THE LAW OF SUCCESS
Lesson Four
THE HABIT OF SAVING
THE only lasting favor which the parent may confer
upon the child is that of helping the child to help itself.
"Man is a combination of flesh, bone, blood, hair and brain cells.
These are the building materials out of which he shapes, through the
Law of Habit, his own personality."
To advise one to save money without describing how to save would be somewhat like drawing the picture of a horse and writing under it, "This is a horse." It is obvious to all that the saving of money is one of the essentials for success, but the big question uppermost in the minds of the majority of those who do not save is: "How can I do it?"
The saving of money is solely a matter of habit. For this reason this lesson begins with a brief analysis of the Law of Habit. It is literally true that man, through the Law of Habit, shapes his own personality. Through repetition, any act indulged in a few times becomes a habit, and the mind appears to be nothing more than a mass of motivating forces growing out of our daily habits. When once fixed in the mind a habit voluntarily impels one to action.
For example, follow a given route to your daily work, or to some other
place that you frequently visit, and very soon the habit has been
formed and your mind will lead you over that route without thought on
your part. Moreover, if you start out with the intention of travelling in
another direction, without keeping the thought of the change in routes
constantly in mind, you will find yourself following the old route. Public
speakers have found that the telling over and over again of a story, which
may be based upon pure fiction, brings into play the Law of Habit, and very
soon they forget whether - the story is true or not.
WALLS OF LIMITATION BUILT THROUGH HABIT
Millions of people go through life in poverty and want because they have made destructive use of the Law of Habit. Not understanding either the Law of Habit or the Law of Attraction through which "like attracts like," those who remain in poverty seldom realize that they are where they are as the result of their own acts.