The Seven Laws of SUCCESS
by: Herbert W. Armstrong
WHY are only the very
few—women as well as men—successful in life? Just what is success? Here is the
surprising answer to life’s most difficult problem, proving that NO HUMAN NEED
EVER BECOME A FAILURE! All who have succeeded have followed these seven laws!
The only WAY to success is not a copyrighted formula being sold for a price.
You can’t buy it! The price is your own application to the seven existing laws.
DID IT EVER occur to you that there might
be a reason why so many people make a failure of life? Not only men and
career women, but wives and mothers to!
Are you one who is wrestling with the
problem of "making ends meet"? Nearly all of us are. This problem
need not mean failure—yet it often leads to it.
It is a fact—the vast majority do wind up
failures. Yet none need fail!
Take a look at the facts in the
world.
Is THIS Success?
Every two minutes someone in the
Suicides now outnumber murders. Now
various organizations for the prevention of suicide are a reality! But the cause
is individual failure!
Only a minority, of course, go to this
extreme, but the overwhelming majority do end their lives in failure.
Much of the world is in current
"prosperity." Yet—in booming
But why?
Why are only the very few really
successful? Is it mere chance—is it just happen-so—can it be luck? Or are there
definite reasons?
Why do all but the very few find
themselves, by age 60 or 65, dependents? Why must there by old-age pensions,
public welfare aid, charities to support the non-crippled, non-handicapped
helpless? Why must children so often provide for aged parents—when it ought to
be the other way around?
I am going to tell you why!
There are definite causes! Seven
basic laws govern success! It is high time people come to know them, and end
this unhappy and needless tragedy!
Finding the Answer
When I was a young man of twenty-three, I
was a member of the editorial staff of a national magazine. I was sent on tours
over the
One of the things my editors assigned me
to investigate was the reason behind the success of the few, and the
failure of the many. Some 95% of smaller independent merchants were reported by
Dun and Bradstreet to be heading toward bankruptcy.
Of course, we were concerned then only
with the success or failure of men. But the same laws apply to the lives of
women.
I asked the opinions of hundreds of
businessmen. Most thought success resulted merely from superior ability, and
failure from the lack of it. But this opinion consigned the majority to failure
from birth without a chance. If a man lacked the ability, he was foredoomed to
failure. There seemed nothing he could do about it. I was not satisfied with
this ides—and later I proved it false.
The manager of the large J.L. Hudson
department store in
Actually, investigation showed these to be
contributing factors, but only that. A more prevalent factor, I found, was
fitting the proverbial "square peg in the round hole." Most failures
were misfits. Most, had they known these seven laws, could have made a
success in the field where they best fit.
This quest for the reasons for
success or failure intrigued me. My research on this question did not stop with
these editorial tours. Observation and analysis of this problem have continued
through the years.
And I know, now, that no human being
need ever become a failure!
Failures are not foredoomed. Success does
not just happen! It is governed by seven definite laws. If you
know them, and apply them, the happy result, in the end ,
is assured.
Every individual was put on this earth for
a PURPOSE! Every person was put here to become a success. Every human ought
to enjoy the sweet taste of success—to find peace and happiness—to
live an interesting, secure, and abundant life! And in order that all
might—if willing—reap such full and abundant rewards, the Creator set in motion
actual, definite LAWS to produce that desired result.
The tragedy is that through the centuries
and millenniums man has turned his back on those laws—those causes of
the very success he craves! The world long ago ignored and forgot them. Today,
most people do not know what they are. Most people have not followed
a single one of the seven basic laws.
I ask in all candor—isn’t that a
shocking state of human affairs? It is, in fact, the colossal
tragedy of all history!
You Can’t Buy it!
If some recognized authority had a
copyrighted plan to sell that was guaranteed to make all who follow it
prosperous and successful, I suppose people by the thousands would flock to buy
the plan.
One man had such a plan. It was a sort of
pseudo "psychological" religion. He promised the plan would make its
followers prosperous or rich—the easy way, of course. Its propagator advertised
that it had made him rich. He boasted of his fine home, his great
high-ceiling pipe-organ room. The inference was that it would make its
purchasers equally prosperous—but he neglected to mention that it was the naïve
dupes who bought his bogus plan who made him rich.
This man stumbled onto an advertising
catch-phrase for a headline in magazine and newspaper advertisements, which
multiplied responses. He used it for years. But ultimately it wore itself out.
This charlatan’s "success" was neither real nor lasting. He was, himself, a colossal failure.
The only way to true success is not
a formula being sold like merchandise.
You can’t buy it with money. It comes to
you free—without money, and without price. There is a price, of
course—your own application of these definite laws. It is not guaranteed
to be the easy way—but it is guaranteed to by the only way
to real success!
Clark
Gable—Success?
It so happens that on the very morning of
the day this was originally written, I read in a
Just what is success, anyway?
How can people win success when so few
know what it is?
I was struck with a number of things in
this cinema-star’s obituary. My mind, of course, was on this theme, since I was
at the moment writing on it.
Clark Gable was heralded on page one of
this newspaper as king of the films. He was described as "the
romantic hero of 90 films." He was one of the first ten money-making stars
in the years 1932-43, 1947-49, and 1955. That is 16 years. And the top film
stars make fabulous incomes. "He was, " said
the obituary, "one of the few screen idols to stay the course for so
long." But does all that spell SUCCESS?
One of the "fascinating" things
mentioned about his life was that he had been married five times! Would
we consider at least three failures in marriage (one wife was killed in an air
crash) SUCCESS? The obituary said he cultivated "the furrowed brow,
the knowing frown, the half-closed eyes, those ears and the wise-guy
leer." They were not natural. He deliberately cultivated them for
the women. "Clark Gable," said the obituary, "had cultivated
these for the girls for nearly the whole of his romantic reign." You might
have called it his trademark. He would." "It’s just a business to me,
always has been," he explained. It was just his way of "earning a
living."
Rich Men I Have Known
In my lifetime I have had close and
intimate contact almost constantly with recognized successful men. From age 18, in early life—within the
One factor characterized nearly every one
of these men. They made money. They acquired material possessions. Many headed
big corporations. They achieved recognition as being important.
Significantly, most of these
man practiced the first SIX of the seven laws of success. That is
tremendously important!
There was the president of a great motor
car corporation at the time when I was the young assistant secretary of the
Chamber of Commerce in his city. He made money. He was recognized in the world
as important. He rose to the top in his profession and industry. But in the
flash depression of 1920 his corporation passed into receivers’ hands, he lost
his personal material gains—and he ended his life a suicide!
? Was he, after all, a success. He neglected
not only the seventh, but also the sixth.
