There are a few…just a VERY few…traits that a person must cultivate and develop in their lives before they can even START to become successful in whatever path they choose.
You can think of these traits as the building blocks…the foundation…of your growth into a successful life.
You can build a life without them, but, like building a house without a strong foundation, it’ll be put at risk with the first heavy wind or rainstorm. Believe me, you will have a few of those in your life for sure!
Let’s talk for a moment about the trait of concentration.
The power of concentration is to be developed so as to enable a person to do better work, to produce the best of which they is capable. It does not mean brooding and meditating, with no thought of action and production. It is to encourage work, not restrain it.
It’s a mistake to think that concentration means a straining of the mind. On the contrary, it is power in repose. It’s not a nervous habit of doing your work under pressure, but the ease of self-control. Every person should have one great ideal in life toward which they direct their best powers.
Another trait that we cover in the book is self-confidence.
Indecision is a frequent cause of the fear. People hesitate to take a step one way or the other for fear that they might do the wrong thing, and this spirit of irresolution and hesitation often leads them into the very mistakes they would avoid. It’s like a man on a bicycle, endeavoring to steer clear of an obstruction on the road, but all the while keeping his eye fastened upon it so that a collision is inevitable. There is nothing more disastrous to success than lack of purpose. “He who hesitates is lost,” while he grows great who puts on “the dauntless spirit of resolution.” The world generally accepts a man at his own value. If you give an impression that you are afraid, you will elbowed aside and imposed upon at almost every turn.
Are you self-conscious? Are you timid? Let’s talk about that for a moment.
So, what is the remedy for self-consciousness? It’s mainly a matter of securing control of one’s thoughts and intelligently directing them. The mind is a machine, which must be made obedient to the owner’s will. When brought under subjection, it will serve man’s highest and best purposes, but left to itself it may run easily to confusion and destruction.
Are you surrounded by negative people and thoughts? Here’s a few things to do to remedy that.
How would a man or woman exclude negative thoughts from his or her life? Certainly not by affirming such sentences as “I have no fear,” “I am not weak,” “I do not lack ability,” “I am not a failure.” Remembering that only positive thoughts are constructive, they will avoid even the use of negative symbols as “weak,” “fear,” “lack,” “failure.” They will say, rather, “I am self-confident,” “I am strong,” “I am able,” “I am a success.”
Here’s how to build up your imagination and initiative.
Every great work in the world first has its place in the human imagination. If a man is about to build a bench, he first pictures in his own mind the kind of bench it should be. Similarly the painter, architect, contractor, or manufacturer, traces in his/her imagination an image of that which they would produce.
They affirmed that a man or woman with a trained imagination could not possibly wear out or become uninteresting to his congregation, and asked pertinently: “Did you ever hear anybody say that spring has been worn out? It has been coming for thousands of years, and it is just as sweet, just as welcome, and just as new, as if the birds sang for the first time; and so it will be for a thousand years to come.”
