 CHAPTER 15 CONTINUED... Do you complain often of "feeling bad," and if so, what is the cause? Do you find fault with other people at the slightest provocation? Do you frequently make mistakes in your work, and if so, why? Are you sarcastic and offensive in your conversation? Do you deliberately avoid the association of anyone, and if so, why? Do you suffer frequently with indigestion? If so, what is the cause? Does life seem futile and the future hopeless to you? If so, why? Do you like your occupation? If not, why? Do you often feel self-pity, and if so why? Are you envious of those who excel you? To which do you devote most time, thinking of SUCCESS, or of FAILURE? Are you gaining or losing self-confidence as you grow older? Do you learn something of value from all mistakes? Are you permitting some relative or acquaintance to worry you? If so, why? Are you sometimes "in the clouds" and at other times in the depths of despondency? Who has the most inspiring influence upon you? What is the cause? Do you tolerate negative or discouraging influences which you can avoid? Are you careless of your personal appearance? If so, when and why? Have you learned how to "drown your troubles" by being too busy to be annoyed by them? Would you call yourself a "spineless weakling" if you permitted others to do your thinking for you? Do you neglect internal bathing until auto-intoxication makes you ill-tempered and irritable? How many preventable disturbances annoy you, and why do you tolerate them? Do you resort to liquor, narcotics, or cigarettes to "quiet your nerves"? If so, why do you not try will-power instead? Does anyone "nag" you, and if so, for what reason? Do you have a DEFINITE MAJOR PURPOSE, and if so, what is it, and what plan have you for achieving it? Do you suffer from any of the Six Basic Fears? If so, which ones? Have you a method by which you can shield yourself against the negative influence of others? Do you make deliberate use of auto-suggestion to make your mind positive? Which do you value most, your material possessions, or your privilege of controlling your own thoughts? Are you easily influenced by others, against your own judgment? Has today added anything of value to your stock of knowledge or state of mind? Do you face squarely the circumstances which make you unhappy, or sidestep the responsibility? Do you analyze all mistakes and failures and try to profit by them or, do you take the attitude that this is not your duty? Can you name three of your most damaging weaknesses? What are you doing to correct them? Do you encourage other people to bring their worries to you for sympathy? Do you choose, from your daily experiences, lessons or influences which aid in your personal advancement? Does your presence have a negative influence on other people as a rule? What habits of other people annoy you most? Do you form your own opinions or permit yourself to be influenced by other people? Have you learned how to create a mental state of mind with which you can shield yourself against all discouraging influences? Does your occupation inspire you with faith and hope? Are you conscious of possessing spiritual forces of sufficient power to enable you to keep your mind free from all forms of FEAR? Does your religion help you to keep your own mind positive? Do you feel it your duty to share other people's worries? If so, why? If you believe that "birds of a feather flock together" what have you learned about yourself by studying the friends whom you attract? What connection, if any, do you see between the people with whom you associate most closely, and any unhappiness you may experience? Could it be possible that some person whom you consider to be a friend is, in reality, your worst enemy, because of his negative influence on your mind? By what rules do you judge who is helpful and who is damaging to you? Are your intimate associates mentally superior or inferior to you? How much time out of every 24 hours do you devote to: a. your occupation b. sleep c. play and relaxation d. acquiring useful knowledge e. plain waste Who among your acquaintances, a. encourages you most b. cautions you most c. discourages you most d. helps you most in other ways What is your greatest worry? Why do you tolerate it? When others offer you free, unsolicited advice, do you accept it without question, or analyze their motive? What, above all else, do you most DESIRE? Do you intend to acquire it? Are you willing to subordinate all other desires for this one? How much time daily do you devote to acquiring it? Do you change your mind often? If so, why? Do you usually finish everything you begin? Are you easily impressed by other people's business or professional titles, college degrees, or wealth? Are you easily influenced by what other people think or say of you? Do you cater to people because of their social or financial status? Whom do you believe to be the greatest person living? In what respect is this person superior to yourself? How much time have you devoted to studying and answering these questions? (At least one day is necessary for the analysis and the answering of the entire list.) If you have answered all these questions truthfully, you know more about yourself than the majority of people. Study the questions carefully, come back to them once each week for several months, and be astounded at the amount of additional knowledge of great value to yourself, you will have gained by the simple method of answering the questions truthfully. If you are not certain concerning the answers to some of the questions, seek the counsel of those who know you well, especially those who have no motive in flattering you, and see yourself through their eyes. The experience will be astonishing. You have ABSOLUTE CONTROL over but one thing, and that is your thoughts. This is the most significant and inspiring of all facts known to man! It reflects man's Divine nature. This Divine prerogative is the sole means by which you may control your own destiny. If you fail to control your own mind, you may be sure you will control nothing else. If you must be careless with your possessions, let it be in connection with material things. Your mind is your spiritual estate! Protect and use it with the care to which Divine Royalty is entitled. You were given a WILL-POWER for this purpose. Unfortunately, there is no legal protection against those who, either by design or ignorance, poison the minds of others by negative suggestion. This form of destruction should be punishable by heavy legal penalties, because it may and often does destroy one's chances of acquiring material things which are protected by law. Men with negative minds tried to convince Thomas A. Edison that he could not build a machine that would record and reproduce the human voice, "because" they said, "no one else had ever produced such a machine." Edison did not believe them. He knew that the mind could produce ANYTHING THE MIND COULD CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE, and that knowledge was the thing that lifted the great Edison above the common herd. Men with negative minds told F. W. Woolworth, he would go "broke" trying to run a store on five and ten cent sales. He did not believe them. He knew that he could do anything, within reason, if he backed his plans with faith. Exercising his right to keep other men's negative suggestions out of his mind, he piled up a fortune of more than a hundred million dollars. Men with negative minds told George Washington he could not hope to win against the vastly superior forces of the British, but he exercised his Divine right to BELIEVE, therefore this book was published under the protection of the Stars and Stripes, while the name of Lord Cornwallis has been all but forgotten. Doubting Thomases scoffed scornfully when Henry Ford tried out his first crudely built automobile on the streets of Detroit. Some said the thing never would become practical. Others said no one would pay money for such a contraption. FORD SAID, "I'LL BELT THE EARTH WITH DEPENDABLE MOTOR CARS," AND HE DID! His decision to trust his own judgment has already piled up a fortune far greater than the next five generations of his descendents can squander. For the benefit of those seeking vast riches, let it be remembered that practically the sole difference between Henry Ford and a majority of the more than one hundred thousand men who work for him, is this - FORD HAS A MIND AND CONTROLS IT, THE OTHERS HAVE MINDS WHICH THEY DO NOT TRY TO CONTROL. Henry Ford has been repeatedly mentioned, because he is an astounding example of what a man with a mind of his own, and a will to control it, can accomplish. His record knocks the foundation from under that time-worn alibi, "I never had a chance." Ford never had a chance, either, but he CREATED AN OPPORTUNITY AND BACKED IT WITH PERSISTENCE UNTIL IT MADE HIM RICHER THAN CROESUS. Mind control is the result of self-discipline and habit. You either control your mind or it controls you. There is no half-way compromise. The most practical of all methods for controlling the mind is the habit of keeping it busy with a definite purpose, backed by a definite plan. Study the record of any man who achieves noteworthy success, and you will observe that he has control over his own mind, moreover, that he exercises that control and directs it toward the attainment of definite objectives. Without this control, success is not possible. |
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