Chapter I

Thoughts Are Things

* The man who thought his way into partnership with Thomas A. Edison. In the wor
ds of Edison, through Hill, there was something in the expression of face which co
nveyed the impression that he was determined to get what he had come after I saw h
e had made up his mind to stand by until he succeeded.
* The Darby family, who found gold, lost the vein and quit digging, just three f
eet shy of the mother lode. Darby later said, It taught me to keep on keeping on,
no matter how hard the going may be
*

Before success comes in any man s life, he is sure to meet with temporary defeat,
and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most l
ogical thing to do is to quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do.

* Story of the child who wanted fifty cents from a man. She wouldn t leave, even u
pon the threat of a whipping.
* When riches begin to come they come so quickly, in such great abundance, that o
ne 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 w
ord impossible. He knows all the rules which will not work. He knows all the thing
s which cannot be done We foolishly believe that our own limitations are the prope
r measure of limitations This book was written for those who seek the rules which
have made others successful, and are willing to stake everything on those rules.
*

Success comes to those who become success conscious. Failure comes to those who
indifferently allow themselves to become failure conscious.

*
We must become money conscious
nite plans for acquiring it.
Chapter II

until the desire for money drives us to create defi

Desire (#1)

* Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.
* Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and
cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that
state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success.
* Marshall Field and his vision of his stores.
* The man, Edwin Barnes, who wanted to be Edison s business partner and never gave
up.
* Practical dreamers do not quit.
* Hill s Six Steps To Turn Desires Into Reality
1) Fix in your mind exactly what you want (money, love, happiness)
2) Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for what you desire.
3) Establish a definite date when you intend to possess what you desire.
4) Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, wheth
er you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.
5) Write out a clear, concise statement of what you have determined in steps 1 t

hrough 4.
6) Read your written statement aloud, twice daily.
* Remember, no more effort is required to aim high in life, to demand abundance a
nd prosperity, than is required to accept misery and poverty.
* Story of his son with no ears. He could hear only with great difficulty.
So I we
nt to work, creating stories designed to develop in him self-reliance, imaginati
on and a keen desire to hear and be normal. Hill convinced his son that he was sp
ecial and that his uniqueness would allow him to accomplish great things. At sev
en years old, his son sold newspapers and made forty-two cents. Says Hill, His mo
ther saw, in his first business venture, a little deaf boy who had gone out in t
he streets and risked his life to earn money. I saw a brave, ambitious, self-rel
iant little businessman whose stock in himself had been increased a hundred perc
ent, because he had gone into business on his own initiative, and had won. The t
ransaction pleased me, because I knew that he had given evidence of a trait of r
esourcefulness that would go with him all through life.
Chapter III

Faith (#2)

* There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge. Both poverty
and riches are the offspring of thought.
* Faith is the

visualization of, and belief in attainment of desire.

* Why do people read this book?

To acquire the ability to transmute the intangible
thought impulse of desire into its physical counterpart, money. I would add that
the book helps to translate any desire into a result.
* Repetition of affirmation of orders to your subconscious mind is the only known
method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith any impulse of thought wh
ich is repeatedly passed on to the subconscious mind is, finally, accepted and a
cted upon by the conscious mind, which proceeds to translate that impulse into i
ts physical equivalent, by the most practical procedure available.
*

No one is

Doomed

to bad luck.

It is essential for you to encourage the positive emotions as dominating forces

of your mind, and discourage
and eliminate negative emotions. A mind dominated
by positive emotions, becomes a favorable abode for the state of mind known as f
aith. A mind so dominated may, at will, give the subconscious mind instructions,
which it will accept and act upon immediately.

* It is a well-known fact that one comes, finally, to believe whatever one repeat
s to one s self, whether the statement be true or false. If a man repeats a lie ov
er and over, he will eventually accept the lie as truth. Moreover, he will belie
ve it to be the truth. Every man is what he is because of the dominating thought
s which permits to occupy his mind. Thoughts which a man deliberately places in
his own mind, and encourages with sympathy, and with which he mixes any one or m
ore of the emotions, constitute the motivating forces which direct and control h
is every movement, act and deed!
* Hill outlines a five-step process for developing self-confidence:
1) Understand your freedom to act
2) Understand how thoughts affect actions; commit 30 minutes per day to visualiz
ing who you want to be

3) Understand autosuggestion; commit 10 minutes per day to developing your selfconfidence

