French soldier, who think that
what others have is too good for them; that it does not fit their humble
condition; that they are not expected to have as good things as those who
are "more favored." They do not realize how they weaken themselves by
this mental attitude of self-depreciation or self-effacement. They do
not claim enough, expect enough, or demand enough of or for themselves.

You will never become a giant if you only make a pygmy's claim for
yourself; if you only expect small things of yourself. There is no law
which can cause a pygmy's thinking to produce a giant. The statue
follows the model. The model is the inward vision.

Most people have been educated to think that it was not intended they
should have the best there is in the world; that the good and the
beautiful things of life were not designed for them, but were reserved
for those especially favored by fortune. They have grown up under this
conviction of their inferiority, and of course they will be inferior
until they claim superiority as their birthright. A vast number of men
and women who are really capable of doing great things, do small things,
live mediocre lives, because they do not expect or demand enough of
themselves. They do not know how to call out their best.

One reason why the human race as a whole has not measured up to its
possibilities, to its promise; one reason why we see everywhere splendid
ability doing the work of mediocrity; is because people do not think half
enough of themselves. _We do not realize our divinity; that we are a
part of the great causation principle of the universe_.

We do not think highly enough of our superb birthright, nor comprehend to
what heights of sublimity we were intended and expected to rise, nor to
what extent we can really be masters of ourselves. We fail to see that
we can control our own destiny: make ourselves do whatever is possible;
make ourselves become whatever we long to be.

"If we choose to be no more than clods of clay," says Marie Corelli,
"then we shall be used as clods of clay for braver feet to tread on."

The persistent thought that you are not as good as others, that you are a
weak, ineffective being, will lower your whole standard of life and
paralyze your ability.

A man who is self-reliant, positive, optimistic, and undertakes his work
with the assurance of success, magnetizes conditions. He draws to
himself the literal fulfilment of the promise, "For unto ev