The Prosperity Bible

The Prosperity & Wealth Bible

 Table of Contents

YOU CAN, by George Matthew Adams

You Can

50-50

Silence

Health

Character

Mistakes

Ruts

Together

Win

Time

Success

Dare

Backbone

Pay

Count

Why

Frankness

Faces

Responsibility

Happiness

Service

Imagination

Ghosts

Respect

General Manager

Lincolnize

System

Sincerity

Dig

Concentrate

Learn

Think

Opportunity

Loyalty

Courage

Fight

Stick

Faith

Enthusiasm

Do

I Will

Smile

Grit

Chances

Conscience

Promptness

Thoughts

Boost

The Battle

Appreciation

Up

Lead

Vision

Dampers

Bosses

Listen

Let Go

Clothes

Alone

Arbitrate

Explore

The Cup

Dream

Excuses

Envy

See

Hope

Kick

U. S.

Eliminate

Thoroughness

Use

Environment

Worry

Grouchers

Man-Afraid-Of-His-Job

Encouragement

Will

Harmony

Essentials

Humanism

Wanted

Books

Radiate

Courtesy

Aim

Thanks

Reserve

To Stenographers

Point-Of-View

Wait

Stomachs

To-Day

Manners

Relax

Self-Control

Influence

Face It

Poise

Capacity

Things to Do

Ancestors

To-Morrow

The Liar

Forward

Ragged Edges

Bystanders

Tongues

The George Habit

Friends

Play

Your Mother

Salt

Habit

AS A MAN THINKETH, by James Allen

Chapter 1 — Thought and Character

Chapter 2 — Effect of Thought on Circumstances

Chapter 3 — Effect of Thought on Health and the Body

Chapter 4 — Thought and Purpose

Chapter 5 — The Thought-factor in Achievement

Chapter 6 — Visions and Ideals

Chapter 7 — Serenity

EIGHT PILLARS OF PROSPERITY, by James Allen

Preface

Chapter 1 — Eight Pillars

FROM POVERTY TO POWER, by James Allen

Part 1 — The Path of Prosperity

Part 2 — The Way of Peace

FOUNDATION STONES TO HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS, by James Allen

Chapter 1 — Right Principles

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS, by William Walker Atkinson

Lesson 1 — The Secret of Success

Lesson 2 — The Individual

Lesson 3 — Spiritedness

Lesson 4 — Latent Powers

Lesson 5 — Soul-Force

Lesson 6 — The Power of Desire

Lesson 7 — The Law of Attraction

Lesson 8 — Personal Magnetism

Lesson 9 — Attractive Personality

An Afterword

THE POWER OF CONCENTRATION, by William Walker Atkinson

Introductory

Lesson 1 — Concentration Finds the Way

Lesson 2 — The Self-Mastery: Self-Direction Power of Concentration

Lesson 3 — How to Gain What You Want Through Concentration

Lesson 4 — Concentration, the Silent Force That Produces Results in All Business

Lesson 5 — How Concentrated Thought Links All Humanity Together

Lesson 6 — The Training of the Will to Do

Lesson 7 — The Concentrated Mental Demand

Lesson 8 — Concentration Gives Mental Poise

Lesson 9 — Concentration Can Overcome Bad Habits

Lesson 10 — Business Results Through Concentration

Lesson 11 — Concentrate on Courage

Lesson 12 — Concentrate on Wealth

Lesson 13 — You Can Concentrate, But Will You?

Lesson 14 — The Art of Concentrating By Means of Practical Exercises

Lesson 15 — Concentrate So You Will Not Forget

Lesson 16 — How Concentration Can Fulfill Your Desire

Lesson 17 — Ideals Developed By Concentration

Lesson 18 — Mental Control Through Creation

Lesson 19 — A Concentrated Will Development

Lesson 20 — Concentration Reviewed

MEDITATIONS, by Marcus Aurelius

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Book 4

Book 5

Book 6

Book 7

Book 8

Book 9

Book 10

Book 11

Book 12

HOW TO MAKE MONEY, by B.F. Austin

Introduction

Lesson 1 — The Making Over of One’s Self

Lesson 2 — Principles and Methods of Success: Keep Body and Mind in Tip-Top Condition

Lesson 3 — Principles and Methods of Success: Make the World Your Debtor: Heaven Will Repay

THE ART OF MONEY GETTING, by P.T. Barnum

Introduction

Don’t Mistake Your Vocation

Select the Right Location

Avoid Debt

Persevere

Whatever You Do, Do It with All Your Might

Depend Upon Your Own Personal Exertions

Use the Best Tools

Don’t Get Above Your Business

Learn Something Useful

Let Hope Predominate, But Be Not Too Visionary

Do Not Scatter Your Powers

Be Systematic

Read the Newspapers

Beware of Outside Operations

Don’t Indorse without Security

Advertise Your Business

Don’t Read the Other Side

Be Polite and Kind to Your Customers

Be Charitable

Don’t Blab

Preserve Your Integrity

YOUR INVISIBLE POWER, by Genevieve Behrend

Chapter 1 — Order of Visualization

THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON, by George S. Clason

Foreword

An Historical Sketch of Babylon

The Man Who Desired Gold

The Richest Man in Babylon

Seven Cures for a Lean Purse

Meet the Goddess of Good Luck

The Five Laws of Gold

The Five Laws of Gold

The Gold Lender of Babylon

The Walls of Babylon

The Camel Trader of Babylon

The Clay Tablets from Babylon

The Luckiest Man in Babylon

THE SECRET OF THE AGES, by Robert Collier

Chapter 1 — The World’s Greatest Discovery

ACRES OF DIAMONDS, by Russell H. Conwell

THE KEY TO SUCCESS, by Russell H. Conwell

Chapter 1 — Observation: The Key to Success

PRAYING FOR MONEY, by Russsell H. Conwell

Chapter 1 — Spiritual Telepathy

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR WILL POWER, by Russell H. Conwell

