With this knowledge of the principles of mindoperation， I was fairly well armed with the equipmentneeded in rebuilding my character. In these imaginaryCouncil meetings I called on my Cabinet membersfor the knowledge I wished each to contribute，addressing myself to each member in audible words，as follows：
“Mr. Emerson， I desire to acquire from you the marvelous understanding of Nature which distinguished your life. I ask that you make animpress upon my subconscious mind， of whateverqualities you possessed， which enabled you tounderstand and adapt yourself to the laws of Nature.
I ask that you assist me in reaching and drawingupon whatever sources of knowledge are availableto this end.
“Mr. Burbank， I request that you pass on to me theknowledge which enabled you to so harmonize thelaws of Nature that you caused the cactus to shed itsthorns， and become an edible food. Give me accessto the knowledge which enabled you to make twoblades of grass grow where but one grew before， andhelped you to blend the coloring of the flowers withmore splendor and harmony， for you， alone， havesuccessfully gilded the lily.
“Napoleon， I desire to acquire from you， byemulation， the marvelous ability you possessed toinspire men， and to arouse them to greater and moredetermined spirit of action. Also to acquire the spiritof enduring FAITH， which enabled you to turn defeatinto victory， and to surmount staggering obstacles.
Emperor of Fate， King of Chance， Man of Destiny， Isalute you！
“Mr. Paine， I desire to acquire from you thefreedom of thought and the courage and clarity withwhich to express convictions， which so distinguishedyou！
“Mr. Darwin， I wish to acquire from you themarvelous patience， and ability to study cause andeffect， without bias or prejudice， so exemplified byyou in the field of natural science.
“Mr. Lincoln， I desire to build into my owncharacter the keen sense of justice， the untiringspirit of patience， the sense of humor， the humanunderstanding， and the tolerance， which were yourdistinguishing characteristics.
“Mr. Carnegie， I am already indebted to youfor my choice of a life-work， which has broughtme great happiness and peace of mind. I wish toacquire a thorough understanding of the principlesof organized effort， which you used so effectively inthe building of a great industrial enterprise.
“Mr. Ford， you have been among the most helpfulof the men who have supplied much of the materialessential to my work. I wish to acquire your spiritof persistence， the determination， poise， and selfconfidencewhich have enabled you to masterpoverty， organize， unify， and simplify human effort，so I may help others to follow in your footsteps.
“Mr. Edison， I have seated you nearest to me， atmy right， because of the personal cooperation youhave given me， during my research into the causesof success and failure. I wish to acquire from youthe marvelous spirit of FAITH， with which you haveuncovered so many of Nature’s secrets， the spiritof unremitting toil with which you have so oftenwrested victory from defeat.”
My method of addressing the members of the imaginary Cabinet would vary， according to thetraits of character in which I was， for the moment，most interested in acquiring. I studied the records oftheir lives with painstaking care. After some monthsof this nightly procedure， I was astounded by thediscovery that these imaginary figures became，apparently real.
Each of these nine men developed individual
characteristics， which surprised me. For example，Lincoln developed the habit of always being late，then walking around in solemn parade. Whenhe came， he walked very slowly， with his handsclasped behind him， and once in a while， he wouldstop as he passed， and rest his hand， momentarily，upon my shoulder. He always wore an expressionof seriousness upon his face. Rarely did I see himsmile. The cares of a sundered nation made himgrave.
That was not true of the others. Burbank and Paineoften indulged in witty repartee which seemed， attimes， to shock the other members of the cabinet.
One night Paine suggested that I prepare a lecture on“The Age of Reason，” and deliver it from the pulpitof a church which I formerly attended. Many aroundthe table laughed heartily at the suggestion. NotNapoleon！ He drew his mouth down at the cornersand groaned so loudly that all turned and looked athim with amazement. To him the church was buta pawn of the State， not to be reformed， but to beused， as a convenient inciter to mass activity by thepeople.
On one occasion Burbank was late. When he came，he was excited with enthusiasm， and explainedthat he had been late， because of an experiment hewas making， through which he hoped to be able togrow apples on any sort of tree. Paine chided himby reminding him that it was an apple which startedall the trouble between man and woman. Darwinchuckled heartily as he suggested that Paine shouldwatch out for little serpents， when he went intothe forest to gather apples， as they had the habit ofgrowing into big snakes. Emerson observed— “Noserpents， no apples，” and Napoleon remarked， “Noapples， no state！”
Lincoln developed the habit of always being thelast one to leave the table after each meeting. Onone occasion， he leaned across the end of the table，his arms folded， and remained in that position formany minutes. I made no attempt to disturb him.
Finally， he lifted his head slowly， got up and walkedto the door， then turned around， came back， and laidhis hand on my shoulder and said， “My boy， youwill need much courage if you remain steadfast incarrying out your purpose in life. But remember，when difficulties overtake you， the common peoplehave common sense. Adversity will develop it.”
One evening Edison arrived ahead of all the others.