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The Eleventh Lesson: Subconscious Character Building.667
of the mental make-up, some petty trait of character, in which the victory will
be easy and simple. From this stage they should work up to more difficult
tasks, until at last they gain that faith or confident expectation that comes
from persevering practice.
The greater the degree of faith or confident expectation that one carries
with him in this task of character building, the greater will be his success.
And this because of well established psychological laws. Faith or confident
expectation clears away the mental path and renders the work easier, while
doubt or lack of faith retards the work, and acts as obstacles and stumbling
blocks. Strong Desire, and Faith, or confident expectation are the first two
steps. The third is Will-power.
By Will-power we do not mean that strenuous, clenching-of-fist-andfrowning-brow
thing that many think of when they say “Will.” Will is not
manifested in this way. The true Will is called into play by one realizing the
“I” part of himself and speaking the word of command from that center of
power and strength. It is the voice of the “I.” And it is needed in this work of
character building.
So now you are ready for work, being possessed of (1) Strong Desire;
(2) Faith or Confident Expectation; and (3) Will-power. With such a tripleweapon
nothing but Success is possible.
Then comes the actual work. The first thing to do is to lay the track for
a new Character Habit. “Habit?” you may ask in surprise. Yes, Habit! For
that word gives the secret of the whole thing. Our characters are made
up of inherited or acquired habits. Think over this a little and you will see
the truth of it. You do certain things without a thought, because you have
gotten into the habit of doing them. You act in certain ways because you
have established the habit. You are in the habit of being truthful, honest,
virtuous, because you have established the habit of being so. Do you doubt
this? Then look around you—or look within your own heart, and you will
see that you have lost some of your old habits of action, and have acquired
new ones. The building up of Character is the building up of Habits. And