The Mental Highway
	Psychology Of Business <  Previous Contents Next  >

You are in business to succeed, and success is spelled m-o-n-e-y. It does not matter whether you are selling the products of your own hands and brain or those of others, or whether you are selling qualities of mind and efficiency. Your business must eventually be an expression of you, for really you are selling yourself when you are selling your goods. In the second place, you must believe in your business as you believe in yourself.

One of the most effective salesmen I have ever known would ring the door bell and greet the owner of the house with these words: "We are the Bartell Music Company. We have learned through a friend of yours that you have a child the right age for taking music lessons." That first statement was an appeal to his prospective purchaser’s vanity. If he had said, "I am Jones, Agent for the Bartell Music Company," it would not have carried any weight, but the fact that the Bartell Music Company stood on the front porch waiting to ascertain her wants, with the readiness to satisfy them, was the opening wedge. This man eventually became the sole owner and proprietor of that business. He was saying it for ten years before he became it.

Your business is subject to certain changeless laws, the most important of which is the law of supply and demand. A million dollars invested in VCRs would today be a white elephant as a business proposition, while a million dollars’ worth of DVD players would be an absolutely certain success. Test your own business by this.

If you prepare the way daily for your business’ general outcome and the day’s contacts, your consciousness of what your business is and what it will do, goes before you. Telepathy is a demonstrable fact. You transmit what you really think about yourself and your goods to the other fellow. Your general idea of whether the day is going to be successful or not profoundly affects its success or failure. The people in authority will catch your desire for promotion when your own consciousness of your value is clear and definite.

Your success in business depends upon your knowledge of the people who are helping you to sell as well as the people who come to buy. If you have to guess how each person will act under a given condition, success may be an uncertain thing. If you know to what type a person belongs, and know that in a majority of cases that type will be interested in a certain class of values, and will be appealed to by a given method of presentation and will decide and act in a certain way, then you are effectively using psychology in your business.

Study carefully the chapter on Character Analysis. Humanity is a piano. No matter what make of case, the internal mechanism is about the same. You appeal to and reach most people by means of certain dominant interests. Finally, your success depends upon you, and not upon any single quality that you have, but upon the weakest and the strongest. They all have to work if you are going to get the best results, so you must bring your every faculty up to the highest possible efficiency.

The Working Plan: Your business will flow through certain channels. It will follow the plan you have laid out, much as a house follows its foundation and plan. Having made your plan, you now turn to the materials, and all the materials in the psychology of business are within yourself. Success, when you achieve it, is your own. Success means position, honor, power, happiness, money, and these ought to spell satisfaction. The goal of your business is that you want money enough to enable you to achieve contentment. Having your plan, turn to methods, no matter your profession. You must go into Executive Session with the Ways and Means Committee at once.

To succeed, you must be able to inspire others to help you by cooperating with you and by purchasing from you. In its final analysis, all success comes to us through others. This is the key. People band together, not only for protection, but for cooperation. You must realize that they must be motivated and inspired in their desires to cooperate with you and further your success. Humanity is the universal channel for money, friends, happiness, and every other factor of success, and all depends upon your ability to inspire them toward you. If you study all the great successful leaders, you will find that this great law measures their success. Politicians, employers, executives, the leaders of any class, each in his or her own way, has climbed up by this power to inspire others to work with them. This underlying principle governs all achievement. All success must come to you through humanity. Therefore, the degree of your ability to inspire others will surely measure your returns from life. We have the standards of highest value within us.

The true way to success is through personal charisma or "presence." It isn’t magic, just recognition of the law and wise use of it. It doesn’t require grind, rush and struggle, but poise, calm and certainty, advancing easily and smoothly, with the utmost freedom. Keep in mind, then, that others are the doors through which you must pass to your domain. Then you are ready to take the next step to deal with the ways of utilizing this channel.

Inspiration has certain basic elements. Begin your business by having the largest possible vision of its outcome. Why settle for some small success, when big things are constituted of little things? This same principle applies with reference to your staff. To use this great channel of success, you must know how to inspire people in the direction you desire.