Chapter 1

SELF MASTERY THROUGH CONSCIOUS AUTOSUGGESTION, by Emile Coue

Chapter 1 — The Conscious Self and the Unconscious Self

PROSPERITY, by Charles Fillmore

Lesson 1 — Spiritual Substance, the Fundamental Basis of the Universe

Lesson 2 — Spiritual Mind, the Omnipresent Directive Principle of Prosperity

Lesson 3 — Faith in the Invisible Substance, the Key to Demonstration

Lesson 4 — Man, the Inlet and Outlet of Divine Mind

Lesson 5 — The Law That Governs the Manifestation of Supply

Lesson 6 — Wealth of Mind Expresses Itself in Riches

Lesson 7 — God Has Provided Prosperity for Every Home

Lesson 8 — God Will Pay Your Debts

Lesson 9 — Tithing, the Road to Prosperity

Lesson 10 — Right Giving, the Key to Abundant Receiving

Lesson 11 — Laying Up Treasures

Lesson 12 — Overcoming the Thought of Lack

THE MENTAL EQUIVALENT, by Emmet Fox

Introduction

Universal Polarity

Building a New Mental Equivalent

Maintaining the New Equivalent

AUTOBIOGRAPHY, by Benjamin Franklin

Chapter 1 — Ancestry and Early Youth in Boston

THE WAY TO WEALTH, by Benjamin Franklin

THE PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran

Chapter 1 — The Coming of the Ship

THE POWER OF AWARENESS, by Neville Goddard

Chapter 1 — I Am

THE MASTER KEY SYSTEMS, by Charles F. Haanel

Foreword

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

Part 17

Part 18

Part 19

Part 20

Part 21

Part 22

Part 23

Part 24

MAKING YOUR SELF THE MASTER, by Harvey Hardman

Chapter 1 — Does Mankind Need a New Religion?

THINK AND GROW RICH, by Napoleon Hill

Chapter 1 — Introduction

THE LAW OF SUCCESS, by Napoleon Hill

Lesson 1 — The Master Mind

Lesson 2 — A Definite Chief Aim

Lesson 3 — Self-Confidence

Lesson 4 — The Habit of Saving

Lesson 5 — Initiative and Leadership

Lesson 6 — Imagination

Lesson 7 — Enthusiasm

Lesson 8 — Self-Control

Lesson 9 — Habit of Doing More Than Paid For

Lesson 10 — Pleasing Personality

Lesson 11 — Accurate Thought

Lesson 12 — Concentration

Lesson 13 — Co-Operation

Lesson 14 — Failure

Lesson 15 — Tolerance

Lesson 16 — The Golden Rule

A MESSAGE TO GARCIA, by Elbert Hubbard

DOLLARS AND SENSE, by William Crosbie Hunter

Groundwork

Learn to Say No

Credit

Never Quit Work

Stand When Selling

The Best Vantage Ground

Ambition

Lawyers

Be a Producer

The Man — Not the Plan

Compensation

The Boss

Sizing Up Things

Competition

Advertising

Buying

Expenses

Advice

Reading

Argument

Speculation

Elimination

The Specialist

The String

Horse Sense

The Manager

Selling

Vacations

Health

Patience

Hard Times

Sleep

Grumbling

Associates

Fixed Charges

Cigarettes

Return Good For Evil

Learn to Play

Good Fellowship

Hard Work

Kindness

The Salesman

Honesty

Success

Thinking

Home Life

Optimism

Memory

Worry

Promises

Independence

Short Letters

Perspiration

Friends

Employees

Laxity

Enthusiasm

Catching Up

Anger

Precedent

Financing

Discontent

The Generalist

Our Aches and Pains

Dressing

Declare Monthly Dividends

Debt

Brains — Birth — Boodle

Backbone and Wishbone

Do Good

The Get-Away

Double Equipment

Initiative

Night Work

Obedience

Pay Day

Saving

Waiting for Success

Our Sons

Pull

Gossip

Bribes

Stenographers

Hypochondriacs

Politics

Profanity

System

Rule of Gold

WHY SOME SUCCEED WHILE OTHERS FAIL, by H.A. Lewis

Chapter 1 — Success and Failure

THE PRINCE, Niccolo Machiavelli

Chapter 1 — How Many Kinds of Principalities There Are, and by What Means They Are Acquired

HOW TO SUCCEED, by Orison Swett Marden

Chapter 1 — First, Be a Man

AMBITION AND SUCCESS, by Orison Swett Marden

Chapter 1 — What Is Ambition?

ARCHITECTS OF FATE, by Orison Swett Marden

Chapter 1 — Wanted: A Man

THE POWER OF OUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND, by Joseph Murphy

Chapter 1 — The Treasure House Within You

THE BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, by Miyamoto Musashi

Introduction

Chapter 1 — The Ground Book

Chapter 2 — The Water Book

Chapter 3 — The Fire Book

THE STRANGEST SECRET, by Earl Nightingale

The Definition of Success

We Become What We Think About

As Ye Sow — So Shall Ye Reap

30-Day Action Ideas for Putting the Strangest Secret to Work for You

HOW TO ATTRACT SUCCESS, by F.W. Sears

Foreword

THE GAME OF LIFE AND HOW TO PLAY IT, by Florence Scovel Shinn

Chapter 1 — The Game

HOW TO GROW SUCCESS, by Elizabeth Towne

Chapter 1 — How to Grow Success

Chapter 2 — Money Making

Chapter 3 — Now and Then

Chapter 4 — United We Achieve

Chapter 5 — I Want and I Am

Chapter 6 — How to Be Wealthy

Chapter 7 — Factors of Success

Chapter 8 — To Be Square

Chapter 9 — One Thing at a Time

Chapter 10 — Joy Words

Chapter 11 — Success Letters

Chapter 12 — Desire for This, That and the Other

IN TUNE WITH THE INFINITE, by Ralph Waldo Trine

Chapter 1 — Fullness of Peace, Power, and Plenty

TAO TE CHING, by Lao Tzu

Chapter 1

THE ART OF WAR, by Sun Tzu

Chapter 1 — Laying Plans

THE SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH, by Wallace D. Wattles

Chapter 1 — The Right to Be Rich

YOU CAN, by George Matthew Adams

You Can

YOU CAN make of yourself anything the germ of which lives within you. But to realize your full possibilities — to Dominate and Achieve — you must have High Aims, Ideals and Ambitions — all linked to an Iron Will. You yourself determine the height to which you shall Climb. Have you the Summit in view? All right —

Then Start for it.

