eness.

So long as you are in doubt and perplexity conflicting ideas and
impulses balance each other. You are not then a man of action; you are
a wavering coward. You are afflicted with paralysis of will and mental
stagnation.

_Decide_ the matter--that is to say, _let one mental picture assume a
greater vividness than the other until it possesses your soul--and
forthwith the banked fires of your mental energy will burst into
flame_.

Another thing: _Stop wasting your time_.

How much time do you spend in rest and relaxation? How much should
you spend? Can you answer these questions accurately?

[Sidenote: _Proper Ratio Between Work and Rest_]

Thomas A. Edison has contended for years that four hours' sleep a day
was sufficient for any man. He has conducted experiments with a large
number of men, giving careful attention to matters of diet and
exercise, and the results have seemed in a measure to support his
theory.

Dr. Fred W. Eastman reports that owing to pressure of work he was
recently unable to get more than three or four hours' sleep out of the
twenty-four during a period of many months, and that so far from being
hurt by it he gained five pounds. He says: "If restoration during
sleep is a task so relatively small, the question arises whether, in
order to complete restoration, it is necessary for us to spend so much
time in sleep as we do. Perhaps on account of popular opinion and
personal habit, we waste much time in this jelly-fish condition that
could more profitably be spent in active pursuit of our ambitions. The
answer, of course, depends upon the nature of our occupations. If
there is muscular effort involved, with a correspondingly large amount
of waste in the cells and blood, eight hours or more are probably
necessary. But if the work is of a sedentary nature, and mainly of the
brain, there is naturally a smaller quantity of accumulated waste, and
less time is required for removal. Many are the instances of great
men, past and present, who have lived healthily and worked
unceasingly and strenuously on only four or five hours of sleep, or
half the laborer's portion. Surely we do not suppose that these men
were or are physically different from others, but rather that by
inclination or necessity they have developed a habit of sleeping
intensely for a short period, with resulting gain of time and
efficiency."

[Sidenote: _Determining Your Norm of Efficiency_]

So far as this matter of relaxation