4) Define and commit yourself to your core-purpose
5) Agree that you
t affects.

will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom i

* Negative thinking is extremely dangerous. The subconscious mind will translate

into reality a thought driven by fear just as readily as it will translate into
reality a thought driven by courage, or faith.
If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don t.
If you like to win, but think you can t,
It is almost certain you won t.
If you think you ll lose, you re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow s willIt s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You ve got to think high to rise,
You ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life s battles don t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!
* Hill believes in the close relationship between faith and love, that behind ev
ery great man there was the influence of a woman s love.
* Charles Schwab built his fortune because he gave before he ever tried to get.
Chapter IV

Autosuggestion (#3)

* Autosuggestion is
self-suggestion.

the medium for influencing the subconscious mind.

Also know as

* Plain, unemotional words do not influence the subconscious mind. You will get n
o appreciable results until you learn to reach your subconscious mind with thoug
hts, or spoken words which have been well emotionalized with belief.
* When visualizing the money you intend to accumulate (with closed eyes), see you
rself rendering the service, or delivering the merchandise you intend to give in
return for this money. This is important!
* Hill lays out six steps for stimulating your subconscious mind. I would summar
ize them as follows:
write out what you want to occur
find quiet place
close your eyes and breath deeply and slowly relax
visualize in detail the good things you will do
visualize in detail the good things you will receive
Chaptver V

Specialized Knowledge (#4)

* There are two types of knowledge: general and specialized. General knowledge i
s important, but one must possess access to specialized knowledge to be successf
ul. One does not have to personally have the specialized knowledge to be success
ful. The access is what is important. Henry Ford is an example of a man who rece
ived little formal education, but had numerous men working for him upon whom he
depended for specialized knowledge.
* An extremely important part of being successful is understanding where you can
go to get the specialized knowledge that you need:
one s own experience
the experience of others
colleges and universities
public libraries
special training classes
* You don t have to start at the bottom to become successful. In fact, being at th
e bottom has the tendency to kill ambition. We call it getting into a rut, which me
ans that we accept our fate because we form the habit of daily routine, a habit
that finally becomes so strong we cease to try to throw it off. Too many of those
who begin at the bottom never manage to lift their heads high enough to be seen
by opportunity, so they remain at the bottom.
* Help those who are at the bottom to rise and you will help yourself.
* Example of the man who got a vice-president job because he received an opportu
nity to take on a position and he did a good job.
We rise to high positions or rem
ain at the bottom because of conditions we can control if we desire to control t
hem.
Chapter VI

Imagination (#5)

* Man s only limitation, within reason, lies in his development and use of his imag
ination.
*

Desire is thought impulse! Thought impulses are forms of energy. When you begin
with the thought impulse, desire, to accumulate money, you are drafting into yo
ur service the same stuff that nature used in creating this earth

* Coca-cola was started from an idea. A minister who needed a million dollars (f
or a good cause) started with desire, then added an idea, through his imaginatio
n, to accomplish his result: he gave a sermon entitled, What I Would Do If I Had
A Million Dollars.
* Hard work and honesty will not alone bring riches.
deas.
An idea is an impulse of thought that impels
gination. All master salesmen know that ideas can be
ot. Ordinary salesmen do not know this
that is why
*
f
y
e

One needs imagination, or i

action, by an appeal to the ima
sold where merchandise cann
they are ordinary.'

First you give life and action and guidance to ideas, then they take on power o
their own and sweep aside all opposition. Ideas are intangible forces, but the
have more power than the physical brains that give birth to them. They have th
power to live on, after the brain that creates them has returned to dust.

Chapter VII

Organized Planning (#6)

* Organized Planning is

the crystallization of desire into action.

* The Master Mind Group. A key step in accomplishing plans.

1) Ally yourself with a group of people who will help to create and implement yo
ur plan.
2) Decide what benefits and advantages will accrue to your group in return for t
heir cooperation.
3) Meet with the Master Mind Group regularly, at least weekly.
4) Maintain perfect harmony between yourself and every member of your
roup.

