You can do it if you believe you can.
Imagination is the workshop of the human mind wherein old ideas and established facts may
be reassembled into new combinations and put to new uses.
Imagination has been called the creative power of the soul.
You will never have a definite purpose in life, you will never have self-confidence,
you will never have initiative and leadership unless you first create these qualities in
your imagination and see yourself in possession of them.
Just as the oak tree develops from the germ that lies in the acorn, and the bird develops
from the germ that lies asleep in the egg, so will your material achievements grow out
of the organized plans that you create in your imagination.
First comes the thought; then, organization of that thought into ideas and plans; then
transformation of those plans into reality.
The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.
The imagination is both interpretative and creative in nature.
It can examine facts, concepts, and ideas, and it can create new combinations
and plans out of these.
Through its interpretative capacity the imagination has one power not generally attributed to
it; namely, the power to register vibrations and thought waves that are put into motion
from outside sources, just as the radio-receiving apparatus picks up the vibrations of sound.
The principle through which this interpretative capacity of the imagination functions is called
telepathy; the communication of thought from one mind to another, at long or short distances,
without the aid of physical or mechanical appliances.
Telepathy is an important factor to a student who is preparing to make effective use of
imagination, for the reason that this telepathic capacity of the imagination is constantly
picking up thought waves and vibrations of every description.
So-called "snap-judgment" and "hunches," which prompt one to form an opinion or decide upon
a course of action that is not in harmony with logic and reason, are usually the result
of stray thought waves that have registered in the imagination.
So well has this principle been established, through psychological research, that we have
abundance of proof that two minds which are properly attuned and in harmony with each
other may send and receive thought at long distances without the aid of mechanical apparatus
of any sort.
Rarely have two minds become so well attuned that unbroken chains of thought could be registered
in this manner, but there is evidence sufficient to establish the fact that parts of organized
thought have been picked up.
Consider, for example, what happens when a salesman who lacks confidence in himself,
and in his goods, walks in to see a prospective buyer.
Whether the prospective buyer is conscious of it or not, his imagination immediately
"senses" that lack of confidence in the salesman's mind.
The salesman's own thoughts are actually undermining his efforts.
This will explain, from another angle, why self-confidence is one of the most important
factors entering into the great struggle for success.
The principle of telepathy and the law of attraction, through which like attracts like,
explain many a failure.
If the mind has a tendency to attract from the ether those thought vibrations which harmonize
with the dominating thoughts of a given mind, you can easily understand why a negative mind
that dwells upon failure and lacks the vitalizing force of self-confidence would not attract
a positive mind that is dominated by thoughts of success.
Perhaps these explanations are somewhat abstract to the student who has not made any particular
study of the functioning processes of the mind, but it seems necessary to inject them
into this lesson as a means of enabling the student to understand and make practical use
of the subject of this lesson.
The imagination is too often regarded merely as an indefinite, untraceable, indescribable
something that does nothing but create fiction.
It is this popular disregard of the powers of the imagination that has made necessary
these more or less abstract references to one of the most important subjects of this
course.
Not only is the subject of imagination an important factor, but it is one of the most
interesting subjects, as you will observe when you begin to see how it affects all that
you do toward the achievement of your definite chief aim.
You will see how important is the subject of imagination when you stop to realize that
it is the only thing in the world over which you have absolute control.
Others may deprive you of your material wealth and cheat you in a thousand ways, but no man
can deprive you of the control and use of your imagination.
Men may deal with you unfairly, as men often do; they may deprive you of your liberty,
but they cannot take from you the privilege of using your imagination as you wish.
The major trouble with this world today lies in our lack of understanding of the power
of imagination, for if we understood this great power we could use it as a weapon with
which to wipe out poverty and misery and injustice and persecution, and this could be done in
a single generation.
This is a rather broad statement, and no one understands better than the author of this
course how useless such a statement would be if the principle upon which it is founded
were not explained in terms of the most practical, workaday nature; therefore, let us proceed
to describe what is meant.
To make this description understandable we must accept as a reality the principle of
telepathy, through the operation of which every thought we release is registering itself
in the minds of other people.
We need devote no time to proving that telepathy is a reality, for the reason that this lesson
on imagination cannot be of the slightest value to the student who has not sufficiently
informed himself to understand and accept telepathy as an established principle.
You have often heard of "mob psychology," which is nothing more nor less than some strong,
dominating idea that has been created in the mind of one or more persons, and registers
itself in the minds of other persons, through the principle of telepathy.
So strong is the power of mob psychology that two men fighting in the street will often
start a "free-for-all" fight in which by-standers will engage each other in battle without even
knowing what they are fighting about, or with whom they are fighting.
It should be borne ill mind that "there is nothing new under the sun."
Lift, on this earth may be likened to a great kaleidoscope before which the scenes and facts
and material substances are ever shifting and
changing, and all any man can do is to take these facts and substances and re-arrange
them in new combinations.
The process through which this is done is called imagination.
We have stated that the imagination is both interpretative and creative in its nature.
It can receive impressions or ideas and out of these it can form new combinations.
What a mighty power is imagination, the workshop of the soul, in which thoughts are woven into
railroads and skyscrapers and mills and factories and all manner of material wealth.
I hold it true that thoughts are things; They're endowed with bodies and breath and
wings; And that we send them forth to fill,
The world with good results or ill.
That which we call our secret thought, Speeds forth to earth's remotest spot,
Leaving its blessings or its woes, Like tracks behind it as it goes.
