Excerpts from
You Were Born Rich
by Bob
Proctor
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Book Description
You Were Born Rich
gives you the COMPLETE, PROVEN SYSTEM for
using the
potential you have locked inside of you to achieve financial,
emotional, physical, and spiritual prosperity.
Recognized worldwide as one of the most comprehensive personal
development book available, Bob Proctor's You Were Born Rich
will open your eyes to the deep reservoirs of talent and ability that
lie deep within you. You Were Born Rich contains a complete plan for
developing the untapped potential in every aspect of your life.
There are 10 powerful chapters in the book:
Chapter 1: Me And Money
Chapter 2: How Much Is Enough
Chapter 3: The ImageMaker
Chapter 4: Let Go And Let God
Chapter 5: Expect An Abundance
Chapter 6: The Law of Vibration And Attraction
Chapter 7: The Risk-Takers
Chapter 8: The Razor's Edge
Chapter 9: Don't Think In Reverse
Chapter 10: The Vacuum Law of Prosperity
Bob proctor's international best-seller, guides you
through all the
major principles you must understand in order to unlock the vast wealth
of potential buried inside you.
You will learn:
• What money is and how you can attract more of it
• How to become co-creator of your own destiny
• The role of faith in your success
• How to build prosperous images in your mind that translate into
magnificent results in your life
• The Law of Attraction—why some people keep attracting negative
results and others always seem to attract positive results
• Develop the razor's Edge that will allow you to become a champion
• The Vacuum Law of Prosperity—why you must release the old to make
room for the new
This book has been an international best-seller for years.
Excerpts from You
Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor
The Law of Vibration
and
Attraction
"The Law of Attraction" is the
underlying
principle which governs the level of your personal prosperity. However,
to help you achieve a really solid grasp of this concept, it will be
necessary for us to focus briefly on another law; namely, the "Law of
Vibration."
The Law of Vibration accounts for
the
difference between mind and matter; between the physical and the
nonphysical worlds.
According to the Law of
Vibration, we
postulate that everything vibrates or moves; nothing sits idle.
Everything is in a constant state of motion, and therefore, there is no
such thing as "inertia", or a state of rest. From the most ethereal, to
the most gross form of matter, everything is in a constant state of
vibration.
Moving from the lowest to the
highest degree
of vibration, we discover there are literally millions upon millions of
intervening levels or degrees; from the electron to the universe,
everything is in vibratory motion. (Energy is manifested in all the
varying degrees of vibration.)
"Rates of vibration" are called
"frequencies," and the higher the frequency, the more potent the force.
Since thought is one of the highest forms of vibration, it is very
potent in nature and therefore, it must be understood by all of us.
Now, the Law of Vibration may be
explained
in many different ways, depending upon the purpose for which it is
being explained. In this chapter, however, it is our intention to
confine our inquiry to thoughts alone, so we may thereby improve our
understanding of the Law of Attraction.
Vibration
To vibrate means: "to move
backwards and
forwards, to oscillate, to shake, to quiver, to swing, to waver, to
cause to quiver."
To obtain a more graphic
conceptualization
of the idea of Vibration, just stretch out one of your arms straight in
front of you. Then hold it perfectly still. While you are holding it
still and are unable to perceive any motion in that arm at all, know
that the electrons which compose the arm, are moving, shaking,
quivering, or vibrating, at the rate of 186,300 miles per second.
The arm appears still to you, but
in reality
it is in a constant state of motion. Of course, although such motion is
imperceptible to the naked eye, under a high-powered microscope it
would become very apparent, indeed.
Now, begin to shake your arm.
You, yourself,
are now causing the arm to vibrate. It was already vibrating of its own
accord, in obedience to the Law of Vibration (which teaches that
everything is in constant motion). But you have stepped up, or
increased, the rate of that vibration. You have pushed down on the
vibratory accelerator pedal, as it were.
Positive And Negative
Personalities
"The mind in itself and in its
own place
can make a hell out of heaven or a heaven out of hell."
- John Milton
People, as a rule, can be
classified as
positive personalities (optimists) or negative personalities
(pessimists).
Those individuals who are
positive in their
thoughts always tend to look upon the brighter side of life. With their
faces turned toward the sunshine, they attempt to see the good, even in
the bad. Such individuals habitually think thoughts of a positive
nature and they are a blessing to the world. They are in a "Positive
Vibration," and therefore attract other positive personalities to them.
Negative personalities, on the
other hand,
habitually look upon the dark, gloomy, and depressing side of life.
Even the good holds some bad for them. They dwell on the bad and the
negative. They think about it, anticipate it, expect it, and invariably
they receive what they have been seeking. Due to the negative vibration
which they keep themselves in, they of course attract other miserable
personalities to them. As you are already aware, "misery loves
company."
Their state of mind can be
compared to the
person who, upon being asked how he felt, said,
"I feel alright today, but I
might feel bad
tomorrow."
Negative personalities are
depressing to
everyone around them. Their faces take on the expression, in physical
form, of the negative thoughts which they are holding in their minds.
Each day, one can observe such individuals passing on the street. No
cheer, no joy radiates from them-just gloom, frowns and hostility.
Having created their own hell for themselves, they seem to enjoy
wallowing in it.
The law of Polarity and
Relativity states
that for every positive there is an equal and opposite negative.
Therefore, both of these personality types are necessary, so you can
develop the awareness to distinguish one from the other, and in that
manner, choose the one which will advance you in life.
You do have Free Will. You can
choose which
of these two personality types you wish to adopt. Therefore, if a
person is constantly negative, but tires of that state, the person may,
through awareness and proper effort, change himself into a positive
personality type of individual.
Understand this-The Law of
Vibration will
give people the awareness they require, to make the personality changes
they desire.
The Brain - The Body
The human body, believe it or
not, is one of
the most efficient electrical instruments in this entire universe. The
human brain, similarly, is probably the most efficient electrical
instrument ever created. Both are truly marvels.