Master Mind

* Your plans must be faultless if you are to succeed. Don t forget, however, that ma
ny successful people failed along the way. If your first plan fails
try another!
* At some point, accomplishing your plans will depend upon your leadership. The m
an who can follow a leader most efficiently, is usually the man who develops int
o leadership most rapidly.
The Major Attributes Of Leadership
Unwavering courage.
Self-control.
A keen sense of justice.
Definiteness of decision.
Definiteness of plans.
The habit of doing more than paid for.
A pleasing personality.
Sympathy and understanding.
Mastery of detail.
Willingness to assume full responsibility.
Cooperation.
* Leadership by consent (Churchill, Lincoln) will last. Leadership by force (Nap
olean, Hitler) will not last.
The Ten Major Causes Of Failure In Leadership
Inability to organize details.
Unwillingness to render humble service.
Expectation of pay for what they know, instead of pay for what they do with what
they know.
Fear of competition from followers.
Lack of imagination.
Selfishness.
Intemperance. (Excessiveness, especially alcohol or drugs.)
Disloyalty.
Emphasis of the authority of leadership.
Emphasis of title.
* How to apply for and get the type of position you would like.
* Being personally successful depends upon your QQS (Quality of service, quantit
y of service, spirit of service) rating. Everyone is involved in delivering serv
ice to others.
1) Quality of service means the performance of every detail, in connection with y
our position, in the most efficient manner possible, with the object of greater
efficiency always in mind.

2) Quantity of service means the habit of rendering all the service of which you
are capable, at all times, with the purpose of increasing the amount of service
rendered as greater skill is developed through practice and experience.
3) Spirit of service means the habit of agreeable, harmonious conduct which will
induce cooperation from fellow associates and fellow employees.
* Andrew Carnegie, the captain of the steel industry, emphasized over and over h
ow he would not keep someone employed unless they worked harmoniously with the o
thers on their team.
* Hill believes that to be successful, you want to be a
r.

go-giver and not a

go-gette

* Brains are what others want. Competent brains are not permanently depreciated an
d can t be stolen or spent. Any capital in a business is worthless if the business d
oesn t have the brains to use that capital.
The 31 Major Causes of Failure
Lack of brain power.
Lack of a well-defined purpose in life.
Lack of ambition to aim above mediocrity.
Insufficient education.
Lack of self-discipline.
Ill health.
Difficult childhood.
Procrastination.
Lack of persistence.
Negative personality.
Lack of control over sexual urges.
Uncontrolled desire for something for nothing.
Lack of a well defined power of decision.
One or more of the six basic fears.
Wrong selection of a mate in marriage.
Over caution.
Wrong selection of associates in business.
Superstition and prejudice.
Wrong selection of a vocation.
Lack of concentration of effort.
The habit of indiscriminate spending.
Lack of enthusiasm.
Intolerance.
Intemperence.
Inability to cooperate with others.
Possession of power not acquired through self-effort.
Intentional dishonesty.
Egotism and vanity.
Guessing instead of thinking.
Lack of capital.
Any reason not included in the above list.
* What is the value of a person? Many people mistake their wants for their just d
ues Your value is established entirely by your ability to render useful service or
your capacity to induce others to render such service.
* Hill recommends taking an annual self-inventory, for which he lists 30 questio
ns.
*
Let us remember, all of us, that we live in a country where every law-abiding ci
tizen enjoys freedom of thought and freedom of deed unequaled anywhere in the wo
rld. Most of us have never taken inventory of the advantages of this freedom compa

red with the curtailed freedom in other countries.

* What is it that gives Americans so much opportunity? Capital. Capital consists
not alone of money, but more particularly of highly organized, intelligent group
s of men who plan ways and means of using money efficiently for the good of the
public, and profitably to themselves.
* Stated briefly, the capitalists are the brains of civilization, because they su
pply the entire fabric of which all education, enlightenment and human progress
consists.
*

There is but one dependable method of accumulating, and legally holding riches,
and that is by rendering useful service. No system has ever been created by whi
ch men can legally acquire riches through mere force of numbers, or without givi
ng in return an equivalent value of one form or another.

Chapter VIII

Decision (#7)

* Success requires no explanations. Failure permits no alibis.

* Successful people reach their initial decisions quickly and are slow to change
them. Unsuccessful people are slow to make initial decisions and quick to chang
e them.
* Henry Ford quickly decided to make the Model T and was slow to change, even wh
en his advisors told him to make a change.
* Tips on Making Your Own Decisons
1) Don t be easily influenced by others.
2) Make your own decisions.
3) Be cautious of whom you seek advice.
4) Acquire facts where necessary.
5) Be cautious to whom you share your plans.
6) Know what you want.
* Remember, also, that every time you open your mouth in the presence of a person
who has an abundance of knowledge, you display to that person your exact stock
of knowledge, or your lack of it! Genuine wisdom is usually conspicuous through
modesty and silence.
* Famous decisions:
1) Lincoln s decision to free the slaves.
2) Socrates decision to poison himself rather than compromise his personal belief
.
3) Robert E. Lee s decision to take the cause of the South.
4) The decision of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Chapter IX

Persistence (#8)

* There may be no heroic connotation to the word

persistence, but the quality is to

the character of man what carbon is to steel?.

