AUTHOR'S PREFACE
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 12 13 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.