YOU CAN take command of yourself at any moment you desire to do so. You can make of yourself a towering figure in the work of the world. No one owns you. One hundred per cent of the Stock in your personal Corporation belongs to you. The little People of Destruction that whine at your door, whine at the door of every forceful man. You can make them mere Pygmies in their Power over your Future. Are you doing this Now? Well —

Then Keep it up!

YOU CAN get Smiles and Cheer and Continued Youth — simply by sticking to your own craft and running your own pilot wheel with Your Best as the Place of Port. Results will take care of themselves. Never mind the Sneers, the Criticisms, the Misjudgments of others. Time will fade them all away from you if your Accumulated Strength of Character has taught you how to Wait. To-day is Yesterday’s plans put into action. To-morrow begins To-day. Your Worth to yourself and the World is measured by what you contribute $ach day in Usefulness. Success is the Sum of the Days.

Then Do To-day.

YOU CAN make Success sure by Work, Sacrifice, Enthusiasm, Unselfishness and Self-control. You are the Master of your own Destiny. Take personal command of yourself To-day.

YOU CAN!

50-50

No man in all this world ever rightfully Gets more than he Gives. And if he does he is just a plain Thief — a discredit first to Himself, then to everybody else. The Equal Division is always the Just Division — half to you and half to him. In other words, on the basis — 50-50.

Be glad to Give as much as you Take.

You who are an Employee, are you Sure you are giving in Service as much as you are taking in Money, Experience, Inspiration and Training from your Employer? Right now, take invoice. Do the results look like — 50-50? If not, start this plan into action —

Be glad to Give as much as you Take.

This plan of 50-50 — rightly interpreted, means death to Whiners, to the Disgruntled, and to the Assassinators of Success. They can’t five in the atmosphere of it. The Air is too Invigorating.

Be glad to Give as much as you Take.

Every dispute in this World is traceable to the lack of the 50-50 principle. The broken-up Homes, the disintegrated Businesses, the abandoned Friendships, the wasteful Armies of the World. There is need of this principle in every phase of Life. But never will it become a rule of every-day Action until YOU, in your place, begin to apply — 50-50.

Be glad to Give as much as you Take.

Silence

Yes, Silence is many times Golden. You know that. But try to realize it more strongly. For the Silent Man is usually the Thinking Man and the Silent Worker is the Get-Things-Done Worker. But best of all, Silence as a rule of daily life Conduct makes you Big and Powerful.

Don’t talk Back.

The World’s great Doers have all been Men and Women of few words — Napoleon, Cromwell, Washington, Grant, Lincoln, Marshall Field — Edison. These men didn’t have time for disputes, wrangles — revenges.

Don’t talk Back.

The World is coming to the Idea of Silence — fewer Words, more Deed-doing. It is the big Law of Nature. It is becoming the great Law of Business. For Silence can’t be answered. There is nothing to answer.

Don’t talk Back.

Look around you. You admire the Silent people — those who mind their own business and Build. You know the names of the Useful men of your town. You can’t waste their time — you can’t get them mad. You can’t steal anything from them. Their Silence is their Wealth and every time they walk along the streets they speak volumes. Add another motto to those you may already have. Make it this — Silence.

Don’t talk Back.

Health

Few people Wear out before their time. Mostly they Rust out, Worry out, Run out — Spill out. A Machine must have care and its different parts must be adjusted properly. No Machine has ever approached the Human Machine. When it is right, it is in Health.

Make Confidants of Air and Exercise.

No great Battle was ever won with antiquated Artillery. Nor is it possible for Men or Women to give the best that is in them, aided by weak, ill cared for, abused Bodies. For Health puts on the alert every quality of Soul and makes the Brain and Heart and Nerve stations work in even unison, throbbing out big things in Deeds.

Make Confidants of Air and Exercise.

Pure Air, wholesome Exercise, a few good Hobbies put an edge to a human being that all the Pills in creation can’t equal. In addition, by touching up your Face with plenty of 22-Karat Smiles, you have briefly a Home Remedy for Health of great power and very practicable.

Make Confidants of Air and Exercise.

You have time to eat, you have time to make money, you have time to take to your bed when abuse brings on aches — you will have to take time to die. It is good sense, then, to take time to get Health.

Make Confidants of Air and Exercise.

Everybody is quickened and inspired by the vibrating Health and warm Magnetism that is felt instantly from the Healthy man. He is the man who does things. He is the man who is a Success. He is the fellow who has time to take on Air and Exercise and grasp Health. Also he is the one who accomplishes twice the work of the weakling and has the MOST time.

Make Confidants of Air and Exercise.

If you aspire for large jobs, of necessity you must aspire for — and get — a vigorous Body, filled to the brim with Health. Half of Health is in the Mind. The rest is in getting into the Air and giving every Muscle of the body and every organ a good daily stirring tip with use and Exercise. Let this thought radiate from your face and bearing toward every man, woman, or child that you meet: I am a Happy, Healthy Human Being!

Make Confidants of Air and Exercise.

Character

Character is the stun total, worthwhile, of what a man has after he has won all and the sole thing he has left after he has lost all.

Character is Power.

J. Pierpont Morgan, the greatest single power in Finance in all the world, at the time of his death, once stated under oath, that Character is the only gauge of a man, or the only rule by which he can be gauged in business, and that physical assets are therefore of secondary importance.

Character is Power.

The walls of Character that a man builds will withstand the most merciless assaults that any man can direct at them. A man’s or a woman’s good Character is absolutely unassailable. Reputation may be besmirched — but not Character. For Reputation is what people may say a man is, but Character is. what he really is.

Character is Power.

Character is greater than talent, genius, fame, money, friends — there is nothing to compare with it. A man may have all these and yet remain comparatively useless — be unhappy — and die a bankrupt in Soul. But — Character pay’s out endless Dividends, molds a man into a mighty Deed-doer, and builds for him a deathless Name.

Character is Power.

Character is Power in Business, in the Home, on the Street — everywhere. And it’s free for the asking to the man willing to be kind, honest, square, broad, generous, loyal, fearless — Big! Stamp your Character deeper on people to-day and make it rule your work. Let it lead you on. But fight every hour to make it stronger, for —

Character is Power.

