IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN YOU CHAPTER I

One day not long ago, while standing on the corner of a busy street in Philadelphia, talking to a friend, along came an old man. He was a decrepit old man with swollen, tearful eyes, and his unshaven face was drawn and withered. His lips were blue with unclean sores. His toes were pushing through his worn- out shoes. His clothes were torn to rags. He had seen better days. I thought, how dreadfully poverty has gnawed at you. I was stunned for the moment. With a look of sadness, and with a dirty bloated hand thrust forward, he pleaded for a few pennies. He got a few more pennies; I got a little more sense.

As I pondered over the circumstances which had caused the deplorable condition of this man, and had left him a wreck in its ruins, I began to think: It might have been you!

What happened to this old man? What precipitated his deplorable condition? What caused such poverty? Why had fortune turned into misfortune? His plight may have been owing to overindulgence, to grief, to envy, to jealousy, to hatred, to prejudice, to dread, to self- pity, to temptation, or to discouragement. What-ever it was had changed his outlook, his attitude, his process of thinking and his entire pattern of living.

Desperation, despair, discouragement, disappointment, sorrow and sadness were indelibly stamped in the lines of his face. He was a picture of his thoughts, a victim of circumstances and a slave to poverty.

In analyzing the plight of this old man, I came to the conclusion that his condition was a definite result of that desperate little enemy-- negative thinking.

Negative thinking is a sneaky little enemy which silently steals its way into a man's consciousness and, like a thief at night, steals not his purse, but robs him of that power which makes him poor indeed. It is a sinister and destructive influence that works night and day to prey on a man's soul. It is man's worst enemy, and life's meanest foe. It is worse than war, and largely the cause of war. It is the curse of the human race. It is as blind to reason as an owl is to light. It turns friends into enemies and enemies into foes. It robs a man of reason. It stirs up hate, greed, selfishness, cynicism, pessimism, anger, suspicion, rivalry, jealousy, revenge, lust and envy. It tears down confidence, undermines health, impairs character and causes poverty.

An old legend relates that the devil was thrown into bankruptcy. Out of all his tools, the creditors permitted him to keep one. The tool he selected was the wedge of negative thinking. Asked why he liked this tool better than all the rest, the devil explained, "It is because this is the one tool which I can use when all others fail. Let me get that little wedge into a man's consciousness, and it opens everything else.

That wedge has opened more doors for me than all other weapons combined."

Someone asked one of the world's greatest explorers what exploration he enjoyed most. His answer was, "My personal preference is for sitting in an old-fashioned rocking chair and exploring the undiscovered regions inside my own mind."

In exploring the undiscovered regions inside the mind, man discovers he has interest. His interest creates a desire. There are two kinds of desire. One is physical. One is mental. Subsistence and propagation satisfy the physical desire. Thoughts and ideas satisfy the mental desire.

There are two kinds of thoughts. Positive thoughts which are creative. Negative thoughts which are destructive. I often compare positive thoughts to light, and negative thoughts to darkness. Darkness is nothing. It is the absence of light. Turn on the light, and there is no darkness.

Negative thoughts of dread, worry, anger, prejudice, jealousy, envy, grudge, stubbornness, impudence, selfishness, cynicism, gloom, hate, despair and discouragement disappear instantly when they meet the positive thoughts of love, faith, consideration, respect, kindness, courage, understanding, persistence, fervence, loyalty, joy, power, plenty, endurance and strength. Think positive thoughts, and the ability can accomplish any desire.

Positive thoughts are based on understanding and faith. Negative thoughts are based on ignorance and doubt. There is no problem or condition that fails to disappear in the light of positive thoughts. Face one half of your problems or troubles with positive thoughts, and they will disappear, and then face the other half, and they will disappear. Positive and creative thinking will burn holes in problems, as a lighted cigarette will burn holes in tissue paper.

In the study of physics we find Ohm's Law of Electricity. It teaches: C = E/R. C is the current or the amount of electrical energy to be delivered for any given purpose. E is the power house to supply the current. R is the resistance the current meets on its way to do the job. The less resistance offered to the current, the more electrical energy available to do the job. This depends on the efficiency of the conductor.

