The Power of Attraction: Desire Force

We have discussed the necessity of getting rid of fear, that your desire may have full strength with which to work. Supposing that you have mastered this part of the task, or at least started on the road to mastery, I will now call your attention to another important branch of the subject. I allude to the subject of mental leaks. No, I don’t mean the leakage arising from your failure to keep your own secrets—that is also important, but forms another story. The leakage I am now referring to is that occasioned by the habit of having the attention attracted to and distracted by every passing fancy.

We have discussed the need to get rid of fear so that your desire can work at full strength. Suppose you have mastered this task, or at least started on the road to mastering it. I will now call your attention to another important part of the subject: mental leaks. No, I don’t mean the leaks that come from failing to keep your own secrets. That is important too, but it is another story. The leaks I mean come from the habit of letting every passing fancy attract and distract your attention.

In order to attain a thing it is necessary that the mind should fall in love with it, and be conscious of its existence, almost to the exclusion of everything else. You must get in love with the thing you wish to attain, just as much as you would if you were to meet the girl or man you wished to marry. I do not mean that you should become a monomaniac upon the subject, and should lose all interest in everything else in the world—that won’t do, for the mind must have recreation and change. But, I do mean that you must be so “set” upon the desired thing that all else will seem of secondary importance. A man in love may be pleasant to every one else, and may go through the duties and pleasures of life with good spirit, but underneath it all he is humming to himself “Just One Girl;” and every one of his actions is bent toward getting that girl, and making a comfortable home for her. Do you see what I mean? You must get in love with the thing you want, and you must get in love with it in earnest—none of this latter-day flirting, “on-today and off-tomorrow” sort of love, but the good old-fashioned kind, that used to make it impossible for a young man to get to sleep unless he took a walk around his best girl’s house, just to be sure it was still there. That’s the real kind!

To attain something, your mind must fall in love with it and stay aware of it, almost to the exclusion of everything else. You must fall in love with what you want to attain, just as you would with someone you wanted to marry. I do not mean that you should become obsessed and lose interest in everything else in the world. That won’t do, because the mind needs recreation and variety. But you must be so “set” on what you want that everything else seems less important. A man in love may be pleasant to everyone else. He may go through life’s duties and pleasures in good spirits. But beneath it all, he is humming “Just One Girl” to himself. Everything he does is directed toward winning her and making a comfortable home for her. Do you see what I mean? You must fall in love with what you want, and you must be serious about it. I do not mean the kind of flirting we see today, where love is “on-today and off-tomorrow.” I mean the good old-fashioned kind. That kind once made it impossible for a young man to sleep without walking around his sweetheart’s house, just to make sure it was still there. That’s the real kind!

And the man or woman in search of success must make of that desired thing his ruling passion—he must keep his mind on the main chance. Success is jealous—that’s why we speak of her as feminine. She demands a man’s whole affection, and if he begins flirting with other fair charmers, she soon turns her back upon him. If a man allows his strong interest in the main chance to be sidetracked, he will be the loser. Mental Force operates best when it is concentrated. You must give to the desired thing your best and most earnest thought. Just as the man who is thoroughly in love will think out plans and schemes whereby he may please the fair one, so will the man who is in love with his work or business give it his best thought, and the result will be that a hundred and one plans will come into his field of consciousness, many of which are very important. The mind works on the subconscious plane, remember, and almost always along the lines of the ruling passion or desire. It will fix up things, and patch together plans and schemes, and when you need them the most it will pop them into your consciousness, and you will feel like hurrahing, just as if you had received some valuable aid from outside.

Anyone seeking success must make it their ruling passion. They must keep their mind on their main opportunity. Success is jealous. That’s why we speak of her as feminine. She demands a person’s whole affection. If someone begins flirting with other fair charmers, she soon turns her back on them. Anyone who lets their strong interest in their main opportunity be diverted will be the loser. Mental Force works best when it is concentrated. You must give what you desire your best and most earnest thought. A person deeply in love thinks up plans to please the one they love. In the same way, a person in love with their work or business gives it their best thought. As a result, a hundred and one plans will come to mind, many of them very important. Remember, the mind works on the subconscious plane. It almost always works along the lines of a person’s ruling passion or desire. It will work things out and piece together plans. When you need them most, it will bring them into your consciousness. You will feel like cheering, just as if you had received valuable help from outside.

