TRULY, “thoughts are things,” and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches, or other material objects.
A little more than thirty years ago, Edwin C. Barnes discovered how true it is that men really do THINK AND GROW RICH. His discovery did not come about at one sitting. It came little by little, beginning with a BURNING DESIRE to become a business associate of the great Edison.
One of the chief characteristics of Barnes’ Desire was that it was definite.
Psychologists have correctly said that “when one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance.” Barnes was ready for a business association with Edison, moreover, he was DETERMINED TO REMAIN READY UNTIL HE GOT THAT WHICH HE WAS SEEKING.
Barnes literally thought himself into a partnership with the great Edison! He thought himself
into a fortune. He had nothing to start with, except the capacity to KNOW WHAT HE
WANTED, AND THE DETERMINATION TO STAND BY THAT DESIRE UNTIL HE
REALIZED IT. He had no money to begin with. He had but little education. He had no
influence. But he did have initiative, faith, and the will to win. With these intangible forces
he made himself number one man with the greatest inventor who ever lived.
Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat, and,
perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do
is to QUIT. That is exactly what the majority of men do.
Darby QUIT just 3 feet from Gold
A FIFTY-CENT LESSON IN PERSISTENCE
When the uncle reached the spot where the child was standing, she quickly stepped forward
one step, looked up into his eyes, and screamed at the top of her shrill voice, “MY
MAMMY’S GOTTA HAVE THAT FIFTY CENTS!”
The uncle stopped, looked at her for a minute, then slowly laid the barrel stave on the floor,
put his hand in his pocket, took out half a dollar, and gave it to her. The child took the money
and slowly backed toward the door, never taking her eyes off the man whom she had just
conquered.
Strangely, the story of this unusual experience was told to the author in the old mill, on the
very spot where the uncle took his whipping. Strangely, too, I had devoted nearly a quarter of
a century to the study of the power which enabled an ignorant, illiterate colored child to
conquer an intelligent man.
As we stood there in that musty old mill, Mr. Darby repeated the story of the unusual
conquest, and finished by asking, “What can you make of it? What strange power did that
child use, that so completely whipped my uncle?”
The answer to his question will be found in the principles described in this book.
Mr. Darby pointed out: “every time a prospect tried to bow me out, without buying, I saw
that child standing there in the old mill, her big eyes glaring in defiance, and I said to myself,
`I’ve gotta make this sale.’ The better portion of all sales I have made, were made after people
had said `NO’.”
He recalled, too, his mistake in having stopped only three feet from gold, “but,” he said, “that
experience was a blessing in disguise. It taught me to keep on keeping on, no matter how
hard the going may be, a lesson I needed to learn before I could succeed in anything.”
WHEN RICHES BEGIN TO COME THEY COME SO QUICKLY, IN SUCH GREAT ABUNDANCE, THAT ONE WONDERS WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN HIDING DURING ALL THOSE LEAN YEARS.
One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the average man’s familiarity with the word “impossible.”
He knows all the rules which will NOT work. He knows all the things which
CANNOT be done.
This book was written for those who seek the rules which have made
others successful, and are willing to stake everything on those rules. A great many years ago
I purchased a fine dictionary. The first thing I did with it was to turn to the word
“impossible,” and neatly clip it out of the book. That would not be an unwise thing for you to
do.
Success comes to those who become SUCCESS CONSCIOUS.
Failure comes to those who indifferently allow themselves to become FAILURE
CONSCIOUS.
The object of this book is to help all who seek it, to learn the art of changing their minds
from FAILURE CONSCIOUSNESS to SUCCESS CONSCIOUSNESS.
Another weakness found in altogether too many people, is the habit of measuring everything,
and everyone, by their own impressions and beliefs.
Some who will read this, will believe that no one can THINK AND GROW RICH. They cannot think in terms of riches, because their thought habits have been steeped in poverty, want, misery, failure, and defeat.
These unfortunate people remind me of a prominent Chinese, who came to America to be
educated in American ways. He attended the University of Chicago. One day President
Harper met this young Oriental on the campus, stopped to chat with him for a few minutes,
and asked what had impressed him as being the most noticeable characteristic of the
American people.
“Why,” the Chinaman exclaimed, “the queer slant of your eyes. Your eyes are off slant!”
What do we say about the Chinese? We refuse to believe that which we do not understand.
We foolishly believe that our own limitations are the proper measure of limitations. Sure, the
other fellow’s eyes are “off slant,” BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT THE SAME AS OUR
OWN.
YOU ARE “THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE, THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR SOUL,”
BECAUSE…
When Henley wrote the prophetic lines, “I am the Master of my Fate, I am the Captain of my
Soul,” he should have informed us that we are the Masters of our Fate, the Captains of our Souls, because we have the power to control our thoughts.
He should have told us that the ether in which this little earth floats, in which we move and
have our being, is a form of energy moving at an inconceivably high rate of vibration, and
that the ether is filled with a form of universal power which ADAPTS itself to the nature of
the thoughts we hold in our minds; and INFLUENCES us, in natural ways, to transmute our
thoughts into their physical equivalent.