The same applies to you. You are a conductor for your thoughts. Ability is the power house. Positive thoughts are the current. Negative thoughts are the resistance. Get rid of all negative thoughts. Get rid of resistance. Get rid of all inhibitions, all grudges and all dreads. The ability demonstrates its full power and strength when unhampered, and unencumbered by resistance. Your income, your health, your well-being, your happiness, and your peace of mind are only retarded by permitting the phantoms of negative thinking to set up a resistance to your ability.

A physician in Boston examined twenty--five people suffering from inflammatory disorders. A close check-up revealed that every one of them was holding a grudge. Negative thinking impairs the body, and also disrupts the ability.

Cut loose and free yourself from all petty restrictions, all pygmy notions and all corroded resistance. They retard and hold you back. Open up the channel to good. Cast out all your troubles. What good are they? Turn the power and dominion of positive thoughts on worries and dreads, and they are gone. Seek good and expect nothing but good. Rejoice and be glad. It liberates and frees you. You cease to dread, you cease to worry. You feel like a new person. You feel like starting all over again. What seemed a burden and a task is turned into a pleasant and interesting adventure.

Conditions are thought-made; change your thoughts and you change your conditions. Therefore, if your conditions seem unbearable, dark and gloomy, change your thoughts about them and see how quickly your thoughts change you.

J. Allen Stone in his book, Letters to Strongheart, reveals the qualities and attributes of a German Shepherd dog who became a movie star. To sum up the character of this wonderful dog, he put everything he had in everything he did. All of his acts were positive and decided. He spared nothing. He gave all. This teaches a great lesson. Whatever you do, put your all into it. Lose yourself in that which you are seeking to accomplish. Give all and there is no room for negative thoughts.

Therefore, the remedy for negative thinking is positive thoughts. The application of positive thoughts floods the consciousness with faith, confidence, dominion and determination and gives you the power to perform with decision, precision, skill and speed. Think positive, be positive and act positive, and negative thinking goes out the window. One mighty breath from Truth will scatter negative thinking and all its hosts of human mockeries and miseries like a whirlwind and establish the reign of positive thoughts that assure success in any endeavor.

Positive thoughts will knock out your worst enemy-- negative thinking. The preparation is now laid for your best friend-- Ability. Ability is positive thoughts on the job to deliver to you the things you desire.

There is a tide in the affairs of men which when taken at the flood leads on to fortune. That tide is the accumulation of positive thoughts that must eventually burst forth into a flood of good fortune.

Emerson says, "We lie in the lap of immense intelligence which makes us receivers of its truth, and organs of its activity." All around and about us this vital force and creative power is instantly available for us to draw from, and to apply to our activities to supply all our human needs. It is God's gift to man. It is not owned by any one man, or any group of men. It is the property of all men. However, to be of practical value, each individual must seek it, recognize it, realize it, and demonstrate it for himself in his own affairs. It is positive and active and can develop all the faculties and talents of the individual into ability capable of achievement.

"Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am." The power to think gives man the ability to analyze his own thought. Thought is not an indefinite abstraction, but a vital, living force, the most vital, subtle and irresistible force in the world. Thought has form, quality and substance. Thought can originate, develop and create things.

In developing the ability to think and create things to satisfy man's desire, it is wise to get the right attitude. Man is greater than the flesh and bones that carry him around. His body belongs to him, but he does not belong to his body. The power to think does not confine him to his own skin. He can project thought. He can visualize and create things to satisfy his mental desires. To do this scientifically and effectively it is essential to organize his thoughts into a plan. This book is an example.

What is a plan? A plan is a method of action, procedure or arrangement. It is a program to be done. It is a design to give effect to an idea, a thought, a project or the development of something.

A plan may ask: What do you desire? Do you desire to sell something? Do you desire a job? Do you desire an increase in salary? Do you desire clients? Do you desire customers? Do you desire to invent something? These questions pertain to your present or future occupation. The only way to make your desire known is through a plan. It conveys to people in plain language a definite concept of what you are offering for their consideration.