Mistakes

Study your Mistakes.

There are two kinds of Mistakes. Those that happen from ordinary human mis-thinking and those that come from carelessness and petty un-thinking.

Study your Mistakes.

No one ever gets too big to make Mistakes. The secret is that the big man is greater than his Mistakes, because he rises right out of them and passes beyond them.

After one of Henry Ward Beecher’s sermons in Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, a young man came up to him and said: Mr. Beecher, did you know that you made a grammatical error in your sermon this morning?

A grammatical error, answered Beecher, I’ll bet my hat that I made forty of them.

Half of the power of the forceful man springs out of his Mistakes of one sort or another. They help to keep him human.

Study your Mistakes.

But the Mistakes that tear away the power of a man, weaken him, and make him flabby, are the stupid, the reckless Mistakes. The Clerk who forgets, the Stenographer that doesn’t care, the Worker who neglects — these are the ones whose life blood and vitality is sapped and sucked away into failure.

Study your Mistakes.

One of the great things of each day for you is to do your best — unmindful of Mistakes. But after your work is done and you realize your blunders, don’t shirk, don’t whine, don’t despond, but —

Study your Mistakes.

Then profit from them — and go ahead!

Ruts

One of the important lessons of this life is to learn to keep out of Ruts. Everyone is bound to strike them at times. But they should be gotten out of — immediately. For to stay in a Rut is to stick still — and stagnate, while others pass you and forget you.

Keep your eyes Open and your Mind Awake.

Watch out for the Imitation Rut — the Rut that takes you away from your own Work and your own Ideas and makes a Duplicate out of you instead of an Original. Creators stand in a class by themselves. Pay tribute to the Head cm your own shoulders. Get the habit of Initiation.

Keep your Eyes Open and your Mind Awake.

Think. Get together new Ideas. Welcome them. Read. Profit from the Minds of past ages. Compare them with the advancing Thought and Experiences of your own age. Delve into the Mysteries. Seek out the Truths they hold. Learn SOMETHING new each day — and you will be ready armed against getting into Ruts.

Keep your Eyes Open and your Mind Awake.

Vary your Work each day as greatly as possible. Think out new ways of doing old Tasks. The Brain acts spryest when it is most interested. Love your Work. If you don’t, find Work that you do.

Keep your Eyes Open and your Mind Awake.

And be kind to your own human Machine. Give it Rest. Occasionally dip away into new Surroundings, see new Faces, mid meet new Scenes. Find delight among those who Do and Dare. Lock arms with the Smilers — pass by the Frowners. Now, read this little talk over again — resolving that you will from this time on stay out of the Rut business.

Together

For the sake of this little Talk, let us suppose that the one word Together is derived from the three words — TO GET THERE. It is quite possible, anyway. For when people get themselves Together, or you collect all your individual forces Together, the thing aimed at usually happens.

TO GET THERE is to get Together.

Analyze a Human Failure. Here is what you learn. He is all apart — all unhitched. His Brain is without organization. Most of his fine sensibilities are stunned or dead. His Will isn’t Landlord any more. It’s just a Boarder — and half-starved at that. His original farce of Executives and assistants — once alert and healthy and willing — have all gone out into the yard to Doze. Confusion and Ruin is everywhere. Chaos reigns. What is the Remedy? This —

TO GET THERE is to get Together.

It’s marvelous the change that comes about when a man gets Together all his Forces and centers them upon the doing of ONE thing at a time. The Together idea is the progressive idea. "Where there is a Will, there is a Way.’’ But the Will is of no use without the Plan back of the Will. Plan, Will — Way. All Together and things are accomplished.

TO GET THERE is to get Together.

When you begin to Divide your interests or to Distribute your forces, you begin to lose your Grip. As you draw all your Forces Together, you increase your Power. Big things are done on the Together plan. Bird shot will kill small game but it takes the angle Rifle balls to bring down the big game.

TO GET THERE is to get Together.

Weigh and consider this thought as you face your work each day. Give it an honor place as a working rale. Get Together. Then stick Together.

Win

The very first commandment in the decalogue of Winning is to —

Keep your Chin up!

Get busy at the first job that you run into or that runs into you. Tackle it on all fours, if necessary. Center your whole enthusiasm in it. Study its every detail. Drive your very Heart interest into it. But don’t forget to —

Keep your Chin up.

People who look down never get much of an idea of the sky where the Stars are set. And the fellow who doesn’t hitch at least one or two of his wagons to a Star never gets very high up. Get your eyes off the ground. Look ahead.

Keep your Chin up.

For, after all, Winning is a thing within — then out. No other man will or can Win for you. No other man in all the world, no matter how exalted, has the ability and power that is concentrated in you, waiting for some match of Action to touch it off. Also, your Success can be as the Success of no other man. But you alone must find the Thing and DO the Work. It’s great fun, too, if you —

Keep your Chin up.

It is easier to Win than to Fail. Everybody sides with the Winner. But the Failure walks alone.

Keep your Chin up.

Remembering that to Win is to do your work well — to-day. The thing delayed or put off is the thing undone. Start right now. Straighten your shoulders. Set your eyes ahead. Clench your fist — close your jaw, and —

Keep your Chin up.

And you will WIN!

Time

The reason I beat the Austrians is, they didn’t know the value, of five minutes.

Napoleon

.

Learn to use your Time.

For if you don’t it passes on, never to return — coldly mindless of your sorrow and your regret.

As steadily, silently and smoothly as does this aged Earth move in its path, so does Time move on. It never stops to tie its shoestrings. It never waits.

Time is Effort, harnessed and worked to a full day’s portion.

Time has no Business, boasts no monied Millions, hires no fast-legged Errand Boys, houses no Clerks, thinks no Problems, rules no States. Time IS Business, Money, the Errand Boy, the Clerk, the Problem, the State!

Time is but the man in the job put to action and to work.

And Time used to profit To-day will accumulate Power for you To-morrow just as sure as Time goes on. Meditate not on Trifles. Attempt big things. Remembering that —

This day will never dawn again!

