The Power of Concentration

decide to try. If you cannot devote ten minutes a day to the
experiments start with five minutes and gradually increase the
time. The exercises given are only intended for examples.

Will Training Without Exercise. There are many people that do not
want to take the time to practice exercises, so the following
instructions for training the will are given to them.

By willing and realizing, the will grows. Therefore the more you
will, the more it grows, and builds up power. No matter whether
your task is big or small, make it a rule to accomplish it in
order to fortify your will. Form the habit of focusing your will
in all its strength upon the subject to be achieved. You form in
this way the habit of getting a thing done, of carrying out some
plan. You acquire the feeling of being able to accomplish that
which lies before you, no matter what it is. This gives you
confidence and a sense of power that you get in no other way. You
know when you make a resolution that you will keep it. You do not
tackle new tasks in a half-hearted way, but with a bold, brave
spirit. We know that the will is able to carry us over big
obstacles. Knowing this despair never claims us for a victim. We
have wills and are going to use them with more and more
intensity, thus giving us the power to make our resolutions
stronger, our actions freer and our lives finer and better.

The education of the will should not be left to chance. It is
only definite tasks that will render it energetic, ready,
persevering and consistent. The only way it can be done is by
self-study and self-discipline. The cost is effort, time and
patience, but the returns are valuable. There are no magical
processes leading to will development, but the development of
your will works wonders for you because it gives you
self-mastery, personal power and energy of character.

Concentration of the Will to Win. The adaptability of persons to
their business environment is more a matter of determination than
anything else. In this age we hear a good deal of talk about a
man's aptitudes. Some of his aptitudes, some of his powers, may
be developed to a wonderful extent, but he is really an unknown
quality until all his latent powers are developed to their
highest possible extent. He may be a failure in one line and a
big success in another. There are many successful men, that did
not succeed well at what they first undertook, but they profited
by their efforts in different directions, and this fitted them
for higher things, whereas had they refused to adjust themselves
to their environment, the tide of progress would have swept them
into oblivion.

My one aim in all my works is to try and arouse in the individual
the effort and determination to develop his full capacities, his
highest possibilities. One thing I want you to realize at the
start, that it is not so much ability, as it is the will to do
that counts. Ability is very plentiful, but organizing initiative
and creative power are not plentiful. It is easy to get employes,
but to get someone to train them is harder. Their abilities must
be directed to the work they can do. They must be shown how,
while at this work, to conserve their energy and they must be
taught to work in harmony with others, for most business concerns
are dominated by a single personality.

Concentrating on Driving Force Within. We are all conscious, at
times, that we have somewhere within us an active driving force
that is ever trying to push us onward to better deeds. It is that
"force" that makes us feel determined at times to do something
worth while. It is not thought, emotion or feeling. This driving
force is something distinct from thought or emotion. It is a
quality of the soul and therefore it has a consciousness all its
own. It is the "I will do" of the will. It is the force that
makes the will concentrate. Many have felt this force working
within them, driving them on to accomplish their tasks. All great
men and women become conscious that this supreme and powerful
force is their ally in carrying out great resolutions.

This driving force is within all, but until you reach a certain
stage you do not become aware of it. It is most useful to the
worthy. It springs up naturally without any thought of training.
It comes unprovoked and leaves unnoticed. Just what this force is
we do not know, but we do know that it is what intensifies the
will in demanding just and harmonious action.


The ordinary human being, merely as merchandise, if he could be
sold as a slave, would be worth ten thousand dollars. If somebody
gave you a five thousand dollar automobile you would take very
good care of it. You wouldn't put sand in the carburetor, or mix
water with the gasoline, or drive it furiously over rough roads,
or leave it out to freeze at night.

Are you quite sure that you take care of your own body, your own