpoint of adefini te purpose . Let us now turn to the economic sideof the question.

If a steamship lost i ts rudder, in mid-ocean, andbegan circl ing around, i t would soon exhaust i ts fuel

supply without reaching shore, despite the fact that i twould use up enough energy to carry i t to shore and

back several t imes.The man who labors without a defini te purpose

that is backed up by a definite plan for i ts at tainment,resembles the ship that has lost i ts rudder. Hard laborand good intentions are not suff icient to carry a manthrough to success, for how may a man be sure that hehas at tained success unless he has established in hismind some definite object that he wishes?

Every well buil t house star ted in the form of adefini te purpose plus a definite plan in the nature of aset of blueprints. Imagine what would happen if onetr ied to build a house by the haphazard method,without plans. Workmen would be in each other 's way,

building material would be piled al l over the lotbefore the foundation was completed, and everybody

on the job would have a different notion as to how thehouse ought to be buil t . Result , chaos andmisunderstandings and cost that would be prohibit ive.

Yet had you ever stopped to think that most

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people f inish school, take up employment or enter atrade or profession without the sl ightest conception ofanything that even remotely resembles a defini te

purpose or a definite plan? In view of the fact that

science has provided reasonably accurate ways andmeans of analyzing character and determining the l ife-work for which people are best f i t ted, does i t not seema modern tragedy that ninety-f ive per cent of the adult

population of the world is made up of men and womenwho are fai lures because they have not found their

proper niches in the world's work?If success depends upon power, and if power is

organized ef fort , and if the f irst step in the directionof organization is a defini te purpose , then one mayeasily see why such a purpose is essential .

Unti l a man selects a defini te purpose in l ife hedissipates his energies and spreads his thoughts overso many subjects and in so many different directionsthat they lead not to power, but to indecision andweakness.

With the aid of a small reading glass you canteach yourself a great lesson on the value of organizedeffort . Through the use of such a glass you can focusthe sun-rays on a defini te spot so strongly that theywill bum a hole through a plank. Remove the glass(which represents the defini te purpose) and the samerays of sun may shine on that same plank for a mill ionyears without burning i t .

A thousand electr ic dry batter ies, when properly

organized and connected together with wires, wil lproduce enough power to run a good sized piece ofmachinery for several hours, but take those same cellssingly, disconnected, and not one of them would exert

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enough energy to turn the machinery over once. Thefacult ies of your mind might properly be l ikened tothose dry cells . When you organize your facult ies,according to the plan laid down in the sixteen lessons

of this Reading Course on the Law of Success, anddirect them toward the at tainment of a defini te

purpose in l ife , you then take advantage of the co-operative or accumulative principle out of which

poweris developed, which is called Organized Effort .Andrew Carnegie 's advice was this: "Place al l

your eggs in one basket and then watch the basket tosee that no one kicks i t over ." By that advice he

meant, of course, that we should not dissipate any ofour energies by engaging in side l ines. Carnegie was asound economist and he knew that most men would dowell i f they so harnessed and directed their energiesthat some one thing would be done well .

When the plan back of this Reading Course wasfirst born I remember taking the f irst manuscript to a

professor of the Universi ty of Texas, and in a spiri t ofenthusiasm I suggested to him that I had discovered a

principle that would be of aid to me in every publicspeech I delivered thereafter , because I would be

better prepared to organize and marshal my thoughts.He looked at the outl ine of the f if teen points for a

few minutes, then turned to me and said:"Yes, your discovery is going to help you make

better speeches, but that is not al l i t wil l do. It wil lhelp you become a more effective writer , for I have

noticed in your previous writ ings a tendency to scatteryour thoughts. For instance, if you star ted to describea beautiful mountain yonder in the distance you would

be apt to sidetrack your description by call ing

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THE BEST COM-

PENSATION FOR

DOING THINGS

IS THE ABILITY

TO DO MORE.

