Chapter 12. Efficient Action
YOU must use your thought. As directed. In previous chapters. And begin. To do. What you can do where you are. And you must do. ALL that you can do. Where you are.
You can advance. Only by being larger. Than your present place. And no man. Is larger than his present place. Who leaves undone. Any of the work. Pertaining. To that place.
The world. Is advanced. Only by those. Who more than fill. Their present places.
If no man. Quite filled his present place. You can see. There must be. A going backward in everything. Those who do not quite fill. Their present places. Are dead weight. Upon society. Government. Commerce. And industry. They must be carried along. By others. At a great expense. The progress. Of the world. Is retarded. Only by those. Who do not fill the places. They are holding. They belong. To a former age. And a lower stage. Or plane of life. And their tendency. Is toward degeneration. No society could advance. If every man was smaller. Than his place. Social evolution. Is guided. By the law. Of physical. And mental evolution. In the animal world. Evolution. Is caused. By excess of life.
When an organism. Has more life. Than can be expressed. In the functions. Of its own plane. It develops. The organs. Of a higher plane. And a new species. Is originated.
There never would have been new species. Had there not been organisms. Which more than filled their places. The law is. Exactly the same for you. Your getting rich. Depends upon your applying. This principle. To your own affairs.
Every day is either a successful day. Or a day of failure. And it is the successful days. Which get you what you want. If everyday is a failure. You can never get rich. While if every day is a success. You cannot fail. To get rich.
If there is something. That may be done today. And you do not do it. You have failed. In so far. As that thing. Is concerned. And the consequences. May be more disastrous. Than you imagine.
You cannot foresee. The results. Of even. The most. Trivial act. You do not know. The workings. Of all. The forces. That have been set moving. In your behalf. Much may be depending on your doing. Some simple act. It may be. The very thing. Which is to open the door. Of opportunity. To very great possibilities. You can never know. All the combinations. Which Supreme Intelligence. Is making for you. In the world. Of things. And of human affairs. Your neglect or failure. To do some small thing. May cause a long delay. In getting. What you want.
Do. Every day. ALL that can be done. That day. There is. However. A limitation. Or qualification. Of the above. That you must take into account.
You are not. To overwork. Nor to rush blindly. Into your business. In the effort. To do the greatest possible number. Of things. In the shortest possible time.
You are not. To try. To do tomorrow's work. Today. Nor to do a week's work in a day.
It is really not the number of things you do. But the EFFICIENCY. Of each separate action. That counts.
Every act is. In itself. Either a success. Or a failure. Every act is. In itself. Either effective or inefficient.
Every inefficient act. Is a failure. And if you spend your life. In doing inefficient acts. Your whole life. Will be a failure.
The more things you do. The worse for you. If all your acts. Are inefficient ones.
On the other hand. Every efficient act. Is a success. In itself. And if every act. Of your life. Is an efficient one. Your whole life. MUST be a success.
The cause. Of failure. Is doing too many things. In an inefficient manner. And not doing enough things. In an efficient manner.
You will see that it is. A self-evident proposition. That if you do not do any inefficient acts. And if you do a sufficient number. Of efficient acts. You will become rich. If. Now. It is possible for you. To make each act. An efficient one. You see again. That the getting. Of riches. Is reduced. To an exact science. Like mathematics.
The matter turns. Then. On the question. As to whether. You can make. Each separate act. A success in itself. And this you can. Certainly do.
You can make each act. A success. Because ALL Power is working with you. And ALL Power cannot fail.
Power is at your service. And to make each act efficient. You have only. To put power. Into it.
Every action. Is either strong. Or weak. And when every one is strong. You are acting in the Certain Way. Which will make you rich.
Every act. Can be made strong. And efficient. By holding your vision. While you are doing it. And putting the whole power. Of your FAITH and PURPOSE into it.
It is at this point. That the people fail. Who separate mental power. From personal action. They use the power. Of mind. In one place. And at one time. And they act. In another place.
And at another time. So their acts are not successful in themselves. Too many. Of them are inefficient. But if ALL Power. Goes into every act. No matter how commonplace. Every act. Will be. A success in itself. And as in the nature. Of things. Every success opens the way to other successes. Your progress toward what you want. And the progress. Of what you want toward you. Will become increasingly rapid.
Remember successful action. Is cumulative. In its results. Since the desire. For more life. Is inherent in all things. When a man begins. To move toward larger life. More things attach themselves. To him. And the influence. Of his desire. Is multiplied.
Do. Every day. All that you can do that day. And do each act in an efficient manner.
In saying that. You must hold your vision. While you are doing each act. However trivial. Or commonplace. I do not mean. To say. It is necessary at all times. To see the vision. Distinctly. To its smallest details. It should be the work. Of your leisure hours. To use your imagination. On the details. Of your vision. And to contemplate them. Until they are firmly fixed upon memory. If you wish speedy results. Spend practically. All your spare time in this practice.
By continuous contemplation. You will get the picture. Of what you want. Even to the smallest details. So firmly fixed upon your mind. And so completely transferred. To the mind. Of Formless Substance. That in your working hours. You need only. To mentally refer. To the picture. To stimulate your faith and purpose. And cause. Your best effort. To be put forth. Contemplate your picture. In your leisure hours. Until your consciousness. Is so full of it. You can grasp it instantly. You will become so enthused. With its bright promises. The mere thought of it. Will call forth the strongest energies. Of your whole. Being.
Let us again repeat our syllabus. And by slightly changing. The closing statements. Bring it to the point. We have now. Reached.
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 do. With faith. And purpose. All that can be done each day. Doing each separate thing. In an efficient manner.