the distance, the minister could see the farmer sitting up on
his tractor, with a straw hat on the back of his head and clad
in an old, light blue pair of overalls. It appeared that the
farmer was moving toward the road as he was plowing. Since
the minister was in no particular hurry, he pulled his car over
to the side of the road, got out of it, and walked toward the
fence. When he reached it, he just stood still, enjoying the
light breeze, the warm sunlight and admiring the beauty of the
farm and the farmer's ability to plough such straight furrows.
As the farmer worked his way toward the road, he
noticed the minister leaning against the fence. So he brought
the tractor to a halt, climbed down from it, and slowly started
to walk in the minister's direction. As the farmer got closer the
minister smiled, raised his arm, and waved saying, "My good
man, God has certainly blessed you with a beautiful farm."
The farmer stopped, pulled out an old red and white
polka-dot handkerchief from his pocket with his big, scarred
and calloused hands. He raised his arm and wiped the sweat
from his sun-scorched brow, still not saying a word. Then he
reached up with his other hand, and gently took from his
mouth the long piece of straw that had been bouncing and
waving as he walked.
He stood in silence for a moment, looking at the minister,
and then he spoke. With a slow, steady voice be replied, "Yes
Reverend, you're right. God has blessed me with a beautiful
farm, but I just wish you could have seen it when he had it all
to himself!"
Understand that "images" are mental pictures that are
made from thoughts, and the magnificence of the mind lies in
the fact that it can "think." That is to say, it can tap into
thought and create whatever image it chooses.
Now play with your mind for a few minutes and become
aware of how you can flash one picture or image after another
on the screen of your mind. It is almost as if you were sitting
inside your body at a great theatre, and you are the writer,
producer and director of this movie you are watching.
In a wonderful book I read a number of years ago titled
The Science of Getting Rich, the author, Wallace D. Wattles,
referred to "This thinking stuff that permeates, penetrates, and
fills the interspaces of the cosmos." It's true that thoughts are
everywhere and we can tap into this thinking stuff with our
mind and form any image we choose.
Now become aware of this truth. Everything we do is
preceded by an image. We think first in order to form an
image, then we do the work.
Building The First Chair
Consider for a moment how the first "chair" was built. We
did not always have chairs, you know. I suppose many years
ago when we first started to become civilized, someone became
tired of sitting on the ground. Whoever this person was, he
probably started to think, and began to see a picture in his
mind. He probably saw himself sitting on a "thing" with his
legs hanging down and his back leaning against something.
This picture or idea appealed to him, because he imagined
that it would be a more comfortable position in which to sit;
certainly much more comfortable than sitting on the ground
with his knees shoved up under his chin!
Since this picture appealed to the person, the person
thought of it often, until a desire to have such a thing began to
develop. The desire moved the person into action, and with the
picture in his mind, he began to build something outside of
himself-in his physical world-that was, as close as possible, a
replica of the image he held in his mind. Once the thing was
completed, the person sat on it. He let his legs hang and his
back lean and he found that it was good. He then called the
thing a "chair." The word "chair" is a symbol that has a
corresponding image and when you see or hear the symbol
chair, it triggers an image on the screen of your mind. From
that day to this, others have been building images of more
comfortable chairs-chairs with padding, chairs that fold and
chairs that recline. Then someone got lonely sitting alone and
the person began to think and they built an image in their
mind of a very long chair. They constructed that long chair,
found it was good and they called it a "sofa."
Need we continue? Someone got tired of sleeping under a
tree and they built an image of a roof over their head and on
and on we go. Out of the cave into a condominium. We have
truly built the world we live in.
Columbus imaged a new world and you and I are living in
it. The Wright Brothers imaged us being propelled through the
air and introduced us to a new kingdom. Samuel Morse
imaged himself interrupting the flow of energy through
metallic wires and gave us the telegraph with the Morse code.
Copernicus imaged a multiplicity of worlds and now we have
been there.
Through the years, history has recorded the results of
great visionaries. In fact, everything ever accomplished was at
first, and for a time, nothing more than an image held in the
mind of the architect. Realize, now, that you too are the
"mental architect" of your own destiny.
Going To The Movies
Consider this: Jack Nicklaus, the world famous golfer,
explains he will not even pick up a club until he has a very
clear image on the screen of his mind, showing exactly how
the ball will fly through the air, how it will hit the ground and
where it will roll after it hits. Nicklaus calls this "going to the
movies" and he has become so proficient at it that he has
become known throughout the world. Fame and fortune are
his for the asking.
In a previous paragraph, I made reference to the
statement by Wallace D. Wattles: "There is a thought stuff that
permeates, penetrates and fills the interspaces of the cosmos."
In truth, there is a thought stuff everywhere around you and
within you. So become aware of this truth and tap into it now.
Use it to form an image on the screen of your mind; see
yourself already in possession of the amount of money you
want, to provide the things you need, to live in the style you
choose to live.
Personal Prosperity
You are using mental faculties that everyone has. They
are exactly the same mental faculties used by Copernicus,
Buddha and Morse whom we previously mentioned. You might
have formed the habit of thinking that people like those just
mentioned are different than you and I. But I want you to
know the only difference between you and them, or anyone
else, is only in appearance and accomplishments. We all live in
different physical bodies and we all use our inherent mental
faculties in a different way; but our basic structure is
fundamentally the same.
