Chapter - Index
IN EVERY chapter of this book, mention has been made of the money-making
secret which has made fortunes for more than five hundred exceedingly
wealthy men whom I have carefully analyzed over a long period of
years.
The secret was brought to my attention by Andrew Carnegie, more
than a quarter of a century ago. The canny, lovable old Scotsman
carelessly tossed it into my mind, when I was but a boy. Then he
sat back in his chair, with a merry twinkle in his eyes, and watched
carefully to see if I had brains enough to understand the full significance
of what he had said to me.
When he saw that I had grasped the idea, he asked if I would
be willing to spend twenty years or more, preparing myself to take
it to the world, to men and women who, without the secret, might
go through life as failures. I said I would, and with Mr. Carnegie's
cooperation, I have kept my promise.
This book contains the secret, after having been put to a practical
test by thousands of people, in almost every walk of life. It was
Mr. Carnegie's idea that the magic formula, which gave him a stupendous
fortune, ought to be placed within reach of people who do not have
time to investigate how men make money, and it was his hope that
I might test and demonstrate the soundness of the formula through
the experience of men and women in every calling. He believed the
formula should be taught in all public schools and colleges, and
expressed the opinion that if it were properly taught it would so
revolutionize the entire educational system that the time spent
in school could be reduced to less than half.
His experience with Charles M. Schwab, and other young men of
Mr. Schwab's type, convinced Mr. Carnegie that much of that which
is taught in the schools is of no value whatsoever in connection
with the business of earning a living or accumulating riches. He
had arrived at this decision, because he had taken into his business
one young man after another, many of them with but little schooling,
and by coaching them in the use of this formula, developed in them
rare leadership. Moreover, his coaching made fortunes for everyone
of them who followed his instructions.
In the chapter on Faith, you will read the astounding story of
the organization of the giant United States Steel Corporation, as
it was conceived and carried out by one of the young men through
whom Mr. Carnegie proved that his formula will work for all
who are ready for it. This single application of the secret, by
that young man--Charles M. Schwab--made him a huge fortune in both
money and OPPORTUNITY. Roughly speaking, this particular application
of the formula was worth six hundred million dollars.
These facts--and they are facts well known to almost everyone
who knew Mr. Carnegie--give you a fair idea of what the reading
of this book may bring to you, provided you KNOW WHAT IT IS
THAT YOU WANT.
Even before it had undergone twenty years of practical testing,
the secret was passed on to more than one hundred thousand men and
women who have used it for their personal benefit, as Mr. Carnegie
planned that they should. Some have made fortunes with it. Others
have used it successfully in creating harmony in their homes. A
clergyman used it so effectively that it brought him an income of
upwards of $75,000.00 a year.
Arthur Nash, a Cincinnati tailor, used his near-bankrupt business
as a "guinea pig" on which to test the formula. The business came
to life and made a fortune for its owners. It is still thriving,
although Mr. Nash has gone. The experiment was so unique that newspapers
and magazines, gave it more than a million dollars' worth of laudatory
publicity.
The secret was passed on to Stuart Austin Wier, of Dallas, Texas.
He was ready for it--so ready that he gave up his profession and
studied law. Did he succeed? That story is told too.
I gave the secret to Jennings Randolph, the day he graduated
from College, and he has used it so successfully that he is now
serving his third term as a Member of Congress, with an excellent
opportunity to keep on using it until it carries him to the White
House.
While serving as Advertising Manager of the LaSalle Extension
University, when it was little more than a name, I had the privilege
of seeing J. G. Chapline, President of the University, use the formula
so effectively that he has since made the LaSalle one of the great
extension schools of the country.
The secret to which I refer has been mentioned no fewer than
a hundred times, throughout this book. It has not been directly
named, for it seems to work more successfully when it is merely
uncovered and left in sight, where THOSE WHO ARE READY, and SEARCHING
FOR IT, may pick it up. That is why Mr. Carnegie tossed it to me
so quietly, without giving me its specific name.
If you are READY to put it to use, you will recognize this secret
at least once in every chapter. I wish I might feel privileged to
tell you how you will know if you are ready, but that would deprive
you of much of the benefit you will receive when you make the discovery
in your own way.
While this book was being written, my own son, who was then finishing
the last year of his college work, picked up the manuscript of chapter
two, read it, and discovered the secret for himself. He used the
information so effectively that he went directly into a responsible
position at a beginning salary greater than the average man ever
earns. His story has been briefly described in chapter two. When
you read it, perhaps you will dismiss any feeling you may have had,
at the beginning of the book, that it promised too much. And, too,
if you have ever been discouraged, if you have had difficulties
to surmount which took the very soul out of you, if you have tried
and failed, if you were ever handicapped by illness or physical
affliction, this story of my son's discovery and use of the Carnegie
formula may prove to be the oasis in the Desert of Lost Hope, for
which you have been searching.
This secret was extensively used by President Woodrow Wilson,
during the World War. It was passed on to every soldier who fought
in the war, carefully wrapped in the training received before going
to the front. President Wilson told me it was a strong factor in
raising the funds needed for the war.
More than twenty years ago, Hon. Manuel L. Quezon (then Resident
Commissioner of the Philippine Islands), was inspired by the secret
to gain freedom for his people. He has gained freedom for the Philippines,
and is the first President of the free state.
A peculiar thing about this secret is that those who once acquire
it and use it, find themselves literally swept on to success, with
but little effort, and they never again submit to failure! If you
doubt this, study the names of those who have used it, wherever
they have been mentioned, check their records for yourself, and
be convinced.