The brain is the part of the body
where all
manner of frequencies are transformed from one frequency level into
another. In the brain, for example, sensations are transformed into
muscular action. Sound, heat, light and thought are also, each in their
turn, transformed into other frequencies, each affecting the body.
Within the brain there are
centers which
control and regulate the functioning of all organs and parts of the
body. By means of the proper stimulation of these centers, the
functioning of the organs may thereby be controlled. In our seminars,
we refer to this phenomenon as the vibratory control of the body.
In the final analysis, the brain
is simply a
vibratory instrument. To begin to understand its functioning you must
undertake the study of the Law of Vibration.
Since the early 1940's, we have
had at our
disposal the EEG (electroencephalograph), which reads the electrical
activity of the brain, and the ECG (electrocardiograph), which traces
the electrical changes which occur during heart contractions.
Therefore, vibrations are
certainly not
something which are new to us. Indeed, all of us have an awareness of
them. However, the problem which we encounter is that the vast majority
of people are not aware of the connection between their vibrations and
their results in life.
It is, unfortunately, a very
common sight to
see people in bad or confused vibrations, busily attempting-through
force-to achieve good results. However, due to the negative vibration
which they are in, they are continually being bombarded by all manner
of negative people and situations, which by law, are being attracted to
them. Consequently, at some point, their battle must become
overwhelming for them.
These people may be likened to a
person who
is jumping off the top of a building, and trying to go up, at one and
the same time. The result, in either case, would be equally predictable
and equally disastrous.
Everything Is Energy,
Everything Vibrates
For you to gain a better
awareness of how
you are to take control over your results (i.e. to better understand
how and why the thoughts and things come into your life as they do),
you must go back to the basic premise with which we started: namely,
everything vibrates and nothing stands still. There is, in truth, no
such thing as inertia. Scientists today support this thesis and every
new scientific discovery tends to lend even more credibility to it.
However, by virtue of your Free
Will and the
many other mental factors in your marvelous mind, you have the
Co-Creative ability to cause vibratory changes to take place at your
bidding in your life. The cause for our lack of ability to exercise
this tremendous power for good is nothing other than our own ignorance
about the Law of Vibration.
Let There Be Light-Your
Connecting Link
Slowly but surely, let us see
with our inner
eye of understanding, how you may "connect" with the good that you
desire, to improve the quality of your own life.
Two objects whose electromagnetic
fields are
the same are operating on the same frequency. Therefore, we can say
they are in resonance, in harmony, or in rapport. When two objects are
in resonance or vibrating at the same speed, the vibratory rate may be
transmitted from one to the other through the medium of the electron.
("Resonance" as a field of study, is concerned with the electromagnetic
fields surrounding objects.)
For example, we find a globe in a
chandelier
will vibrate when in resonance with a certain key on a piano; yet it
will not vibrate to any other note on the piano keyboard.
The two objects under discussion
are
composed of entirely different material and they have completely
different shapes. Still, they are in resonance with one another, due to
the fact their ultimate magnetic fields are the same. They are within
the same sphere of relative motion, and this holds true, irrespective
of their size, shape, or the elements of which they are composed.
All electromagnetic waves, or
quantums, have
their own particular rate or frequency, which corresponds to the number
of changes in direction they make per second. The electromagnetic wave
spectrum is simply a "Scale of Vibration," and it is subdivided into
specific regions.
Nevertheless, one must always
remember these
regions are not actual divisions, but merely arbitrary spaces covering
frequencies that manifest in our senses in different ways. Each region
actually "blends" into the one above and the one below, and in truth,
there are no definite lines of demarcation.
Everything Is An Expression Of
The Same
Thing
Everything in this entire
universe is
connected to everything else in this entire universe, through the Law
of Vibration. Just as the colors in a rainbow are connected in such a
way that you are not able to tell where one color stops and the other
begins, so too are you unable to distinguish where one "thing" starts
and another one stops. Everything in this universe is connected to
everything else in this universe, just as the water that boils is
connected to the steam into which it transmutes, and the steam is
connected to the ether or air into which it changes.
You too are connected to
everything in the
universe. Whether you can see it with the naked eye or not is
unimportant. The only physical difference which exists between one
thing and another, relates to the density or the amplitude of their
vibration.
Therefore, as soon as you choose
certain
thoughts, your brain cells are affected. These cells vibrate and send
off electromagnetic waves. When you concentrate on those thoughts, you
increase the amplitude of vibration of those cells, and the electric
waves, in turn, become much more potent.
Know that it is you who is
originating those
electric waves and know that you are also determining the density of
them by your own free will. You must also know, since you are
originating these electric waves, your whole being is being put in that
particular vibration.
We have already covered the point
that two
objects may be of entirely different material and shape, and yet still
be in Resonance. This is due to the fact their ultimate magnetic fields
are the same, because they are within the same sphere of relative
motion. (Keep in mind that resonance is the factor governing the
transmutation of vibrations.)
When you hold the image of your
goal on the
screen of your mind, in the present tense, you are vibrating in harmony
(in resonance) with every particle of energy necessary for the
manifestation of your image on the physical plane. By holding that
image, those particles of energy are moving toward you (attraction) and
you are moving toward them-because that is the law.
All things are merely
manifestations of
energy or Spirit.
When the world comes to
understand this
great truth, we will be aware that all people are the same; they only
appear to be different. The true dividing lines for mankind are not
borders, color or language, but simply ignorance and its polar
opposite, understanding.
Know The Truth And The Truth Will
Set You
Free
Helping Others Feel Better
You automatically like people who
cause you
to feel good. It would necessarily follow, therefore, that others will
like you when you cause them to feel good, or when you move them into a
more positive vibration.
Example
Vibratory control of the body,
mind and soul
of a person gives you a means for the restoration of positive
vibrations, through the medium of resonant electric waves of the brain
cells, from you to another person.
