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This is Week Twelve of The Master Key System — “The Power of Concentration.” There is a lot in this chapter. Not only does it contain two of Haanel’s most famous lines that are quoted extensively on the Internet and Twitter, it also contains insight into two of Haanel’s most famous “laws”: the law of attraction and the law of love.

As if that weren’t enough, the exercise for this week is powerful — and we do our best to explain it on the many various levels that it can be explained. It’s a deep one. I hope that my explanation of it gives you some clarity about it.

In the “Letter of Transmittal” for Week Twelve, Haanel, in the first paragraph, gives us the quote that has become somewhat famous. This one line encapsulates the entire philosophy of The Master Key System. It’s the outline of why we’re studying this book as well as what we’re to do with the knowledge we gain from it.

You must first have the knowledge of your power; second, the courage to dare; third, the faith to do.

That’s everything that we’ve been discussing in a nutshell.

We must have the knowledge of the power that we possess: the power to think, to focus, to mold reality. When we know what we have, we can then use it to our advantage. When we have that, we can then dare to dream — and dream big! We can make big plans and pursue big goals. That’s when we do, because we have faith in out thoughts, our plans, and the actions that we will take.

To me, that’s one of the best lines ever written in the personal development genre. I use it on my emails (you do receive them, yes?) and even on my invoices. Commit it to memory. Reflect on it often. More importantly, out it to use by following what it dictates.

Later in the Letter of Transmittal, Haanel writes that

[T]he time and thought which most persons waste in aimless effort would accomplish wonders if properly directed with some special object in view.

That right there sums what Week Twelve is about. Are you the constant flitterer, jumping from one goal to another? Do you have one plan today then another the next? Do you approach life in a happy-go-lucky kind of way?

If you do, then let’s review points #1-9.

1. There is no purpose in life that cannot be best accomplished through a scientific understanding of the creative power of thought.

2. The power to think is common to all. Man is because he thinks. Man’s power to think is infinite, consequently his creative power is unlimited.

3. We know that thought is building for us the thing we think of and actually bringing it nearer, yet we find it difficult to banish fear, anxiety, or discouragement, all of which are powerful thought forces and which continually send the things we desire further away, so that it is often one step forward and two steps backward.

4. The only way to keep from going backward is to keep going forward. Eternal vigilance is the price of success. There are three steps, and each one is absolutely essential. You must first have the knowledge of your power; second, the courage to dare; third, the faith to do.

5. With this as a basis you can construct an ideal business, an ideal home, ideal friends, ideal environment. You are not restricted as to material or cost. Thought is omnipotent and has the power to draw on the Infinite bank of primary substance for all that it requires. Infinite resources are therefore at your command.

6. But your ideal must be sharp, clear-cut, definite; to have one ideal today, another tomorrow, and a third next week, means to scatter your forces and accomplish nothing; your result will be a meaningless and chaotic combination of wasted material.

7. Unfortunately this is the result which many are securing, and the cause is self evident. If a sculptor started out with a piece of marble and a chisel and changed his ideal every fifteen minutes, what result could he expect? And why should you expect any different result in moulding the greatest and most plastic of all substances—the only real substance?

8. The result of this indecision and negative thought is often found in the loss of material wealth. Supposed independence which required many years of toil and effort suddenly disappears. It is often found then that money and property are not independence at all. On the contrary, the only independence is found to be a practical working knowledge of the creative power of thought.

9. This practical working method cannot come to you until you learn that the only real power which you can have is the power to adjust yourself to Divine and unchangeable principles. You cannot change the Infinite, but you can come into an understanding of Natural laws. The reward of this understanding is a conscious realization of your ability to adjust your thought faculties with the Universal Thought which is Omnipresent. Your ability to cooperate with this Omnipotence will indicate the degree of success with which you meet.

What Haanel writes in these points describes one of the “keys” to success.

It was the “secret” to which Napoleon Hill referred in his incredible book Think & Grow Rich.

It was the main thing that The Master Key Workbook attempts to tackle. (And, I might add, why it is so popular.)

It is one of the main things I reinforce with all of my Master Key Coaching clients.

It’s the “secret to life” that Jack Palance imparted to Billy Crystal in the movie City Slickers.

(If you have trouble viewing this video, please click here.)

Did you watch the video? If you didn’t, here’s what was said.