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attention to a beautiful bed of wild f lowers, or arunning brook, or a singing bird, detouring here andthere, zigzag fashion, before f inally arr iving at the

proper point from which to view the mountain. In the

future you are going to f ind i t much less diff icult todescribe an object , whether you are speaking orwrit ing, because your f i f teen points represent the very

foundation of organization."A man who had no legs once met a man who was

blind. To prove conclusively that the lame man was aman of vision he proposed to the blind man that theyform an al l iance that would be of great benefi t to

both. "You let me cl imb upon your back," said he tothe blind man, "then I wil l use your legs and you mayuse my eyes. Between the two of us we will get alongmore rapidly."

Out of al l ied effort comes greater power. This isa point that is worthy of much repeti t ion, because i t

forms one of the most important parts of the

foundation of this Reading Course . The great fortunesof the world have been accumulated through the use ofthis principle of al l ied effort . That which one man canaccomplish single handed, during an entire l ife- t ime,is but meagre at best , no matter how well organizedthat man may be, but that which one man mayaccomplish through the principle of al l iance withother men is practically without l imitat ion.

That "master mind" to which Carnegie referredduring MY interview with him was made up of more

than a score of minds. In that group were men ofpractically every temperament and inclination. Eachman was there to play a certain part and he didnothing else. There was perfect understanding and

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teamwork between these men. I t was Carnegie 'sbusiness to keep harmony among them.

And he did i t wonderfully well .If you are familiar with the game of football you

know, of course, that the winning team is the one thatbest co-ordinates the efforts of i ts players. Team-workis the thing that wins. I t is the same in the great gameof l ife .

In your struggle for success you should keepconstantly in mind the necessi ty of knowing what i t isthat you want-of knowing precisely what is yourdefini te purpose - and the value of the principle of

organized ef fort in the at tainment of that whichconsti tutes your defini te purpose .

In a vague sort of way nearly everyone has adefinite purpose - namely, the desire for money! Butthis is not a defini te purpose within the meaning ofthe term as i t is used in this lesson. Before your

purpose could be considered defini te , even though thatpurpose were the accumulation of money, you wouldhave to reach a decision as to the precise methodthrough which you intend to accumulate that money. I twould be insuff icient for you to say that you wouldmake money by going into some sort of business. Youwould have to decide just what l ine of business. Youwould also have to decide just where you wouldlocate. You would also have to decide the business

policies under which you would conduct yourbusiness.

In answering the question, "What Is YourDefinite Purpose In Life," that appears in thequestionnaire; which I have used for the analysis ofmore than 16,000 people, many answered about asfollows:

"My definite purpose in l ife is to be of as much

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service to the world as possible and earn a goodliving.

That answer is about as defini te as a frog'sconception of the size of the universe is accurate!

The object of this lesson is not to inform you asto what your l ife-work should be, for indeed thiscould be done with accuracy only af ter you had beencompletely analyzed, but i t is intended as a means ofimpressing upon your mind a clear conception of thevalue of a defini te purpose of some nature, and of thevalue of understanding the principle of organizedeffort as a means of at taining the necessary power

with which to material ize your defini te purpose .Careful observation of the business philosophy of

more than one hundred men and women who haveattained outstanding success in their respectivecall ings, disclosed the fact that each was a person of

prompt and definite decision.The habit of working with a defini te chief aim

wil l breed in you the habit of prompt decision, andthis habit wil l come to your aid in al l that you do.

Moreover, the habit of working with a defini techief aim wil l help you to concentrate al l yourattention on any given task unti l you have mastered i t .

Concentrat ion of effort and the habit of workingwith a defini te chief aim are two of the essentialfactors in success which are always found together .One leads to the other .

The best known successful business men were al l

men of prompt decision who worked always with onemain, outstanding purpose as their chief aim.

Some notable examples are as follows:Woolworth chose, as his defini te chief aim , the

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belt ing of America with a chain of Five and Ten CentStores, and concentrated his mind upon this one taskunti l he "made i t and i t made him."

Wrigley concentrated his mind on the production

and sale of a f ive-cent package of chewing gum andturned this one idea into mill ions of dollars.