As already stated, the human
body, including
the brain, is a high-powered electrical instrument. Therefore, you are
a veritable "broadcasting station," relative to other people. When the
"tune in" between you and them has been completed, or when the
composite personality has been established between you and the other
person, the other person receives and becomes conscious of the
vibrating thought which is being broadcast by you.
Under the Law Of The Perpetual
Transmission
And Transmutation Of Energy, the other person, being a low potential of
energy, takes on this added energy which is being sent out by you. And,
like a weak battery, the other person becomes recharged, more
energetic, and more positive as a result of his contact with you.
The process of transmitting
energy between
you and the other person is exactly the same as the process which takes
place between the broadcasting station and the radio. That is to say,
laws which are identical in nature, govern both phenomena.
Vibrations And Attitude
Every physical thing throws off a
vibration.
Everything which you see, hear, smell, taste, or touch, throws off a
vibration because these things, like everything else, are in a constant
state of motion. Whenever you get near enough to them to enter into
their "sphere of vibration," you will be affected by that vibration,
whether you realize it or not. Have you ever noticed, for example, how
peaceful you feel (vibrate) while walking alone in the woods?
The Law operates exactly in the
same way in
the mental realm. For when a person thinks a thought, it means the
person has consciously or unconsciously started a group of brain cells
vibrating abnormally. Once these brain cells, being things, begin to
vibrate abnormally, they throw off a wave of electronic energy which
moves out seeking a place to land.
If you are in the sphere (space)
of their
vibrations and you happen to have similar cells which are in rapport
(in harmony or agreement) with the ones vibrating in the other person's
brain, then you receive these vibrations and are affected mentally by
them, either negatively or positively. (It is clear that everyone in
sales or management will thoroughly understand this information.)
Let us suppose that another
person is
vibrating to "Anger Concepts." If you are the type of person who
becomes easily angered and you happen to enter the vibratory field of
those anger vibrations, then those vibrations will strike the "anger
cells" in your own brain. A condition of resonance being present, those
vibrations will start your brain cells vibrating and your entire being
will move into that vibration. You will become irritated or angry (even
though you may, or may not know, the cause of your own anger). If you
do not understand what has happened, you will be at a loss to change
the conditions which caused the effect in the first place.
The same principle applies to all
mental
vibrations. As soon as a person starts to think, he starts brain cells
vibrating. Energy is released, therefore, in the form of electrons
which travel out according to the intensity of the thought involved.
Whoever stops that energy, is affected by it. But bear in mind, the
only thing which stops a thought, is that which resonates with that
thought. This means, if you should run into an electromagnetic
vibratory field of negative thoughts, you will, if you are that type of
person, become negative yourself. Conversely, if you run into a
positive vibratory field, you will experience the opposite of the
negative; namely, the positive.
Since the air we breathe is
literally
"filled" with both types of vibrations, they are constantly bouncing
into your brain. As a result, you could become like a "ship without a
rudder," tossed about at the mercy of whatever is vibrating or "in the
air." However, once you understand the Law of Vibration, you are in a
position to insulate yourself against the negative vibrations. You can
then be in control of yourself, in the true sense of the word, and you
will begin to attract to you the things and circumstances that you
choose.
Become A Mental Magnet
Attract What You Need
For The Physical Manifestation Of Your Image
If it is true that energy, or
Spirit, is
neither created nor destroyed and everything in its original state is
either energy or Spirit, it necessarily follows that everything you
will ever want is already here. It is simply a matter of choosing the
thoughts which will put you into harmonious vibration with the good
that you desire.
Everything you are seeking is
seeking you in
return. Therefore, everything you want is already yours. So you don't
have to get anything; it is simply a matter of becoming more aware of
what you already possess.
The moment you bring your life
into harmony
with the Law, into harmony with the current of Divine Order, you will
find that the "negative" will have "taken wings." For its cause will
have been removed and you will no longer attract what you don't want.
The secret to receiving, on the
physical
plane, the results you desire is always locked into the Law of
Attraction. This entire book has been designed to help you understand
how to get into harmonious vibration with the good you desire, and then
how to stay in that positive vibration, so you will begin to attract
whatever you need for your image of prosperity to move into form.
The Acorn Analogy
In Raymond Holliwell's
magnificent book,
Working with The Law, Holliwell points out in the chapter entitled "The
Law of Success," the following: "All of the processes of nature are
successful. Nature knows no failures. She never plans anything but
success. She aims at results in every form and manner. To succeed in
the best and fullest sense of the term we must, with nature as our
model, copy her methods. In her principles and laws we shall discover
all the secrets of success."
Keep in mind that everything in
this
universe you can see with the naked eye and everything you cannot see,
is an expression of Spirit. Also bear in mind that Spirit operates by
exact laws. You are subject to those laws, in just the same manner
nature is. Therefore, Holliwell is right-we definitely should copy
nature's methods.
For years I have held up an acorn
in the
seminar and used it as a device for helping people to gain a better
understanding of how the law of attraction actually works in their
lives. So please visualize, if you will, an acorn. Then think-really
think-about what it is you are looking at.
Although the acorn may appear to
be a solid
object, by now you should clearly understand that the acorn, like
everything else which appears to be solid, is in truth, "a mass of
molecules at a very high speed of vibration." Within the acorn, there
is a nucleus or a patterned plan that dictates the vibratory rate at
which these molecules will move. Moreover, the same principle holds
true for all seeds. In other words, every seed has a nucleus or a
patterned plan within it, which dictates the vibration it will be in
and which thereby governs the end-product into which it will expand or
grow.
