THE WORKSHOP OF THE MIND
The Fifth Step toward Riches
The imagination is literally the workshop whereinare fashioned all plans created by man. The impulse，the DESIRE， is given shape， form， and ACTIONthrough the aid of the imaginative faculty of the mind.
It has been said that man can create anythingwhich he can imagine.
Of all the ages of civilization， this is the mostfavorable for the development of the imagination，because it is an age of rapid change. On every hand onemay contact stimuli which develop the imagination.
Through the aid of his imaginative faculty， manhas discovered， and harnessed， more of Nature’sforces during the past fifty years than during theentire history of the human race， previous to thattime. He has conquered the air so completely， thatthe birds are a poor match for him in flying. He hasharnessed the ether， and made it serve as a means ofinstantaneous communication with any part of theworld. He has analyzed， and weighed the sun at adistance of millions of miles， and has determined，through the aid of IMAGINATION， the elements ofwhich it consists. He has discovered that his ownbrain is both a broadcasting， and a receiving stationfor the vibration of thought， and he is beginning nowto learn how to make practical use of this discovery.
He has increased the speed of locomotion， untilhe may now travel at a speed of more than threehundred miles an hour. The time will soon comewhen a man may breakfast in New York， and lunchin San Francisco.
MAN’S ONLY LIMITATION， within reason， LIES INHIS DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF HIS IMAGINATION.
He has not yet reached the apex of development inthe use of his imaginative faculty. He has merelydiscovered that he has an imagination， and hascommenced to use it in a very elementary way.
TWO FORMS OF IMAGINATION
The imaginative faculty functions in two forms.
One is known as “synthetic imagination，” and theother as “creative imagination.”
SYNTHETIC IMAGINATION：—Through this faculty，one may arrange old concepts， ideas， or plans intonew combinations. This faculty creates nothing.
It merely works with the material of experience，education， and observation with which it is fed.
It is the faculty used most by the inventor， withthe exception of the who draws upon the creativeimagination， when he cannot solve his problemthrough synthetic imagination.
CREATIVE IMAGINATION：—Through the faculty ofcreative imagination， the finite mind of man has directcommunication with Infinite Intelligence. It is thefaculty through which “hunches” and “inspirations”
are received. It is by this faculty that all basic， or newideas are handed over to man.
It is through this faculty that thought vibrationsfrom the minds of others are received. It is throughthis faculty that one individual may “tune in，” orcommunicate with the subconscious minds of othermen.
The creative imagination works automatically，in the manner described in subsequent pages. Thisfaculty functions ONLY when the conscious mindis vibrating at an exceedingly rapid rate， as forexample， when the conscious mind is stimulatedthrough the emotion of a strong desire.
The creative faculty becomes more alert， morereceptive to vibrations from the sources mentioned，in proportion to its development through USE.
This statement is significant！ Ponder over it beforepassing on.
Keep in mind as you follow these principles， thatthe entire story of how one may convert DESIRE intomoney cannot be told in one statement. The storywill be complete， only when one has MASTERED，ASSIMILATED， and BEGUN TO MAKE USE of all theprinciples.
The great leaders of business， industry， finance，and the great artists， musicians， poets， and writersbecame great， because they developed the faculty ofcreative imagination.
Both the synthetic and creative faculties of
imagination become more alert with use， just as anymuscle or organ of the body develops through use.
Desire is only a thought， an impulse. It is nebulousand ephemeral. It is abstract， and of no value， untilit has been transformed into its physical counterpart.
While the synthetic imagination is the one whichwill be used most frequently， in the process oftransforming the impulse of DESIRE into money，you must keep in mind the fact， that you may facecircumstances and situations which demand use ofthe creative imagination as well.
Your imaginative faculty may have become weakthrough inaction. It can be revived and made alertthrough USE. This faculty does not die， though itmay become quiescent through lack of use.
Center your attention， for the time being， on thedevelopment of the synthetic imagination， becausethis is the faculty which you will use more often inthe process of converting desire into money.
Transformation of the intangible impulse， ofDESIRE， into the tangible reality， of MONEY， callsfor the use of a plan， or plans. These plans must beformed with the aid of the imagination， and mainly，with the synthetic faculty.
Read the entire book through， then come backto this chapter， and begin at once to put yourimagination to work on the building of a plan， orplans， for the transformation of your DESIRE intomoney. Detailed instructions for the building ofplans have been given in almost every chapter. Carryout the instructions best suited to your needs， reduceyour plan to writing， if you have not already doneso. The moment you complete this， you will haveDEF-INITELY given concrete form to the intangibleDESIRE. Read the preceding sentence once more.
Read it aloud， very slowly， and as you do so，remember that the moment you reduce the statementof your desire， and a plan for its realization， towriting， you have actually TAKEN THE FIRST of aseries of steps， which will enable you to convert thethought into its physical counterpart.