We build our future, thought by thought, For good or ill, yet know it not,
Yet so the universe was wrought.
Thought is another name for fate, Choose, then, thy destiny and wait,
For love brings love and hate brings hate.
If your imagination is the mirror of your soul, then you have a perfect right to stand
before that mirror and see yourself as you wish to be.
You have the right to see reflected in that magic mirror the mansion you intend to own,
the factory you intend to manage, the bank of which you intend to be president, the station
in life you intend to occupy.
Your imagination belongs to you!
Use it!
The more you use it the more efficiently it will serve you.
At the east end of the great Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, an old man conducts a cobbler
shop.
When the engineers began driving stakes and marking the foundation place for that great
steel structure this man shook his head and said "It can't be done!"
Now he looks out from his dingy little shoe-repair shop, shakes his head and asks himself: "How
did they do it?"
He saw the bridge grow before his very eyes and still he lacks the imagination to analyze
that which he saw.
The engineer who planned the bridge saw it a reality long before a single shovel of dirt
had been removed for the foundation stones.
The bridge became a reality in his imagination, because he had trained
that imagination to weave new combinations out of old ideas.
In one of the cities on the coast of California all of the land that was suitable for building
lots had been developed and put into use.
On one side of the city there were some steep hills that could not be used for building
purposes, and on the other side the land was unsuitable for buildings because it was so
low that the back water covered it once a day.
A man of imagination came to this city.
Men of imagination usually have keen minds, and this man was no exception.
The first day of his arrival he saw the possibilities for making money out of real estate.
He secured an option on those hills that were unsuitable for use because of their steepness.
He also secured an option on the ground that was unsuitable for use because of the back
water that covered it daily.
He secured these options at a very low price because the ground was supposed to be without
substantial value.
With the use of a few tons of explosives he turned those steep hills into loose dirt.
With the aid of a few tractors and some road scrapers he leveled the ground down and turned
it into beautiful building lots, and with the aid of a few mules and carts he dumped
the surplus dirt on the low ground and raised it above the water level, thereby turning
it into beautiful building lots.
He made a substantial fortune, for what?
For removing some dirt from where it was not needed to where it was needed!
For mixing some useless dirt with imagination!
The people of that little city gave this man credit for being a genius; and he was, the
same sort of genius that any one of them could have been had he used his imagination as this
man used his.
In the field of chemistry it is possible to mix two or more chemical ingredients in such
proportions that the mere act of mixing gives each of the ingredients a tremendous amount
of energy that it did not possess.
It is also possible to mix certain chemical ingredients in such proportions that all the
ingredients of the combination take on an entirely different nature, as in the case
of H2O, which is a mixture of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, creating water.
Chemistry is not the only field in which a combination of various physical materials
can be so assembled that each takes on a greater value, or the result is a product entirely
foreign in nature to that of its component parts.
The man who blew up those useless hills of dirt and stone and removed the surplus from
where it was not needed over to the low-land, where it was needed, gave that dirt and stone
a value that it did not have before.
On one of the great highways between New York and Philadelphia stood an old ramshackle,
time-worn barn, worth less than fifty dollars.
With the aid of a little lumber and some cement, plus imagination, this old barn has been turned
into a beautiful automobile supply station that earns a small fortune for the man who
supplied the imagination.
Across the street from my office is a little print-shop that earns coffee and rolls for
its owner and his helper, but no more.
Less than a dozen blocks away stands one of the most modern printing plants in the world,
whose owner spends most of his time traveling and has far more wealth than he will ever
use.
Twenty-two years ago those two printers were in business together.
The one who owns the big print-shop had the good judgment to ally himself with a man who
mixed imagination with printing.
This man of imagination is a writer of advertisements and he keeps the printing plant with which
he is associated supplied with more business than it can handle by analyzing its clients'
business, creating attractive advertising features, and supplying the necessary printed
material with which to make these features of service.
This plant receives top-notch prices for its printing because the imagination mixed with
that printing produces a product that most printers cannot supply.
In the city of Chicago the level of a certain boulevard was raised, which spoiled a row
of beautiful residences because the side-walk was raised to the level of the second story
windows.
While the property owners were bemoaning their ill-fortune a man of imagination came along,
purchased the property for a "song," converted the second stories into business property,
and now enjoys a handsome income from his rentals.
As you read these lines please keep in mind all that was stated in the beginning of this
lesson; especially the fact that the greatest and most profitable thing you can do with
your imagination is the act of rearranging old ideas in new combinations.
If you properly use your imagination it will help you convert your failures and mistakes
into assets of priceless value; it will lead you to discovery of a truth known only to
those who use their imagination.
Namely, that the greatest reverses and misfortunes of life often open the door to golden opportunities.
You will never know what is your capacity for achievement until you learn how to mix
your efforts with imagination.
The products of your hands, minus imagination, will yield you but a small return, but those
self same hands, when properly guided by imagination, can be made to earn you all the material wealth
you can use.
There are two ways in which you can profit by imagination.
You can develop this faculty in your own mind, or you can ally yourself with those who have
already developed it.
If you feel that your own imagination is inadequate you should form an alliance with someone whose
imagination is sufficiently developed to supply your deficiency.
There are various forms of alliance.
For example, there is the alliance of marriage and the alliance of a business partnership
and the alliance of friendship and the alliance of employer and employee.
Not all men have the capacity to serve their own best interests as employers, and those
who haven't this capacity may profit by allying themselves with men of imagination who have
such capacity.
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