in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores
alive unless we win! We now have no choice—we win, or we perish!
They won.
Every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn
his ships and cut all sources of retreat. Only by so doing can one
be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a BURNING DESIRE
TO WIN, essential to success.
The morning after the great Chicago fire, a group of merchants stood
on State Street, looking at the smoking remains of what had been
their stores. They went into a conference to decide if they would
try to rebuild, or leave Chicago and start over in a more promising
section of the country. They reached a decision—all except one—to
leave Chicago.
The merchant who decided to stay and rebuild pointed a finger at
the remains of his store, and said, "Gentlemen, on that very
spot I will build the world's greatest store, no matter how many
times it may burn down."
That was more than fifty years ago. The store was built. It stands
there today, a towering monument to the power of that state of mind
known as a BURNING DESIRE. The easy thing for Marshal Field to have
done, would have been exactly what his fellow merchants did. When
the going was hard, and the future looked dismal, they pulled up
and went where the going seemed easier.
Mark well this difference between Marshal Field and the other merchants,
because it is the same difference which distinguishes Edwin C. Barnes
from thousands of other young men who have worked in the Edison
organization. It is the same difference which distinguishes practically
all who succeed from those who fail.
Every human being who reaches the age of understanding of the purpose
of money, wishes for it. Wishing will not bring riches. But desiring
riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning
definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans
with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches.
The method by which DESIRE for riches can be transmuted into its
financial equivalent, consists of six definite, practical steps,
viz:
First. Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. It
is not sufficient merely to say "I want plenty of money."
Be definite as to the amount. (There is a psychological reason for
definiteness which will be described in a subsequent chapter).
Second. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for
the money you desire. (There is no such reality as "something
for nothing.)
Third. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the
money you desire.
Fourth. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and
begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into
action.