The Power of Concentration

for means to overcome them. The result is that they increase
their obstacles instead of diminishing them. Have you ever
undertaken something that you thought would be hard, but
afterwards found it to be easy? That is the way a great many
times. The things that look difficult in advance turn out to be
easy of conquest when once encountered. So start out on your
journey with the idea that the road is going to be clear for you,
and that if it is not you will clear the way. All men that have
amounted to anything have cleared their way and they did not have
the assistance that you will have today.

The one great keynote of success is to do whatever you have
decided on. Don't be turned from your path, but resolve that you
are going to accomplish what you set out to do. Don't be
frightened at a few rebuffs, for they cannot stop the man that is
determined--the man that knows in his heart that success is only
bought by tremendous resolution, by concentrated and
whole-hearted effort.

"He who has a firm will," says Goethe, "molds the world to
himself."

"People do not lack strength," says Victor Hugo; "they lack
Will."

It is not so much skill that wins victories as it is activity and
great determination There is no such thing as failure for the man
that does his best. No matter what you may be working at, at the
present time, don't let this make you lose courage. The tides are
continually changing, and tomorrow or some other day they will
turn to your advantage if you are a willing and are an ambitious
worker. There is nothing that develops you and increases your
courage like work. If it were not for work how monotonous life
would at last become!

So I say to the man that wants to advance, "Don't look upon your
present position as your permanent one. Keep your eyes open, and
add those qualities to your makeup that will assist you when your
opportunity comes. Be ever alert and on the watch for
opportunities. Remember, we attract what we set our minds on. If
we look for opportunities, we find them.

If you are the man you should be, some one is looking for you to
fill a responsible position. So when he finds you, don't let your
attention wander. Give it all to him. Show that you can
concentrate your powers, that you have the makeup of a real man.
Show no signs of fear, uncertainty or doubt. The man that is sure
of himself is bound to get to the front. No circumstances can
prevent him.



LESSON XIV. THE ART OF CONCENTRATING BY MEANS OF PRACTICAL
EXERCISES

Select some thought, and see how long you can hold your mind on
it. It is well to have a clock at first and keep track of the
time. If you decide to think about health, you can get a great
deal of good from your thinking besides developing concentration.
Think of health as being the greatest blessing there is, in the
world. Don't let any other thought drift in. Just the moment one
starts to obtrude, make it get out.

Make it a daily habit of concentrating on this thought for, say,
ten minutes. Practice until you can hold it to the exclusion of
everything else. You will find it of the greatest value to
centralize your thoughts on health. Regardless of your present
condition, see yourself as you would like to be and be blind to
everything else. You will find it hard at first to forget your
ailments, if you have any, but after a short while you can shut
out these negative thoughts and see yourself as you want to be.
Each time you concentrate you form a more perfect image of
health, and, as you come into its realization, you become
healthy, strong and wholesome.

I want to impress upon your mind that the habit of forming mental
images is of the greatest value. It has always been used by
successful men of all ages, but few realize its full importance.

Do you know that you are continually acting according to the
images you form? If you allow yourself to mould negative images
you unconsciously build a negative disposition. You will think of
poverty, weakness, disease, fear, etc. Just as surely as you
think of these will your objective life express itself in a like
way. Just what we think, we will manifest in the external world.

In deep concentration you become linked with the great creative
spirit of the universe, and the creative energy then flows
through you, vitalizing your creations into form. In deep
concentration your mind becomes attuned with the infinite and
registers the cosmic intelligence and receives its messages. You
become so full of the cosmic energy that you are literally
flooded with divine power. This is a most desired state. It is
then we realize the advantages of being connected with the
supra-consciousness. The supra-consciousness registers the higher
cosmic vibrations. It is often referred to as the wireless
station, the message recorded coming from the universal mind.