And yet, mighty as Time is, priceless in comparison to all else in the world, Time is the freest thing in existence. Perhaps that is why so many fail to grasp it with earnestness and with enthusiasm? Perhaps that is why so few realize its presence and let it pass on?

Think! No matter what your work to-day, if it is worthwhile at all — Time to plan it out, Time to do it well, and Time to finish it, is your day’s greatest gift and your greatest job.

Learn to use your Time.

Success

In Success, defeat is but an incident. Obstacles, stumbling blocks, disappointment in ideals — these things weave into and form the Raiment to Success. For Success is a series of failures — put to flight.

Learn to walk past Failure.

A few years ago a young man stood behind a New England counter as a Clerk. Quiet, honest, faithful, yet a Failure in the eyes of his Employer, who one day drew aside the father of the boy and advised that the son be taken back to the farm for he never would become a Merchant. To-day if you will but walk down State Street, Chicago, you will behold this young man’s monument — a tribute to the failures, disappointments and iron persistence of Marshall Field, who died the greatest Merchant in the World.

Learn to walk past Failure.

But Success isn’t measured in tangible assets. Lincoln left next to nothing in money standards. His Success, though, is the marvel and inspiration of the Ages. Learn to walk past Failure.

Success is largely a matter of personal Viewpoint. It is impossible for you to fail permanently if you determine to Succeed. Let each new day of your life then, take invoice of its own self. Let it chalk up the Failures with the Successes — let it mark plainly the Record. But inside of your own consciousness let nothing take from the image of your mind, the Knowledge that real Success consists wholly in sacrificing temporarily in repeated failures that you may win permanently in worthwhile Deeds done.

Learn to walk past Failure.

Dare

Immortality is but a simple matter of Decision — a Decision to Dare.

Initiate — Dare.

All the world loves the man who isn’t afraid to Dare — a man willing to start something without first waiting a week to figure out the cost. It always takes Courage — sometimes courage mixed with blood and iron. But the man ready to Dare is the creator of great Events.

Initiate — Dare.

Better make mistakes — better blunder along making some healthy headway, than to fear Failure or grow timid and vacillating and flabby in the legs. Become a man of Daring and Doing and the Powers that are so latent in every human will rise to aid you and push you on.

Initiate — Dare.

You will never be Anything, unless you Dare Something.

Initiate — Dare.

Dare to attempt new things. Dare to try out new Jobs. Dare to go ahead, kicking aside Precedent if necessary, and you will have no time to shovel out of your pain wrecked Hopes and dead Dreams. Dare to be a better man at your present task than the man who went before you. Dare to be a bigger man than the man above you. Be. But, if you are, you will first have to —

Initiate — Dare.

Backbone

There are two kinds of Backbones — the one with the Back and no Bone and the one with both Back and Bone! Backbone! what great things have been put across in your name!

Stiffen your Backbone.

It is a great thing to have a big Brain, a fertile Imagination, grand Ideals, but the man with these, bereft of a good Backbone is sure to serve no useful end.

Stiffen your Backbone.

There is a little vine that starts at the base of great trees. Then it climbs and twines about until it squeezes and saps away unto death the tree around which it clings. It has not a Backbone — no vital individual strength of its own, so it seeks out to tear down and kill where there is strength, power and life. That is what Backbone-less people do.

Stiffen your Backbone.

Use it to stand alone with. Use it to bolster up your own individual resources. Use it to strengthen weaker Backbones than your own. Use it for the working out of your entire Character. Then Deeds Done, will gather about you in Battalions, and Opportunity will stand around anxious to introduce you to her friends.

Stiffen your Backbone.

Use your Backbone at your job to-day — you who clerk, you whose fingers pound the type keys, you whose brains formulate plans, distribute details and master problems. For the temple of Success is upheld by the strong arms of men and women who have Backbone and use it.

Pay

Emerson says that the strongest man on earth is the man who stands most alone. Owe money — be in Debt — and you stand by the props that the sweat of other men’s brows and the gray of other men’s brains have earned and bought. You don’t stand alone. You play false to your own strength.

Abhor Debt. Pay.

Debt means to owe — somebody else. It means that you give up what might be yours. It means that you offer a part of yourself for sale for a definite sum. When you owe money you make yourself a slave. The other fellow holds you fast in literal bondage.

Abhor Debt. Pay.

Better live happy away from glamor, smooth words, hand-clapping, and selfish gratification than Dog to some Master whose whistle you are bound to respect.

Abhor Debt. Pay.

The quickest way to kill a Friend (the most valuable possession on Earth) is to ask him to lend you money. If he is a real Friend he will refuse. If you are a real Man you will learn a lesson and thank him. The man who makes it a rule to live within his means soon creates means to live out of it. There is but one safe, sound, sensible rule in money affairs and that is to pay as you go — or don’t go!

Abhor Debt. Pay.

Start to-day to Pay up. Will yourself to do it. Catch fire and enthusiasm from the freedom and power that follow in the way of the man who owes not a dollar to any man.

Abhor Debt. Pay.

Count

If there IS any pure Luck in the world or if it ever really does figure in the summing up of things, here’s when it figures biggest — on the day that you find your Life Work — and glory in it. Lucky you are, then — for you — Count. The world must have you.

Be Somebody in the Crowd — Count.

No man ever Counts until he assumes Responsibility. Responsibility demands the work of the Brain and Heart. These two, working together, breed Ideas. Then Results begin to show. And Results make you Count.

Be Somebody in the Crowd — Count.

People who are Useful always Count. So if you want to Count — if you want to be singled out and justly praised, think of the most useful service possible for you to render. Then get busy in doing it. You at your job, doing it as best you can, are sure to Count. Be Somebody in the Crowd — Count.

Nothing stirs and inspires more than to have it said that you are Somebody and that — you Count — that you are a Creator, a Builder, a Producer. Anyone is justified in congratulating himself if he does things — if he really Counts. Be Somebody in the Crowd — Count.

But don’t be so foolish as to be completely satisfied with the results of any work. Growth comes in a large measure by Comparison. When you do your work better To-day than Yesterday you realize your genuine Capacity and know that there is no actual Perfection except the Perfection of doing better To-day than Yesterday. Strive for this and you need have no concern as to whether or not you will Count. You will.

