| All creatures on earth are supplied at birth with | | | | 6,000 waking hours, of which less than 2,000 are spent |
| everything they need for successful survival. All | | | | on the job. Now this leaves 4,000 hours a year when |
| creatures except one are supplied with a set of | | | | a person is neither working nor sleeping. These can be |
| instincts that will do the job for them. And because of | | | | called discretionary hours with which that person can |
| that, most creatures don't need much of a brain. In the | | | | do pretty much as he or she pleases. |
| Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Archibald MacLeish's | | | | So that you can see the amazing results in your own |
| play The Secret of Freedom, a character says, "The | | | | life, I want to recommend that you take just one hour |
| only thing about a man that is man is his mind. | | | | a day, five days a week, and devote this hour to |
| Everything else you can find in a pig or a horse." That's | | | | exercising your mind. You don't even have to do it on |
| uncomfortably true. | | | | weekends. Pick one hour a day on which you can |
| Take the magnificent bald eagle for example. To see | | | | fairly regularly count. The best time for me is an hour |
| one of them swooping down and pluck a live and | | | | before the others are up in the morning. The mind's |
| sizeable fish from the water on a single pass is | | | | clear, the house is quiet, and, if you like, with a fresh |
| astonishing. More astonishing still is the eagle's eyesight. | | | | cup of coffee, this is the time to start the mind going. |
| And because of its need to see small rodents moving | | | | During this hour every day take a completely blank |
| in the grass from high altitudes or a fish just inches | | | | sheet of paper. At the top of the page write your |
| under the surface of the water, its incredible eyes take | | | | present primary goal clearly, simply. Then, since our |
| up just about all the space in its head. For the eagle, its | | | | future depends on the way in which we handle our |
| eyes are the most important thing, and everything else | | | | work, write down as many ideas as you can for |
| works in unison with them. Its brain is tiny and | | | | improving that which you now do. Try to think of 20 |
| rudimentary. It doesn't think or plan or remember; it | | | | possible ways in which the activity that fills your day |
| simply acts in accordance with stimuli. | | | | can be improved. You won't always get 20, but even |
| And it's the same with most other living creatures. | | | | one idea is good. |
| Even the beautiful porpoise, with a much larger brain, | | | | Now remember two important points with regard to |
| and the chimpanzee are easily tamed and taught. Only | | | | this. One, this is not particularly easy, and, two, most of |
| one takes 20 years to mature and has dominion over | | | | your ideas won't be any good. When I say it's not |
| all the rest on the earth itself, and has today the power | | | | easy, I mean it's like starting any new habit. At first |
| to destroy all life on earth in a couple of hours. Only | | | | you'll find your mind a little reluctant to be hauled up out |
| one is given the godlike power to fashion its own life | | | | of that old familiar bed. But as you think about your |
| according to the images it holds in its remarkable mind. | | | | work and ways in which it might be improved, write |
| The human mind is the one thing that separates us | | | | down every idea that pops into your head, no matter |
| from the rest of the creatures on earth. Everything | | | | how absurd it might seem. |
| that means anything to us comes to us through our | | | | The most important thing that this extra hour |
| minds, our love of our families, our beliefs, all of our | | | | accomplishes is that it deeply embeds your goal into |
| talents, knowledge, abilities. Everything is reflected | | | | your subconscious mind, starts the whole vital machine |
| through our minds. Anything that comes to us in the | | | | reworking the first thing every morning. And 20 ideas a |
| future will almost certainly come to us as a result of | | | | day, if you can come up with that many, total 100 a |
| the extent to which we use our minds. | | | | week, even skipping weekends. |
| And yet, it's the last place on earth the average | | | | An hour a day, five days a week, totals 260 hours a |
| person will turn to for help. You know why? You know | | | | year and still leaves you 3,740 hours of free leisure |
| why people don't automatically turn their own vast | | | | time. Now this means you'll be thinking about your goal |
| mental resources on when faced with a problem? It's | | | | and ways of improving your performance, increasing |
| because they never learned how to think. Most people | | | | your service six full extra working weeks a year, 61/2 |
| will go to any length to avoid thinking when they're | | | | 40-hour weeks devoted to thinking and planning. Can |
| faced with a problem. They will ask advice from the | | | | you see how easy it is to rise above that so called |
| most illogical people, usually people who don't know | | | | competition? And it'll still leave you with seven hours a |
| any more than they do: next-door neighbors, members | | | | day to spend as you please. |
| of their families, and friends stuck in the same mental | | | | Starting each day thinking, you'll find that your mind will |
| traps that they are. Very few of them use the | | | | continue to work all day long. And you'll find that at odd |
| muscles of their mind to solve their problems. | | | | moments, when you least expect it, really great ideas |
| Yet living successfully, getting the things we want from | | | | will begin to bubble up from your subconscious. When |
| life, is a matter of solving the problems that stand | | | | they do, write them down as soon as you can. Just |
| between where we are now and the point we wish to | | | | one great idea can completely revolutionize your work |
| reach. No one is without problems. They're part of | | | | and, as a result, your life. |
| living. But let me show you how much time we waste | | | | Each time you write your goal at the top of the sheet |
| in worrying about the wrong problems. Here's a reliable | | | | of paper, don't worry or become concerned about it. |
| estimate of the things people worry about: Things that | | | | Think of it as only waiting to be reached, a problem |
| never happen: 40%. Things over and past that can | | | | only waiting to be solved. Face it with faith and bend all |
| never be changed by all the worry in the world: 30%. | | | | the great powers of your mind toward solving it. And |
| Needless worries about our health: 12%. Petty | | | | believe me, solve it you will. This puts each of us in the |
| miscellaneous worries: 10%. Real legitimate worries: 8%. | | | | driver's seat. |
| In short, 92% of the average person's worries take up | | | | Each of us has a tendency to underestimate his or her |
| valuable time, cause painful stress, even mental | | | | own abilities. We should realize that we have deep |
| anguish, and are absolutely unnecessary. And of the | | | | within ourselves deep reservoirs of great ability, even |
| real legitimate worries, there are two kinds. There are | | | | genius that can be tapped if we'll just dig deep enough. |
| the problems we can solve, and there are the | | | | It's the miracle of your mind. |
| problems beyond our ability to personally solve. But | | | | Everything fashioned by human beings is a result of |
| most of our real problems usually fall into the first | | | | goal setting. We reach our goals. That's how we know |
| group, the ones we can solve, if we'll learn how. | | | | that the diseases that plague us will be conquered. |
| The average working person has at his or her disposal | | | | We've set goals to eradicate every disease that |
| an enormous amount of free time. In fact, you'll see if | | | | plagues us and eradicate them we will, one by one. |
| you'll total the hours in a year and subtract the sleeping | | | | We have never set a goal that we have not reached |
| hours: If we sleep 8 hours every night, we have about | | | | or are now in the process of reaching. |