Unfortunately， there is no legal protection againstthose who， either by design or ignorance， poison theminds of others by negative suggestion. This formof destruction should be punishable by heavy legalpenalties， because it may and often does destroyone’s chances of acquiring material things which areprotected by law.
Men with negative minds tried to convince Thomas A. Edison that he could not build a machinethat would record and reproduce the human voice，“because” they said， “no one else had ever producedsuch a machine.” Edison did not believe them. Heknew that the mind could produce ANYTHING THEMIND COULD CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE， and thatknowledge was the thing that lifted the great Edisonabove the common herd.
Men with negative minds told F. W. Woolworth，he would go “broke” trying to run a store on five andten cent sales. He did not believe them. He knew thathe could do anything， within reason， if he backed hisplans with faith. Exercising his right to keep othermen’s negative suggestions out of his mind， he piledup a fortune of more than a hundred million dollars.
Men with negative minds told George Washingtonhe could not hope to win against the vastly superiorforces of the British， but he exercised his Divine rightto BELIEVE， therefore this book was published underthe protection of the Stars and Stripes， while the nameof Lord Cornwallis has been all but forgotten.
Doubting Thomases scoffed scornfully when HenryFord tried out his first crudely built automobile on thestreets of Detroit. Some said the thing never wouldbecome practical. Others said no one would paymoney for such a contraption.
FORD SAID， “I’LL BELT THE EARTH WITH
DEPENDABLE MOTOR CARS，” AND HE DID！
His decision to trust his own judgment has already piled up a fortune far greater than the nextfive generations of his descendents can squander.
For the benefit of those seeking vast riches， let itbe remembered that practically the sole differencebetween Henry Ford and a majority of the more thanone hundred thousand men who work for him， is this—FORD HAS A MIND AND CONTROLS IT， THE OTHERSHAVE MINDS WHICH THEY DO NOT TRY TO CONTROL.
Henry Ford has been repeatedly mentioned， because he is an astounding example of what a manwith a mind of his own， and a will to control it， canaccomplish. His record knocks the foundation fromunder that time-worn alibi， “I never had a chance.”
Ford never had a chance， either， but he CREATED ANOPPORTUNITY AND BACKED IT WITH PERSISTENCEUNTIL IT MADE HIM RICHER THAN CROESUS.
Mind control is the result of self-discipline andhabit. You either control your mind or it controlsyou. There is no hall-way compromise. The mostpractical of all methods for controlling the mind isthe habit of keeping it busy with a definite purpose，backed by a definite plan. Study the record of anyman who achieves noteworthy success， and youwill observe that he has control over his own mind，moreover， that he exercises that control and directs ittoward the attainment of definite objectives. Withoutthis control， success is not possible.
“FIFTY-SEVEN” FAMOUS ALIBIS
By Old Man IF
People who do not succeed have one distinguishingtrait in common. They know all the reasons forfailure， and have what they believe to be air-tightalibis to explain away their own lack of achievement.
Some of these alibis are clever， and a few of themare justifiable by the facts. But alibis cannot beused for money. The world wants to know only onething—HAVE YOU ACHIEVED SUCCESS？
A character analyst compiled a list of the mostcommonly used alibis. As you read the list， examineyourself carefully， and determine how many of thesealibis， if any， are your own property. Remember， too，the philosophy presented in this book makes everyone of these alibis obsolete.
IF I didn’t have a wife and family . . .
IF I had enough “pull” . . .
IF I had money . . .
IF I had a good education . . .
IF I could get a job . . .
IF I had good health . . .
IF I only had time . . .
IF times were better . . .
IF other people understood me . . .
IF conditions around me were only different . . .
IF I could live my life over again . . .