While on horseback, Jack Palance turned to Billy Crystal and asked, “Do you know what the secret to life is?”

After Billy Crystal shakes his head, Mr. Palance raised his hand and showed one finger.

“This,” said Palance. “One thing. Just one thing.”

What he meant was that you have to find your “one thing,” the one thing that you want to do — your one main, over-riding goal.When you define that, when you make your choice and take a stand, things begin to fall into place and you will start to “activate” the two laws that Haanel describes.

The first law that Haanel mentions is the Law of Love.

18. The principle which gives the thought the dynamic power to correlate with its object, and therefore to master every adverse human experience, is the law of attraction, which is another name for love. This is an eternal and fundamental principle, inherent in all things, in every system of Philosophy, in every Religion, and in every Science. There is no getting away from the law of love. It is feeling that imparts vitality to thought. Feeling is desire, and desire is love. Thought impregnated with love becomes invincible.

This is the feeling we have when we have our goal. It’s our passion, perhaps even our enthusiasm. It’s “the creative force behind every manifestation.”

The second law is the Law of Attraction. You may have heard of it.

20. It is the operation of this marvelous law of attraction which has caused men in all ages and all times to believe that there must be some personal being who responded to their petitions and desires, and manipulated events in order to comply with their requirements.

How do the two work together?

21. It is the combination of Thought and Love which forms the irresistible force, called the law of attraction. All natural laws are irresistible. The law of Gravitation, or Electricity, or any other law operates with mathematical exactitude. There is no variation. It is only the channel of distribution which may be imperfect. If a bridge falls, we do not attribute the collapse to any variation of the law of gravitation. If a light fails us, we do not conclude that the laws governing electricity cannot be depended upon. Thus, if the law of attraction seems to be imperfectly demonstrated by an inexperienced or uninformed person, we are not to conclude that the greatest and most infallible law upon which the entire system of creation depends has been suspended. We should rather conclude that a little more understanding of the law is required, for the same reason that a correct solution of a difficult problem in Mathematics is not always readily and easily obtained.

22. Things are created in the mental or spiritual world before they appear in the outward act or event. By the simple process of governing our thought forces today, we help create the events which will come into our lives in the future, perhaps even tomorrow. Educated desire is the most potent means of bringing into action the law of attraction.

When you define your goal — when you declare your “definitiveness of purpose” — you bring these two laws into operation. As Haanel noted in prior weeks, things won’t drop from the sky nor materialize in your lap, but you will, as you make your plans and take action, encounter the people and find yourself in the circumstances you require to attain your goal.

We first need that goal — that “one thing” because as Haanel wrote in point #25

It is by concentration that deep thoughts, wise speech, and all forces of high potentiality are accomplished.

When you have your one goal, you can focus on it. You will realize the power of concentration and all the good it will bring you.

Business people are quite familiar with this because when they make a strategic plan, they will write a “mission statement,” a focused declaration of what the chief aim of the business is. This statement will guide the business and all the decisions made in the business.

It’s a powerful tool in a business — and it can also be a powerful tool in your life.

Write a personal mission statement. If you need help, use the exercises in The Master Key Workbook to help you. Do it. You’ll be glad that you did.

The exercise for this week is a deep one.

28. This week go to the same room, take the same chair, and the same position as heretofore. Be sure to relax. Let go, both mentally and physically; always do this; never try to do any mental work under pressure; see that there are no tense muscles or nerves, that you are entirely comfortable. Now realize your unity with omnipotence; get into touch with this power, come into a deep and vital understanding, appreciation, and realization of the fact that your ability to think is your ability to act upon the Universal Mind and bring it into manifestation. Realize that it will meet any and every requirement; that you have exactly the same potential ability which any individual ever did have or ever will have, because each is but an expression or manifestation of the One. All are parts of the whole. There is no difference in kind or quality—the only difference being one of degree.

You’re going to have a different view of this than someone else. Every person is going to do this exercise and see and feel something different. It’s a mental exercise the result of which will give you confidence and allow you to see the world in a new way.

During the call, I shared a few different perspectives I have as I do this exercise. A frequent caller also had an interesting view.

Listen to the call and then share your view by commenting here.

That’s all for this week. Join us next time as we explore Week Thirteen.

Until then, get for yourself the best of everything.