The mind is like an ocean, unstable, changeable, ceaseless in motion, subject to eddies, calms and storms, but for all that it can be mastered. Our first discovery of the law of displacement enabled us to build ships of wood, and to acquire partial mastery over the ocean. Further knowledge of the laws of displacement gave us the ocean liner and practical mastery. Most people sail the ocean of mind in a windjammer, in the blind, primitive fashion of ten centuries ago, while they might just as well learn to sail it safely and surely. The vast masses are still helpless, adrift on the ocean of mind, subject to every change and whim. Now the ocean of mind is composed of individual minds plus. You must build your own ocean of mind, by motivating and inspiring them one at a time to your vision.

Humanity stands at your door, clamoring to do you favors and aid your progress. While "it is more blessed to give than to receive," it is a curious fact that you always feel more kindly toward the person for whom you do something than for the one who does something for you. The whole world is the same. The greatest favor you can do for people is to let them help you gain your goal. Those who have risen to prominence, power and success have done so through the help of those whom they could inspire.

In studying your abilities to motivate and inspire others, the first question is, what do the people you have met think of you? Do you know what they think, or how far you could motivate or inspire them? If you have the key, you know what they think. When you hold this key to progress, you do not "occasionally exert" yourself, you use it as naturally as breathing or walking, without exertion. It becomes a part of you, and you can open the book of life to the pages you want. Realizing that your course to the goal lies through others, and that you must inspire and motivate them, you naturally turn to the method of doing it.

All the people you meet will fall into two groups: First, those who are in a position personally to further your ends if you can inspire them to do so, and second, those who can never help you directly or through their own efforts, and they are much the larger number. You must learn to motivate the first group, but you must not overlook the second. They can be your direct means of getting in touch with those who can help you. It is well constantly to build up this great class, for the best advertisement you can have is another who thinks well of you and expresses his good opinion to someone who never heard of you. When another adds his paean of praise to that, they herald your coming, and your task is easier. When these people have reported you to those who can help you, you must be able to make a good first impression, then to live up to it. You must favorably impress people with your ability and personality, and you must repeat it so that their good impression of you grows stronger the longer they know you.

The two steps are, a favorable first impression, and a ripening respect and admiration after successive meetings. You must meet people, many people, classify them, choose them, and you must give as well as receive. Five minutes of exerting personal charm will produce an impression or cement a friendship, such as a haphazard way could not do in months or years. The people in both these classes are very much alike. Their differences are largely external. They show their points of likeness and unlikeness outwardly. Learn to know the signs. The moment we consciously exercise the essential factors of success, so that we strongly and evenly develop our mind, we can motivate and inspire others. Order a mind of this type from the only person who can build it, yourself.

The three great groups of mental qualities are: The hidden qualities are will power, concentration, and time efficiency. The conscious qualities are judgment, practical memory, effective speech, and motivating people. The action qualities are ambition and initiative.

Study yourself. First, what are your mental wares? What is the demand now existing for your ability, and what price ought it to command? Second, what is the exact quality of what you have to offer? Third, what steps are you taking to develop your wares, to make them more valuable and insure your progress?

Will power: Every business has a head. Every nation has a ruler, and you have an executive — your will. There are two kinds of will, the winning will and the losing will. The winning will holds ever to the goal, advances and recedes when necessary, but never losing sight of the outcome. The losing will has no such adjustment, and develops into obstinacy. Every person has a fundamental distaste for effort, continued, concerted effort, but yielding to such weakness never succeeded. All worthwhile things require continued and intelligent effort to accomplish. You have the qualities and the resources, but your will is the leader. The moment the mind points out the wise course, consciously exercise your will to that end. Strong people become stronger by exercising the will in small things. They meet every necessity with the mental attitude, I can and I will. I will to will, therefore, I can. The only limitation on your achievement is your will.

Test your will, therefore, with these tests. Do you choose what is easiest or best? Having decided, do you carry out to the utmost? Do you permit obstacles to swerve you and change your mind? Do you recognize the difference between will power and stubbornness? Are you easily turned aside? Do you worry? Can you banish fear and worry at will? If you cannot, learn to do it now, for in these are the root of all our ills. Use your will to banish them. Do not permit your imagination to anticipate or create the possible misfortunes of the future. Calmly use your will to kill the germ of worry and fear at first. Use your will to create a prevailing mental attitude of the right kind. Refuse to imagine misfortune, and fill your mind with bright and hopeful anticipation. If you will, you can. If you will not, you cannot.

