The story of Aladdin and his miraculous lamp and ring was undoubtedly written by one giving vent to his own desires to have wishes come true.

 

Most people indulge in wishful thinking, particularly those who feel that they are not getting out of life all that they should.

 

Many who have numerous troubles to worry about will think how nice it would be if they could go to sleep and awaken to find all of their problems solved. Would it seem ludicrous to say that this is well within the realm of possibility? As a matter of fact you possess the means of making all reasonable wishes come true.

 

If you are heavily in debt, this power within you can guide you to freedom from financial obligations. If you are not happy in the home you are occupying, this influence can let you out of it and into the “home of your dreams.”

 

The size of the fortune you build is dependent solely upon the amount of the personal power you exert. It is just like your automobile: the more pressure you apply to the accelerator the faster you will go.

 

Whether your idea of riches is $50,000, $100,000 or a million or more, you have the mental power to bring it about. If you doubt this statement, ask yourself the question: “How did the millionaires acquire their money? Did Dame Fortune hand it to them? Was it their destiny to acquire plutocratic magnificence?”

 

No—definitely no. These tycoons have been using their inner power, whether they knew it or not. They possess nothing you do not possess except, perhaps, the awareness that they can do things of great magnitude.
“But they have a better education than I have,” you might declare in defense.
Tommyrot!
In New York lives a man with practically no education. At one time he was a harness maker at a very small wage. Today he owns two skyscrapers as well as a few fashionable apartment houses. He was just getting by when he awakened to the fact that he had a reservoir of power capable of guiding him to great heights.

 

A motto I wrote many years ago fits this and other similar cases perfectly. Think about it!
“A man may plod along for years without showing any signs of accomplishment. . . when sometime . . . unexpectedly … a powerful thought will seep into his consciousness—and a leader is born.”

 

Education is desirable, very much so. One should obtain all the knowledge he can get and should see to it that his children are well educated. But, just because an individual did not have the opportunity of gaining an education is no reason for him to abandon any hopes of making an outstanding success of his life.

 

In a large sales organization in New York, one of the top-notch salesmen is a man whose education is nil. His conversation includes atrocious words such as “dese, dose, dem, ain’t,” etc. He does not sell to illiterate people, but calls on the heads of large companies.
As I will explain later in this chapter, this uneducated salesman is using the forces contained in his creative mind.

 

A businessman in an eastern metropolis was about to fail. Through a series of adverse conditions he had reached a point where his liabilities exceeded his assets by nearly $50,000.

 

Creditors were threatening suit; two of them had actually started litigation. Things looked so black for this man it seemed inevitable that his doors would soon be closed.

 

He was so discouraged that he dreaded coming to his office each morning, because he knew he would have to face a renewed barrage of telephone calls from creditors asking him for money and telling him what would happen if they did not get it.

 

One day while reading his newspaper on the train, he saw the story of a man who had taken over a nearly bankrupt business and had turned it into an outstanding success.

 

A series of provocative thoughts entered the mind of our troubled businessman.

 

“If that fellow could turn a near bankrupt business into a success, why can’t I take my own near bankrupt business and do the same?” our friend asked himself.
Without realizing it, he had sparked his creative mind into action. He began thinking in terms of I CAN and I WILL.

 

Did he now hesitate to go to his office? NO! The next morning he hastened into the city and the moment he entered his office door he asked his bookkeeper to give him a full list of all his creditors.

 

One by one he phoned these people. “Give me just a bit more time and you’ll be paid in full—and with interest,” he said with new-found enthusiasm.
“Did you land a big contract?” one of the largest creditors asked.

 

“No, but I have gained something far more important,” replied the debtor. “I have acquired a new spirit which will put me over.”

 

“I believe you have. I can hear it in your voice. Yes, we will be happy to cooperate with you,” said the creditor with a note of real friendliness.
His voice, expressing sincere elation, drew a favorable response from every creditor who had formerly been threatening to sue him.

 

With his mind at peace, he concentrated his efforts on getting business; and with his newly found spirit, he had no difficulty in securing many worth-while contracts. It was not long before the books of this company showed no red ink, but important sums of earned profits.

 

In this case, nothing unusual happened. Business conditions were the same. The only change was in the mind of the man who had formerly felt his business was rapidly going on the rocks.

Self Improvement