* Lack of persistence is one of the major causes of failure It is a weakness which
may be overcome by effort. The ease with which lack of persistence may be conque
red will depend entirely upon the intensity of one s desire.
* Poverty is attracted to the one whose mind is favorable to it, as money is attr
acted to him whose mind has been deliberately prepared to attract it, and throug
h the same laws. Poverty consciousness will voluntarily seize the mind which is
not occupied with money consciousness. A poverty consciousness develops without
conscious application of habits favorable to it. The money consciousness must be
created to order, unless one is born with such a consciousness.
* You ll know when you have the habit of persistence, because you will know that y
our own persistence is your insurance against failure No one enjoy[s] great achieve
ment without passing the persistence test. Those who can t take it simply do not m
ake the grade.
* Causes of persistence
Definiteness of purpose.
Desire.
Self-reliance.
Definiteness of plans.
Accurate knowledge.
Cooperation.
Will-power.
Habit.
A mind closed tightly against all negative and discouraging influences, includin
g negative suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances.
A friendly alliance of one or more persons who will encourage one to follow thro
ugh with both plan and purpose.
* Hill provides a persistence inventory, a list of qualities of those who do not
have persistence, to help see your persistence level. Fear of criticism is the
greatest enemy of persistence.
* Mohammed is an example of persistence.
Chapter X

Power Of The Mind (#9)

* Power is organized knowledge. The sources of knowledge are:

1) Infinite knowledge, such as creative imagination.
2) Accumulated experience, generally found in libraries.
3) Experiment and research, by self or others.
4) The Master Mind Group
* Andrew Carnegie s master mind group consisted of a staff of approximately fifty m
en, with whom he surrounded himself, for the definite purpose of manufacturing a
nd marketing steel.
* Henry Ford started with nothing. His rise to power and wealth closely coincide
d with his developing relationships with Thomas A. Edison and many other success
ful and influential people.
* The power of the master mind is the power of getting people together for a com
mon purpose. Ghandi
came by power through inducing over two hundred million people

to coordinate, with mind and body, in a spirit of harmony, for a definite purpo
se.
* Hill calls the source of the power which Ghandi has infinite intelligence, which
occurs when two or more people coordinate in a spirit of harmony, and work toward
a definite objective
This is very close to teamwork.
* Every man who manages a business knows what a difficult matter it is to get emp
loyees to work together in a spirit even remotely resembling harmony.
* Poverty and riche?s often change places. When riches take the place of poverty, t
he change is usually brought about through well-conceived and carefully executed
plans. Poverty needs no plan. It needs no one to aid it, because it is bold and
ruthless. Riches are shy and timid. They must be attracted.'
Chapter XI

The Mystery Of Sex Transmutation (#10)

* There are three constructive things about sex:

1) Perpetuation.
2) Health.
3) Turning mediocrity into genius through sex transmutation.
* The sex drive is incredibly powerful. It is like the force of a river: A river
my be damned but eventually, it will force an outlet. Destroy a person s sex drive an
d you take away their drive, period.
* The men of greatest achievement have learned sex transmutation and have been m
otivated by the influence of a woman. Hill lists all the great men who have had
a highly sexed nature: Washington, Jefferson, Shakespeare, Lincoln, Emerson and ot
hers. There never has been, and never will be a great leader, builder, or artist
lacking in this driving force of sex.
The 10 Stimuli of the Mind
1) The desire for sex expression.
2) Love.
3) A burning desire for fame, power or money.
4) Music.
5) Friendship, same or opposite sex.
6) A Master Mind alliance, or teamwork.
7) Mutual suffering.
8) Autosuggestion.
9) Fear.
10) Drugs and alcohol.
* Genius, hunches and creativeness are all pathways to greatness and can be achi
eved by sex transmutation. My definition of sex transmutation is: the ability to
use the sex drive to create valued behaviors and ideas. Edison often achieved h
is great ideas by 1) using one of the ten mind stimulates to raise his thinking
level and 2) focusing, in a relaxed manner, upon the problem at hand.
* Most men don t succeed until after they are forty because they have a tendency to
dissipate their energies through over-indulgence in physical expression of the
emotion of sex.
* People who have mastered sex transmutation will also have personal magnetism, as
communicated to others through their hand shake, the tone of their voice, their
posture, their clothes and their thoughts.

