Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude

"I am the same man that I was yesterday before I lost my wallet. I was happy then, I should be happy now ? just to be in America ? just to have the privilege of enjoying a holiday in this great city.

"I won't waste my time in futile unhappiness over my loss."

And so he headed off, on foot. He saw the White House and the Capitol, he visited the great museums, he climbed to the top of the Washington Monument. He wasn't able to take the tour of Arlington and some other places he'd wanted to see. But what he did see, he saw more thoroughly. He bought peanuts and candy and nibbled on them to keep from getting too hungry.

And when he got back to Denmark, the part of his American trip he remembered best was that day on foot in Washington ? a day that might have gotten away from Jorgen Juhldahl if he had not employed the secret of getting things done. For he knew the truth in the statement. NOW is the time. He knew that NOW must be seized before it becomes: yesterday-I-could-have...

Incidentally, to round off his story, five days after that eventful day Washington police found both wallet and passport and sent them to him.

Are you scared of your own best ideas? One of the things that often prevents us from seizing the NOW is a certain timidity in the face of our own inspirations. We're a little bit afraid of our ideas when they first occur to us. They may seem novel or farfetched. There's no doubt about it: It takes a certain boldness to step out on an untested idea. Yet it's exactly this kind of boldness that often produces the most spectacular results. The well-known writer, Elsie Lee, tells about Ruth Butler and her sister Eleanor, the daughters of a nationally-known New York furrier.

"My father was a frustrated painter," says Ruth, "He had talent, but the need to earn a living left him no time to build a reputation as an artist. So he collected painting. Later, he started buying paintings for Eleanor and me. Thus, the girls developed a knowledge and appreciation fine art, along with an impeccable sense of taste. As they grew older, friends would consult them on what types of paintings they should buy for their homes. Often they would loan pieces from their collection for brief periods.

One day Eleanor woke Ruth up at 3 A.M. "Don't start arguing, but I have a terrific idea! We're going to form a Master Mind alliance."

"Now what in the world is a Master Mind alliance?" Ruth asked.

"A Master Mind alliance is coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose. And that's just what we're going to do. We're going into the business of renting paintings!"

And Ruth agreed. It was a terrific idea. They set to work the same day ? although friends tried to warn them of dangers: Their valued paintings might be lost or stolen; and there might be law suits and insurance problems. But they went right on working ?

accumulating $300 in capital and talking their father into loaning them the basement of his fur shop, rent free.

"We hauled 1,800 paintings from our own collections in among the coat forms," Ruth recalls, "and ignored father's sad and disapproving eyes. The first year was grim ? a real struggle."

But the novel idea paid off. Their company, known as the New York Circulating Library of Paintings, became a success ? with about 500 paintings constantly on rental to business firms, doctors, lawyers and for use in homes. One valued client was an inmate of the Massachusetts Penitentiary for eight years. He wrote humbly that perhaps the Library wouldn't rent to him, considering his address. The paintings went to him rent free except for transportation costs. In return Ruth and Eleanor received a letter from prison authorities telling how the paintings were used in an art appreciation course that benefited many hundreds of prisoners. Ruth and Eleanor started their business with an idea. And then they backed their idea up with immediate action. The results were a profit to themselves and increased pleasure and happiness for many others.

Are you ready to double your income? W. Clement Stone toured the Asiatic and Pacific areas as one of seven executives serving as representatives of the National Sales Executives International. On a Tuesday, Stone gave a talk on motivation to a group of businessmen at Melbourne, Australia. The following Thursday evening, he received a phone call. It was from Edwin H. East, manager of a firm that sold metal cabinets. Mr. East was excited: "Something wonderful has happened! You'll be as enthusiastic as I am when I tell you about it!"

"Tell me about it. What did happen?"