Edison concentrated upon the work ofharmonizing natural laws and made his efforts uncovermore useful inventions than any other man who everl ived.

Henry L. Doherty concentrated upon the buildingand operation of public uti l i ty plants and made

himself a mult imill ionaire.Ingersoll concentrated on a dollar watch and

girdled the earth with "t ickers" and made this one ideayield him a fortune.

Stat ler concentrated on "homelike hotel-service"and made himself wealthy as well as useful to mill ionsof people who use his service.

Edwin C. Barnes concentrated on the sale ofEdison Dictat ing Machines, and ret ired, while st i l l ayoung man, with more money than he needs.

Woodrow Wilson concentrated his mind on theWhite House for twenty-f ive years, and became i tschief tenant, thanks to his knowledge of the value ofst icking to a defini te chief aim .

Lincoln concentrated his mind on freeing theslaves and became our greatest American Presidentwhile doing i t .

Martin W. Lit t leton heard a speech which f i l ledhim with the desire to become a great lawyer,concentrated his mind on that one aim, and is nowsaid to be the most successful lawyer in America,whose fees for a single case seldom fall below$50,000.00.

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Rockefeller concentrated on oil and became therichest man of his generation.

Ford concentrated on "f l ivvers" and made himselfthe r ichest and most powerful man who ever l ived.

Carnegie concentrated on steel and made hisefforts build a great fortune and plastered his name on

public libraries throughout America.Gil let te concentrated on a safety razor, gave the

entire world a "close shave" and made himself amult imill ionaire.

George Eastman concentrated on the kodak andmade the idea yield him a fortune while bringing much

pleasure to mill ions of people.Russell Conwell concentrated on one simple

lecture, "Acres of Diamonds," and made the idea yieldmore than $6,000,000.

Hearst concentrated on sensational newspapersand made the idea worth mill ions of dollars.

Helen Keller concentrated on learning to speak,and, despite the fact that she was deaf , dumb and

blind, realized her definite chief aim.John H. Patterson concentrated on cash registers

and made himself r ich and others "careful ."The late Kaiser of Germany concentrated on war

and got a big dose of i t , le t us not forget the fact!Fleischmann concentrated on the humble l i t t le

cake of yeast and made things hump themselves al lover . the world.

Marshall Field concentrated on the world's

greatest retai l store and lo! i t rose before him, areali ty.

Phil ip Armour concentrated on the butcheringbusiness and established a great industry, as well as abig fortune.

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ANYONE CAN

"START," BUT

ONLY THE

THOROUGHBR-

ED WILL

"FINISH!"

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Millions of people are concentrat ing, daily, onPOVERTY and FAILURE and gett ing both inoverabundance.

Wright Brothers concentrated on the airplane and

mastered the air .Pullman concentrated on the sleeping car and the

idea made him rich and mill ions of people comfortablein travel .

The Anti-Saloon League concentrated on theProhibit ion Amendment and (whether for better orworse) made i t a reali ty.

Thus i t wil l be seen that al l who succeed workwith some definite , outstanding aim as the object oftheir labors.

There is some one thing that you can do betterthan anyone else in the world could do i t . Search unti lyou f ind out what this part icular l ine of endeavor is ,make i t the object of your defini te chief aim and thenorganize al l of your forces and at tack i t with the

belief that you are going to win. In your search for thework for which you are best f i t ted, i t wil l be well i fyou bear in mind the fact that you will most l ikelyattain the greatest success by f inding out what workyou l ike best , for i t is a well known fact that a mangenerally best succeeds in the part icular l ine ofendeavor into which he can throw his whole heart andsoul.

Let us go back, for the sake of clar i ty and

emphasis, to the psychological principles upon whichthis lesson is founded, because i t wil l mean a loss thatyou can i l l afford if you fai l to grasp the real reasonfor establishing a defini te chief aim in your mind.These principles are as follows:

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First: Every voluntary movement of the humanbody is caused, controlled and directed by thought,through the operation of the mind.