* The salesman who knows how to take his mind off the subject of sex, and direct
it in sales effort with as much enthusiasm and determination as he would apply t
o its original purpose, has acquired the art of sex transmutation, whether he kn
ows it or not.
* Love, romance, and sex are all emotions capable of driving men to heights of su
per achievement. Love is the emotion which serves as a safety valve, and insures
balance, poise and constructive effort. When combined, these three emotions may
lift one to an altitude of a genius.
* Encourage the presence of these emotions as the dominating thoughts of one s mind
, and discourage the presence of all destructive emotions. The mind is a creatur
e of habit. It thrives upon the dominating thoughts fed it. Through the faculty
of will-power, one may discourage the presence of any emotion, and encourage the
presence of any other. Control of the mind, through the power of will, is not d
ifficult. Control comes from persistence, and habit. The secret of control lies
in understanding the process of transmutation. When any negative emotion present
s itself in one s mind, it can be transmuted into a positive, or constructive emot
ion, by the simple procedure of changing one s thoughts.
* Hill believes that if one has loved and lost, that that person is still better
off, as long as that person does not become resentful and cynical when love make
s its departure.
* Hill also believes that a woman can make or break him, by her understanding, or
lack of understanding of the emotions of love, sex and romance.
* Finally, Hill asserts that Men who accumulate large fortunes, and attain to gre
at heights of power and nature, do so, mainly to satisfy their desire to please
women. Take women out of their lives, and great wealth would be useless to most
men. It is this inherent desire of man to please woman which gives woman the pow
er to make or break a man.
* Most men don t like to admit they are easily influenced by a woman and most
ligent women don t make an issue of this.
Chapter XII

intel

The Subconscious Mind (#11)

* The subconscious mind is the connecting link between the finite mind of man and
Infinite Intelligence.
* The key to tapping into the power of the subconscious is stopping negative inf
luences and consciously placing positive impulses into your subconscious mind.
* Influencing your subconscious mind depends upon emotions: The subconscious mind
is more susceptible to influence by impulses of thought mixed with feeling or emo
tion, than by those originating solely in the reasoning portion of the mind. In
fact, there is much evidence to support the theory that only emotionalized thoug
hts have any action influence upon the subconscious mind.
* There are seven major positive and seven major negative emotions:
Positive emotions Negative emotions
Desire Fear
Faith Jealousy
Love Hatred
Sex Revenge
Enthusiasm Greed
Romance Superstition
Hope Anger

Additional emotions (TMP)

Gladness Sadness
* Form the habit of applying and using the positive emotions! Eventually, they wi
ll dominate your mind so completely that the negatives cannot enter it.
Chapter XIII

The Brain (#12)

* The brain is what ties everything together. It is a broadcasting station which a

llows an individual to accomplish results, with desire as the power source and t
he three channels being used of the subconscious mind, creative imagination and
autosuggestion.
* Hill believes that the greatest forces are intangible. The brain is a miracle to
Hill. Telepathy and clairvoyance are discussed as examples of the miraculous na
ture of the brain.
Chapter XIV

The Sixth Sense (#13)

* Hill believes in a sixth sense, through which one will be warned of impending d
angers in time to avoid them, and notified of opportunities in time to embrace t
hem. Furthermore, understanding of the sixth sense comes only by meditation throug
h mind development from within.
* Hill advocates letting great men shape your life. Early in his life, Hill pick
ed nine men whose lives and life-works had been most impressive to me. He then nig
htly visualized those men, called his Invisible Counselors, sitting around a table
and speaking with him. Hill was the chairperson of the group, which he used for
advice and building his character. He selected each man based upon his or her c
haracteristics which were most impressive. He also read extensively about each p
erson. Hill says that during the meetings with the Invisible Counselors I find my m
ind most receptive to ideas, thoughts and knowledge which reach me through the s
ixth sense.
Chapter XV