Then there were two great bankers whom I
knew, one of them quite intimately. This was Mr. Arthur Reynolds, president of
the then second largest national bank in
Some thirty-five years later I walked into
his great bank and inquired of one of its many vice-presidents whether he knew
where Mr. Reynolds had moved, and where he had died. I
had heard that he had retired and moved to our headquarters city,
He inquired around. No one he asked
remembered Arthur Reynolds. Finally the public relations secretary sent to the
bank’s library, and presently a clerk brought a newspaper clipping. It was the
sole record the bank seemed to possess of its former president, who, with his
brother, was largely responsible for building up this bank to its great size
and importance. The clipping was from a
After reading it, I handed the clipped
obituary back.
"You’ll certainly want to keep
this," I remarked. "It must be valuable to the bank."
"Oh, no," he replied. "If
you knew him, take it along."
And thus I carried from that great bank
what probably was the only record of this man in the bank of which he was so
long president. His "success" was not lasting. It was not long
remembered.
During his busy lifetime, this man applied
the first SIX of the seven rules of success. Yet whatever success he achieved
was fleeting, and although he had accumulated money, acquired a nice block of
stock in the bank, lived in a fine home, became
recognized as important in his lifetime, all of his "success" died
with him!
The other great banker was Mr. John
McHugh. I first knew him as president of a bank on a
But there is a real success that endures!
But IS This Success?
Yes, I have been privileged to know many
of the great and the near great—especially in the American business world. I
have known multimillionaire capitalist, chief executives of great corporations
and banks, cabinet members in the national administration at Washington,
authors, artists, lecturers, college and university heads.
For the most of them, success meant the
acquisition of money and material possessions, and being of recognized status.
One important man I know was Elbert
Hubbard, philosopher, prolific writer, publisher,
lecturer, known as "the Sage of East Aurora." "The Fra," as he sometimes styled himself, became quite
famous. He wore semi-long hair under an extra-size hat, and a string bow tie.
He was said to be worth a half million dollars at a time when that equaled three million or more on today’s market.
He published two magazines, composed
mostly of his own writings, The Philistine, and The
Fra. He boasted the largest vocabulary of any man
since Shakespeare. He published An American Bible, shocking many of the
religious yet explaining that the word "bible" merely means
"book," not necessarily implying sacred writings, unless the
word "HOLY" is prefaced. His "bible" consisted of his
selection of choice writings from American authors. He included Franklin,
Emerson, Paine, Jefferson, Lincoln, and, of course, Hubbard! He
allotted nearly half of the entire volume to Hubbard—and all other famous
Americans combined shared the remainder.
Hubbard was not the victim of an
inferiority complex, and he preached a positive philosophy. He did have
rare insight and wisdom in purely material matters, and a keen understanding of
human nature.
He knew that "important" men
craved flattery as an actor enjoys applause. A large share of his fortune was
made by writing an almost endless series of booklets, captioned Little
Journeys to the Homes of the Great and the Near-Great. These were printed,
of course, in rare style in his own Roycroft Press.
Dozens and scores of
An interesting sidelight on Mr. Hubbard’s
concept of success came spontaneously from his lips one Sunday afternoon. He
and I were chatting at his Roycroft Inn in
"I asked a Unitarian minister,"
I said, "whether he had ever been able to discern just what your religious
belief really is—if any."
"Fra Elbertus" was interested at once. "And what did
he say?" he asked, curiously.
"He said he wasn’t quite sure, but he
suspected that whatever your religion may be, it probably originated in your
pocketbook and bank account." There was no denial.
"Ho, ho," laughed Elbert
Hubbard, "well, I get away with it, don’t
I?"
But was Elbert Hubbard a real success,
after all? By human standards, I suppose he was. He knew and applied the first six
of the seven laws of success. He worked hard and industriously, and he reaped a
bounteous harvest—of money, popularity, acclaim. He and his wife Alice Hubbard
went down together into the depths of the
But his fame did not appear to last. One
seldom hears of him any more.
Hubbard knew material values. But his
agnosticism closed the door—and threw away the key—that led to an understanding
of spiritual values. He never quite understood the real PURPOSE of life
itself. He wasn’t sure whether there was a Creator. He was convinced that
fundamentalist or traditional "Christianity" was an impractical
superstition. He didn’t know WHY humanity was placed on the earth—or whether it
just happened! He didn’t know man’s real potential destiny. He didn’t know the seventh
law of success. And, not knowing or following that seventh rule, he drove
himself, by the diligent practice of the six, in the wrong direction — diametrically
away from true success!
It Never Satisfied
What was the real meaning of life to
these "successful" men?
Their goal in life—their definition of
success—was material acquisition, recognition of status by society, and the
passing enjoyment of the five senses.
But the more they acquired, the more they wanted,
and the less satisfied they became with what they had. When they got it, it was
never enough.
Some "successful" men of the
world maneuver to get their pictures on page one of
metropolitan newspapers, or on the front covers of
national magazines. This inflates and briefly titillates ego, but it never
satisfies for long. There’s nothing the public forgets so quickly as
yesterday’s news!
Such men seek the flattery of others, and
engage in back-slapping to invite it. But, like an actor’s applause (the word
always makes me think of "applesauce") it doesn’t last and leaves
them flat, with a gnawing inner hunger for something that will satisfy!
So they become restless, discontented.
Their bank accounts may be full, but their
lives are empty. And what they do acquire, which is never enough and never
satisfies, they leave behind when they die!
What is wrong?
Such men started out with the wrong goals.
They had not discerned the true values, but pursued the false.
Isn’t it about time we learn the true
definition of SUCCESS?
Perhaps the prize example of all history
is that of an ancient king, who strove hard, accomplished much, gained fabulous wealth. He experimented with every pleasure,
to see whether it brought happiness.
This man said to himself, "Come now,
I will make a test of pleasure; enjoy yourself."
Continuing to describe his experiment,
this man wrote: "I searched with my mind how to cheer my body with wine—my
mind still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might
see what was good."
This ancient king was young enough to try
to really enjoy life. He could afford it, too. He was one of the
wealthiest men who ever lived—with the resources of a nation at his command. If
there was not enough money for a project he dreamed up, he simply raised the
taxes.
So, he continued writing of his experiment
in searching for happiness and success, "I went in for great works." Stupendous national works and projects. "I built
mansions, planted vineyards, laid out gardens and parks for myself, in which I planted
all manner of fruit trees, making pools to water the trees in my plantations. I
bought slaves, both men and women, and had slaves born within my household. I
had large herds and flocks, larger than any before me. I amassed silver and
gold, right royal treasures; I procured singers, both men and women, and many a
mistress, man’s delight. Richer and richer I grew, more than any before me in
my country . . . Nothing I coveted did I refuse myself: I denied my heart no
enjoyment—for my heart did feel pleasure in all this—so much I did get from all
my efforts.
"But, "
he concluded, "when I turned to look at all I had achieved and at my
efforts and trouble, then it was all vain and futile . . . all was VANITY,
and a striving after wind. Nothing in this world is worthwhile.
