The Prosperity & Wealth Bible. Kahlil Gibran

same time. It is a comparatively easy matter to cool down an angry man without becoming angry with you — and as it takes two to make a quarrel, the matter is soon over. You will find that a control of the outward expression will give you control of your inner mental state. You will find that if you are able to control your voice, keeping it calm, steady and low-pitched, you will not fly into a passion, and more than this, you will find by so doing that the voice of the other fellow will gradually come down from its loud, boisterous tones, and in the end both of you will be pitching your voices in the same key — and you have set that key-note. This is worth remembering — this control of the voice — it is a secret well worth knowing and practicing.

      While we are on the subject of voice, we would like to call your attention to a further control of voice, or rather a cultivation of voice. A man having a well-controlled, even, pleasant voice has an advantage over others having equal abilities in other directions, but lacking that one quality. The value of a vibrant, resonant, soft and flexible voice is great. If you have such a voice, you are blessed. If you lack it, why start to work and cultivate it. Oh, yes, you can! Did you ever hear of Nathan Sheppard, the well-known public speaker? Then listen to these words of his, telling of his natural disadvantages of voice, and how he overcame them and became a great speaker. He says: “When I made up my mind to devote my mind and body to public speaking, I was told by my teachers and governors that I would certainly fail; that my articulation was a failure, and it was; that my organs of speech were inadequate, and they were; and that if I would screw up my little mouth it could be put into my mother’s thimble, and it could. Stinging words these certainly were, and cruel ones. I shall never forget them; possibly, however, they stung me into a persistency that I would have never known but for these words. At all events, that is the philosophy of the ‘self-made’ world of mankind. I may not have accomplished much; I do not claim to have accomplished much. It is something I have made a living out of, my art for twenty years, and that I do claim to have done in spite of every obstacle and every discouragement, by turning my will upon my voice and vocal organs, by cultivating my elocutionary instincts and my ear for the cadences of rhetoric, by knowing what I and my voice and my feelings were about, by making the most of myself.” After these words, anything that we might add regarding the possibility of acquiring a good voice by will, practice and desire would be superfluous. Pick out the kind of voice that you think best adapted to your work, and then cultivate it by practice, determination and desire. If Mr. Sheppard could become a famous public speaker with such obstacles as these, then for you to say “but I can’t” is to stamp you as a weakling.

      It has been suggested to us that we have a few words to say regarding the carriage or physical bearing of the person, as an important part of Personality — particularly in the phase of Walking. But we do not think that is necessary to add to what we have said in this lesson regarding the subject, in connection with what we have also said regarding the mental state of Self-Respect. The main thing is to cultivate the Mental State of Self-Respect, and the rest will follow as a natural consequence. Thought takes form in Action, and the man who has Self-Respect imbedded in his mind will surely so carry and demean him that he will give evidence of his mental state in his every physical action, gesture, carriage and motion. He must have it within, as well as without. One must pay attention to the exterior aspect of course, particularly in the matter of dress. One should cultivate Cleanliness and Neatness, of both body and clothing. To be well dressed does not mean to me showily clad — in fact, the person who is best dressed is inconspicuously dressed. Cultivate a quiet, refined taste, expressed in quality rather than in showiness. And above all — be Clean.

      In conclusion, let us impress upon you again and again that that which we call Personality is but the outer mask of the Individual Within. The mask may be changed by an effort of the Will, aided by an intelligent discrimination. First find out what kind of Personality you should have, and then set to work to cultivate it — to grow it, in fact. Form the Mental Image of what you want to be — then think of it — desire it ardently — will that you shall have it — then Act It Out, over and over again; rehearsal after rehearsal, until you will actually materialize your ideal into objective reality. Make a good mental pattern or mold, and then pour in your mental material steadily, and slowly! From the mold will come forth the Character and Personality that you desire and need. Then polish up this newborn Personality until it becomes radiant with the brightness of Culture.

      You can be what you want to be — if you only want to hard enough. Desire is the mother of the Actuality. Remember once more the old rule — EARNEST DESIRE — CONFIDENT EXPECTATION — FIRM RESOLVE — these are the three things that lead to ACCOMPLISHMENT.

      And now that we have given you this little Secret of Success — Use It. “It is Up to You” to “Make Good.” We have “pressed the button — you must do the rest!”

      An Afterword

      On reading the foregoing pages after they have been set up in type, we are impressed with the idea that in spite of our determination, as expressed in the first few pages, not to attempt to lay down a code of rules or a course of conduct which should be considered as an infallible Guide to Success — in spite of our vowed determination not to pose as a teacher or preacher — we have nevertheless managed to do considerable in the direction of “laying down the law” so far as is concerned naming of things to be done, or avoided.

      However, we feel that the advice given is good, and that the various examples quoted are calculated to arouse within the mind of the reader the Spirit that leads to Success. And, with this thought, we send forth these pages to those who may attract them to themselves, or who may be attracted to them — under the Law of Attraction.

      But we feel that we shall not have completed our task unless we, once more, remind the reader that Success is not to be gained by a blind and slavish following of anyone’s rules or advice, our own any more than any other persons. There is no Royal Road to Success — no Patent Process by which the unsuccessful are to be magically transformed into Captains of Industry or Magnates of Wall Street. There is nothing more amusing, or pitiful, according to how one views it, than the bulk of Success Talk given to the public by self-appointed teachers and preachers. There is no one who can in a few pages point out to seekers after Success an infallible method whereby each and everyone may attain the Success and Attainment that their hearts crave. It is a cold, hard truth that each and every man must work out his own salvation in the matter of Success. Rules and advice may greatly assist — and they undoubtedly do this — but the individual must accomplish the real work. He must carve out his own Destiny, and there is no power above or below that will do the work for him if he refuses to perform it himself.

      The old saying that “God helps him who helps himself” is true in more senses than one. It is true in the sense that the Higher Aid seems to refuse to come to the assistance of one who is not willing to strike out for him and do his best. But it is true in another sense — this Aid does come to one who will throw heart and soul into the task set before him, and who will do each day’s work the best he know how, with hope in his soul, and a confident expectation of better things right ahead, around the turn of the road. The wise man is the one who takes courageously the step right ahead of him, planting his foot firmly and confidently upon it, although he is unable to see further ahead. To such a one step after step is illuminated as he proceeds, and he reaches his goal, whereas the shrinking ones, who have feared to take the obvious step because they could not see beyond it, are still waiting for something to turn up. This waiting business is a poor policy — as Garfield said: “Don’t wait for something to turn up — go out and turn something up.” Take the step before you boldly and hopefully, and the next step will then appear. The thing to do is that which lies right before you to be done — do it the best you know how, feeling assured that in its doing you will be making progress toward the better things for which your heart has been longing. New ideas come while you are in action — in the doing of things comes the inspiration for the doing of greater things. You can always get a better “running start” when in action, which will give you an advantage over the best “standing start” imaginable. Get into action and motion.

      In this little work we have endeavored to call your attention to something of far greater importance than a mere code of rules and general advice.