WHETHER
you change your vocation or not, your actions for the present must be those
pertaining to the business in which you are now engaged.
You
can get into the business you want by making constructive use of the business
you are already established in; by doing your daily work in a Certain Way.
And
in so far as your business consists in dealing with other men, whether
personally or by letter, the key-thought of all your efforts must be to convey
to their minds the impression of increase.
Increase
is what all men and all women are seeking; it is the urge of the Formless
Intelligence within them, seeking fuller expression.
The
desire for increase is inherent in all nature; it is the fundamental impulse of
the universe. All human activities are based on the desire for increase; people
are seeking more food, more clothes, better shelter, more luxury, more beauty,
more knowledge, more pleasure-- increase in something, more life.
Every
living thing is under this necessity for continuous advancement; where increase
of life ceases, dissolution and death set in at once.
Man
instinctively knows this, and hence he is forever seeking more. This law of
perpetual increase is set forth by Jesus in the parable of the talents; only
those who gain more retain any; from him who hath not shall be taken away even
that which he hath.
The
normal desire for increased wealth is not an evil or a reprehensible thing; it
is simply the desire for more abundant life; it is aspiration.
And
because it is the deepest instinct of their natures, all men and women are
attracted to him who can give them more of the means of life.
In
following the Certain Way as described in the foregoing pages, you are getting
continuous increase for yourself, and you are giving it to all with whom you
deal.
You
are a creative center, from which increase is given off to all.
Be
sure of this, and convey assurance of the fact to every man, woman, and child
with whom you come in contact. No matter how small the transaction, even if it
be only the selling of a stick of candy to a little child, put into it the
thought of increase, and make sure that the customer is impressed with the
thought.
Convey
the impression of advancement with everything you do, so that all people shall
receive the impression that you are an Advancing Man, and that you advance all
who deal with you. Even to the people whom you meet in a social way, without
any thought of business, and to whom you do not try to sell anything, give the
thought of increase.
You
can convey this impression by holding the unshakable faith that you, yourself,
are in the Way of Increase; and by letting this faith inspire, fill, and
permeate every action.
Do
everything that you do in the firm conviction that you are an advancing
personality, and that you are giving advancement to everybody.
Feel
that you are getting rich, and that in so doing you are making others rich, and
conferring benefits on all.
Do
not boast or brag of your success, or talk about it unnecessarily; true faith
is never boastful.
Wherever
you find a boastful person, you find one who is secretly doubtful and afraid.
Simply feel the faith, and let it work out in every transaction; let every act
and tone and look express the quiet assurance that you are getting rich; that
you are already rich. Words will not be necessary to communicate this feeling
to others; they will feel the sense of increase when in your presence, and will
be attracted to you again.
You
must so impress others that they will feel that in associating with you they
will get increase for themselves. See that you give them a use value greater
than the cash value you are taking from them.
Take
an honest pride in doing this, and let everybody know it; and you will have no
lack of customers. People will go where they are given increase; and the
Supreme, which desires increase in all, and which knows all, will move toward
you men and women who have never heard of you. Your business will increase
rapidly, and you will be surprised at the unexpected benefits which will come
to you. You will be able from day to day to make larger combinations, secure
greater advantages, and to go on into a more congenial vocation if you desire
to do so.
But
doing thing all this, you must never lose sight of your vision of what you want,
or your faith and purpose to get what you want.
Let
me here give you another word of caution in regard to motives.
Beware
of the insidious temptation to seek for power over other men.
Nothing
is so pleasant to the unformed or partially developed mind as the exercise of
power or dominion over others. The desire to rule for selfish gratification
has been the curse of the world. For countless ages kings and lords
have drenched the earth with blood in their battles to extend their dominions;
this not to seek more life for all, but to get more power for themselves.
Today,
the main motive in the business and industrial world is the same; men marshal
their armies of dollars, and lay waste the lives and hearts of millions in the
same mad scramble for power over others. Commercial kings, like political
kings, are inspired by the lust for power.
Jesus
saw in this desire for mastery the moving impulse of that evil world He sought
to overthrow. Read the twenty-third chapter of Matthew, and see how He pictures
the lust of the Pharisees to be called "Master," to sit in the high
places, to domineer over others, and to lay burdens on the backs of the less
fortunate; and note how He compares this lust for dominion with the brotherly
seeking for the Common Good to which He calls His disciples.
Look
out for the temptation to seek for authority, to become a "master,"
to be considered as one who is above the common herd, to impress others by
lavish display, and so on.
The
mind that seeks for mastery over others is the competitive mind; and the
competitive mind is not the creative one. In order to master your environment
and your destiny, it is not at all necessary that you should rule over your
fellow men and indeed, when you fall into the world's struggle for the high places,
you begin to be conquered by fate and environment, and your getting rich
becomes a matter of chance and speculation.