I believe you are all aware of
this fact:
everything in the universe is governed by a basic law-"Either create or
disintegrate." Therefore, it follows that, if something is not in the
process of growing, it must, by the law of its being, be dying. For
example, so long as the acorn is kept out of the earth, it is slowly
but surely disintegrating. However, as soon as you plant the acorn in
the earth, the patterned plan or the vibratory rate of the acorn sets
up an attractive force and the acorn begins to attract everything that
vibrates in harmony with it. If you were able to observe with the naked
eye exactly what is taking place, you would see a "parade" of particles
of energy-a never-ending stream of them-marching in a very orderly
manner toward the acorn. As they came in contact with the molecules
making up the acorn, they would join, marry, become one, and of course,
the acorn would expand, become larger, grow.
Now consider this - if you were
to put two
drops of water and two drops of oil on an arborite table and then you
were to move them together, the two drops of water would resonate and
become one larger drop of water, as they came in contact with each
other. On the other hand, if you were to move the water toward the oil,
they would actually repel each other because they are not in harmonious
vibration. Likewise, with the acorn, the only things which join with
the acorn are those particles of energy which are vibrating in harmony
with it. All the other particles of energy, which make up the earth,
are repelled.
As the acorn expands from the
never-ending
stream of molecules which are attracted to it, little shoots begin to
come out of the bottom and out of the top of it. These shoots, in turn,
begin to develop into roots. As they grow or expand and burst through
the earth into the earth's atmosphere, this attractive force continues,
and particles of energy from the atmosphere are attracted to it (just
as the particles of energy in the earth were attracted to it). As the
acorn continues to expand, at some point it ceases to be an acorn and
it begins to become an oak tree. The roots, the trunk, the bark, the
branches, the twigs, and the leaves, are all in the universe and they
are attracted to the acorn, because of the nucleus or the patterned
plan which rests within the seed.
Now, unlike the human creature,
the acorn
does not have the ability to change its vibratory rate. It can
therefore only grow into what it has been programmed to grow into;
namely, an oak tree. You are much like the acorn in many respects. For
example, you are also a "seed," relative to the whole scheme of things.
However, the difference between you and the acorn is that since you are
a co-creator, you can choose your own programming. Therefore, the image
you choose to hold, on the screen of your conscious mind, and plant
deeply in the treasury of your subconscious mind is the patterned plan
or the nucleus which determines what you will eventually grow into. It
dictates the vibration you will be in and also controls what you will
attract to you and what you will repel.
This is an orderly universe;
nothing happens
by accident. The images which you plant in your marvelous mind
instantly set up an attractive force, which governs your results in
life. You must remember though, if your image is continually
fluctuating, you will continually be growing into something different
and that sets in motion a most chaotic process. Unfortunately, those
individuals who are unaware of these very exact laws are planting
images of plenty in their minds one minute and then images of poverty
the next. They are continually "switching" vibrations, so they are
attracting good things one minute and then bad things the next. The sad
truth is, the vast majority of people spend their entire lives
oscillating between these two extreme positions, with the resulting
effect that their lives become disordered and chaotic to the "nth"
degree.
Although it is true that
everything you will
ever want is already here, it is up to you to get into harmony with it.
Clearly, you will never get into harmony with prosperity, if you insist
upon holding images of lack and limitation in the storehouse of your
marvelous mind. Since you are always magnetized toward something, it
follows it can never be anyone else's fault, when something comes into
your life you supposedly do not want. Understand you have ordered it
and it is being delivered to you, right on schedule!
Me
and Money
The Edgewater
Beach Hotel
In 1923, at the
Edgewater Beach Hotel
in Chicago, eight of the world's wealthiest financiers met. These eight
men controlled more money than the United States' government at that
time. They included:
The
president of the largest independent steel company;
The president of the largest gas company;
The greatest wheat speculator;
The president of the New York Stock Exchange;
A member of the President's cabinet;
The greatest "bear" on Wall Street;
The head of the world's greatest monopoly;
The president of the Bank of International Settlement.
Certainly, one
would have to admit,
that a group of the world's most successful men was gathered in that
place; at least, men who had found the secret of "earning money."
Now let's see
where these men were
twenty-five years later:
The president of
the largest
independent steel company, Charles Schwab, lived on borrowed money for
five years before he died bankrupt.
The president of
North America's
largest gas company, Howard Hopson, went insane.
The greatest wheat
speculator, Arthur
Cutton, died abroad, insolvent.
The president of
the New York Stock
Exchange, Richard Whitny, was sent to Sing Sing Penitentiary.
A member of the
President's cabinet,
Albert Fall, was pardoned from prison so he could die at home.
The greatest
"bear" on Wall Street,
Jesse Livermore, died a suicide.
The head of the
greatest monopoly,
Ivar Krueger, killed himself.
The president of
the Bank of
International Settlement, Leon Fraser, also died a suicide.
Each of these men
learned well the art
of earning money, but it would seem that not one of them had ever
learned how to live the "rich life", which was their birthright.
It is stories like
this one that have
caused many well meaning, but ignorant people to say, "See, I told you
it is not good to have a lot of money, it's bad," or, "It just goes to
show you that rich people really aren't happy;" but of course, that is
just not true. For although these eight men would appear to have "slid
off the track," there are many wealthy people who are very happy, and
who do a tremendous amount of good with their money; they live healthy,
well-balanced lives.
Consider
this-money will have a
greater influence on your life than almost any other commodity you can
think of. Indeed, the sudden loss or acquisition of money will affect
your attitude to a tremendous extent. Therefore, you must agree that
everyone should have a deep understanding of exactly what money is, and
of the laws governing its attraction. Yet, the sad fact is that not one
person in ten does. Ninety-five people out of a hundred settle for
whatever they get, wishing they had more all the way from the cradle to
the casket, never understanding that they could actually have had all
they wanted.
Let me digress for
a moment-as you
journey through this book, you might have a tendency to let your mind
wander off, either thinking about someone you know who has earned a
great deal of money or possibly about someone who has gone into
bankruptcy. But I want to suggest that you attempt to keep focusing
only on yourself, because what someone else has or does not have, is
not going to affect you and it is your financial situation that you
want to improve.
