Day 10 - FAITH

Faith is self-generated, self-created.

"Question: Why are we Masters of our Fate, the captains of our souls? Because we have the power to control our thoughts, our attitudes. That is why many people live in the withering negative world. That is why many people live in the Positive Faith world. And you don't have to be a poet or a philosopher to know which is best." - Alfred A. Montapert

"Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith." (author unknown)

Everything in this universe is based on faith. Even scientists, who are strictly trained in observing things only as they exist, depend upon their faith that the laws and facts that they find today will be there tomorrow and forever after that, something which cannot be proven by any test and must be taken on faith. There is some assumption that such observed phenomenon are true or factual – this assumption is faith.

Faith is self-generated. It isn't a quantity that you can pour out of a container or measure with a spoon. It is completely variable from person to person, from subject to subject within each person. Faith depends on creating a belief in something. While a key point in religion, it isn't only relegated to that use. Self-confidence is faith in oneself. Trust is a form of faith in another. But just as someone else can't change your mind for you, so you can't give your faith to someone else. They must generate it for themselves.

What does this have to do with self-help, self-improvement? In Mr. Hill's example of Charles Schwab and US Steel from Day 9, he mentioned the mixture of faith with his idea in order to generate the plan which he then executed. Faith was a second factor to the idea itself. Part of creating a new environment around you will depend on how much self-confidence you have, how much you can trust yourself. This is not a chicken-and-egg conundrum. Faith is simply generated, much like electrical generators create electricity. If you need more faith to make your dreams come to fruition, then simply create more.

While this seems more complex, or more difficult, Dr. Peale covers many examples of utilizing religious faith to handle worry, barriers, lack of energy, lack of happiness and many other common ailments to this society. He has chapters devoted to examples and methods for handling each of the above ailments and more. His book is a good read on this subject.

How to create faith is simple. Dr. Peale quotes William James who said,

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.”

This relates: if you need more faith, simply consider that you have more. Find something about whatever bothers you that you can have faith in: the object is the same color from day to day; “you can always count on him to ....” Just start thinking down the line of having more faith and more shows up. Consider that you have faith, act like you do, and you soon will be overflowing with it.

All that we have studied through this book brings you up against this next point: By changing your thoughts to creative, positive ones and by changing your attitudes, by creating a vision of what you want to accomplish – you've been creating faith all along, even if starting only with the idea from starting this book that something could be improved – that alone took a great deal of self-generated faith.

For faith is an idea. It isn't tangible, it can't be spent. But it can be invested and get a substantial return. Invest your faith in your vision. The more you put in, the stronger your vision will seem, the more real, and the faster it will accrue for you.

The point of positive thought is that is only works to the exact degree a person commits himself to it. The point of any failure of self-help or self-improvement is the failure to commit. Those who are bad-mouthing some of these books are the one's who will never profit from them, since they cannot invest anything of themselves into it. Some won't even go so far as to read a book on the subject. It's long been said that you can't change anyone else's mind for them. You can, however, set a personal example which others can evaluate their own life against. They can then generate their own faith in the possibility of improving something in their own life.

James Allen put it simply, “The higher he lifts his thoughts, the greater will be his success, the more blessed and enduring will be his achievements.”

Charles F. Haanel said it this way, “In order to secure the larger supply your demand must be increased, and as you consciously increase the demand the supply will follow, you will find yourself coming into a larger and larger supply of life, energy and vitality.”

Hill points out in some detail that one's faith is a habit. Changing the amount of faith one has is determined by auto-suggestion, what one constantly tells oneself. Simply practicing affirming the vision and result as having already occurred brings forward a strength of faith possibly never seen before. There is a simple mental discipline to building faith. Create the attitude, practice it - and then it becomes part of you.

Funny, we've been dealing with faith all along and didn't know it. Quite a sneaker, eh? So faith follows the laws of thought, just like any attitude – if you need it, create it. Put some faith in your vision, your plan, yourself. And then put on some more for good measure. The more you put in, the more you'll get out.

Day 10 Exercises:

Try this –

From Hill's Think and Grow Rich:

"SELF-CONFIDENCE FORMULA

"First. I know that I have the ability to achieve the object of my Definite Purpose in life,
therefore, I DEMAND of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment, and I
here and now promise to render such action.

"Second. I realize the dominating thoughts of my mind will eventually reproduce themselves
in outward, physical action, and gradually transform themselves into physical reality,
therefore, I will concentrate my thoughts for thirty minutes daily, upon the task of thinking of
the person I intend to become, thereby creating in my mind a clear mental picture of that
person.

"Third. I know through the principle of auto-suggestion, any desire that I persistently hold in
my mind will eventually seek expression through some practical means of attaining the
object back of it, therefore, I will devote ten minutes daily to demanding of myself the
development of SELF-CONFIDENCE.

"Fourth. I have clearly written down a description of my DEFINITE CHIEF AIM in life, and
I will never stop trying, until I shall have developed sufficient self-confidence for its
attainment.

"Fifth. I fully realize that no wealth or position can long endure, unless built upon truth and
justice, therefore, I will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom it affects. I
will succeed by attracting to myself the forces I wish to use, and the cooperation of other
people. I will induce others to serve me, because of my willingness to serve others. I will
eliminate hatred, envy, jealousy, selfishness, and cynicism, by developing love for all
humanity, because I know that a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success.
I will cause others to believe in me, because I will believe in them, and in myself.

"I will sign my name to this formula, commit it to memory, and repeat it aloud once a day,
with full FAITH that it will gradually influence my THOUGHTS and ACTIONS so that I
will become a self-reliant, and successful person."