The Six Ghosts Of Fear

* For a person s mind to be ready to put the Think & Grow Rich formula to work, ce
rtain things must be cleared out of the brain: indecision, doubt and fear. Fear
is the most significant and there are six types.
* Some people appear to be lucky while others seem destined to ride with misfortune. T
his fact may be explained by the statement that every human being has the abilit
y to completely control his own mind, and with this control, obviously, every pe
rson may open his mind to the tramp thought impulses which are being released by
other brains, or close the doors tightly and admit only thought impulses of his
own choice.
1) Fear of Poverty
* If you want riches, you must refuse to accept any circumstance that leads towar
d poverty.
* The responsibility for achieving riches is every individual s. Once a person acc
epts this responsibility, there can be no alibis for not achieving riches, becau
se the only thing one must do to achieve riches is control your state of mind.
* The fear of poverty is, without doubt, the most destructive of the six basic fe
ars Nothing brings so much suffering and humility as poverty!
* Fear of poverty makes a person feel down and out, inferior, dependent, helples
s.

2) Fear of Criticism
* It should be recognized as a crime for any parent to build inferiority complexes
in the mind of a child, through unnecessary criticism. Employers who understand
human nature get the best there is in men, not by criticism, but by constructive
suggestion.
3) Fear of Ill Health
* People have seen the ugliness of death and so they naturally fear ill health b
ecause it implies a closeness to death. The fear of sickness alone is often suff
icient to cause sickness.
* Negative thinking is a cause of sickness.
4) Fear of Loss of Love
* Careful analysis has shown that women are more susceptible to this fear than me
n. This fact is easily explained. Women have learned, from experience, that men
are polygamous by nature, that they are not to be trusted in the hands of rivals
.
5) Fear of Old Age
* People fear old age because they may fear poverty, diminished sexual attractio
n, loss of independence, loss of strength, pain or the world beyond.
* Getting older can be met with apologies about being old or
for having reached the age of wisdom and understanding.

expressing gratitude

6) The Fear of Death

* The entire world is made up of only two things, energy and matter. In elementar
y physics we learn that neither matter nor energy (the only two realities known
to man) can be created nor destroyed. Both matter and energy can be transformed,
but neither can be destroyed.
Life is energy, if it is anything. If neither energy nor matter can be destroyed,
of course life cannot be destroyed. Life, like other forms of energy, may be pa
ssed through various processes of transition, or change, but it cannot be destro
yed. Death is mere transition.
If death is mere change, or transition, then nothing comes after death except a l
ong, eternal, peaceful sleep, and sleep is nothing to be feared. Thus you may wi
pe out, forever, the fear of death.
Conclusion
*

Your business in life is, presumably, to achieve success. To be successful, you

must find peace of mind, acquire the material needs of life, and above all, att
ain happiness. All of these evidences of success begin in the form of thought im
pulses.

You may control your own mind, you have the power to feed it whatever thought imp
ulses you choose. With this privilege goes also the responsibility of using it c
onstructively. You are the master of your own earthly destiny just as surely as
you have the power to control your own thoughts. You may influence, direct, and
eventually control your own environment, making your life what you want it to be
or, you may neglect to exercise the privilege which is yours, to make your life

to order, thus casting yourself upon the broad sea of circumstance where you will
all be tossed hither and yon, like a chip on the waves of the ocean.
*

To protect yourself against negative influences, whether of your own making, or

the result of the activities of negative people around you, recognize that you
have a will-power, and put it into constant use, until it builds a wall of immun
ity against negative influences in your own mind.

* Without doubt, the most common weakness of all human beings is the habit of lea
ving their minds open to the negative influence of other people. This weakness i
s all the more damaging, because most people do not recognize that they are curs
ed by it, and many who acknowledge it, neglect or refuse to correct the evil unt
il it becomes an uncontrollable part of their daily habits.
* Hill provides an excellent self-analysis test on page 245, so that people can
see themselves as they truly are.
* If you must be careless with your possessions, let it be in connection with mat
erial things. Your mind is your spiritual estate! Protect and use it with the ca
re to which divine royalty is entitled.
* Mind control is the result of self-discipline and habit. You either control you
r mind or it controls you. There is no half-way compromise. The most practical o
f all methods for controlling the mind is the habit of keeping it busy with a de
finite purpose, backed by a definite plan. Study the record of any man who achie
ves noteworthy success, and you will observe that he has control over his mind,
moreover, that he exercises that control and directs it toward the attainment of
definite objectives.
* Hill quotes Plato, The first and best victory is to conquer self. To be conquer
ed by self is, of all things, the most shameful and vile.