Self Help

He was not much to look at; perhaps that is why the "star" conceived the idea of playing that cruel (?) joke on him; but even a homely person may have a very attractive personality in the eyes of those whose handiwork he has praised.

Of course, there are some who will get the wrong conception of the principle I am here trying to make clear, by drawing the conclusion that any sort of cheap flattery will take the place of genuine heart interest. I hope that you are not one of these.

I hope that you are one of those who understand the real psychology upon which this lesson is based, and that you will make it your business to study other people closely enough to find something about them or their work that you really admire. Only in this way can you develop a personality that will be irresistibly attractive.

Cheap flattery has just the opposite effect to that of constituting an attractive personality. It repels instead of attracting. It is so shallow that even the ignorant easily detect it. Perhaps you have observed - and if you have not I wish you to do so - that this lesson emphasizes at length the importance of making it your business to take a keen interest in other people and in their work, business or profession. This emphasis was by no means an accident.

You will quickly observe that the principles upon which this lesson is based are very closely related to those which constitute the foundation of Lesson Six, on Imagination. Also, you will observe that this lesson is based upon much the same general principles as those which form the most important part of Lesson Thirteen, on Co-operation. Let us here introduce some very practical suggestions as to how the laws of Imagination, Co-operation and Pleasing Personality may be blended, or coordinated to profitable ends, through the creation of usable ideas.

Every thinker knows that "ideas" are the beginning of all successful achievement. The question most often asked, however, is, "How can I learn to create ideas that will earn money?"

In part we will answer this question in this lesson by suggesting some new and novel ideas, any of which might be developed and made very profitable, by almost anyone, in practically any locality.