Why

Before you do a thing — ask Why?

A great deal of the Lost Motion of the world results from Head-long Action — going into a task without Cause — without some definite Purpose — without first finding out — Why.

Before you do a thing — ask Why?

Let Why lead you on and save you Power. Simply answer with promptness its Silent questionings. Give unto Why a substantial reason for the fiber that is within you.

Before you do a thing — ask Why?

Ask yourself: Why should I do this thing? Why should I refuse to do it? Put your actions to the Why test. Think of the wealth of happiness that the habitual use of Why can bring you!

Before you do a thing — ask Why?

Make Why very personal. Why do I squander so much Time? Why do I appreciate so little the chance to Live? Why do I use so small a fraction of my Brain Ability? Why do I not make more Friends? Why do I worry about things that Never Happen? Why do I scold when I should Cheer? Why?

Before you do a thing — ask Why?

Keep Why busy about your House. And at the Night-fall of each day gather into convention the Whys of each Thought and Act.

Before you do a thing — ask Why?

Eliminate the regretful Why. Put yourself on the Stand hourly. Ask and Answer with fortitude and freedom — unafraid of Right conscientiously performed.

Frankness

Frankness is the art of saying things you honestly think exactly as you think them. To be Frank is to be naturally straightforward.

Look the other fellow in the Eye.

Just as a straight line is the shortest distance between two points, so is Frankness the only right course between all people. Because nothing is wasted. The Frank man is the only man worthy of trust.

Look the other fellow in the Eye.

Frankness between Employer and Employee, Frankness between a Man or a Woman, Frankness between yourself and the one who disagrees with you, is the only sensible way.

Look the other fellow in the Eye.

The beginning of mutual respect is trust. No satisfactory result in anything was ever achieved without Frankness.

Look the other fellow in the Eye.

Never think that Frankness is Impudence, nor crude Opinion. It is the face to face openness of Mind and Heart that challenges immediate acceptance of what you have to say as the uncoated Truth.

Look the other fellow in the Eye.

To-day, don’t hedge. Stand squarely on your own legs. Be Frank. And you will marvel at the ease with which other people will understand and respect you. Frankness, a very precious possession, is possible to all — save one, the Coward. You — start to put Frankness into use. Make it earn its board and lodging. Say out what you have to say — with Frankness.

Look the other fellow in the Eye.

Faces

The most marvelous of all pieces of work is the human Face. Strange that out of all the billions of Faces made since Time got to going, no two Faces have ever been exactly alike. Strange, too, that no one Face long remains the same!

Make Something of YOUR Face.

The Face is the Revelation of Character. As surely and positively as does the hand guided by the orders of the Brain clear wide wastes, build great cities, and cut into life-like figures from bare rocks the story of men’s achievements, so does the Brain and Thought of a man carve and fashion daily the secret workings of his Ideals and Purposes into the Lines and Planes of his own Face.

Make Something of YOUR Face.

There is one thing a man cannot hide from — his own Face! Where the Man goes the Face must go. How tremendous the responsibility, then, of making your Face a good Companion, a faithful Servant, an active Force, an interesting Study — a Face worth remembering! Make Something of YOUR Face.

The only way to make Something of your Face is to make Something of your Character.

A Face never lies. It may be a Comic Picture, a Comedy of Errors, a Shakespearean Tragedy, a chiseled piece of Power, or a wrecked god — but it is no lie. If you would know your Friend, study the history of his Face.

Make Something of YOUR Face.

No one could get a hearing if he wrote a whole library of malicious tales about Lincoln. His wonderful Face would contradict them all. To learn what manner of person a man is, study his Face. His Character is proclaimed there as Trumpet Tones. Pope said that the proper study of mankind was man. But the way to study a man is to study his Face. Be not so foolish as to try to hop bail on your own Face. You can’t. Better start associating more with it. It is your largest asset, for no man can take it from you. Realize now, then, that the most important job for you each day is to —

Make SOMETHING of your Face.

Responsibility

A great man by the name of Ansalus de Insulis — remember the name — once wrote these wonderful words: Learn as if you were to live forever; live as if you were to die to-morrow.

Be Responsible, first, to Yourself.

Responsibility is one thing that all must face and that none can escape. It starts with the baby in the cradle. It never ends! For the Responsibility of a man goes on even after his work in the flesh is over. A man performs a great deed. It lives in printed pages and goes on in its influence as long as there is any life in the world at all.

Be Responsible, first, to Yourself.

Individual Responsibility! It’s the thing that makes the Man. Without it there is no Man. Bear in mind, you who must realize Responsibility to your Employer, or to your Friend, or to your Home, — your first Responsibility is to Yourself. And if you are weak and false to yourself — if you wabble in doing the things that mean your very life and Success — you are already a Failure.

Be Responsible, first, to Yourself.

Then FEEL your Responsibility. No one is useless who believes that some things depend upon him alone. You who read this little preachment, take it to heart. Be unafraid of at least attempting larger things. Convince your own self that you have worth and can prove it — and the tasks of big moment will take care of you and lift you into importance and affluence — the gifts of having the courage to take Responsibility and shoulder it. But, remember to —

Be Responsible, first, to Yourself.

Happiness

Happiness is Helpfulness bubbling over at the rim. Also, Happiness is getting in time with the music of the Band of The-Out-of-Doors. There is no unhappiness in Nature.

Lend a Hand. Make Happiness a Habit.

The people who are Happy are the people who are Successful — not in money, merely, but in Contentment, realized Aims and completed Effort. To win — be Happy. To be Happy — do something worthwhile.

Lend a Hand. Make Happiness a Habit.

The fastest growing concern is the one with the most Happy helpers. Happiness produces health. Health plows up the field of native ability and makes ready the soil for the Happy Harvest.

Lend a Hand. Make Happiness a Habit.

Happiness cannot be bought. Being rated as of all things about the most Precious — it is at the same time free. It is for all. But there must be mustered the effort to take it. And after you have it, if you would keep it — give it away.

Lend a Hand. Make Happiness a Habit.

