LESSON XVIII. MENTAL CONTROL THROUGH CREATION

I attended a banquet of inventors recently. Each inventor gave ashort talk on something he thought would be accomplished in thefuture. Many very much needed things were spoken of. One inventorspoke of the possibilities of wireless telephone. Distance, hesaid, would shortly be annihilated. He thought we would soon beable to talk to the man in the submarine forty fathoms below thesurface and a thousand miles away. When he got through he askedif there were any that doubted what he said. No one spoke up.This was not a case of tactful politeness, as inventors like toargue, but a case where no one present really doubted that theinventor's vision would, in the future, materialize.

These shrewd men, some real geniuses, all thought we would intime be able to talk to those a thousand miles away withoutmedia. Now, if we can make an instrument so wonderful that we cansend wireless messages a thousand miles, is there any reason whywe should not through mental control transmit messages from oneperson to another? The wireless message should not be as easy tosend as the projected thought.

The day will come when all business will employ highly developedpersons to send out influences. These influences will be sodominating that employes will be partly controlled by them and soyou will profit more and more by your mental powers and depend onthem to draw to you all forces of a helpful nature. You will beconstantly sending out suggestions to your employes and friends.They will receive these unconsciously, but in case yours is thestronger personality they will carry them out the same as if youhad spoken them.

This is being done even today. A finely organized company securesthe combined effort of all its men. They may be each doing adifferent kind of work, but all work to bring about the very bestresults. The whole atmosphere is impregnated with a high standardof workmanship. Everyone feels he must do his best. He could notbe in such surroundings and be satisfied to do anything but hisbest work.

A business will succeed only to the extent that the efforts ofall are co-ordinated towards one result. At least one person isneeded to direct all toward the desired end. The person at thehead does not have to exactly outline to the others what steps totake, but he must possess the mental power of control overothers.

An up-to-date business letter is not written in a casual,commonplace way today. The writer tries to convey something hethinks the receiver will be interested to know. In this way heawakens a responsive spirit. Sometimes just the addition of aword or two will change a letter of the matter-of-fact style toone that compels a response. It is not always what is actually ina letter, but the spirit which it breathes that brings results.That intangible something that defies analysis is the projectedthought of the master that brings back the harvest that itclaims.

But we should not always claim success for ourselves only. If youare anxious that some friend or relative should succeed, think ofthis person as becoming successful. Picture him in the positionyou would like to see him in. If he has a weakness, desire andcommand that it be strengthened; think of his shortcomings whichbelong to his negative nature as being replaced by positivequalities. Take a certain part of the day to send him thoughts ofan up-building nature. You can in this way arouse his mentalpowers into activity, and once aroused, they will assertthemselves and claim their own.

We can accomplish a great deal more than many of us are ready tobelieve by sending to another our direct, positive andcontrolling suggestions of leadership, but whether a man is asuccess or not is greatly determined by the way he acts on thesuggestions he receives.

We either advance or decline. We never stand still. Every time weaccomplish something it gives us ability to do greater things.The bigger the attempt undertaken, the greater the thingsaccomplished in the future. As a business grows, the head of thebusiness also has to grow. He must advance and be ever theguiding influence. By his power to control, he inspiresconfidence in those associated with him. Often employes aresuperior to their employers in some qualities, and, if they hadstudied, instead of neglected their development, they could havebeen employers of more commanding influence than those whom theyserve.

Through your mental power you can generate in another enthusiasmand the spirit of success, which somehow furnishes an impetus todo something worth while.

In concentrated mental control, there is a latent power morepotent than physical force. The person becomes aware that theattitude of the mind has a power of controlling, directing andgoverning other forces. He has been placed in an attitude capableof acquiring that which he desires.

All of us no matter how strong we are, are affected by the mentalforces of our environment. There is no one that can remainneutral to influences. The mind cannot be freed from the forcesof a place. If the environment of your place of business is nothelpful, it will be harmful. That is why a change of positionwill often do a person a great deal of good.

No person was ever intended to live alone. If you are shut upwith only your own thoughts you suffer from mental starvation.The mind becomes narrow; the mental powers weaken. Living aloneoften causes some of the milder forms of insanity. If children donot play with those their own age, but associate with only olderpeople, they will take on the actions of the older people. Thesame is true of older persons if they associate with peopleyounger than they are. They take on the spirit of youth. If youwish to retain your youth you need the influences of youth. Likeattracts like all over the world.

The thought element plays a great part in our lives. Everybusiness must not only command physical effort but it must alsocommand thought effort. There must be co-ordination of thought.All employers should aim to secure employes that think alongsimilar lines. They will work in fuller sympathy with each other.They will better understand each other. This enables them to helpeach other, which would be utterly impossible if they were not insympathy with each other. It is this that goes to make up aperfect organization, which directs and influences them towardthe one end. Instead of each person being a separate unit, eachone is like a spoke in a big wheel. Each member carries his ownload, and he would not think of shirking. Anyone working in suchan atmosphere could not help turning out his best work.

All great leaders must be able to inspire this co-operativespirit. They first secure assistance through their mentalcontrol. They then make their assistants realize the value ofmental control. Soon there is a close bond between them; they areworking toward a single purpose. They profit by their combinedeffort. The result is that they accomplish much.

If your business is conducted in the right spirit, you caninstill your thoughts and your ideas into your employes. Yourmethods and ideas become theirs. They don't know it, but yourmental forces are shaping their work. They are just as certain toproduce results as any physical force in nature.

The up-to-date business man of the future is going to take painsto get his employes to think and reason better. He will not wantthem to become depressed or discouraged. There is time thatinstead of being wasted he will endeavor to have them use inconcentrated effort that will be profitable to both employer andemployed. There must be more of the spirit of justice enter intothe business of the future.

There is a firm I know that will not hire an employe until he hasfilled out an application blank. No doubt those that fill it outthink it is foolishness, but it is not. A capable manager canlook over this application blank and pretty nearly tell if thisperson will fit into his management. The main thing he wants toknow is the applicant's capacity for efficient co-operativeeffort. He wants persons that have faith in themselves. He wantsthem to realize that when they talk of misfortunes and becomeblue they are likely to communicate the same depressing influenceto others. The up-to-date manager wants to guard against hiringemployes who will obstruct his success.

You must realize that every moment spent in thinking of yourdifficulties of the past, every moment spent in bad company isattracting to you all that is bad; is attracting influences thatmust be shaken off before you can advance.

Many firms prefer to hire employes that never worked before sothat they have nothing to unlearn. They are then not trained, buthave no bad business habits to overcome. They are more easilyguided and grasp the new methods more effectively because theyare not contrary to what they have already learned. They are atonce started on the right road, and as they co-operate readilythey receive the mental support of the management in learning themethods that have been perfected. This inspires confidence inthemselves and they soon become efficient and, finally, skilledworkers.

Most big business firms today employ efficiency experts. Each dayor week they are in a different department. They earn their moneybecause they familiarize persons with very little businessexperience with plans that has taken the "expert" years oftraining and much money to perfect.

The attitude we take has a great deal more to do with our successthan most of us realize. We must be able to generate those forcesthat are helpful. There is a wonderful power in the thoughtrightly controlled and projected and we must throughconcentration develop this power to the fullest possible extent.

We are surrounded by many forces of which we know but little atpresent. Our knowledge of these is to be wonderfully increased.Each year we learn more about these psychic forces which are fullof possibilities of which we are not even dimly conscious. Wemust believe in mental control, learn more about it, and use it,if we want to command these higher powers and forces which willunquestionably direct the lives of countless future generations.