April 30

A friend, Harry, loved dogs, especially a favorite, “Whiskers” who always went everywhere with him. Once Harry had to go to a nearby town on some business. He wrote to a hotel asking if he could bring his dog with him. The reply was:

Dear Sir:

By all means bring your dog Whiskers along. Dogs rate high in this hotel. Never have I had to eject an unruly dog in the middle of the night. Never has a dog gotten drunk and messed my furniture. I have never had a dog go to sleep and set the mattress on fire with a lighted cigarette. Never has a dog made drinking-glass rings on my dressers. I have never yet found a towel or an ashtray in a dog’s suitcase. So bring your dog along.

P.S. You can come, too, if the dog will vouch for you.

April 29

If you do not like a person, or he you, and you do something for him, it can sometimes increase his dislike because it puts him under obligation to you. He may even regard your action as patronizing, But if you encourage him to do something for you, he will feel complimented despite himself and his good opinion of you will increase, for you have shown that you respect his ability. You have treated his ego with esteem.

April 28

A businessman had failed twice in business—once during a depression and again when a partner ruined him. Twice he started over. Twice he was forced to sell out and work his way out of debt. But did it fate him? Not at all. “A failure is just the reverse side of success,” he said. “With God’s help, I find you can always turn things around. I have faith in God and faith in myself.”

April 27

The Kingdom of God is within you—within every man. It is God’s gift to all humanity—available for the asking.

April 26

All actions, good or bad, start somewhere. They are best controlled at the start. If you stop the thought that leads to a dishonest action, you will block off the action itself.

April 25

In Kyoto there is a shrine famous for its stone garden. For centuries, fifteen stones of different shapes and sizes have been resting in a garden of carefully raked sand. By tradition, the stones represent the fifteen basic problems of mankind—every person names his or her own. But all the stones cannot be seen at the same time. The message I take away from the enigmatic stones at Kyoto is that no one can or should try to contemplate, much less solve, all his problems at once. People should instead make a deliberate mental effort to block out all their problems except one, and concentrate on solving that one—this way there is more mental strength to apply.

April 24

On a classroom wall of my boyhood hung a picture showing a lonely beach with the tide out and a boat stranded on the sand. Few things look more depressing than a boat left high and dry by receding water. The inscription under the picture said, “Remember, the tide always comes back.” There is ebb and flow in the vicissitudes of human life. When everything goes against you and it seems you can hold on no longer, never give up. The tide will turn.

April 23

I have watched many star athletes. Looking back at the men who were consistently good—Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Roger Hornsby, Duke Snyder—there was one quality possessed by all of them: enthusiasm. That spirit helped these men boost their batting averages to become the greatest performers in baseball history. It can help you.

April 22

A successful businesswoman commits every day to God. As a result of this practice, she says that nothing can be a disappointment because whatever happens is according to His plan and will. It changes disappointment to His appointment. 

April 21

When faced with great difficulties, hold clearly and tenaciously in your mind the thought that, with God’s help, you can marshal your powers of concentration, reason, self-discipline, and imagination. And keep on believing that you actually do have the power to beat back circumstance. In so doing, you are bound to win.

April 20

Difficulties can be and often are blessings in disguise. Horace, the great Roman, said, “Difficulties elicit talents that in more fortunate circumstances would lie dormant.” And Disraeli Wrote, “Difficulties constitute the best education in this life.”

April 19

The most vital, creative, and positive thoughts are those stated in the Bible. Its words are alive and form powerful thought processes. The Bible itself states what its inspired words will do: “If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7).

April 18

Watch out for defeat psychology. An experience in which you don't make out too well can shake your confidence in yourself; and, if you do not promptly make another try, defeat psychology can take hold and freeze you mentally. So, when you fall flat, pick yourself up fast and go right on to the next challenge. Don't give failure time to develop in your consciousness.

April 17

Inscribed on a sundial on the Mount Holyoke College campus are these words: “To larger sight, the rim of shadow is the line of light.” Perhaps death is only a momentary rim of shadow. Behind it, waiting, is the radiance of eternal life, the greatest days of all.