For Happiness boiled down is nothing more nor less than being well content with your progress by seeking better things all the time, being glad that you are alive, thanking God that you have a chance, believing that you have some things that nobody else in all the world has, and just resolving that you are going to make this world a marvelous place to stay in for a while. It’s also having something that everyone else will want — and giving it to others.

Lend a hand. Make Happiness a Habit.

Service

To serve is to find Something to do — and then do it. It matters not what this Something is, so long as it serves a Useful end.

Honor your Job.

The biggest man or woman who ever lived, was in no way, after all, greater than a Servant — in some way or other. The world is a world of Servants. You are a Servant. The one you Serve is a Servant.

Honor your Job.

Proportionately every man is as great as the greatest if he Serves to his fullest Capacity. To do this is to Grow. And Growth only comes to the people of Capacity. You who do your best to-day will do better tomorrow. To Service there is no limit.

Honor your Job.

No occupation is so dignified as Service of some kind. Nothing brings greater rewards in Happiness and Power. He climbs highest who helps another up.

Honor your Job.

The truest fact in all this world is that the more you do for someone else, the more you boost your own game — the stronger your own individual influence and Character becomes. Suppose you try it out to-day and learn for yourself. Try it in your Home, at your Office, in your place of power or in the midst of the humblest circumstances. Be a real Servant. Serve. And be glad in doing it.

Honor your Job.

And by so doing become one of the factors in the stirring affairs of your time.

Imagination

Imagination is the greatest asset that the world’s Doers have ever had. Money, titles, estates — they are all cheap beside this marvelous gift. Imagination is the creator of them all in most instances.

Cultivate your Imagination.

You who read this — did you ever stop to consider that you would not be worth the free air you breathe were it not for the fact that you possess to some extent the power of Imagination?

Cultivate your Imagination.

People do the things they first see done with their Imagination. McAdoo with the eye of his mind saw rapid cars taking thousands of people daily under the Hudson river. Of course, people turned their heads and smiled at his dream. But McAdoo made real his dream in the Hudson tunnels. Marconi saw the messages of people thousands of miles away floating on the waves of the air and sounded off at a marvelous instrument. He was at once rated as crazy. But he went ahead and presented to an astonished world the unbelievable Wireless telegraph!

Cultivate your Imagination.

People call America the land of Opportunity. It is the land of Imagination. Hera the humblest rises to the greatest position of power. It’s the working of Imagination that contributes most. The obscure clerk sees himself President of the concern he serves. Then he advances step by step until he realizes his aim. His first step toward the President’s job was to see himself with his Imagination, occupying it.

Cultivate you Imagination.

The great Perthes once said that a quick Imagination is the salt of earthly life, without which nature is but a skeleton; but the higher the gift the greater the responsibility.

Cultivate your Imagination.

Cultivate it in little things. Then the little things will become big things. Then the big things will take their place among the undying things. History is but the story of the achievements of people who had Imagination.

Cultivate your Imagination.

Ghosts

There is nothing in Ghosts. But they do exist. Ghosts are nothing more nor less than the phantom Imaginations of sick, afraid Minds. They go by various names — Failure Ghosts, Idea Ghosts, Mistake Ghosts, Chance Gho6ts, Regret Ghosts — and Millions of others.

Face your Ghosts.

Walk right up to your Ghosts. Shake hands with them. Look them in the eye. Give them a hearing. And then kick them out — for they never will do you any good.

Face your Ghosts.

Ghosts are always on the Job. In the office of the Doctor, Lawyer, Business man, in your Home, on the Street — everywhere. But Ghosts get uneasy in the Light. They are born and bred in the Dark Alleys and exist only by the Sandbag. Your cue is to keep the Lights turned on — your Mind open — your Courage alert — your Character Impregnable.

Face your Ghosts.

To-day when you read your newspapers there will be Ghosts between the Lines of the Print. Ghosts seek you out and constantly try for your scalp. They like Time-Wasters, The Man-Afraid-of-His-Job Hesitaters. They revel among the players of idle Good-fellowship. But Ghosts sneak like cowed dogs with their tails between their legs, at the sight of Doers, Time Users, Obstacle Riddlers, and Path Makers. Be unafraid of Ghosts.

Face your Ghosts.

But don’t harbor them. Live, Red-Blooded Men can’t be dragging around a lot of Ghosts and amount to Anything.

Face your Ghosts.

Respect

Respect is the name of the Fellow who tends door for your Conscience. His is the most sacred Office in the gift of your Character. For, when he goes wrong, Conscience becomes ill unto Death.

Nothing of Winning matters with Respect gone.

Respect is your most faithful Friend, your greatest Guide, your most powerful Protector — your safest Pilot into Port.

Nothing of Winning matters with Respect gone.

And Respect is made at home. You are your own Respect. For a man can be on no better terms with anybody than with his Own Self. The Man without Respect is a Make-believe, a Fraud — a Counterfeit.

Nothing of Winning matters with Respect gone.

Respect yourself and other people will be compelled to Respect you — and you will Respect them. Respect is the beginning of Wisdom. With Respect on guard, you look people squarely in the Eye without wavering. With Respect, active and unafraid, you go ahead to move away Rubbish and Obstacles and pave a Path for other people to walk in from which they profit.

Nothing of Winning matters with Respect gone.

Think about this as you move about To-day. Let it keep you Strong. Let it make you indomitable. Let it lift you from your present position into one higher up. Let it make of you a Leader. For —

Nothing of Winning matters with Respect gone.

General Manager

Human beings were created to run themselves. Else at birth, each would have been accompanied by a Book of Instructions. You are your own General Manager. Realize but this and it will make you thrill with Fire and Force.

Are YOU on the Job?

No one else can possibly see your Faults in the clear light that you yourself can see them. No one else can possibly fathom the Mysteries of your Mind so thoroughly. No one else can possibly supplant your ability to powerfully picture your own great Ideals and Purposes. No one else can possibly dictate the Policies and Measures of your own life so well. No one else can possibly so efficiently get Work and Results from your marvelous Brain and Body machinery. Who’s conducting your shop, anyway? You are the General Manager.

Are YOU on the Job?

Most of us are just First, Second, Third, etc., ASSISTANT General Managers. We let someone else do our Thinking for us. We want the fancy Titles and Glory — but shirk at doing the work.

