THE THIRD KEY: KNOWLEDGE

It is through the intellect that man rules the universe. The pen is migh- tier than the sword. Your miracle super-forces of the mind are more easily motivated and released when you fortify yourself with knowledge.

This does not mean that you must be a college graduate to succeed in life; many great men have risen to high positions who did not have a formal education. Wisdom is very often an innate trait and some of the great philo- sophers like Socrates and Plato founded their own schools. Henry Ford was not a college graduate but he had innate wisdom. He absorbed knowledge sufficient for his purposes and succeeded in his chosen field.

Bacon said, “For knowledge, too, is itself power.”

All knowledge begins with this precept by Socrates, “Know thyself.”

The Regime For Building Knowledge

1. Observe the universe about you and stimulate all five senses by ab- sorbing the sights, sounds, and experiences that surround you every day.

2. Reason out why things happen in the physical and material universe under the law of cause and effect.

3. Study specialized knowledge that fits your business or profession and keep up to date on latest developments in your field by subscribing to magazines dealing in such matters.

4. Expand the horizons of your mind by absorbing as much knowledge as you can about as many things as possible. Take an interest in civic events in your community; join clubs and organizations that have a wide diversity of interests.

5. Learn by example through emulating the lives and thoughts of great men of history. Read their biographies and autobiographies; find out what they thought, how they worked, what books they read; learn everything you can about their lives and then use them as models by which you shape your own life.

6. Study books on psychology and find out how the human mind works. You will not only be better able to cope with your own life problems by knowing psychology but such a study will help you understand other people better and improve your relationship with them in your social life and business world.

7. Every day learn some new word or fact that will add to the sum total of your knowledge as you grow older. Most people make the mistake of clos- ing their minds to new ideas when they close their high school or college books. The human brain is illimitable in its ability to absorb more and more knowledge as we grow older. Scientists now find that an older person, who has kept his brain agile and active, can learn and retain new facts as readily as a young person.

8. Keep your brain agile and exercised by studying a foreign language course, or working out mathematical problems, or studying public speaking, singing, dancing, music, writing; any activity that is new to you and which will keep your brain and body cells active and youthful will not only add to your sum total of knowledge but will actually give you better health and more vitality. Scientists now find that the brain centers are tied, in some mysterious fashion, to various organs and centers of the body. When any of these brain centers are left undeveloped they atrophy and the parts of the body which are tied in with these brain centers begin to deteriorate and weaken. This is why scientists now urge old people to take an active interest in all kinds of hob- bies and avocations when they retire.

A man once asked J. P. Morgan why he didn’t retire. He said to the great financier, “You’re worth over a hundred million dollars. You surely don’t need more money. Why don’t you retire?”

Morgan asked the man, “When did your father retire?” The man answered, “In 1908. Why?”

“When did your father die?” Morgan asked. “In 1911,” the man answered.

“That’s the reason I don’t retire,” Morgan replied.

9. Have a planned reading regime for your future. Try to read a book a week; not just fiction but books that will help you improve your mind and add to the sum total of your knowledge. It is good to vary the subject matter of these books, so that you expand your horizons of thinking to encompass many fields. You might get a simple book on astronomy and discover the fascinating cosmic world of outer space. You might study a book on science and invention, to learn of the miracles being produced by men’s minds in our atomic age. Biology is another fascinating subject which will teach you se- crets about the vibrant and expanding world in which you live. You might al- so study the various philosophies of the ages, beginning with the Greek Phi- losophers and then going into the teachings of the Far East, and the compara- tive religions of the world. History is another all-engrossing subject for you to study, for through learning about the past you can know what mistakes to avoid in the future.