Money Is Important
One of the most
prevalent
misconceptions concerning money, relates to its importance. For
example, how many times have you heard people say in conversation,
"Money isn't everything." or "Money isn't important." or "I don't care
about money." Well, the people who say these things might not care
about money, but I'll bet their car dealer cares about it; their grocer
does; and so does the person who holds their mortgage. In truth, there
can be no denial of the fact that money is important to any person
living in a civilized society. Therefore, to argue that it is not as
important as this or that, is absurd. For nothing can take the place of
money in the arena in which it is used!
Money Is A Servant
Now that I have
affirmed the
importance of money, let me backtrack to add this one word of caution-
always remember, money is a servant; you are the master. Be very
careful not to reverse that equation, because many people of high
intelligence have already done so, to their great detriment.
Unfortunately, many of these poor souls loved money and used people,
which violated one of the most basic laws governing true financial
success. You should always love people and use money, rather than the
reverse!
Another myth many
people like to
accept about money is that it only comes as a result of "luck" or "good
fortune." For instance, whenever people gather to talk about someone
they know who has been financially successful, there is always someone
among them who will say, "Harry was just lucky," or "Harry was just in
the right place at the right time." But I want to assure you in no
uncertain terms, that although "luck" obviously plays some part in
financial success, it is never sufficient in and of itself. Money is an
effect and it must always be earned. Believe me, there are no free
rides in this life and the only people who are making money the easy
way either work in the mint or are on their way to jail, if they have
not already arrived there. Therefore, always bear in mind that while
"good fortune" is a factor in financial success, it must always be
coupled with effort and hard work!
Money Must
Circulate
A third thing you
should know about
money is that it is valuable only as long as it is being used. Once it
has been taken out of circulation, it becomes as worthless as the "old
newspapers" or "empty beer cans" that have been stashed away in the
attic. To understand the truth of this principle, consider the
following story. On a bookshelf, in my home, I have a silver beer stein
that was given to me as a gift for a speech I made. Now, whenever I go
into my house, I take all the change from my pockets and put it into
the cup. Then, when the cup is almost filled, I give it to one of my
children, or one of two young cousins. Each of them takes turns
receiving the cup and of course they eagerly anticipate their turn. The
point I want you to notice, however, is that while the cup is being
filled, the money in it has absolutely no value whatsoever; it just
sits there, serving no useful function and not even drawing any
interest.
However, as soon
as the cup is filled
and the money is turned over to one of the kids, it literally "flies
into action." For instance, just last week, T. Jay, one of my young
cousins, received the money. He immediately took it from my hand,
rushed off to a golf school and purchased several golf lessons with his
inheritance. Now, I can't honestly say what the golf pro did with the
money once he got it, but I do feel fairly safe in saying that he
didn't just return it to a cup on his book shelf! No, there really
isn't any dispute about it; money is not meant to be taken out of
circulation-rather, it is meant to be used, enjoyed and circulated!
This brings me to
an even more
dramatic illustration of the same principle: namely, the story of "old
Mr. Chapman." Mr. Chapman was an elderly gentleman who lived a few
doors down the street from our family when I was just a boy. Although
there was a tremendous age difference between us, Mr. Chapman and I
became fast friends and I often used to watch him pushing his small
junk cart up and down the block. You see, Mr. Chapman worked as a junk
dealer and he made his living by picking up the things other people had
thrown away. As the years went by, however, Mr. Chapman became more and
more stooped from his arduous labors and one day, shortly after World
War II, he passed away. Since he lived alone and apparently had no
close relatives living nearby, the police entered his house to take
stock of his possessions. Not surprisingly, they found the house
littered with many old furnishings and assorted memorabilia from Mr.
Chapman's past. However, much to their amazement, the police also
discovered over one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in old bills
packed in boxes throughout the house!
Quick to pick up
on so unusual an
occurrence, the Toronto Daily Star carried a front-page story the next
day about Mr. Chapman, in which it asked the obvious question: why
would an individual worth well over $100,000, choose to keep his money
stashed away in old boxes strewn haphazardly throughout his house?
Although I was
still quite young at
the time, I asked myself a similar question: namely, why would a person
like Mr. Chapman choose to live like a veritable pauper, when he had so
much money at his disposal? He could have used his money for his own
enjoyment. He could have invested it to earn a return for himself and
to help create jobs for other people; or he could have just deposited
it in the bank and earned interest on his money. But instead, he chose
to put it in a "jar on the shelf," and he thereby rendered it
absolutely useless. No, my friends, there isn't any doubt about it
-money is not meant to be hoarded. Rather, it is meant to be used,
enjoyed and circulated. So please, whatever you choose to do with your
money, don't make the same mistake that poor old Mr. Chapman did!
Please note that
when I suggest that
money should be kept in circulation, I do not mean it should be
squandered. There is a world of difference between those two concepts
and if you haven't found out what the difference is yet, I would
suggest you find out as soon as possible.
Prosperity
Consciousness Exercise
Now that we have
touched upon some of
the characteristics of money, let us turn briefly to a simple
"technique" which you can begin using immediately to start attracting
the amount of money you desire. The first thing that I want you to do
is to picture yourself, in your mind's eye, sitting in a room with
several of your friends. Then, I want you to visualize yourself
announcing to them your intention of becoming wealthy; at least,
wealthy enough to live the way you choose to live. Now, imagine how
that would make you feel. If you are like most people, you would
probably feel very uncomfortable. Perhaps you would feel so
uncomfortable, that you might even retract what you had said by
informing your friends you were only joking. You should understand,
however, that people who are wealthy never feel uncomfortable when the
subject of money is brought up. "Why don't they," you ask? The most
obvious answer would be, because they already have "lots" of it. But
that is not the correct answer. You should realize that people don't
feel comfortable about money because they have it; they have it because
they feel comfortable about it. In other words, one of the reasons that
wealthy people have money is that they have developed that state of
consciousness we will hereinafter refer to as, a "prosperity
consciousness." Therefore, it follows, if we wish to attract money to
ourselves, we must begin to foster a prosperity consciousness as well.
