Certain Success by Norval A. Hawkins

N >> Norval A. Hawkins >> Certain Success

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[Sidenote: Neither Mind Nor Body A Unit]

Not only have you two selves, but neither "You" is a _single unit_. Your
mind, as well as your body, is made up of distinctly different but very
intimately related and associated _parts_. Your "mind" cannot be
developed as a _whole_. Its parts must be severally bettered and
strengthened in coordination, just as the physical man is developed by
training his various muscles.

You know you have _distinct sets of muscles_ which all together make up
your _composite body_. Perhaps, however, you have not realized before
that your _mind_ is not a _unit_, but is made up of innumerable distinct
"mind centers," each of which functions as independently of the others
as your set of eye muscles operates independently of the set of muscles
governing the movements of one of your fingers. And possibly you do not
know that each _mind_ center has a distinct _brain_ center, which
functions for that _particular part alone_ of your whole mind. _Each
associated mind-and-brain center_ also has direct, distinct nerve
connections _with only one set of muscles_.

In fact, you are "a many-minded, many-bodied" man--a collection of
mental and physical _parts_, a composite man rather than a man unit.
These several parts are in large measure practically _independent_ of
one another. One set of body parts "belongs to" only its particular
associated set of mind parts, or mind center.

[Sidenote: Independent Mind and Body Centers]

If you were constituted otherwise, your life would be very precarious;
for the injury or destruction of even a minor part of your body would be
fatal to the whole unit. As it is, you can lose a finger without
affecting your eye-sight in the least. So you might suffer a localized
brain injury that would completely paralyze a finger, without impairing
your sight at all. Either the mind center that governs a finger, or the
set of muscles in that finger can be affected without necessarily
reacting upon any _other_ mind center or any _other_ set of muscles.

[Sidenote: Interrelation Of the Ego And Physical Man]

_But if the mind center that governs a certain set of muscles is
affected, that set of muscles also is directly affected and at once.
Likewise if anything happens to a particular set of muscles, the
reaction is instantly transmitted to its associated mind center through
the "direct wire" nerves and brain center which particularly serve that
part of the mind_.

Great scientists have studied mental and physical phenomena in
inter-relation and have learned certain facts. For example, it is known
that "the mind" not only affects the general functions of "the body,"
but also the rate of bodily activity and the chemistry of body tissues.
Long-continued hard thinking actually does "wear a man out." It consumes
blood and brain tissue. It "slows him up." It may impair his digestion
and appetite. We all know these things, but the scientists know just
_why_ we feel _physically_ tired after using only our _minds_.

They have learned also that every activity of the _mind_ has a direct
effect on the _brain substance._ That is, each mind operation _through_
the brain _changes_ its physical structure in some degree. Mental effort
or relaxation increases or decreases the amount of blood in the brain.
When you have been using your mind very hard, your head "feels heavy,"
and it _is_ unusually heavy then on account of the extra amount of blood
weight. Even the temperature of the brain, particularly of that portion
of the brain which is especially functioning at a given moment, is
changed with every mental effort.

[Sidenote: Slow Muscles Slow Mind]

There is abundant scientific proof that the quality and quantity of
muscle, brain, and nerve (_physical_) activity in a particular
individual are accompanied by corresponding qualities and quantities of
_mental_ activity. That is, when a person's muscle action, nerve
response, and brain action are sluggish, his _mind_ also develops a
characteristic of slow action. And vice versa.

We say of a certain acquaintance that he has an alert mind. But his
"ego," or mental self, could not act quickly and alertly if his _brain_,
the physical instrument of his _mind_, did not receive and transmit
impressions swiftly to his mentality. The _brain_ does not _think_. It
is as purely physical as any other part of the body. It just _handles_,
or transmits in and out, to and from the _mind_, the various impressions
sent _in_ by different sense muscles, and the mental reflexes or
impulses sent _out_ by the innumerable mind centers. Your mind works
_through_ your brain. Of course, therefore, the quality and quantity of
mental work _you_ are capable of doing are limited by the degree of
handling-or-transmitting _efficiency_ characteristic of _your_
particular brain structure.