My book, How to Sell by Telephone tells how I sold $10,000,000 worth of life insurance to strangers over the telephone. To achieve this unparalleled record, it was necessary for me to create a plan to satisfy my desire. The plan set forth in plain, understandable language the value and advantages of life insurance, and what they meant to the prospect. After creating the plan it was necessary to develop a process to put the plan into action. This required faith to believe wholeheartedly in the plan, repetition to perfect it, imagination to visualize it, and persistence to see it through. Finally, it required the act to idealize the plan, to feel its possession and claim it as reality. I put all the power at my command in the plan and the desire was satisfied.

Self- discipline, self- knowledge, self -improvement, self- expression and self-unfoldment are individual undertakings. The word "individual" comes from two Latin words-- "in," which means "not," and "divisus," which means "divisible." An individual is not divisible. He is a complete entity, a self--contained unit, made up of four parts. One part is matter—the physical body to house him. One part is essence to give him form and to identify him according to his species. One part is mind to guide and direct him. One part is spirit to inspire and to enthuse him. Strict attention and careful consideration must be given each part. The physical body must have the proper food. The essence must be treated with care. The mind must be fed with positive thoughts. The spirit must be inspired with unfaltering faith. When these four parts are well fed and well treated harmony prevails, and the individual functions healthfully, generates happiness and produces wealth.

How To Turn Your Ability Into Cash puts the Law of Wealth into operation. When applied it never fails to produce an abundance of worldly goods.

In applying the ideas and suggestions in this book it will enhance your ability to realize three things.

IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS

First: Realize that everything you can think of exists now, otherwise you could not think about it. There is no lack of anything and there should be no envy or jealousy between men. There is enough of everything for everyone that lives.

Second: Realize that all things belong to God's creation and that you can only have a temporary use of them. There is no limit on your desires, and you can have the use of anything the ability can create.

Third: Realize that all things are distributed to those who have desires, but ability must be applied to formulate plans to claim these desires.

Here are a few suggestions that will help you stake your claim.

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THINGS TO DO

1. Meditate and ask God if there is any reason why you should not have the thing you desire. Dismiss your desire for a few days and if it is right for you to have it, the desire will become more intense. This removes doubt and uncertainty, and inspires determination and action.

2. Make a strong mental picture of what you desire, and affirm it several times each day.

3. Be specific about what you desire. If you desire money visualize the amount and feel it in your pocket. If you desire customers visualize the number and see them doing business with you. If you desire things visualize the kind of thing you want and see yourself with it. If you desire a position, visualize the kind and it will soon make its appearance in your experience. 4. Relax, meditate and be positive when you visualize your desire. 5. Be aware that ideas are infinite and the ways to manifest them are as uncountable as the stars of the heaven. Make your selection.

6. Engender a feeling of kindness into your desire. It sends out vibrations of love that are the source of attraction.

7. Thank God for the abundance that is yours" now. Repeat daily.

8. Remember - an idea based on good backed by a sincere desire and held to by faith never fails to materialize.

The Law of Wealth is ideas on the job.

Decide now to be the master of your affairs, the director of your ability, the conductor of positive thoughts, the doer of good and the captain of your activities. Hold fast to these tenets with dogged determination, unflinching courage and unfaltering faith. Remember, every element in the Universe is here at your command to help you satisfy and realize your desire. Draw on these forces. Create a plan, reach out for the thing you desire mentally, and in the spirit of gratitude claim it as a reality. "Believe that you receive, and you shall have them."

The full power and strength of the Mississippi River is where it flows into the Gulf of Mexico. It is made up of many individual tributaries, and each one contributes its share to converge into one great stream of power and strength.

You are like this great river. You are made up of many tributary attributes and qualities, and each one contributes its individual share to make up your ability. The full power and strength of your ability is to converge these individual tributaries. Each chapter in this book aims to develop your individual qualities and attributes and to converge them into one great stream of power and strength. Read, study and apply the contents of each chapter. They will put this power and strength in action and help you turn your ability into cash.