The Law of Financial Success
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FAITH is a word that has been often misused, misapplied and misunderstood. To many it means simply that attitude of mind which will accept anything that is told it, merely because someone else has said it—credulity, in fact. But those who have penetrated within the shell of the word know that it means something far more real than this—something imbedded deep down in the Heart of Things. To those who understand the LAW, Faith is the trolley-pole which one raises to meet the Great Forces of Life and Nature, and by means of which one receives the inflow of the Power which is behind, and in all things, and is enabled to apply that Power to the running of his own affairs.

To some, it may seem a far cry from Faith to Financial Success, but to those who have demonstrated the truths enunciated in this little book, the two are closely interwoven. For one to attain Financial Success he must first have Faith in Himself; second, Faith in his Fellowman; and third, Faith in the LAW.

Faith in oneself is of primary importance, for unless one has it he can never accomplish anything; can never influence any other person's opinion of him; can never attract to himself the things, persons and circumstances necessary for his welfare. A man must first learn to believe in himself before he will be able to make others believe in him. People are prone to take a person at his own estimate. If one is weak, negative and lacking in self-confidence, he surrounds himself with an atmosphere of negativity which unfavorably impresses those with whom he comes in contact. If one be strong, confident and positive, he radiates like qualities, and those coming in contact with him receive an impression of these qualities. The world believes in those who believe in themselves. And so you see it is of the utmost importance to you that you cultivate this Faith in yourself.

And not only does Faith in yourself operate in the direction of influencing others with whom you come in contact, but it also has a most positive bearing upon your own mental statue and thoughts. If you deaden your mind with a negative attitude toward yourself, you stifle budding ideas, thoughts and plans—you choke the budding plants of your mentality. But, if you let pour forth a full, abiding, confident Faith in yourself—your abilities, your qualities, your latent powers, your desires, your plans— your Success, in short—you will find that the whole mental garden responds to the stimulating influence; and ideas, thoughts, plans and other mental flowers will spring up rapidly. There is nothing so stimulating as a strong, positive "I Can and I Will" attitude toward oneself.

And you remember what has been said about the Law of Attraction—you remember how "like attracts like," and how one's Mental Attitude tends to draw toward him the things in harmony with his thoughts.

Well, this being so, can you not see that a Mental Attitude of Faith or Confidence in Oneself is calculated to attract to you that which fits in with such Faith—that will tend to materialize your ideal?

"Confidence is the basis of all trade"; so says one of our recent business philosophers, and this statement is true; for if we did not have Confidence or Faith in our Fellowman, all trade, all business, all commerce would come to a standstill. The wholesale merchant ships yearly hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of goods to dealers in his territory. He has Faith that in thirty, sixty or ninety days those dealers will pay their bills and he will reap his profits. You go to the retail dealer and buy a suit, or dress, or hat, or groceries, having the same charged to your account. Your dealer has Confidence or Faith enough in you to let you have these goods, expecting that you will pay your bill when it falls due. This same rule holds good in almost every transaction in life. You must have confidence in a man before you care to deal with him.

Some people seem to be of a naturally suspicious frame of mind, always of the opinion that somebody else is trying to "do" them. Others are gullible and swallow everything—bait, hook and line. Neither is the wisest frame of mind. It is much better to maintain the thought of good-will, fellowship, and confidence towards one's fellowman, weighing all things impartially from an unprejudiced standpoint, and then render your decision after due thought from the facts in the case. But, by all means, have faith in your Fellowman.

But, this Faith in Oneself, and Faith in your Fellowman, important though they be, are not the only kinds of Faith that one needs in order to attain Financial Success. There is that which may be called Faith in the LAW. This may seem a little strange to you but when you consider it for a moment, you will see just how it operates.

You will note that nearly all successful men have a deep-rooted belief in Something Outside that helps them along. They do not know just what this Something is—some call it "Luck"; some call it their "Destiny"; some call it their "Star"; and why not? But under all of these names there is an instructive belief in, and faith in a Something Friendly that helps them along, and carries them over the hard places, and rounds the sharp corners of business life. Watch any successful man, and you will see that even when he is not able to reason out the means whereby he is going to get over, or around, or under a set of difficulties, still he exhibits a hopeful faith and belief that he is "going to get through it somehow." And he does, if he holds on to his Faith. Something is there at work tending to "pull him through," Ask any successful business man if this is not so. And this Something that successful men intuitively trust in is nothing but the great LAW that underlies all of the affairs of Life. The nearer that one can feel in contact with this LAW, more power does he receive from it. And thus Faith is the underlying channel by which the Power of the LAW is transmitted to you.

Why should you Fear? You seat yourself in a train or street-car, and read your paper, having Faith that the engineer or motorman will take you to your destination. You manifest this Faith in every-day business life. Without Faith in the Whole Thing, business would be impossible. You manifest Faith at every turn of the road. And this being so, why should you not manifest Faith in the underlying LAW which is manifesting in things? Do you suppose for an instant that this whole Cosmic Machinery is run by Chance? There is no such thing as Chance! Everything is run under some great LAW! And the Law of Financial Success is just as much a part of that great system of LAW as is the Law of Gravitation. You study the Laws of physical life, and find them invariable, and therefore worthy of bestowing Faith upon. Why should you not recognize the great Mental Laws operative in business life, and acquaint yourself with their workings? Why should you not have Faith in them? There is no better plan of bringing yourself into harmony with the Law of Financial Success, than to recognize and have Faith in it. Consider the careers of successful business men of your acquaintance, and see if this is not so. By doing so you will receive a new light on a heretofore dark subject.