But if you scatter your thought-force, the subconscious mind will not know just how to please you, and the result is that you are apt to be put off from this source of aid and assistance. Beside this, you will miss the powerful result of concentrated thought in the conscious working out of the details of your plans. And then again the man whose mind is full of a dozen interests fails to exert the attracting power that is manifested by the man of the one ruling passion, and he fails to draw to him persons, things, and results that will aid in the working out of his plans, and will also fail to place himself in the current of attraction whereby he is brought into contact with those who will be glad to help him because of harmonious interests.

But if you scatter your thought-force, your subconscious mind will not know exactly how to please you. As a result, you are likely to lose its help. You will also miss the powerful effect of concentrated thought when consciously working out the details of your plans. A man with a dozen interests also fails to exert the attracting power of a man with one ruling passion. He fails to draw people, things, and results that will help him carry out his plans. He also fails to place himself in the current of attraction that brings him into contact with people who share his interests and would be glad to help him.

I have noticed, in my own affairs, that when I would allow myself to be side-tracked by anything outside of my regular line of work, it would be only a short time before my receipts dropped off, and my business showed signs of a lack of vitality. Now, many may say that this was because I left undone some things that I would have done if my mind had been centered on the business. This is true; but I have noticed like results in cases where there was nothing to be done—cases in which the seed was sown, and the crop was awaited. And, in just such cases, as soon as I directed my thought to the matter the seed began to sprout. I do not mean that I had to send out great mental waves with the idea of affecting people—not a bit of it. I simply began to realize what a good thing I had, and how much people wanted it, and how glad they would be to know of it, and all that sort of thing, and lo! my thought seemed to vitalize the work, and the seed began to sprout. This is no mere fancy, for I have experienced it on several occasions; I have spoken to many others on the subject, and I find that our experiences tally perfectly. So don’t get into the habit of permitting these mental leaks. Keep your Desire fresh and active, and let it get in its work without interference from conflicting desires. Keep in love with the thing you wish to attain—feed your fancy with it—see it as accomplished already, but don’t lose your interest. Keep your eye on the main chance, and keep your one ruling passion strong and vigorous. Don’t be a mental polygamist—one mental love is all that a man needs—that is, one at a time.

I have noticed something in my own affairs. When I let anything outside my regular work sidetrack me, my income soon dropped. My business also showed signs of losing vitality. Many may say this happened because I neglected things I would have done if I had focused on the business. That is true. But I have noticed similar results when there was nothing to be done. The seed had been planted, and I was waiting for the crop. In those cases, as soon as I turned my thoughts to the matter, the seed began to sprout. I do not mean that I had to send out great mental waves to influence people. Not at all. I simply began to realize what a good thing I had and how much people wanted it. I thought about how glad they would be to know about it, and so on. And, lo and behold, my thoughts seemed to bring the work to life, and the seed began to sprout. This is no mere fantasy, for I have experienced it several times. I have spoken to many others about it, and I find that our experiences match perfectly. So do not get into the habit of allowing these mental leaks. Keep your Desire fresh and active, and let it do its work without interference from conflicting desires. Stay in love with what you want to achieve. Feed your imagination with it. See it as already accomplished, but do not lose interest. Keep your eye on the main opportunity, and keep your one ruling passion strong and vigorous. Do not be a mental polygamist. One mental love is all a man needs, that is, one at a time.

Some scientists have claimed that something that might as well be called “Love” is at the bottom of the whole of life. They claim that the love of the plant for water causes it to send forth its roots until the loved thing is found. They say that the love of the flower for the sun, causes it to grow away from the dark places, so that it may receive the light. The so-called “chemical affinities” are really a form of love. And Desire is a manifestation of this Universal Life Love. So I am not using a mere figure of speech when I tell you that you must love the thing you wish to attain. Nothing but intense love will enable you to surmount the many obstacles placed in your path. Nothing but that love will enable you to bear the burdens of the task. The more Desire you have for a thing, the more you Love it; and the more you Love it, the greater will be the attractive force exerted toward its attainment—both within yourself, and outside of you.

Some scientists have claimed that something we might as well call “Love” lies at the heart of all life. They claim that a plant’s love of water makes it send out roots until it finds the water. They say that a flower’s love of the sun makes it grow away from dark places to receive the light. What we call “chemical affinities” are really a form of love. And Desire is an expression of this Universal Life Love. So I am not merely speaking figuratively when I say you must love what you wish to attain. Only intense love will enable you to overcome the many obstacles in your path. Only that love will enable you to bear the burdens of the task. The more Desire you have for something, the more you Love it. And the more you Love it, the greater the attractive force working toward its attainment, both within and outside you.

So love but one thing at a time—don’t be a mental Mormon.

So love only one thing at a time. Don’t be a mental Mormon.