"Utterly vain, utterly vain,
everything is VANITY," wrote this king, after his life of
experimenting. All it led to was striving—yes, always striving—and for
what? "After WIND," he concluded. All that a lifetime of hard
work, vigorous application, material accomplishment
brought him, he concluded, amounted to no more that a HANDFUL OF WIND!
This man was called the wisest man who had
ever lived. He was King Solomon of ancient
And WHY?
Simply because, with all
his wisdom, this man sought pleasure—happiness—success—his own way, in
materialism. In the beginning
the Eternal Creator designated and set in motion living laws for the very
purpose of producing happiness, abundant living, pure and continuous joy, in
all humans who would follow them. These are the seven great laws of SUCCESS.
King Solomon, like nearly all the world’s "successful" men, applied
diligently the first six—but without the seventh, he started out in the wrong
direction. The more he strove, the farther he went—in the direction away
from true and lasting success.
He knew this seventh law. But,
"Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Eternal.
. . he did not keep what the Eternal commanded. Therefore the Eternal said to
Solomon, ‘Since this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and
my rules which I commanded, I will surely tear the kingdom from you’ " (1 Kings 11:6-11).
Now let me tell you the experience of a
modern king. He was a close personal friend of ex-King Saud
of
Now what would you do with it, if
you suddenly came into 121/2 million dollars a year?
The answer, in all probability, is that
you would not do what you now think you would! That much money, coming suddenly
into one’s hands, usually changes one’s ideas completely. That’s what it did to
old Sheik Ali.
Immediately he began to build big gaudy
pink, green, and gold palaces in the midst of malodorous mud hovels. They were
air-conditioned, ultramodern, even equipped with push button window curtains!
And now the newly wealthy sheik could avoid the 120-degree bake-oven summers of
the desert.
He chartered whole airliners and took with
him a retinue so large that his newly purchased palatial villa on
Then Sheik Ali indulged in the $1,000,000
purchase of a magnificent mansion overlooking
The news stories filtered around the world
of how the Sheik just simply could not make ends meet on a mere 121/2
dollars a year! About
Poor old Ali! He found it harder to make
ends meet on 121/2 million annual dollars than he did in comparative poverty.
The FIRST
Law
Certainly NOTHING in life is more
important than to know: what is real success—and how to achieve it.
What, then, is the first law of success?
Before stating even the first law, let it
be said that I am not considering here such general principles of character as
honesty, patience, loyalty, courtesy, dependability, punctuality, etc., etc.,
etc., except as these are automatically included in the seven rules. We may
assume that one cannot become a real success without these principles of right
character.
But on the other hand, many are honest who
have never practiced a single one of the seven laws, specifically. Many may be
loyal, have patience, extend courtesy, be punctual, who are unsuccessful
because they have not applied a single one of these seven definite, specific
rules. Even so, each of these laws covers a vast territory.
Here, then, is the first law of
success:
FIX THE RIGHT GOAL!
Not just any goal. Most of the
"successful "men I have mentioned had goals. They drove themselves
relentlessly to accomplishment. But making money, gaining STATUS in the
eyes of people, enjoying the passing pleasures of the five senses, has literally
strewn the pathway of history with fears, worries, heartaches, troubled
consciences, sorrows, frustrations, empty lives and death.
These things may be had and enjoyed along with
true success. But they alone do not bring success. The right goal
includes something more.
In other words, the very first law of
success is to be able to define success! Once you have learned what success
is make that your goal in life.
Do you know that most people go through
life without any GOAL at all? In fact, most people, as I’ve said before,
do not know, and do not apply a SINGLE ONE of the seven laws of
success!
Most people never think of having any PURPOSE
in life. They are not going anywhere, in particular.
If you have saved up money for a trip to Paris,
or Rome, or London for your vacation or holiday, you spend a lot of time in
excited anticipation PLANNING your trip—but you DO have a
definite DESTINATION—and all plans are laid to take you to that
particular destination—that GOAL. You know where you are planning
to go. Otherwise, how would you ever expect to arrive there?
As I said once before, most people have no
aim—they are merely the victims of CIRCUMSTANCE. They never planned,
purposefully, to be in the fob or occupation in which they find themselves
today. They do not live where they do by CHOICE that is, because they PLANNED
it that way. They have merely been buffeted around by CIRCUMSTANCE! They
have allowed themselves to drift. They have made no effort to master and
control circumstances.
The first law of success, I repeat, is to
fix the RIGHT goal. Not any goal. One could set a goal in which
he had little or no interest, and drift into inaction. The right goal will
arouse ambition. Ambition is more than mere desire. It is desire plus
incentive—determination—will to achieve the desire. The right goal will
be so intensely desired it will excite vigorous and determined effort. It will
fire one with incentive.
There should be an overpowering PURPOSE
to life. Few have ever known such purpose. Down through centuries and
millenniums thinkers and philosophers have pondered, and sought in vain to
learn whether life has a real purpose. Socrates, Plato, Augustine among others
speculated and reasoned, yet the true meaning of life eluded them. This deepest
and most important question in life remained to them a mystery—an unsolvable
enigma!
IF one could discover such an overall PURPOSE—a
definite purpose for which humans were put on earth—IF one could
discover a human potential greater than mere temporary existence, one would
think that PURPOSE would be the goal that should excite dynamic
ambition!
But—alas! Who has ever discovered such an
objective as life’s aim?
Was there nothing greater to look forward
to, for my two prominent banker friends? Nothing greater than
to enjoy fleeting status, only to be forgotten by those who succeeded them?
What is there, after all, to live for?
I repeat! The first law of real success is
to have the right goal! The men I have described, rated eminently successful in
the world, all had goals. They applied diligently all of the first six of the
Success Laws. But failing the seventh, they misapplied the first. Their success
was fleeting.
The Vital
Second Law
And so, if you are to arrive at SUCCESS
in LIFE, you must first set the right goal, and then comes the PREPARATION
to achieve that goal.
So, the SECOND law of success in
time sequence, is EDUCATION, or PREPARATION.
How can one expect to accomplish his
purpose unless he acquires the know-how?
One thing we need to know about life—and
many do not—is that humans do not come equipped with instinct.
To this extent, the dumb animals have a
certain advantage over us. They do not have to learn. They never need weary
their brains with book learning.
The new born calf does not have to be taught
how to walk. It starts immediately to get up on its somewhat infirm and
uncertain legs. It may fall down on the first or second attempt, but in a
matter of a few moments it stands, even if a little unsteady at first. It does
not require a year or two—not even an hour or two—the little calf starts
walking in a few minutes! It does not need to reason out any goals. It
requires no textbooks, nor teaching. It instinctively knows its goal—dinner!
And it knows, also instinctively, the way. On its own four legs it proceeds
immediately to the first meal!
I have repeated so many times: birds build
nests—by instinct. No one teaches them how. Five generations of weaver birds,
isolated from nests or nest-building materials, never saw a nest. When
nest-building materials were made accessible, the sixth generation, without any
instruction, proceeded to build nests! They were not crows’ nests or eagles’
nests. They were the same kind of nests weaver birds have built since creation.
They had no minds to think out, imagine, design, and construct a
different kind of nest.
Of course dogs, horses, elephants,
dolphins, and some other animals can be taught and trained to do certain
tricks. But they cannot reason, imagine, think, plan, design and construct new
and different things. They do not acquire knowledge, perceive truth from error,
make decisions, and employ WILL to exercise self-discipline according to
their own reasoned wisdom and decisions. THEY CANNOT DEVELOP MORAL AND
SPIRITUAL CHARACTER.
But humans have it not quite so easy.
Humans have to learn, or be taught. Humans have to learn to walk, to
talk, to eat or drink.
We don’t come to these basic
accomplishments instinctively and immediately like the dumb animals. It may
take a little more time. It may come a little harder. But we can go on to learn
reading, writing, and "rithmetic"!
Then we can go further, and learn to
appreciate literature, music, art. We can learn to
think and reason, to conceive a new idea, to plan, design, construct.
We can investigate,
experiment, invent telescopes and learn something about outer space and far-off
planets, stars, and galaxies. We invent microscopes and learn about
infinitesimal particles of matter.
We learn about electricity, laws of
physics and chemistry. We learn to use the wheel, construct highways, and roll
over ground faster than any animal. We learn to fly higher, farther and faster
than any bird. We learn how to take nature apart and make it work for us. We
discover and utilize nuclear energy.
But we have to LEARN—to STUDY—to
be EDUCATED—to be PREPARED for what we propose to do.
One if the first things we need to learn
is –that we need to learn!
Once you have learned enough to CHOOSE
A GOAL, the second step toward successfully accomplishing that goal
is to LEARN THE WAY—to acquire the additional education, training,
experience, to give you the know-how to achieve your goal.
Most people fail to set any definite
goals. Having no specific aims, they neglect the specialized EDUCATION
to make possible the attainment of their purpose.
Now all these men whose case histories I
have recounted had goals. They had the overall purpose of acquiring
possessions, attaining status, and enjoying the passing moments. As a means to
this objective, they had the specialized goals of succeeding in banking,
industry, politics, acting, writing, or whatever. They all EDUCATED
THEMSELVES for their particular profession or calling.
They were broad enough to realize that
education included not only book learning, but personality development,
leadership, experience, knowledge form contacts and associations, and from
observation.
Yet these "successful" people
were not really successful. They not only chose an overall goal that led them
in the way of false values, they also failed to equip themselves with the RIGHT
education to make possible that REAL LASTING success—fulfilling the PURPOSE
of life.
There is, then, a right and a false
education.
These successful people were not lastingly
successful. Their education failed to teach them the TRUE VALUES. They
chose goals that led them in the way of false values that didn’t last.
The entire system of education in this
world neglects to recapture the true values. Even the scholarly educators
themselves too often devote themselves to arduous years of research into
non-essential and useless channels.
The basic and most essential knowledge—the
true values, the meaning and purpose of life, the WAY to peace, to
happiness and abundant well-being—these basics are never taught. Because I was
given to see this decadence in modern education—to recognize this tragic
knowledge gap—I was led to found a college that fills this need.
Right education must teach that all things
are a matter of cause and effect—that for every result, whether good or evil,
there is a cause. True education will teach the CAUSE of this world’s
evils—of personal or collective troubles—so that they may be avoided. Also it
much instruct in the CAUSE of this world’s evils—of personal or
collective troubles—so that they may be avoided. Also it must instruct in the CAUSE
of the GOOD results, that we may know how to win them instead of the
troubles. Right education must not stop at teaching TO LIVE! It must
know, and teach, the PURPOSE of human life, and how to fulfill it.
Decadent education has spawned student
revolt, which has, on occasion, plunged many colleges and universities into
states of violence and chaos!
It’s another significant tragedy of our
time!
This world is dissemination false
education that has come down to us from the thinking, philosophizing, yet
misguided pagans who lacked a knowledge of the true
values and purposes of life! The true history of education is an eye-opening
story in itself!
The Basic
Third Law
The all-important law coming next in time
order is GOOD HEALTH.
We are physical beings. The mind and the
body form the most wonderful physical mechanism we know. But man is made of
matter. He is basically 16 elements of organic, chemically functioning
existence.
He lives by the breath of air—which is the
breath of LIFE itself. If the bellows we call lungs do not keep inhaling
and exhaling the oxygen-containing air, man won’t live to achieve any goal. You
are only one heartbeat away from death! As the lungs pump air in and out, so
the heart pumps blood through and intricate system of veins and arteries. These
must be supported by food and water.
And so man IS just what he eats.
Some of the most famous physicians and surgeons have said that 90% to 95% of
all sickness and disease comes from faulty diet!
Most people are in utter ignorance of the
fact that it does make a difference what we eat! Most people, and the
customs of society, have followed a regimen of eating whatever tastes good to
the palate.
Adults are babies grown up. Observe a nine-month-old
baby. Everything that comes into his hands goes to his mouth!
My youngest brother may not like to read
this in print, but I remember when he was about nine months old, and had
managed to creep into the basement coal bin. We found him trying to eat little
chunks of coal—his mouth and face well blackened!
You may laugh at babies trying to eat
silver cups and chunks of coal. Or at people who dip
small mice into a sauce, and, holding them by their tails, drop them as a delicious
delicacy into their mouths.
If you do, they will laugh back at you.
They will tell you that mice eat clean grain and clean foods, while you dip
slimy, slithery oysters and other scavenger seafoods
into cocktail sauces, and consider them a delicacy!
You think adults have actually LEARNED
any better than nine-month-olds babies? Go to your fancy grocer’s and you’ll
find on his shelves canned eel and canned rattlesnake.
WHY? As I said, humans know nothing at
birth! We have to learn! But most of us do not know that! And, again,
what we don’t know, we don’t know that we don’t know! And somehow, ever
since babyhood, most humans seem to have grown up putting everything into the
mouth. Most have grown up eating just whatever seemed to taste good—and
whatever they saw others eating. There has been little education or even study
about WHAT we ought—or ought NOT—to eat.
Most degenerative diseases are modern
diseases—penalties for eating foods that have been demineralized
in food factories—usually an excess of starch, sugar (the carbohydrates) and
fats. Others are caused by a type of malnutrition—lack of needed minerals and
vitamins in foods. Then people try to put the "vitamins" back into
their systems by buying pills at the drugstore!
A famous director of a "Physical
Fitness" program, lecturing at Ambassador College, reminded us that the
medical profession has made great strides toward eliminating communicable
diseases, yet is having little success coping with the increase of the
non-communicable diseases,--such as cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, kidney
diseases. These latter are affected by faulty diet.
Of course there are other laws of
health—sufficient sleep, exercise, plenty of fresh air, cleanliness and proper
elimination, right thinking, clean living.
Right now "jogging" has become
the physical fitness fad. Even men in their late forties read a book by a
self-professing "expert," and suddenly are straining their hearts
running two miles every day. "More and more exercise!" cry the
faddists.
Why do humans tend to go to extremes?
Exercise is good—it profits a little—but like most things, it can be carried
past the law of diminishing returns. You can get an overdose that can cause
harm. We are prone to forget the admonition of TEMPERANCE in all things.
What is the value of this excessive
exertion in running two miles a day? It induces blood circulation. It gets
circulation even to the extremities. And that is good. Stimulating blood
circulation is good. Stimulating blood circulation is important.
But we can also DESTROY HEALTH by going to unwise extremes. There is as
much danger in overdoing exercise as in neglecting it.
Circulation can be induced without
over-exertion or danger. I have never forgotten a lecture I heard as a young
man in the days of the Chautauqua. The lecturer had been physical trainer to
President Howard Taft. Immediately following the close of the Taft
administration, this physical trainer managed to secure a list of all—or nearly
all—of the centenarians in the
Many ask how I (now in my nineties) keep
up the energy, vigor and drive. I’m sure there is
more than one reason—but I do not "jog" or go in for fads. I WALK—the
best exercise for one of my age. But ever since I heard that lecture, perhaps
60 or more years ago, I have taken a daily RUB-DOWN. Method?
A generous-size bath towel, following a daily shower.
I try to get enough sleep. I watch elimination (very important). I try to be
careful about my diet. And I have a tremendous INCENTIVE—a driving PURPOSE
in life, because I have learned what is life’s PURPOSE. That
spurs to action! I have a mission to accomplish that is more important than my
life. There’s not much time left—and it MUST and WILL BE
ACCOMPLISHED! Besides all this I draw on a greater and higher Power. I
think that gives the answer.
The average person has never stopped to
realize that it is not natural to be sick. Sickness and disease come
only from violation of nature’s laws of body and mine—the physical LAWS
of health. Most people have not learned that there are any such laws!
They suppose that occasional illness or disease is natural in the course of
life. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Sickness should not be taken for granted.
Some authorities go so far as to say that we do not catch a cold—we eat
our colds and fevers! They explain that a cold or fever is merely the unnatural
and rapid elimination of toxins and poisons stored up in the glands, resulting
from improper diet.
Now what about the great and the
near-great of the world? They usually do not know all there is to know about
the laws of good, vigorous health with clear, alert minds. But, compared to the
average of the population, they know a great deal. They have, as a rule,
enjoyed, shall we say, comparatively good health!
As an example, the President of the
Yet, there are many things that even these
important people do not know about the causes of sickness, disease, debility.
One factor I think has worked universally
in favor of such men. Mental attitude does
have considerable influence on physical condition. Most "successful"
men—as the world evaluates success—do think constructively, positively, in a
mental attitude of confidence. They do not allow themselves to think negatively
or assume an attitude of fear, worry, or discouragement. They do not allow
themselves to get into uncontrolled moods of griping, complaining. They enforce
on themselves emotional balance. And, mindful of the responsibilities on their
shoulders, they probably put more restraint on dissipation than most people.
Without health one is direly handicapped,
if not totally cut off from achievement. The fourth Law of Success is largely dependent
on good health.
The
All-important Fourth Law
A person may have chosen his goal. Having
it may have aroused tremendous ambition to achieve it. He may have started out educating
and training himself for its accomplishment, and he may even have good
health and still make little or no progress toward its realization.
After all, success is
accomplishment. It is DOING. They say any old dead fish can float
downstream, but it takes a live one to swim up. An inactive person will not
accomplish. Accomplishment is DOING.
Now comes an
all-important law.
The fourth success-law, then, is DRIVE!
Half-hearted effort might carry one a
little way toward his goal, but it will never get him far enough to reach it.
You will always find that the executive head
of any growing, successful organization employs drive! He puts a
constant prod on himself. He not only drives himself, he drives those
under him, else they might lag, let down and stagnate.
He may feel drowsy, and hate to awaken and
get up[ in the morning. But he refuses to give in to
this impulse.
I remember the struggles I once had with
this situation. It was during one of my "Idea-Man" tours as a
magazine editorial representative at age 22. I was having quite a struggle with
drowsiness. Yet I acquired the habit of sleepily answering the morning
telephone call and promptly going back to bed and to sleep. Then I bought a
"Baby Ben" alarm clock, which I carried with me. But I found myself
arising to turn it off, then plunging back into bed. I
was too drowsy to realize what I was doing. I was not sufficiently awake to
employ willpower and force myself to stay up, get under the shower and become
fully awake and alert. It had become habit.
I had to break the habit. I had to put a
prod on myself. I needed an alarm clock that couldn’t be turned off until I was
sufficiently awake to get going for the day.
So one night at the Hotel Patton in
"Do you see that half-dollar,
son?" I asked.
"Yes, Sir!" he answered, eyes
sparkling in anticipation.
After ascertaining that he would be still
on duty at
I found those bell-boys would, for a
half-dollar tip, even wrestle or fight with me to prevent my crawling back into
bed. Thus I put a prod on myself that broke the morning snooze habit and got
me up and going!
Often workmen never rise above whatever
job they may have because they have no drive. They slow down, work slowly, poke
around, sit down and rest as much as they can. In other words, they must have a
boss over them to drive them, or they would probably starve. They would
never become successful farmers—for a farmer, to succeed, must get up early and
work late, and drive himself. That is one reason so many must work for others.
They cannot rely on themselves—they must be driven by one of more energy and
purpose.
Without energy, drive
,constant propulsion, a person need never expect to become truly
successful.
Law Number
5—for Emergencies
One might suppose that if he had a goal—and
with it the ambition to achieve his purpose—if he then became trained,
educated, and experienced in pursuing it, kept in good health, and constantly
drove himself relentlessly toward his objective, that he would be bound to
accomplish it.
Important as these four laws are, they are
not enough.
Life constantly encounters hazards,
obstacles, unexpected problems or setbacks. You may be proceeding along right
on schedule, when BANG!—out of nowhere comes an unexpected complication.
Some sudden circumstance arises which seems to stop you completely, or at least
set you back.
So, to meet these constantly arising
problems, you must have:
RESOURCEFULNESS!
When complications, obstacles, unexpected
circumstances appear to block your path, you must be equipped with RESOURCEFULNESS
to solve the problem, overcome the obstacle, and continue on your course.
The old Slow Train Through
Arkansas (I read the book years ago) encountered a cow lying across the
tracks ahead. The train could not proceed toward its destination until that
obstacle was removed.
When we drove the old Model "T"
from
I learned a lesson in determination and
resourcefulness on my first visit to
I watched, intrigued. Did the rushing
waters stop, quit, give up? Not on your life! I was
thrilled as I watched the water swirl around the huge boulder—splash on over
it, even find a hole through it, dashing, crashing, roaring on toward
its goal!
The IBM people used to put out a
famous card found in many offices, which says "THINK!"—and
sometimes they deliberately spell it "THIMK?"
When sudden emergencies arise, then of all times you need a clear mind, calm nerves, rapid thinking,
sound reasoning! You need RESOURCEFULNESS! You need a cool head,
to quickly get all the facts and make a wise decision.
Do you keep calm in emergencies, or lose
your head and go to pieces? Do you think rapidly, yet clearly and logically, or
do you freeze up and go dead?
To succeed, you need to cultivate the
ability, and the habit, of remaining unexcited, yet leaping to action on
high tension, reaching the right decision, then acting
on it!
And now one would most certainly think
that these five laws should be all that is required to guarantee ultimate
success. And yet nine out of every ten who have all these five still
fail—without the important sixth law.
Importance
of Law Number 6
Among the case histories recounted in the
beginning pages was that of the president of a major automobile manufacturing
corporation. He had utilized the first five of these laws—that is, except he
had the usual goal that leads in the wrong direction. Yet in the flash
depression of 1920, when he lost his personal fortune, he committed suicide.
This man had reached the point where he
was, to all appearances, through! During life he had resourcefully
solved emergencies and problems that arose. But now, suddenly, it seemed that everything
had been swept from under his feet. Everything he had worked for. Everything he
had accumulated. Everything he had set his heart on! There was NOTHING
left! He was washed up—finished! So it seemed to him. I never knew his private
life.
He gave up! He committed suicide. So near
success, yet so far!
Yes, nine in ten, at least once or twice
in a lifetime, come to the place where they appear to be totally defeated! All
is lost!--`apparently, that is. They give up and quit, when just a little more
faith and perseverance—just a little more STICK-TO IT-IVENESS
would have turned apparent certain failure into glorious success.
Law number six, then, is PERSEVERANCE—stick-to-it-iveness!
I know! I have reached that point more
than once! I, too, had everything swept out from under me in that flash
depression of 1920.
I had been making an income, still in my
twenties, equivalent to an executive’s salary in today’s dollar value. But some
90 percent of it came from five or six big Midwestern corporations. Most of
these great corporations "went under"—that is, they went into
"receivers’" hands.
Later, in 1926, an advertising business I
had started on the west coast was wiped out from under me by an association
decision made in the east. A million-dollar project was dashed to oblivion by
the stock-market crash and depression of 1929. But I did not quit or give up
living. That was when my life GOAL was changed!
Even the first two years of the operation
of
But it didn’t fold up! By the year
1949 we got over our first financial hump. Later, the second.
Today, I think we may be justified in saying that the college is, indeed, a
glorious SUCCESS! And our other operations today are worldwide on a
major scale.
Still We
Need Law Number 7!
Well now, it would certainly seem
that if one follows these SIX laws of success, nothing more should be
required!
But still, these "successful"
men I have described followed these six principles. They gained their goals.
They made money. They attained recognized status. They enjoyed the passing
pleasures.
Still their lives were empty—they were
never satisfied—they were discontented, they never found lasting, permanent,
enduring happiness—they did not take their acquisitions with them when
they died, and their fame died with them!
What they lacked—what ALL lack who fail of REAL success, application of Success Law
number 7—the most important law of all! That is the ingredient that would have
changed everything?
The
Overlooked SEVENTH Law
I have reserved this all-important seventh
Law till last to explain. But far from being least, it is first in vital
importance!
I have held it till now because 1) it is
the very last one that people will acknowledge and apply; and 2) being first
in making possible real success, I want to state it last so it will
remain stamped in the mind of the reader.
When serious illness strikes, people call
the doctor. It is automatic for most to rely on human professional knowledge
and skill—on material drugs, medicines and knives. But finally, when the
attending physician—perhaps with specialists called in collaboration—gravely
shakes his head and says there is no more that medical science can do—it is now
in the hands of a higher Power—then, at last people cry out desperately to the
Creator God!
Is it possible that the living GOD
might be a factor in determining the success or failure of one’s life? Few have
thought so.
People will ignore all their lives any
idea of divine guidance and help—yet if one should find himself on a foodless
and waterless raft after a shipwreck in mid-ocean, it is remarkable how quickly
he would begin to believe there really is a living God! In last-resort
desperation most people will cry out to Him whom they have ignored, disobeyed,
and set at naught all their lives.
Wouldn’t it seem axiomatic that, if there
is a compassionate beneficent Creator standing ready and willing to give us
emergency help as a last resort, it would have been more sensible to have
sought His guidance and help all along? Yet some have acquired wealth, lived
luxuriously, and then, suddenly losing all, turned finally to God in their
economic distress. Others have committed suicide. Few, it seems, will ever rely
on their Maker and life-Sustainer until they feel
helpless and in desperate need. Even then the motive too often is selfish.
Yet, if we are to enjoy the good things of
life—freedom from fears and worries, peace of mind, security, protection,
happiness, abundant well-being—the very SOURCE of their supply is the
Great God! Since all comes from Him anyway, why not tap the SOURCE from
the very beginning?
But in our day of modern science,
sophistication and vanity, it has not been fashionable to believe in a Maker.
In this deceived world, knowledge of God has found little or no place in modern
education.
The ALL-IMPORTANT seventh Law of
Success, nevertheless, is having contact with, and the guidance and
continuous help of GOD!
And the person who does put this
all-important seventh law last is very probably dooming his life to
failure at the end.
Why of First
Importance
Look again at the very first Law, as it
has been listed here. It is not merely choosing a goal—any goal. It is setting
as one’s life-aim the right goal.
The "successful" of this world
all had goals. But their goals led to material ends. They sought happiness in
vanity, pride of status, material acquisitions, physical activities and
pursuits. They sought the approbation of people. But people are human, and
their lives are temporary. Material objects, too, are not enduring, but wax old
until consigned to disuse.
The main goals of those supposed to be
successful in the world usually are two: Vanity—desire for status; and money
with the material things it will buy. But happiness is not material, and money
is not its source. Vanity, as Solomon observed is like a striving after wind!
These men I have mentioned made money.
Their bank accounts may have been full, but their lives were empty. When they
acquired money, it never satisfied, and always they wanted more. These monetary
victories, these material acquisitions, gave, of course, a thrill of satisfaction—but
it never lasted!
This life-long struggle—this constant striving
"after wind"—striving after false values—left in its wake a trail of
fears and worries, apprehensions, disappointments, heartaches, troubled
consciences, discontent, empty lives, frustrations—and finally, DEATH!
Oh yes, of course there were pleasures,
moments of excitement, periods of enjoyment. There were occasional thrills,
temporary sensations of delight. But always they were followed by periods of
depression. Always a gnawing inner soul-hunger returned. This in turn drove
them to seek satisfaction in the thousand-and-one events in the world’s whirl
of material pleasures and pastimes. Yet these never filled the void. They never
satisfied the real inner hunger.
These people probably didn’t realize it,
but the hunger was spiritual. And spiritual hunger is never satisfied by
material food!
The "successful" of this world
applied six of the success laws. But they left GOD out of the picture,
and the happiness of real success out of their lives.
It seems almost no one, today, realizes HOW—and
WHY—we were made. WHAT we humans are,
and WHY we are. Why should we live in ignorance of these basics of
knowledge?
Two basic and vital facts are overlooked:
1. While man was made a material being, of
the dust of the ground, sustained by eating material food and drinking material
water, he was made also to need spiritual food, and to drink of the
"living water" of God’s Spirit. Without these spiritual needs man
cannot be truly and continually happy. Nothing else really satisfies.
2. The Eternal Creator, who made us in His
own likeness, is creator of ALL that is. Everything man needs to make
life continuously and abundantly satisfying, must come
from Him. He is the SOURCE OF SUPPLY. He is the GIVER of
everything good. WHY must men ignore the true SOURCE, and try to
obtain where there is nothing to be obtained? If I wish to draw clear,
sparkling drinking water from a well, I will go to a well filled with such
water, not to one that is empty. God says of our people: "For my people
have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the FOUNTAIN of living
waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no
water" (Jeremiah 2:13).
And again He says: "Ho, every one
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that
hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not
bread? And your labour for that which satisfieth not?" (Isaiah 55:1-2.)
Once again, look at the first of
the Success Laws. Stated another way, it is to DEFINE SUCCESS!
And what constitutes real Success? Once you have learned the true meaning
of Success, then you have found the only right goal.
The right goal sets the direction of your
life’s journey. Success is the destination of that journey. Success is where
you finally arrive—and true Success includes a happy and
enjoyable journey along the way.
PURPOSE
to Life?
Is there, after all, a PURPOSE to
life?
If we were put here by a Creator, would He
have put us here without a REASON? And a Creator with Mind and Power
that could have designed and produced the human mind and body could have failed
to make available for humans every tool, ingredient and facility needed to fulfill His Purpose!
Of course men cut off from God have no
knowledge of that Purpose. For that knowledge is not material, but spiritual
knowledge. And spiritual things cannot be seen—nor heard, felt, smelled or
tasted. Spiritual knowledge can be transmitted only by revelation. And this
world has rejected revelation. Men cut off from their Creator of necessity are
spiritually blind and ignorant, groping in the dark. So they fail to seize the
proper tools, ingredients and facilities.
But the Maker has sent an instruction
book along with the human mechanism He made. It contains all the real
answers. It reveals life’s real PURPOSE—the potential destiny of man!
That instruction book, as Bruce Barton aptly said, is the "book
nobody knows." Almost no one knows that 95% of the contents of that
Book is virtually ignored by the professing Christian
clergy. Most scientists and educators today suppose, erroneously and in
ignorance of the facts, that the Bible is merely the book of an ancient race of
Jewish people, striving to devise a concept of a god—in by gone days of
ignorance and superstition. They don’t examine the Book, as they examine other
data, to see what it says. They ignore it as something beneath their pride of
intellect to consider.
The religious Bible-believing
fundamentalists generally quote and use not more than some 5% of the
Scriptures. Approximately one-third of the entire contents of the Bible is devoted to ADVANCE NEWS REPORTS, called, in
religious terminology, prophecy. FEW pay any attention to this third of
the writings—and most seem devoid of understanding.
What almost ON ONE realizes is that
the ignored 95% of that great volume is the INSTRUCTION BOOK which the
Maker sent along with His product—just as any manufacturer of a material commodity
does. Yet some scholars today have been surprised and shocked to learn that
this ignored, maligned, misrepresented Book contains THE ANSWERS to life
itself—reveals the PURPOSE of life—the LAWS that govern it—the ANSWER
to what IS Success, and how to achieve it!
It has been like discovering a gold mine
of knowledge they did not know existed. They have found that it MAKES SENSE—that,
indeed, IT IS THE VERY FOUNDATION of KNOWLEDGE in just
about all areas—that it provides the only right approach to the
acquisition of further discoverable knowledge.
This ultimate potential destiny is the only
TRUE goal. It is your reason for being alive! It is the reason you were
born!
Those who have worked, striven, fought
their way to any other goal have been wasting their lives—living for naught!
They have, in true fact, been going nowhere! And how many, since humans were
first put here on earth, have really known that PURPOSE—that one right
goal of life? Very few, indeed!
The time when we need divine guidance,
enlightenment, and help, is at the very BEGINNING—at the time
when a young man or woman chooses that RIGHT GOAL. Without divine
guidance the wrong goal is always set.
That is why poor people possessing the least
knowledge and material goods sometimes appear to be the happiest.
Actually they were not happy. They merely are less discontented! They
have not progressed as far in the WRONG DIRECTION as those who smugly
and vainly supposed themselves to be their more intelligent betters!
Life has a PURPOSE. God has set in
actual, inexorable motion definite LAWS to PRODUCE for man every
happiness, security, and GOOD thing he desires—THE WAY OF LIFE
that will fulfill God’s PURPOSE for our
being!
LOOK! THINK! An automobile was designed
and built by its human makers to transport passengers, and do it more speedily
and in more comfort than the old horse and buggy. Would it not be ridiculous if
the automobile had a mind and free volition of action, and it would say:
"That’s silly! I don’t think I was made to
transport people. I think I was made for some other purpose. I refuse to
transport people. I want to be an instrument for viewing the stars in the
heavens."
Apparently it is only stupid, foolish
man—with POTENTIAL mind power and CAPACITY for intelligence
beyond any creature God has created—who says "WHY have you made me
thus?"
WHAT, then is the PURPOSE for which we
were put here?
Of this, mankind has totally lost all
conception. To people spiritually drunk on the false material concepts of our
day, the statement of that purpose would appear strange, absurd, impossible. It SO FAR transcends anything conceived
by humanity in this blinded world that the statement of it would prove too
great to be grasped and accepted.
Suffice it to say—and I shall leave it to
another booklet to explain—man was put here for the PURPOSE of being
conformed to, and finally stamped with the exact perfect CHARACTER of
Jesus Christ! Write for the free booklet Why Were You Born?
Christ is now stamped with the identical CHARACTER
IMAGE of God, as well as the shining, brilliant, glorified appearance
of God! For a mortal human to be transformed into that perfect spiritual
image means that we must be CHANGED!
The Bible pictures God as the Master
Potter—us as the clay. Indeed we are, literally clay images of God—composed of
the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). As we now bear only the physical image of
the "earthy," we shall when changed, bear the spiritual image
of the heavenly—of GOD (1 Corinthians
Free to Choose
Understand this! You are a free moral
agent. God will never "cram" His religion down your throat." He
will never force you to decide His way or go His way. He not only allows
you to choose the wrong way—He compels you to make your own decision.
Otherwise His PURPOSE would be thwarted!
The living God has set two ways before us.
One, His Way, the cause of all the good things you want here and now,
plus eternal life in REAL SUCCESS continuously forever. The other the
way of self-centeredness, vanity, greed, envy—the way mankind has gone, in
rebellion against God and His Law—the way that causes all unhappiness,
suffering, evils, and ends in death. And God compels you to choose!
Yet He commands you to choose the Way that leads to REAL
SUCCESS (see Deuteronomy 30:19).
You Need HELP
That ultimate TRUE Success is
something you cannot attain to by yourself. The ingredient you lack is the GUIDANCE,
the POWER and SPIRIT OF GOD.
You must make the decision. You
must set this right GOAL. You must set your will. You must
expend your full effort. You must WORK AT overcoming,
growing and developing spiritually, and sticking with it. Yet GOD
supplies the all-important ingredient—His power, His love, His faith—His
guidance—HIS LIFE!
7th Law
Changes Everything
Now look how DIFFERENT a whole life
becomes when this SEVENTH SUCCESS LAW is utilized.
First, it will completely alter your
overall major GOAL as I have just explained. Of course, you will have
other minor goals—such as the profession or occupation to provide material
needs, and HELP achieve the major goal. And these minor goals always
must be compatible with and contributing to the major goal.
Your main goal, now, will be spiritual and
not material. It will follow the WAY OF LIFE of the Ten Commandments.
You will actually LIVE BY every Word of GOD—that is, the
Bible!
Now re-examine the Second Law of SUCCESS.
Your EDUCATION and entire
preparation will be DIFFERENT. You will seek to learn the TRUE
VALUES of life—yes, of this life as well as the hereafter! This
means your number one textbook will be the BIBLE. It will reveal to you
the MIND OF CHRIST. This will provide your mental APPROACH in all
education and practice.
Third, you will receive the KNOWLEDGE
which God reveals about laws of HEALTH.
Take the FOURTH LAW. If you are
motivated by GOD’S WORD, you’ll have DRIVE. God commands
that you do what you do with your might! Apply yourself! Whatever
is worth doing is worth doing the very best you can! Nine Biblical passages
command that you apply your self with DILIGENCE! Ten other places in the
Bible command us to BE DILIGENT. And 36 Scriptures command, or show the
example of acting diligently! Many of these instruct us diligently to seek
God’s guidance and help, several diligently to keep His commandments.
How about the businessman? "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand
before kings; he shall not stand before [obscure] men" (Proverbs
The Bible does not condone laziness or
shiftlessness. It counsels us to consider the ant and be wise. The Bible
commands industriousness!
Solving Problems
Now, Law Number FIVE. No
matter how intelligent, alert, or resourceful you may be, YOU NEED GOD’S
WISDOM and HELP in solving the constant problems and meeting the
recurring obstacles that beset life’s path. Whether it is
in business, a profession, private life or what. The man who has CONTACT
WITH GOD, who can take these matters—these emergencies—these problems—in
the quietness of his private prayer room to the Throne of Grace and seek God’s
counsel and advice IS GOING TO HAVE DIVINE GUIDANCE! That is, of course,
provided he is submissive, obedient, diligent, faithful.
WISDOM comes from GOD.
May I give you a personal example? God has
blessed His Work, and caused it to grow into a tremendous worldwide activity,
with offices around the world. God has set me in the position of human director
and leader over this expanding enterprise, employing hundreds of people. We
encounter problems of all kinds, constantly. I have problems to solve,
obstacles to hurdle, policies to set, decisions to make which affect many
lives—frequently involve many thousands of dollars, even millions. It is a
weighty responsibility.
Always—and I can remember it from at least
age 5—I have desired to have UNDERSTANDING. But more than fifty years
ago, I discovered that I sadly lacked, yet sorely needed WISDOM. Having
dedicated my life to live, literally, according to every word of God’s
Instruction Book—the Bible—I obeyed this command of God: "If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God. . . and it shall be
given" (James 1:5). He has given me wisdom. Of course He has allowed me to
make mistakes—but never a major mistake that could threaten His great Work.
Wisdom must be applied to every specific
circumstance individually. I learned many years ago the need of getting all of
the facts bearing on a case before making a decision. But it requires more.
God’s Word says that in multitude of counselors there
is safety. In any important decision I call in the most competent possible counselors, specialists in the field involved.
You simply cannot know, if you have never
had this divine help, how very, very much it means! We have been saved
hundreds, of times from costly blunders. We are saved from worries and the
"headaches" most businessmen have to suffer over such problems. We
can proceed in CONFIDENCE—that assurance that is FAITH! What a
blessing! What a comfort, and a joy!
It PAYS Off
People trying to live without the
living CHRIST in their lives are missing the most practical
and valuable asset they could have. In the language of our day, "IT
PAYS OFF!" Of course, we have to expend our own effort. We have to
really THINK. We use all our own effort. We have to really THINK.
We use all our own resources and natural resourcefulness. But we have that
added SECURITY of divine GUIDANCE. Often God simply works out CIRCUMSTANCES.
He literally gives us "the breaks"! IT PAYS!
Finally, now, look at Success Law
Number SIX. Perseverance—Stick-to-it-iveness—Enduring—Never
quitting or giving up.
The Maker’s Instruction Book seems full of
this. Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed showed
the four classes. All heard God’s Message. All were given the opportunity.
Three classes GAVE UP. One never really got started. Two started out
with joy and a great flourish, but let former friends, the cares of this
material life, pleasures, choke them off, and discourage them. The other class
of quitters simply did not have the depth of strength of character within
themselves to stay with anything. They were just naturally quitters. Even of
those who went on, and endured, some were more diligent, more resourceful,
better prepared, more careful of health, and consequently developed farther
in accomplishment than others. Theirs will be the greater reward!
Jesus Christ said, plainly, "He that endureth unto the END, the same shall be SAVED"
(Matthew 24:13).
Yes, these Seven Laws are the WAY,
not only to business and economic SUCCESS—they are THE LAWS that
lead to rich, rewarding, interest-filled, abundant living and, in the end, to ETERNAL
LIFE AND GLORY in the
It teaches you to choose the RIGHT GOAL.
It teaches you to STUDY, to show yourself approved to your Maker. It
teaches you to acquire KNOWLEDGE, right and true education—preparation
for success. It teaches you to watch your health. It teaches
diligence—drive—dedication, persistent application. It teaches resourcefulness,
and offers you divine help in applying it—and it teaches STAYING WITH IT TO
THE END!
WHAT A HAPPY LIFE God haw made available!
What blessedness,--what JOY! What SECURITY, this life of implicit
living FAITH—reliance on the Creator—GOD!
I know! I’ve been enjoying this life for
more than fifty years! It’s a BUSY life—but it’s interesting, thrilling,
happy, abundantly REWARDING! And to constantly look forward to the OVERALL
GOAL—an eternity in THE
I want to SHARE that life with you!
You may enjoy it too!