Phoenix tribune., 1918-08-17
HOW TO MAKE YOUR
lContInned from page 1l

i'S own lofce draws toward you the
thing you desire, but reacting on your
own life, prepares you to take advan-
tage of every opportunity that comes
to crafty your desire. How many
times have you repeated the old say.
ing, Nothing succeeds like success
and perhaps utterly failed to catch
the philosophy that is the heart of
its truthfulness?
If you Save hopes and aspirations
that are not materializing- and one
should have because the end OF as
piration marks the end of growth
first of all make strong and definite
mental picture of what it is you want,
or that you wish to become. Don't
wish several things vaguely, some
perhaps contradicting and neutraliz-
ing the others, but definitely and abso-
lutely choose to what end you will
live your life. eliminating. everything
that would interfere with this realiza-
ton, no matter how attractive the
superfluous may be.
Efficiency means concentration. So
TO concentrate on the thing you are
doing that for the time being nothing
else exists. 1t is not easy to culti-
vate this ability to focus the mind
excIusiyelyS on one point. It means
the constant and determined elimin-
alton of the superfluous things of life
1t means the winning of the hardest
fight the individual has to make, the
fight with himself.
Concentration is the first essential
of mental power, to be able to hold
ones mind against the distraction of
outer stimulus. If you would learn
how difficult this is, and also how
valuable a quality it is to possess.
test it in this way: You. may elm.
mate the possibility of outer distrac
tion as much as you can by shutting
yourself into a room alone You MAY
choose a comfortable chair and relax
your body. You may even shut your
eyes so that nothing you may see may
district you. Now think of some alb
stract' quality. love. justice, truthful
ness, charity, of any of these ideas
and fix your thought upon it to the
exclusion of everything else. Try to
see its values as personal asset, its
effect on the race, the result of its
use in business and social life
You won't' get very far the first
time. For few minutes you will
seem to be doing very nicely, and
then you will suddenly wake up to
find yourself thinking of some one of
the million ordinary things your brair
is accustomed to responding to. You
will seize your refractory mind and
bring it sharply back to its Original
point only to discover in few MON.
ents that the same thing has hap
pened, and you are idly thinking of
other things again.
Do not give up because you find it
difficult A race horse is not made
the first time he is ridden. You may
consider you would get better results
if you thought of a concrete thing in
stead of an idea. But it is the over
coming of the hard thing that gives
strength. If you would have your
mind an efficient instrument ready
to obey your orders at any time to
the best advantage. you must make il
do the work it does not want to do;
you must master it; you must no,
allow it to master you
1t is your thoughts that mold ano
control your life, even shaping your
features and showing your manners
and bearing. Live in a very certainty
of hope. Know that the law of life
is a benefcent one, and that every
circumstance, no matter how contrary
it seems at the time, can be made to
bring you growth and happiness.
There is no power in any circum-
stance of itself to harm u.s. We harm
ourselves by our mental attitude to-
ward it. You know the power of
habit Form habits of gooG, success
full thoughts. Expect to be what you
want to be, and then devote your
thought and action to that end After
a time you begin to find that the fight
| is easier, realization is in sight and
then the thing begins to carry itself
forward of its own impetus AS soon
as you know you are going to sue
ceed. you will do so. Keep it in your
mind always, this golden rule, 81 can
| be what will be-" remembering that
each of us is heir to all that there
is of everything in this beautiful
world Open up your heart and mind
to the great waves of elemental life
that surround you. BRathe in the
very life of the Infinite Himself, and
know that it is your life. that only in
the abundance of your life can He roa-
lize Himself 1t is all yours for the