"I Can and I Will"--The recognition--Equal to any task--A feeling of
calm confidence--An abiding sense of power, reserve force and security
--The Something within--The triple key to the door of attainment--The
vibrations of Success.
"I Can and I Will!!!" Have you ever said these words to yourself with
a firm conviction that you were speaking the truth--with the strong
feeling that needed no other proof. If so, you then felt within you a
thrill which seemed to cause every atom of your being to vibrate in
harmony with some note in the grand scale of Life, sounded by the Real
Self. You caught a momentary glimpse of the Inner Light--heard a stray
note of the Song of the Soul--were conscious for the moment of
YOURSELF. And in that moment of ecstasy you knew that untold power and
possibilities were yours. You felt that you were in touch with all
Strength, Power, Knowledge, Happiness and Peace. You felt that you
were equal to any task--capable of executing any undertaking. For the
moment there was no Fear in the world for you. All the Universe seemed
to vibrate in the same key with your thought. For the moment you
RECOGNIZED THE TRUTH.
But alas, the spirit of doubt, distrust, fear and unfaith called
you again to Earth--and the vision faded. And yet, the remembrance
of the sight--the echo of the sound--the remnant of the new-found
strength--is with you still. You still find that memory to be a
stimulus to great efforts--a comforting thought in times of weakness
and trial. You have been able to accomplish much by the aid of the
lingering vibrations of the mighty thought.
In times of great peril--grave perplexities--life and death struggles,
a feeling of calm confidence and strength often comes to us, and we
are borne on by a power _of_ us and _in_ us (and yet in everything
else, too) that seems to lift us off our feet and sweep us on to
safety--to peace--to rest. We are possessed of an abiding sense of
power, reserve force and security. When extraordinary conditions
confront us--when our bodies seem paralyzed--our minds stupefied--our
will power gone, we are often made conscious of the existence of the
Real Self, and it answers our involuntary demand, and comes to rescue
with the cheering cry: "I AM HERE"!
Many of us have made use of this inner strength without realizing it.
One day we were sorely distressed and made the demand, and lo! it was
answered. We knew not from whence came this new-found strength, but we
were conscious of the uplift, and felt more confidence in ourselves.
The next time we _confidently_ demanded the aid, and again we were
answered. We acquired that which we call confidence and faith in
ourselves, and were carried over many a dark place and started on the
road to Success. Our repeated success caused us to think and speak of
our "luck," and we grew to believe that we had a "star," and took
chances and risks that others would not dream of. We dared. We made
some apparent failures, but we soon came to know them as only lessons
leading to _ultimate_ success. The "I Can and I Will" feeling carried
us over rough places safely, and we got to simply _know_ that we would
"get there" in the end.
And so we went on and on, knowing that if we advanced three steps and
slipped back two, we were still one step ahead. We had confidence,
because we _knew_ that "things would come our way" in the end. And
so long as we held this attitude, we _did_ succeed, and it was only
when we lost heart at some unexpected slip--only when, after having
attained success, we became dazed and frightened, and began to fear
that our "luck might turn" and that we would lose all of our
accumulations--it was only _then_, I say--that our star waned.
Talk with any successful man, and, if truthful, he will admit having
felt, from the time of his first success, that he had some sort of
"pull" with Fate--some "lucky star"--some special Providence operating
in his behalf. He grew to _expect_ results--to have confidence in
things turning out right--to have faith in _something_ of which he
knew not the nature--and he was not disappointed. Things seemed to
work in his favor--not always just in the way he expected, sometimes
in an entirely different way--matters seemed somehow to straighten
themselves out in the end--so long as he kept his "nerve." He did not
know the source of his strength, but he believed in it and trusted it
just the same.
Let us wake up and recognize this Something Within--let us begin to
understand this "I Can and I Will" feeling--let us cherish it if we
have it, and cultivate it if we have it not. Do you know that we are
young giants who have not discovered our own strength? Are you not
aware that there are powers latent within us, pressing forth for
development and unfoldment? Do you not know that earnest desire, faith
and calm demand will bring to us that which we require--will place at
our hand the tools with which we are to work out our destiny--will
guide us in the proper use of the tools--will make us grow? Do you not
know that Desire, Faith and Work is the triple key to the doors of
Attainment? There are possibilities before us, awaiting our coming, of
which we have never dreamed. Let us assert ourselves--take up the
key--unlock the doors--and enter our kingdom.
To accomplish, we must be possessed of earnest desire--must be as
confident of ultimate success as we are of the rising of to-morrow's
sun--we must have Faith. And we must work out the end with the tools
and instruments that will present themselves day by day. We will find
that Desire, Confidence, Faith and Work will not only brush aside the
obstacles from our path, but will also begin to assert that wonderful
force, as yet so little understood--the Law of Attraction--which will
draw to us that which is conducive to our success, be it ideas,
people, things, yes, even _circumstances_. Oh, ye of little Faith,
why do you not see these things?
The world is looking for these "I Can and I Will" people--it has
places ready for them--the supply does not begin to equal the demand.
Pluck up courage ye unfortunate ones--ye doubters--ye "I Can't"
people! Begin the fight by abolishing Fear from your minds. Then start
to climb the ladder of Attainment, shouting "I CAN AND I WILL" with
all your might, drowning out the sound of the "buts," "ifs,"
"supposings," "you can'ts" and "aren't you afraids" of your
wet-blanket friends at the foot of the ladder. Do not bother about the
upper rounds of the ladder--you will reach them in time--but give your
whole attention to the round just ahead of you, and when you have
gained a firm footing on that, then look at the next one. One round at
a time, remember, and _give your entire attention to each step_.
Climb with Desire, Confidence and Faith inspiring each step, and the
task will become a pleasure. You will be conscious of some mighty
force attracting you upward and onward as you progress. And don't try
to pull some other fellow off the ladder--there's room enough for both
of you--be kind, be kind.
If you fail to feel the "I Can and I Will" vibrations within you,
start in to-day, and _say_ "I Can and I Will"--THINK "I Can and I
Will"--ACT "I Can and I Will," and get the vibrations started in
motion. Remember that as the one note of the violin, if constantly
sounded, will cause the mighty bridge to vibrate in unison so will
one positive thought, held constantly, manifest itself both in
yourself, others and things. So begin sounding the note to-day--this
very moment. Sound it constantly. Send forth a clear, glad, joyous
note--a note of Faith--a note of coming Victory. Sound it over and
over again, and soon you will become conscious that the vibrations
have commenced, and that the mighty structure of your being is
quivering and vibrating to the keynote:--"I CAN AND I WILL."