Second: The presence of any thought or idea in

your consciousness tends to produce an associatedfeeling and to urge you to transform that feeling intoappropriate muscular action that is in perfect harmonywith the nature of the thought.

For example, i f you think of winking your eyelidand there are no counter influences or thoughts inyour mind at the t ime to arrest act ion, the motor nervewill carry your thought from the seat of government,

in your brain, and appropriate or correspondingmuscular action takes place immediately.

Stat ing this principle from another angle: Youchoose, for example, a defini te purpose as yourl ifework and make up your mind that you will carryout that purpose. From the very moment that you makethis choice, this purpose becomes the dominating

thought in your consciousness, and you are constantly

on the alert for facts, information and knowledge with

which to achieve that purpose. From the t ime that youplant a defini te purpose in your mind, your mindbegins, both consciously and unconsciously, to gatherand store away the material with which you are toaccomplish that purpose.

Desire is the factor which determines what yourdefini te purpose in l ife shall be. No one can selectyour dominating desire for you, but once you select i t

yourself i t becomes your defini te chief aim andoccupies the spotl ight of your mind unti l i t is sat isf ied

by transformation into reali ty, unless you permit i t tobe pushed aside by confl ict ing desires.

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To emphasize the principle that I am here tryingto make clear , I believe i t not unreasonable to suggestthat to be sure of successful achievement, one 'sdefini te chief aim in l ife should be backed up with a

burning desire for i ts achievement. I have noticed thatboys and girls who enter college and pay their waythrough by working seem to get more out of theirschooling than do those whose expenses are paid forthem. The secret of this may be found in the fact thatthose who are wil l ing to work their way through are

blessed with a burning desire for education, and sucha desire, i f the object of the desire is within reason, is

practically sure of realization.Science has established, beyond the sl ightest

room for doubt, that through the principle of Auto-suggestion any deeply rooted desire saturates theentire body and mind with the nature of the desire andli teral ly transforms the mind into a powerful magnetthat wil l at tract the object of the desire, i f i t be withinreason. For the enlightenment of those who might not

properly interpret the meaning of this statement I wil lendeavor to state this principle in another way. Forexample, merely desir ing an automobile wil l not causethat automobile to come roll ing in, but , i f there is aburning desire for an automobile, that desire wil l leadto the appropriate action through which an automobilemay be paid for .

Merely desir ing freedom would never release aman who was confined in prison if i t were not

suff iciently strong to cause him to do something toenti t le himself to freedom.

These are the steps leading from desire tofulf i l lment: First the burning desire , then the crystal-

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l izat ion of that desire into a defini te purpose , thensufficient appropriate action to achieve that purpose.

Remember that these three steps are always necessary

to insure success.

I once knew a very poor gir l who had a burningdesire for a wealthy husband, and she f inally got him,

but not without having transformed that desire into thedevelopment of a very at tractive personali ty which, inturn, at tracted the desired husband.

I once had a burning desire to be able to analyzecharacter accurately and that desire was so persistentand so deeply seated that i t practically drove me into

ten years of research and study of men and women.George S. Parker makes one of the best fountain

pens in the world, and despite the fact that hisbusiness is conducted from the l i t t le ci ty ofJanesvil le , Wisconsin, he has spread his product al lthe way around the globe and he has his pen on sale inevery civil ized country in the world. More than twentyyears ago, Mr. Parker 's defini te purpose wasestablished in his mind, and that purpose was to

produce the best fountain pen that money could buy.He backed that purpose with a burning desire for i tsrealization and if you carry a fountain pen the chancesare that you have evidence in your own possessionthat i t has brought him abundant success.

