Chapter 11. Acting in the Certain Way
THOUGHT is the creative power. Or the impelling force. Which causes. The creative power. To act. Thinking in a Certain Way. Will bring riches to you. But you must not rely upon thought alone. Paying no attention. To personal action. That is the rock. Upon which. Many otherwise scientific metaphysical thinkers.
Meet shipwreck -- the failure. To connect thought. With personal action.
We have not yet reached. The stage. Of development. Even supposing. Such a stage. To be possible. In which man. Can create directly. From Formless Substance. Without nature's processes. Or the work. Of human hands. Man must not only think. But his personal action. Must supplement. His thought.
By thought. You can cause the gold. In the hearts. Of the mountains. To be impelled. Toward you. But it will not mine itself. Refine itself. Coin itself into double eagles. And come rolling along the roads. Seeking its way. Into your pocket.
Under the impelling power. of the Supreme Spirit. Men's affairs. Will be so ordered. That some one. Will be led. To mine the gold for you. Other men's business transactions. Will be so directed. The gold will be brought toward you. And you must so arrange your own business affairs. That you may be able. To receive it. When it comes to you. Your thought makes all things. Animate. And inanimate. Work. To bring you. What you want. But your personal activity. Must be such. You can rightly receive. What you want. When it reaches you. You are not to take it as charity. Nor to steal it. You must give every man. More in use value. Than he gives you in cash value.
The scientific use of thought. Consists in forming a clear. And distinct mental image. Of what you want. In holding fast. To the purpose. To get. What you want. And in realizing with grateful faith. You do get. What you want.
Do not try to 'project' your thought. In any mysterious. Or occult way. With the idea. Of having it go out. And do things for you. That is wasted effort. And will weaken your power. To think with sanity.
The action. Of thought. In getting rich. Is fully explained in the preceding chapters. Your faith. And purpose. Positively impress your vision. Upon Formless Substance. Which has THE SAME DESIRE FOR MORE LIFE THAT YOU HAVE. And this vision. Received from you. Sets all the creative forces. At work IN AND THROUGH THEIR REGULAR CHANNELS OF ACTION. But directed. Toward you.
It is not your part. To guide. Or supervise. The creative process. All you have to do. With that. Is to retain your vision. Stick to your purpose. And maintain. Your faith. And gratitude.
But you must act. In a Certain Way. So that you can appropriate. What is yours. When it comes to you. So you can meet. The things you have in your picture. And put them. In their proper places. As they arrive.
You can really see the truth of this. When things reach you. They will be in the hands. Of other men. Who will ask. An equivalent for them.
And you can only get what is yours. By giving the other man what is his.
Your pocketbook is not going. To be. Transformed. Into a Fortunata's purse. Which shall be always full of money. Without effort on your part.
This is the crucial point. In the science. Of getting rich. Right here. Where thought. And personal action. Must be combined. There are very many people who. Consciously. Or unconsciously. Set the creative forces. In action. By the strength. And persistence. Of their desires. But who remain poor. Because they do not provide. For the reception. Of the thing they want. When it comes.
By thought. The thing you want is brought to you. By action you receive it.
Whatever your action is to be. It is evident. That you must act NOW. You cannot act in the past. And it is essential. To the clearness. Of your mental vision. That you dismiss. The past from your mind. You cannot act in the future. For the future is not here yet. And you cannot tell how you will want. To act. In any future contingency. Until that contingency. Has arrived.
Because you are. Not in the right business. Or the right environment now. Do not think that you must postpone action. Until you get into the right business. Or environment. And do not spend time. In the present taking thought as to the best course. In possible future emergencies. Have faith in your ability. To meet any emergency. When it arrives.
If you act. In the present. With your mind on the future. Your present action. Will be with a divided mind. And will not be effective.
Put your whole mind into present action.
Do not give your creative impulse. To Original Substance. And then sit down. And wait for results. If you do. You will never get them. Act now. There is never any time but now. And there never will be any time but now. If you are ever. To begin. To make ready. For the reception. Of what you want. You must begin now.
And your action. Whatever it is. Must most likely be. In your present business. Or employment. And must be upon. The persons. And things. In your present environment.
You cannot act where you are not. You cannot act. Where you have been. And you cannot act. Where you are going. To be. You can act only. Where you are.
Do not bother. As to whether yesterday's work. Was well done. Or ill done. Do to-day's work well.
Do not try. To do tomorrow's work now. There will be plenty. Of time. To do that. When you get to it.
Do not try. By occult. Or mystical means. To act on people or things. That are out of your reach.
Do not wait for a change of environment. Before you act. Get a change. Of environment. By action.
You can so act upon the environment. In which you are now. As to cause yourself. To be transferred. To a better environment.
Hold with faith. And purpose. The vision. Of yourself. In the better environment. But act upon. Your present environment. With all your heart. And with all your strength. And with all your mind.
Do not spend any time in day dreaming. Or castle building. Hold to the one vision. Of what you want. And act NOW.
Do not cast about seeking some new thing to do. Or some strange. Unusual. Or remarkable action. To perform. As a first step. Toward getting rich. It is probable. Your actions. At least for some time to come. Will be those. You have been performing for some time past. But you are to begin now. To perform. These actions. In the Certain Way. Which will surely make you rich.
If you are engaged in some business. And feel. That it is not the right one for you. Do not wait. Until you get into the right business. Before you begin to act.
Do not feel discouraged. Or sit down. And lament. Because you are misplaced. No man was ever so misplaced. But he could not. Find the right place. And no man ever became. So involved in the wrong business. But that he could get into the right business.
Hold the vision of yourself in the right business. With the purpose. To get into it. And the faith. You will get into it. And are getting into it. But ACT in your present business. Use your present business. As the means. Of getting. A better one. And use your present environment. As. The means. Of getting. Into a better one. Your vision. Of the right business. If held. With faith. And purpose. Will cause. The Supreme. To move the right business toward you. And your action. If performed. In the Certain Way. Will cause you to move toward the business.
If you are an employee. Or wage earner. And feel. You must change places. In order. To get what you want. Do not 'project". Your thought into space. And rely upon it. To get you another job. It will probably fail to do so.
Hold the vision. Of yourself. In the job. You want. While you ACT with faith. And purpose on the job. You have. And you will certainly. Get the job you want.
Your vision. And faith. Will set the creative force. In motion. To bring it toward you. And your action. Will cause. The forces. In your own environment. To move you toward. The place you want. In closing this chapter. We will add another statement. To our syllabus:--
There is a thinking stuff. From which all things are made, And which. In its original state. Permeates. Penetrates. And fills the interspaces. Of the universe. A thought. In this substance. Produces the thing. That is imaged. By the thought. Man can form things. In his thought. And. By impressing his thought upon formless substance. Can cause. The thing he thinks about. To be created.
In order to do this. Man. Must pass. From the competitive. To the creative mind. He must form. A clear mental picture. Of the things. He wants. And hold this picture. In his thoughts. With the fixed PURPOSE. To get what he wants. And the unwavering FAITH. That he does get. What he wants. Closing his mind. To all that may tend. To shake his purpose. Dim his vision. Or quench his faith.
That he may receive. What he wants. When it comes. Man must act NOW. Upon the people. And things. In his present environment.