Are YOU on the Job?

If not, do this without delay. Call a meeting of your own Intellectual Faculties. Insist on a full meeting. Then lock the door and get down to Business. Take your seat at the head of the table. Discuss frankly and freely the Real Things that concern your Life Success. But keep solidly in mind that you are the Boss — the Force behind all the Artillery, the real Directing Factor — the actual General Manager.

Lincolnize

A man is always bigger than anything big that he does. No man will ever be able to create anything greater than his own Character. To take a single illustration — Lincoln. To Humanity, Abraham Lincoln is infinitely finer than President Lincoln, and as the years accumulate, deeper and deeper do his superb qualities penetrate into the innermost workings of the peoples and nations of the world.

Lincolnize your Work.

The rules of action that guided Lincoln were the rules of ordinary Sense and Humanity. They were unvarnished. They were disguised by no extra trappings and encumbrances. The simplest thinking person immediately grasped the just rulings and conclusions of Lincoln. The best investment that any Business House can make is to gather together the simple rules of conduct that guided Lincoln, and have them Printed, Framed and Hung, before the faces of every one of its Employees.

Lincolnize your Business.

When Lincoln promoted General Hooker he told him that he was doing it in spite of the fact that he had glaring Faults, Enemies, Vanities, and a lot of other things. Lincoln recognized the high qualities of Leadership that Hooker had and he was not blinded by his defects. He always saw the Big things in a man. He knew Grant even before he had met him. He felt men by their Deeds. Results to him reflected the man.

Lincolnize your Judgment.

Lincoln was Just. Lincoln was Generous. Lincoln was Square. Lincoln was Magnanimous. Lincoln was Modest. Lincoln was Gentle. Lincoln was Strong.

Lincolnize your Ideals.

System

Be Systematic.

The Thought, the Plan, the Energy, the Success of your day is measured in value by your application to each — of System.

Be Systematic.

First, it is the easiest way. And then, it is the only way. For without System, the most stupendous Task is sure to crack, crumble and fall into a wreck of waste and loss.

Be Systematic.

With System, a worthwhile Purpose, and an iron determination, progress is steady and smooth and sure. Difficulties fade away. Obstructions are pushed aside, and the Completed Task rises with precision and reality, like unto the rising shafts of steel that reach skyward, outlining and suggesting and making real the giant form of the completing Skyscraper. All through System!

Be Systematic.

Form the habit of undertaking even the smallest Task through System. Then the big things will be achieved with ease and with enjoyment.

Be Systematic.

But don’t be satisfied to apply System to yourself alone. Teach it to others. You who are a Stenographer, Clerk, Manager, Owner of a Business — no matter what your niche — see that System rules your Throne.

Be Systematic.

Sincerity

Be Sincere.

For it’s the mark that stamps and Trademarks your Character so that it stands at once as Genuine.

Be Sincere.

Nobody trusts the man who doesn’t trust himself. Be Sincere. Look the other fellow in the eye squarely and with confidence, and he will trust you.

Be Sincere.

Lacks in ability and knowledge are many times excused. But insincerity — never. Be Sincere. Teach the world once for all that you are square — Sincere — and the order of business for you will move smoothly and with satisfaction.

Be Sincere.

Sincerity is more than money. Even as the magnet attracts and clusters to itself particles of steel, so does the man who holds Sincerity as his asset, draw Men and Chances and great Works to his record.

Be Sincere.

Trouble yourself not that Yesterday was a failure. To-day faces you. Try a new instrument. Tighten new cords for a new Tune. Take hold on a new Force — be Sincere. Then will this day have been far from in vain.

Be Sincere.

Dig

Dig.

Dig right through every obstacle. Fight to uphold the dignity of your Purpose. Dig, bore, squeeze, sweat — but get through!

Dig.

The regular, persistent drop of water will wear away the hardest stone. Science says that the even, rhythmic step of an army has power to start the wreck of the strongest bridge. In like manner does determined effort win anything — anywhere. To believe so, start to-day to —

Dig.

Dig! You see the other fellow carrying away plenty of Bacon? Dig. You failed in many things yesterday? Dig. You want money, reputation, glory? Dig. Mental, moral, or financial Bankruptcy stares boldly at you? Pay no attention. Just —

Dig.

Success is not a thing inherited. To get it you must — Dig.

Dig.

Every man or woman who ever won at anything knew how to — Dig. It is the "A’’-word of the Alphabet of Doing. Dig. No matter WHAT you want or WHERE you want it, or WHEN you want it, you must first know how to Dig — or you won’t get it. Dig.

Dig.

Concentrate

Concentrate.

With steadiness, courage, dare-determinedness burn a hole into things. No matter what the thing at hand may be.

Concentrate.

The Wheel of Action and of Business moves by steady turns around one central hub. In Success, Rim, Spoke, Hub hold tight together, and as though human, Think, Plan, Move as one.

Concentrate.

Results come always to the persistent. Opportunity goes out of its way to get hold of the hand of the Sticker. The eye of the Boss is drawn irresistibly to the desk of the Doer. Concentrate.

Concentrate.

Draw the details together. Formulate your day’s Plan. Strike a pace. Make every minute and every move count. Concentrate. And the finished Job will be the day’s Goal — twenty-four hours of life well worthwhile.

Concentrate.

Learn

Be an Observer. Let nothing new appear without first clinching its value, studying its meaning, and absorbing its lesson. Learn.

Find Out.

Learn from Nature, People, Happenings. Read the thought of each day as far as you can fathom. Then apply your Knowledge. Learn all the time from everything you can — everywhere. Investigate the Mysteries, master the Difficulties.

Find Out.

Right now — a paragraph from History. John Milton — a word from you. I am blind, past fifty, but I am completing my ‘Paradise Lost’. Michael Angelo — your testimony. Though seventy years of age, I am still learning. John Kemble — what have you to say? Since leaving the stage, I have written out Hamlet thirty times. I am now beginning to understand my art! You who have eyes, and ears, and mouths to talk with — Learn.

Find Out.

Your work to-day may look useless. You may be only a Clerk. But you will always be one if you fail to Learn. For the Path of advancement marks the Way of the man. Learn.