The tides advance; the tides recede. Winter goes and summer comes. Summer wanes and the cold increases. The sun rises; the sun sets. The moon is full; the moon is black. The birds arrive; the birds depart. Flowers bloom; flowers fade. Seeds are sown; harvests are reaped. All nature is a circle of moods and I am a part of nature and so, like the tides, my moods will rise; my moods will fall.
Today I will be master of my emotions.
It is one of nature’s tricks, little understood, that each day I awaken with moods that have changed from yesterday. Yesterday’s joy will become today’s sadness; yet today’s sadness will grow into tomorrow’s joy. Inside me is a wheel, constantly turning from sadness to joy, from exultation to depression, from happiness to melancholy. Like the flowers, today’s full bloom of joy will fade and wither into despondency, yet I will remember that as today’s dead flower carries the seed of tomorrow’s bloom so, too, does today’s sadness carry the seed of tomorrow’s joy.
Today I will be master of my emotions.
And how will I master these emotions so that each day will be productive? For unless my mood is right the day will be a failure. Trees and plants depend on the weather to flourish but I make my own weather, yea I transport it with me. If I bring rain and gloom and darkness and pessimism to my customers then they will react with rain and gloom and darkness and pessimism and they will purchase naught. If I bring joy and enthusiasm and brightness and laughter to my customers they will react with joy and enthusiasm and brightness and laughter and my weather will produce a harvest of sales and a granary of gold for me. Today I will be master of emotions. And how will I master my emotions so that every day is a happy day, and a productive one? I will learn this secret of the ages: Weak is he who permits his thoughts to control his actions; strong is he who forces his actions to control his thoughts. Each day, when I awake, I will follow this plan of battle before I am captured by the forces of sadness, self-pity and failure –
- If I feel depressed, I will sing.
- If I feel sad, I will laugh.
- If I feel ill, I will double my labor.
- If I feel fear, I will plunge ahead.
- If I feel inferior, I will wear new garments.
- If I feel uncertain, I will raise my voice.
- If I feel poverty, I will think of wealth to come.
- If I feel incompetent, I will remember past success.
- If I feel insignificant, I will remember my goals.
Today I will be master of my emotions.
Henceforth, I will know that only those with inferior ability can always be at their best, and I am not inferior. There will always be days when I must constantly struggle against forces which would tear me down. Those such as despair and sadness are simple to recognize, but there are others, which approach with a smile and the hand of friendship, and they can also destroy me. Against them, too, I must never relinquish control –
- If I become overconfident, I will recall my failures.
- If I overindulge, I will think of past hungers.
- If I feel complacency, I will remember my competition.
- If I enjoy moments of greatness, I will remember moments of shame.
- If I feel all-powerful, I will try to stop the wind.
- If I attain great wealth, I will remember one unfed mouth.
- If I become overly proud, I will remember a moment of weakness.
- If I feel my skill is unmatched, I will look at the stars.
Today I will be master of my emotions.
And with this new knowledge, I will also understand and recognize the moods of he on whom I can call. I will make allowances for his anger and irritation of today for he knows not the secret of controlling his mind. I can withstand his arrows and insults for now I know that tomorrow he will change and be a joy to approach. No longer will I judge a man on one meeting; no longer will I fail to call again tomorrow on he who meets me with hate today. This day he will not buy gold chariots for a penny, yet tomorrow he would exchange his home for a tree. My knowledge of this secret will be my key to great wealth.
Today I will be master of my emotions.
Henceforth I will recognize and identify the mystery of moods in all mankind, and in me. From this moment I am prepared to control whatever personality awakes in me each day. I will master my moods through positive action and when I master my moods, I will control my destiny. Today I control my destiny, and my destiny is to become the greatest salesman in the world!
I will become master of myself.
I will become great.
