by Napoleon Hill
Available in 122 free installments
Owner:
She returned the smile and said, "Maybe we'd better let Dr. Gates explain. I really don't know how long it will take, but you're welcome to wait. If you prefer to come again, I'll see if I can make a definite appointment for you."
Mr. Hill decided to wait. It was a valuable decision. What he learned was well worth waiting for. This is how Napoleon Hill tells what happened:
When Dr. Gates finally came into the room and his secretary introduced us, I jokingly told him what his secretary had said. After he read the letter of introduction from Andrew Carnegie, he responded pleasantly, "Would you be interested in seeing where I sit for ideas and how I go about it?"
He led me to a small, soundproof room. The only furniture in the room consisted of a plain table and a
chair. On the table were pads of paper, several pencils, and a push-button to turn the lights off and on.
In our interview Dr. Gates explained that when he was unable to obtain an answer to a problem, he went into the room, closed the door, sat down, turned off the lights, and engaged in deep concentration. He applied the success principle of controlled attention, asking his subconscious mind to give him an answer to his specific problem, whatever it might be. On some occasions ideas didn't seem to come through. At other times they would immediately flow into his mind. And in some instances it would take as long as two hours before they made an appearance. As soon as ideas began to crystalize, he would turn on the lights and begin to write.
Dr. Elmer Gates refined and perfected more than two hundred patents which other inventors had undertaken but which had fallen just short of success. He was able to add the missing ingredients ? the something more. His method was to begin by examining the application for the patent and its drawings until he found its weakness, the something more that was lacking. He would bring a copy of the patient application and drawings into the room. While sitting for ideas, he would concentrate on finding the solution to a specific problem.
When Napoleon Hill asked Dr. Gates to explain the source of his results while sitting for ideas, he gave the following explanation: "The sources of all ideas are:
1. Knowledge stored in the subconscious mind and acquired through individual experience, observation, and education.
2. Knowledge accumulated by others through the same media, which may be communicated by telepathy.
3. The great universal storehouse of Infinite Intelligence, wherein is stored all knowledge and all facts, and which may be contacted through the subconscious section of the mind.
"When I sit for ideas, I may tune in to one or all of these sources. If other sources of ideas are available, I do not know what they are."
Dr. Elmer Gates found the time to concentrate and think in his search for something more. He knew specifically what he was looking for. And he followed through with positive action!
In Chapter Seven, we will discuss how you can "Learn To See" so that your search for something more will be made easier. In your search, you may fail. But in failing you may succeed in discovering something even greater. Ask yourself, "Why?" Be observant. Think! Get into action!
The Bible and both a good, comprehensive dictionary and an encyclopedia should, we believe, be in every home. They also can help in your search for something more.
YOU DON'T NEED TO BE ASHAMED
TO BE A FAILURE
LIKE CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS!
Look in your Encyclopaedia Britannica and you'll find the thrilling, exciting story of Christopher Columbus. He studied astronomy, geometry, and cosmography at the University of Pavia. The Book of Marco Polo, theories of geographers, reports and traditions of mariners, as well as floating works of art and craftsmanship of non-European origin cast up by the sea ? all these stimulated his imagination.
Step by step over the years he came to the firm belief, through inductive reasoning, that the world was a sphere. Having reached this conclusion, he was convinced through deductive reasoning, that the Asiatic continent could be reached by sailing westward from Spain just as well as Marco Polo had reached it by traveling east. He developed a burning desire to prove his theory. He sought the necessary financial backing, ships, and men to explore the unknown and find something more.