I am well aware there are many professors and other
professional people who will tell you what I have just said is a
lot of nonsense. But disbelievers like these have always existed
and they are, in my opinion, little people. For all of the truly
great leaders are in complete agreement with what I have just
explained, about your equality with great people of the past
and present.
Even Jesus tried to tell the world, as he was doing his
great work some two thousand years ago, that you too were
capable of doing what he was doing. In fact, He even went a
step further in saying, "Even greater things are you capable
of." Believe Him, He spoke the truth. The little people will say,
that is not what He meant. But let me assure you, it is exactly
what Jesus meant. If you can see it and believe it-you can do
it.
Napoleon Hill spent almost his entire life studying five
hundred of the world's greatest achievers and the essence of
his exhaustive studies and writings is contained in his great
book, Think and Grow Rich. "Whatever the mind can conceive
and believe it can achieve." Not many people believe this, but
the ones who do, prove it to themselves. Why don't you prove
it to yourself, now.
Just build the image of prosperity on the screen of your
mind and watch what happens. Remember though, regardless
of how tough things get, you must continue to hold the picture
of personal prosperity. You will very likely run up against a
series of circumstances that will, for a time, almost have you
convinced you are actually going backwards; but, persistence
is the key. Continue to hold the picture of personal prosperity
and understand that what is happening to you, is what must
happen, to prepare you to receive the good you desire.
"Persistence"-Napoleon Hill devoted an entire chapter in
Think and Grow Rich to persistence. In that chapter he said,
"There may be no heroic connotation to the word persistence,
but the character is to the quality of man what carbon is to
steel." Hill also pointed out in another part of the same
chapter, that the only thing which separated Thomas Edison
or Henry Ford from the rest of the people in the world was
persistence. For both of these great men had an image and
they would not let anyone or anything dissuade them-they
were persistent. One illuminated the world, the other put the
world on wheels. Both were, of course, richly rewarded.
In a previous chapter, we explained money is a reward for
service rendered. These men provided a tremendous service to
millions of individuals and their reward was in direct
proportion to the service rendered. So build your image of
prosperity and be persistent. The way for your image to
materialize will be shown to you. Persistence Always Pays
A number of years ago, John Kanary, a friend and
business partner of mine, was discussing Hill's chapter on
"persistence" with me. We both seemed to be equally
impressed with the importance of this quality, as well as with
the necessity of a person having it, if they were to reach any
worthwhile goal. After a time and nearing the end of our
discussion, we each agreed we would read the chapter on
"persistence", once every day for thirty days. I don't even have
to ask John to find out if this exercise helped him-I know it
did; and the exercise has most certainly benefited me on
numerous occasions.
There is an interesting story concerning John Kanary,
which would be very appropriate to share with you here, since
it illustrates both the power of "imaging," as well as
"persistence."
Although I had known John Kanary for a couple of years
and had talked with him on many occasions, I certainly did
not know him as intimately as I do at the time of this writing.
It is important that I bring this out here, as I will be referring
back to it shortly. The incident I am about to relate, took place
in 1971.
I was living in Chicago at the time and had just
completed a speaking engagement in Edmonton, Alberta.
When I returned to my room, there was a telephone message
for me to call John Kanary, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. I
returned the call and after a couple of minutes of small talk,
John said it was rather important that he meet with me, as he
had something he wanted to discuss and he preferred not to
"go into it" on the telephone. I asked John to wait while I
looked over my calendar; it was, in the vernacular-packed
tight. I was busy, to say the least; almost every day I had
either a seminar or speaking engagement in a different city in
North America. I explained this to John and told him that
although I would love to visit, I really didn't know when I
could. John was persistent, so I said, "Listen, I'm leaving
Edmonton for Chicago tonight at midnight. To get to Chicago I
have to go through Toronto. I'll arrive there at 7 a.m. I'll have
to change terminals and I leave from the second terminal, one
hour and fifty minutes later. I'll be happy to talk to you then,
although I don't promise to be too alert after flying all night."
It is also worth mentioning that John had to get up early
enough to drive the 125 miles from Belleville to Toronto, to
meet my 7:00 a.m. arrival. I remember that all John said was,
"I'll be there."
The next morning I sat in the airport coffee shop and
listened as John explained how he "wanted to do what I was
doing." He wanted to conduct seminars. He also explained that
he was prepared to pay the price, whatever it might be.
As I listened, it was like hearing a popular song on the
radio-you keep hearing it, over and over again. In almost every
seminar I conduct there is a man or woman in the seminar
who wants to do "what I am doing." I've heard it in Biloxi,
Mississippi; Butte, Montana; Los Angeles, New York, Moncton
and Montreal-it was an old tune. Now, here I was in Toronto
with a friend who, as I have already mentioned, I did not know
that well, and he was asking what "he had to do."
As I was listening, the same images, which I had with all
the others, were flashing through my mind. I was
remembering all the traveling and the fear of standing up and
speaking in a large hotel ballroom crowded with people who
wanted you to get them excited, but who were mentally
putting you on trial at the same time, thinking, "Does this guy
know what he is talking about?" In many situations, such as a
sales convention, you had forty minutes from beginning to end
in which to build rapport with a few hundred strangers and
get them excited about themselves.
The years of staying up nights reading and studying, the
years of learning by attending seminars all over the continent,
the years of working for next to nothing to prepare oneself to
hold the attention of a group of people all day in a seminar,