[Sidenote: Value of Practical Psychology]

Any interference with the _brain_ quality or quantity of an individual
naturally interferes with his normal _mental_ functioning. If a
particular part of a man's brain is injured, the associated mind center
is harmed likewise and his mental _quality_ is affected in proportion.
Should a certain portion of his brain be cut out, the total _quantity_
of his mental powers would be correspondingly reduced. We all know these
things about the brain and the mind. But only a few scientists are
familiar with many _details_ of the _inter-relation of mind and brain
and muscles_, which should be known to all people who want to make the
most of themselves. The salesman of himself needs to understand his
"goods" thoroughly; so as we study the selling process that completes
the secret of certain success, we dig into _practical psychology_ a
little way now in order to stimulate in you a desire for further
exploration of that gold mine of opportunities.

[Sidenote: Physical Manifestations of Ideas]

The mind depends on the brain, in coordination with the nerves and
muscles, to _express_ thoughts. That is how your _inner_ or "ego"
sales-man gets his ideas _out_ of your physical salesman, and _shows
them_ to the minds of prospective buyers. You can make another person
conscious of your thoughts only by some _perceptible physical
manifestation_ of the idea you wish to convey to him. Evidently, then,
in order to succeed in developing your big sales manhood and in making
effective impressions of it on others, you must learn both _how to
think the ideas of big manhood into your own mind_ most effectively and
how to _show them outwardly_ with masterly skill. The first process is
man development; the second is sales-_man_-ship, or _manhood
self-expression for the purpose of controlling the ideas of other men_.

[Sidenote: Selling A Thought]

There is but one way to indicate or express what is going on in your
mind. Your thoughts can be physically shown only by _muscular action_ of
some kind. Brain and nerve action are hidden, but muscle action can be
perceived. If your _muscular action_ expresses exactly the _idea_ you
desire and will and use it to manifest, your mind is able to get its
_thought_ across to another mind--_to sell_ the idea.

Conversely, if your muscle action--your outer, perceptible
self--expresses something _different_ from your thought intention, your
mind has failed to make the true impression of your idea. It may be that
an impression directly contradictory to your thought has been made by
your muscles working at cross purposes. So the truth in your mind won't
get across to the other man's mind--not because your _idea_ was untrue,
but because it has not been _physically interpreted_ by your muscles as
you _intended_. For example, you might stand so much in awe of a man you
greatly admire that you would avoid speaking to him, and in consequence
would appear to him indifferent or cold. Your physical appearance would
belie your intentions.

Perhaps, if you have failed in life or have only partially succeeded,
despite the qualifications you possess for complete success, your
_muscles_ may be principally to blame. The parts of your idea-selling
equipment that _can be perceived in action_ probably have not "delivered
the goods" of sale correctly.

[Sidenote: How Knowledge is Accumulated]

Not only is your mind absolutely dependent on the muscular system of
your body for any true _expression_ of the real _you_ inside; it
likewise must depend on the activity of your various sets of muscles to
get all the _incoming_ sense impressions that make up whatever
_knowledge_ you have.

Have you realized how your present fund of information was accumulated?
Everything you know came into your conscious mind originally through
impressions first made on your various "sense" muscles, and then
transmitted by nerve telegraph to directly connected brain centers,
which in turn passed on to their associated mind centers these original
impressions of new ideas. Many repetitions of similar sense impressions
were needed to register permanently in your mind your first conceptions
of different colors, scents, etc. Thus you learned to think. The process
was _started_--not by your _mind_--but by your various "sense" muscles.
These received from your environment impressions of heat, cold,
softness, hardness, etc., and passed them in to associated brain-mind
centers, which thus commenced to collect knowledge about the world which
you entered with a mind _absolutely empty of_ ideas.

If a child might be born with a good brain, but with his general
muscular system completely paralyzed, _he could learn nothing at all_
regarding the world. He would have no conscious mind. No sense
impression of smell, light, taste, sound, or feeling could be received
by the brain of such a child; for no original perceptions of any kind
could be taken in. He would be like a complete telegraph system with
every branch office closed. No intelligence would be transmitted; since
no message could be even filed for sending. Because of the paralysis of
the sensory muscles, the child's conscious mind would remain blank.

