This is the THIRD book written by Wallace Wattles.
His FIRST book "Science of Getting Rich" published in 1910 is
timeless wisdom, and a practical, step-by-step prosperity program.
1. GREATNESS is only attained by the constant thinking of great thoughts. No person can become great in outward personality until being great internally; and nobody can be great internally until that person THINKS. No amount of education, reading, or study can make anybody great without thought; but thought can make a person great with very little study. There are altogether too many people who are trying to make something of themselves, by reading books without thinking; all such will fail. Humans beings are not mentally developed by what is read, but by what is thought about what is read.
2. Thinking is the hardest and most exhausting of all labor; and hence many people shrink from it. God has so formed us that we are continuously impelled to thought; we must either think or engage in some activity to escape thought. The headlong, continuous chase for pleasure in which most people spend all their leisure time is only an effort to escape thought. If they are alone, or if they have nothing amusing to take their attention, as a novel to read or a show to see, they must think; and to escape from thinking they resort to novels, shows, and all the endless devices of the purveyors of amusement. Most people spend the greater part of their leisure time running away from thought, hence they are where they are. We never move forward until we begin to think.
3. Read less and think more. Read about great things and think about great questions and issues. We have at the present time few really great figures in the political life of our country; our politicians are a petty lot. There is no Lincoln, no Webster, no Clay, Calhoun, or Jackson. Why? Because our present statesmen deal only with sordid and petty issues -- questions of dollars and cents, of expediency and party success, of material prosperity without regard to ethical right. Thinking along these lines does not call forth great souls. The statesmen of Lincoln's time and previous times dealt with questions of eternal truth, of human rights and justice. These people thought upon great themes; they thought great thoughts, and they became great individuals, inspiring others to greatness with their greatness.
4. Thinking, not mere knowledge or information, makes personality. Thinking is growth; a person cannot think without growing.
5. Every thought engenders another thought. Write one idea and others will follow until pages have been written. It seems impossible to fathom our own Human Mind; it has neither bottom nor boundaries. Our first thoughts may be crude; but as a person goes on thinking more and more of the self is used, and then new brain cells quicken into activity, spawning into development and activity new faculties. Heredity, environment, circumstances, all things, must give way before those who practice sustained and continuous thought. But, on the other hand, if a person neglects to think for the self and only use other people's thought, then the non-thinker will never know what they are capable of; and will end by being incapable of anything.
6. There can be no real greatness without original thought. All that a Human Being does outwardly is the expression and completion of inward thinking. No action is possible without thought, and no great action is possible until a great thought has preceded it. Action is the second form of thought, and personality is the materialization of thought. Environment is the result of thought; each person must realize that: "Things group themselves or arrange themselves around me according to my thought." There is, as Emerson says: "Some central idea or conception of yourself by which all the facts of your life are arranged and classified. Change this central idea and you change the arrangement or classification of all the facts and circumstances of your life. You are what you are because you thin k as you do; you are where you are because you think as you do."
7. We see then the immense importance of thinking about the great essentials set forth in the preceding chapters. Do not accept them in any superficial way; think about them until they are a central idea. Go back to the matter of the point of view and consider, in all its bearings, the tremendous thought that is lived in a perfect world among perfect people, and that nothing can possibly be wrong with anybody except our own personal attitude. Think about all this until it is fully realized what all it means personally. Consider that this is God's world and that it is the best of all possible worlds; that He has brought it thus far toward completion by the processes of organic, social, and industrial evolution, and that it is going on to greater completeness and harmony. Consider that there is one great, perfect, intelligent Principle of Life and Power, causing all the changing phenomena of the cosmos. Think about all this until it is personally seen that it is true, and until comprehended how to live and act as a citizen of such a perfect whole.
8. Next, think of the wonderful truth that this Great Intelligence IS IN each of us; it is our own intelligence. It is an Inner Light impelling toward the right thing and the best thing, the greatest act, and the highest happiness. It is a Principle of Power in the self, giving all the ability and genius there is. It will infallibly guide to the best if allowed while walking in the light. Consider what is meant by personal consecration of the self when it's said: "I will obey my soul." This is a sentence of tremendous meaning; it must revolutionize the attitude and behavior of the average person. Then think of identification with this Great Supreme; that all its knowledge is the self, and all its wisdom is ours, for the asking. "I am a god if I think like a god. If I think like a god then I will certainly act like a god. Divine thoughts will surely externalize themselves in a divine life. Thoughts of power will result in a life of power. Great thoughts will manifest in a great personality.
9. Think well of all this makes for readiness to act.
For more desired results and fuller application, PRINT the text, place in 3 ring binder, highlight vital information and make notes as they become conscious.
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