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| Explore YFY | Articles | Self Tests |
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| Explore YFY | Articles | Self Tests |
| "Few men and women find themselves before they die" - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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The Shock That Arouses The innocent looking mine floating on the surface of the ocean seems utterly inert, devoid of power. But let some other object strike it, and a terrific explosion occurs. The force was there all the time; it only required a shock to bring it into play. How many persons have discovered their latent forces for the first time through the shock of some emergency or tragedy! The sick woman whose home is on fire is suddenly empowered to rise out of a sick bed and do the work of a giant. The very thought of her children, her valuables, herself being in danger aroused a terrific force enough to sit up. Where did this force come from? The fire did not put it in her. The power was there all the time. How many individuals, even whole families, have plodded along in mediocrity, just barely getting a living, until perhaps a fire, failure, some terrible calamity came to them, and then, when they were driven in upon themselves as their last resort, they were surprised to find riches of power and force which they never before knew they possessed. -Orison
Swett Marden
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The Hidden Powers Within Self-discovery is a very slow process. The child finds a little of himself, the youth a little more, the man of thirty a little more; then more in his forties, more in the fifties. Multitudes of men never discover themselves until after they have passed their fiftieth milestone. There seems to be a time-lock in our natures which does not open the doors to the great powers within us until certain ages are reached, until certain things happen in our lives or until some great crisis or some tremendous catastrophe occurs which sets free our powers; just as fire, when it reaches a certain degree of heat in a building, melts metal and releases water in the sprinkler pipe. It takes the fire of sorrow and suffering, of dissappointment, of failure, of some great distraction, some great catastrophe, to generate sufficient heat to melt that which will release tremendous forces within us which nothing else could free. Ah, the locked up forces in our natures, the pent up powers, the sleeping ability! If something could only release these in us, just as the lion in the lion cub herding with sheep was released by the roar of the other lion on the brow of the hill! That roar met its response in the lion cub, because it released something in it which it had never before known in all its experience. But once released it was a power which even surprised the lion cub. How many of us have been timid, shy and bashful, lacking confidence in ourselves, ignoring ourselves, until suddenly something has happened to lift the lid from our latent powers and free a terrific force within us which we never before knew we possessed! And never again can we be persuaded to live a little life, to be satisfied with a cheap success, or the mediocre achievement of our previous life, once we have found the lion. We have discovered that we are not timid, retiring sheep at all. Our lion nature has been released and we are new creatures, born to win, to dominate, to conquer! -Orison
Swett Marden
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I Dare You To Build Character There is an old Hindu legend, says Claude Bragdon, that men so sinned and abused the Divine that Brahma, the god of all gods, decided that the godhead should be taken away from man and hid some place where they would never again find it to abuse it. "We will bury it deep in the earth," said the other gods. "No", said Brahma, "because man will dig down in the earth and find it." "Then we will sink it in the deepest ocean," they said. "No", said Brahma, because man will learn to dive and find it there too." "We will hide it on the highest mountain," they said. "No," said Brahma, "because man will someday climb every mountain on the earth and again capture the godhead." "Then we do not know where to hide it where he cannot find it," said the lesser gods. "I will tell you," said Brahma, "hide it down in man himself. He will never think to look there." And that is what they did. Hidden down in every man is some of the divine. Ever since then he has gone over the earth digging, diving and climbing, looking for that godlike quality which all the time is hidden down within himself. It is the Spark that I am daring you to turn into a blaze. Or, as my friend Dwight Bradley puts it -"It is the radiance we must recapture." It is something genuine, something for everyday use. It is the spirit that naturally makes you do the right thing at the right time. It's the thing that makes a gentleman and gentlewoman. It is that unseen something that will not let you take advantage of a weaker person, whether it be on the football field or in a business transaction. It is that something inside of every worth while person that makes him decide right when temptation confronts him, be fair, be honest, and be dependable. And this spirit I am talking about is not one that skulks back in the shadows. It is one that belongs up with the captains and kings. It is a spirit proud of its heritage, one that flies its banner high. -William
H.Danforth
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What Inspiration Can Do Do you feel despondent, hopeless, like ending it all? That's how H.C. Mattern felt, some years ago. He had come to New York City from his home in Pennsylvania which he had left because of family and economic troubles. He had hoped to get back on his feet in New York but things, as they often do, when you are upset, mentally and emotionally, had gone from bad to worse. Mattern finally decided, since he owed seven weeks room rent, was down to his last couple of dollars, and had exhausted prospects and resources, that the only way out was suicide. But there were several little errands he was intent on doing first, and one of them led him through the book department on the ground floor of Macy's department store. As he passed a booktable the title was Your key to Happiness, by Harold Sherman. In Mattern's disturbed state of mind, this title acted as a red rag is supposed to react upon a bull. Mattern raged to himself: "There's no such thing as a key to happiness!" But the title stayed with him as he reached the sidewalk, like the lance of a bullfighter stuck in his side. On impulse, he wheeled about, retraced his steps, went back to the booktable, took up the bookand bought it with his last remaining dollars. Returning to his room, with the poison he had also purchased to take his life, Mattern thumbed through the book in a defiant mood. One of the first passages he came across spoke to him in these words: "Whether you realize it or not, you are directly or indirectly responsible for everything that happens to you!" Mattern almost threw the book out the window. He had been blaming his unhappy experiences in life upon others, telling himself that circumstances beyond his control had brought these desperate conditions upon him. The last person he wanted to face was himself, least of all to have to admit that he may have been the cause of any of his shortcomings or problems. To prove that the author of Your Key to Happiness didn't know what he was talking about, Mattern read further. But, the further he read, the harder he found himself being hit. "You may be wondering, at this very moment, whether there is any real way out of the difficulties which surround you. And, if you are, my answer to you is: Don't lose hope! There is a way to solve your problems- to realize the conditions which may now be pressing in upon you; a way that will enable you to achieve the things in life which mean most to you...." Mattern picked up interest. His thoughts of suicide began to recede into the background of his mind. What was this way? How could he ever pull himself out of the tailspin he was in?There it was, in plain black and white: "You must develop the ability to picture clearly in your mind whatever success you desire." Remember, I've told you that this message isn't new-that it has been written and delivered thousands of times; but it is always new to the man or woman who receives it for the first time Harold Sherman was telling Mattern just what I am telling you about the power within. Sherman had discovered that power his way, as I discovered it in my way-and we both were given the urge to "tell the world about it." -Claude
M. Bristol and Harold Sherman
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