The question you
should now be asking
yourself is this: "How do I go about developing this prosperity
consciousness for myself?" Let me explain. The best way to develop a
prosperity consciousness is to start seeing yourself, in your mind's
eye, already in possession of the amount of money that you desire. The
reason this is so is that since the subconscious mind cannot
distinguish between the actual possession of money and mere
visualization, you will soon become very comfortable with the "idea" of
money. As a result, you will start attracting it to yourself.
This may sound
like a game you are
playing, but let me assure you, it is one of the wisest things you can
possibly do. For when you succeed in convincing your subconscious mind
that you are wealthy and that it feels good to be wealthy, your
subconscious mind will automatically seek ways of making your
"imaginary" feelings of wealth manifest themselves in material form.
If these last few
lines seem like
sheer fantasy to you, just ignore them for the time being and continue
reading. We will be dealing with prosperity consciousness at different
points in the book and I guarantee you that before you finish this
book, those lines will start to make a lot more sense to you.
Fear Not
Now that I have
touched upon a
"technique" which will help you acquire greater wealth, let me offer
this further word of warning. If you want to have money, one thing you
should never, never do, is worry about whether or not you will get the
money you desire, or whether you will keep it. Let me elaborate.
In the Bible, Job,
the great sufferer
of biblical times, makes the following remark: "Behold, the thing I
fear has come to visit upon me." Now, stop and ask yourself -if you
will-what those biblical words mean to those of us concerned about
money today. Well, one thing they certainly mean is that if we insist
upon constantly worrying about not having enough money, or if we
habitually worry about losing the money we do have, then we are
absolutely guaranteed not to worry in vain. For just as surely as Job
was afflicted by his many maladies, so too shall we be afflicted by the
lack or the loss of money.
To take a more
contemporary example,
let us again consider the tragic case of "poor old Mr. Chapman." As you
will recall, he was the elderly gentleman who never spent any of his
hard-earned savings. But the question is, "Why didn't he?" Most likely
it was because he was afraid that if he spent his money, he would
become poor and hence would be forced to live like a pauper. The irony
was, however, that because of his fear, he lived like a pauper anyway!
Or, to be more biblical about it, "The thing that he feared most came
to visit upon him."
In a later chapter
you will be given a
fuller explanation of the paradox of why we attract into our lives the
very things we least desire. But for now, suffice it to say, worrying
about money is always extremely counterproductive. This principle holds
true, even if you rationalize your worry with the old platitude that
you are "just saving a little for a rainy day."
I must put forward
one other caveat at
this time: if you really want to significantly increase the amount of
money you are presently earning, the first thing you must do is learn
to pay substantially less attention to what others around you are
saying and substantially more attention to what that "quiet voice" that
speaks within you, is saying. Put more prosaically: you must strive to
become much less susceptible to influences outside of yourself and much
more inclined to trust the instincts and feelings that lie within you.
Let me elaborate.
Most people who
fail to accumulate
enough money to live in the style they choose are the same people who
are most easily influenced by other people's opinions. For instance,
they are often the people who let the writers of economic doom and
gloom-whether in the newspapers or on news broadcasts -do their
thinking for them. But, as Napoleon Hill pointed out in his great book,
Think and Grow Rich, opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth. In
fact, almost everyone has a flock of them ready to be foisted upon
anyone who is willing to accept them. Therefore, if you know you have
been unduly influenced in the past by other people's opinions, make up
your mind right now-before you read any further-that from here on in,
you are going to heed your own counsel, while keeping an attentive ear
open for God's counsel. Remember, if you do, there is absolutely no
reason why you cannot become financially successful within a very
reasonable period of time.
Understanding vs.
Memorization
As you read on
through the pages in
this book, you will develop an ever-increasing awareness of the talents
and abilities that lie deep within you. You should realize, that with
the proper instruction, you can begin using these undeveloped talents
to attract the good that you desire. But let me caution you once
again-no amount of reading or memorizing will bring you the success you
seek. It is only the understanding and application of the ideas in this
book that will make the difference for you. Therefore, don't be in any
hurry to finish the book, because a complete reading should not be your
objective. As stated previously, understanding and applying what you
read is the objective. So if you are able to properly digest only one
page a day, that might be all that is necessary for you to arrive at
your goal. If you are wondering why this book is meant to be "sipped
and tasted," rather than "devoured" at one reading, bear in mind it is
based upon over twenty years of careful analysis of the methods of both
the very successful and the very unsuccessful.
Strength Through
Sharing
One more word of
advice. Since very
few-if any-people become great at anything by themselves, I would
suggest you attempt to find at least one other person with whom you can
share and discuss the ideas presented in this book.
Prosperity
Consciousness
I believe you will
agree it is an
observable truth that human beings will never enjoy anything they are
not yet consciously aware of. For example, we did not enjoy the luxury
of traveling in airplanes at tremendous rates of speed, until the
Wright Brothers became consciously aware of "how to fly." Thomas Edison
developed the conscious awareness of the moving pictures and introduced
us to a brand new form of entertainment. Dr. Jonas Salk became
consciously aware of how to develop a serum that would combat the
dreadful disease of infantile-paralysis-more commonly referred to as
polio-and as a result of Salk's new awareness, you very rarely hear of
anyone contracting that disease today. Alexander Graham Bell became
consciously aware of how to transmit the human voice over metallic
wires and, as a result, we all now enjoy the use of the telephone.
Needless to say, I
could go on and on
citing example after example. However, the point I want to bring to the
forefront of your mind is that these inventions-or the knowledge
bringing about these inventions-have always been here. In fact, all the
knowledge there ever was or ever will be, is evenly present in all
places at all times. But it took an individual to bring those
thought-patterns together and form ideas which developed into what we
call consciousness, before we could begin to benefit from them.
