The psychology of success and human nature studies
There are elements of genius in every man that if awakened and trained will enable him to do something worthwhile. There are stores of energy and ambition in every brain that if unlocked and given expression in action will supply the force necessary to bring things to pass. There are germs of goodness and divinity in every soul that if quickened by love and wrought into character will enable a man to live a clean, self-respecting, moral life.
Awaken the genius, unlock the energies, quicken the divinity in a man, change him from negative to positive, combining his intellect, energy, and conscience in harmonious expression, and you have given to that man the psychology of success. What is Success What constitutes success?
If we are to see things alike, we must have the same viewpoint. Briefly, success is the accomplishment of anything attempted. But we must get a larger concept of the subject. We must measure success first from the viewpoint of the individual, and second from his relation to society. We must measure success in the individual not wholly by his objective achievements in the few years that belong to the earth life but in the light of the fact that the influence of his life extends far into the future. We must measure the success of the individual as related to humanity, not merely by his personal influence upon his family, his neighbours, and his age, but in the light of heredity, race evolution, and man's relation to God and eternity. We have lacked perspective in our view of success. Much that we have called success has really been a failure.
To do much work and accomplish little is not success. To pile up a fortune out of other people's earnings without producing any real wealth is not success. To acquire wealth or fame, or to accomplish some great undertaking at the expense o£ health, conscience, or character is not success. To win out in business or profession, yet neglect wife and children, soul growth. Christian living, or civic duties, is not success. How, then, shall we measure success?
By the honest work done; by the money earned or wealth produced; by the knowledge acquired, culture attained, and character realized; by the joy experienced and the happiness given to others; by the influence exerted and the service rendered in harmony with the law of human progress. Success and Soul Growth If success includes material prosperity, soul growth, and service to others, there must be some way devised to attain all of these at the same time.
There is a very generally accepted idea that if one gives himself fully to his vocation and succeed in material things, he must neglect the spiritual. This idea is fundamentally wrong. The activities necessary for material prosperity, if prompted by un- selfish motives, instead of being restrictive to moral and spiritual growth, are conducive to such growth. The fact that most persons who give themselves wholly to their work become so engrossed in it that they fail in moral and spiritual attainment, is no proof whatever that such a result is necessary. It is all a question of motive.
The effects of any act are determined largely by the motive that prompts it and the mental and emotional states obtain during the activity. If we act from selfish motives, every such activity, no matter how noble its purpose or worthy its end, will inhibit soul growth and tend to narrow and contract the life; whereas if we act from selfless love, no matter how simple or menial the act, it is conducive to moral and spiritual attainment. One may preach the gospel or engage in the noblest of callings, actuated by selfish motives, and in these worthy activities become narrow, irritable, and spiritually inert; or he may sweep streets and clean alleys for a livelihood, actuated by pure love, the thought of service, and glory of God, and 1 out of these menial activities develop a beautiful soul and ripen a Christian character. Not What, but How?
Some contents:
The Psychology of Success 9-75
Introduction — What Is Success? — Success and Soul Growth — Not What, but How — A Winning Personality — Foundation Stones — Joe and Bill — You Are the Debtor — Get the Best of People — Give Value Received — ^Luek vs. Purpose — Concentrate Your Forces — Hard Work — Mental Magic — Get Eight with God — Selfishness Is Suicidal — Opportunity — Methods of Attainment — Brain Building — The Law of Suggestion — How to Use Suggestion — ^Attainment through Grace — How to Get Results — Building a Personality — Health and Hygiene — Subdue the Appetites — Develop Energy — Conserve the Forces — Cultivate the Affections — Energy and Enthusiasm — Brains vs. Muscle — The Art of Perception — The Art of Study — Memory Culture — Learn to Think — Positive Mentation — Concentrate Your Efforts — Originality and Individuality — Character and Power — Character vs. Reputation — Under the Spotter's Eye — Murder Will Out — Self-appreciation — Egotism — The Crowning Glory — The Goal Realized — The Art of Relaxing— For What Purpose?— The Heroes of Tomorrow — Four Views of Shasta — The Silent Confessional.
PART II.— SUGGESTIONS FOR BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL MEN.
Chapter I. — Personal Aids to Success 77-100 Physical Culture — General Exercises — Rules of Health and Hygiene — The Question of Food — Good Digestion — The Use of Water — Pure Air — Health and Posture — Mind Influences — Conserve the Forces — Personal Habits — Tobacco — Loafing — Good Habits — Habit and Conduct — Habit and Character — Adaptability — Order and System — Taking Pains — Economy and Progress — Promptness and Punctuality — Cheerfulness and Good Humor — The Great Secret.
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