When I planted in his mind the DESIRE to hear andtalk， and live as a normal person， there went withthat impulse some strange influence which causedNature to become bridge-builder， and span the gulfof silence between his brain and the outer world， bysome means which the keenest medical specialistshave not been able to interpret. It would be sacrilegefor me to even conjecture as to how Natureperformed this miracle. It would be unforgivable ifI neglected to tell the world as much as I know ofthe humble part I assumed in the strange experience.
It is my duty， and a privilege to say I believe， andnot without reason， that nothing is impossible to theperson who backs DESIRE with enduring FAITH.
Verily， a BURNING DESIRE has devious ways oftransmuting itself into its physical equivalent. BlairDESIRED normal hearing； now he has it！ He wasborn with a handicap which might easily have sentone with a less defined DESIRE to the street with abundle of pencils and a tin cup. That handicap nowpromises to serve as the medium by which he willrender useful service to many millions of hard ofhearing， also， to give him useful employment atadequate financial compensation the remainder ofhis life.
The little “white lies” I planted in his mind whenhe was a child， by leading him to BELIEVE hisaffliction would become a great asset， which hecould capitalize， has justified itself. Verily， thereis nothing， right or wrong， which BELIEF， plusBURNING DESIRE， cannot make real. These qualitiesare free to everyone.
In all my experience in dealing with men and women who had personal problems， I never handleda single case which more definitely demonstratesthe power of DESIRE. Authors sometimes make themistake of writing of subjects of which they havebut superficial， or very elementary knowledge. Ithas been my good fortune to have had the privilegeof testing the soundness of the POWER OF DESIRE，through the affliction of my own son. Perhaps it wasprovidential that the experience came as it did， forsurely no one is better prepared than he， to serve asan example of what happens when DESIRE is put tothe test. If Mother Nature bends to the will of desire，is it logical that mere men can defeat a burningdesire？
Strange and imponderable is the power of the human mind！ We do not understand the method bywhich it uses every circumstance， every individual，every physical thing within its reach， as a means oftransmuting DESIRE into its physical counterpart.
Perhaps science will uncover this secret.
I planted in my son’s mind the DESIRE to hearand to speak as any normal person hears andspeaks. That DESIRE has now become a reality.
I planted in his mind the DESIRE to convert hisgreatest handicap into his greatest asset. ThatDESIRE has been realized. The modus operandiby which this astounding result was achieved isnot hard to describe. It consisted of three verydefinite facts； first， I MIXED FAITH with the DESIREfor normal hearing， which I passed on to my son.
Second， I communicated my desire to him in everyconceivable way available， through persistent，continuous effort， over a period of years. Third， HEBELIEVED ME！
As this chapter was being completed， news cameof the death of Mme. Schuman-Heink. One shortparagraph in the news dispatch gives the clue to thisunusual woman’s stupendous success as a singer. Iquote the paragraph， because the clue it contains isnone other than DESIRE.
Early in her career， Mme. Schuman-Heink visitedthe director of the Vienna Court Opera， to have himtest her voice. But， he did not test it. After takingone look at the awkward and poorly dressed girl， heexclaimed， none too gently， “With such a face， andwith no personality at all， how can you ever expectto succeed in opera？ My good child， give up theidea. Buy a sewing machine， and go to work. YOUCAN NEVER BE A SINGER.”
Never is a long time！ The director of the ViennaCourt Opera knew much about the technique ofsinging. He knew little about the power of desire，when it assumes the proportion of an obsession.
If he had known more of that power， he wouldnot have made the mistake of condemning geniuswithout giving it an opportunity.
Several years ago， one of my business associatesbecame ill. He became worse as time went on， andfinally was taken to the hospital for an operation.
Just before he was wheeled into the operating room，I took a look at him， and wondered how anyone asthin and emaciated as he， could possibly go througha major operation successfully. The doctor warnedme that there was little if any chance of my everseeing him alive again. But that was the DOCTOR’SOPINION. It was not the opinion of the patient. Justbefore he was wheeled away， he whispered feebly，“Do not be disturbed， Chief， I will be out of here ina few days.” The attending nurse looked at me withpity. But the patient did come through safely. Afterit was all over， his physician said， “Nothing but hisown desire to live saved him. He never would havepulled through if he had not refused to accept thepossibility of death.”
I believe in the power of DESIRE backed by FAITH， because I have seen this power lift men fromlowly beginnings to places of power and wealth；I have seen it rob the grave of its victims； I haveseen it serve as the medium by which men staged acomeback after having been defeated in a hundreddifferent ways； I have seen it provide my ownson with a normal， happy， successful life， despiteNature’s having sent him into the world withoutears.
How can one harness and use the power of DESIRE？ This has been answered through this， andthe subsequent chapters of this book. This messageis going out to the world at the end of the longest，and perhaps， the most devastating depressionAmerica has ever known. It is reasonable to presumethat the message maycome to the attention ofmany who have been wounded by the depression，those who have lost their fortunes， others whohave lost their positions， and great numbers whomust reorganize their plans and stage a comeback.
To all these I wish to convey the thought that allachievement， no matter what may be its nature， orits purpose， must begin with an intense， BURNINGDESIRE for something definite.
Through some strange and powerful principle of“mental chemistry” which she has never divulged，Nature wraps up in the impulse of STRONG DESIRE“that something” which recognizes no such word asimpossible， and accepts no such reality as failure.