[Sidenote: Each Mind-Center Must Be Developed Specifically]

Recall now that you have a _multiplex_, not a single brain. That is,
your so-called "brain" is made up of innumerable, distinct "brain
centers" which function quite independently of one another. No
particular unit requires help from any of the others in order to do its
especial work with full efficiency. _Each center attends only to its
specific business in your life_. It rests, or relaxes from activity,
when it has nothing to do; or when the particular muscles it governs are
not in use. And, of course, when a certain _brain_ center rests or is
inactive, its associated _mind_ center also rests or is inactive.

As already has been stated, the mind of a man is built up, _through_ the
brain instrument, by the _sense impressions_ transmitted to his
consciousness. In other words, _all he knows with his mind first came
into his mental capacity from outside impressions of things and ideas_.
The fewer the impressions that come into the mind through the brain, the
less does a man know. And only the impressions that come into a
_particular_ mind center develop _that_ center. (For example, the
development of keenest eyesight by many _optical_ impressions would not
affect at all a man's ability to discriminate among the tones of music,
would not give him "a good _ear_.")

[Sidenote: Weak or Undeveloped Centers]

It is evident, therefore, that if a _particular brain center_
temporarily or permanently is deprived of right and sufficient exercise
in transmitting sense impressions, _its coordinated mind center_ will be
stunted in its growth or starved for lack of mental food. This is why a
man is awkward in using his native tongue when he returns to the country
of his birth after a long residence among people of a different nation
where that language was not spoken. But a little exercise of his brain
in transmitting again the sound of his native tongue will quickly
stimulate his mind with the renewed supply of this particular mental
food to which it formerly was accustomed. In a few weeks he will use
the old language naturally; whereas another man, who never had spoken
it, would require years to build up such full knowledge from a start of
complete ignorance of the language.

Evidently, too, a _weak_, undeveloped brain center would be incapable of
receiving _strong_ mental impulses from its coordinated mind center, and
of transmitting them in full strength to the particular muscles governed
by that mind center. This is why, if a man's _brain center_ of courage
is undeveloped, even the most courageous _thoughts_ will not make his
body _act_ bravely. His legs may run away against his will to fight. The
physical instrument of his mind (his brain), and also certain associated
sets of muscles, must be sufficiently exercised in the _action_ of
courage to build up within him the _physical structure_ of fearlessness
that will be instantly responsive to a _mental attitude_ of bravery.

[Sidenote: Right Exercise for Development]

If for any reason the brain instrument is weak or undeveloped, it can
handle only weakly either in-coming messages to the ego from the senses,
or out-going impulses from the mind to the muscles. So, because of this
undeveloped brain instrument, the full capability of neither the inner
nor the outer man can be built up and put to use. Obviously, therefore,
if one is ambitious to succeed, he needs to know and to practice the
_coordinated mind-brain-muscle exercises_ that will increase the
quantity and better the quality of his man capacity. Since he is a
"many-minded, many-bodied" man, _general_ physical and mental exercise
will not develop the _particular_ qualities required to assure his
success. Each and every mind-brain-muscle set must be built up
individually by _specific_ exercises which strengthen _that particular
unit_ of the multiplex man. Then, of course, all his units should be
taught to work _together_ to make his success certain with his
all-around capability fully developed and coordinated.

[Sidenote: The Discriminative-Restrictive Method]

Luther Burbank worked out "discriminative-restrictive" methods of growth
that may be applied as successfully to men as to plants. He could not
have built up the ability of a prune tree to produce _delicious_ fruit
if he had not fed into the tree structure, or instrument of production,
a sufficient quantity and high quality of the _particular plant foods of
deliciousness_. He restricted his experimental prune trees to the
development of specific delicious qualities, by giving them no food
except that _discriminatively_ selected for his purpose. That is, he
made them develop in one way and in one way only, when he was making a
particular test.

Similarly, as has been stated before, you can develop the specific _man_
qualities you need to succeed. You must _feed_ to a particular mind
center, through the related brain center, _selected sense impressions_.
These can come only from the coordinated set of _muscles_ governed by
that mind-brain center. Then you should _exercise_ the specific brain
center and set of muscles in the production of mental reflexes, or the
mind fruit. Acts of courage, for example, are the fruit of brave
thoughts.

