The Secret of Success

Along that wire flows the current of Will Power, which the individual "taps" and draws down into his mind, and by which he is able to move, act, and manifest power. But the power is always in the Wire; his "development" consists of the ability to connect with that Wire and thus "tap into" its energy. If you keep this idea in mind, you will be able to apply this truth more easily in your everyday life.

A great promoter of the steel-pen and electroplating industries likely referring to Josiah Mason (1795–1881), a famous English industrialist and philanthropist possessed this quality to a marked degree. It has been said of him: "He had, to begin with, a strong, powerful, almost irresistible Will; and whoever and whatever he opposed, he surely conquered in the end." Buxton Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton (1786–1845), a British politician and reformer known for his tireless energy said: "The longer I live, the more certain I am that the great difference between men—between the feeble and the powerful, the great and the insignificant—is Energy, Invincible Determination, a purpose once fixed, and then Victory or Death. That quality will do anything that can be done in this world; and no talents, no circumstances, and no opportunities will make a two-legged creature a man without it." In this last quotation and the one preceding it, the ideas of Persistence and Determination are identified closely with the Will. They are indeed closely linked. The idea is that the Will should be held close, fast, and steadily against the task to be accomplished, just as a steel chisel is held firmly against the object on a lathe lathe a machine tool used for shaping metal or wood by rotating the workpiece against a cutting tool until its work is finished. It is not mere Determination or Persistency that does the work; these would be of no use unless the Will were there to do the actual cutting and shaping. But then again, there is a double aspect of the Will here: in one phase, the Will does the work, while in another, it forces the mind to hold focus against the task. So, in a sense, the Will is the power behind determination and persistency, as well as the force doing the work—it is the cutting edge of the chisel as well as the firm hand that holds it to its task.

Simpson likely Sir James Young Simpson (1811–1870), a pioneering physician has said: "A passionate Desire and an unwearied Will can perform impossibilities, or what would seem to be such to the cold and feeble." Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), a British Prime Minister and novelist said: "I have brought myself by long meditation to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a Will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment." Foster likely John Foster (1770–1843), a renowned English essayist says: "It is wonderful how even the accidents of life seem to bow to a spirit that will not bow to them, and yield to serve a design which they might, in their first apparent tendency, threaten to frustrate. When a firm, decisive spirit is recognized, it is curious to see how the space clears around a man and leaves him room and freedom." Mitchell Donald Grant Mitchell (1822–1908), an American author also known by the pen name Ik Marvel has said: "Resolve is what makes a man manifest; not puny resolve, not crude determination, not aimless purpose—but that strong and tireless Will which treads down difficulties and danger as a boy treads down the frozen, heaving ground of winter, and which kindles his eye and brain with a proud pulse-beat toward the unattainable. Will makes men giants."