Concentration: The next of your strong elements, concentration, is the power to fill the thought idea with one idea, and to shut out all else. Use it for every task and for every problem. Fill the mind with the subject in hand, so that the whole brain power is actively bringing all its powers into action. When the concentration has served its purpose, relax, wipe the slate, and you are ready for another task of concentration. Ask yourself these questions: Can you consciously induce sleep in five minutes anytime, day or night? Can you concentrate on the work in hand when it is uninteresting, freeing your mind of everything else? Can you concentrate on any subject at will, in noisy places, and bring all your abilities to bear on the task in hand? If so, you have learned to concentrate.

The next one of the hidden qualities is time efficiency. There is a legal phrase, "time is of the essence of this contract," and time efficiency calls for the use of time to leave an investment after it is gone. Recreation and exercise are an investment in health insurance. Study gives knowledge that abides long after the time of study has departed. Knowledge has a money value. Money buys things for contentment. These are time investments. We attend most of our work with too much lost motion, too much wasted time. You must learn a skillful use of your time, the effective disposition of it. Use a "What are you doing?" card, and answer such questions as this: How much time of your working hours do you spend without getting returns? Do you feel that you are getting the utmost out of your working hours? How effective are you compared with possible results? Have you ever studied cashing in your time at full value, or have you ever tried to practice it?

The first of your conscious qualities is judgment, which is the power for looking ahead and forecasting the outcome of your business, or any problem of your life, or others’ lives. You use it best when you work on your problem as if it were another’s problem, that is, make it impersonal. Just get down to cold, bare facts. A well-balanced judgment is based on your own experiences, on current working facts, and on the experiences of others. You use all the senses, all the stored up memories, and all the known current working facts, and avail yourself of all the experiences of others in forming a wise judgment. Test it by these questions: In daily life do you attempt to forecast the outcome of matters arising in your daily life both of a business and social nature? In what percentage of cases is your judgment correct? By your experience, do you rate your judgment as sound concerning men and events?

Practical memory: The subtlest form of flattery is to be able to remember a face, and to recall the name that goes with it. "I remember you" is the big asset that you can cash in. If you add the facility to recall the person’s personal affairs and peculiarities, it is still more valuable. In fact, anyone can remember by following certain simple rules. Plenty of people cannot recall your name, but can tell you the name and batting average of every player in the major league. Three or four reasons for it. The first law of memory is repetition. A second reading of a book makes its contents much more clear. The baseball expert does it by repeating often in his mind, and with his mouth the facts. If you concentrate on remembering a person’s name, repeat it mentally and verbally, and use it often in speaking to them, it will fasten it in the memory. Practice reviewing the events of the day, the people, their names and incidents concerning them. Get the utmost detail. Nothing is too trivial.

The second law is that of the intensity of impression. Heed, listen, look. You will get the name the first time if you give attention. Get a clear-cut mental picture of names and faces. You will remember the things that interest you. Then pay attention; concentrate; use your eyes and ears. Another law is that of association of ideas. It consists in tying up "I might forget" with "I’m likely to remember." The fourth is ingenuity, which is a form of association. Practice the first two, repetition of the facts to be remembered and intensity of impression, and ask yourself these questions: Can you say to most people whom you have met once or twice, "I remember you. I met you, Mr. Smith, at a banquet in Los Angeles." Can you recall, without hesitation, facts or principles that relate to the business you are conducting? Do the things that you want to remember arise spontaneously at your call? If so, you have a practical working memory.

Effective speech: Speech is the one great method of conveying your ideas to others. It is the means of persuading them to see your viewpoint. It requires two things: First, the retention of well-organized ideas, or knowing what you are going to say. Second is technical control of voice, which includes the tone of voice, inflection, emphasis and delivery. One person interests us because their delivery is interesting. In controlling the voice, the first essential is deep breathing, second is clear enunciation, and third is modulation, or change in tone, volume and rapidity. Believe what you are saying, practice reading and telling a story to an imaginary audience until it sounds convincing, then tell it to a real audience. Answer these questions: Can you voice your thoughts clearly? Do you speak effectively? Do your words sound convincing and interesting?

