every day and with all the good faith of
which we are possest.

It is because they do not ignore their own weaknesses that the men
endowed with poise become what one has psychologically termed "forces,"
that is to say people who are masters of a power that renders them
superior to the rest of the world.

RESOLUTION

After as minute and as honest an examination as we can make of our own
actions, it will be of great benefit to make definite resolutions for
the morrow.

This is a matter of great importance.

The timid man, by seriously resolving to perform the actions that he
ought and by planning the accomplishment of some definite step, will
unconsciously strengthen his own will-power.

He will increase it still more by making up his mind to leave no stone
unturned to conquer himself.

For instance, he proposes to make a certain journey, or to pay a certain
call, which he dreads very much, and falls asleep while repeating to
himself: "To-morrow I will go there! I will carry the thing through with
assurance!"

Conceding the magnetic power of words, the acquisition of courage and of
confidence are necessary corollaries.

Ideas imprest upon the mind at the moment that one is falling asleep
develop during the night by a species of incubation, and on the morrow
present themselves to us quite naturally in the guise of a duty much
less hard to perform than we had imagined.

In the case where such a resolution awakens an unpleasant emotion in the
hearts of the timid, they should repeat earnestly the sentences that
tend to composure and should seek the aid of the means we have indicated
for attaining it.

PREPARATION

In order to strengthen one's resolution it is a good thing every morning
to map out one's day, for the purpose of acquiring poise.

All one's combinations should be worked out with this valuable conquest
in mind.

After having committed oneself to a definite plan, one should analyze
each one of the proposed steps, carefully taking into account all the
peculiarities that are likely to characterize them.

If one is to have an interview, one should carefully prepare one's
introductory remarks, paying particular attention to one's line of
action, to one's method of presentation, and the words upon which one
relies to obtain an affirmative reply to one's request.

One should take the precaution to have one's speeches mentally prepared
in advance, so as to be able to deliver them in such a speed