We are floating in
an "ocean" of
thought-energy, where all the knowledge there ever was or ever will be,
is present. We are also surrounded by abundance. Indeed, everywhere we
look in nature, our eyes come in contact with abundance; for nature
knows no such thing as "failure." Therefore, there never has been, and
there never will be, a lack of anything, except conscious-awareness.
But if you are going to begin to penetrate this world of wealth, it is
absolutely essential that you begin to think. In other words, you must
open your mind to the stream of thought-energy which will create an
image, or a consciousness of prosperity, in your mind.
You are well aware
there are literally
thousands upon thousands of honest, good, hard-working people who labor
diligently for their entire stay on this planet, yet never become
wealthy. For those individuals, life is a constant grind from sun up
until sun down. But the ideas presented on these pages have been put
here in the hope they will jar your mind and inspire you to open it up
to this new type of thinking.
Consciousness is,
and always has been,
developed through thinking, and regardless of what your present
situation in life may be, if you ever hope to improve it and truly
become wealthy-as this book suggests you can-you must begin thinking of
prosperity in your mind, now. Not when you finish the book. Not when
you finish the chapter. Not tomorrow, next week, next month or next
year. It must be done now. Thinking is the highest function of which a
human being is capable. Yet, unfortunately, very few people "think."
They merely trick themselves into believing that because there is some
mental activity taking place in their mind, they are "thinking." But
the truth is, most people are simply exercising the mental faculty
called "memory." They are playing old movies, so old pictures just keep
flashing back on the screen of their mind.
It is imperative
that you begin this
new way of thinking at this moment, because as you do, every fibre of
your being will become filled with this new thought-energy. Your body
is comprised of millions upon millions of cells and each one of them is
influenced in its movement by thought impulses. So the second you begin
entertaining relaxing thoughts, your body becomes relaxed. The instant
you begin entertaining worrisome, fearful thoughts, your body becomes
rigid and tense. As you begin to hold thoughts of prosperity and begin
thinking of yourself as a very wealthy, prosperous individual who is
surrounded by an ocean of thought energy, swimming in a sea of plenty,
your body and mind will instantly move into a prosperous vibration and
you will begin to attract-just like a magnet-everything necessary for
you to become wealthy.
I know to the
uninitiated, these ideas
are just about as bizarre as anything a person could think of.
Nevertheless, they are true. For mental awareness of prosperity always
precedes wealth in your material world. It is not difficult, therefore,
for children today, born into families of great wealth-like the
Kennedy's or the Bronfman's-to think these prosperous thoughts and to
have this prosperity consciousness, since that is the only type of
thinking they were subjected to, right from birth. We say they have
been conditioned in, or to, prosperity.
However, the
majority of people have
not been born into that kind of an environment and so they were not
surrounded by that type of thinking. We must, therefore, develop an
understanding of:
-
how
we have been conditioned
-
why
we are getting the results we are getting, and
-
how
we can change our way of thinking or our conditioning.
That is not an
easy thing to do. It
takes much discipline. It takes a tremendous desire. It takes a lot of
diligent effort, which is the probable reason so few people ever
actually change. Yet I want you to know that regardless of how
difficult it may be, it can be done and it can be done in a relatively
short period of time. The compensation you will receive for your effort
will delight you. I know because I have done it and I know many, many
other people who have done the same thing. Now it is necessary for you
to do it.
The very fact that
you have picked up
and started reading this book is all the proof you will ever need, that
you truly do have a desire to change. Moreover, there is a way-a sure
way-for you to receive your desired good, and this book will outline
the way for you.
There Is Real
Power Within You
Below the level of
your consciousness
is the great treasury of your subconscious mind and that is the part of
your personality we want to begin to influence through our new
thought-patterns. In order to make the issue definite and concrete,
consider the following statement: any idea, plan or purpose may be
planted in the subconscious mind by repetition of thought empowered by
faith and expectancy. You might be asking: "Can this statement be
demonstrated to be true through experimentation and observation or, is
there any known method or technique by which the proof may be secured,
and if there is such a method or technique, is it available to
everyone?" These questions can all be answered with an emphatic yes. As
you read, test, and experiment with the ideas that will come to you in
the following pages, you will answer all of these questions for
yourself. And, it is necessary that you answer them for yourself,
because as human beings, we will not truly believe something until we
actually discover it for ourselves.
This book was
written in the sincere
hope that it would lead you to the many discoveries that lie within you
by the repetition of these prosperity ideas. You must begin to see
money as an obedient, diligent servant, that you can employ to earn
more money, and that you can use to provide services far beyond the
service that you could ever physically provide. It is necessary that
you feel comfortable when you talk about money, because you have truly
been "Born Rich." You have all the mental tools necessary to attract
the thoughts you are surrounded by, to create the consciousness that
you must create in order for you to have the wealth you choose to have.
Lack and limitation can only exist when we make room for them in our
minds. But prosperity consciousness knows no lack and no limitation.
Resolve to completely remove the lid from your marvelous mind, with
respect to your own earning-ability, and understand that the wealth you
are seeking is-and always has been-seeking you in return. So open wide
the doors of your conscious mind now, and begin to receive it.
Mental Money
Begin immediately
to play a mental
game with yourself-get into the habit of visualizing yourself in the
possession of great wealth. Think of some of the things you would do
with that money and then mentally start doing them. Since your
subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between actually doing
something and visualizing yourself doing it, this exercise will very
quickly help you to develop a prosperity consciousness. Remember, it is
an absolute law of your being, that you must have something mentally
before you will ever have it physically!
Also understand
that everyone talks to
themselves mentally-in fact, some people even do it out loud.
Therefore, whenever you are carrying on your private conversation with
yourself, always talk about how good it feels to be wealthy.
Congratulate yourself on becoming wealthy and hear others
congratulating you as well. You should realize that although this might
appear to be a game you are playing, you are doing one of the wisest
things you can possibly do-you are working from a higher to a lower
potential.