Motivation is based on a knowledge of human nature. All people are alike physically in a general way. They differ in manner, physical effect, aspect and look differently. All people are alike mentally, and yet they differ in minor points. We ordinarily mask and conceal certain underlying things. An age-old instinct tells us that if we show our inmost emotions and feelings, we lay ourselves open to the manipulation of others. Certain motives govern us all, but we mask and conceal them. We are afraid of the other fellow, and forget that he is as much afraid of us as we are of him. This will help you to overcome your timidity. Develop your confidence, and forget your fears.

Human nature has two major controlling motives. Curiosity and self-interest/selfishness are the two universal doors of human nature through which you can pass to success. Curiosity is the introductory motive. Self-interest is the motive that causes it to act. Self-interest has produced more good than any other one factor in the history of humanity. You use curiosity to open the door, and self-interest to land the sale. Self-interest is of two forms, selfishness, the destructive kind that reduces wages to keep down expenses, and constructive self-interest which makes better conditions to get more effective service. You cannot injure others without hurting yourself, and you cannot help others without bettering yourself. Life is service. You get back what you give out.

The psychological moment is the time when conditions are favorable to secure action on your proposition. Learn to recognize it. Learn to create it by appealing to curiosity and self-interest when you need it, and you can turn it into gold. You have to learn how to persuade. The hardest thing for anyone to do is to say "yes" to a proposition. People usually say "no" verbally when they are ready to say "yes" mentally. When the psychological moment comes, act. Just take it for granted that they will agree, and start settling the details that make favorable action easy. The average person will usually allow you to persuade him, and will feel relieved when you do. It requires skill and diplomacy. Do not ask for a decision, but take a favorable decision for granted. The moment you have a favorable decision taken for granted, introduce some subject of discussion that would naturally rise at that point. If a crisis arises, bring up some factor of the case for discussion that does not cloud the main issue. They term this the cross fire, and it is wonderfully effective. Answer these questions: What do you know about human nature? Do you study it? Do you apply its findings? What two big factors in human nature play an important part in influencing others? Can you create the psychological moment? How do you do it? Can you persuade the other fellow?

Ambition is the first of the great action qualities. It begins as desire, grows into a gnawing hunger and ends in ambition, which means you seek methods of satisfying its demands. Ambition pushes a person to seek the means of getting the things he sees to be desirable in life. All achievement lines up as follows: (1) desire, (2) ambition,

(3) will power, and (4) initiative. Select the big things so that when you have achieved them, you will be content. Answer these questions: Are you ambitious? Do you just wish, or do you act on your desires? What is your goal in life, and what means are you planning to achieve it?

The last one great element of business psychology is initiative, the power that makes opportunity to order. Initiative is the entering wedge. It finds something to do, finds a way to do it, and discovers a value in doing it. You must always keep initiative working. It looks for signs of an opening as a hunter looks for signs of game. A person with initiative does not wait for opportunity, but finds and opens a door. If nothing is inside, knock on another until you find the right door. You make your own opportunity by using your initiative. Opportunity is a favorable occasion, and opportunity comes through the channel of others. Look over your list. Choose the people who can help you make the opportunity. Set about persuading them to help, and do not be bound and trammeled by conventions. First, decide what you want, second, decide who can give it to you, third, formulate a plan and exercise your initiative, and you will find that you can make an opportunity every day. Answer these questions: What moves for self-betterment have you actually made in past years? What opportunities have you found because of your own search? Are you ready to act when you see a chance? Do you so act? Do you feel that you possess initiative?

You can work two ways at the art of getting there. One is to depend upon your own knowledge and experience alone, the other is to add others’ knowledge and experience. Having decided on this latter way, get your working plan in order. Utilize the findings from successful people’s experiences. Apply these principles to your own needs. These are only theories until you put them into operation for yourself. Set a value on yourself, and constantly add to that value. It does not take any more breath to say a million dollars than it does to say ten cents. Others measure you at the value you set, and your facial expression is your price tag. This is the psychology of business. Keep these facts in mind, then dig.