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LESSON VII. THE CONCENTRATED MENTAL DEMAND

Books: The Power of Concentration

The Will To Do is the greatest power in the world that is

concerned with human accomplishment and no one can in advance

determine its limits.



The things that we do now would have been a few ages ago

impossibilities. Today the safe maxim is: "All things are

possible."



The Will To Do is a force that is strictly practical, yet it is

difficult to explain just what it is. It can be c
mpared to

electricity because we know it only through its cause and

effects. It is a power we can direct and to just the extent we

direct it do we determine our future. Every time you accomplish

any definite act, consciously or unconsciously, you use the

principle of the Will. You can Will to do anything whether it is

right or wrong, and therefore the way you use your will makes a

big difference in your life.



Every person possesses some "Will To Do." It is the inner energy

which controls all conscious acts. What you will to do directs

your life forces. All habits, good or bad, are the result of what

you will to do. You improve or lower your condition in life by

what you will to do. Your will has a connection with all avenues

of knowledge, all activities, all accomplishment.



You probably know of cases where people have shown wonderful

strength under some excitement, similar to the following: The

house of a farmer's wife caught on fire. No one was around to

help her move anything. She was a frail woman, and ordinarily was

considered weak. On this occasion she removed things from the

house that it later took three men to handle. It was the "Will To

Do" that she used to accomplish her task.



Genius Is But A Will To Do Little Things With Infinite Pains.

Little Things Well Done Open The Door Of Opportunity For Bigger

Things.



The Will accomplishes its greater results through activities that

grow out of great concentration in acquiring the power of

voluntary attention to such an extent that we can direct it where

we will and hold it steadily to its task until our aim is

accomplished. When you learn so to use it, your Will Power

becomes a mighty force. Almost everything can be accomplished

through its proper use. It is greater than physical force because

it can be used to control not only physical but mental and moral

forces.



There are very few that possess perfectly developed and balanced

Will Power, but those who do easily crush out their weak

qualities. Study yourself carefully. Find out your greatest

weakness and then use your will power to overcome it. In this way

eradicate your faults, one by one, until you have built up a

strong character and personality.



Rules for Improvement. A desire arises. Now think whether this

would be good for you. If it is not, use your Will Power to kill

out the desire, but, on the other hand, if it is a righteous

desire, summon all your Will Power to your aid, crush all

obstacles that confront you and secure possession of the coveted

Good.



Slowness in Making Decisions. This is a weakness of Will Power.

You know you should do something, but you delay doing it through

lack of decision. It is easier not to do a certain thing than to

do it, but conscience says to do it. The vast majority of persons

are failures because of the lack of deciding to do a thing when

it should be done. Those that are successful have been quick to

grasp opportunities by making a quick decision. This power of

will can be used to bring culture, wealth and health.



Some Special Pointers. For the next week try to make quicker

decisions in your little daily affairs. Set the hour you wish to

get up and arise exactly at the fixed time. Anything that you

should accomplish, do on or ahead of time. You want, of course,

to give due deliberation to weighty matters, but by making quick

decisions on little things you will acquire the ability to make

quick decisions in bigger things. Never procrastinate. Decide

quickly one way or the other even at the risk of deciding wrong.

Practice this for a week or two and notice your improvement.



The Lack of Initiative. This, too, keeps many men from

succeeding. They have fallen into the way of imitating others in

all that they do. Very often we hear the expression, "He seems

clever enough, but he lacks initiative." Life for them is one

continuous grind. Day after day they go through the same

monotonous round of duties, while those that are "getting along"

are using their initiative to get greater fullness of life. There

is nothing so responsible for poverty as this lack of initiative,

this power to think and do for ourselves.



You Are as Good as Anyone. You have will power, and if you use

it, you will get your share of the luxuries of life. So use it to

claim your own. Don't depend on anyone else to help you. We have

to fight our own battles. All the world loves a fighter, while

the coward is despised by all.



Every person's problems are different, so I can only say "analyze

your opportunities and conditions and study your natural

abilities." Form plans for improvement and then put them into

operation. Now, as I said before, don't just say, "I am going to

do so and so," but carry your plan into execution. Don't make an

indefinite plan, but a definite one, and then don't give up until

your object has been accomplished. Put these suggestions into

practice with true earnestness, and you will soon note

astonishing results, and your whole life will be completely

changed. An excellent motto for one of pure motives is: Through

my will power I dare do what I want to. You will find this

affirmation has a very strengthening effect.



The Spirit of Perseverance. The spirit of "sticktoitiveness" is

the one that wins. Many go just so far and then give up, whereas,

if they had persevered a little longer, they would have won out.

Many have much initiative, but instead of concentrating it into

one channel, they diffuse it through several, thereby dissipating

it to such an extent that its effect is lost.



Develop more determination, which is only the Will To Do, and

when you start out to do something stick to it until you get

results. Of course, before starting anything you must look ahead

and see what the "finish leads to." You must select a road that

will lead to "somewhere," rather than "nowhere." The journey must

be productive of some kind of substantial results. The trouble

with so many young men is that they launch enterprises without

any end in sight. It is not so much the start as the finish of a

journey that counts. Each little move should bring you nearer the

goal which you planned to reach before the enterprise began.



Lack of Perseverance is nothing but the lack of the Will To Do.

It takes the same energy to say, "I will continue," as to say, "I

give up." Just the moment you say the latter you shut off your

dynamo, and your determination is gone. Every time you allow your

determination to be broken you weaken it. Don't forget this. Just

the instant you notice your determination beginning to weaken,

concentrate on it and by sheer Will Power make it continue on the

"job."



Never try to make a decision when you are not in a calm state of

mind. If in a "quick temper," you are likely to say things you

afterwards regret. In anger, you follow impulse rather than

reason. No one can expect to achieve success if he makes

decisions when not in full control of his mental forces.



Therefore make it a fixed rule to make decisions only when at

your best. If you have a "quick temper," you can quickly gain

control over it by simple rule of counting backwards. To count

backwards requires concentration, and you thus quickly regain a

calm state. In this way you can break the "temper habit."



It will do you a lot of good to think over what you said and

thought the last time you were angry. Persevere until you see

yourself as others see you. It would do no harm to write the

scene out in story form and then sit in judgment of the character

that played your part.



Special Instructions to Develop the Will To Do. This is a form of

mental energy, but requires the proper mental attitude to make it

manifest. We hear of people having wonderful will power, which

really is wrong. It should be said that they use their will power

while with many it is a latent force. I want you to realize that

no one has a monopoly on will power. There is plenty for all.

What we speak of as will power is but the gathering together of

mental energy, the concentration power at one point. So never

think of that person as having a stronger will than yours. Each

person will be supplied with just that amount of will power that

he demands. You don't have to develop will power if you

constantly make use of all you have, and remember the way in

which you use it determines your fate, for your life is moulded

to great extent by the use you make of your will. Unless you make

proper use of it you have neither independence nor firmness. You

are unable to control yourself and become a mere machine for

others to use. It is more important to learn to use your will

than to develop your intellect. The man that has not learned how

to use his will rarely decides things for himself, but allows his

resolutions to be changed by others. He fluctuates from one

opinion to another, and of course does not accomplish anything

out of the ordinary, while his brother with the trained will

takes his place among the world's leaders.



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