You are a contractor and builder , and, l ike menwho build houses out of mere wood and brick andsteel , you must draw up a set of plans af ter which to

shape your success building. You are l iving in awonderful age, when the materials that go into success are plentiful and cheap. You have at your disposal , inthe archives of the public l ibraries, the carefully

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compiled results of two thousand years of researchcovering practically every possible l ine of endeavor inwhich one would wish to engage. If you would becomea preacher you have at hand the entire history of what

has been learned by men who have preceded you inthis f ield. I f you would become a mechanic you haveat hand the entire history of the inventions ofmachines and the discovery and usages of metals andthings metall ic in nature. If you would become alawyer you have at your disposal the entire history oflaw procedure. Through the Department ofAgriculture, at Washington, you have at your disposal

al l that has been learned about farming andagriculture, where you may use i t should you wish tofind your l ife-work in this f ield.

The world was never so resplendent withopportunity as i t is today. On every hand there is anever- increasing demand for the services of the man orthe woman who makes a better mouse-trap or performs

better stenographic service or preaches a bettersermon or digs a better di tch or runs a moreaccommodating bank.

This lesson will not be completed unti l you shallhave made your choice as to what your defini te chiefaim in l ife is to be and then recorded a description ofthat purpose in writ ing and placed i t where you maysee i t every morning when you arise and every nightwhen you ret ire .

Procrast ination is-but why preach about i t? You

know that you are the hewer of your own wood and thedrawer of your own water and the shaper of your owndefini te chief aim in l ife; therefore, why dwell uponthat which you already know?

A defini te purpose is something that you must

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Every line a man writes, and

every act in which he

indulges, and every word he

utters serves as unescapable

evidence of the nature of

that which is deeply imbed-

ded in his own heart, a

confession that he cannot

disavow.

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create for yourself . No one else wil l create i t for youand i t wil l not create i tself . What are you going to doabout i t? and when? and how?

Start now to analyze your desires and f ind out

what i t is that you wish, then make up your mind toget i t . Lesson Three wil l point out to you the next stepand show you how to proceed. Nothing is lef t tochance, in this Reading Course. Every step is marked

plainly. Your part is to follow the directions unti l youarr ive at your destination, which is represented byyour defini te chief aim . Make that aim clear and backit up with persistence which does not recognize the

word "impossible."When you come to select your defini te chief aim

just keep in mind the fact that you cannot aim toohigh.

Also keep in mind the never-varying truth thatyou'l l get nowhere if you star t nowhere. If your aim inlife is vague your achievements wil l also be vague,and i t might well be added, very meager. Know what

you want, when you want i t , why you want i t and HOW

you intend to get i t . This is known to teachers andstudents of psychology as the WWWH formula -"what, when, why and how."

Read this lesson four t imes, at intervals of oneweek apart .

You will see much in the lesson the fourth t imeyou read i t that you did not see the f irst t ime.

Your success in mastering this course and in

making i t br ing you success wil l depend very largely,if not entirely, upon how well you follow ALL theinstructions i t contains.

Do not set up your own rules of study. Followthose laid down in the Course, as they are the result of

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years of thought and experimentation. If you wish toexperiment wait unti l you master this course in themanner suggested by i ts author. You will then be in

posit ion to experiment more safely. For the present

content yourself by being the student. You will , le t ushope, become the teacher as well as the student af teryou have followed the Course unti l you have masteredit .

If you follow the instructions laid down in thisCourse for the guidance of i ts students, you can nomore fai l than water can run uphil l above the level ofi ts source.

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLYING THEPRINCIPLES OF THIS

LESSON

Through the Introductory Lesson of this courseyou became familiar with the principle of psychologyknown as the "Master Mind."

You are now ready to begin use of this principleas a means of transforming your defini te chief aim into reali ty. I t must have occurred to you that onemight as well have no defini te chief aim unless one

has, also, a very definite and practical plan for makingthat aim become a reali ty.

Your f irst step is to decide what your major aimin l ife shall be. Your next step is to write out a clear ,concise statement of this aim. This should be followed

by a statement, in writ ing, of the plan or plansthrough which you intend to at tain the object of youraim.

Your next and f inal step wil l be the forming of anall iance with some person or persons who willcooperate with you in carrying out these plans andtransforming your defini te chief aim into reali ty.

