directed,
it must be controlled, the same as any other living force. Not only is
it a positive necessity to the winner, but it must grow and become _a
natural quality_. It does not stand after years of abuse. It does not
spring up in the night after a long season of neglect and ill-health.
All of us possess it in varying ways. That fact ought to convince us
that we can get hold of ourselves and build up that which nature has
given us, rather than allow it to die away. We all have a certain amount
of energy ... _why shouldn't we all be successes_? We might to a
certain extent, but that doesn't mean that we shall all get rich in the
money sense of the world.

When we say: "Why shouldn't we all be successes?" we do not mean that
everybody in the world must be greedy for money, nor for power and
position. It does not mean that we should be selfish and eager to take
everything away from the other fellow. On the contrary, it means that,
with energy, we shall be successful _according to our brain tendency_.

Going back to our second chapter we find the phrase "taking stock" of
ourselves. Done rightly that alone will inspire success. Now if we are a
little farther along on the way towards sane living and the _ability to
laugh_ and we know that after this struggle is over the battle is won we
must use the powers that self-analysis gives us--_to fight_. The mere
recognition of them is power and we must not let them go to waste.

Energy is like steam--it cannot be generated under the boiling point. In
other words, _half-heartedness_ never produced it nor made it a
practical working tool. We must be energetic in order to augment
energy. We must have confidence along with it ... the more the merrier.
The greater the confidence in ourselves the greater the energy which
brought it about. Some minds naturally feel confident. These are the
lucky ones, the slender few who have grasped life's meaning at the start
by "_taking stock_" before they were threatened with defeat. Success
comes to them as easily as rolling off the proverbial log. They come
sweeping along, conquering, sure of themselves, confident, aspiring,
true to their inner selves, ready for work, unafraid of experiences, and
_sure of a smile when the clouds are darkest_.

This does not mean that these successes have exceptional ability. If
that were the case we would not waste time either in reading or writing
about the matter. If we didn't feel that we were potentially ab