The Thinker

Charles F. Haanel · 2 min read

Back of the beating hammer, / By which the steel is wrought, / Back of the workshop’s clamor, / The seeker may find the Thought; / The thought that is ever master / Of iron and steam and steel, / That rises above disaster / And tramples it under heel! — Berton Braley

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 on 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 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 to have a smile ready for every living creature you meet. To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticise 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 world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you. — Christian D. Larson

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In brief

Building upon the earlier progression from chemistry and biology toward the finer forces of mind, this chapter turns at last to the thinker himself. the agent who wields the creative power of thought. It argues that thought is a real, measurable, law-governed force, demonstrable by experiment: every human work exists first as a mental image, and each man's outer conditions are largely the projection of his inner world. Distinguishing disciplined, concentrated thought from idle reverie, the author invites the reader to prove the law upon himself by steadily holding a chosen quality in mind. Finally, the science of the thinker is presented not as the enemy of religion but as its natural vestibule, leading the honest investigator upward toward recognition of the creative principle within. The chapter closes with Christian D. Larson's 'Promise Yourself' resolutions offered as a practical program of mental discipline.

Key ideas

Thought is a genuine, measurable force operating under immutable law, to be tested by experiment rather than accepted on authority.
Every human creation exists first as a thought; the thinker is the author, not the passive spectator, of his own life and conditions.
Creative thought must be disciplined and concentrated like rays through a burning-glass; idle daydreaming warms nothing.
The reader can verify the law personally by steadily holding a single desired quality in mind until it appears in conduct and circumstance.
The science of the mind is the natural threshold of religion, leading the investigator upward toward the creative principle within.
Mastery of one's own thought is mastery of the master-force of the universe.

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Table of ContentsMental Chemistry

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The Thinker

In brief

Key ideas

The books teach the law.The Experience trains it.

The books teach the law.
The Experience trains it.