"I did not think" is an excuse offered by many. Thinking is the thing
in business.
The trunk railroad, the trans-Atlantic cable, the steam engine, the
electric light, the wireless telegraph, the very republic in which we
are living, came about through thinking.
Every man should take from five to fifty minutes each day to divorce
his mind from the strenuous activity surrounding him, and devote that
time to thought, and good will come out of it.
The brain is like a muscle, it must be exercised or it becomes flabby.
Cultivate concentration of thought; study your sphere of usefulness;
cut out the weeds that grow in your brain; get out of the mental rut
you are in; stop drifting; keep your brain healthily active.
Men are paid either for what they think or for what their muscles do.
Man's muscles have a limit; he can move just so much matter by physical
force. But his capacity from a mental standpoint is unlimited.
The world offers golden prizes to the man who thinks. Therefore we
should cultivate our brains and make them expand. The brain is like a
plant. If you nourish and cultivate it and care for it, it will grow
too.
Excitement, striving for pleasures, indulging in reading light, frothy
literature, excessive daily newspaper reading are all weeds and thought
killers.
Don't act on impulses. The get-rich-quick man or the fake mine promoter
says, "Buy today, the price goes up tomorrow." These fakirs don't want
you to think. Thinking is an enemy to their persuasive arguments. If
you think, and think rightly, the fakir does not get you.
When you get a nasty letter don't answer it right away. Think it over.
Think carefully. If your thoughts of revenge are so strong that you
cannot calm yourself down, then write a letter and express yourself in
the fullest degree. Leave the letter on your desk. Do not look at it
for three hours. Then when you look at it you will instantly determine
to tear it up, because in the meantime you have been thinking.
Thoughts expressed on paper have a different sound than if they are
uttered verbally, therefore you should think carefully when you write.
Cultivate poise, calmness, and practice careful thought before you
speak or write.
In proportion as you master difficult problems through thought, your
brain will be ready for greater conquests.
Here are some things to think about during these times when business is
so good.
These prosperous times are dangerous times. In times of prosperity we
build up false idols, and raise our hopes and ambitions beyond the
safety point.
Prosperity makes most of us careless. We don't give our business the
careful consideration we should. We run to extremes during prosperous
times.
We should make the most of prosperity while it is here. We should enjoy
it to the fullest, but we should remember that for every high tide
there is a low ebb.
Prosperity should enable us to put away a reserve for the hard times.
We should be careful that prosperity does not turn our heads or cause
us to lose our vigilance.