[Sidenote: Brain Development]

A particular brain center, of course, will be strengthened both by the
_food_ of sense impressions it is given, and by the _exercise_ of
handling messages to and from the mind. The brain, or physical
instrument of the mind, is like an intermediary or go-between of the ego
and the body. It is of the utmost importance that it should do its work
efficiently. Otherwise the full capability of neither the outer nor the
inner man can be utilized.

If Brown passes something to Jones, who passes it along to Smith; then
Smith passes it back to Jones to be re-passed to Brown--Jones, the
middle agent of transmission or handling instrument, whom we are
comparing to the brain, might be so awkward, slow, and inefficient as a
go-between that the possible ability of Brown and Smith in passing would
be nullified or greatly hampered. But if the inefficiency of Jones is
blamable to his inexperience, it evidently can be changed to efficiency
by _sufficient right exercise_ in passing. The more of that sort of work
he does, in either direction, the better passer will Jones become.

His exercise, however, must be _in passing_ things, if _passing_
capability is to be developed. He would not become a better and quicker
_passer_ by any amount of exercise in taking things apart, or in
inspecting things--wholly dissimilar functions.

[Sidenote: Training in Passing]

Moreover, Jones would not become an expert passer of _glassware_ as a
result of practice in passing _bricks_, for the two kinds of things are
not handled alike. Indeed, the man accustomed to passing bricks might be
more likely to break glassware than another man who previously had no
particular skill in passing anything. The expert brick-passer would be
apt to forget sometimes that he was passing glass. His muscles might
treat the fragile ware with the rough habit acquired in passing bricks.

Plainly, discriminative-restrictive methods of training are required to
perfect capability in any _particular_ kind of physical passing; however
much skill in _general_ passing may have been developed. If Jones should
become expert in passing pails of liquid, he would nevertheless need to
train himself anew in order to pass frozen liquid efficiently in the
form of cakes of ice. And, to particularize still more, it would be
necessary for him to learn how to pass different liquids. Water and
thick molasses in pails should not be handled alike.

Similarly the various brain centers, as passers of different sense
impressions and mental reflexes in and out, require, each of them--like
Jones--the _specific_ exercises that will develop _their several
particular_ abilities. The _individual brain unit_ (as of courage,
memory, judgment, etc.) is strengthened only by handling the in and out
business of _its_ coordinated muscles and mind center. Also, while a
particular set of muscles and coordinate mind center are strengthening
their brain center by the exercise they give _it_, they are both being
developed by the same exercise of passing along sense impressions and
thoughts to each other through the brain--like Smith and Brown.

[Sidenote: The Process Of Growth]

Returning to the comparison of Burbank's methods with man development,
we perceive again how the principle of discriminative-selective training
is applied to accomplish the growth of certain characteristics needed
to assure a man's success. The plant wizard in his initial tests gave
to his undeveloped prune trees particular food and conditions and
treatment selected for the purpose of imparting specific qualities of
deliciousness. A prune _somewhat improved_ in deliciousness was
the first result. Then from the product of that _improved_ prune
he started _another_ cycle of development. He fed the selected food
of deliciousness to the improved prune tree, and a fruit _more_
delicious resulted. His work was simply plant breeding by the
discriminative-restrictive method. Brain breeding is a similar process
of _particularized, cumulative_ development.

[Sidenote: Begin With Specific Training of The Outer Man]

All the foregoing rather complicated explanation of "psychological
processes" has seemed necessary to make a clear impression of the _right
training methods_ for building within you any quality you need to assure
your success. You must begin by training your _outer_ man.

You can develop a particular mind-brain center (such as the center of
courage) only by the discriminative-restrictive training of those
portions of your _body_ which are directly related in activity and
responsiveness to that mind-brain unit of the multiplex YOU. Training of
_any other_ set of muscles will not develop the particular mind-brain
center you want to build up, and would be a wrong procedure.