You are embarking
on a program of
self-development. You are about to learn that there is much more to
your self than meets the eye, and you must apprehend this "hidden
factor of your personality," if you are ever to develop yourself
properly. In truth, you will never see the greatest part of your being
because it is nonphysical in nature. In fact, you will soon become
aware that you are constantly living simultaneously on three distinct
planes of being: you are spiritual, you have an intellect and you live
in a physical body. To understand this abstraction better, you must
keep in mind that you are living simultaneously on three distinct
planes of existence.
-
The Spiritual
Plane of Thoughts
(Highest Potential)
-
The Intellectual
Plane of Ideas
(Middle Potential)
-
The Physical Plane
of Results (Lowest
Potential)
Therefore, by
doing what I have
suggested you do, you are merely using your "divine nature" to choose
the thoughts (i.e. "Money is good," "I love people and I use money,"
"Money is a servant; I am the master,") which will build an idea. In
our case, the idea happens to be that of "Great Personal Wealth," or
"True Financial Success." Be very aware that ideas, such as the idea of
"financial success," never form by themselves; the human personality
must always enter into the process, by thinking the thoughts which can
then be used to build the idea. That is the very thing that makes the
human being "godlike," or you could say, a creative creature-the
highest form of creation! So by holding this beautiful idea, or picture
of financial success in your mind, you will ultimately be able to cause
the idea to manifest itself in your life (i.e. in your results). As you
progress through this book, you will see how this actually occurs!
Now, let's take a
couple of steps
backward. You will remember that I wrote, in a previous paragraph, that
you are working from a higher to a lower potential. What I meant by
this is that you are working from-
Thoughts
... (Spirit)
to
Idea ... (Intellectual)
to
Thing ... (Physical)
rather than
working
from -
Thing ...
(Physical)
to
Thoughts ... (Spirit)
to
Idea ... (Intellectual)
as you have
probably done in the past
and as the vast majority of people will continue to do in the future.
That is to say, most people will look at a result in their life and
then let that result dictate the Thoughts they will then use to build
their Idea. For example, if they see that their bank account is empty
(a result), they will choose to think thoughts of lack or loss and then
they will use those thoughts to build the idea of poverty. However,
since the idea they are holding in their mind must manifest in their
future results, they are actually bringing about a repeat performance
of the very thing which they say they don't want: namely, an empty bank
account. It thus becomes a self-doom-fulfilling cycle they are living,
and clearly, this is not the way our Maker has intended for us to live!
You might very
well be saying to
yourself that this is an absurd argument; for if a bank account is
empty, it's empty. It just isn't realistic to look at an empty bank
account and be able to visualize great wealth. But I want you to know,
this is the very kind of reasoning which perpetuates poverty and keeps
poor people impoverished!
You must begin to
understand that the
present state of your bank account, your sales, your health, your
social life, your position at work, etc., is nothing more than the
physical manifestation of your previous thinking. If you sincerely wish
to change or improve your results in your physical world, you must
change your thoughts and you must change them immediately.
If you take the
time to really think
through the information which is being presented, you will conclude
that what has just been said makes perfect sense. In fact, anyone who
truly understands the "creative process," will tell you what I have
just said is not only right, but it is a natural law of your being- it
is the way God works with and through the individual. This is also
called prayer in some "circles" ("prayer" being the movement that takes
place between spirit and form, with and through the individual). God
has given you the ability to build any idea which you desire. You were
"Born Rich" and your abundance is contained in thought. So be good to
yourself, choose magnificent ideas, and cease permitting your physical
world to control your thinking.
You can readily
understand, by now,
how everyone makes the "great mistake." In Emerson's essay on
Self-Reliance he said, "Envy is ignorance." In other words, to look at
another person's "Accomplishments," or "Results," and then to envy
them, is truly unwise. For those people first chose their thoughts, in
order to build the picture in their mind of the good that is now
manifest in their life; and they chose those thoughts from the infinite
source of supply which is available to all of us-you as well!
That is what the
great artist, Vincent
Van Gogh, meant when he was asked how he did such beautiful work. He
said, "I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream." In other words,
he saw the picture in his mind first and then he made a replica on
canvas-in oil, of the original in his mind. In truth, there has never
been an "original" "Van Gogh" sold! As I am writing this I can see you
reading it, and can almost hear you thinking, "That makes a lot of
sense-now I see."
A few years ago
Mary Snyder from
California sat in one of my seminars with her husband Oscar. She gave
me a quote by Lincoln which I truly love and which I have shared with
thousands of people. Lincoln said, "To believe in the things you can
see and touch is no belief at all; but to believe in the unseen is a
triumph and a blessing." Isn't that beautiful? Thanks again, Mary.
Hopefully by now
you understand the
wisdom of some of these mental exercises I have been suggesting. So
keep repeating: "I am prosperous, I am wealthy, money is good." See
yourself in your mind's eye, doing what you will do when you have the
manifestation of your new attitude or consciousness. Visualize this
great wealth and feel yourself already in possession of it. Remember
though, money is the servant; you are the master-you love people and
you use money.
Before you
continue on to the next
chapter, re-read this chapter, "Me And Money," because re-reading it
will help you release that old idea about money, which causes an
uncomfortable feeling whenever the subject of money is raised. Repeat
to yourself, several times each day, "Me And Money," until you become
totally aware of how good you feel thinking about wealth.
Refrain from
talking to a lot of
people about this new idea concerning money, until you have a firm grip
on it yourself and feel confident about explaining what you have
learned to others. Remember, hearing negative comments from people who
do not understand the truth will not do you any good-if it does
anything, it will only cause you to doubt yourself. You must not permit
this to happen, because when you think about "Me And Money," you want a
beautiful picture to fly onto the screen of your mind!
"The good life is expensive.
There
is
another way to live
that
doesn't
cost as much
but
it isn't
any good".
-
Spanish
Distillers
"You Were Born Rich"
by Bob Proctor
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