Bristol Claude Myron - The power of optimism

THE POWER OF OPTIMISM

THE POWER OF OPTIMISM

IMMORTAL LESSONS ON THE MAGIC OF POSITIVITY

CHRISTIAN D. LARSON

The Optimist Creed

CLAUDE M. BRISTOL

The Magic of Believing

FLORENCE SCOVEL SHINN

The Secret Door to Success

A.H.Z. CARR

How to Attract Good Luck

ABRIDGED AND INTRODUCED BY

MITCH HOROWITZ

Published by Gildan Media LLC

aka G&D Media.

www.GandDmedia.com

The Optimist Creed originally appeared in Christian D. Larsons

book Your Forces and How to Use Them (1910)

The Magic of Believing was originally published in 1948

The Secret Door to Success was originally published in 1940

How to Attract Good Luck was originally published in 1952

G&D Media Condensed Classics editions published 2019

Abridgement and Introduction copyright 2019 by Mitch Horowitz

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author. No liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained within. Although every precaution has been taken, the author and publisher assume no liability for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

FIRST EDITION: 2019

Cover design by David Rheinhardt of Pyrographx

Interior design by Meghan Day Healey of Story Horse, LLC.

ISBN: 978-1-7225-0203-4

eISBN: 978-1-7225-2302-2

Contents

Introduction

The Power of Maybe

By Mitch Horowitz

D oes optimism or self-belief matter? Does it really change anythingor does it, as some critics says, put us at risk of dangerous self-delusion? Any kind of thinking taken to an extreme can result in delusion. But without a sturdy sense of self-belief, nothing is possibleand nothing will be there to rescue you when faced with challenges or urgencies.

Indeed, remarkable things can emerge from a feeling of fresh possibility and optimism. American philosopher William James called it the sense of maybe. He wrote this in his 1895 essay Is Life Worth Living?:

The scientific life itself has much to do with maybes, and human life at large has everything to do with them. So far as man stands for anything, and is productive or originative at all, his entire vital function may be said to be to deal with maybes. Not a victory is gained, not a deed of faithfulness or courage is done, except upon a maybe It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all. And often enough our faith beforehand in an uncertified result is the only thing that makes the result come true. Suppose, for instance, that you are climbing a mountain and have worked yourself into a position from which the only escape is by a terrible leap. Have faith that you can successfully make it, and your feet are nerved to its accomplishment. But mistrust yourself, and think of all the sweet things you have heard the scientists say of maybes, and you will hesitate so that, at last, all unstrung and trembling, and launching yourself in a moment of despair, you roll in the abyss. In such a case the part of wisdom as well as of courage is to believe what is in the line of your needs, for only by the belief is the need fulfilled.

James saw belief in something as the determining factor as to how or whether you experience its effects. Hence, belief in a desired outcome can, in itself, increase its possibility via the tools and applications needed to bring it about.

It is in this vein that I invite you to enter this volume of condensed works on the power of optimism. I hope you enter it with a sense of adventure. These are not myopic works. They are works for the strongminded. Works for people who know where they areand where they want to be. And for people who believe, quite rightly, that the power of thought is a vital component to arriving.

THE
OPTIMIST
CREED

THE OPTIMIST CREED

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

THE
MAGIC OF
BELIEVING

THE MAGIC OF BELIEVING

by Claude M. Bristol

The Immortal Program to Unlocking the Success-Power of Your Mind

Abridged and Introduced by Mitch Horowitz

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

The Metaphysics of Success

By Mitch Horowitz

T he American metaphysical scene has produced no other figure quite like Claude M. Bristol. Born in 1891, Bristol had a background as varied as the nation itself: a veteran, a seeker, a sometime journalist, a sometime businessman, and an enthusiast of the possibilities and powers of the mind.

As a veteran, Bristol returned from World War One to witness a nation in transition. The American economy was growing but the mass of people returning from the war, many of whom came from agrarian roots and had never worked in manufacturing or large offices, were unsure of how to enter the new economy. Bristol believed that the threshold of prosperity began in the mind. He wrote his two and only booksthe fullest being