You should _begin_ with specific training of particular sets of _sensory
muscles_ because, as we have seen, that is the _natural_ order of the
process of growth. It is how you began to learn everything you know. You
can increase and improve your present limited, conscious knowledge most
effectively by taking into your mind from your _trained_ particular
senses _more and better_ impressions than you ever have taken in before.

[Sidenote: Developing Persistence]

Suppose your success has been hindered by your lack of persistence. You
need to develop _that quality_ in particular. Let us see how the
discriminative-restrictive principle should be applied specifically to
assure you of building _persistence_ within yourself.

First it is necessary that you discriminate between _this one_ quality
and _all others_; especially between it and the quality of
_determination_. Very _different_ training methods are required to
develop persistence and determination respectively. When you are just
"determined" to do a thing, your jaw muscles, your arm and back muscles,
perhaps all your commonly known muscles, will be hardened _as long as
you remain determined, but no longer_. They will relax when the occasion
for determination has passed. The habit of instantly tensing your
muscles temporarily whenever you need to be determined will very greatly
strengthen and improve the efficiency of your brain-mind center of
_determination._ But that _temporary_ hardening of your muscles will
only slightly affect the development in you of _characteristic
persistence_.

[Sidenote: Developing Determination]

Hence the training of your muscles for building the habit of
determination within you should be concentrated on exercise in _changing
swiftly_ from comparative laxity to _muscular tension_. That is, in
order to accustom your _mind_ to hardening with _determined thoughts_
whenever determination is needed, you should train your _muscles_ to
harden _in coordination_, and thus to support your mental determination
by the complementary _physical suggestion_ of the same quality.

You do not need to use determination _all the time_; so it will be
sufficient if your muscles are taught to be _quickly responsive_ to
determination of mind on any occasion. (You know it helps you to carry
out a resolution if you stiffen your body at the moment you make up your
mind to do a thing, but _continued_ stiffness of the body in
determination would be a strain likely to weaken your power of action
unless backed by a tremendous, stored-up reserve strength of muscles.)
Begin your practice for the development of determination, then, by
training your muscles to tauten the instant you think determinedly. Your
brain-mind center of determination will also be strengthened by the
exercise that builds up the supporting habit of muscle action in
coordination. Millions of men have failed in life because their
determined thoughts were not reenforced by stiffened backbones.

[Sidenote: Discrimination Between Determination and Persistence]

Now let us discriminate between muscle training to develop the
characteristic of _persistence_ and the training already described for
the building of determination. In order to strengthen your persistence,
you must transmit through the distinct brain center of persistence to
the corresponding mind center, the impression of muscles _permanently
developed in firmness_, not just capable of temporary hardening on
occasion.

The _characteristically persistent_ man has gradually developed his
lax-muscled, sagging, baby chin into a jaw that is habitually firm,
whether or not he happens to be determined to do anything at a given
moment. His muscles do not sag utterly, even when he is asleep. He
probably wakes up in the morning with his teeth clenched. So, whenever
his coordinated brain-mind center perceives that the quality of
persistence is required, and starts to apply it, the _mental impulse_ to
persist is backed by a _permanent firm muscle structure_ that can stand
up as long as the mind needs the physical support.

[Sidenote: A Slump in Determination]

In contrast, the man who is only characteristically _determined_, but
who lacks _persistence_ in his determination, has developed just the
habit of hardening his muscles _for the time_ he is determined on doing
a particular thing. That does not exercise his muscles sufficiently to
make them firm _all_ the time, whether under tension or not.
Consequently his determination is likely to slump if his resolution is
subjected to a long strain. He does not possess muscular structure
sufficiently strong to support persistence in his determination.

_Habitual lack_ of firmness in the jaw muscles, as you know, results in
a sagging chin; which detrimentally affects the brain-mind center of
persistence. A man whose jaw habitually hangs loose may be capable of
great _determination_ for a while, but he is not _persistent in
character_. He might clench his teeth, stiffen his body, and plunge into
the surf to rescue a drowning person; but his first resolution to
effect the rescue would be weakened by the cold water and by fear. He
lacks the quality of the bulldog that will die rather than loose its
teeth from another dog's throat.

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