persons and self-help books that motivate the reader to try to become a better person and seek the true riches of life. But remember: The true value of a self-help book is not what the writer puts into the book, but what you, the reader, take out of the book and put into your life.
And most important you can pray for help and guidance. Let me remind you:
You are the product of your heredity, environment, physical body, conscious and subconscious mind, experience, and particular position and direction in time and space...and something more, including powers known and unknown. You have the power to affect, use, control, or harmonize with all of them. And you can direct your thoughts, control your emotions, and ordain your destiny.
That’s what it says in Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. And that’s what I believe. You’ll prove it for yourself when you understand and employ the success system that never fails. You’ll be inspired, and you’ll have the necessary knowledge and know-how. You will think good thoughts...and you will do good deeds.
You will keep your thoughts off the things you should not want by keeping your thoughts on the things you should want. And thus you will begin to win over yourself by affecting you subconscious mind through self-suggestion.
A thought is the most potent form of suggestion–often more powerful than any received through the sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Your subconscious mind has known and unknown powers, and you must control them to win over yourself. As you continue to read on through The Success System That Never Fails, you will gain the necessary knowledge and obtain the know-how to use the power of suggestion effectively.
Try to Do the Right Thing Because It Is Right
Each time I say to you, “Try to do the right thing because it is right,” that’s a suggestion from me to you. Each time you think or say to yourself Try to do the right thing because it is right, that’s self-suggestion. Each time your subconscious flashes to your conscious mind, Try to do the right thing because it is right, that’s autosuggestion.
It is important to know:
1. Suggestion comes from the outside (your environment).
2. Self-suggestion is automatic or purposefully controlled from within.
3. Autosuggestion acts by itself, unconsciously, like a machine that reacts in the same way from the same stimulus.
4. Thoughts and impressions from any of the five senses are forms of suggestion.
5. Only you can think for you.
Throughout this book I endeavor to motivate you as I explain or illustrate the art of motivation. And repetition increases the effectiveness of any form of suggestion. But it is you who must deliberately get into action if you want to have know-how in the use of self-motivators. Therefore, I urge you to prove to yourself their effectiveness.
During the coming week, every morning and every evening–and frequently throughout the day–repeat: Try to do the right thing because it is right. Then, when you are faced with temptation, this self-motivator will flash from your subconscious to your conscious mind. When it does–immediately act. Do the right thing.
In this way, through repetition, you will form a habit–a good habit–that will help make your future. For your future depends upon character–and character depends on success in overcoming temptations. The world has become a better place in which to live because of persons who have made it a habit to try to do the right thing only because it was right. Thus they overcame temptations. Among them are sinners who became saints. They were motivated to become saints because they had sinned. They were inspired to desirable action because they were motivated by remorse–the desire to atone, to make amends...to be free of a guilt feeling–and the desire to be esteemed by their fellowmen... to thank God for His blessings...to make up for lost time.
Perhaps this was the case with William Sidney Porter, whose pen name was O. Henry. During his imprisonment in an Ohio penitentiary for embezzlement, he engaged in study, thinking, and planning. Because he engaged in soul-searching, he was inspired to win over himself. Then his future was ahead of him.
He used his talents to write, and shortly after he left prison, he had several sources of income. One was from the New York World–a hundred dollars a week for a weekly short story. Rapid fame became his. The sale of his books was enormous. “The tragedy of his own life taught him a chivalrous tenderness for the unlucky”, says the Encylopaedia Britannica.
Regardless of who you are or what you have been, you can be what you want to be.
From Rags to Riches
Now let’s meet another old friend: Horatio Alger, Jr. I first met him at Green’s Michigan farm and summer resort. I was twelve at the time and my mother was still in the dressmaking business in Chicago. She believed it was good for a city boy like me to get out in the country during the summer–and she was right. At Green’s farm I learned wholesome living experienced by those fortunate enough to live in such surroundings.
I learned to swim, row and fish in the creek. Watching the old mill with its water wheel-hunting turtles in the mud when the creek was low–a corn bake in the woods at night - the fun at a picnic or carnival–being scared after an evening around the fireplace where ghost stories were told–hearing the answer of the Ouija board and rocking table when Mrs. Green, her teenage son Walter, her husband, and I asked questions on stormy nights–sleeping in the hayloft...these are treasured memories.
But I’ll never forget the first day I went upstairs to the attic, for there I met Horatio Alger. At least 50 of his books, dusty and weather-worn, were piled in the corner. I took one down to the hammock in the front yard and started to read. I read through all the books that summer. The theme in each: from rags to riches. The principles in each: the hero becomes a success because he was a man of character–the villain was a failure because he deceived and embezzled. How many Alger books were sold? No one knows. Estimates range from 100 to 300 million. We do know that his books inspired thousands of American boys from poor families to strive to do the right thing because it was right and to acquire wealth.
RMA and Inspirational Dissatisfaction
Now you may believe, as I do, that most persons are fundamentally honest and good. But a person may have good character, excellent health, and a good mind, yet leave his future behind him.
For his attitude may be negative instead of positive–the wrong mental attitude instead of the right. But what is the right mental attitude?
The book, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, says: The right mental attitude is most often comprised of the “plus” characteristics symbolized by such words as integrity, faith, hope, optimism, courage, initiative, generosity, tolerance, tact; kindliness, and good common sense. The wrong mental attitude has opposite characteristics. On this, you and I can agree.
Yet the most wonderful person in the world will not make progress until he is dissatisfied–wholesomely dissatisfied. For it is inspirational dissatisfaction that converts the magic of desire into reality.
Every growing organism grows into maturity–levels off and dies unless there is new life–new blood–new activity–new ideas, says Edward R. Dewey.
All the world’s progress in every field of activity has been the result of action by men, and women who experienced inspirational dissatisfaction–never by those who were satisfied. For dissatisfaction is man’s driving force. Inspirational dissatisfaction is the result of RMA–the right mental attitude. With the wrong mental attitude, the driving force of dissatisfaction can be injurious.
To be dissatisfied, you must want something. And if you want something badly enough, you’ll do something. You’ll try to get it.
Where Dr. Joe Goes, God Goes
Bob Curran and I were talking about the force of inspirational dissatisfaction and the right mental attitude, when Bob asked: “Did I ever tell you about my brother-in-law, Dr. Joe?”
“No,” I answered, and he continued: