turn back to chapter vi., and read again the story of the man who formed a mental image of his house, and you will get a fair idea of the initial step toward getting rich. you must form a clear and definite mental picture of what you want; you cannot transmit an idea unless you have it yourself.

you must have it before you can give it; and many people fail to impress thinking substance because they have themselves only a vague and misty concept of the things they want to do, to have, or to become.

it is not enough that you should have a general desire for wealth “to do good with”; everybody has that desire.

it is not enough that you should have[72] a wish to travel, see things, live more, etc. everybody has those desires also. if you were going to send a wireless message to a friend, you would not send the letters of the alphabet in their order, and let him construct the message for himself; nor would you take words at random from the dictionary. you would send a coherent sentence; one which meant something. when you try to impress your wants upon substance, remember that it must be done by a coherent statement; you must know what you want, and be definite.

you can never get rich, or start the creative power into action, by sending out unformed longings and vague desires.

go over your desires just as the man i have described went over his house; see just what you want, and get a clear mental picture of it as you wish it to look when you get it.

that clear mental picture you must have continually in mind, as the sailor[73] has in mind the port toward which he is sailing the ship; you must keep your face toward it all the time. you must no more lose sight of it than the steersman loses sight of the compass.

it is not necessary to take exercises in concentration, nor to set apart special times for prayer and affirmation, nor to “go into the silence,” nor to do occult stunts of any kind. these things are well enough, but all you need is to know what you want, and to want it badly enough so that it will stay in your thoughts.

spend as much of your leisure time as you can in contemplating your picture, but no one needs to take exercises to concentrate his mind on a thing which he really wants; it is the things you do not really care about which require effort to fix your attention upon them.

and unless you really want to get rich, so that the desire is strong enough to hold your thoughts directed to the[74] purpose as the magnetic pole holds the needle of the compass, it will hardly be worth while for you to try to carry out the instructions given in this book.

the methods herein set forth are for people whose desire for riches is strong enough to overcome mental laziness and the love of ease, and make them work.

the more clear and definite you make your picture, then, and the more you dwell upon it, bringing out all its delightful details, the stronger your desire will be; and the stronger your desire, the easier it will be to hold your mind fixed upon the picture of what you want.

something more is necessary, however, than merely to see the picture clearly. if that is all you do, you are only a dreamer, and will have little or no power for accomplishment.

behind your clear vision must be the purpose to realize it; to bring it out in tangible expression.

and behind this purpose must be an[75] invincible and unwavering faith that the thing is already yours; that it is “at hand” and you have only to take possession of it.

live in the new house, mentally, until it takes form around you physically. in the mental realm, enter at once into full enjoyment of the things you want.

“whatsoever things ye ask for when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them,” said jesus.

see the things you want as if they were actually around you all the time; see yourself as owning and using them. make use of them in imagination just as you will use them when they are your tangible possessions. dwell upon your mental picture until it is clear and distinct, and then take the mental attitude of ownership toward everything in that picture. take possession of it, in mind, in the full faith that it is actually yours. hold to this mental ownership; do not waver for an instant in the faith that it is real.

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and remember what was said in a preceding chapter about gratitude; be as thankful for it all the time as you expect to be when it has taken form. the man who can sincerely thank god for the things which as yet he owns only in imagination, has real faith. he will get rich; he will cause the creation of whatsoever he wants.

you do not need to pray repeatedly for the things you want; it is not necessary to tell god about it every day.

“use not vain repetitions as the heathen do,” said jesus to his pupils, “for your father knoweth that ye have need of these things before ye ask him.”

your part is to intelligently formulate your desire for the things which make for a larger life, and to get these desires arranged into a coherent whole; and then to impress this whole desire upon the formless substance, which has the power and the will to bring you what you want.

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you do not make this impression by repeating strings of words; you make it by holding the vision with unshakable purpose to attain it, and with steadfast faith that you do attain it.

the answer to prayer is not according to your faith while you are talking, but according to your faith while you are working.

you cannot impress the mind of god by having a special sabbath day set apart to tell him what you want, and then forgetting him during the rest of the week. you cannot impress him by having special hours to go into your closet and pray, if you then dismiss the matter from your mind until the hour of prayer comes again.

oral prayer is well enough, and has its effect, especially upon yourself, in clarifying your vision and strengthening your faith; but it is not your oral petitions which get you what you want. in order to get rich you do not need a “sweet hour of prayer”; you need[78] to “pray without ceasing.” and by prayer i mean holding steadily to your vision, with the purpose to cause its creation into solid form, and the faith that you are doing so.

“believe that ye receive them.”

the whole matter turns on receiving, once you have clearly formed your vision. when you have formed it, it is well to make an oral statement, addressing the supreme in reverent prayer; and from that moment you must, in mind, receive what you ask for. live in the new house; wear the fine clothes; ride in the automobile; go on the journey, and confidently plan for greater journeys. think and speak of all the things you have asked for in terms of actual present ownership. imagine an environment, and a financial condition exactly as you want them, and live all the time in that imaginary environment and financial condition. mind, however, that you do not do this as a mere dreamer and castle builder; hold to the[79] faith that the imaginary is being realized, and to the purpose to realize it. remember that it is faith and purpose in the use of the imagination which make the difference between the scientist and the dreamer. and having learned this fact, it is here that you must learn the proper use of the will.