April 16

Waking up creatively every morning is an all important skill in having a good day, It can be cultivated and developed so effectively that you can guarantee to yourself a good day, all day every day. As you arise in the morning, mentally picture the good day you want and confidently expect it. Picture it clearly in your mind. Strongly affirm the good day ahead. Then proceed to make it so.

April 15

When asked to explain his calm indifference to criticism a friend asked: “What happens when someone points a finger at you? Point your finger at me now.” Nonplussed, I leveled my forefinger at him. “Now, who are your other three fingers pointing at?” “Why, they are pointing at me!” l exclaimed. “That's right,” he concluded triumphantly. “So I win over a critic three to one!”

April 14

Many people suffering from unresolved fear find release and relief through the practice of courage and confidence. These two positive mental attitudes—courage and confidence—banish fear; they make wonderful things happen. Yet all three—confidence, courage, fear—result from the kind of thoughts we think.

The mental climate a person creates determines whether he will have confidence even when things seem hopeless and have courage even when apprehensive factors appear. Think courage, act with courage. Image yourself as confident. Act with confidence. As you think, act, and image, so shall you become.

April 13

When you have failed, your first step is to forget. The second is never to settle for it; never accept a failure. Then go right back at it again. Extract what know-how you can. Never say: “Well, I failed. That means I can’t do it, I’ll not try it anymore.” That will develop the failure psychology in you so that you will become a failure person. Ask God’s guidance about how to do the thing better the next time and keep right at it until you become a success person.

April 12

Never run yourself down. Believe in yourself, esteem yourself not with egotism but with humble, realistic self-confidence. Stop brooding over the past. Drop the post-mortems! Live enthusiastically. Starting today, make the best you can of it. Give it all you’ve got and you will find that to be plenty.

April 11

In my youth, l heard a great speaker say. “You can become strongest in your weakest place.” As in welding, the broken point becomes strongest when heat is applied. So thought and intensity of faith can weld the weak spots in personality into great strength. It’s amazing what a person can creatively do with his own self.

April 10

The more I see of people the more I’m impressed by their astounding ability to meet tough situations. And their ability to rebound is fantastic. There is a built-in comeback power in you that should never be underestimated.

April 9

You never need to settle for what you are. You can be a new person. I've seen people change—defeated people become victorious, dull people become excited, real people experience marvelous change. We were not merely created: we can be re-created.

April 8

One of the problems of our day is how to counteract the effects on the younger generation of a civilization dedicated to the pursuit of luxury and the avoidance of effort. A hundred years ago, there was kindling to be chopped, water to be carried, animals to be fed. But not anymore. We are in danger of robbing our children of one of their greatest heritages: that of struggle.

April 7

It isn’t necessary or perhaps even good to have everyone like you. That idea can make you the worst kind of a mollycoddle. You will be spineless, uninteresting, lacking in character. Perhaps the greatest compliment ever paid President Grover Cleveland was when he was put in nomination before the Democratic Convention and the orator who presented his name said, “We love him for the enemies he has made.”

April 6

A fair amount of caution is sensible. Only a fool would be without it. But to listen to one’s fears when seeking guidance is quite another matter. Consider cautiously, but take counsel from your beliefs, not your fears—and you will average out a lot better in life. 

April 5

Louisa May Alcott was told by an editor that she would never be able to write anything that would have popular appeal. A music teacher told Enrico Caruso: “You can't sing. You have no voice at all.” And a teacher warned a boy named Thomas A. Edison that he was too stupid to pursue a scientific education! Never let anyone shunt you off from the main line of your aspirations.

April 4

Workmen building the Panama Canal had been digging and excavating the big ditch for a long time. Just as they thought it was finished, there was a huge landslide and much of the dirt taken out fell back in again. The man in charge dashed up to the boss, General Goethals, and exclaimed: “It’s terrible! Terrible! All the dirt’s back in again! What shall we do?” Goethals said calmly. “Dig it out again.” What else was there to do?

April 3

The Bible puts it this way: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Perhaps it might also be put this way: Think right to make things go right.

April 2

That which we constantly affirm has the tendency to take over in our thoughts and to produce changed attitudes. A simple affirmation repeated three times every morning—such as “I am alive. Life is good. God is with me. I am going to have a wonderful day”—produces the results imaged.

April 1

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t—you are right,” said Henry Ford.