The purpose of this fr iendly al l iance is to employthe law of the "Master Mind" in support of your plans.The al l iance should be made between yourself andthose who have your highest and best interests atheart . I f you are a married man your wife should be

one of the members of this al l iance, providing thereexists between you a normal state of confidence andsympathy. Other members of this al l iance may be yourmother , father , brothers or sisters, or some closefr iend or fr iends.

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If you are a single person your sweetheart , i f youhave one, should become a member of your al l iance.This is no joke - you are now studying one of the most

powerful laws of the human mind, and you will serve

your own best interests by seriously and earnestlyfollowing the rules laid down in this lesson, eventhough you may not be sure where they will lead you.

Those who join with you in the formation of afr iendly al l iance for the purpose of aiding you in thecreation of a "Master Mind" should sign, with you,your statement of the object of your defini te chiefaim. Every member of your al l iance must be fully

acquainted with the nature of your object in formingthe al l iance. Moreover, every member must be inhearty accord with this object , and in full sympathywith you. Each member of your al l iance must besupplied with a writ ten copy of your statement of yourdefinite chief aim. With this exception, however, youare explici t ly instructed to keep the object of your

chief aim to yourself . The world is full of "DoubtingThomases" and i t wil l do your cause no good to havethese rat t le-brained people scoff ing at you and yourambitions. Remember, what you need is fr iendlyencouragement and help, not derision and doubt.

If you believe in prayer you are instructed tomake your defini te chief aim the object of your prayerat , least once every twenty-four hours, and more oftenif convenient . I f you believe there is a God who canand will aid those who are earnestly str iving to be of

constructive service in the world, surely you feel that 'you have a r ight to peti t ion Him for aid in theattainment of what should be the most important thingin l ife to you.

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If those who have been invited to join yourfr iendly al l iance believe in prayer , ask them, also, toinclude the object of this al l iance as a part of theirdaily prayer .

Comes, now, one of the most essential ruleswhich you must fol low . Arrange with one or al l of themembers of your fr iendly al l iance to state to you, inthe most posit ive and definite terms at their command,that THEY KNOW YOU CAN AND WILL REALIZETHE OBJECT OF YOUR DEFINITE CHIEF AIM. Thisaff irmation or statement should be made to you atleast once a day; more often if possible.

These steps must be followed persistently, withfull fai th that they will lead you where you wish togo! I t wil l not suff ice to carry out these plans for afew days or a few weeks and then discontinue them.YOU MUST FOLLOW THE DESCRIBEDPROCEDURE. UNTIL YOU ATTAIN THE OBJECTOF YOUR DEFINITE CHIEF AIM, REGARDLESS OFTHE TIME REQUIRED.

From time to t ime i t may become necessary tochange the plans you have adopted for theachievement of the object of your defini te chief aim .Make these changes without hesi tat ion. No human

being has sufficient foresight to build plans whichneed no al terat ion or change.

If any member of your fr iendly al l iance losesfai th in the law known as the "Master Mind,"immediately remove that member and replace him or

her with some other person.Andrew Carnegie stated to the author of this

course that he had found i t necessary to replace someof the members of his "Master Mind." In fact he stated

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"Yes, he succeeded - but -

he almost failed!" So did

Robert Fulton and Abra-

ham Lincoln and nearly all

the others whom we call

successful. No man ever

achieved worth-while suc-

cess who did not, at one

time or other, find himself

with at least one foot hang-

ing well over the brink of

failure.

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that practically every member of whom his al l iancewas originally composed had, in t ime, been removedand replaced with some other person who could adapthimself more loyally and enthusiast ically to the spir i t

and object of the al l iance.You cannot succeed when surrounded by disloyal

and unfriendly associates, no matter what may be theobject of your defini te chief aim . Success is buil t uponloyalty, fai th, sinceri ty, co-operation and the other

posit ive forces with which one must surcharge hisenvironment.

Many of the students of this course wil l want to

form fr iendly al l iances with those with whom they areassociated professionally or in business, with theobject of achieving success in their business or

profession. In

a definite chief aim by napolean hill

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