There is no such thing as SOMETHING FOR NOTHING!
The secret to which I refer cannot be had without a price, although
the price is far less than its value. It cannot be had at any price
by those who are not intentionally searching for it. It cannot be
given away, it cannot be purchased for money, for the reason that
it comes in two parts. One part is already in possession of those
who are ready for it.
The secret serves equally well, all who are ready for it. Education
has nothing to do with it. Long before I was born, the secret had
found its way into the possession of Thomas A. Edison, and he used
it so intelligently that he became the world's leading inventor,
although he had but three months of schooling.
The secret was passed on to a business associate of Mr. Edison.
He used it so effectively that, although he was then making only
$12,000 a year, he accumulated a great fortune, and retired from
active business while still a young man. You will find his story
at the beginning of the first chapter. It should convince you that
riches are not beyond your reach, that you can still be what you
wish to be, that money, fame, recognition and happiness can be had
by all who are ready and determined to have these blessings.
How do I know these things? You should have the answer before
you finish this book. You may find it in the very first chapter,
or on the last page.
While I was performing the twenty year task of research, which
I had undertaken at Mr. Carnegie's request, I analyzed hundreds
of well known men, many of whom admitted that they had accumulated
their vast fortunes through the aid of the Carnegie secret; among
these men were:--
HENRY FORD, WILLIAM WRIGLEY JR., JOHN WANAMAKER, JAMES J. HILL,
GEORGE S. PARKER, E. M. STATLER, HENRY L. DOHERTY, CYRUS H. K. CURTIS,
GEORGE EASTMAN, THEODORE ROOSEVELT, JOHN W. DAVIS, ELBERT HUBBARD,
WILBUR WRIGHT, WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN, DR. DAVID STARR JORDAN, J.
ODGEN ARMOUR, CHARLES M. SCHWAB, HARRIS F. WILLIAMS, DR. FRANK GUNSAULUS,
DANIEL WILLARD, KING GILLETTE, RALPH A. WEEKS, JUDGE DANIEL, T.
WRIGHT, JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, THOMAS A. EDISON, FRANK A. VANDERLIP,
F. W. WOOLWORTH, COL. ROBERT A. DOLLAR, EDWARD A. FILENE, EDWIN
C. BARNES, ARTHUR BRISBANE, WOODROW WILSON, WM. HOWARD TAFT, LUTHER
BURBANK, EDWARD W. BOK, FRANK A. MUNSEY, ELBERT H. GARY, DR. ALEXANDER
GRAHAM BELL, JOHN H. PATTERSON, JULIUS ROSENWALD, STUART AUSTIN
WIER, DR. FRANK CRANE, GEORGE M. ALEXANDER, J. G. CHAPLINE, HON.
JENNINGS RANDOLPH, ARTHUR NASH, CLARENCE DARROW.
These names represent but a small fraction of the hundreds of
well known Americans whose achievements, financially and otherwise,
prove that those who understand and apply the Carnegie secret, reach
high stations in life. I have never known anyone who was inspired
to use the secret, who did not achieve noteworthy success in his
chosen calling. I have never known any person to distinguish himself,
or to accumulate riches of any consequence, without possession of
the secret. From these two facts I draw the conclusion that the
secret is more important, as a part of the knowledge essential for
self-determination, than any which one receives through what is
popularly known as "education." What is EDUCATION, anyway? This
has been answered in full detail.
As far as schooling is concerned, many of these men had very
little. John Wanamaker once told me that what little schooling he
had, he acquired in very much the same manner as a modern locomotive
takes on water, by "scooping it up as it runs." Henry Ford never
reached high school, let alone college. I am not attempting to minimize
the value of schooling, but I am trying to express my earnest belief
that those who master and apply the secret will reach high stations,
accumulate riches, and bargain with life on their own terms, even
if their schooling has been meager.
Somewhere, as you read, the secret to which I refer will jump
from the page and stand boldly before you, IF YOU ARE READY FOR
IT! When it appears, you will recognize it. Whether you receive
the sign in the first or the last chapter, stop for a moment when
it presents itself, and turn down a glass, for that occasion will
mark the most important turning-point of your life.
We pass now, to Chapter One, and to the story of my very dear
friend, who has generously acknowledged having seen the mystic sign,
and whose business achievements are evidence enough that he turned
down a glass. As you read his story, and the others, remember that
they deal with the important problems of life, such as all men experience.
The problems arising from one's endeavor to earn a living, to find
hope, courage, contentment and peace of mind; to accumulate riches
and to enjoy freedom of body and spirit.
Remember, too, as you go through the book, that it deals with
facts and not with fiction, its purpose being to convey a great
universal truth through which all who are READY may learn, not only WHAT TO
DO, BUT ALSO HOW TO DO IT! and receive, as well, THE NEEDED STIMULUS
TO MAKE A START.
As a final word of preparation, before you begin the first chapter,
may I offer one brief suggestion which may provide a clue by which
the Carnegie secret may be recognized? It is this--ALL ACHIEVEMENT,
ALL EARNED RICHES, HAVE THEIR BEGINNING IN AN IDEA! If you
are ready for the secret, you already possess one half of it, therefore,
you will readily recognize the other half the moment it reaches
your mind.
THE AUTHOR
Attribution: THINK and GROW RICH ©
1938, published 1938, by THE RALSTON SOCIETY, Meriden, Conn.
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